The night was as dark as ink, and the area beneath Karuizawa Kei's old apartment building was eerily silent. Tang Yu stood in the shadows of the convenience store across the street, watching the two delinquents still keeping guard.
The taller one had dyed his hair blond, while the stockier one had a snake tattoo on his neck. Both wore black leather jackets and kept checking their phones beneath the streetlights.
Tang Yu brought up the surveillance feed on his phone. The tracking program he had tampered with was sending false signals, showing that Karuizawa was on her way home and still ten minutes' walk from the apartment.
"It's time to act," Tang Yu murmured, activating the System Interface:
[Current Emotion Points: 92500/∞] [Exchange "Environmental Emotion Infiltration" Enhanced Version, cost: 2000 points] [Exchange "Combat Prediction" Skill (one hour), cost: 1500 points] [Remaining Emotion Points: 89000/∞]
A wave of warmth coursed through him. Tang Yu became acutely aware of subtle changes in his surroundings—the engine of a distant car, the airflow as the convenience store door opened and closed, even the rhythm of the two thugs' breathing.
He adjusted the miniature recording device hidden beneath his collar (exchanged through the system, cost: 300 points), making sure it would clearly capture their conversation.
Tang Yu crossed the street, deliberately making his footsteps loud. The two thugs immediately grew wary. The blond reached behind his back, clearly hiding some kind of weapon.
"Hey, kid, what are you doing wandering around here at this hour?" the blond barked.
Tang Yu pretended to be startled and took half a step back. "I-I live in this building... Who are you?"
The two thugs exchanged a look. The tattooed man grinned, revealing a missing front tooth. "What a coincidence. We're waiting for a friend. You know Karuizawa in 1803?"
"Karuizawa-senpai?" Tang Yu deliberately raised his voice. "Didn't she move out?"
"Bullshit!" The blond grabbed Tang Yu by the collar. "The tracker says she's coming this way!"
Tang Yu activated "Emotion Perception." Their Emotion Clouds showed deep-red aggression and orange greed. They weren't just there to complete a job; they were hoping to get an extra "reward" out of it.
"I-I really don't know..." Tang Yu kept playing the frightened student. "How about I take you upstairs to have a look? I have a spare key..."
The suggestion was just what they wanted. The tattooed man shoved Tang Yu with a sinister grin. "Lead the way, kid. Don't try anything funny."
During the thirty seconds it took the elevator to rise, Tang Yu secretly activated "Environmental Emotion Infiltration," filling the confined space with a subtle sense of trust.
The effect was immediate. The two thugs visibly relaxed, and the blond even tucked the baton he had hidden behind his back into his belt.
At the door to 1803, Tang Yu pretended to take out a key, but actually used a lock-picking tool exchanged through the system (cost: 100 points) to open the door with ease. The apartment was pitch-black, filled with the dusty smell of a place that hadn't been lived in for a long time.
"Karuizawa?" the blond called loudly. His voice echoed through the empty apartment.
Tang Yu entered last and quietly locked the door behind them. As the two thugs turned on their phone flashlights and looked around, he suddenly asked, "Ryuen Kakeru sent you, didn't he?"
The two men spun around. The tattooed man reacted quickly, throwing a punch at Tang Yu's face. But with "Combat Prediction" active, the punch looked like it was moving in slow motion.
Tang Yu dodged to the side and struck the man precisely on the carotid artery with a knife-hand blow.
The tattooed man grunted and dropped to his knees. Seeing this, the blond pulled out his baton and swung it at Tang Yu. Tang Yu ducked, then swept his leg out and knocked him down. The whole sequence flowed seamlessly. In less than five seconds, both thugs were sprawled on the floor, groaning.
"Who the fuck are you?" the blond struggled to get up.
Tang Yu planted a foot on his wrist. "I'm the one asking the questions. How much did Ryuen pay you?"
"...Ah!" The blond's curses turned into a scream as Tang Yu increased the pressure on his wrist.
The tattooed man caught his breath, then suddenly drew a small knife from his boot and stabbed at Tang Yu's calf. Tang Yu had anticipated it. He stepped back to avoid the blade, then landed a spinning kick squarely on the man's jaw. The tattooed man crashed into the wall and passed out.
"This is your last chance." Tang Yu crouched down to meet the terrified blond's eyes. "What's Ryuen's plan?"
A flicker of hesitation crossed the blond's eyes. Tang Yu activated "Emotion Mirror," magnifying the fear within him several times over and reflecting it back at him.
The blond trembled all over as if he'd seen a ghost. "I-I'll talk! Boss Ryuen told us to keep an eye on that girl and force her to cooperate with some plan... H-he also said that if we couldn't catch her at school, we should post the photos online..."
"What photos?"
"I don't know the details! I just heard they were from her middle school days or something... Boss Ryuen said this trick worked on several other students, too..."
Tang Yu's stomach clenched. It was worse than he'd imagined. Ryuen wasn't just threatening Karuizawa; he had built an entire system for psychologically controlling students.
"Where are the photos?"
"Boss Ryuen keeps them... We're just doing it for the money..."
Tang Yu checked their phones and found their messages with Ryuen, including the address of Karuizawa's old apartment and several photos taken of her without her knowledge.
These pieces of evidence, along with the recording he had just made, were already enough to prove that Ryuen had hired outsiders to threaten students.
[Obtained key evidence: recording + message history] [Fear from the blond: +300] [Pain from the tattooed man: +200] [Current Emotion Points: 89700/∞]
Just as Tang Yu was about to leave, the tattooed man suddenly came to and lunged for the door. Tang Yu reacted instantly and darted after him, but just as he was about to catch him, he sensed something strange—someone was outside the apartment.
He immediately changed tactics, deliberately slowing down to let the tattooed man gain some distance. The moment the man thought he'd escaped and flung the door open—
"Police! Don't move!"
The person standing outside wasn't a police officer. It was Ayanokoji Kiyotaka in his school uniform, holding up his phone and pretending it was a body camera. The unexpected sight left the tattooed man stunned for a second—long enough for Tang Yu to come up behind him and knock him out with another knife-hand blow.
"Nice performance." Tang Yu raised an eyebrow. "But the 'police' routine was pretty cliché."
Ayanokoji put away his phone without changing expression. "It worked. I guessed you needed a witness?"
Only then did Tang Yu notice someone standing behind Ayanokoji: Tachibana Akane, the Student Council secretary, who was staring in astonishment with a hand over her mouth.
"Tachibana-senpai?"
"I-I was just passing by..." Tachibana Akane stammered. "Ayanokoji-kun said a student here was in danger..."
Tang Yu immediately understood Ayanokoji's plan. As a Student Council officer, Tachibana's testimony would make the evidence far more convincing. More importantly, she was close to Horikita Manabu, so word would go straight to the Student Council.
"Perfect. Senpai, please take a look at this." Tang Yu played the recording he had just made, especially the part where the two thugs admitted Ryuen had sent them.
Tachibana's expression turned serious. "Th-this is a serious violation of the school rules! We have to report it to President Horikita right away!"
"No rush," Tang Yu said calmly. "I'll organize all the evidence tomorrow. For now, senpai, please leave. We'll handle things here."
Tachibana hesitated, then finally nodded and left. Only after her footsteps faded in the stairwell did Ayanokoji speak. "What are you going to do with them?" He gestured toward the two unconscious thugs on the floor.
"Give them a little 'payback.'" Tang Yu took out the rope and duct tape he'd prepared in advance (exchanged through the system, cost: 50 points). "Give me a hand?"
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