Karuizawa (Part 1)

The night was as dark as ink, and the area below the old apartment building where Karuizawa Kei lived was deathly quiet. Tang Yu stood in the shadows of a convenience store across the street, watching the two young men who were still loitering there.

The tall one had dyed his hair yellow, while the short, stocky one had a snake tattoo on his neck. Both were wearing black leather jackets, checking their phones from time to time under the streetlights.

Tang Yu pulled up the surveillance feed on his phone—the tracking program he had tampered with was sending out fake signals, indicating that Karuizawa was on her way home and was ten minutes away on foot.

It was time to act. Tang Yu whispered to himself and activated the system interface:

[Current Emotion Points: 92500/∞]
[Redeem "Environmental Emotion Infiltration" (Enhanced Version), cost 2000 points]
[Redeem "Combat Prediction" skill (one hour), cost 1500 points]
[Remaining Emotion Points: 89000/∞]

A surge of heat flooded his body, and Tang Yu felt the subtle changes in his surroundings become exceptionally clear—the sound of distant car engines, the airflow from the convenience store door opening and closing, and even the breathing rhythm of the two thugs.

He adjusted the micro-recording device hidden under his collar (redeemed from the system, cost 300 points) to ensure it would clearly capture the upcoming conversation.

Tang Yu crossed the street, deliberately making his footsteps audible. The two thugs immediately became alert; the yellow-haired one reached behind his back, clearly hiding some kind of weapon.

"Hey, kid, what are you doing wandering around at this hour?" the yellow-haired one barked sharply.

Tang Yu pretended to be startled and took a half-step back: "I, I live in this building... who are you guys?"

The two thugs exchanged a glance. The tattooed man grinned, revealing a missing front tooth: "What a coincidence, we're waiting for a friend. Do you know Karuizawa from 1803?"

"Karuizawa-senpai?" Tang Yu intentionally raised his volume. "Didn't she move out?"

"Bullshit!" The yellow-haired man grabbed Tang Yu by the collar. "The tracker shows she's walking this way!"

Tang Yu activated "Emotion Perception." The emotion clouds of the two men displayed deep red aggression and orange greed—they weren't just here to complete a task; they were looking forward to extracting an extra "reward."

"I, I really don't know..." Tang Yu continued to play the part of a frightened student. "How about I take you upstairs to check? I have a spare key..."

This proposal played right into their hands. The tattooed man sneered and shoved Tang Yu: "Lead the way, kid. Don't try anything funny."

During the 30 seconds the elevator was rising, Tang Yu secretly activated "Environmental Emotion Infiltration," filling the confined space with a subtle sense of "trust."

The effect was immediate—the two thugs' vigilance visibly relaxed, and the yellow-haired man even tucked the telescopic baton he had been hiding back into his belt.

In front of 1803, Tang Yu pretended to fish for his keys, but actually used the lock-picking tool redeemed from the system (cost 100 points) to easily open the door. The room was pitch black, smelling of dust from long-term vacancy.

"Karuizawa?" the yellow-haired man shouted, his voice echoing in the empty apartment.

Tang Yu was the last to enter and quietly locked the door behind him. As the two thugs turned on their phone lights to search the place, he suddenly spoke up: "You were sent by Ryuen Kakeru, weren't you?"

The two men spun around violently. The tattooed man reacted quickly, throwing a punch at Tang Yu's face. But under the influence of "Combat Prediction," the punch looked like slow motion to Tang Yu.

He sidestepped the blow and delivered a precise hand strike to the man's carotid artery.

The tattooed man groaned and collapsed to his knees. Seeing this, the yellow-haired man pulled out his telescopic baton and swung it horizontally. Tang Yu ducked, then followed up with a sweep kick that knocked the man down. The entire sequence was fluid; in less than five seconds, both thugs were lying on the ground groaning.

"Who the hell are you?" the yellow-haired man struggled to get up.

