The Best Time to Fish Is When the Water Is Murky

The second day at Toyo High School had a peaceful atmosphere.

As Sing Sing strolled into the school gate, two delinquent teenagers who had sported flamboyant red hair the day before suddenly bent over at a 90-degree angle.

Good morning, Hoshino -kun!

Sing Sing paused, his eyelids twitching.

He looked around and saw a young hoodlum squatting by the flower bed, diligently pulling weeds.

At the entrance of the teaching building, two second-year delinquents with bandages on their chests were wiping the glass door with rags.

The situation in the hallway was even more outrageous.

Whenever students walked towards them, regardless of whether they knew them or not, they all consciously pressed themselves against the wall to make way, and some even raised their schoolbags above their heads to show their submission.

Good morning Hoshino -senpai!

"Boss, you've had a long day, take care!"

"Boss, you look absolutely stunning in that Zhongshan suit today!"

Sing Sing's expression was complicated. What's going on?

In my entire life, I've slain demons, sold pork, and never experienced the kind of exaggerated treatment seen in campus idol dramas.

But...

It feels pretty good!

As we approached the entrance to Class 3-D, two burly delinquents stood on either side, acting as gatekeepers.

The one on the left is holding a cup of hot tea, while the one on the right is holding a pair of brand-new indoor slippers.

"Boss, you've gone to so much trouble, please change into slippers!"

"Boss, are you thirsty? The tea is freshly brewed, please moisten your throat!"

Sing Sing glanced at the hot tea, then at his slippers, and walked into the classroom expressionlessly.

The classroom was unusually quiet.

Yesterday, the blond-haired guy who had his feet up on the table was now sitting upright, his textbook open in front of him, though upside down.

Sing Sing took his seat.

Ichirai Hisako had arrived, and she pushed a bottle of strawberry milk in front of Sing Sing.

That's enough, don't get too cocky.

Ichirai Hisako lowered her voice and continued to doodle on the paper with her ballpoint pen.

"What you did yesterday was a real slap in the face to the school's higher-ups. These people never just operate openly; be careful."

Sing Sing inserted a straw into the strawberry milk and took a big gulp.

It tastes awful; this stuff is so sweet it hurts your throat.

"Don't worry," Sing Sing stretched out his arms and said, "The calmer the surface looks, the dirtier the water underneath is..."

Ichirai Hisako closed her notebook and turned to look at him, a hint of worry in her eyes.

Sing Sing took another sip of milk, his Adam's apple bobbing as he made a gurgling sound.

"It's easier to catch fish when the water's murky."

Why does he look so much like Jia Zhengliang?

He certainly knew it was dangerous.

But he insisted on using this simple and brutal method to completely destroy the school's original order.

Only when these petty thugs stop causing trouble will the guys hiding behind the scenes personally step in.

Ichirai Hisako looked at him quietly for two seconds without saying anything, then reopened the textbook in front of her.

This girl was aware of the risks but still chose to stand by his side, so Sing Sing naturally wouldn't let his people suffer.

The school bell rang, Teacher Xiaomei pushed open the door and walked to the podium.

The homeroom teacher, with her hair in pigtails, glanced at the unusually well-behaved classroom, and the corner of her eyebrow behind her glasses twitched involuntarily.

What's wrong with everyone today? Did they all take the wrong medicine?

Huang Mao suddenly raised his hand and spoke, "Teacher, don't worry, we've decided to mend our ways and start anew!"

Teacher Xiaomei glanced at Sing Sing but didn't ask any further questions. She then opened her textbook and began the lesson.

Meanwhile, inside the administration building.

The head of student affairs tiptoed into an office without a nameplate.

The curtains were drawn tightly, making the light exceptionally dim.

The head of the teaching department placed a stack of documents on the table, bent over at a ninety-degree angle, and stood in front of the swivel chair in the shadows, sweat pouring from his forehead.

"Principal... the situation yesterday was completely out of control..."

"That new transfer student took on the entire playground by herself. Takidani and Serizawa couldn't hold on, and neither could Hayashida Megumi."

"Now all the bad kids in the school are under his command!" The dean of students became more and more anxious as he spoke.

