Substitute Toyokawa Shoko, you can become stronger by breathing

Chapter 121 XP, You Win

The collar was tied around the girl's slender white neck.

She lowered her head slightly, and her soft brown hair fell down, covering most of her face and her eyes that were slightly red with shame and anger.

Kujo Renji leisurely admired the "beautiful scenery" in front of him.

The look on the girl's face, which was obviously extremely unwilling but had to endure it because of the safety of "Toyokawa Shoko", was undoubtedly a pleasant "trophy" in his eyes.

The core of the so-called "obedience test" has never been the result of "obedience", but the "testing" process itself.

His real purpose is to erode the opponent's psychological defenses step by step by constantly testing and pressuring him, and finally find out the "lower limit of tolerance" that he can bear.

First, make a seemingly unacceptable and extremely excessive request. Then, in the face of the other party's resistance and struggle, "mercifully" make a slight concession and put forward a relatively "acceptable" condition.

By repeating this process, you can peel off the opponent's disguise layer by layer like peeling an onion, reaching its most vulnerable core.

It's strange to say, whether it's the Nagasaki Suyo in front of him, or the Yutenji Wakami before, or the Yawata Kaisu, Wakaba Mutsu, these friends surrounding "Toyokawa Shoko", their "lower limit of tolerance" seems to be somewhat beyond his expectations.

Is it because "friendship" really has such great magic?

Ah, I forgot, Yutenji Wakami and Hachiman Kairin are not doing this for "friendship".

"so..."

A slightly hoarse voice with a slight tremor broke the suffocating silence.

Nagasaki Suyo slowly raised her head, and her blue eyes, which always wore a gentle smile, now seemed to be covered with a thin layer of frost, cold and full of complex and unspeakable emotions.

She subconsciously reached out and gently touched the cold collar around her neck.

"Are you Kujo Renji?"

She stared intently at the "Toyokawa Shoko" opposite her who still had a faint smile on her face, and asked word by word. Every word seemed to be squeezed out from between her teeth, full of hardship and unwillingness.

Upon hearing this, Kujo Renji did not directly answer her question.

Some things are more "interesting" when they are tacitly understood rather than pointed out directly.

"Since...when did it start...?"

Nagasaki Suyo murmured softly, with a barely perceptible hint of confusion and pain in her voice.

Was it from before the band broke up?

Or...earlier?

Those moments that once made her feel warm and at ease, those changes that once made her feel that "Xiangzi" had become a better person, were they... all fake?

Kujo Renji still didn't answer.

He just looked at her leisurely, admiring her distraught look at the moment.

After a long while, he seemed to suddenly remember something and spoke casually:

"Speaking of which, Ms. Nagasaki... seems to have quite a bit of experience in this area of ​​'eavesdropping'?"

When Nagasaki Suyo heard this, her already pale face turned even paler.

She subconsciously pursed her lips, and a trace of panic and embarrassment flashed in her eyes.

Jiujo Renji took in her guilty look and the smile on his face deepened.

"The next time."

He spoke slowly, his tone as calm as if he was arranging a very ordinary task:

"I need you to help me monitor...your mother, Ms. Nagasaki."

"what?!"

Nagasaki Suyo suddenly raised her head, her beautiful blue eyes widening in shock, her pupils filled with disbelief and... a hint of anger:

"You...you want me to spy on my mother?!"

"Is there a problem?"

Jiujo Renji tilted his head:

"Or... Miss Nagasaki feels that her 'professional skills' are only applicable... among 'friends'?"

Nagasaki Suyo was choked speechless by his words, her face turned red and white, and her chest heaved violently, obviously she was very angry.

Jiujo Renji was not in a hurry to force her, but just said leisurely:

"I'm quite interested in those 'little gadgets' that Ms. Nagasaki made herself. How about... taking me to see them?"

Nagasaki Suyo gritted her teeth, her heart filled with humiliation and unwillingness.

But when she thought about the safety of "Toyokawa Shoko", she finally... chose to compromise.

She stood up silently and, somewhat reluctantly, led Jiujo Renji to her bedroom.

The decoration style of Nagasaki Suyo's bedroom is quite consistent with the impression she gives people in her daily life. It is simple, elegant, and exudes a scholarly atmosphere.

However, next to the large desk, there was a workbench that looked quite professional.

On the workbench, scattered are various electronic components, precision tools, and...several open professional books on radio technology and information security.

In a corner of the workbench, an unfinished "second-generation" monitoring device, which was more sophisticated and more concealed than the previous one attached to Chihaya Aine's guitar bag, lay there quietly.

"Ah..."

Jiujo Renji picked up the small device and played with it between his fingertips, with a hint of sarcasm in his tone:

"To be able to achieve this level through self-study, Miss Nagasaki's talent in this area is truly... astonishing."

He paused, then glanced at the books on the shelf that were incompatible with the girl's usual gentle image, such as "Tracking Records" and "Psychology". The smile on his face deepened a little:

"I remember seeing quite a few books on 'tracking and anti-tracking' on Ms. Nagasaki's bookshelf the last time I came here. It seems... Ms. Nagasaki's future ambition is to become... a powerful ace agent?"

"It's just... a hobby!"

Having her "little secret" exposed so bluntly by Kujo Renji, no matter how calm Nagasaki Suyo was usually, she couldn't help but feel ashamed and angry at this moment, and her cheeks were slightly hot.

