(Second Update) (Continued)

There were indeed quite a few women among them, but Tsukikawa Shu scrolled through them and directly clicked to block all the information.

In the Inner World, those who had been driven into a corner had long since contacted Tsukikawa Shu through private messages. He had already screened them once, and they were basically the same people after returning to the original world. Quite a few people trying to muddy the waters had mixed in as well, so there was no need to look through it again.

As for those big shots from the political and business worlds, some had indeed lowered themselves to seek cooperation. Well, cooperation and nothing more.

His phone began playing the intro to Pomp and Circumstance.

Tsukikawa Shu glanced at the caller ID, then answered.

"Mr. Tsukikawa..."

An extremely obsequious male voice came from the other end.

"Keep yapping and I'll kill you."

Tsukikawa Shu hung up without any courtesy.

Tsukikawa Shu had long expected things like his information being leaked, but he had no interest whatsoever in their so-called cooperation.

Cooperation?

Tsukikawa Shu looked at the messages seeking cooperation on the forum and could only sneer.

These people had yet to recognize their own place.

Cooperation was only for those of equal strength. When strength was unequal, the only choice was submission.

But for these so-called nobles and political and business tycoons, making that choice was still impossible.

Perhaps they were too used to looking down on others, believing that lowering themselves to cooperate with someone as an equal was already the greatest favor they could bestow upon an ordinary person.

Or perhaps they truly believed their wealth and power could be traded with an Inner World powerhouse, and even thought they held the advantage.

Unless they were utterly subdued and terrified, these cunning people who fed off all humanity would always want to exploit and betray others. They were not worthy of any trust.

Quite a few people had called Tsukikawa Shu recently, but without exception, he scared every one of them off with a single sentence, and they no longer dared call again.

Some people might have thought highly of themselves, but before absolute force, people were still quite rational.

"Trying to skin a tiger alive, I suppose."

Tsukikawa Shu scratched his thigh.

Without realizing it, he had become a great tiger himself. He just wondered whether there would be a great tiger extermination campaign someday.

Still, one good thing was that the harassing calls had stopped recently. He just did not know which bastard had been flattering him.

Tsukikawa Shu could not be bothered with such things.

These so-called big shots were quite sensible. Aside from making calls, they still did not dare directly interfere with or affect Tsukikawa Shu's life.

Tsukikawa Shu continued living his ordinary life. After all, aside from those few privileged classes skilled at digging into people's backgrounds, practically no one knew his identity.

As he continued browsing the forum, Tsukikawa Shu mainly wanted to understand the situation of most players.

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, he noticed something odd.

"What Tsukikawa Shu? Isn't Masuda Town's strongest player Kitamura Motoyasu?"

"Where did this level 35 player come from? Even Sodeta Akira is only level 15. At least make your lies believable."

"Bullshit! There are so many armchair players. That reward from Widely Recruiting Virtuous Wives? If I hadn't never heard that name before, I almost would've believed it!"

"Dungeon? What the hell is that? I'm level 10 and I've never heard of it either."

"I advise you not to listen to these people. Don't get fooled. The Inner World really exists. I even got Hata Town's pioneering medal. If you don't believe me, I'll draw it for you."

Although most of the forum's participants were level-one survivors, along with countless newcomers who had not even figured out the Inner World, Tsukikawa Shu still spotted traces of some Veteran Players.

Based on their descriptions, Tsukikawa Shu could confirm that these people really were players.

"But Masuda Town? Hata Town?"

Tsukikawa Shu stroked his chin.

This was rather interesting. Tsukirou Town was not the only Novice Village or spawn point.

Beyond the map, there should be other unknown towns.

These towns stood like independent little kingdoms within the monster-infested Inner World, sharing both danger and resources.

It was simply that the strong kept themselves hidden, creating the illusion that the Inner World had only one spawn point and one town.

On top of that, countless armchair players posted massive amounts of false information and fabricated settings on the forum. Truth and lies were mixed together, and all kinds of people were gathered there, so many had failed to notice this.

As long as the map continued to be explored, they would eventually border other player settlements.

But judging from these people's leveling speed, as well as the ferocity of the monsters beyond those towns, it would be impossible for that to happen anytime soon.

"Still, even those so-called strong players seem to be barely managing to protect themselves."

Tsukikawa Shu opened his system panel and hid his level and medals.

He had displayed his strength, and the recruitment notice had already been posted. Women would naturally keep coming to seek his help, so his goal had been achieved. There was no need to continue showing his medals and level.

This could count as a surprise for others in the future, perhaps?

That morning, Tsukikawa Shu headed toward school as usual.

Standing at an intersection, he leaned against a wall and played on his phone. After waiting for quite a while, he saw Goto Hitori hurrying over with her guitar and schoolbag on her back.

"I'm here, I'm here!"

She nearly failed to stop herself and almost threw herself straight into Tsukikawa Shu's arms.

