Heading to the Restaurant

The lengthy opening ceremony finally came to an end amidst a smattering of symbolic applause.

Like floodwaters bursting through a sluice gate, the new students poured out of the gymnasium, the once-silent venue instantly filled with the clamor of chatter and footsteps.

"Phew—finally over!"

The moment she stepped out of the gymnasium and onto the open ground outside the academic building, Chisato Nishikigi couldn't help but stretch with abandon, her short golden hair bouncing in the sunlight.

"Time to eat, right? My stomach's growling already!"

She rubbed her flat belly, her face brimming with longing for food.

"Chisato, mind your surroundings."

Runa Inoue frowned slightly and reminded her in a low voice, "In public areas, please maintain basic decorum."

"I know, I know~"

Chisato Nishikigi stuck out her tongue, but quickly regained her confidence.

"But Runa, keeping up good manners takes energy too! How can I be perfect without a full stomach? Right, young master? Walnut?"

She looked to Mazumi Mami and Walnut as if seeking allies.

"From the perspective of physiological priority and efficiency maximization, I agree with Chisato's proposal to prioritize energy replenishment. Additionally, mealtime provides us with a relatively concentrated and undisturbed communication window. Young master, we can use this time to preliminarily summarize the morning's observations and plan the next steps."

Walnut replied in her characteristic, slightly electronic-toned, steady voice.

Mazumi Mami nodded. The solid wooden cane in his hand tapped lightly on the ground as his gaze swept over the new students around them—some excited, some bewildered, some chatting in groups.

"Mm, let's eat first. It's a good chance to sort out our thoughts. So far, quite a few noteworthy clues and doubts have already surfaced."

He looked at Walnut. "The next phase of information filtering and in-depth investigation will probably fall on your shoulders."

"It's my duty, young master."

Walnut accepted calmly, a glint of confidence befitting a top-tier technician flashing in her blue eyes. "Leave it to me."

The four of them followed the crowd into the school's student cafeteria.

The cafeteria was enormous inside, with a modern, bright decor. Long lines had already formed in front of the various food stalls.

The air was thick with the aroma of food and the noise of the crowd.

"Wow, so many people!"

Chisato Nishikigi stood on tiptoe to look around.

"Looks like most of them are second- and third-year seniors... We new students got delayed by the ceremony, so we're only coming now. Is there somewhere a bit quieter? It's hard to talk otherwise."

Runa Inoue's gaze quickly swept across the cafeteria layout, locking onto a corner area.

"Over there, they offer paid private room service. The fee is... per three-hour block, 5,000 personal points."

She reported the information with precision.

"Let's go with a private room."

Mazumi Mami didn't hesitate. Point expenditure wasn't his primary concern; a private, secure environment for communication was more important.

"I'll handle the procedures and payment."

Walnut said immediately, preparing to head to the service counter.

"Then Runa and I will order food!"

Chisato Nishikigi volunteered eagerly. "You and Walnut go ahead to the room, young master!"

Mazumi Mami smiled and reminded her, "Don't order the wrong things."

"Leave it to me!"

Chisato Nishikigi patted her chest, her smile bright.

"Young master doesn't like ingredients like scallions, ginger, or garlic. Walnut prefers high-calorie desserts and carbonated drinks to fuel her brain. Runa goes for a balanced, nutritious set meal. As for me... I want to try a bit of everything! Mission guaranteed!"

Chisato Nishikigi declared.

Just then, Walnut looked at Runa and said quietly.

"Oh, Runa, before we go in, could you return my 'main gear' to me? It's inconvenient in public areas..."

"Understood."

Runa Inoue nodded, walked over to Walnut, and seemingly casually gave Walnut's handbag a light pat.

Walnut felt a sudden weight in her hand—the bag's heft multiplied in an instant.

She adjusted her grip without changing expression and nodded at Runa Inoue.

Runa Inoue's spatial storage ability had, without a trace, transferred Walnut's powerful custom laptop from a pocket dimension into this specially modified handbag with reinforced internal compartments.

With their roles clearly divided, the four moved into action at once.

Walnut went to pay for and reserve the private room. Mazumi Mami followed the signs toward the room area. Chisato and Runa headed for the fragrant food stalls.

