COTE : Oh No, I've Become the Substitute

Moonlight carved a silver-white path across the pitch-black sea. The ten-thousand-ton steel giant sliced through the ink-dark, silk-like waters, gliding forward in near silence.

The light strips along both sides of the ship resembled a river of fallen stars, dragging sinuous golden serpentine reflections through the churning waves.

The moon hung high overhead. It was one in the morning.

On the deck of the luxury cruise ship, whether students enjoying their dream vacation or the diligent crew members going about their duties—all had dispersed by now, returning to their rooms one after another to rest.

The very bottom of the ship, the fourth basement deck, housed the electrical panel rooms and other machinery spaces. There were no entertainment facilities whatsoever. Normally, no students would come here at this hour.

Within the dimly lit corridor, illuminated by the intermittent glow of indicator lights, a sudden burst of chaotic footsteps rang out, drawing near from the distance. Then, the footsteps stopped.

The flickering lights of the indicators fell upon faces, revealing the identities of those who had come.

Class C's Ryuen Kakeru, Ibuki Mio, and Ishizaki Daichi.

Although Ryuen had failed to fully unify Class C after his defeat in the deserted island special exam, a considerable portion of students had still recognized his abilities and were willing to gather under his command and work for him.

"Ryuen, are you sure coming to a place like this for a deal isn't just someone messing with us?"

Ibuki Mio, the lone girl among the three, glanced around at the various machines in operation. She cupped her hand like a fan and waved it at the stifling, oppressive air of the electrical room.

"Eh!" Ryuen leaned against the wall with both hands shoved in his pockets, a grin spreading across his face. "Who knows?"

"Tch!"

Hearing that infuriatingly smug tone, Ibuki folded her arms and turned her head away, standing off to the side without another word.

A short while later, another set of footsteps echoed through the quiet machinery room. Judging by the sound, it seemed to be just one person.

"So he's come."

Ryuen pushed himself off the cool wall and pulled out his phone, glancing at the clock on the screen. There were still five minutes until the agreed-upon time.

"It seems this deal is likely to go through. Don't you think so? Hashimoto Masayoshi of Class A."

"Nani?!"

Ishizaki, who had been crouching off to the side, jolted in shock and immediately raised his head to look at the newcomer.

Earrings, dyed blond hair, a faint, ambiguous smile on his face—it was none other than Class A's heaven-sent turncoat, the master of fence-sitting, Hashimoto Masayoshi!

"A student from Class A... actually betraying his class at a time like this to make a deal with us?"

Ibuki furrowed her brow and sized Hashimoto up, her suspicion written plainly on her face.

At this stage, Class A had single-handedly pulled a massive gap ahead of the other classes. Even Class B, the closest behind them, trailed by nearly four hundred points. She truly couldn't fathom what reason this person could have for betraying Class A now.

"Ma~" Hashimoto shrugged, his tone flippant and light. "A man's gotta line up an escape route for himself. Always prepare for a rainy day."

"Ryuen-san, absolutely don't trust him." Ishizaki turned his head and spoke hurriedly. "A guy like this, coming to tell us intel at a time like this—you can tell at a glance he can't be trusted!"

"That's precisely why I picked this time to seek you out. The formal exam hasn't started yet, which means contracts are still within their valid scope. That way, the fairness of our transaction can be guaranteed. You should have figured that out too, right, Ryuen?"

Ignoring the skepticism of the other two students, Hashimoto formally locked his gaze onto Ryuen, who had been watching him the entire time.

"Hmph."

Ryuen said nothing. Such petty tricks weren't enough to command his attention. What concerned him was something else entirely.

A contract was flung out, tossed toward Hashimoto.

"And the intel?"

Taking out his phone and using its light to give the contract a rough once-over, Hashimoto revealed a satisfied smile.

"Before the exam starts, collect all the students' phones. When the school sends out the text messages, have someone delete every last one of them. That way, only a small handful of people will know the VIPs' identities. As long as those few don't betray the class, students from other classes will have no way of knowing who your class's VIPs are."

"..."

The entire machinery room fell silent. Only the occasional hum of a ventilation fan sounded in the distance.

"He actually just... came out and said it."

Sweat, born of the machinery room's oppressive heat, trickled down Ishizaki's forehead. He stared in disbelief at this Class A student, who was calmly folding the contract and slipping it into his pocket.

"This kind of thing... is Class A's most cherished secret, isn't it? Could this guy be..." Ibuki murmured to herself.

"His brain spins pretty fast, that Katsuragi!"

Several veins bulged on Ryuen's forehead. He let out a cold laugh and slammed a fist against the nearby wall, producing a muffled thud that echoed through the machinery room.

Yet another method just like the deserted island exam—simple, but effective. And once again, it was a method he himself hadn't thought of.

Indeed. This way, the class's VIPs wouldn't have to worry about being discovered and could focus entirely on rooting out the VIPs of other classes. They would be in an unbeatable position from the very start.

But no matter. From now on, it belonged to him, Ryuen Kakeru.

"So? As intel, is my contribution sufficient?" Hashimoto rubbed his chin and asked Ryuen with a grin.

Indeed. Leaking intel of this caliber—if the Class A students ever found out, there would no longer be a place for Hashimoto Masayoshi in Class A.

"500,000 private points per Class A VIP. That's not too expensive, is it?"

"Are you one of the few in Class A who has access to the VIPs' names?"

"No." Hashimoto spread his hands helplessly. "Katsuragi doesn't seem to trust me. The people he picked are all classmates he trusts. But these things are hard to say for sure, aren't they? Maybe I'll manage to pry something out of them."

"Fair enough." Having achieved his objective, Ryuen no longer lingered. "Understood. The deal is on. You can get lost now."

"Oi, oi. We've successfully concluded a contract here. Isn't that a bit harsh toward your business partner?"

"Toward a guy like you, I've never had much in the way of courtesy. Still, if you do manage to get your hands on Class A's VIP intel, it's not impossible that I'd give you special treatment."

"In that case, I'll take that as a promise."

Hashimoto turned, waved a hand, and strode off.

"A pleasure doing business. Ja ne~"

The scattered footsteps rang out once more. Before long, they vanished into the depths of the darkness. The machinery room returned to silence.

"Ryuen, are we really going to cooperate with that guy?" Ibuki looked toward Ryuen and asked.

"Cooperate?" Ryuen scoffed, sneering coldly. "Cooperation without a signed contract is just garbage."

"Then why did you agree to it?"

"Obviously, because without a signed contract, I won't have to give him that 500,000 later. And I'll still get my hands on one VIP's intel."

"And what if it's fake?"

At this, Ryuen slowly pulled a recording pen from his trouser pocket. The dim glow of the indicator lights illuminated his cruel smile.

"If it's fake... then we'll just make it real."

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