The Best Bait

The reason why he didn't choose to use the cell phone issued by the school was that the image would become blurry if the phone's camera went too far away. Tokito Yuya was originally there to film Ryuen Kakeru's miserable state, so the clearer the image, the better.

However, if we can defeat Ryuen Kakeru, it will all be worth it.

Tokito Yuya a competitive and stubborn person. He firmly believed that Ryuen Kakeru was just a tyrant who did no good to Class C and was simply a violent maniac.

That's why he thought of using Yamada to fight violence with violence, destroying the opponent's foundation in the way the opponent was most familiar with. This was the most painful blow for Ryuen Kakeru.

Tokito Yuya had already discussed it with Yamada. He would ask Ryuen Kakeru alone on April 16th at the grove behind the infirmary. The reason was that the infirmary's surveillance cameras had been malfunctioning intermittently for the past few days, and the school suspected that the circuitry was old. They planned to send someone to thoroughly overhaul and repair it on that day. The news was accidentally leaked by a student from Class B, apparently because their class teacher was the infirmary's health teacher, and he casually complained about it during class.

Besides, Tokito Yuya had already planned it out. Yamada and Ryuen Kakeru would be the ones to start the fight, and even if they were caught on camera, they would be the ones who would suffer.

Tokito Yuya fiddled with the digital camera in his hand. To be honest, he wasn't very good at photography, but this time he needed a camera to record the scene of Ryuen Kakeru being beaten up.

Ryuen Kakeru's authority in Class 1-C was built on the fight on the first day of school, so ending with a crushing defeat was the perfect way to conclude the story.

It should be shown to all the students in Class 1-C, and it should be firmly imprinted on their retinas.

With this in mind, Tokito Yuya arrived at the agreed location first, starting to look for suitable shooting angles and familiarize himself with the equipment.

The most conspicuous building nearby was naturally the infirmary not far away, so Tokito Yuya used it as a reference point, constantly moving through the woods, taking photos of the nearby open space, trees, and infirmary, both near and far, slowly figuring out how to use the camera.

When the appointed time arrived, Ryuen Kakeru indeed came here, looking around as if searching for Tokito Yuya's whereabouts.

Yamada Albert did not disappoint Tokito Yuya; he arrived silently and then proceeded to beat Ryuen Kakeru without any hesitation.

Ryuen Kakeru seemed quite surprised. Having been ambushed, he was immediately at a disadvantage and could only raise his arms in front of him, looking pitiful as he passively took the beating.

Hiding in the woods Tokito Yuya couldn't help but excitedly wave his arm. He quickly found a good spot, adjusted the focus, aimed the aperture, and began to secretly take pictures.

His physical advantage gradually robbed Ryuen Kakeru of his strength to resist. He was pinned to the ground, his hands limply hanging at his sides.

Finally, unable to contain his excitement, Tokito Yuya strode out from his hiding place, almost pressing his camera against Ryuen Kakeru's face, and burst into mocking laughter:

"Ryuen? I never thought you'd have such a pathetic day."

He spat forcefully onto the ground beside him. Yamada's spittle was perfectly controlled; Ryuen Kakeru was only left with a bruised and swollen face, somewhat disfigured. But that was exactly the effect Tokito Yuya. He stepped forward and gently patted Ryuen Kakeru's cheek, smiling as he spoke:

"What tyrant? He'll still be overthrown by even stronger violence. Even if I don't act today, Class C will be finished because of you sooner or later."

Ryuen Kakeru's swollen eyes were narrowed to slits, but they still revealed a fierce look:

"It's still better than relying on the strength of others like you do."

"That's the difference between you and me, Ryuen."

Tokito Yuya to Ryuen Kakeru, and to free up his hands, he handed the camera he was clutching to Yamada beside him.

"Someone like you will never have friends, so how does it feel to be defeated by friendship?"

Lost in the thrill of defeating his opponent, he didn't even notice that Yamada had gotten up and taken a few steps back.

"Tokito Yuya... right? Okay, I'll remember you."

Facing the still-threatening Ryuen Kakeru, Tokito Yuya was also furious, grabbing the other's collar and roaring:

"Ryuen, you've already lost!"

"The impact of your beating will soon spread to the class group chat, and by then, no one will be afraid of you anymore."

"Do you understand?"

Tokito Yuya glared at Ryuen Kakeru. He didn't intend to say anything more to him, and it wouldn't be good if others saw the situation. He only needed to send the footage of Ryuen Kakeru to the class group, and everything would be done.

