Silent Sacrifice

The shadows in the hallway were sliced into fragments by the setting sun. Ayanokoji Kiyotaka leaned against the window, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the second button of his school uniform. In the distance, Ichinose Honami, the leader of Class B, was whispering with her companions; her gentle smile was like a dull blade, slowly carving away the hypocritical order of this school.

"The theme of the special exam is 'Resource Scramble', right?" Ayanokoji spoke suddenly, his voice so soft it seemed to melt into the air. Ryuen Kakeru, a student from Class C passing by, stopped in his tracks and narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing the guy who always lingered on the fringes of the crowd.

"You're well-informed, you Class D small fry." Ryuen grinned, revealing a smile as sharp as canine teeth. "But this exam won't be as simple as the last one—each class must select five 'Resource Managers'. Once a manager's identity is exposed, the entire class's points will be plundered by their opponents."

Ayanokoji lowered his gaze, his eyelashes casting spiderweb-like shadows on his pale skin. Ryuen would never know that this conversation was a trap he had meticulously designed. Three days ago, he had "accidentally" glimpsed the draft of the exam rules in the teachers' office; two days ago, he had "inadvertently" revealed to the Class C spy Ishizaki Daichi the leverage regarding Ryuen's private sale of test questions; and now, Ryuen was following the script he had written, handing over key information with his own hands.

The special building late at night was like a giant coffin. Ayanokoji stood on the edge of the rooftop, the abyss that swallowed the light beneath his feet. Stumbling footsteps echoed from behind; Ibuki Mio from Class C was pushed toward him with her hands tied behind her back. The girl's uniform was stained with dust, and blood beads seeped from a split in the corner of her mouth.

"Why betray the class?" she demanded hoarsely, her eyes fixed on the boy in the shadows.

Ayanokoji slowly crouched down, his fingertips brushing her trembling eyelids. "I made three backups of the surveillance footage you stole from the teachers' office last week." He took out his phone, the screen clearly showing the record of Ibuki sending photos of the stolen test questions to students from another school. "If Ryuen finds out you were selling intelligence to two competing high schools simultaneously, do you think he'll break your left arm first, or your right leg?"

Ibuki's pupils contracted sharply, like a sparrow whose heart was being squeezed.

"After the exam starts tomorrow, I need you to become one of Class C's Resource Managers." Ayanokoji's voice was wrapped in honeyed gentleness. "Then, at exactly 2:00 PM on the third day, use this USB drive to replace the computer key in Ryuen's command center." He shoved a silver USB drive into her blood-stained pocket, the metal surface reflecting the girl's ghastly pale face. "Of course, you can refuse—provided that your mother's heart transplant surgery can wait until next month for the medical fees to be raised."

The second day of the exam, Class D command center.

Horikita Suzune was irritably swiping across the electronic map as the red marker representing Class C suddenly began to shrink on a large scale. "Something's wrong. Their defensive gaps are too obvious." She turned her head sharply to look at Ayanokoji, who was resting with his eyes closed in the corner. "You suggested that Hirata-kun take people to raid the Class C warehouse; did you foresee this all along..."

A sharp alarm sounded suddenly, and a crimson warning box popped up on the screen: [Class C Resource Manager Ibuki Mio has been exposed, Class D gains 200 points of plundering rights].

When Hirata Yosuke returned with his team, his shirt was stained with someone's blood. "We were set up!" He slammed his fist onto the table. "The Class C warehouse was full of empty boxes! Ryuen's main force wasn't there at all!"

Ayanokoji opened his eyes, an inorganic luster rising in the depths of his pupils. "There's still time to reach the gymnasium." He pulled up the surveillance footage; Ryuen was rushing toward the underground warehouse of the gymnasium with the real Resource Managers. "However, the other side left ten minutes earlier than us; someone needs to go and lure away their main force."

Everyone's gaze suddenly focused on Sato Maya in the corner. The girl who always clung to Ayanokoji was gripping her skirt tightly; she had drawn the identity of a Class D Resource Manager that morning.

"I'll go." Sato stood up suddenly, her ponytail drawing a resolute arc under the pale lights. "I'm the most familiar with the layout of the gymnasium, and besides..." She looked at Ayanokoji, a layer of mist rising in her eyes. "You said you would protect me, right?"

Ayanokoji revealed a perfectly calibrated smile, like a meticulously carved mask. "Of course."

When Sato's scream came from the gymnasium hallway, Ayanokoji was standing at the junction of the ventilation ducts. Ryuen had indeed taken the bait; the entire Class C main force had been lured to the wrong area. He pried open the electronic lock of the underground warehouse, where five resource terminals flickering with green light lay quietly.

His phone vibrated suddenly; it was an encrypted message from Ibuki: [USB drive implanted, Ryuen's command system will crash in five minutes].

He entered the final password, and a dull thud of a heavy object falling sounded behind him. Sato crawled into the warehouse, her face covered in blood, her left arm bent at an eerie angle. "Ayanokoji-kun... run... Ryuen and the others will be here soon..."

"Thank you for your hard work." He did not look back, his fingers dancing rapidly across the terminal screen. "Your sacrifice will bring victory to Class D."

"Wait! You said you would protect me—"

The moment the warehouse iron door slammed shut, Ayanokoji inserted Sato's student ID into the access control system. A piercing alarm echoed throughout the school: [Class D Resource Manager Sato Maya has been exposed, 150 points deducted].

Ayanokoji retreated calmly along the ventilation ducts, while Ryuen's furious roars and Sato's gradually weakening sobs drifted up from below. On the electronic map, Class C's points were being frantically plundered by Class A—there was no virus in that USB drive at all; it simply synchronized the coordinates of Class C's real resources to Katsuragi Kohei.

Cold rain began to fall on the rooftop. Ayanokoji watched the flashing police lights near the gymnasium, tasting the metallic, fishy sweetness of rust on his tongue. The questioning text message sent by Horikita Suzune flickered on the screen, and he gently pressed the delete key.

The most beautiful moment of a chess game is always when the pieces realize they are nothing but puppets entangled in ink lines. And the most precious trophy of this exam was currently lying in his contact list—a collaboration invitation sent by Ichinose Honami, accompanied by a detailed file of all Class B's Resource Managers.

He hummed an off-key tune as he walked into the curtain of rain. In the shadows of the school building behind him, a pair of amber eyes were staring at his back. Chabashira Sae toyed with the blood-stained USB drive she had picked up from the trash can, a snake-like smile curling the corners of her lips.