Phantom Thief's First Battle Victorious

Late at night.

Inside the Dormitory Building.

Horikita Suzune lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep as the events of the day replayed in her mind.

Information...

Should she really sell it?

The girl felt deeply troubled, a wave of irritation washing over her.

She had spent the entire night agonizing over it.

Although that guy had told her these things and even stated she could dispose of the information as she pleased, how could she sell it with a clear conscience?

After all.

This was no different from profiting off Xu Nuo's feelings.

What's more.

The four classes were in a competitive relationship; if she made the information public, it would not only harm the interests of Class D but also serve as a grand betrayal of herself.

It would further increase the difficulty for Class D to advance.

Such a thing.

She, Horikita Suzune, could not do.

"Fine then."

"I'll let Class D digest this information internally and have everyone split the two-million-point debt."

"Fifty thousand per person is just right; it's not too much."

"I'll cover Xu Nuo's share..."

"That way, I won't be exploiting that jerk's feelings, and after all, if the class points increase."

"He will benefit as well."

Horikita Suzune muttered to herself, her heart lifting.

It was as if the clouds had parted to reveal the sun.

Although this would cost her a large sum of Private Points, at least she hadn't betrayed her own heart.

This way, no one would be hurt.

Everyone would be happy!

Thinking of this, Horikita Suzune's mind instantly cleared.

With her mood relaxed and having not slept well the previous night, a wave of drowsiness slowly washed over her.

She didn't resist.

The girl gradually drifted off to sleep, a faint smile on her lips.

"I will..."

"Lead that guy up to Class A..."

Meanwhile.

On the fourth floor of the School Building, in the hallway on the east side, a figure hid silently in the darkness.

The night was dark and windy, the shadows deep.

The surroundings were extremely quiet, with only the chirping of insects and birds rising and falling; there wasn't a single unnecessary sound, creating an inexplicable sense of calm before a storm.

Horikita Manabu took out his phone and checked the time.

23:56.

It was almost time.

A new day was about to arrive, and the time indicated by the riddle in the Notice Letter was drawing near.

The Server Room.

It was located at the very end of this hallway.

There were two more keypad locks; wanting to enter without alerting Horikita Manabu was nearly impossible.

"I'd like to see... exactly who you are."

That guy would definitely come.

The faint light from the phone screen hit Horikita Manabu's face, casting him in a mix of light and shadow. His intuition as Student Council President told him one thing.

This audacious and arrogant thief.

Would absolutely show up!

Immediately after.

He took a deep breath and tucked his phone into his pocket. His gaze sharpened and his body tensed, perfectly blending into the darkness as he waited quietly for the moment to arrive.

"Click, clack..."

Time ticked away second by second; in his trance, it felt as if the sound of a clock's hands moving echoed within his heart.

Of course.

This was merely an illusion born of intense focus.

'55, 56, 57, 58...'

Horikita Manabu counted silently in his mind. As the moment drew near, he held his breath, his body coiled and ready to strike.

Sure enough.

Very soon.

A faint sound of footsteps slowly drifted toward him.

It was here!

In an instant.

A startling brilliance erupted in Horikita Manabu's eyes. He remained motionless, his nerves stretched to the breaking point, staring fixedly in that direction.

Closer, a little closer...

As the target drew slightly nearer, Horikita Manabu did not hesitate. He moved with the speed of a startled hare, launching a fierce Karate Hand Blade directly at the newcomer's face, putting his full strength into the strike without a hint of restraint.

Karate Hand Blade!

The force of it even caused a roar in the air.

The newcomer seemed quite vigilant; caught off guard, he shifted his head to the side, barely dodging the attack.

The sharp, biting wind of the strike stung his face.

"Damn..."

The man seemed to want to say something.

However.

A fierce, swift side kick had already arrived.

With nowhere left to dodge, the newcomer was struck squarely in the chest, sent flying two or three meters away without suspense.

"Damn you!"

"Horikita Manabu, are you actually trying to kill me?!"

Nagumo Miyabi clutched his chest, his face twisted in pain, yet he managed to scramble to his feet through sheer willpower before cursing out his dear senior.

"Hm?"

Horikita Manabu frowned.

Under the faint moonlight, he recognized the face of the person before him.

Nagumo Miyabi?

What was he doing here?

Horikita Manabu did not lower his guard. With a cold expression, he approached rapidly and reached out to grab the other's face.

There was no choice.

Facing a guy who could perfectly disguise himself as him, one could never be too careful. Besides, who could be certain the other party could only wear his face?

Nagumo Miyabi was the Vice President.

Sneaking out here in the middle of the night instead of sleeping.

It was highly suspicious!

Seeing this, Nagumo Miyabi shuddered. He would never let anyone touch his handsome face, especially since he had been traumatized by this guy's earlier assault.

What if he wanted to hit his handsome face?

The result of this was.

"Slap—"

The President's hand was fiercely swatted away by Nagumo Miyabi.

Seeing this, Horikita Manabu frowned deeply. Without hesitation, he struck again, seizing the other's arm in the blink of an eye.

Just as he intended to further subdue the target.

Nagumo Miyabi also erupted. Being beaten for no reason, combined with the other's complete disregard for him as a person, caused his temper to flare up.

