Means

"Damn man, you only show up now? Hmph!"

Seeing the person she had been longing for, Kushida Kikyo, who should have been the first to cry out in excitement, was instead stomping her feet in place with a hint of anger.

Horikita Suzune, standing to the side, was still wondering when this guy had appeared, but upon noticing the annoyed expression on Kushida Kikyo's face when she saw him, she couldn't help but look puzzled.

She clearly remembered that these two had been getting quite close lately.

However, just as she was about to open her mouth to ask, the curious expression on her face froze in the next second.

The girl who had just been looking annoyed a moment ago had, in the span of a single glance, instantly radiated an incomparable look of excitement, and one could even clearly see tears welling up in her eyes at this moment.

"...You two stay here for a bit, I'm going to make a call to report the situation here to the school's security department." Horikita Suzune, looking speechless, left in a hurry after dropping that cold remark.

Kushida, having already reverted to her little angel persona, could no longer suppress the joy in her heart, and her voice trembled with tears of happiness.

"Mas... Rinya-kun, I knew you would be able to find this place, I knew it... wuwuwuwu~"

The girl with red, teary eyes ran toward him with intense emotion as if she were seeing her lover; it seemed that only by his side could she feel true safety.

Seeing the girl approach, Rinya smiled faintly and stroked her hair, then whispered in a secret language that only they could understand: "Shh~ I really did find a pretty good prey by accident this time. I'll praise you when we get back, be good."

Looking at Ibuki Mio, whose physical and mental abilities were top-tier in Class C, Rinya nodded with satisfaction.

He had been planning to plant one of his own informants in the other three classes before the arrival of the uninhabited island, just to make it easier to receive the latest news at any time.

"I have to say, it's like someone brought a pillow just as I was getting sleepy; it really didn't take any effort at all, hehe~"

"Mm~" Kushida nodded slightly; as someone who had been through this, she naturally understood her master's meaning.

As the voice faded, Kushida nodded and instantly stood to the side like an obedient little kitten, watching quietly.

"You... are you human or a monster?" At this moment, Ibuki Mio, having regained some of her senses, couldn't help but ask with a trembling voice as she stared at the boy who remained unscathed.

She never imagined that a boy from Class D, whom she had never taken seriously and who seemed to be all show, would hide such profound strength.

Not only was his speed so fast at the time that she had once thought it was an illusion, but there was also that constitution that could withstand electric currents... If she hadn't witnessed Ishizaki being instantly knocked down by his electrified palm, she would never have believed that a human could achieve such a feat.

"Hehe, can't you tell?" Rinya said with a half-smile.

"I... I don't know." Ibuki Mio held her head, her thoughts in chaos.

But once she thought of that horrifying scene earlier, she couldn't help but continue: "But that kind of high-voltage electricity, why are you fine?"

"Oh~ you mean this?" Rinya pointed to the stun baton lying on the ground and smiled faintly: "Hehe, indeed, perhaps it might be dangerous for you, but if it were me..."

He paused, and Rinya's expression suddenly became sentimental. "These are just things I played with until I was sick of them in the past. Besides this stun baton, there were electric whips, electric chairs, electric beds, and other things that are just the tip of the iceberg; I can barely remember them all now."

"Haha... thinking about it now, they really are unpleasant memories."

"Wh... what?" Hearing this, Ibuki Mio opened her eyes in disbelief. She had always been a good judge of character, and she could be certain that he wasn't lying.

But what kind of terrifying place had he lived in? Why did her heart involuntarily turn cold just from hearing his simple description?

"Forget it, forget it, let's end this topic here; the more I think about it, the more uncomfortable I feel."

Rinya shook his head, his dark red eyes fixed on Ibuki Mio again as he said coldly: "Alright, now it's your turn. Although you saved them just now, I assume that was only out of your human instinct."

"So my punishment won't be light, hehe~"

"You..." Before Ibuki Mio could even retort, it was already over.

Feeling the extremely oppressive aura radiating from the boy in front of her, the girl who had thought she could walk away unscathed felt a massive panic for the first time—a panic she hadn't even felt in front of Ryuen.

After all, the psychological trauma from the scene earlier was just too great; it was likely that no one could remain rational after seeing that.

"You... don't come over~" Ibuki Mio trembled, trying to back away.

However, her body, already softened by fear, had no ability to move.

Before long, she was lightly lifted up by one hand by the approaching Rinya, with no power to resist.

"Don't... don't... wuwuwuwu~"

In the end, Ibuki Mio was just a young girl. Even if she could throw her weight around in front of others with her superior martial arts, under such pressure, she couldn't escape the fate of being scared to tears.

"Yo, you cry really fast, but don't be in such a hurry."

As he spoke, Rinya suddenly leaned into her ear, and then a chilling voice that made one's heart tremble echoed softly.

"Rest assured, I'm not a devil. Considering you at least saved my people, I'll give you two choices, but you only have ten seconds to consider. If the time runs out, the first option is the default. Listen carefully."

"One, I cripple you and end your schooling."

"Two, you become my informant tool in Class C."

"Ten, nine, eight..."

"No, wait!"

