Sudo Can't Blow Up

The communication line was still open.

Ishizaki's words—"the one most likely to blow up"—carried back with the sound of water to the new base. Gu Heng's pen paused against the record board.

By the nearby water source, Class C had already completed this round of confirmation.

Two full water bags lay at Ishizaki's feet, and the green confirmation mark on the terminal had yet to disappear.

They neither hurried back nor continued filling water. The three of them occupied the path leading to the public confirmation point, clearly waiting for something else.

Waiting for Sudo to make the first move.

"Come on." Ishizaki raised his terminal slightly, deliberately exposing the record screen. "The communication's on, and time is running. Aren't you the best at solving problems first?"

Ike Kanji hugged an empty water bag, his voice shaky.

"Sudo, don't touch him."

Gu Heng glanced down at the time.

There were only nine minutes left on the nearby team's twenty-minute return limit.

According to the original plan, they had to complete the confirmation as quickly as possible and bring the water back to the new base.

Now that Class C had already secured their confirmation result, their reason for remaining here was not to fight over the first drink of water.

As long as they kept Class D tied up by the water, or forced out a segment of conflict that could be isolated and recorded, they could turn this resource route into another troublesome matter requiring explanation.

Gu Heng held down the communication button.

"Don't fight over the water yet. Preserve the confirmation mark, the sounds on-site, and the time."

"What if he just keeps standing there?" Ike Kanji asked.

"Let Sudo decide how to proceed."

Ishizaki stepped forward half a pace, his chest nearly pressing into Sudo's shoulder.

His hands still hung at his sides. He did not actually touch him.

"Why aren't you moving?"

Sudo stared at him, his jaw clenched tight.

Of course he wanted to move.

In the first volume, he had already paid the price for reaching out first once.

After that incident, Class D had spent a great deal of time checking records, submitting explanations, and getting their stories straight again.

Things never ended after a fight. The real trouble was that everyone had to deal with the consequences left behind by those few seconds.

Ishizaki clearly knew that.

That was why he deliberately closed the distance this much.

He was not asking whether Sudo dared to strike. He was waiting for Sudo to prove he had not changed by making the same choice again.

Ayanokoji stood behind and to Sudo's side, his gaze falling on two wet stones by the water.

"The left side can be used."

"There's only room for one foot over there," Ike Kanji said.

"That means they can't block both paths at once."

After saying that, Ayanokoji withdrew his gaze and did not decide the next move for anyone.

Sudo saw it too.

The main path was blocked by Ishizaki and a Class C boy, while another Class C student guarded the water bags.

The side slope was narrow, but it led around to the edge of the confirmation area.

As long as someone drew Ishizaki's attention away, part of the main path would open up.

On the court, once defenders were drawn to the ball handler, someone would cut into the open lane.

Insisting on smashing the final shot into the basket himself was not strength. It was treating his teammates like decorations.

Sudo glanced at Ike Kanji and shoved the empty water bag into his arms.

"Hold it tight."

"What are you going to do?"

"You go through the front."

"Me?"

"The moment you see the confirmation area, go in. Don't stop."

Ike Kanji's face immediately changed.

"What about you?"

"I'll make him watch me."

Hearing that, Ishizaki's mouth twisted.

"What, finally figured out you should go around?"

"Weren't you waiting for me all along?" Sudo turned toward the side slope. "Then follow me."

He stepped onto the wet stone on the left, his sole making a soft scrape against the mud.

Ishizaki's gaze followed him just as expected.

He shifted sideways, his shoe pressing down on the most stable foothold of the side slope. Half a body's width opened up on the main path as a result.

"You think I'll let you through?"

"I never said I was going through."

Sudo stopped at the edge of the side slope, deliberately positioning himself between Ishizaki and the main path.

Ishizaki's expression changed slightly before he turned as well.

Only a palm's width remained between them.

"You've learned to hide today."

"Cut the crap."

"Ryuuen was right. Your Class D really treats you like a leashed dog. When they need you to stand there, you stand there. When they need you not to move, you just—"

"Ike!"

Sudo suddenly roared.

"Go now!"

Ike Kanji froze for half a beat before charging down the main path with the empty water bag in his arms.

Ayanokoji did not rush to the front with him. He only said to the two boys behind him, "Follow Ike. Don't walk side by side."

The three of them quickly squeezed into the gap Ishizaki had opened.

The Class C student guarding the main path immediately moved across, his toe pressing against the outer edge of the confirmation area.

He did not raise a hand. He only used his body to block the narrowest passage.

Ike Kanji's foot hesitated.

"Ayanokoji!"

"On the right, follow the stones."

Ayanokoji's voice came from behind him. "Don't squeeze past him from the front."

Ike Kanji gritted his teeth and stepped sideways onto a low rock.

The two Class D boys behind him followed one after the other, without colliding with the Class C student.

That Class C student shifted another step, trying to block all three of them again.

