The Humiliated Dragon Garden

It had been nearly half a month since Bai Mu had obtained access to the schoolwide class surveillance feeds and quietly cast his web of intelligence.

The first-year students at Advanced Nurturing High School had appeared calm on the surface over the past half month, but turbulent undercurrents raged beneath.

The class that had undergone the most drastic shift in mentality was undoubtedly Class C.

Class C had a generally lax academic atmosphere. Most of its students were hot-tempered delinquents who hated following rules. During the first few days after school began, they had continued doing whatever they pleased—chatting and roughhousing during class, making a racket between periods, constantly pulling little stunts, and committing countless minor violations.

If Ryuuen Kakeru had not forcibly kept the class in line, Class C's class points would have collapsed even faster.

The afternoon bell rang on schedule, and the formerly loud, rowdy Class C classroom was forcibly silenced.

But that silence did not come from the students' self-discipline. It came from the oppressively imposing figure standing at the front of the room—Class C's absolute ruler, Ryuuen Kakeru.

The red-haired boy leaned lazily against the edge of the podium with one hand in his pocket, his sharp gaze sweeping across the class. His presence was fierce, carrying an innate warning to keep strangers away. In Class C, no one dared challenge Ryuuen's authority. He ruled the entire class through violence and an iron fist, keeping this group of unruly delinquent students firmly in the palm of his hand.

The classroom was fairly orderly at the moment. No one dared openly slack off or fool around. Everyone sat obediently in their seats, looking like diligent students, forcefully playing the part of a "model class."

Yet the moment Ryuuen turned and left, these people would immediately reveal their true colors. Noise, slacking, violations—they had it all. They were first-rate hypocrites.

At the back of the classroom, Hiyori Shiina held a tube of ointment and carefully treated the faint scrape on Mio Ibuki's face.

Mio Ibuki had always been strong-willed and competitive, unwilling to admit defeat. She constantly sought to break free of Ryuuen's control and fight for a say in the class, so conflicts with the delinquent students were inevitable. Being injured was practically routine for her.

"It's just a little scrape. You don't need to be so careful." Mio Ibuki turned her head aside, her tone carrying a trace of stubbornness, her eyes full of unwillingness. "That guy Ryuuen only knows how to suppress everyone with violence. He has no idea how to lead a class. At this rate, our Class C will be ruined by him sooner or later."

Hiyori's movements remained gentle, her expression mild as she softly advised, "I know you're unwilling to accept it, but confronting him head-on right now has no meaning. It would be better to bow your head for the time being, hand over some personal points, and obey Ryuuen. Stabilizing the class is still better than constantly tearing ourselves apart and losing class points for nothing."

Hiyori was Class C's only clear-headed strategist. Thoughtful and meticulous, she was skilled at calmly reviewing situations and had long seen through Class C's flaws. But her personality was rather gentle, and she disliked fighting for power. She could only silently observe the situation, occasionally advising those around her, powerless to completely change the class's current state.

Just as the two spoke in low voices, the classroom's front door was violently kicked open.

With a thunderous bang, the dull impact shook the entire room. The previously quiet classroom instantly fell deathly silent, even the sound of breathing growing faint.

Ryuuen Kakeru drew back his long leg, his expression arrogant and unruly as he strode onto the podium. Looking down at the class, he spoke in a cold, domineering voice. "Sit properly and act like you're in class. From now on, no chatting, no spacing out, no playing on your phones, no fooling around in private. Every one of you will listen properly and follow every school rule!"

The barrage of harsh demands crushed the class into silence.

Class C's delinquents, who normally did whatever they wanted and slacked off without restraint, were now as docile as quail. No one dared utter a word of objection.

Mio Ibuki's brows knitted tightly at the sight, her heart filled with helpless frustration. She knew perfectly well that Ryuuen had not suddenly changed his ways and decided to study properly. He had sensed the crisis and was now frantically trying to patch things up before it was too late.

