The cruise ship slowly set sail.
The rising sun cast its rays, and on the deck, the examinees who had passed the first stage of the assessment had gathered.
The examiner for the first stage, Wahachi, and the examiner for the second stage, whom Kevin and the others had met before, were also here.
"Are there so few people who passed? Was my first stage assessment too difficult?" Wahachi asked unconsciously.
The old white-bearded Captain just rolled his eyes and didn't reply.
Kevin and the others stood at the back, watching the examinees who had successfully passed the first stage.
Just this one stage filtered out almost everyone, leaving only 105 people.
"It was a bit harder than last year," Bajiao commented.
Last year, around five hundred examinees participated, and only two hundred passed the first round.
"Alright, everyone, I am the examiner for the second stage of the exam.
You can just call me Captain."
At this moment, the examiner for the second stage spoke.
"The moment this ship sets sail, the second stage of the exam begins.
This exam is very simple.
The ship will sail on the sea for three days and three nights.
If there are no accidents, it will arrive at the destination on the morning of the fourth day.
That will be the location for the third stage of the exam.
"However, resources on the ship are limited.
In the box next to me, there are only two hundred bento boxes prepared.
Each person can only take one box, and I will dump the excess in front of everyone.
"The staff area and your activity area are separated.
There are no supplies on the ship.
What you need to do is persevere until the destination.
"Remember, each person can only take one item.
No snatching other people's things, and no fighting is allowed.
I wish you all a smooth journey through these next few days."
After speaking, the Captain and Wahachi walked towards the Captain's cabin without looking back.
A staff member wearing sunglasses and a black suit handed out the bento boxes to the examinees one by one.
Immediately after, some people grabbed their bento boxes and hurried below.
There were still some people who didn't look for available tools at first, or who only rushed to the ship just before it set sail.
Kevin and the others were not in a hurry.
They stood on the deck, watching the rising sun on the sea.
They had already prepared thoroughly and had chosen the things they needed.
"Ah, what a rare and beautiful sight.
My inspiration is flowing like a spring," Bajiao suddenly exclaimed poetically.
Ignoring the strange looks from the three people beside him, he pulled out a long, narrow notebook from somewhere and started writing with a pen.
After finishing, he also read it aloud in a low voice.
"Standing on the bow, sunlight illuminates the sea, the sea surface follows the wind and waves."
After reciting, he was extremely intoxicated, his voice lowering slightly: "Perfect, simply too perfect."
"What is this?" Kevin was a bit confused.
To be honest, he didn't understand what form of literature this was.
"Haiku, a form of poetry from my hometown.
I wrote it pretty well, didn't I?" Bajiao was clearly satisfied with his work and confidently turned his head to ask, "What do you think?"
Kate silently pulled down his newsboy cap.
Although he was born and raised in the slums, he had still taught himself quite a bit later on.
Forgive him, perhaps he really didn't receive a good education from a young age and couldn't understand Bajiao's "masterpiece."
Goreinu managed to squeeze out a few words from his throat with difficulty: "It's... alright, I guess."
Although he didn't understand what a Haiku was, no matter how he listened, he didn't think it could be called "good."
Kevin, however, was very polite and asked, "Is it a form of poetry?
It sounds like a 5-7-5 format.
But it shouldn't be that simple, right?"
"Oh!
You know quite a bit.
On the surface, it's this syllable format, but of course, there are deeper requirements, such as [Kigo] and [Kireji]."
As he spoke, Bajiao enthusiastically chatted with the others about the thing he loved most.
"The format is as I just said, composed of 5-7-5, a total of 17 syllables, written in three lines.
There must also be a [Kigo], which is a word or phrase related to the season.
And there must be a [Kireji], using particles to create a pause, and there must be lingering resonance."
He spoke non-stop, and the three listened quietly, as this was also a sharing of knowledge.
"For example, in my hometown, there is a Haiku poet with the same name as me.
He has a work like this, which is in the standard format even when translated into the common language.
[An old silent pond... A frog jumps into the pond, splash!
Silence again.]"
He said it again in his hometown dialect.
Although it wasn't the common language, Kevin felt it sounded a bit like Japanese he had heard before.
"Then the Haiku you just wrote, changing it like this might be more in line with the requirements."
As he spoke, Kevin made a slight change: "Standing alone on the bow, the morning sun's scattered gold dyes the green waves, ripples chase the light and sway."
"Isn't this more poetic?
It should also fit the Haiku format well, right?"
After listening, Bajiao fell silent.
Kate and Goreinu also couldn't help but look at Kevin.
They had already roughly understood the Haiku format.
Looking at it with the tone and expression of the common language, Kevin's revised Haiku was much better than Bajiao's original work, more like a poem rich in ancient charm.
They still didn't understand, but at least it sounded better.
"You - you wouldn't happen to be some kind of Haiku immortal, would you?" Bajiao's face was full of obvious surprise.
