A woman in a Western-style shirt stepped into the alley, her white blouse stained with blood.
"Miss… I deeply apologize. I came late."
"Did you take care of those people?"
"Yes."
The girl wiped the blood from her lips again, finally letting her crimson-stained mouth relax."Do you still have the medicine?"
The woman hesitated for a second, then immediately straightened."There's one vial left."
"Give it to me."
She handed over something shaped like a futuristic pistol — a sleek, high-tech injector.The girl took it, then walked toward Watanabe Tetsu, looking down at him.
Seeing this, the woman moved first. She grabbed Tetsu's arm, twisted, and locked his joints, lifting him to a height where the girl wouldn't need to bend down.
"Why…?" Watanabe Tetsu couldn't understand. "I was trying to help you."
The woman then began pulling items off him one by one:
A stun gun.Pepper spray.A tactical flashlight.A personal alarm.A voice recorder.A multifunctional folding knife.A steel-alloy extendable baton.
All of it clattered loudly into a messy pile on the ground.
The girl nudged the heap of "weapons" with the tip of her shoe, finding Tetsu's efforts laughably pathetic.A faint smile — the first on her otherwise cold face — appeared.
Then she suddenly said, almost playfully:
"Precisely because you wanted to help me… I'm giving you an easy way to die. You should really be thanking me."
"D-die…?"
"Hm?" She blinked, then started giggling, delighted."You didn't actually think I'd use something childish like anesthetic, did you?"
"Why do you want to kill me?"Tetsu stared at the injector. His voice trembled on its own.
Damn it! Why is a 100,000-point mission this hard?! Wait— wasn't the event already over?! Will the Healing Potion even work on this kind of thing?!
"Why?"The girl's playful expression froze over instantly.She pressed the injector against her lips.
"You're the first one who ever dared to lay hands on my man."
"But it was you—"
Before Tetsu could finish, she cut him off."I was the one who touched you first — yes. But I'm not going to kill myself, am I?"
Her eyes were flat and cold as ice.
The pain Tetsu had barely endured before suddenly surged again, cold sweat dripping down his back.
He tried to struggle, tried to speak — but the girl had already run out of patience.
"That's enough. Considering you saved me, I've generously given you enough time for last words."
The moment she finished speaking, the woman behind Tetsu grabbed his left arm, pulling up his sleeve and positioning it in front of the girl.
His pale arm reminded him of something from childhood —the white, helpless pigs the villagers pinned down on wooden boards during New Year's slaughter.
The injector's liquid steadily decreased.
Within moments, Watanabe Tetsu's breathing became strained, his consciousness fading.
But he did not redeem a Healing Potion yet.
I have to wait… wait until they leave… ugh… it hurts… breathe… breathe…
Only… only if they think I'm dead… then my parents back home… they'll be safe…
"Miss, the fingerprints have been wiped clean."
"Call Miyano. Tell her to—"
…redeem.
✦ ✦ ✦
When Watanabe Tetsu opened his eyes again, he was still lying in the alley.
His body felt as if he'd merely taken a nap.Even the pain in his lower body was gone — completely numb.
Only the dust on his clothes and the cold sweat soaking his underwear proved that what happened moments ago had been real.
It seemed the Healing Potion had worked.
Tetsu checked his phone.9:30 PM.He'd been unconscious for about fifteen minutes.
All the weapons on the ground were gone.
So they planned to make it look like he died of a sudden medical episode…?
Tetsu didn't waste time thinking.After confirming there were no watchers around, he casually strolled out of the alley as if nothing had happened.
Suppressing the urge to run home, he boarded a train and deliberately made several detours.Along the way, he bought a full set of summer clothes, checked into a cheap hotel room, and changed.
No one came looking for him.
Only then did he exhale.
After everything was done, he prepared to take the train back to his rented room.
Before boarding, he tossed the bag containing his old clothes into a trash bin more than ten stations away from home.
Back in his apartment, the first thing he did was grab his phone and start searching:
Time to plan a new life.He had to leave Tokyo.
Judging from the insane girl's status — the incident, the entourage, the attitude — her social standing was clearly extremely high.If not for the game event, Tetsu might have never gotten within ten kilometers of that kind of person.
In a city of over ten million people, the chances of someone like her noticing someone like him should've been zero.
But the risk was too big now.
If she found out he was alive, not only he —even his parents back home would be dragged down with him.
