Are you free now?

Grove seemed to have lost control and immediately swung his fist at Alec.

Although he was quite overweight, he possessed the profession and talent of a D-Rank fighter.

Grove's punch was at least two to three times stronger than that of an average person. Therefore, Alec didn't dare to underestimate him and stepped back to keep his distance from Grove.

Suddenly, he felt his body freeze, if only for a moment.

However, in that brief moment, Alec missed the chance to dodge Grove's punch.

BAM!

The punch landed squarely on Alec's face, sending him sprawling backward.

Alec held his face, feeling a warm liquid flowing from his nose.

Blood was flowing from his nose, but he didn't feel much pain. He felt more embarrassed because Selvia was still there, and she had seen him get punched in the face by a fat guy.

At this moment, negative emotions burnt like a fire, consuming all of Alec's rationality.

"You dare hit me?!" Alec growled.

"Huh!" Grove sneered, "Of course I dare hit you, I want to beat you to death."

Grove swung his fist again, charging at Alec.

Alec, of course, didn't stand still to let Grove continue hitting him. At that moment, his eyes immediately turned yellow, emitting a golden light.

Although the light was very faint and difficult for others to notice, even Grove, who was standing right in front of Alec, didn't notice his strange eye colour.

However, Selvia glanced at Alec. Her eyes seemed to catch this moment, but then she lowered her head, pretending not to see anything.

Alec's eyes seemed to make the surrounding space invisible. In his sight there was only Grove.

However, in Alec's eyes, Grove turned into countless lines resembling a human-shaped iron frame. In the chest area of that iron frame, there was a red spot the size of a fist emitting a faint light.

Alec grinned, a cruel smile spreading across his face. Being a D-Rank swordsman, he was much faster than the heavier Grove.

He swung his fist, aiming at the red spot on Grove's body.

BAM!

Before Grove could even finish swinging his fist, Alec's punch landed on his chest, sending him sprawling backward.

Grove's heavy body hit the ground like a sandbag that was thrown from a height of five meters.

Alec, of course, showed no mercy. His excitement rising, he proceeded to sit on Grove and repeatedly punch the red glowing spot.

BAM!

"You're just a useless pig; you think I'm afraid of you?"

BAM!

"Giving me money is an honour, and you dare look down on me."

BAM!

"Bastard!"

BAM!

"Pff!" Each punch Alec landed on Grove's chest caused Grove to spit out a mouthful of blood, so much so that he couldn't cry out or make any other sound.

"Enough!" Suddenly, a voice rang out.

Negut appeared, frowning, "Alec, what the hell are you doing? Stop it; if you keep hitting him, Grove will die."

Negut also felt a headache coming on.

He had just taken a walk to relax and then returned to the classroom, only to see Alec pinning Grove to the ground, punching him like a sandbag.

Negut even saw the excited and cold smile on Alec's face as he hit Grove.

At that moment, he wondered if Alec was really the protagonist. Alec looked more like a villain than Negut.

Negut didn't know why Alec was beating Grove so brutally, but he knew one thing: if he didn't intervene, Grove would be beaten to death by Alec.

"If he dies, what does it have to do with you?" Alec shouted angrily, then suddenly realised something and laughed coldly, "Ah! I was wondering how Grove had such a large credit balance."

"It seems... he has been bought by you. Negut, you are more despicable than I thought. Using credit points to turn others into puppets, then humiliating me?"

"Hahahaha... then I must kill this bastard. A traitor to his friends doesn't deserve to live."

[Ding! The remaining time until 'Death Moment' has decreased; currently 3 days and 16 hours left.]

Negut: "..."

'What the hell is happening? Who am I? Where is this?'

'I haven't even realised what's going on yet; why have I become a despicable person who uses money to bribe others?'

"You... calm down a bit." Negut tried to explain: "Everything is not as you think, I..."

"Shut up!" Alec shouted: "Wait until I kill this bastard, then it will be your turn."

After saying that, Alec raised his hand; this time, his fist carried all his strength.

He... really wanted to kill Grove.

"Stop!" Negut shouted in surprise. He really didn't think Alec would act like a mad dog like this.

