Men's Thoughts... (A Single Glimpse of Bai Yu Ruins a Lifetime)

Thirty minutes later.

His arrogant confidence slammed into a wall and shattered to pieces, carried off into the distance along with the gradually fading smile on his face by a bright, unrestrained burst of laughter.

Ichinose Honami and Shiina Hiyori happened to pass by after timing it just right. They had been planning to negotiate with Ryuen Kakeru and tell him to let Suzumiya return, rather than continuing to make things difficult for her.

Yet they unexpectedly found Ryuen Kakeru wearing an expression that said he did not want to face reality.

His smile was forced, his expression awkward, but his words remained stubbornly defiant...

"Ishizaki, give me your turn. You'd just be throwing yourself away if you went up there. I still have some fight left in me!"

As soon as those words fell.

Another general under his command was defeated and retreated behind the lines in despair.

Though he had luckily preserved his life, his martial heart had been shattered beyond repair.

The defeated man seemed to be muttering some gloomy tune about how, after practicing martial arts for so many years, he was still inferior to a mere woman. He had joined the great lord Ryuen as soon as he came down from the mountain, only to end up in such a state. He no longer had the face to face his sect.

All he could do was cover his face and weep silently, feeling ashamed of his teachers' cultivation in his heart.

Kaneda Satoru and Komiya Yogo, who had just been defeated, wore grave expressions as they stared blankly at the girl before them. She had already cut down four fierce generals in a row and seemed to have entered an invincible realm, yet neither of them spoke for a long while.

If this continued, where would the dignity of Class C's boys go? And where would their unshakeable position as the overlords of esports be?

But the two had already exhausted all their strength, leaving only their battered, filthy mortal bodies. They could only place their hopes on Ryuen Kakeru, who seemed intent on being reanimated from the dead and was still capable of exchanging a few moves with the girl.

Bai Yu had already gone red-eyed.

Having defeated four people in a row, she had stepped into the realm of a demigod. She was still halfway from becoming a god, but her momentum was at its peak. Shattering the heavenly stairs and taking command of divine authority were already within reach! She even had enough strength left to continue breaking through, setting her sights on the position of sole ruler of the world--

"Hahahaha, who else? Who else!"

Another laugh rang through heaven and earth. Everyone was shocked that such an extraordinary person existed—and that she was a woman.

Ichinose Honami looked stunned. Suzumiya was not only at the pinnacle of video games; even her bearing, soul, and spirit were transcendent, as though she did not belong to this world.

In her daze, the shadow of an old acquaintance quietly appeared before her eyes.

The two images overlapped, like the prophesied child of Mount Myoboku who had turned the tide when Pain God invaded Konoha Hidden Village and saved the collapsing world!

Shiina Hiyori, standing beside her, had long grown accustomed to the magnificent sight of the youth breaking through. As the beauty who had accompanied him all the way, she watched calmly with a peaceful smile, quietly admiring the youth's carefree and unrestrained figure as he swept through all directions and roamed the universe.

"Who else! Hurry up and come die! I've got things to do later!"

"I don't have time to reward you masochists!"

The girl continued to call for challengers with high spirits, her raised brows carrying a touch of contemptuous arrogance.

Ichinose Honami seemed to remember something. She lowered her head to check the time, feeling that it was getting late and that some matters had yet to be settled.

After thinking for a moment, she had Shiina go forward with a message.

"Bai, Suzumiya, we still have something important to do later."

After leaning in to say that, Shiina Hiyori left the heated Street Fighter machines and returned with a message for the two.

"She said we should go first. She'll resolve the trouble here as quickly as possible, then meet up with us."

Ichinose Honami and Shironami Chihiro exchanged glances, feeling that there should not be any problem.

Then the three of them, along with Shiina, left the arcade first.

"Who's next!"

Another warrior had fallen. Only two people remained who had not yet taken the stage, and the amount stood at -60,000.

Ryuen Kakeru pondered briefly, then wanted to raise the stakes and go all-in in one stroke to make a comeback. He proposed, "How about the last two people play for 30,000 per match? If you win, that'll be 120,000. If you lose, we'll call it even. How about it?"

"It's 30,000 now. So next round, Ryuen, you'll be asking for 90,000?"

Bai Yu raised a soul-searching question.

"Don't worry. I've always kept my word."