After saying goodbye to Yamada, Tokito Yuya ran towards the dormitory, clutching his camera tightly. If he were using a mobile phone to film, he could even post the video directly to the group chat in public, but with a camera, he would need to use a computer to read the card and then save the file.

Perhaps due to excessive excitement, Tokito Yuya subconsciously quickened his pace, and as a result, he accidentally collided with another person who was also running at an intersection.

The camera in Tokito Yuya's hand rolled to the side under the tremendous force. The other person seemed to be a little dizzy from the impact, and his whole body pressed down on Tokito Yuya. The two of them tried to push themselves up at the same time, but the arm that Tokito Yuya had just raised was pressed down again by the force of the other person on top of him.

"Ah... I'm so sorry."

About thirty seconds later, the person on top of her scrambled to his feet. He was a rather handsome young man, but unfortunately Tokito Yuya exactly a girl with a romantic mind. She quickly got up and looked around for her digital camera.

"Phew, thank goodness."

The digital camera was lying obediently on the ground not far behind him. Tokito Yuya didn't even care about the other person's apology and quickly picked it up. He pressed the power button, and the screen lit up normally. Apart from a little dust on the casing, it didn't seem to be broken.

Normally, Tokito Yuya would definitely have taught the boy a lesson, but today he had more important things to do, so he could only glare fiercely at the boy who had bumped into him and curse:

"Watch your step next time."

After saying that, Tokito Yuya left without looking back, carrying his camera.

Yagami Takuya had initially appeared somewhat flustered and at a loss, gradually composed himself.

"Ayanokoji- senpai."

"... Well done. It seems the fifth generation members really did intensify their training in emotional expression."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka emerged from the shadows, fiddling with the memory card he had just removed from the camera.

"Although it's unclear whether this person actually filmed the specific process of you doing it, it's better to retrieve it just to be on the safe side."

"Yes... I'm very sorry."

"Be more cautious when implementing plans in the future."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka glanced at Yagami Takuya indifferently. If it weren't for the fact that Yagami was an assistant sent in by the White Room and was a fairly useful tool, he wouldn't have bothered to clean up Yagami's messes.

"Let's go. This plan has failed, both at the infirmary and with the Basketball Club."

"Yes."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka put the small camera memory card into his pocket, rubbed his chin, and stood silently for a while without taking a step immediately.

The phone in my pocket vibrated; it was a message from Katsuragi Kohei to himself, or rather, to his innermost group of confidants.

Since providing Katsuragi Kohei with information about the basic rules, Katsuragi Kohei has trusted Ayanokoji Kiyotaka quite a bit, but he still refuses to act according to his ideas, as stubborn as a rock.

Taking out his phone, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka quickly skimmed through the long message sent by Katsuragi Kohei.

"... Oh, I see."

With a barely perceptible sigh, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka took the memory card out of his pocket again. He gazed at it for a long while in the last rays of the setting sun before speaking:

"You were used."

"One million...?"

Yamauchi Haruki was startled by the number. He had already spent almost all of his 100,000 points for the month, on things like his PS game console and accessories, all sorts of high-end snacks and game cartridges. Now, Yamauchi Haruki only had at most 10,000 points left.

One million, that's ten times more than one hundred thousand.

Chi, standing to the other side, was also dumbfounded, but he remained somewhat rational and loudly questioned:

How do I know you just blurted out a number?

"For a fee, you can have the school notarize and sign a contract, and the school will guarantee the enforceability of the contract."

Seeing that the two were interested, Katsuragi Kohei quickly explained.

"I can pay you 90,000 points right now."

To prove his sincerity, Katsuragi Kohei directly transferred 45,000 Private Points to each of them.

Upon seeing the genuine points credited to their accounts, Yamauchi Haruki and Kanji Ike's eyes lit up immediately.

"Well... this is barely enough to cover my medical expenses."

"We don't believe your so-called contract. If we can gather one million points right away, we'll let Koenji go."

Yamauchi Haruki swallowed hard, then, pushing his luck, began to make demands.

After all, given his level of intelligence, contracts sounded incredibly unreliable; nothing was as secure as the tangible points he actually received.

Kanji Ike's eyes flickered. He did not stop Yamauchi Haruki from pressuring Katsuragi Kohei. His thoughts were a step further than Yamauchi Haruki's. After all, Katsuragi Kohei was the class representative of Class A and was usually surrounded by people. He might actually be able to come up with a million points on the spot.