Negut hadn't yet understood what had happened. What exactly did Grove do to make Alec hate him so much?

"Stop him!" Negut couldn't hold back any longer and shouted.

Immediately after... Alec stopped his actions. His raised fist could only stop in mid-air, unable to move.

At this moment, Alec clearly felt the scythe of death against his neck.

He glanced around and discovered that at some point, three men in black suits had surrounded him.

Each of them held a dagger, the sharp tips pointing directly at his throat, heart, and nape.

The murderous air look enveloping Alec's body made him fearful.

"Didn't you hear what my young master said?" Suddenly, one of the three men spoke up: "Stop, or die."

Alec gritted his teeth, looked at Grove's bloodied face, and his mood calmed down a bit.

He glanced at Negut and shouted, "Using subordinates to deal with me, hahahaha... are you that afraid of me?"

"If you are a man, then fight with me. Otherwise, you are just a useless person hiding under the shadow of your parents."

Negut sighed and shrugged, "I have parents to protect me; are you jealous?"

"You..." Alec gritted his teeth. Negut's words were like a dagger, stabbing straight into his heart.

It must be known that Alec's parents were killed when he was young, and their deaths had become his obsession and taboo.

Alec was furious, but before he could move, the dagger had already torn his skin. Although it didn't penetrate deeply, it was enough to bring him back to his senses.

He clenched his fist, gritted his teeth, and looked at Negut with eyes full of hatred, "Bastard! Don't let me catch you, or else... I will..."

"Alec, what the hell are you doing?" At this moment, Mr. Smith hurried over. Seeing the current situation, he knew... Alec seemed to have caused something terrible.

"You... you assaulted your classmate to this extent?" Mr. Smith asked in fear.

He wasn't afraid of Alec, but rather of the consequences Alec's actions might have on his own performance and salary.

His student causing trouble and nearly killing someone would inevitably implicate him as the teacher.

At this moment, Mr. Smith looked at Negut as if he had found a Saviour and hurriedly said, "Thank you, Negut. Thanks to you, he was restrained; otherwise, that mad dog would have killed Grove."

"You truly are an exemplary student, a good young man, a person..."

Negut: "..."

"Teacher..." Negut quickly interrupted Mr. Smith: "Deal with Alec first; stop rambling."

"Ah! Alright, alright." Mr. Smith then took a chain out of his pocket and swung it towards Alec.

The chain, like a snake, immediately bound him tightly. It even emitted a strange purple light that felt somewhat familiar to Negut.

Negut didn't really know what that purple chain was, but he felt its energy was very familiar, even making him feel... 'hungry'.

"That's the 'Chain of Guilt', Young Master." Uncle Wells suddenly appeared next to Negut and began to explain, "It has the effect of binding and nullifying the talents of survivors."

Negut nodded slightly upon hearing this. Perhaps that was what kept survivors from breaking the rules in the safe zone.

Otherwise, there would be no place that could be considered safe. Sometimes, humans are even more terrifying than the monsters out there.

Mr. Smith grabbed one end of the chain, dragging Alec to the ground, and said to Negut, "Negut, don't worry. I will take this kid to the principal to resolve this. I will definitely give you a satisfactory answer."

Negut was about to say something, but Mr. Smith quickly left, dragging Alec along.

Negut even heard Mr. Smith whistling as he walked away, in a very cheerful mood.

Negut: "..."

Negut glanced at Grove lying on the ground and had his three subordinates take Grove to the hospital.

After all, Grove was a good person, and Negut didn't want this dark world to lose a ray of light.

He looked up at the countdown to the 'Death Event' and sighed inwardly.

'In the end... I still can't escape that event, can I?'

Negut was feeling despair when he felt someone tugging at his sleeve.

He turned around and saw Selvia, his emotions remaining unchanged.

After witnessing the protagonist almost kill his best friend, the heroine approaching him now didn't surprise him.

"I want to talk to you for a bit; are you free now?" Selvia said softly, her voice indifferent as if nothing special had happened.

Before Negut could say anything, Uncle Wells's voice rang out: "Of course, the young master is always free."

Negut: "..." Σ (° ロ °)