Kid's Style

At this moment.

Horikita Manabu suddenly moved.

Without any warning, his figure lunged forward in an instant.

The speed was extreme.

"Whoosh--"

Horikita Manabu moved like a startled rabbit, crossing the majority of the distance in the blink of an eye. With his height advantage and reaction time, his right hand reaching out toward the phone was almost impossible to avoid.

However.

Xu Nuo's reaction was faster.

The moment the other party moved, his left hand had already pulled something from his trouser pocket.

Silvery white.

Streamlined.

It looked exquisitely crafted, with smooth lines and sharp edges, the entire body gleaming with a cold, mechanical luster.

This was...

A gun?!

Horikita Manabu's eyes widened.

No.

This was a Poker Card Launcher, or rather...

A Poker Gun!

The same model used by Kaito Kid.

"Puff."

A faint sound of pressurized air being released echoed.

In an instant.

A pure white poker card shot out from the launcher, carrying a sharp whistling sound as it tore through the air, heading straight for Horikita Manabu at a speed the naked eye could barely track.

"Swish!"

The speed was so great that even the air was sliced open.

Under the moonlight, the edge of the poker card reflected a cold, icy gleam, as sharp as a blade.

This is...

Horikita Manabu's pupils constricted sharply.

His body reacted instinctively, attempting to dodge to the side, but unfortunately, it was already too late.

The next moment.

The pure white poker card grazed his forehead, and a few strands of black hair drifted through the air.

It wasn't over yet.

"Chirp--!!"

The poker card flew straight past Horikita Manabu and embedded itself deep into the wall behind him, with only a corner remaining visible.

The force was immense.

Even pinned into the wall, it was still vibrating slightly.

For a moment.

The air seemed to solidify.

Horikita Manabu stopped his movement, remaining in his lunging posture with his right hand still outstretched in mid-air.

But his entire body had frozen completely.

Cold sweat streamed down.

He watched helplessly as the few strands of hair from his forehead, having been cleanly severed, drifted slowly to the ground.

"Hiss..."

Horikita Manabu drew a sharp breath.

He could clearly feel the stinging sensation left behind when that poker card had grazed his forehead just now.

If it had been off by even a fraction.

It likely wouldn't have been his hair, but his skin.

Or perhaps even...

His eye.

"Oops, my apologies."

Xu Nuo blew on the muzzle of the Poker Gun in his hand, his tone light and casual. "Slipped, almost missed. But please rest assured, Mr. President."

"My aim is actually quite good."

Having said that.

He tilted his chin toward the playing card on the wall, his tone filled with a sense of admiration.

"Look, how precise. It's embedded exactly halfway in."

Horikita Manabu: "..."

He took a deep breath, slowly adjusted his glasses, and lowered his head, his lenses reflecting a cold light.

"Are you,"

"threatening me?"

His voice was calm, yet carried an inexplicable sense of oppression.

"Threatening?"

Xu Nuo blinked, his expression appearing completely innocent. "You're joking, Mr. President. How could this be a threat? I'm merely exercising my right to self-defense."

"After all."

"You suddenly lunged at me just now. As a weak and helpless student of Class D, I naturally have to protect my private property."

As he spoke.

The guy didn't forget to shake the phone in his hand.

To emphasize his point.

"Besides."

"I recall the school rules don't forbid carrying toys like this, do they?" Xu Nuo said with a mocking smile.

With the right time, place, and circumstances.

The President had no choice but to concede this time.

However...

A toy?

Horikita Manabu's mouth twitched as he glanced at the playing card embedded at least two centimeters deep into the wall.

You call this damn thing a toy?

This power.

It was likely no worse than a real, small hidden weapon.

"Hoo..."

Horikita Manabu took a deep breath, suppressing his surging emotions, and his voice returned to a calm, concise state.

"What do you want?"

"Oh?"

Xu Nuo raised an eyebrow, surprised that this guy had calmed down so quickly and was being so cooperative.

"Ahem."

"Don't misunderstand, Mr. President. I have no intention of blackmailing you. I simply find this recording quite interesting and would like to keep it as a memento."

He stated righteously.

However.

Horikita Manabu only heard "you need to pay more" in those words.

"Xu Nuo—"

"Don't be fooled by this guy. He isn't my brother; he's an impostor. Anything he promised you, he won't be able to deliver!"

At this moment.

Having recovered from her stupor, Horikita Suzune wrinkled her nose, her voice squeezed out through gritted teeth.

She seemed terrified that Xu Nuo would be deceived by the other party.

And tarnish her brother's reputation.

"..."

Horikita Manabu remained silent, a vein bulging slightly on his temple.

Suzune... even at a time like this, she still didn't understand the situation, and she couldn't even distinguish her own brother.

It made him feel somewhat saddened.

By now.

Horikita Manabu had finally managed to piece everything together.

Suzune must have met that "Horikita Manabu," which explained why she held such hostility toward him; she had likely noticed the differences between himself and the other one.

So, he had been biased, leading to a misjudgment.

The question then arose.

That guy.

How did he know about Suzune, and how did he know about the attitude he usually took when interacting with his younger sister?

Otherwise.

Suzune would never have mistaken him for himself.

Unfortunately.

This question.

He was destined never to find the answer.

Meanwhile, hearing Horikita Suzune's words.

Xu Nuo's expression turned somewhat peculiar.

Good grief.

Suzune really was single-minded; once she set her heart on an idea, it almost never changed. It was unexpectedly cute.

He did not answer.

Instead, he countered:

"Aren't you supposed to be looking for your real brother?"

"..."

In an instant.

Horikita Suzune's face turned even redder than before, the flush spreading from her neck all the way to her earlobes. She looked as if she were about to start smoking, her fox-like eyes filled with shame and anger.

That detestable guy.

He made it sound as if I were a crying brat, whining and clamoring to find my brother every single day.

At this moment.

Horikita Manabu, standing to the side, knew it was his turn.

He sighed.

"Suzune."

"I am the genuine Horikita Manabu. The one you saw last time was the imposter. I will explain the details to you when we meet next."

"As for now..."

Horikita Manabu's gaze slowly shifted toward Xu Nuo, who was watching the show, and his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

This guy.

Where on earth did he pop out from?

He had been keeping a close watch on the surroundings; if there had been footsteps, he would have noticed them. Furthermore, this guy was actually carrying a toy of such power on his person.

He was definitely a dangerous individual.

Most importantly.

He seemed surprisingly close with his own foolish sister.

Suddenly.

Horikita Manabu narrowed his eyes.

He remembered now; he had seen this kid by his sister's side during the entrance ceremony at the Gymnasium last time.

Afterward.

He had specifically gone to investigate the other party's file.

Unfortunately.

The other party's grades were mediocre, and there was nothing notable in his background, so Horikita Manabu had stopped paying attention to him, focusing instead on another student from Class D.

Now it seemed.

Could it be that he had misjudged him?

On the other side.

Horikita Suzune: "..."

The girl froze completely, looking at the man before her, unable to believe what she had just heard.

"Brother?"

"...Is it really you?"

"Yes."

Horikita Manabu nodded, confirming it.

In an instant.

The air fell into a dead silence once again.