Ryuuen swept his gaze over the obedient class, impatience and disdain flashing through his eyes.

These people were usually lazy and indulgent, breaking rules whenever they pleased. Only when disaster was nearly upon them did they know to pretend to behave. They truly were useless trash. If these deadweights were not members of his own class, he could not be bothered wasting his effort managing them.

"Don't think I'm making trouble for no reason." Ryuuen sneered, pulling out his phone and opening an audio file. "Let me play you something good. Wake the hell up."

The sound from the phone's speakers spread clearly throughout the classroom. It was a conversation he had intercepted earlier with a recording device secretly placed outside Class A's classroom.

"Our class is guaranteed first place this month. We don't have any opponents at all."

"There's no need to compete so hard. Those two bottom-feeder classes, C and D, will lose most of their points just from everyday rule violations. They're nothing to fear."

"At the end of the day, they're students from inferior classes. They lack self-discipline and have no sense of rules. They can't even be mentioned in the same breath as our Class A."

The few casual taunts contained no vicious insults, yet they hurt more deeply than any beating or scolding. Every word trampled on the dignity of everyone in Class C.

When the audio ended, the classroom was dead silent.

Every Class C student wore a livid expression. Some gritted their teeth and endured it, while others' eyes burned with rage. The resentment and humiliation in their hearts had been completely ignited.

Ryuuen put away his phone, his gaze growing sharper as he spoke coldly. "Did you hear that? That's how Class A sees us! In their eyes, we're nothing but rule-breaking bottom-rung garbage that can only drag others down!"

"The class point announcement for this month is coming soon. With the way our class has been slacking off, we'll most likely get slaughtered in deductions. If you still want to coast through the days and break rules however you like, then next month, wait for your points to be wiped clean, for us to hit rock bottom, and maybe even for yourselves to starve!"

He looked at the people below him with the frustration of someone disappointed in their failures, his voice filled with helplessness. "In the entire Class C, I'm the only one who's awake right now. Every last one of you is blindly slacking off, muddling through life, waiting to be crushed and mocked by the other classes!"

Just as the entire class was unsettled and secretly anxious, a friend request from an unknown account suddenly popped up on Ryuuen's phone.

The note was simple and direct, containing only one short sentence: Want to see the wonderful moments of everyone in your Class C?

Ryuuen Kakeru raised a brow, his heart full of doubt.

Since school started, his reputation among the first-years had been nothing special. Hardly anyone would take the initiative to contact him, much less an unknown account with such dubious origins.

With a measure of caution, he casually accepted the friend request.

The next second, the other party directly sent a live feed—it was a full surveillance view of the Class C classroom at that very moment!

The footage was high-definition and smooth. Every movement and expression in the classroom was clearly visible. Even the subtle movements of Hiyori applying ointment to Mio's face in the back row were on full display.

Ryuuen's pupils suddenly contracted. His back instantly tensed, and his heart sank.

Then the other party sent a breezy message, every word dripping with teasing amusement and absolute control:

[You look pretty impressive lecturing everyone from the podium, don't you, Ryuuen-kun?]

That simple sentence instantly shattered all of Ryuuen's confidence.

He immediately realized that someone had him by the throat!

Classroom surveillance meant that every little move, private scheme, rule violation, and internal conflict in Class C over the past half month had been completely exposed to the other party. They had no secrets left whatsoever.

All the troublemaking methods Class C had secretly planned, the underhanded tactics aimed at other classes, and every trace of their private violations had been laid bare before this stranger.

Most fatal of all, the surveillance footage could serve as irrefutable evidence. If the other party reported it to the school, Class C would lose a massive number of class points and plunge straight into the abyss.

Ryuuen's face darkened to the extreme. A fierce, oppressive aura radiated from him, and even the air seemed to freeze.

He forcibly suppressed the rage boiling in his heart and quickly typed out a question. "Who are you? How did you get permission to access the classroom surveillance?"

