Everyone boarded the airship to head to the third test site. Before 8:00, it was free time.

Saiki Kusuo: Finally, I can rest.

"Yay! Let's go explore the ship!"

"Alluka wants to go too!"

"Sure, let's race?"

Saiki Kusuo: Why do kids have so much energy?

Well, the ship isn't that big, but it's way better than the swamp. He could just use telepathy to see what Killua and Alluka were doing.

The drone was swapped out for cameras attached to Killua and Alluka. After giving Killua some instructions, Saiki turned around and ran right into Illumi.

[Big brother?] He already knew Illumi was here, but didn't expect him to stop him.

"Click click." Illumi was disguised as Gittarackur, his face full of nails, only able to make clicking sounds.

Illumi handed him a phone. [Send me the footage too.]

Even though Saiki could read his mind and knew what he meant, why was Illumi so sure he could understand?

Saiki walked into a corner with his backpack, opened the laptop, and got to work.

With Illumi watching over things, he didn't need to pay close attention tonight. He remembered that in the anime, Killua and Gon would play until morning.

Kids really do have endless energy.

Saiki went back to his room, charged all his devices, and even watched two movies. When the night passed, the airship arrived at Trick Tower.

From the outside, Trick Tower looked like a huge metal cylinder. Inside, each floor going down was full of traps. It was basically a giant death maze. Even Saiki was impressed by how cleverly it was built after using x-ray vision to check it out.

The rule of the exam: reach the bottom of the tower within 72 hours, and stay alive.

The tower was tall, but for a psychic, no matter how high it was, jumping straight down wouldn't be fatal. Still, Saiki obviously wouldn't choose such an attention-grabbing move.

People started disappearing one by one. On the protagonist's side, it was a five-person challenge. Saiki didn't accept Killua's invite. With Alluka filling in for the original Leorio, things should go okay, right?

Saiki picked a solo path and jumped in.

But of course, Trick Tower had people working behind the scenes. After Saiki landed, a door opened for him.

Saiki didn't even take a step before sensing who was on the other side. Was this on purpose? Putting Illumi with him? Well, whatever. Illumi being his older brother made it not a big deal.

Soon, Saiki and Illumi met up. They greeted each other briefly, and he saw Illumi looking at his phone — really doing his job well.

Suddenly, Saiki got a sharp headache. A vision?

[Hehehe~ it must be the red string of fate...]

Illumi: "Click click." [What's wrong? Are you okay?]

Saiki grabbed Illumi's hand and led him to take a left at the next fork.

Illumi was a bit confused, but didn't care how they moved forward. Whatever trap they faced, he could handle it.

Going straight would lead to Hisoka — Saiki already knew that. In a tower full of traps, even knowing the layout didn't help much.

Hopefully, this path would avoid running into Hisoka.

Saiki let go of Illumi's hand. Right then, they heard something from above.

[A trap? No — it's a passage. Let's jump.]

Chrollo's voice sounded very familiar.

Stones started falling from above. Saiki didn't even move before Illumi grabbed his waist and jumped aside.

Saiki Kusuo: Even if things got bad, I could've teleported. Getting carried like this is just weird.

Chrollo landed and looked at the scene in front of him. Illumi, disguised as Gittarackur, looked awful. His face was full of nails, his skin was dull — just totally outside normal human standards of beauty.

Anyone seeing Saiki Kusuo being held protectively by someone who looked like that definitely wouldn't think "protection."

Still, the strong energy around him was obvious — Chrollo could tell he was a Nen user.

Chrollo: [Saiki, are you being held hostage by Nail Guy? I won't help you that easily.]

Didn't ask for help, but thanks.

Saiki Kusuo grumbled inwardly. Chrollo didn't know that Gittarackur was a Zoldyck. No wonder he misunderstood.

Illumi let go, and Chrollo clapped his hands with a bright smile. "Good, no one got hurt. Since we met here, it must be fate. I bet this was arranged by the examiner. Let's go together?"

It really was the examiner's doing. Hisoka had already gone ahead. If they'd walked a bit slower, they probably wouldn't have run into each other.

The three continued forward. There were lots of branching paths, and every time they came to one, Illumi and Chrollo would both slow down and leave the decision to Saiki Kusuo.

Out of personal interest, Saiki Kusuo took a long route through this level.

It didn't take long before Chrollo noticed something strange. He looked around at the roads and gave a mental suggestion: [We probably shouldn't go right again. That way seems to lead back to where we've already been.]

Thanks, I already know that.

Illumi? He was on his phone and didn't notice anything.

Yare yare... looks like we have to go down then.

*Click click.* Illumi suddenly said, [Is there supposed to be sound?]

Big bro, what the hell are you doing? Is watching not enough anymore?

And there's an "outsider" here too. Saiki Kusuo glanced back at Chrollo.

But Illumi didn't care at all. He even made a hand gesture telling him to do it.

Well, when big bro gives an order, you have to follow it.

Saiki Kusuo took out his laptop and started setting up some small devices. [If we turn on the sound, the battery will only last about 45 hours. And the signal in this trap tower isn't great.]

Illumi nodded. Forty-five hours? That's more than enough.

[So these two know each other too?] Chrollo, walking behind, started thinking again. No way they're just casual acquaintances with that level of trust.

The connection went through, and the phone—without headphones—started playing audio:

"Left? Don't you know the rule about always choosing the left?"

"When people can't decide, they usually go left. The examiner knows that too, so the left path might be harder."

"Big bro, I picked—"

"If Alluka picked it, then it's fine. It's just the left path. No big deal, bring it on."

"Hey, that's so unfair!"

...Saiki Kusuo plugged in the headphones.

He handed the phone to Illumi. Behind them, Chrollo started thinking again. They really do seem like brothers. After all, who else would he trust to keep an eye on his younger brother?

Chrollo came to a conclusion: [Ah, I see. He's probably a butler or a bodyguard. I mean, Saiki Kusuo is basically a young master of the Zoldyck family. His two brothers too. Rich families always do this kind of thing.]

That works out nicely.

But they couldn't keep wandering in circles. Saiki Kusuo led them into a room he already knew about. He knew it had some traps set up, and everyone would have to wear wristbands before moving on.

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