Trouble on the Train, National Tournament Opens (2)

Just then, Chi Tong slowly turned around. In that instant, his gaze swept across the faces of the Toyotama High players like a sharp blade. The air seemed to split apart beneath an invisible pressure.

The Toyotama High players all felt a chill run down their spines. It came and went so quickly that they nearly wondered whether they had imagined it.

In the end, Chi Tong's gaze settled on Minami Ryo. Their eyes met in midair, and at that instant, Minami Ryo's brow twitched almost imperceptibly before quickly relaxing, as though nothing had happened.

But only he knew that, in that moment, it felt as though Chi Tong had seen straight through him. Every thought, every disguise, had nowhere left to hide.

On the surface, he remained calm and composed, but a storm had already risen in his heart. He had never seen such a gaze before—without anger, arrogance, or even the slightest emotional fluctuation. It was like a bottomless lake, seemingly tranquil yet instinctively unsettling, as though hidden currents could surge forth at any moment and swallow everything whole.

There was only a calmness that looked down upon all things, like a god gazing at ants in his palm. Beneath that tranquility lay an unquestionable control, and the feeling was both absurd and utterly real.

Minami Ryo's gaze was like someone repeatedly examining a weapon gleaming with cold light beneath a lamp. Every glance carried a sharp appraisal, yet his tone remained almost gentle.

"A first-year captain? Is Ryonan so short on people?"

Chi Tong merely smiled faintly, but that smile swept through the air like a blade of wind, carrying a faint chill.

"Whether I am qualified is not for you to judge."

Minami Ryo's expression did not change. He slightly raised his chin, his gaze carrying