Chapter 16 – The final trump card

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Faced with Yukio's mockery, Kushida remained coldly fixated on him. Her voice, once as gentle as a spring breeze during the day, had turned into a venomous, threatening growl at night. "If you dare to spread what happened tonight, I won't let you off easily," she warned.

Yukio, intrigued, glanced at Kushida. Was she seriously threatening him? In such a deserted environment, how could a physically weaker girl without any weapon pose a threat to a boy who was clearly her superior in strength?

Yukio couldn't help but feel that the school's decision to place Kushida in Class D was spot-on – not for any personality or psychological defect, but rather for her naivety. Her threat seemed almost laughably innocent.

"I'm so scared," Yukio said sarcastically, bursting into laughter mid-sentence. To Kushida, his handsome, smiling face was infuriatingly annoying.

"Do you think I'm joking?" Kushida's face darkened further as she continued to threaten: "If you reveal this, I'll report to the school that you attempted to assault me here at night. You'll be expelled for attacking a female student alone at night."

Yukio raised an eyebrow, "Is that an invitation for me to attack you?"

Enraged by his nonchalance, Kushida suddenly grabbed Yukio's wrist and pressed his hand against her chest, as if to leave his fingerprints on her uniform. "I won't wash this uniform. It'll have your fingerprints as evidence for the school. You're finished."

Realizing her plan, Yukio pulled out his phone, showing the screen: "Funny thing, Kushida, I also have something to show the school." The mechanical voice from the phone, combined with the video of Kushida kicking the railing, formed perfect counter-evidence.

"This video will convince the school not to believe any fingerprint evidence. They'll assume it's your desperate attempt to prevent the video from leaking."

The cool night breeze, which should have been refreshing, felt chilling to Kushida. Her body seemed to freeze, her blood struggling to circulate, her mind grinding to a halt.

"No! Impossible!" she finally reacted, the malice on her face dissipating in her panic: "How could there be no shutter sound on the video?"

Understanding the significance of the video, Kushida realized her carefully crafted image would be shattered if it were released. She would be plunged into an abyss with no way out.

"But how did you do it?" she wondered, her understanding of life completely upended.

"Recognize the situation," Yukio said, putting away his phone, watching Kushida's increasingly pale face, his merciless nature resurfacing.

"No! It's not over yet!" Kushida, refusing to concede, revealed her last card: "Don't be too proud! In just a month, I've made some friends in Class C. I know all the negative things they've said about each other. If I leak this, your class will fall into chaos and distrust. Delete the video, and I promise to keep these secrets."

Yukio knew she wasn't lying. Kushida's social skills had indeed earned her many friends and confidants, making her privy to their complaints and grievances.

Girls are like that, they can create five chat groups even in a four-person dormitory, let alone in front of Kushida, who seems like a little angel on the surface. Students inevitably vent their frustrations and grievances to her.

These words, once spread by Kushida, could pose a significant problem for the stability of Class C. The mutual secret curses among classmates, now in Kushida's hands, become a ticking time bomb. Once detonated, it could cause considerable damage to the entire class.

And this bomb might still be lacking in potency. After all, it's only been a month. Even if people often complain, Kushida couldn't have gathered too much dirt on Class C – there just hasn't been enough time.

Give her half a year or even a year, however, and the accumulated dirt could be enough to completely overwhelm a class.

Yukio observed Kushida intently, realizing she was more than just a two-faced person with a bad nature. She possessed a unique talent – a knack for gathering classmates' negative comments about each other.

This ability, while not noble, was indeed effective. He thought, "If Kushida could be used to gather dirt on other classes, it could prove useful one day. With her strong social skills, she could easily gather information not just from the first year but from the seniors as well."

And if she could dig up dirt on school staff, perhaps not the higher-ups but at least class advisors or administrative personnel, that would be even more valuable.

"I don't agree to a deal. I just want you to delete that video," Kushida insisted, her gaze still fierce. "Otherwise, be prepared for mutual destruction. If I can't have peace, neither will Class C."

Yukio laughed under the moonlight, amused and perhaps mocking Kushida's naïveté and overestimation of her leverage.

He realized Kushida still didn't understand the situation. Her so-called dirt on the class was merely a nuisance. He could easily handle class management issues. Kushida's belief that she could use this to threaten him was far too optimistic.

That violent impulse surged again within him: "Kushida, understand this, in such an environment, violence is power. It's late at night, you're alone, and you should never threaten or provoke someone stronger than you."

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