At the sight of this, Katsuragi's face darkened even further, and the people behind him quickly stepped forward.
They surrounded Yi Chen in a half-circle, and the atmosphere instantly grew tense.
Yi Chen gripped the branch tightly, warily scanning everyone. He lowered his stance slightly, ready to fight.
They were on a small slope.
Katsuragi and his people stood higher up, while Yi Chen was lower down.
"Hmph, Yi Chen, you sure are confident."
Katsuragi snorted. One of the people behind him attacked first.
He was agile, lunging at Yi Chen in a single step, his right fist whistling toward Yi Chen's face.
Yi Chen smiled disdainfully.
He dodged to the side and swung the branch hard at the man's left hand.
The man clutched his hands in pain.
Katsuragi and two others stepped in front of him.
Katsuragi said angrily:
"You coward. You can only fight when you have a weapon."
Yi Chen pursed his lips helplessly.
"Seriously? You're the one who wanted to fight. You're also the one who brought four people to take on one."
"I don't think defending myself is cowardly."
With that, Yi Chen smiled and tossed aside the branch in his hand.
Katsuragi said nothing. The three of them surrounded Yi Chen.
The man behind him tried to grab Yi Chen.
Yi Chen spun into a roundhouse kick, sending two men flying.
They crashed heavily into a tree behind them.
Seeing this, Katsuragi raised his fists and took up a stance.
He threw a punch, but Yi Chen easily caught his wrist.
Katsuragi yanked hard to break free, but it had no effect.
Katsuragi immediately swung his elbow across, and Yi Chen blocked it with his palm.
Taking advantage of the opening, Katsuragi forced Yi Chen back.
The man whose hand had just been struck punched at Yi Chen again.
Yi Chen simply caught his wrist and twisted his arm.
The man was nowhere near as strong as Katsuragi.
Yi Chen easily seized control of him and turned him around.
Yi Chen raised his knee and kicked him away with a straight front kick.
The man stumbled uncontrollably toward Katsuragi.
Katsuragi caught him, then patted his own shoulder and called out:
"You guys can't beat him. Go over there and regroup."
"Angela. Yi Chen really is someone who can make Ryuen eat humble pie."
"He's got some real skill."
After saying that, the man Yi Chen had just kicked away helped the two men who had fallen beneath the tree to their feet, and they left.
Yi Chen didn't care.
Katsuragi raised his knee and brought his arms up.
Yi Chen took a Three-Body Stance.
Katsuragi threw a straight right, then feinted with a left jab.
Yi Chen watched him closely.
Katsuragi spun into a roundhouse kick.
Yi Chen stepped back and dodged.
Katsuragi threw a right punch.
Yi Chen blocked it with his palm.
Katsuragi stepped in and drove a knee upward.
Yi Chen pressed down hard with both hands.
Then he turned his hand and shoved Katsuragi back with his palm.
Katsuragi flew into a rage.
A straight right, then a straight left.
Yi Chen dodged both with sidesteps.
Yi Chen smiled as he watched Katsuragi.
Katsuragi clenched his fists and swayed from side to side.
Just then, the noisy sound of footsteps came from nearby.
Keeping his eyes on Katsuragi, Yi Chen cautiously gauged who was approaching.
Katsuragi spun around and swung a powerful kick.
Yi Chen couldn't block it in time, so he bent his arm to shield himself.
"Stop, Katsuragi!"
"What on earth are you doing?"
A woman's voice rang out.
Kamuro Masumi arrived with most of Class A. When she saw Katsuragi fighting, she looked furious.
Kamuro Masumi said irritably:
"Katsuragi, what's wrong with you? Pulling something like this will cost the class all its points."
"Aren't you supposed to be the conservative one?"
"I'm done dealing with you. Handle this yourself."
"You'll bear the consequences your actions bring to Class A on your own."
"After the exam, I'll tell Sakayanagi everything I saw today."
Katsuragi said nothing. He glanced at Yi Chen.
After quietly apologizing, he turned and left.
Yi Chen was at a loss for words.
"Seriously? That's it? Forget it. Class A has more people, and there isn't much I can do."
A man with black, wavy hair walked over to Yi Chen curiously.
He said calmly:
"Hello, I'm Kito Hayato from Class A."
"We met before."
"Katsuragi gave you a bad experience this time, and I'd like to apologize on his behalf."
"Don't worry. If you want revenge, we won't stop you."
After casually responding to the gloomy Kito Hayato, Yi Chen saw how many people Class A had and decided to leave.
