The Dust Settles, and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's Admiration / Prelude to Counterattack, The Final Move
"He wouldn't act recklessly if he wasn't confident."
Togo Ryo stroked his beard, and suddenly calmed down.
"Classmate Hashiba is always a man of careful planning before acting; he won't act rashly if he hasn't come up with a plan."
After escaping, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka is pondering Hashiba Hikaru's actions.
The situation is now quite clear, because the man guessed that Hashiba Hikaru might come to investigate the [White Room].
The other party had dealt with all the key locations in advance, so even if they turned a blind eye and let people in to take pictures as they pleased, it wouldn't be a problem.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka glanced at his phone; the scene captured on it was actually quite ordinary.
The classroom, including the desks and chairs and the famous quotes hanging on the walls, looked like a relatively tidy cram school to anyone, posing no threat to Ayanokoji Atsuomi.
"Have I forgotten something?"
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka recounted the various situations that had occurred that day.
From the successful infiltration to discovering something was wrong, and finally being recognized by a child locked in a [Confinement Room], this series of unexpected events was somewhat overwhelming.
Could it be...?
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka suddenly had a guess in his mind, because if he couldn't get evidence of Ayanokoji Atsuomi's and the [White Room] scandal, there was another direction that might affect his election.
Kujo Family!!!
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's expression changed instantly; he immediately understood Hashiba Hikaru's plan.
Although Hashiba Hikaru had never met Ayanokoji Atsuomi, a very clear conclusion could be drawn from that conversation and the information gathered from both the Koenji Family and Sakayanagi Narimori.
Ayanokoji Atsuomi is definitely a man who doesn't want to be controlled by the Kujo Family.
Based on Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's understanding of that man, the man would definitely have many backup plans, and once he got what he wanted, he would kick the useless Kujo Family aside.
In other words, although it's currently impossible to find fault with the [White Room], if we can obtain evidence that Ayanokoji Atsuomi "betrayed" the Kujo Family, we can still disqualify him from running for office.
This is the true way to stage a comeback from a desperate situation!
Chapter 805 The dust has settled, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka with admiration.
After Ayanokoji Kiyotaka guessed the correct answer, Hashiba Hikaru successfully infiltrated the underground [Main Monitoring Room].
That's where Ayanokoji Atsuomi usually works; most of the confidential documents should be inside.
He huddled in a corner near the ceiling. He still had more than twenty minutes left in his [Stealthy Trace] ability. Thanks to the powerful effect of this Exclusive Talent, even when he encountered passing guards, no one noticed him.
"The defense here is really weak. It must be Ayanokoji Atsuomi's doing this on purpose, just to lure me in."
She had devised a detailed plan to obtain evidence, but she was unexpectedly outmaneuvered, which ignited a nameless anger in Hashiba Hikaru's heart, as she feared that all her efforts might be in vain.
However, when the alarm sounded, he suddenly remembered the phone call that Ayanokoji Atsuomi had made to him earlier.
Although the other party's sweet talk was very appealing, the boy confirmed a fact from Ayanokoji Atsuomi's tone of voice.
This is a man who craves to firmly grasp power in his own hands; his desire for control is extremely strong.
Despite possessing such a personality, he was forced to cooperate with the long-established zaibatsu Kujo Family. Through the information gathered by Hashiba Hikaru, it was easy to arrive at a certain conclusion.
This man is definitely not content to be just a proxy for the Kujo Family. If he is successfully elected as Cabinet Minister, it will surely create a rift between him and the Kujo Family.
This was a judgment made by Hashiba Hikaru based on intelligence gathering, so once he understood this, he immediately realized that he had not yet lost.
If we can obtain concrete evidence that Ayanokoji Atsuomi is secretly preparing to deal with the Kujo Family, we can achieve the same goal.
After all, without the support of the Kujo Family, Ayanokoji Atsuomi's political resources alone would make it absolutely impossible for him to win the election.
"Alright, the guards shouldn't stay here for long, after all, the patrol area here is quite small."
Hashiba Hikaru pressed herself against the wall, trying to minimize her presence.
The guards here dared not linger too long at the entrance to the Main Monitoring Room where Ayanokoji Atsuomi, because everyone knew that the man was not used to people walking around in front of his door.
After a while, having timed it perfectly, Hashiba Hikaru slid down from the ceiling.
The boy entered the password he had already memorized into the electronic lock of the [Main Monitoring Room]. Watching the constantly changing symbols, a smile finally appeared on his face.
"Just like Ayanokoji's judgment, that guy didn't change the password."
As expected, as soon as Hashiba Hikaru finished speaking, the screen immediately displayed the message "verification successful," and the iron gate slowly opened.
The password was provided by Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who needed to come here frequently to report progress to Ayanokoji Atsuomi.
"How arrogant! Aren't you worried that I might actually find something?"
Hashiba Hikaru slipped into the Main Monitoring Room and quietly closed the iron door.
In the center of the Main Monitoring Room is a large monitoring screen, which looks like the most professional monitoring room, allowing observation of all movements in the monitored room from different angles.
However, since Ayanokoji Atsuomi had already taken care of things beforehand, when Hashiba Hikaru walked in, she found that apart from what looked like a security monitoring room, there was basically nothing else to see.
The two had originally planned to film detailed surveillance footage and some classified facilities here, but now everything has been moved away by that man.
"Although it's very clean, if Ayanokoji Atsuomi needs to come back to work, he can't possibly carry suspicious documents with him all the time."