The private room was small, but simply and comfortably furnished. The soundproofing was clearly effective; once the door closed, the noise from outside faded by more than half.

Mazumi Mami had just sat down in a chair when Walnut walked in carrying her bag, locking the door behind her.

"Young master..."

Walnut's voice lowered.

"There's a built-in wide-angle surveillance camera next to the smoke detector on the ceiling. Standard security monitoring setup. I need you to disrupt it for ten seconds. After ten seconds, it'll be 'transparent' to us."

Walnut said.

"A trivial matter."

Mazumi Mami's lips curled slightly as he raised his right hand and snapped his fingers crisply.

No dazzling light, no intense energy fluctuation.

But at that same moment, in a security monitoring room somewhere on campus, the monitor screen corresponding to this private room flickered without warning, then filled with dense static and distorted color blocks.

"Huh? What's going on?"

The security guard on duty frowned, reached out to pat the monitor casing, and checked the cable connections. "Signal glitch?"

Just as he was about to pull up other camera feeds or log a repair request, the ten seconds passed. The static on the screen vanished abruptly, and the image returned to normal.

Inside the private room, "Mazumi Mami" was leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed, resting, while "Walnut" seemed to be fiddling with her phone. Everything was as usual.

The guard muttered, "Loose connection?" and dismissed the minor incident, returning to monitor other areas.

But in the real private room, during those precious ten seconds—

Walnut swiftly opened her handbag and pulled out a sleek, lightweight laptop with a faint blue indicator light glowing, exuding a tech-filled aura.

As it booted up, her fingers had already become blurs across the keyboard.

Complex code streams cascaded like a waterfall across the secondary screen beside her main display.

When she struck the final Enter key, multiple split-screen windows appeared on the laptop's monitor.

One was a real-time surveillance feed, showing exactly what this private room "should" be capturing—a looped simulation generated by Walnut's program, overwriting the genuine signal.

Another displayed a complex network topology map and permission lists.

"Done."

Walnut let out a soft breath, her tone returning to its usual steadiness.

"The surveillance signal has been hijacked and replaced with a preset loop. Preliminary scan complete—no additional eavesdropping or monitoring devices found in the room. It's safe now."

"Truly reliable, Walnut."

Mazumi Mami smiled approvingly, reached out again, and habitually ruffled Walnut's ash-brown hair.

Walnut's cheeks flushed slightly, but this time she didn't dodge. Instead, she puffed out her nonexistent chest, her tone carrying a hint of pride.

"Of course. Young master, don't underestimate my technical skills. I'm the world-class hacker codenamed 'Owlman' in the Imperial Intelligence Department's backup archives, ranked number one."

"Then, our all-capable Miss 'Valkyrie.'"

Mazumi Mami withdrew his hand, his expression turning slightly more serious. "Could you help me investigate two people in depth?"

"Go ahead."

"First, our Class A classmate, Sakayanagi Arisu. I need confirmation of her familial relationship with the chairman, Sakayanagi Narumori, but more importantly, gather as much past data on her as possible—health records, educational background, social networks, areas of exceptional skill... any unusual details."

"Second, a male student from Class D. I only know his surname is Ayanokouji. Brown short hair, yellow eyes, about 176 centimeters tall, and his demeanor... is very distinctive. I need his full name and as detailed a background as possible. I suspect his origins aren't simple."

Walnut nodded, her fingers already back on the keyboard, her blue eyes fixed intently on the screen.

"Understood. Prioritize deep intelligence on Sakayanagi Arisu and the male student surnamed Ayanokouji from Class D. Leave it to me."

Her fingers danced once more. On the laptop screen, multiple encrypted connection windows popped up, and complex query commands and infiltration programs began running.

Windows flickered, data streams scrolled, and countless public or semi-public databases, potential entry points into the school's internal network, and even deeper shadow network interfaces were probed, breached, or bypassed one by one under her control.

And on the monitor in the security room, this expensive private room showed only two newly enrolled students quietly waiting for their lunch, occasionally exchanging low murmurs about mundane campus topics.

No one knew that a silent intelligence operation had already quietly begun its opening act in this seemingly ordinary campus restaurant.