Halloween Festival

Kinnow Island. Hunter Association Branch HQ.

"Paul, a few signals had gone off."

Paul was sitting inside a pub, listening to the reports collected by his men while drinking a glass of beer.

"Have you sent someone to the island to check the specific situation?"

There were a total of twenty people who participated in the hunter exam this time. Since he was appointed by the higher-ups to supervise this exam, he had to make sure that everything was going well as planned.

The man nodded, "I went to the island in person. There were traces of another group of people on the island. It seemed a fierce battle had happened. I haven't found the missing hunters yet."

"Did you find out the identity of that group?"

"Not yet, but I have sent people down to inspect the surrounding islands. We also had to stop the exam temporarily to ensure the safety of the hunters.

"Good job, call all the men back. We will continue to track the other group tomorrow morning."

"Yes, sir!"

"Go." Paul waved his hand dismissively.

After the man left, he let out a deep sigh. He hated this kind of thing happening. He vowed to catch those bastards that dared to interrupt the exam.

***

Orange Islands. Somewhere on the sea near Kinnow Island.

"Captain Dave. We had found out the identity of those people we caught earlier. They are hunters who went to participate in the hunter exam this time."

A boat sailed across the sea. Dave was standing at the bow of the ship, watching the setting sun. A Team Aqua member was standing behind him respectfully.

Hearing that, Dave turned toward his men.

"Then the guy who rescued that Nurse Joy must also be a hunter, right?" he said coldly.

He was still angry that Hisoka managed to deceive him back then.

"Yes. Those hunters said that there were supposed to be four hunters on each island. We only caught three."

Although those three hunters were elite trainers, they were no match for Team Aqua, who had many people with them.

"Captain, what should we do now?" said the Team Aqua member with a worried look.

"Nurse Joy has the evidence. Once she handed it to the police, it would be hard for us to continue with our next action. The police must be looking for us right now, not to mention the Hunter Association."

Dave also had a headache regarding this problem. He really wanted to catch Hisoka and Nurse Joy, but he didn't even know where they went. There were too many islands around this area. They didn't have enough men to check all of them.

He sighed, "Let's go back to Shamouti Island first. I will talk to Lawrence. Maybe he can help us."

***

Shamouti Island.

In the meantime, Shamouti Island, which had been completely shrouded in darkness, was brightly lit. It seemed that the sudden eruption of the volcano on Fire Island had been forgotten by the townspeople.

There were a large number of tourists strolling along the street. Tonight was Halloween, and a grand Halloween festival was held.

Many people were dressed in strange clothes, wearing ghost masks, forming a large parade.

"Wow, this fox mask is so beautiful! Suzie, come and have a look. I think this is very suitable for you."

A girl wearing a red sakura kimono with a hannya mask on her face was holding a white fox mask, looking at the girl wearing a light blue kimono.

"How much is this mask?" Suzie asked the shopkeeper, taking the mask from Daisy's hand.

Suzie initially wanted to take care of Lapras on Tangelo Island while waiting for news from Hisoka. However, she couldn't stand Daisy's frequent begging, so she could only accompany her friend to visit Shamouti Island for a short time.

After paying for the mask, she and Daisy joined the crowd and enjoyed the lively parade.

Shamouti Shrine.

At night, a cool ocean breeze came drifting softly as the hibiscus flower waved slightly in the wind.

"Mr. Lawrence, this is the ancient shrine that our Shamouti Island has inherited for thousands of years."

A middle-aged man was introducing the shrine to the tall man beside him.

"From here, you can see Fire Island, Lightning Island, and Ice Island. During the Legend Festival, the chosen one would have to retrieve the three treasures from those islands and put them here."

Lawrence, who was wearing a simple black kimono, the corner of his mouth turned up slightly into a grin.

"Mayor Terry, I have great expectations for the future economic development of Shamouti Island. The 300 million dollar investment I invested earlier was only the beginning. If Shamouti Island meets my expectations, I will continue to invest."

Hearing this, the Mayor of Shamouti Island couldn't help but flush in excitement. Greater investment meant more achievements and more money for him.

Lawrence, who came to Shamouti Island this time, had invested a large amount of money in Shamouti Island in order to cover up his real purpose. Well, in his eyes, the money was a drizzle to him.

Orange Islands did not have many foreign investors due to its location. They only relied on tourism to prop up their economy. It was quite rare to meet a wealthy investor like Lawrence.

So far, Lawrence had invested more than a billion dollars in Tangelo, Kumquat, Kinnow, and Shamoutie Islands.

The Orange League had provided him with a lot of favorable treatment each time he visited an island.

While they were talking, a girl suddenly walked out of the shrine. She had light makeup on her face, and her double ponytail was hanging down her shoulders.

She wore white short-sleeves and denim cropped trousers, which looked a little out of place among the townspeople.

When the Mayor saw her, he bowed in respect.

"Lady Melody, it's late. Where are you going?"

Melody smiled slightly, "I'm going to the town to participate in the festival."

After that, she walked past them, heading toward the town.

Lawrence looked at the girl in curiosity.

"Mayor Terry, who is that girl?"

"That's our Festival Maiden. She is going to check up on the ongoing festival."

"Oh!" Lawrence nodded in understanding.

Obviously, the culture of Shamouti Island was mainly based on the belief in gods. The shrine elder and maiden had a very high status on this island.

"Is there a guest? Why don't you introduce him to me, Mayor Terry?"

An elderly man suddenly stood in front of them. He was wearing traditional attire and had a kind look on his face.

"Elder Tobias!"

Mayor Terry looked surprised and quickly bowed.

"It's fine, Mayor Terry," Tobias waved his hand with a smile.

"Mr. Lawrence, this is Elder Tobias, our community elder. He is the one who's taking care of the shrine..."

***

"I don't want to be the Festival Maiden. I don't want to stay on this island for the rest of my life."

During this time, Melody was sitting on the stairs at the entrance of the town. Instead of joining the festival, she waited outside, gazing at the stars.

"Sister, I miss you..."

Tears rolled down her face. She remembered how happy she was while she was with her sister.

It has only been two years since Melody took the role of Festival Maiden from her sister. However, an accident happened. Two years ago, when her sister was hosting the Legend Festival, she accidentally fell from the cliff near the shrine. Sadly, she didn't make it through.

Melody, who only turned sixteen this year, was full of yearning for the outside world. She was much interested in the island's ancient myths and traditions.

Her greatest wish was to leave Shamouti Island. She wanted to travel to many places around the world.

"Daisy, are you sure it's fine for us to do this? They said we are not allowed to approach the shrine."

"Shh! Be quiet. What if someone heard us? Don't worry. We are only going to take a short look."

Suddenly, she heard someone talking with each other. She wiped her tears and quickly hid behind a tree. A few moments later, two people in kimonos with masks on their faces were slowly approaching.