After their discussion, Ken Kaneki, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, and Rokusuke Koenji parted outside the café, each setting off to pursue his assigned objective.
Rokusuke Koenji walked straight to the fresh food supermarket on the third floor of Keyaki Mall with elegant strides.
It was afternoon, and most students were in class, so there were few customers in the supermarket.
The owner sat in his office, lazily checking the accounts as he squinted and yawned.
Koenji pushed the door open without ceremony, pulled over a chair, and planted himself in it with his legs spread, right before the owner's startled eyes.
"Which class are you from? This is the office area..."
The owner frowned and was about to throw him out, but Koenji raised a hand to interrupt him.
"I am Rokusuke Koenji, the sole heir to the Koenji Conglomerate." Koenji smoothed his blond hair and gave an arrogant smile. "I'm here to bring you money, sir. Not points, but actual money."
The owner froze for a moment. He had clearly heard of the Koenji Conglomerate.
He reined in his expression a little and asked cautiously, "Young Master Koenji, what do you mean by that?"
Koenji wasted no words and laid out his proposal for cooperation.
At first, the owner was very hesitant about a proposal that went against the school's standard procedures. After all, if the school discovered it, his shop could face severe penalties.
But Koenji's next words completely broke down his resistance. After all, he was simply offering too much money.
"When the school settles your points, there's a long processing period and a commission involved, isn't there?
"But I can use my family's funds outside the school to make immediate transfers directly into your personal account.
"All you need to do is transfer an equivalent amount of points within the school to the merchant terminal accounts we designate, under the guise of product refunds or fictitious transactions."
After learning that he was the young master of the Koenji family, the owner took out a packet of fine tea, brewed a cup, and handed it to Beautiful Guy.
Koenji toyed with the teacup before him, took a sip, and said with a smile, "Let's set the exchange rate at one to one. One point in school for one yen outside."
A one-to-one exchange rate might not sound like much, but the rate at which they exchanged points with the school was actually very low. It took roughly four points to get one yen.
Listening to Koenji's proposal, the owner frantically ran the numbers in his head. At that rate, even if the school took a cut, he would still make a considerable amount of real money.
At the sight of Koenji's faint, ambiguous smile, the owner, who had just begun thinking about squeezing out a little more profit, instantly regained clarity.
Right, the person negotiating with him was the young master of the Koenji family. Dealing with a nobody like him outside would be child's play.
Faced with capital, the owner compromised after careful consideration. By the end, he even wore a fawning expression. After all, the offer was simply too generous.
Meanwhile, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji sat in a quiet corner of the library.
Books on contract law, financial lending, and the detailed school regulations were piled in front of him.
Deeply influenced by his two rotten buddies, Ayanokoji was devoting his clever mind wholeheartedly to the grand undertaking of squeezing every last bit of surplus value out of his classmates.
He typed rapidly on the computer, drafting a set of microbank lending terms so ruthless they would devour people without leaving even their bones.
"Credit ratings will be divided into five tiers... interest doubles after one day overdue... after three days overdue, details of the debt must be published on the school network... after one week overdue, the creditor has the right to take over all decisions concerning the debtor's campus activities..."
Ayanokoji smiled as he looked at the nearly perfect contract on the screen.
Doing bad things always brought pleasure. Ayanokoji understood that deeply.
Every one of these clauses pushed the school rules to their limits, yet remained completely compliant. It truly was the absolute limit.
"Um, is that you, Ayanokoji?"
A gentle voice interrupted Ayanokoji's thoughts.
He looked up to see Shiina Hiyori approaching with several classic novels in her arms.
"Oh, Shiina. Good afternoon."
Ayanokoji nodded slightly, showing Hiyori goodwill. After all, she was probably going to be Ken Kaneki's girlfriend, so he could not slight her.
Hiyori glanced around and asked with some curiosity, "The three of you are usually inseparable. Why are you here alone today? Where's Kaneki?"
Ayanokoji paused, understanding what she meant.
He thought briefly, then said blankly, "Unless something unexpected happened, Kaneki should be in his dorm room, working on a few things. You could go see him now. You should find something worthwhile."
"All right, thank you."
Hiyori thanked him with a smile, then turned and left with her books in her arms, her steps seemingly a little lighter than usual.
Watching the girl walk away, Ayanokoji silently gave Ken Kaneki an assist.
Room 402, the dormitory building.
Ken Kaneki sat at his desk, his slender fingers turning into streaks of afterimages over his laptop keyboard.
Lines of complex code scrolled rapidly across the screen.
His memories of two lifetimes had given him considerable knowledge, programming included.
Although he had not reached the highest level, writing this secondhand trading platform called "Campus Life" was still well within his abilities.
After typing the final line of code, Ken Kaneki carefully checked everything. Once he confirmed there were no errors, he pressed Enter, packaged the initial version of the website, and uploaded it to the school's internal network for review.
As soon as it passed review, this platform, which would monopolize the entire school's secondhand trading and money-laundering channels, could officially launch.
"Ding-dong~"
The doorbell rang at that very moment. Ken Kaneki stood and opened the door, finding Shiina Hiyori smiling sweetly before him.
"Hiyori?" Pleasantly surprised, Ken Kaneki smiled slightly, stepped forward quite naturally, and took the girl's soft little hand.
A blush spread across Hiyori's cheeks, but she did not resist. Instead, she obediently let Ken Kaneki lead her inside.
The two came to the desk, and Hiyori settled onto the edge of the bed beside the chair Ken Kaneki had just been sitting in.
"What's this?" Hiyori asked softly, looking curiously at the platform framework and backend data still open on the computer screen.
"This is a tool we're going to use to earn points."
Ken Kaneki hid nothing. He pulled over the chair and sat opposite her, briefly explaining the truth about the upcoming changes to Class Points next month, along with the vast "secondhand platform + microbank + outside funding" plan the three of them had agreed on.
After hearing these plans, Hiyori did not look particularly surprised. Instead, she seemed thoughtful.
"Actually, I've also felt something was wrong lately.
"The conditions the school gives us are far too generous. It's almost as though they're deliberately indulging the students and letting them fall into bad habits.
"But since Ryuen holds the leadership of Class C, and I don't really like getting involved in class struggles, I didn't look into it further."
At that point, Hiyori raised her head and gazed steadily at Ken Kaneki with her expressive eyes.
She knew that Ken Kaneki was telling her something so important without holding anything back because he trusted her completely. That trust filled her heart with emotion.
The room's warm yellow light fell over them, creating a cozy atmosphere.
Looking at Ken Kaneki's handsome face so close to hers, Hiyori felt her heartbeat gradually quicken.
Driven by her feelings, she tilted her head up slightly and leaned toward him of her own accord.
Ken Kaneki's eyes flickered, and he took the initiative, cupping the girl's cheeks.
Their lips touched gently beneath the light, then met in a deep kiss.
The softness and sweetness of the girl's lips left Ken Kaneki a little intoxicated. Already full of youthful vigor, he could not resist wanting to hold her tighter now, and his hand unconsciously slid slowly up from her waist, wanting to go further.
"Mmph..." Hiyori suddenly came to her senses and pushed against Ken Kaneki's chest in a fluster, her cheeks so red they looked ready to bleed.
"N-no... Kaneki, we... we haven't officially become a couple yet. We can't do this..."
At the sight of the girl's shyness, the heat in Ken Kaneki's eyes gradually faded into tenderness.
He sighed, reached out, and gently drew Hiyori into his arms, resting his chin on her shoulder.
He silently swore that once he had dealt with all this damn business, he had to give Hiyori a grand confession of love immediately.
Before you continue