Chapter 40

As Lin Yifan walked out of the kendo club, he borrowed a towel from Tokishima Sae and went to a secluded corner of the school, taking off his shirt.

A few petals drifted down, sticking to Lin Yifan's back. He wrung out the towel and wiped away the sweat on his body.

A gentle breeze carried the fragrance of flowers and the warmth of spring. Under the shade of the trees, Lin Yifan looked up at the nearby teaching building, where the sound of reading seemed like a calming spell, soothing the agitation in his heart.

Tokyo, spring.

Sitting on a wooden chair, he lazily enjoyed the tranquility of the campus. The teacher probably had become used to Lin Yifan's skipping class, perhaps even hoping he wouldn't come, to avoid attracting a bunch of lunatics.

Placing the half-bottle of green tea beside him, Lin Yifan sat on the wooden chair with his shirt off, squinting his eyes to enjoy the moment of peace.

But this moment of peace was soon broken by Hirano's high-pitched voice.

"Ya... Ya-mate, don't pull me like that, Takagi... Takagi-kun!"

Following the direction of the voice, Lin Yifan saw the stubborn Takagi Saya dragging the fat otaku Hirano, marching angrily towards him.

When she saw Lin Yifan with his shirt off and the scars from the wooden sword on his body, Takagi Saya gasped, her face turning red.

Lin Yifan, who usually looked unremarkable in clothes, unexpectedly had some muscle, especially the well-defined abs that made the young girl unable to look away.

Regaining her composure, Takagi Saya remembered why she came to find Lin Yifan.

Pushing Hirano away, she pointed at Lin Yifan and said, "I said! Why did you make Hirano hide that Magnum?"

"Hmm?" Lin Yifan hung the towel around his neck and turned his head to glance at the furious Takagi Saya.

"Don't play dumb. Why did you make Hirano hide the gun? And, what do you think I found?" Takagi Saya proudly lifted her backpack, which contained the military-grade backpack Lin Yifan used to store the gun and armor.

Lin Yifan rubbed his forehead in frustration. How could Kikukawa Shizuka, who was so naive, hide something so easily found by Takagi Saya? He was really defeated by her naivety.

Seeing the defeated look on Lin Yifan's face, Takagi Saya puffed out her chest with even more pride. "Hmph, I saw you running to find Kikukawa-sensei in a hurry that day. I knew it wasn't for anything good. Sure enough, I found this. A P90 submachine gun, capable of fully automatic fire, not the civilian version. That's not something just anyone can get, right?"

Takagi Saya waved the gun in her hand, a devilish smile on her face.

Hirano, breaking out in a cold sweat, trembled, "Takagi-kun... don't be like that..."

Lin Yifan scratched the back of his head and looked up at Takagi Saya, "So, what do you want?"

"What do I want? Of course, I'm going to turn you over to the police and have them re-investigate your identity. Hmph."

Takagi Saya raised her head proudly. In her eyes, people from across the sea, like the Koreans, were all so detestable.

Lin Yifan looked around to make sure no one was around, then slowly stood up, "What gives you the confidence to confront a dangerous person with a gun?"

"Eh? The gun is in my hands. What do you think you can do?"

Takagi Saya nervously pointed the P90 at Lin Yifan, but he fearlessly walked towards the gun.

"Don't... don't come closer, or I'll really shoot!" Takagi Saya didn't intend to kill Lin Yifan; she was just doing what she thought was "right."

"Playing smart, huh? Typical of a stubborn girl like you." Lin Yifan calmly pressed his chest against the gun.

Takagi Saya's mouth opened wide, sweat beads rolling from her forehead to her chin.

Lin Yifan casually reached out and took the gun, as if it were a pack of tissues from Takagi Saya, so easily.

"You... how did you know I wouldn't shoot?" Takagi Saya took a few steps back, looking at Lin Yifan in fear.

Hirano, who couldn't stand it anymore, interjected, "The safety wasn't off. How could you shoot?"

