Limit Two-for-Three Trade

Judgment Day, a certain empty classroom.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes, fair, just, and open!"

Two figures, whose true forms were obscured, were conversing.

The main plaza, noon.

[Ding, host action error detected. This mission has failed. Penalty: host is muted for 6 hours!]

[Nani? What did I do wrong?]

[Ding, the option required stepping out with the left foot first, but the host stepped out with the right foot first.]

[?]

[...Fine, you win!]

Zhuge Linghao had finally managed to trigger a mission option, but not only did he fail to earn any emotion points, he was now muted!

And the worst news of all was that the judgment hearing was scheduled for 4:00 PM today! By then, Zhuge Linghao would be unable to open his mouth to argue—no, to defend himself!

You ask why Zhuge Linghao didn't choose the other two missions?

Because those two missions were even more of a trap; one carried a 12-hour mute, and the other a 24-hour mute...

Thinking quickly, Zhuge Linghao frantically sent messages to someone, unable to focus on his afternoon classes at all.

A certain conference room, 4:00 PM, twelve people sat upright.

Secretary Tachibana Akane held a large folder in her arms and said with a serious expression, "We will now formally deliberate on the violent incident that occurred last Tuesday. The meeting will be presided over by me, Student Council Secretary Tachibana."

Chabashira-sensei looked at Student Council President Horikita Manabu and said, "I didn't expect the Student Council President to attend in person for a dispute like this. It's truly rare."

Horikita Manabu responded with a smile, "Due to a busy schedule, there are some meetings I haven't attended, but in principle, I should be present."

Chabashira-sensei saw through him but didn't expose him, "Then this time is also a coincidence."

Ayanokoji thought to himself, I didn't expect the President to show up in person. It's going to be very difficult for Horikita to play her part now.

He then cast his gaze toward Zhuge Linghao, thinking, And you, Zhuge, you blockhead, you still have the mood to record videos at a time like this? I doubt you'll be of any use later...

Secretary Tachibana presided, "The purpose of this meeting is to determine which side's claim is the truth."

Secretary Tachibana opened the file and said, "Ishizaki and the other two claim that they were called to the special building by Sudo and assaulted, and subsequently suffered serious physical injuries due to Zhuge's brutal methods."

"However, Sudo's side claims that they were the ones called out by Ishizaki and his group, that the other side struck first, and that Zhuge, who happened to be passing by, was dragged into the incident."

"The confirmed fact is that the victims, Ishizaki and the other two, were indeed injured by the perpetrators, Sudo and Zhuge!"

"If Sudo's side cannot produce evidence, then this verdict will essentially be finalized."

Ryuen, sitting opposite them, remained completely calm from start to finish, only occasionally casting a mocking glance toward Zhuge Linghao.

To Zhuge Linghao's left sat Sudo, and to his right was Horikita Suzune.

Zhuge Linghao looked at Horikita Suzune on his right repeatedly, but Horikita Suzune wore the expression of a defeated dog and had yet to make a move!

[If this continues, Sudo and I are really going to be expelled!]

Secretary Tachibana continued from above, "Based on this criteria, I believe everyone has reached a conclusion. Class D's claim is not accepted..."

Seeing that things were going south, a desperate Zhuge Linghao had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure. He hoped she wouldn't hold too much of a grudge later!

With a look of resignation, Zhuge Linghao looked at his right hand, then tremblingly reached toward Horikita Suzune's thigh, touched it for 0.1 seconds, and retracted it like lightning!

Horikita Suzune let out a loud "Ah!" and jumped up in a reflex, drawing the attention of the entire room to her!

Horikita Suzune's face turned beet red, and her eyes looked at Zhuge Linghao with an incredibly complex expression.

But Zhuge Linghao didn't dare look at her at all!

He pretended nothing had happened and played with his phone, but his heart was thumping like a drum...

Ayanokoji reminded him at the right moment, "Horikita, if you don't fight back now, we're really going to lose."

Horikita Suzune straightened her skirt and gritted her teeth at Zhuge Linghao, "I'll settle the score with you later!"

Transforming back into a strong woman, Horikita Suzune said, "Excuse me, may I ask a few questions?"

Horikita Manabu's eyes brightened, "You may."

Horikita Suzune asked directly, "On what grounds did you call Sudo out?"

The other side made up a random excuse.

Horikita Suzune continued to press hard, "Facing three enemies, the difficulty of fighting alone or in pairs would multiply. How could you be beaten into serious injury by Sudo and another beanpole with no combat ability?"

Kondo argued, "That's because we didn't want to fight them."