The other person had only listened to his simple explanation of a few Haiku and could create a work much better than his own.
"It seems my talent is only this much."
Bajiao was a little discouraged.
However, before the others could comfort him, he quickly regained his energy, clenched his fist with a serious expression, and said, "I won't be discouraged.
Like my name, I will become a saint."
After speaking, he picked up a comb and tidied his exaggerated pompadour again.
After a while, Kevin and the others slowly returned to their room.
The room they chose was in a good location, with a balcony and relatively close to the sea surface, making it convenient for fishing or escaping by boat later.
They casually ate their bento boxes, simply filling their stomachs.
Meanwhile, outside, the examinees had already started scheming against each other.
Inside the Captain's cabin, the two examiners were observing the situation on the ship through surveillance screens.
"Those guys who arrived first are really leisurely," Wahachi said, looking at Kevin and the others' relaxed appearance, then pointing to the details on the screen, "They took two pieces of rescue equipment.
It looks like they've already guessed what you're going to do next."
The Captain crossed his arms, a pipe in his mouth, and said indifferently, "What's strange about that?
As long as they observe carefully and pay attention to some details, they can discover that this ship might sink when it's about to reach the destination."
What's more, he had deliberately left some small clues as hints.
After all, this was an exam.
Each examiner had a lot of autonomy to design the exam they were in charge of and select examinees according to their own ideas.
The Captain hoped that through this exam, the examinees would understand what teamwork is, how to quickly find suitable teammates, how to discern whether teammates are trustworthy, and whether they themselves can trust others.
Of course, the ability to think, observe, and react were also basic requirements, which also included the collection and analysis of information.
"I'm really looking forward to it.
I wonder how many people will pass this time," Wahachi muttered to himself while looking at the surveillance screen.
This exam was like a fish in water for Tonpa.
After all, he was a veteran who had participated in thirty exams.
He had experienced various exams, and many examiners had even participated in exams with him.
He quickly found several examinees who had also participated in multiple exams, and the few of them gathered together.
"Hey, you've all noticed, right?
This ship is definitely going to sink, and it seems none of you got any life-saving items," Tonpa said, looking at the others.
At this point, five people had gathered there.
Such information was not difficult to deduce and analyze from the existing information.
One of them looked at Tonpa and directly replied, "When the ship sinks, some materials themselves can be used as rescue items."
For people who are good swimmers and consider themselves capable, this is indeed not something to worry about.
"Haha, that may be so, but having life-saving items is always better than not having any, isn't it?"
"What exactly do you want to say?"
They were all veterans, and they understood each other well.
Tonpa revealed a sinister smile and said, "Let's play with those new examinees.
Although snatching is not allowed, it doesn't say stealing isn't allowed, and as long as you're not caught, it's not called stealing."
The Hunter Exam has always had this rule: what is not explicitly forbidden is allowed.
"And we can exchange items, right? There's also no rule stating candidates cannot exchange items with each other."
Tonpa already had a detailed plan in his head.
"You're still so nasty," one of the senior candidates said with some disdain, pursing his lips, but he didn't refuse.
Soon after the few people finished their discussion, they dispersed.
At this time, Kevin and the others didn't stay in the room either.
After chatting together for a while, they started to act on their own.
Kate seemed very confident in his fishing skills, directly took the fishing rod, and sat by the balcony to begin fishing.
The important life rafts were centrally placed in a room with someone guarding them.
They obviously also thought of it: you can't rob but you can steal.
The rule is no fighting, no robbing; stealing when someone is guarding is equivalent to robbing, which violates the rule and results in disqualification.
And once an item is stolen, the original owner cannot rob it back after discovering it, nor can they use force to take it back, because fighting is not allowed.
But other than that, there are almost no other restrictions.
Bajiao temporarily stayed in the room.
Kevin and Goreinu went out with five life vests, intending to exchange items with other candidates.
"Let's think about what we need now," Kevin said.
"First, we can be sure there's no fire on the ship, nor any materials to start a fire.
If we don't want to eat only sashimi these next few days, it's best to be able to trade for something to start a fire."
Goreinu nodded and recalled, "I saw a candidate carrying a charcoal stove, I just don't know if they have resources to start a fire."
Goreinu had a good memory, and from the start, he had specifically observed what everyone was carrying.
Afterwards, they searched around the cruise ship for targets.
This was a cruise ship, its area was not small, and according to the usual scale, it should have carried over a thousand people when it set sail.
Now, most areas were only being used by these hundred-odd candidates, making it seem particularly spacious.
They came to the deck and indeed saw an area where some candidates were gathered, talking to each other.
Each candidate was holding different items.
Clearly, those who could come here weren't foolish; they had all thought of feasible methods to conduct item exchanges here.
But after all, there were quite a few useless items on the ship, and not everyone could get something they were satisfied with.