Takagi Saya's face turned from black to green. It wasn't that Lin Yifan was fearless, but that she didn't know the gun had a safety switch.

No wonder Lin Yifan was so confident. She thought he was just brave and fearless.

"Hirano, you're an accomplice too, right?" Lin Yifan turned his head to look at the fat otaku.

Hirano shook his head vigorously, waving his hands, "No, no, no, I... I'm a law-abiding good student. I don't kill people."

"Kill!?" Takagi Saya screamed, truly frightened.

She had seen Lin Yifan kill terrorists before. If he really wanted to kill, he wouldn't even blink.

"Who said I wanted you to kill? This stubborn girl doesn't deserve to die."

Takagi Saya took several steps back, looking at Lin Yifan in fear, "You... what do you want to do?"

Lin Yifan, who had been calm, now showed a mischievous smile, "Nothing much. Little girl, do you want to go out and play with big brother for a few days? It's a very fun and exciting game called—Black Room."

"Yada! I don't want to."

Hirano shivered, pointing at Takagi Saya, "Even if senpai locks her up for a few days, it won't help. I... I don't dare..."

"You have to dare. What's the crime of helping me hide a gun?" Lin Yifan quickly rushed forward, not waiting for Takagi Saya to struggle, and knocked her out.

Carrying the unconscious Takagi Saya, Lin Yifan glanced at Hirano, "If you really want to live, listen to me. I'm not threatening you. You can leave now if you want, but I won't touch you as long as you don't inform on me. But you'll understand in a few days."

"But, what exactly are you planning, senpai? Is it really necessary to prepare these weapons?"

"Have you been following the news recently?" Lin Yifan asked as he carried Takagi Saya and walked.

Hirano struggled to keep up, his fat body jiggling, "I have. Senpai, are you referring to the recent riots around the world?"

"Good, as long as you follow the news. You also know that there have been several terrifying murders in other parts of Japan, right?"

Hirano nodded. He was a bit of a homebody, mostly playing video games and reading military news. The frequent appearances of military forces in the news had caught his attention.

"Then you should carry that Magnum with you. Here are the magazines." Lin Yifan tossed the remaining five magazines to him. The extra revolver magazines seemed to be part of a package deal he had bought.

Holding the magazines, Hirano hesitated for a long time before finally mustering the courage to follow Lin Yifan.

The two secretly climbed over the school wall. Lin Yifan, carrying Takagi Saya, avoided the police at the intersections and, led by the familiar Hirano, took the back alleys.

"Hirano, do you have a place to stay? Or can you help me rent a room?"

"Yes, yes, it's a secret base I share with a few otaku friends. They mostly live overseas and only come back a few times a year, so I usually use it. It's near the school."

Hirano carefully led Lin Yifan to his secret base. They managed to avoid several armed police patrols on the way.

It seemed the local government was on edge due to the recent shootings and the constant news of global riots, so they had increased their efforts to deploy police in major areas.

Hirano led Lin Yifan to a not-so-big abandoned construction site and whispered, "This was originally my friend's house, but they moved overseas, so it's been abandoned and became our secret base. It's very safe, no one comes here."

Opening the iron gate, Lin Yifan carried Takagi Saya into the construction site. As soon as they entered, Takagi Saya, whose eyelids had been twitching, opened her eyes.

"Aah! Let me go, what do you want to do!"

Takagi Saya, lying on Lin Yifan's back, struggled fiercely, kicking and hitting. She was truly afraid. A high school girl being carried off to an abandoned construction site by two male classmates, one of whom was a cold-blooded killer, was terrifying.

Tears welled up in Takagi Saya's eyes. She regretted her cleverness and was angry at Hirano, who had betrayed her.

Annoyed by her constant struggling, Lin Yifan slapped her buttocks.

Slap!

The sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed in the silent construction site. After a moment of silence, Takagi Saya burst into tears, "You hit me! My father... my father has never hit me, you hit me! Sob, you actually... actually hit me..."