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"Ibuki-san?"
A soft call pulled Ibuki back from her chaotic memories.
Unbeknownst to her, a silver-haired girl was already standing by her desk, her voice filled with concern. "Are you... feeling alright?"
Her classmate, Shiina's, tone was as gentle as ever, yet it made Ibuki instinctively tense her back.
"Ah! I'm fine!" She abruptly straightened her back, deliberately leaning her chair back with a soft creak. "Don't forget, I've trained in martial arts."
She flexed her fist with a hint of boastfulness, but unexpectedly, it pulled at her unhealed wound, and her lips twitched almost imperceptibly.
"You... still haven't paid your points, have you?" Shiina's voice was as soft as a sigh. "Even Ishizaki and Yamada, who were most defiant against him initially, now also..."
Ibuki sharply turned her head to scan the classroom, only then noticing that those few troublemakers from previous days were, as usual, out doing things with Ryuuen.
How ridiculous, those two had inexplicably become Ryuuen's enforcers.
"What a joke...!" Her fists, hidden under the desk, clenched until her knuckles turned white. "How could I possibly submit to such a scumbag...?"
It was only the third day of school, and Ryuuen had ordered the entire class to hand over eighty thousand points each as class fees for the month.
Initially, many people resisted, but he beat them into submission one by one.
Days passed, and by the second week, even Yamada couldn't hold out. Only she was still stubbornly resisting.
"This is outrageous! The Student Council actually asked me for proof? They wouldn't even conduct a basic investigation!" Ibuki kicked her desk hard, the dull thud making the students in the front row turn around in fright.
"You actually went directly to the Student Council to report Ryuuen..." Shiina's voice was extremely low. "If he finds out..."
The back door of the classroom was suddenly kicked open roughly.
Ryuuen strode in like a beast patrolling its territory, with Ishizaki standing beside him like a guard.
"Heh... he's really putting on airs like a king." Ibuki deliberately raised her voice.
Ryuuen's steps halted abruptly in front of their desks. "A king, huh... that's not a bad title." Then his gaze sharpened, locking directly onto Ibuki. "As for you, you seem like a rebellious subject."
"You—!"
Ibuki suddenly clenched her fists, her eyes burning with anger, but Shiina gently pulled her sleeve.
Shiina subtly shook her head, her gaze calm and restrained, signaling her not to act impulsively.
"...Hmph, get lost!" Ryuuen sneered, his gaze contemptuously sweeping over the two of them. "I'm in a good mood today, too lazy to bother with you." With that, he lazily pulled out his phone, his fingers rapidly tapping on the screen.
Ibuki was startled, then looked down at her phone screen—a new message had popped up in the class group chat.
{Everyone, in ten minutes, get to the classroom immediately! Don't make me come and "invite" you personally.}
Ibuki instantly understood something.
That man... had probably found some crucial information again.
She gritted her teeth, forced to admit the truth—even though Ryuuen's methods were utterly despicable: violent coercion, verbal deception, secret recordings... all underhanded tricks.
But tragically, these dirty tactics were indeed effective.
'Otherwise... besides me, the entire class wouldn't have obediently handed over those eighty thousand private points...'
Less than half a month into school, almost everyone both hated and feared Ryuuen, but they had to acknowledge his strength.
Ibuki's gaze was fixed on the classroom door.
Sure enough, after seven or eight minutes, the previously sparse seats were now fully occupied.
"Starting today, everyone—" Ryuuen crossed his arms, his sharp gaze sweeping over every student below the platform. "Be on time for class! No tardiness! No playing with phones! No fighting! And absolutely no sleeping in class!" His voice slammed into the classroom like a hammer. "Any behavior that violates school rules, cut it out!"
The classroom instantly fell into an eerie silence.
All the students' eyes widened, looking in disbelief at the figure on the podium—this problem student, who usually led the defiance of discipline and advocated violence, was now reciting the most standard "model student" rules.
"...I see." Shiina's eyes widened slightly as she murmured thoughtfully.
"Huh?!" Ibuki almost blurted out, her face filled with disbelief.
'This Ryuuen guy... he hasn't gone crazy, has he? He's actually acting like a model student?'
"Hmph, I knew that besides Shiina, you idiots wouldn't understand." Ryuuen sneered disdainfully, then snapped his fingers.
"Ishizaki! Play that!"
"Got it!" Ishizaki immediately understood, quickly pulling out a voice recorder.
The recording pen continued to play, and clear conversations emerged from the rustling static.
"...At this rate, Class A will be firmly in first place next month."
"That's right. Especially those guys in Class C and Class D, they lost a lot of class points just last week for violating school rules."
"How many points do you estimate we'll get next month?"
"According to Sakayanagi's calculations, at least nine hundred fifty points."
"In that case, we should receive over ninety thousand private points next month, right?"
"Bang!" Ryuuen suddenly slammed his fist on the podium, making chalk dust fall.
He looked down at everyone in Class C, a dangerous curve on his lips. "Now, do you understand?"
Ryuuen stood there with one hand in his pocket, even his posture showing impatience, as if mocking the entire class's slowness.
Only then did a stir rise in the classroom.
"What are class points?"
"It seems to be closely related to our private points!"
"Could it be? We lose class points for violating school rules? Why didn't the school explain this from the beginning?"
Ryuuen's fingertips tapped a dangerous rhythm on the podium, looking down at the whispering students below, a hint of sarcasm flashing in his eyes.
'What a bunch of hopeless idiots...'
'They heard the recording and still don't understand what it means?'
'Why does it feel like everyone except Shiina and me is an idiot? Our class is too weak!'
'If Class C is so weak, Class D must be a bunch of trash! Heh, could it be that only Class B and Class A are opponents?'
'Fortunately, the superiority of those honor students still gave me a chance.'
The scene in the cafeteria a few days ago flashed in his mind—that silver-haired girl's condescending gaze, as if she were admiring a flock of lambs to be slaughtered.
That nauseating sense of superiority, ironically, became the best hint.
Later, he sent people to investigate her identity.
The girl with the cane was Sakayanagi of Class A, and also one of Class A's leaders.
So last night, when he passed by Class A, he deliberately planted two wiretaps at the entrance.
He didn't expect to hear something that could be called "a big scoop" right after school today.
A cold sneer played on his lips.
'Information warfare... isn't just about solving problems head-on.'
'Even if I don't know the information... probing for information from other classes that do know it is also a strategic method.'
'Since I couldn't send in a spy this time, I had to make do with wiretaps.'
His phone spun in his palm, and he quickly pulled up a contact's interface.
{Save it, you trash. Do you really think your little bit of information is worth one million points?}
{I already knew about your so-called hidden rules.}
He pressed the send button firmly with his thumb, and the recipient clearly displayed the name "Tsuki Ao."
When he first received a friend request from this mysterious person, Tsuki Ao, a few days ago, he didn't take them seriously at all.
However, to his surprise, the other party not only replied quickly but also threw out even more astonishing words.
{It seems you already know? That saves me the trouble of explaining.}
{We can get straight to the point and discuss the next transaction.}
Ryuuen stared at the screen, his brows tightly furrowed.
{Wait, don't you just sell information?}
{What era are we in? Who only sells information anymore?}
{Let me see, hmm? Your entire class is present... This makes it even more convenient.}
Ryuuen's heart jolted, and he suddenly looked up and around—the classroom door was clearly locked!
"Are you monitoring me?" he asked instinctively.
{Not a wiretap. I'm openly watching you through the two cameras in your classroom.}
{So, Ryuuen, how many millions of points are you willing to pay to rent these two monitors in your classroom?}