As expected, despite Ethan's indifference, Andrew the Detective just kept on bragging about his class's success.
"Don Nathaniel truly is a prodigy of youth. He inherited the spirit of the Vietnamese Warriors like the legendary young hero Tran Quoc Toan. After crushing an orange in a fit of rage, Don Nathaniel came up with a bold idea. He used his Herculean hands to turn all of Class 11B's fruit into fresh juice and smoothies."
"All you guys did was push the buttons on some blenders and juicers!"
Ethan was starting to get irritated.
It seemed like anyone who had to listen to Andrew ramble for too long would eventually lose their cool - no matter how kind and patient they were by nature.
"But the judges were completely won over after tasting those colorful smoothies - refreshing, delicious, and a nice break from the endless, repetitive fruit displays that look the same every single year. From what I've heard, Class 12A is in chaos right now. Things didn't go at all according to their plan. This year they only managed to take second place with 50 HP, while Class 12C snatched both the Popular Vote and third place."
Andrew the Detective suddenly lowered his voice, glancing around suspiciously. After making sure no one else was paying attention, he leaned close to Ethan's ear.
"…12A believes there's some kind of conspiracy working against them. Want to hear the rest of this top-secret info - only 50,000 VND, Ethan?"
"No! I don't like sticking my nose into…"
Ethan began to object, but stopped when Andrew the Detective shoved his phone in front of him.
On the screen was Andrew's private Discord community, titled Harmony Daily, with more than 200 members. This was clearly his way of spreading rumors, since Harmony High's official online newspaper wouldn't publish such nonsense.
"So half the school's students are in your community, Andrew?"
"Nope! Of those 200+ members in Harmony Daily, only about half are current Harmony students. The rest are alumni or students from other schools who just happen to be interested in us."
"Are there even kids from other schools there?"
Ethan was floored.
How on earth was Andrew the Detective managing to sell gossip about Harmony High students to outsiders?
"Don't look so surprised, Ethan. You've felt it too, haven't you? Some Harmony students carry a certain… mystery, don't they?"
"Mystery my foot. You're overthinking again."
Ethan grumbled as his finger scrolled down Andrew the Detective's phone. Still, he had to admit - Harmony Daily was strangely addictive.
The first section was School Events of the Month, with subtopics like:
October Events at Harmony
What to Gift Your Crush on October 20th?
Who Will You Cosplay as this Halloween?
Then came Outstanding Classes:
12A Has Lost the Throne!
The Rising Star of Harmony - 12C?
11B Truly Dominates
Next up was Harmony Showbiz, which was just as eyebrow-raising:
Detailed Body Measurements of Let's Dance Members
Let's Dance vs. Dancing Stars: Who's the Real Idol?
Secrets to Breaking Into Harmony's Showbiz
But Ethan's face darkened as he scrolled further into the Weirdos section:
Secret Dossier on Camellia - The Vampire Princess
Rap Diss on Class 11D - by Anya ft. Yara
The Harem of Ethan the Mountain Monkey - Ugly but in Demand
Is Royce and Ethan's "Friendship" Really Just That?
Though Ethan said nothing, Andrew the Detective read his expression like an open book.
"Relax, just transfer me 500,000 VND and I'll erase all the gossip about you, Ethan."
And just like that, Ethan finally understood why Andrew the Detective had landed in Class 11B - the class notorious for exuding "gangster vibes."
He wasn't muscular like the others, but Andrew the Detective wielded his brain like a weapon - digging up dirt and blackmailing people with mafia-level finesse.
"I don't have money. Do whatever you want."
Ethan refused flatly. He wasn't about to fuel shady, unethical rackets like this.
"Oh, come on, Ethan! Don't lie. Didn't your class 11D just cash in big after pimping out Royce's six-pack?"
Andrew the Detective smirked wickedly before rattling off his stats:
"During the Mid-Autumn Festival Fruit Tray Contest: Royce had 121 touches. Mr. Locke alone felt guilty for squeezing Royce's shoulder too hard and transferred 500K as an apology. In total, your class pulled in 6.5 million VND. Not bad, huh? Meanwhile, my 11B had to spend money to buy extra fruit for our smoothies."
"We have already transferred the 500K back to Mr. Locke. Who in their right mind would take money from a war veteran? After a few 'special expenses,' the rest went straight into the class fund. Wait… How the hell do you even know all this, Andrew?"
Ethan was starting to panic at just how much intel Andrew the Detective had.
"Hehehe! A man's allure lies in his mysteries, Ethan!"
Andrew the Detective yanked his phone back just as Ethan tried to tap one of the sub-sections:
"How to Become 'The Chosen One' at Ruby's Parties!"
Immediately afterward, Andrew the Detective thrust his phone forward again, this time showing a QR code already pulled up.
"Knew it! You're curious about this kind of news. So why hesitate? Just top up, only 50K, and you'll have a shot at catching the Queen's eye. Rumor has it her next party will be on Halloween night. Ruby always throws hers on the last Friday of the month."
"Who cares! I even turned down Ruby's invite last month!"
Ethan snapped back - but deep down, he hesitated.
It was true. On Friday, September 26th, he had flatly rejected Ruby's invitation. At the time, he'd been terrified, wanting nothing to do with her or her Femme Fatale clique.
But now? Now Ethan needed to dig deeper into Ruby - and especially into what had gone down at that September party.
"Let me tell you this, Ethan! As long as you're 1.75m tall with half-decent looks, Ruby might invite you. But at the end of each party, she picks one guy. And becoming The Chosen One is no easy feat. Can you guess what happens to the lucky guy? Come on, feeling excited yet?"
Andrew the Detective pressed his sales pitch even harder as he saw Ethan wavering.
"Really? But… I heard she already has a boyfriend."
"Oh, Ethan, you're so naïve. There's no law that says a girl can only have one boyfriend. A goddess-tier beauty like Ruby deserves at least ten, don't you think?"
"Hmph! Your way of thinking is seriously warped, Andrew."
That was Ethan's final word on the matter - but he still ended up transferring the money into Andrew's account.
Because deep down, Ethan had a gut feeling Ruby was the one supplying her blood to the BloodSlaves, turning them into Infected. But like Autumn had warned him, he needed real evidence - hard proof, like camera footage, or better yet, an eyewitness.
And to make himself either the evidence or the eyewitness, according to Ethan's plan…
… the first step would be to attend Ruby's party - and find a way to become her Chosen One.
After all, if you don't walk into the tiger's den, how can you catch the cub?