Admit It, You Can't Stand the Aliens

Kamuro Masumi, who had been caught in the crossfire despite being innocent, felt a pang in her stomach.

She dodged left and right, but no matter what she did, she couldn't escape.

Was she just having a run of bad luck, or had she been marked by this lousy Black Sphere after catching the bad luck of those two?

They just... completely ignored whether she could take it or not. How was she supposed to keep it together?

At that moment, Ken Sudō finally realized something was wrong.

He looked around at the room packed full of people.

"Huh? Wait, didn't Hirata say there was one Main Match slot for each class, plus one random slot?"

"Why does it feel like there are... way too many people here?"

Ryuen Kakeru was speechless. He'd completely lost patience with the single-celled organism.

He strode straight to the Black Sphere in the middle of the room.

"GANTZ, quit stalling. Let's get started!"

"Bzzzt—"

The surface of the Black Sphere flickered, and the familiar white text appeared.

Along with it came a photo of two bizarre creatures with human torsos and gorilla faces.

[Target: Ape-Man * 2]

[Characteristics: A product of genetic experiments. Taught, but not civilized. Humanity's natural enemy.]

[Likes: Philosophy, debate, survival of the fittest.]

[Catchphrase: I am an Ape-Man, neither completely human nor completely an ape.]

[Failure penalty: All participants will be eliminated.]

[Time limit: 60:00]

[Helpful hint: The Intruders have apparently exceeded the strength limit, so only three of them will be sent in this time.]

[Now then... should information about the hidden monster be revealed, Ryuji Kanzaki?]

"Reveal it," Kanzaki Ryuji replied without hesitation.

"No! Why is nobody listening to me?" Ken Sudō was still hung up on the number of people. "Don't any of you find this confusing? This isn't following the rules!"

But nobody had time to deal with him. Everyone's attention was fixed on the Black Sphere's screen.

Even Ichinose, who was normally very easygoing, was no exception.

The fewer hunting targets there were, the fewer points they could earn. And that meant the teammates saddled with negative scores would face a much greater struggle to survive!

The image of the Ape-Men on the surface of the Black Sphere was replaced by a photo of a stern-faced man in casual clothes.

A line of red text appeared beneath the portrait:

[Gotou: An ultimate parasitic organism created in a laboratory. Four Parasites coexist within a single body, and he can control and use them with ease. His combat ability far surpasses that of ordinary Parasites.]

[Kill value: 20 points.]

"Twenty points..."

Ichinose Honami clenched her fist without thinking, her expression troubled. She quickly worked it out in her head.

"So even counting this hidden monster, we only have three targets worth points this time?"

That was an unreasonable challenge for a team of ten.

Especially with some of them already in the red.

"Not necessarily."

Sakayanagi Arisu studied the notes on the screen and analyzed them calmly.

"During our previous exam, when we encountered the Evil Spirits, the final score didn't add up if each one was worth a point. But the score really was calculated based on kills."

"It stands to reason that for a boss made up of multiple individuals, each 'component' inside it might count as a separate target."

"Perhaps whoever lands the final blow just gets the combined total?"

Su Wei nodded, stepping in at the right moment to play the explainer.

"Then it's not a dead end after all. And since we only have three Intruders to protect this time, the pressure on defense is much lower."

"As long as we work together, we might even find it easier to score than last time."

"Hmph. You make it sound so convincing."

Ryuen Kakeru sneered. He didn't waste any more words and made the call.

"Fine, then. Leave the two monkeys to Shiina and Shiranami. They can earn some points and protect the three Intruders at the same time."

"As for that big guy worth twenty points..."

Ryuen licked his lips and glanced at Ichinose and Su Wei, who had Reinforcement Suits.

"Everyone else, come with me. Let's go meet that Parasite!"

"That's the plan. Pick your weapons quickly. We're short on time!"

Hardly anyone objected.

Most people understood the principle of not sticking their necks out. If someone was willing to take on the tough job, they were happy to take it easy.

Only Ken Sudō still stood there, half-understanding what was going on, feeling like the whole world had shut him out.

"Hey, guys..."

He pointed at Ryuen, then at Ichinose. "Is nobody really going to explain this to me?"

Looking at Sudō's innocent, clueless expression, Sakayanagi Arisu couldn't help finding it a little funny.

She let go of Su Wei's arm and beckoned over Kamuro Masumi, who came reluctantly.

"Kamuro, you can see what's going on."