Yi Chen could still feel the force of Katsuragi's last kick. It had been powerful.
Yi Chen brushed the dirt and dust from his sleeves.
He sighed helplessly.
"Maybe it really is impossible to do this alone."
"Just like Kushida can easily steer the class with her own group."
"When there are lots of people, fighting ability alone doesn't count for much."
"I should try doing things their way."
On the way back, Yi Chen gathered some fruit from the trees.
When he got back to his cave, he redecorated it.
Yi Chen settled down and began to reassess his position in Class D.
He realized precisely that relying on his own mediocrity and strength alone
would make it very difficult to stand out in the class exam.
"Ayanokoji. That's right."
"Even the White Room genius is better at using people than I am. He's never been alone."
Yi Chen couldn't help exclaiming.
"With the script in my hands, how should I make use of the class?"
"Kushida? Or should I just get him expelled? He's a traitor to the class."
"Karuizawa? Well, I don't like her, but she should be easier to recruit."
"Hirata is kind to everyone and treats people fairly."
"But... something about him just feels off."
"To get into Class A, I can only do this."
Yi Chen lay on his makeshift bed, staring at the dark walls of the cave.
"I've decided."
For the rest of the time, Yi Chen quickly gathered some food.
Evening came soon.
Ichinose brought a few trusted companions.
They found Class D's territory, and Ichinose eagerly searched for Yi Chen.
Hirata told Ichinose that Yi Chen had gone out alone to experience life on the uninhabited island.
Ichinose was puzzled and asked where Yi Chen was.
Hirata said he didn't know.
Ichinose said angrily:
"What is wrong with Class D? How could you let one of your classmates go off alone?"
Hirata thought about how Yi Chen had been impossible to talk out of it. He also didn't know why he had agreed to Yi Chen's idea at the time.
Maybe I do want to get into Class A after all.
Hirata thought to himself.
Hirata tried to explain everything to Ichinose.
Ichinose wouldn't listen.
Ichinose said anxiously:
"From what I know of Yi Chen, he would never be the one to propose acting alone."
"Yi Chen is very shy. He wouldn't suggest something like this to you."
"He definitely wouldn't just leave on his own."
Ichinose thought it over.
"It must have been you."
"What did you do to Yi Chen?"
Everyone in Class D except Ken Sudō and a few others who had blamed Yi Chen lowered their heads.
Seeing their reaction, Ichinose understood.
Ichinose asked Hirata:
"Tell me what happened!"
Hirata said nothing.
Ichinose asked Horikita next.
Horikita had nothing to say either.
Ichinose glared at Kushida.
Kushida feigned reluctance.
At the sight of that, Ichinose understood.
A woman's intuition.
Ichinose said furiously:
"If anything happens to Yi Chen, every single one of you here will be..."
Ayanokoji watched Ichinose, her face furious.
He quietly leaned toward Horikita and whispered something to her.
Horikita sighed helplessly.
"Ichinose, I have a suggestion."
Ichinose asked:
"What?"
Horikita calmly pointed to the watch on her wrist.
"The school gave us these watches."
"If something happens to Yi Chen, he can contact the school for help."
"Also, these watches have heart-rate monitors and GPS tracking."
"We can go ask the teachers whether Yi Chen is still on the island."
Ichinose nodded at that and took a few people over to the Cruise Ship.
Hoshinomiya saw Ichinose and asked her with a worried expression what was wrong.
Chabashira sat off to the side beneath a parasol, quietly watching them.
Ignoring Hoshinomiya-sensei, Ichinose went over to Chabashira for help.
"Chabashira-sensei, is Yi Chen still on the island?"
Chabashira looked at Ichinose impassively.
"He hasn't left the island yet. Why?"
Ichinose continued, "Can you check Yi Chen's location?"
Chabashira shook her head.
Ichinose asked, "Then can you check his current condition?"
Though Chabashira was puzzled, this didn't violate the school rules.
Chabashira checked Yi Chen's wristband.
All of his physical stats were normal.
Only then did Ichinose breathe a sigh of relief.
Chabashira asked, "What's wrong? Did something happen to you, Ichinose?"
Ichinose thought for a moment, then simply thanked the two of them and left.
Hoshinomiya looked at Chabashira with displeasure. "My Ichinose just ignored me for your class's Yi Chen."
Chabashira looked toward the Uninhabited Island, her expression dark.
She slowly lit a cigarette.
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