The Hunt and Remembrance Paths were the ones best suited to investigating targets. Incidentally, Wu Qiao's levels in both Paths were still low. The Hunt was only at Level 3, while Remembrance had just reached Level 5. He hadn't even unlocked their most basic skills yet.
Fortunately, his Path of Erudition was already at Level 17. The immense computational power it provided couldn't unlock the exclusive skills of other Paths, but it could at least amplify their passive effects to some extent.
Under Erudition's precise analysis, the Hunt's intuition and Remembrance's powers of observation were magnified several times over.
Thanks to his foreknowledge of the story, Wu Qiao quickly identified his target after school that afternoon: a male clerk at a digital goods store on Commercial Street.
There was more than one digital goods store on campus, so Wu Qiao spent some time checking them all to pinpoint the right one. But with the support of the Path of Erudition, it was only a slightly tedious process.
After recording all the confirmed information about his target in his notebook, Wu Qiao didn't rush into action. First, he walked along the route the target might take and checked the surveillance camera locations. Then he returned to the shoe lockers in the teaching building and checked the cameras' blind spots again.
Okay, next came the problem of accessing the surveillance footage.
Wu Qiao rubbed his chin, lost in thought.
Uh... accessing the footage required a valid reason and the proper authorization. Failing that, he'd have to pay to get it done under the table.
A valid reason? If Sakura Airi was willing to come forward as a witness, that would be easy enough. Unfortunately, given how timid she was, she'd never dare to do it.
Authorization was out of the question, too. He was just an ordinary student from Class D and had none.
Paying was easy enough—he just had to offer the school enough personal points—but it felt like a waste of money.
Since there was no way to go through official channels, he'd have to try something less conventional. Maybe he should just catch the guy in the act?
Wu Qiao closed his notebook, a cold smile tugging at his lips. The pervert liked to hide in the shadows and watch people? If he dared to make another move, he'd have no one to blame but himself.
Just as Wu Qiao was about to head back to his dorm and get some rest, a message came through on his terminal. It was from Ichinose Honami. Having just finished her Student Council work, she'd invited him to sit down and chat.
Today was the day Ichinose Honami's Life Simulator began a new run.
She'd asked her classmates for advice on how to proceed, but it seemed safer to ask the person herself. She was still worried that her choices in the simulation might lead everyone astray.
The two quickly arranged to meet at an outdoor café, with Ichinose Honami treating. Wu Qiao didn't like coffee, so she thoughtfully ordered him a hot chocolate.
Wu Qiao looked at the smiling girl in front of him, somewhat puzzled, and asked, "Why the sudden invitation?"
Ichinose Honami looked a little awkward. It was embarrassing to ask the person herself about certain things. After a brief hesitation, she gathered her courage and asked, "Wu-kun, what do you think is the most important thing between people?"
Wu Qiao felt the question came out of nowhere. He took a sip of his hot chocolate, then replied, "Keeping agreements and promises. In other words, trust. They're essentially the same thing."
Ichinose Honami blinked, evidently surprised by how direct and practical his answer was.
"Trust..." Ichinose Honami repeated thoughtfully, then broke into a bright smile. "That's so like you, Wu-kun! It sounds very reassuring."
Wu Qiao raised an eyebrow, keenly picking up on the deeper meaning behind her words. He set down his cup and gazed calmly at Ichinose Honami. "Ichinose, you're asking this out of the blue. Did something happen? If it's Student Council business, maybe I can offer some advice."
Ichinose Honami hurriedly waved her hands and smiled as she brushed it off. "No, nothing like that. I've just been thinking about class unity and how people get along lately. After all, I can't lead Class B to Class A on my own. I need everyone to trust me!"
Wu Qiao didn't call her out on the rather clumsy excuse. He simply nodded. He knew Ichinose Honami had secrets and her own reasons for keeping them. If she didn't want to talk about them, he wouldn't press her. Still, judging by how she'd gone out of her way to ask him this, the Class B representative seemed to be carefully laying the groundwork for some plans to come.
"If you want to earn people's trust," Wu Qiao added, "you need to keep your promises, but you also need to show that you're capable when it matters. Honesty alone won't make people feel truly secure if you don't have the ability to back it up."
Ichinose Honami's eyes shone even brighter at his words. She nodded earnestly, committing them to memory. It seemed she'd been right to invite Wu Qiao out.
Late at night, the dorm room was lit by a single dim bedside lamp. Ichinose Honami lay on her soft bed and took a deep breath, steadying her restless thoughts. Tonight was the crucial moment when a new Life Simulator run would begin. She needed to make sure she was fully prepared before falling asleep.
She carefully went over her plans in her mind.
First, she had to bring Miyabi Nagumo's influence down. That man was like a sword of Damocles hanging over their heads. If she didn't eliminate the threat soon, the external pressure Wu Qiao faced during their second year would increase exponentially.
Second, she needed to confirm the extent of Wu Qiao's social network. She didn't want to repeat her past mistakes and get stabbed in the back by some inexplicable "acquaintance" just when she and Wu Qiao were charging ahead together.
As for the third step, she had to maintain her relationship with Wu Qiao. No matter what, she needed to stay on good terms with him as much as possible. That was the cornerstone of all her plans.
Once she was sure her reasoning was sound, Ichinose Honami silently initiated the simulation.
[Enter the simulation?]
[Yes]
[Drawing talent...]
[Congratulations! You obtained the talent: Blackened (Purple)]
As the purple words appeared in her field of vision, Ichinose Honami's heart gave a sudden lurch, and a chill ran down her spine. She'd gone to such lengths to keep Wu Qiao from reaching a Blackened ending, so why... was she the one who might turn Blackened this time?
She forced down her panic and tremblingly opened the talent's detailed description. As the lines of text appeared, her taut nerves gradually relaxed.
As it turned out, the Blackened talent didn't activate unconditionally. It only triggered when she faced "sufficiently great pressure" and her "mental defenses completely collapsed." Given the current situation and all the preparations she'd already made, the odds of that happening were minuscule.
"Phew..." Ichinose Honami let out a long breath and patted her chest. It seemed this Purple talent could basically be treated as an ornament with no real use.
With the biggest threat ruled out, there was nothing left to worry about. She closed her eyes, full of hope for the future, and officially entered a brand-new simulated life.