This time, Ayanokoji remained at the rear and pointed at the mud prints beneath his feet.

"Your left foot has already crossed the confirmation line."

The boy looked down.

The terminal was still recording.

If he continued moving sideways, the distance between both sides would shrink to a degree that could not be explained.

For Class C, the safest choice was not to forcibly stop them, but to wait for Class D to run out of time on their own.

Ike Kanji seized that half-second and slipped past him into the confirmation area.

"Made it!"

The two Class D boys immediately put down the empty water bags, and their terminals lit up with the confirmation screen at the same time.

Ishizaki sharply turned his head.

"Stop them!"

The Class C student beside him was just about to raise his hand when Ishizaki glanced at the still-open communication line and forcibly swallowed his words.

His people had not touched any Class D students.

But Sudo was still on the side slope.

"You're not chasing them?" Ishizaki asked coldly.

"Why would I chase them?"

Sudo was still standing beside Ishizaki's quickest route back to the main path. He neither moved closer nor reached out to block him.

If Ishizaki wanted to pass, he could only be the one to close that distance first.

Six minutes remained on the return limit.

The sound of water came from the confirmation area. Ike Kanji had already unscrewed the first water bag.

"Sudo, how much longer?"

"Fill your water."

"I'm asking about you!"

"I'm fine."

The wet stone beneath Sudo's foot suddenly slid outward.

He instinctively shifted his weight back, barely steadying himself with his sole, but his palm landed against a nearby tree root.

The rough bark tore open a cut across his hand, and blood quickly seeped through his fingers.

When Ike Kanji saw it, his voice changed.

"Your hand!"

"Just a scratch."

"You need to bandage it when we get back."

"I know."

Ishizaki swept a glance over his palm and scoffed.

"Letting others get the water while you hide off to the side—is that supposed to be your skill?"

Sudo wiped his hand against his pants.

"As long as the water goes into Class D's bags, that's enough."

"You really are obedient."

"Better than obeying you."

A muffled thud came from Ike Kanji's side as the second water bag filled as well.

The terminal vibrated.

Class D's nearby temporary water source confirmation successful.

Ishizaki stared at those words, his expression darkening.

Class C had already completed their own confirmation, while Class D had neither violated the rules on-site nor left behind any contact record that could directly point at Sudo.

If they continued blocking them, they would accomplish nothing but waste time.

In the end, he stepped aside.

"Go back. Hope you're this lucky next time too."

Sudo did not respond. He turned and walked to the water's edge.

With his uninjured hand, he picked up the heaviest water bag. Ike Kanji hurriedly reached out to take it.

"I'll carry it."

"Take care of your own feet first."

"My feet are fine."

"Then walk faster."

The five of them returned along the same route.

They had come with empty bags, but the water dragged downward with every step on the way back.

The two boys took turns carrying the weight. Ayanokoji stayed at the rear, only making sure no one was missing from the back of the group and occasionally reminding them where to step.

Sudo did not rush to the front again. When Ike Kanji slipped, he braced him with an elbow, then immediately withdrew it.

In the sixteenth minute of their return, Ike Kanji looked back at him.

"Why didn't you just shove him away?"

"Because he wanted me to."

"That simple?"

"What else?"

Sudo hitched the water bag higher onto his shoulder.

"He wanted me to create the trouble for him. Why should I help him?"

They returned to the new base in the nineteenth minute.

Gu Heng saw the water first, then the wound on Sudo's palm.

"Was there any contact on-site?"

"No," Sudo said.

Ike Kanji put down the water bag and immediately added, "Ishizaki kept trying to force him to strike first. Sudo drew him to the side slope, and we completed the confirmation from the front. Ayanokoji only watched the route and the rear. The communication line was open the entire time."

Ayanokoji handed his terminal to Gu Heng.

"The confirmation time and return time are both there."

After checking the records, Gu Heng did not immediately comment on whether Sudo had done well. He simply handed the water bags to Yukimura for inspection and had Hirata treat Sudo's hand first.

Sudo half-heartedly tried to hide his injured hand behind his back.

"Did I not hold everyone back this time?"

Gu Heng looked up at him.

"It counts."

Sudo's shoulders dropped slightly.

"We got the water, no one was lost, and we didn't leave Class C with any new conflict records," Gu Heng said. "You knew what he wanted, and you still decided not to give it to him."

"That's how it should've been."

Sudo still refused to soften his tone, but he didn't hide his hand again.

Hirata wrapped the bandage around his palm. Just as he tied the knot, every task group's terminal vibrated at once.

Next resource confirmation window: opens in forty minutes.

Nearby temporary resource point: high competition status.

Currently linked group: Sudo's group.

The smile vanished from Ike Kanji's face at once.

"They won't even let us rest for forty minutes?"

Sudo lowered his head and stared at the screen.

The blood in his palm had already been stopped by the bandage, but the responsibility for the next round had once again been pinned to their group's name.