"Hiyah!"

He raised his leg in a front kick.

Nagumo Miyabi didn't hold back in the slightest, either.

After all.

Since Horikita Manabu had thrown the first punch, he would have a valid excuse if this reached the school authorities. While avoiding a fight would have been the most profitable path, he had no intention of swallowing this insult for nothing.

Unfortunately.

There was a significant gap in martial prowess between the two.

Horikita Manabu dodged with ease. Instead of letting go of his opponent's arm, he closed the distance, pivoted, and bent his waist, executing a silky-smooth combo.

A shoulder throw.

In an instant, he sent Nagumo reeling, dazed and confused.

"Son of a..."

Nagumo Miyabi couldn't get back up, groaning and cursing in pain.

Ignoring the other's shouting, Horikita Manabu took a deep breath and reached out to tug at the man's face.

It was real!

"..."

Horikita Manabu fell silent. This result caught him completely off guard, yet he didn't lower his guard, demanding, "What are you doing here so late?"

At these words.

Nagumo Miyabi stopped his cursing, seemingly realizing something was wrong, and asked in confusion:

"Isn't this where you told me to come?"

"Damn it!"

Horikita Manabu's pupils constricted. He scrambled to his feet and looked toward the Server Room he had been guarding.

He saw that.

The keypad-locked door had been opened at some point.

Without a moment's hesitation, Horikita Manabu rushed inside, but it was already empty.

Only the massive display screen emitted a faint glow.

"This..."

Horikita Manabu's expression darkened. He pulled out his phone to check his points, and as expected, they had been wiped to zero.

The points.

They had been transferred silently.

With a grim face, he opened the server's operation logs.

"Hiss..."

Horikita Manabu gasped, unable to stop himself from taking a few steps back. The dense wall of operation logs on the screen made him realize the situation had spiraled out of control.

He dared not imagine.

The shock that would ripple through the student body come morning.

Suddenly.

Horikita Manabu's gaze dropped.

On the console, a pure white playing card printed with the silhouette of the Phantom Thief lay quietly.

That comical smiling face.

Seemed to mock his efforts tonight in silence.

"No."

"It's not over yet."

Horikita Manabu took a deep breath and dialed a number on his phone; it was answered in just two seconds.

"Report, President!"

"There are currently no abnormalities to report."

"Thank goodness..."

Hearing this.

Horikita Manabu let out a sigh of relief. He had long since ordered the School Building to be secretly locked down, allowing entry but no exit.

It appeared now.

The culprit had not yet left this School Building.

This operation was supported by the school, involving only security and staff. The Student Council was supposed to be mobilized as well, but Horikita Manabu had vetoed it.

A person who looked exactly like him.

Naturally, the less known about such a thing, the better.

"That's enough."

"Two hundred people surrounding a building; unless that guy grows wings and flies away, he absolutely won't be able to escape."

Muttering to himself, Horikita Manabu didn't waste any words, directly instructing the team leader on the other end of the call, "Split off a portion of your men, enter the School Building in pairs, and search. You must not go off alone."

"Yes!"

Hanging up the phone, Horikita Manabu felt a wave of exhaustion.

"What the—"

Just then.

A voice filled with utter shock rang out.

Nagumo Miyabi had walked in at some point, staring blankly at the dense, packed operation logs on the display screen, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

Following that.

He scrambled to open his phone to check his points.

Zero...

Nagumo Miyabi's face turned deathly pale, and he couldn't help but lose his composure, roaring, "Who the hell did this!"

He had lost his composure multiple times tonight.

There was no helping it.

His Private Points were not a small sum.

It wasn't just his own class; the points of almost the entire second year were held by Nagumo Miyabi.

Having lost these points.

He, the dictator, would likely be overthrown.

"Senior, who did this!"

Nagumo Miyabi was burning with rage, and in a moment of lost reason, he grabbed the Student Council President by the collar and demanded an answer.

However.

He saw it.

Those sharp eyes were locked onto him.

Like a bucket of cold water poured over his head, Nagumo Miyabi instantly sobered up and released the other's collar.

He realized.

The President was also very angry.

Furthermore.

His arrival seemed to have disrupted the President's plan, and this guy might even make him take the fall.

Damn...

A disaster for no reason.

Nagumo Miyabi's face looked as ugly as if he had eaten excrement, yet the next question made him even more unable to hold it together.

"Tell me."

"Why did you come here?"

Horikita Manabu adjusted his glasses, his expression blank.

Meanwhile.

On the rooftop of the School Building.

Xu Nuo stood at the edge of the roof, having restored his own appearance, with a bright, clear moon behind him.

The wind howled, his robes dancing wildly in the gale.

The scene was incredibly aesthetic.

With a faint smile on his lips, Xu Nuo looked down at the teams entering the building in twos and threes.

"Have you realized it yet?"

Immediately.

He slowly took a USB drive from his pocket.

He held it up toward the bright moon.

This USB drive was unremarkable, yet under the illumination of the clear moonlight, its entire body glowed with a faint luster.

Who could have imagined.

That it stored four hundred and seventy million points inside?

"It seems..."

Muttering with a hint of regret, Xu Nuo smiled and spread his arms, falling backward toward the cliffside to meet the full moon.

"I won."