The Meat Can

"Wait for me!" Bai Yuze hurried after them. "Where are you two going? You're headed the wrong way!"

"Weren't we going to the third floor?"

"We are, but before we go, we need one key person."

"Who?" they both asked.

Watching Yamauchi Haruki sleep on, Bai Yuze felt his temper rising. But then he remembered that Yamauchi was most helpful when he wasn't helping at all, and sighed helplessly.

"Get up!"

It was the same familiar way of waking someone. Yamauchi let out a yelp, and just as he was about to lose his temper, a gleaming kitchen knife was pressed against his neck.

"B-Bro... are you robbing me?!"

"I already quit the game... I mean, enough nonsense. You only need to understand one thing: your life is in my hands. If you want to live, you'll do as I say!"

Bai Yuze stumbled over his words, but quickly corrected himself.

"Your uniform... You go to Advanced Nurturing High School too? Why did you kidnap me? I suggest you let me go..."

Bai Yuze slashed the wall beside Yamauchi's neck with the kitchen knife.

"Can you calm down now?"

Yamauchi shrank his neck and dared not make a sound. He could only nod in reply.

Bai Yuze briefly explained the private residence and its rules.

"Did he understand?"

Tuanzi asked Yukino beside her curiously. Yukino replied calmly,

"Probably not. You can tell from his bewildered expression, like he thinks we're idiots."

Bai Yuze kept taking deep breaths, trying to stay calm. Otherwise, he was afraid he might chop Yamauchi Haruki to death. Who knew if people who died here would turn into new supernatural beings?

Bai Yuze didn't want to create more trouble for himself, but the problem was that Yamauchi Haruki was trouble all on his own.

Bai Yuze now had a choice: accept Yamauchi Haruki as a nuisance, or see whether the nuisance would turn into an even bigger one.

"I know it's hard to believe, but look at your left hand and you'll understand."

"My left hand?"

Yamauchi held out his left hand, then rubbed his eyes. He even used his right hand to help.

"One... two... three... four..."

"Where's five?!"

"Where's my thumb?!"

Yamauchi's face was stricken with panic. He'd woken up to find his thumb gone, and there was someone in front of him threatening him with a knife. Sure, the two girls behind the guy were beautiful, but who would care about that right now?

Yamauchi felt like the sky had fallen.

"Waaah, I'll never browse those adult websites before bed again! Please, let me wake up from this nightmare!"

Yamauchi screamed, tears pouring out like a burst dam.

But something he said affected the other three. Tuanzi and Yukino instinctively took a few steps back. Tuanzi looked disgusted, while Yukino remained expressionless and simply turned her gaze to someone else.

Bai Yuze was recalling the original plot of Classroom of the Elite. If he remembered correctly, the school used an intranet, which meant the school administration could see what Yamauchi had been browsing...

"Enough, stop crying. If you want to live, be quiet. That injury can be healed as soon as you get out."

"Xiaoze, what happened to his thumb?"

Tuanzi looked at Bai Yuze curiously. They had all appeared here for no apparent reason, and although the three of them had a few injuries, they weren't serious. But Yamauchi Haruki was missing a whole thumb.

"How do I put this? Everyone who comes to this instance has an identity. You and Xiaoxue are victims, and I'm a suicide. As for him... his identity is 'food.' Food is meant to be eaten. If he'd slept a little longer, he'd probably have lost his whole arm."

"Food! That's so scary!"

Before Tuanzi could say anything else, Yamauchi shoved her aside. Luckily, Yukino caught her, so Tuanzi wasn't hurt.

"Please, save me! You're so powerful, you must have a way, right?!"

You had to admire Yamauchi Haruki's eye for talent and his knack for making people hate him. He always managed to pick out the most capable person, then somehow pulled off the impressive feat of offending them perfectly.

He'd asked someone for help and nearly knocked over their mascot. Anyone would've had to say, "Well, would you look at that."

Bai Yuze had figured out what Yamauchi Haruki was really like. If anything went wrong, Yamauchi would definitely be the first to run.

"Of course I'll help you. We're classmates, after all."

Bai Yuze smiled at Yamauchi.

"Right! Yes! We're classmates..."

Yamauchi heard the answer he wanted, but didn't dare look Bai Yuze in the eye. He felt as if he was about to be used as a tool until every last bit of value had been squeezed out of him.

"Good. Since you're willing to listen, I'll tell you how to stop parts of your body from disappearing."

With that, Bai Yuze took out a can of meat. Yamauchi Haruki stared at him, dumbfounded.

"A can? I'm not hungry."

"This isn't for you to eat. This is your left arm."

"Huh?"

Yamauchi Haruki froze, then took the can from Bai Yuze, confused.

"Wait! Xiaoze, why is this can of meat his left arm?"

"Remember his identity? The meat is fresh because it comes from his body. Since his identity is 'food,' not a resident, he can eat the canned meat.

"The meat cans refresh every day, but if one isn't eaten, it resets. Then a part of Yamauchi's body disappears to serve as the next day's canned meat. If you look closely, you'll see that the expiration dates on the meat cans are always current."

"So Yamauchi has to eat the meat cans to stop this from happening... Does that count as eating his own flesh?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes."

Bai Yuze was helpless. Yamauchi Haruki's identity was just too bizarre.

"Huh? I have to eat... myself? Can't I just not eat it...?"

"Sure, but the next day, you'll lose another chunk of flesh. If tomorrow's can contains your organs, you'll probably die on the spot. That'd save us the trouble."

"No, no, no! I'll eat it! I'll eat it!"

Yamauchi Haruki quickly pulled the tab on the can. Without thinking, he plunged his hand inside, scraped out the contents, and shoved them into his mouth.

Anyone who'd eaten canned food knew that before it was heated, the contents had a jelly-like texture, all lumpy and clumped together. Meat cans were especially bad, full of sticky blobs of fat.

Watching Yamauchi eat like a maniac, Bai Yuze couldn't help turning away. Tuanzi and Yukino had already pressed themselves against a corner, trying to ignore the sounds of Yamauchi eating.

"Slow down, don't choke. There's no water here."

As if on cue, Yamauchi's body stiffened, and he began coughing violently. His right hand was covered in grease, but he didn't care. He desperately clawed at the back of his throat.