Illumi tilted his head slightly. What was Kusuo doing? Was he losing on purpose? There's no way he could've made a math mistake.

Hisoka: "It's 12 meters, Illumi, hehe…"

Even with the prisoner mocking him, Saiki Kusuo stayed calm. He simplified the trickier numbers to write faster than the guy across from him. In base-32, the bigger the number, the more obvious the advantage. He had picked 12 meters because it was just the right size—not too big, not too small.

[This is a base-32 answer. I can use whatever number system I want. The answer is correct.]

The prisoners were still laughing, but the one competing with him wasn't smiling anymore.

Base-32? He suddenly remembered—using letters instead of numbers is how base-32 works...

Even though the Hunter world has its own language, math and computer logic stay the same. Those are almost like universal truths. Saiki Kusuo stood up as the wall displayed the words "Victory," meaning his answer was right.

"So that's how it is. I guess I'll ask a math question next," Chrollo suddenly said.

Saiki Kusuo: …?

You're smart, you're good at fighting, and now you want to compete in math too?

Well, Chrollo probably isn't bad at math either. But would the other guy even agree to another round?

Saiki Kusuo overheard through his telepathy that Chrollo wanted to use basic addition and subtraction—but make it a rule that only base-10 could be used.

"Tch, who wants to play math games with you guys? That kind of stuff doesn't prove anything!"

A man behind them stepped up, yanked off the cloth covering himself, and revealed a body that looked downright horrifying.

Why horrifying? Because his whole body was stitched up in many places. One eye was swollen shut with visible stitching. Behind his head was some strange round object, like a Frankenstein experiment, sewed onto him. Saiki Kusuo used x-ray vision and saw chunks of metal embedded under the man's skin. Even his bones were already infected by it. Just the fact that he was still alive was a miracle.

"I've killed 19 people. That number's always bugged me—19 is messy. I like round numbers. Blondie, this isn't some kiddie math contest. Let me be clear: if your challenge isn't a fight, we're not accepting it. There's only one way forward—fight me, and become number 20."

He called Chrollo "kid." Is he really that short? Saiki Kusuo turned to check—yeah, Chrollo does have a baby face.

He's two years older than big bro, just a little shorter.

"Hm… alright. Other challenges might've made this more fun. A straight-up fight might be a bit boring," Chrollo said with some regret, clearly losing interest in playing games. Looks like he decided to handle this guy himself.

"Heh, gutsy. I like that."

The two stepped into the arena. The screen nearby lit up—match start.

Before Chrollo even made a move, the other guy jumped forward and smashed his fist into the floor.

Chrollo: [Not bad strength.]

[No, it's because he has metal pieces in his bones. That's what broke the ground. If he keeps doing that, his arm will be ruined first.]

Saiki Kusuo couldn't understand what this guy was thinking.

Chrollo dodged the hit and smoothly moved behind the man, walking so casually it looked like he was window shopping. He even stopped like he'd found something interesting.

"Heh heh, you see this? The spider tattoo on my back! That thing has scared tons of people over the years! A newbie like you—"

"Hey, blondie, ever heard of the Phantom—"

Before he could finish, Chrollo stabbed him right in the heart.

"I was just about to say your taste in spider tattoos isn't bad, but turns out it's just a cheap knockoff. That's disappointing."

The man dropped dead. Chrollo didn't even bother picking up his knife. He casually explained, "Yeah, it has twelve legs, but the real Phantom Troupe spider tattoo is black, and the member's number is on the spider's chest."

"Hehehe~ pretending to be Phantom Troupe, huh?"

Hisoka chuckled too, flicking his cards like a rainstorm. They scattered across the ground.

Still so calm, huh, Chrollo? Saiki Kusuo thought.

"There are always people like this. We kill them as soon as we see them. I think this makes the third one the Troupe has run into," Chrollo said as he stepped over the corpse. He looked over at Hisoka while speaking, like he was talking to him directly.

Then he looked up again. Only two prisoners left.

"You've wasted a lot of our time. How much reward are you even getting for this? Enough for a life? Probably not. You sure you still want to keep going?"

Chrollo smiled at the two remaining prisoners. He could sense their fear. Now was the perfect time to finish things quickly.

One of them stepped forward like he had something to say—

But then suddenly froze like he'd seen something terrifying.

Killing intent.

Bone-chilling killing intent. Just one look, and it felt like your breath was being cut off, like your neck was already snapped and your body shoved into a pool of blood and bones.

"S-surrender! We give up! We lost! Please, no more!!"

The prisoners completely lost it, scared out of their minds.

That was probably Illumi's aura just now.

Since Illumi never seemed like a threat to him, Saiki Kusuo didn't feel it the way others did. But judging from his serious posture and how the prisoners reacted, Kusuo could piece it together.

So what kind of test is this even supposed to be for a group like us? Come on, examiner, just be real and let us go already—give us all a break, will you?

The three walked through the door. Saiki Kusuo teleported past the three prisoners lying on the ground, completely calm as he moved forward.

A playing card flew in front of him. Saiki Kusuo caught it out of instinct and saw it was the Ace of Hearts. He turned his head and saw Hisoka wink at him.

A card game invite?

No thanks—I don't get it, and I'm not interested. Saiki Kusuo sped up.

Just as he turned through a stone door on the right, he bumped into someone holding four knives.

[Finally found you, Hisoka!!]

Huh? Hey, I'm not—

The four knives came flying at him one after another. Saiki Kusuo spun to dodge, but didn't expect them to be boomerang knives. They circled back from behind while two more came straight at him.

"Hahaha! Hisoka! Do you know how long I've been waiting for this day?!"

I told you I'm not Hisoka! What, you think anyone with pink hair is him? He's got red hair, okay?

[Red hair and holding playing cards? Hisoka, I'd recognize you even if you were turned to ashes.]

You've got the wrong person! And even from the height alone it's clearly not me!

[Don't think a thin disguise can fool me.]

So this guy's just completely nuts. Great.