"I strongly suggest that you expel that kid from school immediately. If that doesn't work, we'll have to resort to some drastic measures."

"Ignore it."

The swivel chair in the shadows slowly turned around.

The man sitting there was over fifty years old, wearing a dark gray suit with a maroon tie.

His face was gentle, even somewhat kind.

That composed and dignified aura of an educator belonged to Tennoji Hiroshi, the principal of Toyo High School.

Tennoji Hiroshi

Tennoji Hiroshi gently twirled the Parker pen in his hand.

"Just a hothead who tries to establish order with his fists? There are delinquents like this every year, it's just that there's a different one who's even better at fighting."

The dean of students had just opened his mouth to say something when he was interrupted by Tennoji Hiroshi's raised finger.

"He wants a voice, right? Just give him that."

He didn't take a high school student seriously at all.

What does knowing a little martial arts mean in the face of capital?

"Faced with such an absolute system, mere Beasts pose no threat whatsoever."

Tennoji Hiroshi casually pushed the stack of documents on the table aside, revealing a tablet computer underneath.

The screen was displaying Ueda Kenji's latest physical function data chart, and those fluctuating curves were all approaching the dangerous red line.

"Just focus on doing your job well, and don't worry about anything else."

The head of the teaching department dared not say anything more and meekly withdrew.

Tianwanglu stared at the screen, mentally calculating Cornelius's experimental progress.

I don't have time to play house with the kids anymore.

Night.

The basement of the old school building.

The elevator in the core facility of the Adaptive Correction Zone descends from the ground and stops at the floor marked "B4".

The elevator doors open to reveal a wide passageway.

At the end of the corridor was a double-leaf door, behind which was a rectangular conference room.

Dr. Abraham Cornelius was already seated at one side of the long table.

He was in his seventies, thin, with sparse gray-gold hair combed back.

He held a cup of coffee in his right hand, and on the table was Ueda Kenji's physiological monitoring report for the past 48 hours.

On the other side of the long table sat an elderly man, over seventy years old.

His gray hair was tied into a short bun at the back of his head, and his half-closed old eyes were cloudy yet shrewd.

She was wearing a plain-colored kimono jacket with the Yashida Family crest embroidered on the cuffs.

The door opened, Tennoji Hiroshi stepped into the main seat with his hands behind his back.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

Tennoji Hiroshi tapped the table with his right hand, Ueda Kenji's latest data was simultaneously pushed to the shared screen above the long table.

Mechanical rejection rate, nervous system breakdown index, organ displacement and spread rate, and area of tissue necrosis.

All the curves are turning red.

Cornelius adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and was the first to challenge them.

"I must be frank. M-07 Sample has no clinical value whatsoever."

"All the garbage you've brought me is garbage! There are practically no individuals in the Asian gene pool with self-healing abilities exceeding the Gamma Level! These..."

That's why I said your skills were inherently flawed.

A hoarse voice came from the other end of the long table.

The old man kept his head down, staring at the age spots on the back of his hand.

"The Weapon X Program has Wolverine to back you up, but without that vital artery, is that all you're capable of?"

He slowly raised his eyes. "The Yashida Family's funds can be used to invest in any project. All I see so far is a half-finished product you've ruined crawling around in the basement!"

Cornelius slammed his hand on the table and roared, "Shingen Yashida! The core of the Weapon X Program is the only successful example in the entire Chimera Field that has been verified in living subjects!"

"The problem lies in the materials! Without Healing Factors as a backup, no carbon-based organism can withstand continuous tissue reconstruction!"

Shingen Yashida sneered, "Then what are you doing here? Wouldn't it be better to go back to United States and continue writing your thesis?"

Despite the sharp exchange between the two, Tennoji Hiroshi remained calm.

"The Silver Peak Consortium's cloning production line has already begun mass production; they are following an industrial replication route. Once Silver Peak achieves stable integration first, all of Dongyang's investments will be rendered worthless."

"It's not that I'm rushing you all, it's just that time waits for no one."

Cornelius paused for a moment, then reopened the tablet. "Let's go back to the only solution."