But soon, she keenly grasped a message from Kujo Renji's seemingly casual teasing.

"Last time..."

She raised her head suddenly:

"So the last time we met was when you came to me as 'Xiao Xiang' and 'opened your heart' to me. From that time on, you were already... Kujo Renji... right?"

Kujo Renji smiled noncommittally, agreeing with her guess.

Nagasaki Suyo's heart sank to the bottom in an instant.

There is no doubt that "Xiaoxiang" that time left her with an extremely deep and beautiful impression.

The feeling of being understood, trusted, and treated gently is so real and so addictive.

Even if all that is just a false illusion.

Even though behind that tenderness, there is... cold calculation and exploitation.

But she still couldn't help wanting to believe it, wanting to... touch it.

But reality is cruel after all.

The "Xiangzi" who made her feel warm was, after all... just an elaborate lie.

Jiujo Renji didn't seem to notice the turmoil in her heart at the moment, and just said to himself:

"In order for me to keep track of Ms. Nagasaki's movements and ensure that our 'cooperation' can proceed smoothly, I need to install a small 'beacon' on you as well."

As he spoke, he took out an even smaller, button-like tracker from the black backpack.

Nagasaki Suyo looked at the small tracker and felt the humiliation in her heart surge up like a tide again.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, as if trying to suppress all her resentment and anger.

After a long time, she slowly opened her eyes, and there was a hint of self-mockery in her blue eyes.

"But anyway..."

Jiujo Renji looked at her forbearing appearance, and there was a hint of sigh in his tone, as if he was expressing his sincere emotion:

"Ms. Nagasaki's friendship with 'Toyokawa Shoko' is so profound it brings tears to my eyes."

Hearing these words, the taut string in Nagasaki Suyo's heart finally broke with a "snap".

She suddenly raised her head, and her eyes, which always held a gentle smile, now seemed to be burning with two cold flames. Her voice was filled with undisguised sarcasm and contempt:

"Is the guy who planted a bug on his friend even worthy enough to talk about the word 'friendship'?!"

Upon hearing this, Jiujo Rensi was not angry at all. Instead, he couldn't help but burst into laughter as if he had heard something extremely interesting.

"Oh? So that's what Miss Nagasaki thinks?"

He stopped laughing and said sarcastically:

"It seems that in Ms. Nagasaki's concept of 'friendship', there is absolutely no such thing as secretly installing a listening device on a friend's guitar bag, silently monitoring her whereabouts, and controlling her privacy, correct?"

Nagasaki Suyo was stunned when she heard this.

The sharp blade that was originally used to attack the opponent, now stabbed back into her own heart in a more cruel way!

Her cheeks instantly turned red, a red that was filled with shame, embarrassment, and...humiliation. She opened her mouth and wanted to refute, but found that she couldn't find any words to defend herself.

Jiujo Renji looked at her extremely embarrassed appearance, the smile on his lips deepened a little, and his tone was filled with ruthless pursuit:

"At least today, I'm telling you openly that I want to monitor you and control your movements. I'm not like some people who, like a mouse hiding in a dark corner, stealthily eavesdrop on their 'friends' secrets, and still think... they're doing something noble and great."

His voice, every word.

"Do you really think what you did is great, Nagasaki Suyo?"

Jiujo Renji's tone suddenly became a little cold:

"For your so-called 'protection of Toyokawa Shoko', so... it doesn't matter if 'Chihaya Aine' is sacrificed, right?"

"This kind of self-serving double standard is just disgusting."

Hearing these words, she bit her lips hard, trying not to cry, but her slightly trembling shoulders still revealed her inner feelings at the moment.

Her beautiful blue eyes were filled with grievance, unwillingness, and deep self-loathing.

Especially... when these heart-piercing words were spoken from a face that looked like "Toyokawa Shoko", the lethality... increased exponentially!

Jiujo Renji looked at her, who looked like she was about to cry, but his expression was still so calm, even with a hint of pity?

"So... you see,"

He sighed softly, and his voice slowed down a bit, as if he was stating a very simple fact:

"We are all the same, Miss Nagasaki. We are all just evil people who will do anything to achieve our own goals."

He paused, his amber eyes fixed on Nagasaki Suye's tearful face, and the corners of his mouth slowly curved into a meaningful arc:

"So... Next, as 'accomplices'..."

"Please give me your guidance."

.......

The night is as dark as ink, so thick that it cannot be dissolved.

When Kujo Renji completely disappeared from the sight of Nagasaki Suyo's high-end apartment, the unique "consciousness connection" between him and Toyokawa Shoko had already been undercurrent.

"How many times has this happened?!"

Toyokawa Shoko's voice suddenly exploded in his mind, carrying with it a suppressed anger.

"You still dare to say this isn't just your own bad taste?! Stop making those high-sounding excuses! I think you're a completely vulgar, obscene, sexually repressed psychopath!!"

The girl's meager vocabulary was obviously unable to support her current rage.

She racked her brains and searched her mind, but could only repeat over and over again these curses, which she thought were the most vicious.

Every word was squeezed out from between her teeth, full of strong condemnation of Kujo Renji's behavior of using her and her friends to achieve his despicable goals.

"You're using this disgusting method to threaten my friend again. Damn, you lying bastard."

Kujo Renji listened to the angry accusations in his mind and found it a little funny.

"Ms. Xiangzi."