After some research, Tetsu made a decision:
Go north.All the way north — to Hokkaido.Transfer schools. Enroll in Hokkaido Academy.
Hokkaido Academy was a prestigious advanced institution.It was famous for veterinary medicine, but its medical department was strong too.
He would study medicine — learn everything.He wanted that insane girl to taste it properly someday.
While improving academically, he would also grind points relentlessly.
Six years in medical school.After graduation, he would return to Tokyo —for revenge.
By then, he told himself, he would be a knowledgeable scholar and an expert fighter.
"Kicking the groin… locking joints… I, Watanabe, won't forget any of it!"
Having decided his escape route, he began packing.
He took the laundry from the balcony, folded all the clothes from the closet, and placed everything neatly into a suitcase.
Then came the transfer process.
Transferring schools in the island nation wasn't too difficult.He called his parents back home and told them he wasn't used to big-city life in Tokyo, so he wanted somewhere quieter — Hokkaido.
He also told them he wanted to aim for Hokkaido Academy instead.
His parents didn't agree at first.They asked if he was bullied in Tokyo — if people looked down on him for being from the countryside.
"No, really! Please just say yes! This is your son's one and only request in life! I want to go to Hokkaido!"
After a long tug-of-war, they finally agreed.They said they'd call Koizumi Aona, the school guidance officer, about the transfer.
Half an hour later, Koizumi Aona called back and told him to come to her office Monday morning at 7 AM to explain himself in person.
Watanabe Tetsu agreed.
He looked at the hardcover book on his desk — he should return it to the owner.
A pity he hadn't fulfilled his dream of becoming a "Tokyo Hunk."
For the entire weekend, Tetsu shut himself in his apartment, reading The Great Gatsby.He only went to the convenience store at night for food.
He rejected invitations from Kunii Osamu and Saitō Keisuke.He even called his part-time job at the supermarket and quit.
Tamamo Harumi sent several messages asking him out to eat.He ignored all of them.
He hoped she would uphold "professional ethics" and continue acting as his girlfriend for the remaining month he paid for.
Monday.
For the last time, Watanabe Tetsu put on the Western-style uniform of Kamikawa Prep School.
He left early.
They had agreed on 7 AM, but he reached the school gates a little after 6.
At this hour, Kamikawa Prep was completely empty.Even the earliest students didn't arrive until 7:30.
Only one car was there.
A sleek, black luxury sedan parked by the gate — elegant, expensive beyond question.
Even Tetsu, who knew nothing about cars, could tell immediately that this one cost a fortune.
But the vehicle he longed for most was still… a bumper car.
At the beginning of the semester, he had wandered around Tokyo alone and saw a group of middle-aged men driving bumper cars through Shibuya like some bizarre parade.
They looked so proud.Tetsu had been envious for days.
He wondered if Hokkaido had festivals like that.
Thinking random morning thoughts, he turned the corner into the campus.
His heart stopped.
Between the school gate and the main building ran a long pathway —and at its center stood a towering oak tree.
Fresh green leaves, thick and lush, like a curtain.
Back in late March, when he first saw it, he'd thought:If someone suddenly walked out from behind that tree, they'd definitely bump into you. Good thing cars aren't allowed on campus.
Now —
A group of people in all black —black suits, black pants, black sunglasses —walked around the oak tree and into view.
Like a scene from a movie.
A girl in Kamikawa Prep's uniform walked in the middle of them, long hair brushing her shoulders, looking bored out of her mind.
A female bodyguard leaned in to whisper something.
The girl lifted her head.
She saw Watanabe Tetsu.
Her bored expression froze —then slowly brightened, her eyes curving with faint amusement, as if she'd discovered something interesting.
The group bypassed Tetsu and continued walking.
Tetsu pretended nothing had happened and headed toward the office — but he couldn't resist turning back.
The luxury sedan's rear door was open.
A bodyguard stood by the door.
Inside, the girl sat lazily with her long legs crossed, inspecting her nails with boredom.
She was waiting for him.
Watanabe Tetsu understood immediately.
Stay calm, Watanabe. Stay calm.Only then can you figure out how to keep your parents safe.
He took a deep breath, forced his expression into composure, and walked toward the car.
The rear compartment was spacious, two rows facing each other.The girl sat alone in the very back, centered.The woman who had locked his joints sat in the opposite row.
Tetsu got in, sat beside the woman, facing the girl.
The door shut softly.
The car began to move, pulling away from Kamikawa Prep.