The reply came as calmly and confidently as before, filled with absolute control: [A one-of-a-kind rental privilege for the entire school—this is the only place you'll find it. I can view the classroom feeds of all four classes in real time, but your exclusive benefit is this—you Class C students can only pay to rent surveillance access to your own class. You can't view any other class.]

Those words completely exposed the other party's scheme—both shrewd and overbearing.

Ryuen instantly understood the whole situation. The other party had never come to bargain with him or exchange information. They were simply here to jack up the price and harvest points from him!

Before Ryuen could speak, the other party directly sent their offer: [Three million personal points to rent surveillance access for your own class for one month. You may refuse if you don't want it. I won't force you.]

Three million points!

The number made Ryuen's eyelid twitch violently, fury churning in his chest.

Since the start of school, each student had received, at most, one hundred thousand base points. Even if they scrimped and saved, they could not accumulate much in half a month. Three million points was an astronomical sum for students at this stage!

It was blatant extortion, an undisguised harvest.

Ryuen clenched his phone so tightly that his knuckles turned white, anger and panic surging within him.

He knew perfectly well how humiliating it would be to spend this money. After renting the access, they could only inspect their own class's violations, cover their tracks, and avoid point deductions. It offered no way to spy on opponents or gain an edge in competition. They would be spending money purely for self-preservation, for peace of mind.

But he had no choice!

If he refused to rent it, the other party held every piece of Class C's dirt and evidence of wrongdoing. At any moment, they could report it to the school and completely destroy the already precarious Class C.

It was like having a knife held to his throat, forcing him to obediently hand over money to save his life.

Suppressing his fury, Ryuen suddenly turned toward homeroom teacher Sakagami, who stood by the door, and urgently asked, "Teacher! When did the school allow students to rent surveillance access? Can't you just revoke that permission and prevent outsiders from spying on our classroom feed?"

Teacher Sakagami's expression remained calm as he gently shook his head. His voice was utterly flat. "Just today, the school updated and supplemented the rules, completely prohibiting students from renting, trading, or transferring access rights to any surveillance equipment on campus. However, the sole exception in this case had already taken effect in advance. It is an irreplaceable loophole, and the school has no authority to intervene or invalidate it. There will be no further application channels."

With that one sentence, Class C's fate was sealed.

The other party had exploited a loophole in the rules beforehand and secured the one-and-only permanent access right, perfectly before the new regulations took effect. It was entirely legal and compliant; even the school could do nothing about it.

This was no mere information advantage. It was clearly a top-tier monopoly business that had the entire grade by the throat!

Ryuen completely snapped. A powerless, stifled rage surged straight to his head.

He had always relied on schemes and violence to control the situation and dominate his opponents. He had never failed to rule over Class C. Yet today, an unknown opponent had silently laid out a trap, crushing and controlling him from start to finish, leaving him without even the right to resist.

"Everyone, quiet!"

Ryuen suddenly let out a low roar, silencing the whispers throughout the classroom. His expression was terrifyingly dark.

"From this moment on, every one of you will stop your little tricks. No violations of any kind! Everything our class does is being watched by an outsider in real time. We have no secrets left!"

The instant his words fell, the entire class erupted into an uproar.

Everyone wore disbelieving expressions, their hearts filled with fear and unease.

Every word they said and every move they made was being monitored in real time by a stranger. Even minor violations could be used against them and reported at any time. That suffocating feeling of being controlled from every angle completely threw these delinquent students, who had always been so arrogant, into a panic.

Watching the class descend into chaos and alarm, Ryuen gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with unwillingness and frustration.

He finally understood that the true master player at the start of this school year had never been Sakayanagi Arisu of Class A, nor any other known powerhouse.

Someone hidden in the shadows had long since cast a vast net over the entire board, silently monopolizing every source of information and sitting behind the scenes as they harvested the resources and points of the whole grade.

And Class C had become the first batch of prey on that person's chessboard—helpless and at their mercy.