To be honest, besides their injuries, he and Yamauchi didn't actually have any substantial evidence. If they didn't grab as much benefit as possible now, wouldn't they be doomed once Katsuragi Kohei realized what was going on?

At this moment, Kanji Ike also had a flash of inspiration:

"Okay, the million isn't urgent, but let's sign the contract first."

Seeing the puzzled look on Yamauchi Haruki's face, Kanji Ike gestured for him not to interrupt. He had already figured it out. If the contract was really valid, then even if there was insufficient evidence afterward, the other party would have to obediently fulfill the contract. Rather than forcing them here, it would be better to confirm the compensation in writing now.

"Good."

Katsuragi Kohei gritted his teeth and immediately turned on the recording function on his phone:

"Record it first to confirm, just in case you regret it later."

"Class 1-A 1 will compensate Class 1-D students Yamauchi Haruki and Kanji Ike with one million Private Points, and the two will no longer pursue the violent acts Koenji Rokusuke."

I agree.

No objections.

Yamauchi Haruki and Kanji Ike readily agreed, but Yamauchi licked his lips, seemingly still a little unsatisfied.

"Send another 70,000 points, or my head will ache terribly."

To appease the two, Katsuragi Kohei quickly sent a message in his close confidant group, saying that he was in dire need of Private Points. Soon after, he received a concerned greeting from Totsuka Yahiko and 70,000 Private Points.

Looking at his Private Points, which had surged back to 100,000, Yamauchi Haruki couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"It's a good time to get a new computer. I heard that the professor's laptop costs 80,000 points. I'll just buy a better desktop computer and make him so envious."

Without hesitation, Yamauchi Haruki used the built-in app on his phone to access the school's Keyaki Online Shopping Center, where he selected a high-end desktop computer priced at 104,000 points. After selecting the recipient and filling in the delivery address, he proudly showed it to Kanji Ike and planned to send it to the other classmates to show off.

Kanji Ike hurriedly and frantically stopped Yamauchi Haruki's boastful behavior:

"Don't let anyone else know we have so many points."

"That's true."

Watching the two recklessly squander the Private Points that originally belonged to him and the students of Class A, Katsuragi Kohei was almost spitting blood with frustration. His eyes were bloodshot with resentment. Although rationally he wanted to preserve Class A's Class Points, and Class Points were indeed more important than Private Points, the thought of still needing to gather over 800,000 Private Points for the two of them...

"Where is the school nurse? Is the school nurse here?"

Just then, the door to the infirmary was violently pushed open, and several boys squeezed in. The one in the lead had medium-length purplish-red hair, a bruised and swollen face, and a bandage wrapped around his head. He looked like he had just been beaten up and was somewhat listless.

"Damn, the school nurse isn't here, bro, what do we do?"

A burly young man looked around the infirmary and then asked.

Send two people to search.

Ryuen Kakeru casually gave an order, then frowned as he looked at the two people lying on the bed and Katsuragi Kohei standing to the side. He walked straight over, shoved Yamauchi Haruki aside, and sat directly on the bed.

Get out of my way!

"Who do you think you are? Can't you see I'm injured?"

The smug Yamauchi Haruki was suddenly enraged. He hadn't yet recovered from Katsuragi Kohei's humble attitude and pointed at Ryuen Kakeru's nose, cursing him.

"Hurt?"

Ryuen Kakeru snorted coldly. Under Yamauchi Haruki's shocked gaze, he unceremoniously kicked the left arm, which was in a cast and sling across the chest. Katsuragi Kohei and Kanji Ike stared dumbfounded at Ryuen Kakeru's whip kick, a thought forming in their minds—

Is this person crazy?

Yamauchi Haruki instinctively stretched out his left arm to block.

What surprised the three even more was that the arm that looked seriously injured actually lifted up.

"Crack."

The violent movement and external force shattered the cast on the floor, and the bandages tore off, revealing that Yamauchi Haruki's left arm was completely unharmed.

"After a street fight, there are always guys who pretend to be seriously injured in an attempt to get more money for medical expenses."

Ryuen Kakeru smiled knowingly.

The atmosphere in the infirmary froze instantly, as if time had stood still.

In the almost viscous air, Katsuragi Kohei, who had been hunched over, slowly straightened up.

"Very good..."

The man, so robust he didn't look like a high school student, practically spat out those words through gritted teeth.

Chapter 53: The Best Bait

"Regarding the series of violent incidents that occurred last time, we will now begin a cross-examination between the Student Council, those involved, and class advisors. I, the Student Council secretary, will preside over the meeting."