Chapter 151

The sea breeze howled, and it took several seconds before the 'ding-a-ling' notification sounded. Yuki picked it up and saw that the message was very simple.

"Good."

Chapter Nine: An Arrow Piercing the Clouds

Advanced Nurturing High School.

This is the territory of the King of Scrolls, a deliberately created breeding ground for Gu poison. It has only been a few days since Yuki last participated, and the atmosphere has become even more bizarre.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka put down his phone. After their last collaboration, his stance was perfectly fine; he just didn't quite like this passive feeling.

Oh well, we'll meet sooner or later anyway, no need to worry about such trivial matters.

The boy looked up and whispered, "He wants to participate."

"The timing is a bit too coincidental." Sakayanagi Arisu stood a few meters away, a sly smile on her face. "We had just gotten ready when he contacted you?"

"I've said before that he has eyes and ears within the academy; he should have abilities like reasoning and observation."

"Finding it won't be easy, but it's not difficult either."

"No need to look for him. It's a basic respect for a powerful friend." Ayanokoji shook her head expressionlessly, seemingly very worldly-wise. "In any case, he helped me a lot. If I don't give those guys a good push and let them continue investigating, problems are bound to arise."

"That's true. I never expected that Shinomiya Oko to be so composed. Where do you think he'll start?" Sakayanagi Arisu very curious. She had never met Yuki, so she could only imagine the image of a sinister middle-aged man in her mind.

"I don't know, but with his abilities, there's bound to be a surprise."

The sun was setting, and the lights of the academy were beginning to flicker. The boy recalled Yuki's words and couldn't help but chuckle.

Those people actually messed with him, letting him join the fray at such a crucial moment. Has my accumulated luck finally paid off?

Originally, Yuki's scenes were not planned, but her sudden addition would greatly increase the success rate, so it's worth making changes.

He pondered for a moment, then said, "Modify the beginning of the plan, adjust the troop distribution during the day, and reduce the number of reinforcements."

Sakayanagi Arisu didn't take notes either, just kept nodding, making changes in her mind like a computer.

After revising the plan, he asked with some curiosity, "Why did he suddenly get involved? Didn't you say he was hiding in the shadows and wouldn't expose himself?"

"This has nothing to do with combat..."

"But I just want to know, my head is so full of your plans, I don't have the energy to think about anything else."

Ayanokoji glanced at her, and quickly succumbed to her sly smile.

He must have felt threatened.

"So you mean it's not urgent?"

"Perhaps, but he did draw away some troops, which is advantageous to me, and vice versa." The young man pondered, gradually forming a new idea, "There's another possibility: he's the same kind of person as me."

"Do you like to take the initiative?"

"That's right. When you feel threatened or at risk, you don't think about how to avoid it, but about finding opportunities—" Ayanokoji turned around, stepped onto the stairs, and looked cold and ruthless.

"Try to find a way to solve it proactively."

"Kaguya and Hayasaka will eventually be unable to hide. The best approach is to take advantage of the current situation and proactively eliminate the threat."

In the pitch-black alley, Yuki examined the corpse in his hand. The woman's neck had been snapped, and her bulging eyes were staring intently at him.

Kaguya was left to fish, Yuki suddenly appeared. Even though Yuuki was prepared, he was still no match for him.

He ducked to dodge the electric arc, delivered a simple, unassuming hand chop to pierce the opponent's heart, and then snapped the neck to finish the job—the whole process was fluid and seamless.

"Aren't you going to pick up her equipment?" Kaguya rode back on her bike; this was the third player Yuki had killed.

"There's no need to pick up level 3 items. We keep getting tracked; according to 'him,' it's the ability of Causal Prophecy." Yuki casually tossed the corpse aside, explaining without Kaguya even asking.

"If I kill their people, I will be entangled in karma, and the more karma I accumulate, the more accurate it will be. How could I dare to take what belongs to them?"

This was information sent by Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, and he naturally agreed with Yuki's plan.

Whether or not the latter can be achieved, this will greatly reduce the pressure; mere intelligence is insignificant.

"Then I'll start from the beginning..."

"Don't worry, you must have accidentally crossed paths with this prophet. That cause-and-effect relationship isn't accurate. After all, you're a young lady of the Shinomiya Clan; harming you will have consequences, and game adjustments aren't worthwhile." Yuki wasn't worried, slowly wiping his sword.