Tang Yu stepped on his wrist: "I'm the one asking the questions. How much did Ryuen pay you?"

"...Ah!" The yellow-haired man's curse turned into a scream as Tang Yu applied a little more pressure to his foot.

The tattooed man caught his breath and suddenly pulled a small knife from his boot, stabbing toward Tang Yu's lower leg. Tang Yu had anticipated this; he took a step back to avoid it and immediately landed a roundhouse kick squarely on the man's chin. The tattooed man slammed into the wall and passed out.

"Last chance." Tang Yu crouched down, looking the terrified yellow-haired man in the eye. "What is Ryuen's plan?"

A flash of hesitation crossed the yellow-haired man's eyes. Tang Yu activated "Emotion Mirror," magnifying the fear in the man's heart and reflecting it back at him.

The yellow-haired man began to tremble as if he had seen a ghost: "I, I'll talk! Boss Ryuen told us to watch that girl and force her to cooperate with some plan... He, he also said if we couldn't catch her at school, we'd post the photos online..."

"What photos?"

"I don't know the details! Just heard it was something from middle school... Boss Ryuen said this trick works on quite a few students..."

Tang Yu's stomach tightened. It was worse than he had imagined—Ryuen wasn't just threatening Karuizawa; he had established a systematic network of mental control.

"Where are the photos?"

"Boss Ryuen keeps them... we're just hired help..."

Tang Yu checked both of their phones and indeed found communication records with Ryuen, including the address of Karuizawa's old apartment and several candid photos of her.

This evidence, combined with the recording he had just made, was enough to prove that Ryuen had hired outsiders to threaten students.

[Obtained key evidence: Recording + Communication records]
[Fear from yellow-haired man +300]
[Pain from tattooed man +200]
[Current Emotion Points: 89700/∞]

Just as Tang Yu was preparing to leave, the unconscious tattooed man suddenly woke up and lunged toward the door. Tang Yu reacted instantly, lunging forward, but just as he was about to grab the man, he sensed something unusual—there was someone outside the apartment door.

He immediately changed his strategy, deliberately slowing his movements to let the tattooed man gain some distance. Just as the tattooed man thought he had escaped and threw the door open—

"Police! Don't move!"

Standing outside the door wasn't a police officer, but Ayanokoji Kiyotaka in his school uniform, holding his phone up as if it were a body camera. This unexpected move stunned the tattooed man for a second, which was enough for Tang Yu to deliver another hand strike from behind to knock him out again.

"Nice performance," Tang Yu raised an eyebrow. "Though the 'police' trick is a bit cliché."

Ayanokoji put away his phone with an expressionless face: "As long as it's effective. I assume you need a witness?"

It was only then that Tang Yu noticed someone standing behind Ayanokoji—Secretary Tachibana Akane of the Student Council, who was covering her mouth in surprise.

"Senior Tachibana?"

"I, I was just passing by..." Tachibana Akane stammered, "Student Ayanokoji said there was a student in danger here..."

Tang Yu instantly understood Ayanokoji's plan. As a Student Council official, Tachibana Akane's testimony would make this evidence much more persuasive. More importantly, she was close to President Horikita, meaning this information would reach the Student Council's ears directly.

"Perfect, please take a look at this, Senior." Tang Yu played the recorded clip, specifically the part where the two thugs admitted to being directed by Ryuen.

Tachibana Akane's expression turned serious: "This... this is a severe violation of school rules! It must be reported to President Horikita immediately!"

"No rush." Tang Yu said calmly, "I will organize all the evidence by tomorrow. For now, please leave, Senior; leave the rest to us."

Tachibana Akane hesitated for a moment before finally nodding and leaving. Once her footsteps faded into the stairwell, Ayanokoji spoke up: "How do you intend to dispose of them?" He pointed at the two unconscious thugs on the ground.

"I'm going to send them a 'return gift'." Tang Yu took the rope and duct tape he had prepared in advance from his bag (System exchange, cost 50 points), "Can you give me a hand?"