Seeing Kevin and the others walk over with life vests, some shrewd people immediately came closer.
"Want to trade? We have a fishing net bag here," a burly-looking muscular man asked; his number was 313.
Kevin directly shook his head and refused.
The muscular man didn't pester further, just nodded regretfully.
As soon as he left, someone else stepped up, came closer and said, "I saw what you were carrying, you have fishing rods and spear guns, so you definitely don't lack food."
"I don't have anything to start a fire here, but—we have this."
Saying this, this seemingly thin and small man took out the item he was using for exchange - a packaged set of spice bottles.
"What's the use of this?" Goreinu said with disdain, pursing his lips.
The thin and small man was a bit embarrassed; he also knew that the item he had was of relatively low value among all exchangeable items.
After all, the entire exam time was only three days and three nights; most people even had trouble getting food, much less would they use precious items to trade for his set of spices.
Only those who weren't worried about food and drink would consider it.
"You can't say that," the thin and small man said, trying hard to promote it.
"For people who need it, this is a very worthwhile item to trade for."
"How do you plan to trade?" Kevin asked.
The thin and small man's eyes lit up: "Three life vests."
"Then you can keep them to season your own food," Kevin said, directly ignoring him.
"No, no, no, two pieces, two pieces," the thin and small man hurriedly chased after him, saying.
"One piece," Kevin said unceremoniously.
"If the life vests could be split, I'd even only want to give you half a piece."
The thin and small man still wanted to argue: "I saw it, these five pieces count as one item, only giving one piece isn't that too unreasonable?"
"Are you trading or not?" Kevin asked directly.
The value of these two things, anyone who isn't a fool can understand.
"Trade, why wouldn't I trade?"
Having no choice, the thin and small man could only complete the exchange with Kevin.
Goreinu happily took the spice set.
Clearly, he didn't feel as he initially showed that this thing was useless.
Soon, others came over wanting to trade, but they were all things not very useful to Kevin and the others, and to some extent, not even as good as this spice set.
For example, fire axes, various weapons, etc.; given that fighting is not allowed on the ship, these things have limited use.
What's more, Kevin and the others' own strength was far greater than these cold weapons.
Tonpa was also mingling in this small trading market, his eyes darting around.
There were quite a few people with the same idea as him, including the candidates who were currently exchanging items; they were also looking for targets.
Not long after, Goreinu found their target.
However, what the other party brought for exchange wasn't the stove they wanted, but a radio.
Someone actually had a radio.
"You have a stove, right? How about trading it?"
The other party looked at the two cautiously.
Kevin squatted down and said, "Don't be in a hurry to refuse, you should be able to sense that many people want to trade with us for these life vests."
"I believe you're not foolish, you should understand what this means; these life vests definitely have their importance."
"Observe carefully, think calmly, and you'll understand."
The other party clearly also vaguely understood some things, and after a little thought, they knew why so many people wanted to trade for life vests.
Quite a few people had guessed that this ship might sink, so life-saving items were all hidden very securely by everyone.
This was also the reason why, as soon as Kevin and the others appeared, many people wanted to trade with them.
"Believe me, as long as we have life vests, we won't have trouble trading for things; it's just that your stove is more practical for us."
Clearly, this person was a bit tempted.
But his companion next to him frowned and said directly, "No, we don't need it, we only want to trade for this radio."
Hearing this, Kevin helplessly pursed his lips and shrugged.
Not being tempted even like this, clearly someone among these few people had already obtained life-saving items.
"This radio is yours, right?" Kevin looked at the man who refused and asked.
"What if it is?"
"Nothing."
Kevin then turned to the sixteen or seventeen-year-old young man: "You are just temporary teammates, that stove is your item, but you might not get a share of the life-saving items."
"This is out at sea, even if you have a way to get food, fire isn't that important in the short term."
Goreinu had told Kevin before that the young man in front was a newcomer this year.
He had, however, seen the owner of the radio, and he had also seen this person mixing with Tonpa.
Tonpa, this old hand, had taken the exam for thirty years; judging from his behavior, he clearly no longer regarded the hunter license as his goal, and in the long process of failure, his mentality had long been twisted.
Although he didn't know what the other party was up to, it was undoubtedly nothing proper.
However, this was also none of Kevin's business; after all, this was an exam.
Kevin patted the other person's shoulder and reminded them, "Keep your eyes peeled, you are both opponents and teammates."
"Please don't try to sow distrust between us here," a young man walked over, clearly indicating that he was in the same team as these two.
Kevin half-smiled, didn't speak, and quietly left.
Before leaving, he also glanced at Tonpa squatting not far away.
And Tonpa, towards Kevin and the others who were leaving, showed a very kind smile, making him seem simple and honest.
"It seems someone will soon come with a stove to trade with us," Goreinu sighed.
Kevin also shrugged helplessly: "This is also something that can't be helped."