For his own safety, he sent a message to Horikita Manabu, who quickly answered his question.
"Temporary Instance? You encountered this thing?"
"Is this thing of no small origin?"
"Hard to say. Some give very generous rewards, while others are pure mental torture. But once triggered, it won't trigger again for at least a month."
"Souka! Oh, by the way, your subordinate isn't being honest, you know that, right?"
As the saying goes, courtesy demands reciprocity. Since the other party kindly provided Bai Yuze with some information, Bai Yuze decided to return the favor slightly.
"You mean Nagumo? What did he do to you?"
Horikita Manabu immediately confirmed who Bai Yuze was referring to. He did have a headache regarding his junior, Nan Yunya, and had even considered bringing Bai Yuze into the Student Council to counter Nan Yunya.
"Nothing, I dealt with him before, and he conveniently gave me some pocket money. It's just his expression was a bit punchable."
Horikita Manabu breathed a sigh of relief after receiving the message. Bai Yuze did not use honorifics when referring to Nan Yunya, which indicated that Bai Yuze simply regarded him as an ATM.
However, out of caution, he still prepared to probe Bai Yuze's stance.
"So, will you stand with him?"
"Of course! Not making money when it's available, isn't that foolish?"
Horikita Manabu was silent for a while. If he could, he really didn't want Bai Yuze to join Nan Yunya's faction. He was about to graduate, and it was uncertain whether he would leave school or work there afterward.
Now, the second-year students were firmly under Nan Yunya's control. He believed that with Bai Yuze's talent, becoming the controller of the first-year students was only a matter of time.
If even Bai Yuze joined Nan Yunya's faction, then it would be difficult for him alone to deal with both of their schemes...
Once he left school, the newly enrolled first-year students would likely suffer greatly...
Nan Yunya's philosophy was that only the strong had the right to live; the weak were only fit to die or become playthings for the strong.
Horikita Manabu, on the other hand, was determined to build a school that could shelter unfortunate students from the storm.
Nan Yunya's ideology could be realized in a prison or a place devoid of humanity.
But in Horikita Manabu's eyes, the students who came to this school were innocent. They could have enjoyed different lives, but the existence of The Strange World made them live in constant fear.
The Strange World was originally only for executing criminals. The students caught up in this absurd game had done nothing wrong, so why did The Strange World insist on bothering them?
The original intention of establishing the school was to shelter students from the storm, but Horikita Manabu had recently felt that the essence of the school had changed.
He was somewhat lost. As the Student Council President, he had always maintained a cool and powerful persona, but he was not a cold-hearted person. On the contrary, he cherished and respected human life more than anyone else. Precisely because he respected human life, he couldn't bring himself to kill Nan Yunya. He actually thought highly of Nan Yunya, but unfortunately... their paths diverged.
"Should I... get rid of both of them?"
Horikita Manabu looked at his hands. After being enhanced by the Guaidan and awakening his abilities, the offensive power of his arms was enough to tear apart the strange, and while it could only slightly restrict the strange in the instance, it might not be the case in reality...
If he insisted on dragging others down with him, no one could stop him, unless someone had prior knowledge and used artillery to blast his body into a pulp...
It could be said that Horikita Manabu was the strongest human in this school in terms of combat power. Fortunately, this Guaidan did not fall into Nan Yunya's hands, otherwise, the school's blood-changing ritual... would have to be brought forward...
"Of course, I am a man of principle."
Seeing that the other party had not responded for a long time, Bai Yuze edited a message and sent it.
"?"
"Cough, cough, I have two points when I do things! First point! I'm doing it for points, which means once the points are in my hands, the cooperation is considered over. After all, I've already got my points, why would I keep working?"
"???"
Horikita Manabu was somewhat confused. He recognized all the words Bai Yuze typed, but why didn't he quite understand?
"Second point! Pay first, then work! Pay in full at once! No bargaining!"
Horikita Manabu was silent for a long time on his end, then slowly sent over a number.
"6"
Receiving points is considered the end of cooperation, and also demanding upfront payment... isn't that just pure freeloading?
Horikita Manabu was a bit speechless, but at the same time, he felt a little relieved. As long as Bai Yuze didn't collude with Nagumo, it was fine, otherwise... it would really put him in a difficult position!
He made a grasping motion towards a ceramic cup in the distance, and the cup instantly shattered!
Upon realizing he was safe, he suddenly wanted to visit Soubu High School. He had seen it in anime, but it was nothing compared to seeing it with his own eyes.
However... he was a little scared... he shouldn't run into Yukino, right?
After much thought, he decided not to go. Excluding all places Yukino might go, Bai Yuze's options were: haunted houses, dog cafes, and band performances...
"Go to a haunted house? Forget it, what's so special about fake ghosts? Haven't I seen real ones?"
Asking someone who is entangled with The Strange World instances to play in a haunted house... what's the difference between that and a pilot riding a roller coaster?
As for dog cafes... Bai Yuze's interest in cats and dogs was "if they're there, I'll pet them; if not, so be it. If I encounter one on the road, it's first come, first served. What? It has an owner? If it's your cat, then why is it in my sight? Why is it in my hands?"
Ultimately, Bai Yuze decided to go see a band performance. He was curious who he might meet.
Was it Customer Service Xiao Xiang or the JK widow?
After some inquiries, he did find a band, and then fell into thought as he watched Gotou Hitori stammering as she greeted him.
Gotou Hitori felt very uncomfortable. She had tried her best, but her body just wouldn't get sick.
Although the customer in front of her was handsome, why wasn't he speaking? Was her unbearable voice displeasing him? Was he going to grab her clothes and shout next?
"Baka?! Are you looking down on me?!"
Ah! I really want to go back to my dark, damp corner... Should I just commit seppuku to apologize...
Bai Yuze looked at Bocchi-chan, whose face turned pale, then yellow, and finally, whose eyes lost their light, and quickly responded.
"Uh... hello, is there a Kessoku Band performance here now?"
Bai Yuze's seemingly simple greeting actually caused billions of critical hits in Bocchi-chan's heart!
What? It's a fan... What should I do? Should I directly tell him there's no performance currently, and pour cold water on a fan?
Gotou Hitori instantly imagined Bai Yuze looking disappointed, bowing his head dejectedly, and leaving...
No! Absolutely not! As Guitar Hero, if I can't even fulfill a fan's expectations, am I still worthy of being called a hero? Might as well be called Guitar Bear!
Just as she was about to respond to Bai Yuze, she noticed that Bai Yuze's gaze had been fixed on her.
Gotou Hitori: ...
I'm sorry... From now on, Guitar Hero has become Guitar Bear...