Moreover, one thing was clear: Ryosuke obviously had a closer relationship with Jason.
This made Onodera realize he had to demonstrate his ’value’ even better.
He had to show his usefulness.
Otherwise, sooner or later, he would be replaced.
He definitely didn’t want to go through sothing like that.
Because once you give up, there’s a high chance you’ll die.
So, at this mont, he was a little nervous.
Even though he had done countless psychological preparation exercises in his heart, he was still just as tense.
Who isn’t afraid of death?
He was.
Ryosuke was too.
And presumably Jason would feel the sa, wouldn’t he?
After all, you only get one life!
Gulp, gulp.
Onodera tugged at his tie, grabbed the water cup next to him, downed the warm water inside in one gulp, and then picked up the phone to start dialing.
He knew he couldn’t wait any longer.
If he waited any longer, he feared he’d never have the courage to make the call.
He might even try to run.
If he truly could escape, Onodera wouldn’t mind.
But how was that possible?
He had already boarded the ship.
He had already been marked by Jason.
If he ran away, Jason wouldn’t even need to deal with him personally. That young Onmyoji from the Hanakaiin Family would certainly be more than happy to step in. By then, his fate would be worse than death.
One choice ant there was a possibility to live.
One choice ant death.
One choice ant a fate worse than death.
Pick one of the three — no deliberation needed.
Beep, beep, beep.
Three rings later, the call connected.
"Hello."
A woman’s voice, not loud nor soft, ca through, sounding indifferent.
"It’s . You left a note earlier."
Onodera introduced himself.
"The guy from this morning?"
The woman asked.
"If you didn’t leave notes for anyone else around then, I guess I must be that guy."
Onodera said with a smile.
His tone was light-hearted, with a hint of flattery.
There’s always a type of person like this.
Initially, they’re extrely anxious.
But when the mont cos, they suddenly beco indifferent.
Such people all have a ’big heart.’
Onodera was one of them.
Before picking up the phone, Onodera had still been a bit nervous.
After picking up the phone, his nervousness completely vanished, replaced by calm and ease as he slipped into character.
Not only had he cald down, he could now analyze: this woman who answered the phone probably hadn’t left her number just for him.
Was she casting a wide net?
Onodera speculated inwardly.
Targeted investnt undoubtedly has the highest cost-effectiveness.
But casting a wide net isn’t without its rits.
In fact, casting a wide net can be considered a prerequisite for targeted investnt. Only after multiple rounds of screening can you focus on specific targets.
Onodera understood this perfectly.
But...
How big was this net?
If it was a small net, he could still stand out.
If it was a large net, his value would plumt.
Thinking of this, Onodera felt like crying.
To survive, I not only have to prove my worth to Jason, but also to this unknown person or group?
Life is too hard!
But maybe there’s a silver lining!
If I perform well, could I potentially earn double ’paychecks’?
No, not double!
Fourfold!
’Zero Division,’ ’Blossom Cherry,’ the unknown organization, and Jason’s domain!
As his thoughts spiraled, Onodera suddenly felt elated.
Turns out I’ve been working four jobs at once!
So of them even have promising prospects.
Keep it up, corporate slave!
Quickly, Onodera shook off his frustration and began to look forward eagerly.
"Yep."
"You’re the first to finalize your decision."
"Let’s et and discuss this in detail."
With that, the woman hung up.
The decisiveness and directness didn’t surprise Onodera.
In fact, this was what he had expected.
Because he had already followed Jason’s advice and conducted ’background checks’ on them in advance.
Of course, those checks seed very discreet.
But in reality?
They were all within the scope of permissions accessible to him.
Simply put, they were designed to give the impression that he was acting covertly, yet was actually fully exposed to the other party’s ’line of sight.’
As long as the other party was alert.
These actions would surely be detected.
Therefore, it was easy for the other party to locate him.
Onodera was fairly confident that he was being monitored by them.
Not the kind of ’microscopic’ surveillance.
But broader in scope.
And that was what he wanted.
It was what he hoped for.
Onodera stood up and walked over to the water dispenser again.
After refilling his water, he sat back down on the sofa, sipping and silently counting the ti.
1 minute.
2 minutes.
3 minutes.
...
Finally, five minutes later, soone knocked on the door—
Knock, knock knock!
"It’s ."
The familiar female voice ca again.
Onodera’s mouth curled into a smile.
As expected, they were monitoring at close range!
Onodera quickly walked toward the door. By the ti his hand was on the doorknob, the knowing smile on his face had vanished, replaced by a rigorously formal expression.
The door opened.
A tall, black-clad woman stood in the doorway.
The mont Onodera saw her, his pupils contracted sharply.
He recognized this woman.
In fact, to so extent, he was quite familiar with her.
Because she was...
Hui Lixiang!
A female fighter who rose to fa in recent years.
Not only had she participated in the earlier ’King of Fighters Tournant,’ but she had also recently staged a ’100-Man Challenge,’ taking on the ’Kyokugen Style’ dojo.
A figure who could crush him hundreds of tis over with just one hand.
But what truly shook Onodera’s mind was the revelation that she was Hui Lijing’s sister.
The one who had crossed paths with him a few tis, seed sowhat simple-minded, and — if you rounded it up — had kind of saved him once. Hui Lijing’s sister!
The assistant working under Jason was Hui Lijing’s sister.
How could this be?
Did Hui Lijing know about this?
More importantly, did Jason know about this?
Onodera’s mind spun into chaos.
If no one knew, then everything was just a coincidence.
If they did know, and Jason still made him do this...
It could only an one thing—
Murder and silencing!
At this thought, Onodera felt his entire back grow cold.
His legs even began to tremble.
Onodera’s abnormal state naturally didn’t escape Hui Lixiang’s notice.
The female fighter glanced at Onodera briefly and asked directly.
"You recognize ?"
"I-I do."
Onodera admitted without hesitation. He knew his odd behavior wouldn’t go unnoticed by a fighter; lying now would only be digging his own grave.
Rather than conceal it.
It was better to co clean.
Of course, to cover better, Onodera thought up a ’reason.’
"I know Ms. Hui Lijing."
Onodera said this.
Both as an excuse and as a test.
He hoped to discern sothing.
Or, at least, disrupt her state of mind.
If she really was here to silence him, it might increase his chances of escaping.
But the expression he saw on Hui Lixiang was rather strange.
Frowning — that’s normal, within expectations.
But what does that sense of resignation an?
Onodera was puzzled.
Hui Lixiang, on the other hand, looked as if she wanted to punch the door next to her.
Why was it that, no matter what she did, she couldn’t escape Hui Lijing?
It had been the sa since school!
Every ti she wanted to do sothing, obstacles cropped up everywhere, but eventually, soone connected to Hui Lijing would appear, smooth out the trouble, and incidentally make her look like she was slacking off.
Every single ti!
She’d thought that joining the ’Inside World’ would put an end to this.
But after a brief calm, the situation had escalated even further.
What was going on?
Hui Lixiang took deep breaths.
Once, twice, thrice.
Onodera grew increasingly baffled.
Resignation, followed by deep breaths?
It seed like she was suppressing sothing?
Anger?
Unlikely.
More like... frustration?
As he arrived at this conclusion, Onodera began to question himself, wondering if he had misinterpreted her, even heard incorrectly.
Then, Hui Lixiang spoke.
"You’ve passed. It’ll be you."
Onodera blinked several tis.
The expression in his eyes entirely captured what he felt at the mont.
To summarize in two words—
This... seriously?
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