Bai Yu shook her head again and sighed. "Ryuen, you really aren't evil enough."

"Oh? That's certainly high praise."

Ryuen Kakeru said with a smile, and the two immediately continued their one-sided grueling battle...

Ten minutes later.

"Again. Ten thousand per match from now on!" Ryuen Kakeru said unwillingly.

Bai Yu shook her head, her tone resembling that of someone who had grasped Buddhist truth. "Ryuen, open your eyes and look. Your reason has already left you."

"I'm sure I'm perfectly clear-headed."

Ryuen Kakeru narrowed his eyes at the girl. His obsession ran so deep that no ordinary eminent monk could enlighten him.

Money no longer mattered. The key was when he could finally beat this girl.

"Listen carefully. If you dare deliberately lose to me, I'll block the entrance to your class every day from now on!"

Ryuen Kakeru threatened, slightly exasperated.

"Why must this benefactor cling to this poor nun? This poor nun is no longer of the mortal world."

"Cut the crap. Continue!"

Ryuen Kakeru rolled up his sleeves.

Bai Yu shook her head and prepared for the ninth round.

Thus, ten minutes later, another 30,000 points appeared on Bai Yu's phone.

The total had reached 150,000, and it was still trending upward. There was room to keep increasing the investment.

"Continue!" Ryuen shouted.

"Wait!"

"What? I never said you could take a break midway."

"Ryuen, you really aren't considerate at all."

Bai Yu lowered her head and glanced at her phone, then naturally turned her gaze toward the two public restrooms nearby. "You might not need to use the bathroom, but I do!"

Ryuen Kakeru was briefly put in a difficult spot upon hearing that.

He turned and threw his gaze at Ishizaki Daichi behind him, ordering, "Go with her. Keep an eye on her and don't let her run away."

Then he brought his gaze back before him, his attitude entirely different. "I'll cover dinner tonight. Stay here and play me until evening."

"..."

Bai Yu was speechless for a moment. After a while, she simply gave an unconcerned smile. "You still won't beat me even if we play until tomorrow morning."

After hearing that, Ryuen's expression became both profound and complicated. Seeing Bai Yu get up to head for the restroom, he immediately signaled Ishizaki Daichi to follow her closely.

Daichi dutifully followed Bai Yu to the front of the two restrooms.

He saw Bai Yu stop at the entrance to one restroom, raise her head as if looking at something, then decisively turn and enter the other restroom.

He immediately realized that this side should be the women's restroom. So he stopped and dutifully stood guard at the entrance.

He guarded it for more than ten minutes.

Worried that something might have happened to her, he called out inside, but received no response for a long while.

As he scratched his head in confusion, Ryuen and the others nearby heard him calling and came over to ask what was going on.

He answered dutifully, "I've been guarding here for over ten minutes, but I haven't seen that girl come out at all. Could something have happened to her?"

His bewildered gaze swept across everyone in turn. Ryuen Kakeru's mouth twitched as he asked, "Then why didn't you go in and guard?"

?

Go in?

This was the women's restroom.

Ishizaki Daichi defended himself with complete righteousness.

"The women's restroom?"

Ryuen Kakeru was both agitated and helpless for a moment. He directly cursed, "Is your brain broken?"

"You've been coming to this arcade for so long, and you don't know there are only two public restrooms here?"

As soon as those words fell.

Ishizaki's face first froze in astonishment, then dawned with realization.

He slapped his thigh hard with both hands and said in frustration, "Damn it! I fell for her trick!"

When he abruptly looked up and discovered that Ryuen and the others had already rushed into the restroom, he immediately followed them in, hoping to redeem himself.

Yet he only saw the guys all standing before the restroom window, blank-faced and motionless like wooden statues as they gazed into the distance at a figure drifting away down the school road.

"This is my escape route!"

...A clear, beautiful voice rode the wind into the restroom and struck the men squarely in their faces. Several men stood before the arcade restroom window,

and the image of them gazing absently into the distance became a painting.

"Good girl."

Yamada Albert occasionally spoke, breaking the silence.

A smile appeared at the corner of Ryuen Kakeru's mouth.

"...What about now? Who is he?"

"..."

"A troll."

Below the restroom window.

A brief exchange took place between a man and a woman who were crouching to conceal themselves.