Horikita Suzune questioned him aggressively, "Is that so? If the opponent has no will to fight or offers no resistance, the probability of all three of you sustaining such serious injuries is very low."

Chabashira-sensei also chimed in, "That is generally the case."

The buzz-cut Kondo retorted, "Hmph, Sudo isn't a normal case. He's a violent man, and Zhuge is just as vicious."

Horikita Suzune looked at the barking man and said, "Then what if I told you there was an eyewitness who saw the entire process?"

Click. The conference room door opened, and a figure with twin tails walked in.

Secretary Tachibana said, "Please state your name for the record."

"I... I am Sakura Airi from Class D, first year."

Zhuge Linghao flashed a bright, toothy grin and gave Sakura a thumbs-up!

Seeing this, Sakura felt a little calmer inside.

She spoke carefully, "I... I saw the students from Class C strike first. They were the ones who attacked Sudo first."

Sakamoto Kazuma, the homeroom teacher for Class C, fiddled with an electronic pen and said to Sakura, "Your name is Sakura, right? Your class is truly hopeless. I suspect you were forced to lie for the sake of your class and for Sudo, weren't you?"

Sakura Airi glanced at Zhuge and stood her ground, "I... I am only telling the truth."

Sakamoto Kazuma pressed her, "Look at you, you're trembling with fear. Don't put such heavy psychological pressure on yourself..."

Watching Sakamoto Kazuma push his luck, Zhuge Linghao could no longer hold back. His fingers flew across his phone, editing and sending a message.

Suddenly, Sudo slammed the table, pointed at Sakamoto Kazuma's nose, and cursed, "Do you even deserve to be a teacher? Covering for your own students while bullying the innocent? Do you have any professional ethics left?"

Sakamoto Kazuma wasn't annoyed; instead, he said with interest, "You're just exploiting her timid personality to make her play the role of an eyewitness more convincingly, aren't you?"

Sudo, who had suddenly become sharp, glanced at his phone and retorted, "What evidence do you have to prove your claims are true? We, on the other hand, have proof. Right, Sakura?"

Only Ayanokoji noticed the anomaly, casting a deep look at Zhuge, who was still editing a text message.

Following the flow of the situation, Sakura Airi took out an SD card and said, "Yes, this is the evidence!"

Horikita Manabu said to Secretary Tachibana, "Plug it into the device and play it."

Secretary Tachibana complied and turned on the large projector screen.

The photo showed Sakura Airi taking a selfie, with the five-person brawl visible in the background!

Sakamoto Kazuma was startled, but then he wore a mocking smile, "Fine, this proves you were at the scene, but this photo still cannot prove who struck first!"

Sakamoto Kazuma proposed a compromise: [Sudo and Zhuge suspended for 2 weeks, Ishizaki and the others suspended for 1 week.]

Even Chabashira-sensei seemed to have no objections to this.

Sigh, it's the final round. Zhuge Linghao had no choice but to step up.

He jumped directly onto the round table and delivered a passionate speech: "..."

After capturing everyone's attention, he pulled an SD card from his pocket!

It was the footage of the fight recorded by the pinhole camera Zhuge Linghao often wore!

At this moment, Ryuen could no longer remain calm. He stood up from his chair, stared at Zhuge Linghao, and said, "Black-haired monkey..."

Horikita Manabu's eyes lit up again, and he said to Secretary Tachibana, "Play it."

The video showed a hidden camera perspective: the three from Class C had indeed struck first, but Sudo was like a crazed bull, his emotions completely out of control. Judging by his stance, he was truly trying to beat them to death!

But for the next few minutes, the noisy conference room fell into dead silence.

In the video, while everyone had been laughing at the clownish Zhuge Linghao for pulling down the pants of the three opponents, the next second they were shocked by the bloody scene!

Sakura was so scared that tears streamed down her face...

From Zhuge Linghao's first-person perspective, he was mounted on Ishizaki Daichi, his fists moving in a blur. No one knew how many times he had punched; blood sprayed from Ishizaki's nose, and the scene was terrifyingly gruesome.

Then, Zhuge Linghao swung his fists at the second person, then the third... the footage was horrific and bloody.

After a long while, Horikita Manabu was the first to regain his composure and immediately delivered a fair and impartial verdict.

"This video provides conclusive evidence. Ishizaki and the others did indeed strike first, conspired to frame Sudo of Class D, and spread rumors throughout the school, causing extremely negative repercussions. I hereby sentence the three of them to expulsion!"

"Sudo and Zhuge committed malicious assault with brutal methods, causing severe injury to others, resulting in extremely negative repercussions. I hereby sentence both of them to expulsion!"