"And the bigger the fuss I make, the less energy they'll have to deal with you and Hayasaka. If things get really bad, Hayasaka will just run away. You wouldn't be so reluctant to give up that luxurious lifestyle, would you?"

That's not the case; obviously, life is more important.

Kaguya still felt oppressed. Once she had a doubt, she had a hundred ways to verify it, such as by using a hypnotist or by suddenly attacking with Transcendental Grade powers.

But wasn't that bound to happen sooner or later? It's already quite good that they managed to keep it a secret for half a month.

Her self-comforting gesture, almost like giving up, instantly improved her mood. She moved back a bit, letting Yuki jump into the car, and drove her through the alleyways. Her hands naturally wrapped around the man's waist.

Admittedly, while this guy is terrifying, he also provides a strong sense of security.

Yuki didn't care about Kaguya's emotional changes. In his eyes, as long as he served as bait well, that was enough. He didn't dare to pick up the items himself, but he had absorbed the players' soul energy, so it wasn't a loss.

As they walked, Mai Sakurajima's voice suddenly came through the earpiece. "You idiot, I've already met Hayasaka- san. Let's go find their command post."

"You arrived so quickly?" Yuuki Yuki with delight. Her senior was indeed very proactive.

"No, this is normal speed."

That would be absurd. He immediately dropped what he was doing, rushed to Tokyo in two hours, and plunged headlong into the dangerous battlefield teeming with players.

Yuki knew perfectly well that she didn't thank her, but only told her senior to be careful, as her special ability was very powerful, but not absolutely safe.

One arrow pierces the clouds, and a thousand armies rush to meet it?

This wasn't exactly a massive army, but Yuki had already used all the cards in his hand. Just as Mai Sakurajima began Reconnaissance several suspicious locations, Shiina Hiyori also sent word.

"Mr. Yuki, the players in the academy are starting to gather." The girl's voice was still soft and gentle, which sounded very pleasant.

"Ayanokoji has already discussed it with me. What about outside the academy?"

The girl had little fighting ability, so she continued to infiltrate the academy, using 'Reality Reading' to observe every detail.

"There are 20% more strangers outside the academy; we should be prepared to intervene."

Has Nagumo Miyabi shown up yet?

"I didn't see him; perhaps he was held up."

Ayanokoji began to make his move.

Yuki closed his eyes; he already knew Ayanokoji's general plan.

Because of Yuki last time, Nagumo Miyabi's group was unable to contact Dayu, and instead, the two sides fought a battle, resulting in Dayu losing two members.

From Nagumo Miyabi's perspective, she definitely wants to clear up the misunderstanding and join forces to deal with Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's faction, but the latter will definitely not give her this opportunity and wants to turn around and reap the benefits.

The plan itself is not complicated; the difficulty lies in getting Nagumo Miyabi's people and Zhou to start the war smoothly.

They're not stupid; they'll definitely try diplomacy first, but if they really want to clear up the misunderstanding, they should strike Ayanokoji hard.

Manipulative thinking? Or incitement through lies?

Yuki neither knew nor cared about the outcome; the enemy was the same. He and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka could simply do their own thing and join forces to weaken this massive player organization.

I'm in charge of killing, not burying. You gave me permission to set it on fire, so you should have made all the necessary preparations, right?

Yuki opened his eyes, his tone becoming resolute. "Hiyori, you stay and be a bystander. No matter what happens, don't get involved. Observe the entire battlefield and get the news to me as soon as possible."

"Don't worry, I'm very self-aware."

That's good.

"You idiot, I found out where their command post is. Just as you predicted, there aren't many people there."

Squeak--

The brakes screeched, and the motorcycle came to a sudden stop. Kaguya looked up and saw the man nodding from time to time, seemingly pleasantly surprised.

"Any progress?" she asked.

"Hmm, as expected, the pursuers weren't on guard. Well, there's no need to be on guard against you." Ignoring Yuki 'Kaguya glare, Yuuki casually asked, "By the way, who Shinomiya Hongzheng? Is he your older brother?"

"He's the one pulling the strings behind the scenes? Wait, how did you find out?" Kaguya was Yoruichi stunned, thinking to herself, "This guy even planted a spy in the upper echelons of 'Day'?"

"Of course, he was eavesdropping outside the window. We're short on time, so answer my question: What's Shinomiya Hongzheng's personality like? And what's his relationship with Shinomiya Oko?"

He was still as assertive as ever, but fortunately Kaguya was used to it, so she gave a concise answer.

