Ryuen Kakeru

The chirping birds fluttered away, and the environment suddenly became much quieter.

Zhuge Linghao could no longer suppress the corners of his mouth from curling upward.

I never expected to run into this guy on the very first day of school.

The Judgment skill on Zhuge Linghao's personal panel flickered on and off.

I've decided; today is the one and only, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

I have to clash with Ryuen right now, otherwise, having missed out on two key identity skills today, I'll definitely be in for a rough time later on.

Come on, focus your breathing, focus the strength of your body!

System, how can I fully display my temperament and aura?

Can I actively trigger the Fitness Hercules and Yakuza Boss skills?

Ding... Host, the skills have been maximized.

Unbeknownst to them, the sun in the sky hid away, and dark clouds slowly gathered.

Zhuge Linghao walked with a swaggering, arrogant gait, deliberately approaching the boy with purple-red hair.

Ryuen Kakeru, who had just lifted his foot to enter the convenience store, suddenly sensed a chilling, oppressive aura.

He turned his face, tilted his head, and stared intently at the black-haired boy in front of him.

It reminded him of the smell of rats in a sewer; it was truly pungent.

"Hey, you and I should be the same kind of person, right?"

Zhuge Linghao didn't dare to be careless; he kept his face taut and said in a low voice, "Shall we talk somewhere else?"

Ryuen laughed: "Interesting, you're the first person who has dared to talk to me like that."

"Let's go, I know a place without security cameras."

Inside the convenience store, Ayanokoji and Horikita Suzune happened to witness this scene.

Ayanokoji said softly: "That guy left with someone else; is it really okay? They won't start a fight, will they?"

Horikita Suzune crossed her arms: "Hmph, a restless guy. It would be perfect if they fought and both got expelled."

Ayanokoji blinked without saying anything, not knowing what to say.

In a vast stretch of wasteland, only a few pitiful blades of grass were still stubbornly growing.

"This place should be fine, right? What do you want to talk about?"

"I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Zhuge Linghao, from Class D, first year. And you?"

"Class C, first year, Ryuen Kakeru. Get to the point."

System, aren't you going to trigger an option for this?

Ding, detected that the host is actively looking for trouble; options cannot be triggered.

Ugh, if it weren't for self-preservation, do you think I'd want to stir up trouble! By the way, I suddenly remembered something important!

System, open the Newbie Gift Pack!

Ding, consuming 5 Emotion Points to open the gift pack for the host.

Congratulations to the host for obtaining the Triple Slide-Kneel Kowtow skill!

?

What the hell? Besides scamming people, what are you even good for, System?

Can you tell me what use this trash skill has?

How do you know that I'll definitely lose this fight? That I'll definitely have to kowtow and apologize?

And is this it for the Newbie Gift Pack? There's nothing else?

Ding, yes, this is the entire content of the super... newbie... big gift pack.

Zhuge Linghao was speechless, and why did the System's tone feel a bit off?

The two men stood face to face, neither of them starting a conversation.

The air slowly solidified, and the atmosphere was truly quite awkward.

Suddenly, Ryuen lunged forward with a Wing Chun-style straight punch to the face. Zhuge Linghao bent his waist to dodge the blow and immediately countered with an uppercut, but it was blocked by Ryuen's other hand.

"Just as I thought, which gang did you run with before?"

While feeling the force of Zhuge Linghao's fist, Ryuen sneered: "You called me out here—what exactly are you trying to do?"

Zhuge Linghao didn't answer; he hopped back a few times to put some distance between them.

Zhuge Linghao then took off his jacket and tossed it aside. Under the confused gaze of his opponent, he brazenly unbuttoned six of his shirt buttons, deliberately exposing his chest and stomach.

Next, Zhuge Linghao took a short running start to build momentum, using about forty or fifty percent of his strength to deliver a powerful kick with his right foot toward his opponent's abdomen.

Seeing this, Ryuen planted his feet in a horse stance, crossed his arms to block, and slid backward by a meter.

"Interesting, not bad strength. With that scrawny build and a small frame of just over 170 centimeters, who would have thought you were hiding such explosive power?"

Ryuen shook out his arms, looking genuinely delighted.

Yeah, you didn't see that coming, did you, Ryuen.

With these nine-in-one abs and this seemingly weak body, I'll have you crawling on the floor looking for your teeth in a minute!

Just as Zhuge Linghao was preparing to continue his assault, he suddenly noticed someone seemed to be hiding under a tree not far away.

Weighing the pros and cons, he decided to stop the fight.

"Let's call it a day. You've noticed it too, right? There's someone over there, and you wouldn't want someone else to swoop in and reap the rewards, would you?"

Zhuge Linghao picked up his jacket and smiled casually at Ryuen. "I didn't have any special reason for coming to find you; just consider it an early greeting."

With that, Zhuge Linghao turned and walked away with a flourish, leaving without a backward glance.

Ryuen's face darkened, but he didn't chase after him, instead fixing his gaze on a towering tree.

Who was spying on the fight between me and Ryuen?

There was no answer, and Zhuge Linghao didn't dwell on it.

Ryuen, you asked what my purpose was?

Of course, it was to give you the illusion that I'm quite formidable.

Otherwise, when that day comes, I'd surely be ruthlessly oppressed and bullied by you people from Class C!

But, if I really have no other choice, I'll just have to use my ultimate survival skill—the Triple Slide-Kneel Kowtow...

"Come out! Come on out, Heigui."

"My anger hasn't subsided yet, so I'll just use you as a punching bag! Heh heh."

From the shadows beneath the large tree emerged a tall, muscular student with dark skin.

"Allow me to introduce myself, my name is..."

Before the person could finish speaking, Ryuen had already rushed forward with a Death Bear Hug, roaring viciously, "I have no interest in knowing the name of a loser."

Subsequently, under Ryuen's dirty, reckless fighting style, Heigui lost his nerve.