(Second Update) (Continued)

From then on, no one dared leave their spot again.

"Grrr~"

Fujiwara Chika's stomach growled again.

Curled up on the sofa with her knees hugged to her chest, she had lost count of how many times her stomach had rumbled.

Even someone as optimistic and upbeat as Fujiwara Chika could not withstand a physical assault like this.

"According to Maslow's theory, you really do need to fill your stomach first... Spiritual nourishment can't solve everything."

She sighed. By now, she did not even have the strength to be as lively as she used to be.

She had heard some people from lower social classes use the phrase "empty promises" before. Although she understood what it meant, Fujiwara Chika had never felt much about it and had just laughed it off.

But now, she finally understood the true meaning of those words—and how utterly useless the result was.

Food was limited. Each person could only receive half a tiny can a day, far from enough to cover a day's consumption.

To conserve their strength, most people chose to sleep through the entire day.

Except now, most of them could not sleep at all.

Back when they had phones, everyone could scroll through them to pass the time. Now that their phones had no power and no signal, they began browsing the system chatroom and forums instead.

"This Tsukikawa Shu... Is he really that amazing?" Tanuma Tsubasa, who was also browsing the forums, could not help sighing.

Looking at Tsukikawa Shu's photo, he seemed about the same age as him, so why was the gap between them so enormous?

Maybe Tsukikawa Shu had better luck? Or maybe he dared to risk his life and step outside to fight those monsters? Tanuma Tsubasa felt a little envious and jealous, but he could not figure it out.

"How about... one of you agrees to his offer?"

At that moment, a bespectacled boy weakly spoke up. "Look, he's not bad-looking, right? And he's so strong. In the Inner World, he should be among the strongest. Forming a contract with him wouldn't be a loss no matter how you looked at it..."

Before he could finish, someone immediately interrupted him.

"What's so great about that? How could students of Shuchiin Academy submit to someone like him?" Kashiwagi Nagisa stood up and glared fiercely at the frail-looking boy.

Kashiwagi Nagisa wore her hair short and usually acted rather aggressively, immediately intimidating him.

"I... I was just making a well-intentioned suggestion," the frail male student said. "The events of the Inner World will reach the original world sooner or later. Think about it. Wouldn't it be good to build a connection with a strong person now?"

Yet his rebuttal was quickly met with harsh condemnation from the girls.

"How can you even say something like that? How could we possibly submit to someone from such a low class!"

"Exactly! Have you even considered our feelings?"

"If I really married someone like that, I'd be thrown out of my family immediately. I might as well kill myself!"

"I'd rather starve to death than marry someone like him!"

The frail boy did not dare say another word.

This was a choice made between survival and dignity, but clearly, the others did not agree with his choice. On the contrary, they looked down on him for it.

But at that moment, someone else could no longer sit still.

"Ahhh! I want to eat, I want to eat! I can't take it anymore!"

"I don't care about anything else! I want food! Food!"

Nita Goichi, who was overweight and had always eaten a lot, lay on the floor in complete collapse.

"I don't care how, just give me the food already!"

Nita Goichi climbed to his feet and lunged at Tanuma Tsubasa, who was in charge of the food.

"What are you doing?! That food is our ration for the next two days!" Tanuma Tsubasa clutched the few remaining cans, resisting the assault of Nita Goichi's fat body.

However, he was smaller than the other boy and was soon pinned beneath him.

"Nita Goichi, let him go!" As Tanuma Tsubasa's girlfriend, Kashiwagi Nagisa rushed over as well, trying to pull Nita Goichi away.

"You worthless bitch who isn't even worth food, get lost!"

Nita Goichi raised his thick arm and viciously slapped Kashiwagi Nagisa, sending her straight to the floor.

"Hold him down!"

"Don't let him take the food!"

Though the other two boys in the group were weak from hunger, they still barely managed to rush over. Together with Tanuma Tsubasa, they finally subdued the fat boy.

However, he had still snatched a can. After opening it, he wolfed down the food inside, swallowing the entire can's contents in less than ten seconds.

After all that commotion, everyone had wasted their strength for nothing.

Nita Goichi had gotten something in his stomach. Though he was still hungry, at least he had quieted down somewhat.

It was just that the atmosphere within this small group had become extremely tense.

(Second update! Please support me with tips and votes!)

Tanuma Tsubasa hid the remaining cans and helped his girlfriend, Tomioki Nagisa, massage her swollen cheek.

Tomioki Nagisa, meanwhile, stared resentfully at Nita Goichi, who was sitting on the other side.

Not only that, but every girl now looked at Nita Goichi with hostility.

Because Nita Goichi had just called them worthless bitches who were not even worth food.

These girls all came from wealthy or influential families. How could they possibly lower themselves for someone whose name they had never even heard before?

As for Nita Goichi, he was completely indifferent to it all. Or rather, when survival was at stake, he simply did not care about such things.