After searching the room for a while, Hashiba Hikaru realized that her [Stealthy Trace] ability was about to expire, and if she didn't find something quickly, she might be discovered when she returned.
"Ten minutes left."
A layer of sweat had appeared on the boy's forehead, but his eyes remained sharp as he searched the corners of the room. After about three more minutes, he finally opened an inner cabinet.
"So I really need to enter a password?"
Hashiba Hikaru thought for a moment, then entered the password given to her by Ayanokoji Kiyotaka again, and found that it worked again.
Although Ayanokoji Atsuomi had disposed of the core arrangements here, making it impossible to find any evidence to attack the [White Room], the document might still contain information about betraying the Kujo Family, which would also be a huge blow to him.
"Let me see... what it contains."
The boy took photos with his phone while reading the documents, memorizing all their contents.
"There really is one, and they've been preparing for it so early?"
Hashiba Hikaru glanced at the timestamp in the lower right corner of the document and sneered.
After he finished photographing all the documents, the boy quickly left. The time limit for [Stealthy Trace] was about to expire, and he had to get back to Togo Ryo and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka as soon as possible.
After Hashiba Hikaru used up his last bit of time to rush out of the [White Room], he slipped into the dense forest and immediately saw Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and Togo Ryo coming to greet him.
"Call!"
Using her Exclusive Talent was indeed exhilarating, but when she turned it off, a wave of fatigue washed over her, causing Hashiba Hikaru's steps to falter slightly.
The next moment, he was supported by a strong arm.
It's Togo Ryo.
"Hashiba- kun, you're really brave. Has your body reached its limit?"
"More or less, but thankfully we still managed to complete the mission."
Hashiba Hikaru looked at Ayanokoji Kiyotaka who was walking over and smiled slightly, "Everything is here. Although we didn't get any evidence of the [White Room], this thing can still cause Ayanokoji Atsuomi to lose his current favorable situation."
"Is it related to the Kujo Family?"
"Oh, Ayanokoji, you've already guessed it?"
Hashiba Hikaru glanced at him sideways.
"Yes, although we didn't get evidence against the [White Room], if we can get that man to turn against the Kujo Family, we can still achieve our goal."
"That's right!"
Looking at Hashiba Hikaru, whose face was slightly pale, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka felt even more admiration for him.
Fortunately...
He is not an enemy.
Otherwise it will really cause a lot of trouble.
Chapter 806: Prelude to Counterattack, the Final Move.
As the vehicle drove away from the area where the [White Room] was located, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and Hashiba Hikaru sat together in the back seat to review the day's unexpected events.
"If I'm not mistaken, Ayanokoji Atsuomi has probably been keeping an eye on me ever since the Chairman returned."
After thinking about it, Hashiba Jikko realized that after using the Koenji Family's channels to make contact with Higashiyama Majo, the other party had clearly put pressure on the Kujo Family in order to successfully bring Sakayanagi Narimori back.
This must have caught the man's attention.
"Pretty much. After all, Classmate Hashiba later went to the Koenji Family in person, so it's normal for that man to notice her."
Although Ayanokoji Kiyotaka disliked that man, he was well aware of Ayanokoji Atsuomi's shrewdness; if he didn't have the ability, he couldn't have risen from an ordinary person to that position.
"And I heard something from that little girl named Ayako... Ayanokoji Atsuomi actually taught a class in the [White Room], and the topic was me."
"..."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was silent for a moment before speaking slowly.
"It's because that man believed his training method was the most perfect in the world, but Classmate Hashiba's abilities far exceeded his expectations, which is why this situation occurred."
"Possibly."
Hashiba Hikaru rested his head on the soft cushion, but the fatigue hadn't dissipated. All he wanted now was to get back to school and sleep.
"Hashiba- kun".
Just then, Togo Ryo, who was driving in the front, suddenly spoke up.
"Uncle Ryo, what's wrong?"
Will you stay by Cheng Shou's side and help him manage the school?
"Uh, I don't think so. Why would Uncle Ryo ask that?"
Hashiba Hikaru looked somewhat surprised by the man's sudden question.
If things go according to his plan, after successfully advancing to higher education, he should start his own business to support the girls' future.
"But I heard from Cheng Shou that you two are getting very close to his daughter. Don't you plan to get married?"
Although Togo Ryo is a rough and rugged man, when it comes to these kinds of gossips, he speaks like a gossipy woman.
"It's still a long way off. Even if Arisu and I were together, it would be more appropriate for her to manage the school."
"Hey, is Hashiba- kun planning to live off a woman?"
Togo Ryo laughed teasingly.
"Isn't it good to be a kept man?"
Hashiba Hikaru replied seriously, "If I could, I think living off a woman for the rest of my life wouldn't be so bad."
"Haha, you little rascal, you're really to my liking. No wonder Cheng Shou likes you so much."
Togo Ryo laughed heartily; it was clear he was in a very good mood.
"I am very happy to have the Chairman's approval."
"If you marry Cheng Shou's daughter, you must invite me to your wedding!"
Although today was his first meeting with Hashiba Hikaru, Togo Ryo believed that this boy, who was much younger than him, was definitely not someone to be underestimated and would surely have a brighter future.
"If that day ever comes, I will personally send Uncle Ryo an invitation."
After a while, Hashiba Hikaru suddenly realized that she hadn't replied to the Koenji Family yet, so she quickly took out her phone.
After the phone rang for five seconds, Koenji Morito's voice came from the other end.
"Hey, Hashiba- kun."
"Good evening, Mr. Koenji."