Sakayanagi spoke softly. "There aren't many grunts in this exam, so it's obvious that Ichinose and Su Wei, the ones with Combat Suits, will have to shoulder the pressure."

"So, next... I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you to be my 'legs' again."

She tilted her head slightly, her tone laced with amusement.

"Honestly, I don't want this either, but it looks like we're a pair of star-crossed lovers. We're really fated to be together!"

Kamuro Masumi fell silent for a while.

She stared at Sakayanagi's pretty, yet punchable, face. She wanted to curse her out, but couldn't figure out where to start.

In the end, she took a deep breath and redirected her pent-up anger toward Su Wei, who was watching from the side.

"Seriously, what's wrong with your class?!"

Kamuro pointed at Sudō, who was still shouting, and snapped at Su Wei.

"He's been chattering away this whole time, and you can't even manage to share the most basic information? Do you need me to teach him some manners?"

Su Wei gave her a strange look. Kamuro Masumi didn't understand why, but the feeling of being oppressed and aggrieved did ease a little.

She snorted and turned to give him an order.

"What are you looking at? Go get me two Capture Guns. Since we're both half out of commission, we'll have to stay behind and provide support for you later!"

Sakayanagi Arisu spread her hands, looking completely unable to help.

Su Wei: ...

Fine. At least she hadn't gotten angry at the wrong person. She'd found the right one after all.

He shook his head helplessly, walked up to the Black Sphere, and glanced at Ken Sudō, who was still dazed.

"We're short on time. Pick your equipment first."

"Whatever you want to ask, wait until the exam is over. I'll add you to the group chat, and you can read the announcement yourself. Then you'll understand everything."

"For now, follow orders and don't get yourself killed."

Ken Sudō was still unhappy, but he could sense the tense atmosphere.

His eyes swept across the weapon rack, and he grabbed a hilt at random.

Seeing this, Su Wei kindly warned him.

"That thing's a little hard to use. Why not pick something else?"

"The Y-shaped one beside it is for capturing, and the X-shaped one is for attacking. They're both ranged weapons, so they're more forgiving."

"No need! I know. Hirata handed out flyers about these!"

Ken Sudō swung the hilt in his hand. As the black blade extended, a confident smile spread across his face.

"But I trust my body's instincts more! I've never lost a fight, and I spent several months in middle school watching the senpai practice in the Kendo Club!"

"A real man uses a Tachi!"

"I'm gonna be a Tachi-wielding swordsman!"

Su Wei fell silent again.

He had a gun and wasn't going to use it? He wanted to fight with martial arts?

Did he really think he was Zheng Zha, able to unlock his genetic lock...

Chapter 39: Admit It, You Can't Stand the Aliens

Seeing Su Wei take the initiative to approach Ken Sudō, Ichinose Honami nodded to herself.

Though Su Wei had been somewhat forward with her during their private training... even making her feel so embarrassed that she couldn't bring herself to talk about it.

Still, him stepping up now really did save her a lot of trouble.

She'd heard a little about Ken Sudō, the notorious Demon Pill of Class D.

He was a textbook believer in the primacy of violence: quick-tempered and impulsive, the kind of unstable person who could become a liability to the team in a crisis.

It wasn't that she looked down on students with poor grades. It was simply that when two people didn't know each other well, offering kindness out of the blue could easily be mistaken for charity by someone with too much pride, leading to unnecessary conflict.

At times like this, it really was best for Su Wei, his classmate, to guide him.

'Actually, Su Wei seems like a pretty nice person. And he's handsome.'

The thought came to Ichinose Honami unbidden.

'He's just a little rough around the edges. Maybe he's not used to the indirect way people communicate here in Japan yet... Was I a little too harsh with him just now?'

While her thoughts wandered, a warm feeling suddenly spread through her palm.

"Ichinose, don't worry about us."

Shiranami Chihiro clasped her hand tightly, her eyes resolute, as if she'd made up her mind about something.

"Go all out! Shiina and I will absolutely protect those Intruders this time. I absolutely... don't want to be a burden to you again!"

Ichinose came back to herself, taking in the trust in her friend's eyes.

She glanced at the countdown on the Black Sphere's screen and nodded firmly.

[00:00]

[Weapon selection complete]

[All participants: teleportation commencing]

As the beam of light crept up from his cheek to his eyes, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka didn't instinctively close them like the others.

He kept his eyes open, calmly watching his view transform, step by step, from the dim, oppressive media classroom into rippling streams of dusky yellow light.

This was his first time experiencing the Black Sphere's teleportation firsthand.

This really is something.