Into the den of snakes
After Gon had recovered from both poison and Hisoka's punch, he went to the starting point to wait. He didn't have to wait long for his friends to arrive. Kurapika had already gained the 6 points needed to proceed to the next round; Leorio still needed to get his target's badge before he could proceed. Gon surprised them by dropping out of the tree to greet them.
After they were reunited, they went in search of Leorio's target. They found her in a cave nearby. Leorio went in alone, and told the others to stay there for thirty minutes. If he didn't come back by then; they were free to come rescue him. Kurapika and Gon were waiting when…they heard Leorio try to warn them. They rushed into the cave, and unknowingly into a deadly trap set by the snake charmer. They found their friend on the ground with several bite marks on him. His target Ponzo tried to warn them; she barely stopped them from suffering the exact same fate as Leorio. If they had continued to go forward, they would have sprung the trap.
The snake charmer's trap was a deviously clever one. He had the snakes guard not only the entrance, but himself as well. Which proved to be his undoing. When Ponzo went to take his plate, the snakes dropped down and went in for the attack! Her secret weapon was sprung when she both fell and screamed, and the charmer died from an allergic reaction. With the snakes guarding his body, she couldn't get close enough to treat him in time; he died and she remained stuck inside the cave.
Gon and Kurapika were upset because they couldn't save their friend. Until Gon did something incredibly stupid; which actually saved them! He went to the snake charmer's body, hoping that the anti-venom would be there. If it wasn't, not only would Leorio die, but Gon as well! He searched the body, snakes coiling themselves all around him, biting everywhere they could reach. He found the anti-venom and threw it to Kurapika who caught it. He fell; the snakes uncoiled and went back to their previous positions. Ponzo dragged him away from the snake charmer, Kurapika was already administering the anti-venom to Leorio; Ponzo did likewise to Gon. However, the real problem still hadn't been solved; how can they leave the cave in time without being bitten?!
Gon came up with a crazy yet effective answer. Ponzo had let loose sleeping gas before she came into the cave, though it hadn't reached far enough to work. She still had enough to knock out the snakes which would take around five minutes. The only question left was; who could hold their breath that long without passing out themselves? Since the idea had been Gon's, he was the one who volunteered to carry the others to safety. (According to him, his current record for holding his breath is 9 minutes, 44 seconds.) Since there wasn't any open air in the cave, the gas proved to be most effective. He carried the others out and didn't let go of his breath until he had reached a safe distance from the gas. He set the others down next to the trees and went to retrieve his plate and Hisoka's plate. Kurapika woke up right as he reached the beach, Leorio came to soon after. He went to Ponzo and took her plate while she was still unconscious. (She didn't wake up until Tompa showed up and tried to steal the Snake Charmer's plate while she was still under the gas's effects.)
By the time Gon retrieved the plates, the test had finally ended. Everyone with 6 points had to return to the starting point; any time over the limit was extra. There were only 8 people remaining out of the 37 who came.