"What did you... say~"

"I... I... how could I..." Hearing this, Ibuki Mio never expected the other party to offer such an outrageous choice, and she immediately became incoherent, her mind in a total mess.

"Four, three, two..."

"I..." Seeing that the other party wouldn't give her any time to think, out of the instinct for survival, Ibuki Mio had to scream with a pale face: "Two, I choose two, I choose two~"

"Hehe, and here I thought you were so loyal to your own class. It seems you're not above putting yourself first after all." Hearing this, Rinya couldn't help but smile playfully.

Seeing that she had been set down, the tension in Ibuki Mio's mind finally had a moment to ease. Shortly after, seemingly unable to suppress the fear she had been holding back, she crouched down, covered her head, and began to sob softly.

There was no helping it; after witnessing Ishizaki being knocked out in an instant by such an absurd method, she truly didn't dare to gamble on whether the other party would really leave her crippled.

She was terrified. For the first time in her life, she was so afraid of someone that her mind felt dazed and her features trembled.

Seeing this, Rinya, who knew the weaknesses of human nature well, felt a flicker of light in his eyes. He continued, adding, "However, you don't need to worry too much. After all, to be my eyes and ears, you only need to provide intelligence on your Class C at regular intervals."

"Not only will I guarantee your personal safety, but the reward I give you will be the wish you desire most in your heart."

Seeing that the other party was still crying without reacting, Rinya's mouth curled into a smirk, and a playful whisper sounded softly: "I guess... you want to completely crush Horikita Suzune, don't you~"

Upon hearing this, Ibuki Mio finally reacted. Her tear-reddened eyes looked up at Rinya in disbelief, her pupils contracting in chaos, filled with horror.

"You... you must be a mon—"

"Slap!"

Before she could finish her sentence, the crisp sound of a palm striking skin rang out.

"How dare you insult Master even now!"

Kushida suddenly swung a fierce, unexpected slap, causing the stunned Ibuki Mio to widen her eyes, clutching her red, swollen cheek in utter disbelief.

I was actually slapped by a rotten woman?

And she called him Master?

Seemingly realizing something, Ibuki Mio took a deep breath and chose not to retaliate.

She knew she had no way to wash away this humiliation right now. Gritting her teeth, she stopped looking at the smug expression on Kushida Kikyo's face.

Instead, she crawled in front of Rinya, devoid of any desire to cry, and said with a firmness she had never possessed before, word by word: "Rinya... Mas... Master, I can wholeheartedly help you collect intelligence on Class C, but you must promise me that afterward, you will let me have a 1v1 duel with her that no one is allowed to interfere with, until one side kneels and kowtows to beg for mercy!"

"Heh, that's an interesting idea, but..." Rinya's indifferent expression suddenly turned ferocious as he looked at Ibuki Mio, "Were you just trying to negotiate terms with me?"

Before the girl could react, she was lifted off the ground by a hand gripping her face and body.

As she struggled instinctively, a domineering, icy voice that seemed to pierce her soul echoed in her mind: "Remember, the moment you chose to become my tool, you lost any right to negotiate with me."

"What I want to give you and what you demand are two completely different things. I hope you remember that clearly!"

"Mmph, mmph..." Unable to breathe, Ibuki Mio nodded as if begging for mercy.

Seeing this, Rinya finally let her go.

However, he didn't give her much time to rest before his suffocating, icy voice drifted over again.

"But I must warn you: if I ever discover that you have betrayed me in the future, your fate will be more than just expulsion. I believe I don't need to tell you that myself, heh."

Even though he was just a high school student, from those terrifying pupils, Ibuki Mio felt as if she were truly looking at a demon from hell who had killed countless people, staring fixedly at her.

"Yes... yes, Ibuki will remember~" After being suppressed both physically and mentally, the completely desperate Ibuki Mio was now like a puppet. After speaking, there was no expression left on her face.

"Rinya, what are you doing!"

Just then, following an angry shout, Horikita Suzune, who had just finished a phone call, saw from afar the moment Ibuki Mio was lifted up, and anger surged in her heart.

Regardless of anything else, the other party had saved them at the last moment, and if he were to act recklessly now and be caught on surveillance, even her side, who should have been the victims, might end up being punished.

Hearing this, Rinya was slightly stunned. He had almost forgotten about this person involved. If he didn't explain it to her, he would become famous again once the security department arrived.

Waving his hand as he prepared to walk toward Horikita Suzune, Rinya's movements paused for a split second as he passed Ibuki Mio—though an ordinary person would not have noticed.

The girl, who had already been hollow-eyed, felt her numb expression twitch involuntarily after Rinya walked past her. Then, crystal-clear tears began to well up in her eyes, drop by drop.

"That interesting proposal, I accept it. Along with crushing Horikita Suzune."

"As a tool I've taken a fancy to, this is your qualification and my recognition. If you have any other wishes next time, remember to tell me secretly (having already taken the opportunity to exchange contact information). Of course, if you break the rules openly again, I can be very heartless. Remember that, heh~"

You... you are a big freak, that's what you are!

"Wuu... wuu~"

Ibuki wept silently in her heart.

Because of this tiny voice that had sounded in her ear, her numb soul had ignited once more, and this time, her burning spirit finally had a brand-new direction and a brand-new goal...