He was currently sitting in the corner, picking strands of meat from between his teeth and eating them, too lazy even to maintain the image expected of a noble family's child.

This was only the third day since entering the Inner World.

Fujiwara Chika had been observing everything around her, but the conclusion she reached only made her feel increasingly desperate.

This time, they only had to survive in the Inner World for five days. As long as they found some food, they could endure it by going hungry. But what about next time?

Anyone who had entered the Inner World once would not be able to escape when it opened again, and the next required survival period might be even longer.

With a body as helpless as hers, what was she supposed to do then?

She shuddered and did not dare imagine any further.

Then she looked at the three Large Experience Cards in her System Backpack, unable to look away.

Aside from the first day spent finding shelter and food, and the day spent helping Hiratsuka Shizuka level up, Tsukikawa Shu had cleared all of the East Suburb Dungeon attempts over the remaining three days. Beyond that, he had also found time to hunt other monsters and gain more Experience Points.

All three of them had reached level 35 by now.

"It's about time. We should head back." Tsukikawa Shu checked the system time.

"We can finally go back." Goto Hitori was quite happy.

She hugged her new guitar, still unable to put it down.

They had spent the past few days constantly grinding Experience Points. She did not think she had ever worked this seriously or diligently even when preparing for major exams.

The other reason was mainly that Tsukikawa Shu was too relentless, especially at night.

Even with Teacher Hiratsuka covering for them, she was still having a hard time keeping up...

Sometimes, she wondered whether, if it were just the two of them after getting married, her lazy body that never wanted to exercise could really withstand Tsukikawa Shu's attacks.

Still, she had been quite happy to come to the Inner World this time.

Levels and equipment did not matter that much... This time, she had actually gotten a pretty good guitar, so the trip to the Inner World had not been in vain. An electric guitar of this quality cost a lot of money.

After the three of them packed up their belongings, they waited for the system countdown to slowly finish.

At that moment, however, Hiratsuka Shizuka walked over.

"Tsukikawa-kun, there's something I need to say." Hiratsuka Shizuka thought for a moment before speaking.

"Sure, Teacher. Go ahead."

Tsukikawa Shu looked at Hiratsuka Shizuka, then smiled and simply wrapped an arm around her slender waist.

"At a time like this, you're still doing that."

Hiratsuka Shizuka poked Tsukikawa Shu's cheek irritably with a finger, but she did not resist and continued.

"When we go back, you can't openly reveal our relationship."

After a pause, she looked at the hand around her waist and added, "You need to restrain yourself in your behavior too."

"Teacher Hiratsuka, are you afraid people will gossip about me?" Tsukikawa Shu asked.

"This concerns your reputation."

Hiratsuka Shizuka lit another cigarette, took a drag, and slowly exhaled white smoke.

"The Inner World isn't known to everyone yet, and the order and rules of the Inner World won't be accepted by people in our world. So you need to know how to protect yourself."

"Don't be such a hothead like before. Whenever you encounter something you can't accept, you refuse to back down and insist on demanding justice."

"There's an old saying in China: 'Those who understand the times are the wise ones.'"

Hiratsuka Shizuka had lived long enough to know how much damage public opinion could inflict on a person, especially over something that could not be properly explained.

In the Inner World, it was perfectly natural for Tsukikawa Shu to date several girlfriends or marry several wives. But back in the original world, Tsukikawa Shu would only become a target of public criticism.

Especially since Tsukikawa Shu was at the critical stage of his final year in high school... Of course, that was assuming the college entrance exam still mattered.

Listening to Hiratsuka Shizuka, Tsukikawa Shu rubbed his chin and smiled.

"Teacher Hiratsuka, there's another old saying in China: 'A gentleman's revenge can wait ten years.'"

"If there's a grudge, settle it on the spot!"

"Who taught you to interpret it like that? Don't tell anyone I'm your language teacher." Hiratsuka Shizuka tapped Tsukikawa Shu's head irritably with her finger.

Of course, it did not hurt at all.

"I'll remember Teacher Hiratsuka's words, but if there are really people who don't know their place, then we'll see whether they have the ability to back it up." Tsukikawa Shu smiled.

"In any case, don't cause trouble for me," Hiratsuka Shizuka said.

"Sure. As long as no one provokes me, I won't cause trouble." Tsukikawa Shu smiled.

Hiratsuka Shizuka sighed. She knew that was simply Tsukikawa Shu's nature, so she said nothing further.

(Third update! Please support me with tips and votes!)

When he opened his eyes again, Tsukikawa Shu and Goto Hitori were still standing on the street.

They still had everything in their hands, and when they checked the time, nothing had changed.

"We still have class today."

Tsukikawa Shu stretched lazily.

"Huh? Class?" Goto Hitori was startled.

After spending several days in the Inner World, Goto Hitori had forgotten that today was still a school day.

"Don't forget that you're still a student." Tsukikawa Shu rubbed Goto Hitori's head.