Shinomiya Hongzheng is Kaguya's second brother. There is a large age gap between them, and their relationship is not very good. However, as half-siblings, they understand each other very well.

"A clueless and insignificant follower, whose brilliance is completely overshadowed by the Yellow Light. He always wants to do something, but he never does it well. Fortunately, he has inherited the characteristics of the Shinomiya Clan, which is to squeeze a person's value to the Limit."

"Dreams and characteristics? Hmm... I heard from Yun Ying that he once wanted to be a novelist and won quite a few awards, but later he found that the judges were all just there because of the Shinomiya Clan, and he was depressed for a long time."

Accompanied by disdainful words, Yuki quickly constructed a character model in his mind, immediately understanding this kind of person's mentality, and incidentally explaining why he was pursuing them so closely.

Arrogant and self-important, he develops a protagonist mentality after becoming a player, but with an older brother who overshadows him, the follower naturally has to put in his best effort to show off.

Just as Kaguya said, he would not accept defeat.

This mentality is understandable, and it can be used to your advantage; dealing with him could be made even simpler.

First, send a message to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka to obtain information from him. As an important figure, Shinomiya Hongzheng's information is naturally of paramount importance.

"The two sides have never met. Did he buy the information from a third party?"

Yuki quickly received a reply; Ayanokoji Kiyotaka only estimated that he had reached the Transcendental Grade level, but his characteristics, skills, and equipment were all unknown.

"Theoretically speaking, if he were truly powerful, he wouldn't be responsible for investigating such a trivial matter as Kaguya. We can be cautious and find an opportunity to test him using our Mystic Code."

Kaguya was speculating about how many teammates Yuki had when she saw the man take out a stack of photos and flip through them, so she curiously leaned closer.

She didn't recognize anyone from the Advanced Nurturing High School, but she made a sound of surprise when she saw a blond young man.

"You know him?" Yuki turned his head.

"Hmm, I think her name is Nagumo Miyabi. She visited Shuchiin as a student council representative. It was kind of disgusting." The girl showed a disgusted expression, but continued at Yuki's request.

Nagumo Miyabi is the vice president of the student council at Advanced Nurturing High School. Kaguya Shinomiya, as a first-year representative, had contact with him. He pretended to be elegant, but couldn't hide his filth. He kept saying he wanted to add each other as friends, but Kaguya gave up because she didn't have a smartphone.

Hmm? I'm starting to feel it.

Yuki's mind was racing, and the outline of his plan was gradually taking shape. After a few seconds, he took a quick photo, took out another Fool's Mask, and sent a message to Hayasaka Ai.

"Okay, he's the one."

Chapter Ten: This Blame Is Yours (4K)

Red Lips Restaurant.

The elegant symphony had stopped, Shinomiya Hongzheng holding the phone, hunched over, nodding repeatedly.

"Yes, I lost three C-rank members in a row. The opponent wasn't Kaguya; they were incredibly strong. A coincidence? No, no, no, brother. I think this must be related to Kaguya. Maybe they were her teammates. Otherwise, there's no way to explain how the Causal Prophecy targeted them."

The young man looked ashamed, mixed with a bit of bewilderment, as if he couldn't understand how a childish task could have gone wrong.

Shouldn't they get the evidence instantly and jump straight into figuring out how to use Kaguya? I was complaining about how easy the mission was just a few hours ago, and now they're increasing the difficulty?

Where did this player come from? They killed someone without saying a word. What is their relationship with her?

Yellow Light remained silent, continuing to listen to the somewhat far-fetched explanation.

When causality is not heavily involved, the success rate of predictions is not high, and various interfering factors exist.

Players, girls, and even similar heights can all create a causal relationship, so errors are perfectly normal.

But he knew his younger brother well; he wouldn't easily admit his mistakes.

But the most tragic thing in the world is wanting to help, being so determined to prove yourself, yet lacking the talent in that area.

"Cease your operations and call Adam back. I'm about to begin." After Hongzheng finished venting, Yellow Light finally gave the order.

Give me another half day...

Shinomiya Hongzheng still unconvinced, but knowing which side was more important, he lowered his voice and said, "Big brother, I just want to help you."

"I know, but whether Kaguya is a player or not is irrelevant right now, so let's just leave it at that."

The busy tone came from the receiver. Hongzheng was stunned for a long time before helplessly throwing the phone away and looking at the players in front of her, feeling somewhat impotently furious.

"Do you think I'm a tagalong? That I can't even handle the smallest things?"