He pulled up a document numbered "R-00" which had a seal bearing the Bellflower Crest of the Yashida Family affixed to it.

"Kobayashi Amiko."

When Cornelius uttered the name, Shingen Yashida's hand, which was holding a sword, trembled.

"Her routine X-Gene screening did not detect any variant expression, but I have always suspected that there is something wrong with this test report."

He turned to Shingen Yashida, "To put it bluntly, your family has every ability and motive to tamper with the medical examination process."

Are you accusing me of falsifying medical reports?

"I'm stating a plausible possibility," Cornelius persisted. "I need to administer a post-traumatic stress test to her."

Shingen Yashida's reaction was more intense than Cornelius had anticipated.

The old man stood up, using his scabbard as a walking stick to support himself on the ground.

What are you going to do to her?

"Amiko is a member of the Yashida family! Her fate and purpose are decided by the Yashida family!"

Tennoji's voice rang out at the opportune moment, "Shingen Yashida."

"The trauma stress test is not an irreversible experiment. Dr. Cornelius only needs a sufficiently strong external stimulus. If she does indeed have Healing Factors, the stress response will reveal the data immediately."

"What if there isn't one?" Shingen Yashida didn't turn around to look at the projection.

"If not, she's just a regular high school student, so I'm removing her from the list."

Shingen Yashida sat back down in his chair, his withered hand resting on the hilt of his sword, his thumb rubbing the copper band around the scabbard.

This action was a habit he developed when he was young.

Every time he weighed the pros and cons at the conference table, his thumb would unconsciously rub against the brass band, and over the decades the brass surface became shiny.

Cornelius could guess what he was thinking.

Amiko served Shingen Yashida in at least three ways.

First, she is a bargaining chip to restrain Mariko. As long as Amiko remains under the guardianship of Toyo High School, Mariko will not dare to openly break with her father.

Secondly, she was bait to lure Logan out. Given the old grudge between Wolverine and the Yashida family, coupled with the possibility of a blood relationship, Logan was bound to appear sooner or later.

Third, she was Shingen Yashida's trump card.

If Amiko carries the Healing Factor, then the person who ultimately controls this resource should be the former head of the Yashida family.

He wanted to live forever.

Silver Peak's mass production of clones poses a real threat.

If the Toyo Council fails to produce results, all the money and connections invested by the Yashida Family will be wasted.

At that time, Shingen Yashida's influence within the family will also shrink, giving Mariko even more reason to completely take over Yashida's decision-making team and kick this "retired old man" out of the picture.

He can't afford to waste time.

Not to mention the other two on the Council, even after all these years, Shingen Yashida was still unsure whether Kobayashi Amiko was his granddaughter or Wolverine's bastard.

Ever since he and Mariko had a falling out over Wolverine, Mariko disappeared for a year. When she returned to the family, she brought a girl with her.

Shingen Yashida, who tried every means to find out the answer, received no answer; all those who accompanied Mariko had died.

Pregnancy, prenatal checkups, childbirth... all of this leaves no trace.

How to test it?

Cornelius was waiting for this statement. "To create a realistic accident—a fall, equipment malfunction, a traffic accident—any scenario capable of causing serious injury."

"My people will arrive at the scene as soon as possible to provide first aid."

Tennoji Hiroshi nodded. "Then it's settled. Dr. Cornelius will design the specific plan, Shingen Yashida will be in charge of on-site safety and cleanup. The timeframe will be no more than a week."

"Furthermore, the maintenance costs of the M-07 have exceeded the threshold. If this test does not yield useful data, Ueda Kenji will proceed directly to the recycling process."

Cornelius did not object.

Shingen Yashida didn't have it either.

A young artist, still struggling in an underground facility, was sentenced to death by three people sitting at a table using the words "recycling process."

"One last thing."

Tennoji Hiroshi tapped the table and said, "Hoshino Seiichi from Class 3-D. Investigate him, but don't alert him. I suspect he has connections to the 749 Bureau."

After the two left, Shingen Yashida took out his cell phone from his inner pocket.

It rang twice before the other end answered.

"Keep an eye on that transfer student named Hoshino Seiichi. Also... have Silver Samurai get ready."