"Overslept again?"

Tsukikawa Shu pinched her soft cheek.

"Th... thorry..."

She spoke indistinctly.

This was not Goto Hitori's first time oversleeping. Whenever they went to school together, they often entered the classroom right as the bell rang.

Students' biological clocks were always accurate. They would never waste a single second in the prison known as school.

It was just that they were often watched by the school's Disciplinary Committee Members, who were always ready to catch them arriving late.

After so many times, every Disciplinary Committee Member in the school knew this young couple.

"There's a placement test coming up. How's your studying going?" Tsukikawa Shu asked.

"Uh..."

Goto Hitori fell silent.

One of the biggest reasons people with social anxiety had social anxiety was that their minds were not quick enough. They overlooked or misunderstood many things, which left them with no friends at all.

"I don't think I need to study anymore."

Goto Hitori then giggled. "Look, I'm already strong enough... Ah! That hurts!"

Tsukikawa Shu flicked her forehead irritably.

"Don't you know that if you master math, physics, and chemistry, you can go anywhere without fear?"

Tsukikawa Shu said, "And if you don't fill your head with more knowledge, be careful not to get tricked away by someone. Absolute force can't solve every problem."

"Ugh..."

Goto Hitori covered her aching forehead.

I've already been tricked away by you, haven't I? she thought.

"Right, there's something I need to verify."

As Tsukikawa Shu spoke, a small dagger appeared in his hand.

It was a Fine Grade military dagger obtained from a dungeon.

"Use this dagger and try cutting my arm." Tsukikawa Shu handed the dagger to Goto Hitori.

Goto Hitori blinked, unable to understand why.

"It's fine. Just try it." Tsukikawa Shu said as he extended his arm.

Goto Hitori took the dagger and stabbed it toward Tsukikawa Shu's arm.

But no blood spilled before her eyes.

Just as the dagger was about to pierce his skin, it was deflected by some inexplicable force.

At the same time, Goto Hitori felt dizzy and disoriented, as if she had suffered some kind of backlash. She nearly fell over.

Tsukikawa Shu hurriedly supported her.

[You are suspected of attacking a player outside the Inner World. The system has issued you one warning.]

A window appeared before Goto Hitori's eyes.

"W-what happened?" Goto Hitori held her dizzy head.

"It seems players cannot attack other players outside the Inner World. At least, they can't attack directly."

Tsukikawa Shu made a preliminary judgment based on Goto Hitori's condition.

Without such a rule, even more weak players in the Inner World would be facing precarious situations.

In the Inner World, force could only be used against enemies, but in the real world, there were far more underhanded methods available.

For the same reason, the Inner World's mechanisms leaned toward protecting the weak in the original world. Otherwise, after painstakingly gaining even a slight advantage in the Inner World, they would return to reality only to be crushed by the powerful and wealthy, or even murdered outright.

Players could not fight each other anywhere outside the Inner World. This was a protective mechanism.

If the Inner World also became a game ruled only by the powerful and wealthy, it would indeed be rather boring.

After helping Goto Hitori rest on a nearby seat for a while, the two continued toward school once her head had cleared.

And, unsurprisingly, they were late again.

Fortunately, the Disciplinary Committee Members had returned to class, so the two skillfully climbed over the wall and entered the school.

Although the existence of the Inner World had indeed caused an indelible impact on most players, daily life remained as peaceful as ever for Tsukikawa Shu and Hiratsuka Shizuka.

The School Festival was approaching, and every class was enthusiastically preparing performances.

School ended early today. Every class was cleaning their classroom, preparing props, or rehearsing.

Hiratsuka Shizuka still wore her conservative professional outfit: a white shirt paired with black slacks, a classic ensemble.

It was just that the weather was hotter today, so she had not worn a vest underneath or tied a necktie.

With one hand on her hip, she directed the students to clean the classroom. She looked so spirited that all she lacked was a cigarette dangling from her mouth—though smoking was prohibited on school grounds.

So Hiratsuka Shizuka went to the Service Club to smoke instead.

Tsukikawa Shu was also more or less forced to stay behind and work.

It had to be said that Hiratsuka Shizuka's choice was indeed correct. With Tsukikawa Shu's physical strength, he could handle much of the manual labor with ease.

Just as Tsukikawa Shu placed two large buckets of water outside the classroom, Hiratsuka Shizuka walked over.

"Tsukikawa, they need water to clean the windows over there too. Go fill two more buckets." Hiratsuka Shizuka stood with one hand on her hip.

"Teacher Hiratsuka, I'm not tired from doing this work, but you can't just order me around like this."

"That's because you're pretty useful. I'm giving you a chance to show off."

Hiratsuka Shizuka patted Tsukikawa Shu on the shoulder and said as if it were only natural, "Besides, didn't you and your little girlfriend arrive late this morning? Who do you think has been covering for you after you've been late so many times?"