COTE : Backed By Black Technology System-Chapter 182 - : Ryuen’s Taunt—Sudou Eliminated

As Sudou charged at him, Ryuen didn't dodge or move away. In fact, he even kept his mocking grin.

"Oh? You're already losing your temper—"

Before he could finish, Sudou's fist slammed straight into his face. Ryuen's body flew backward—no, he was literally sent flying.

*Beep!*

After Sudou sent Ryuen flying with a punch, he immediately felt a lot of his pent-up frustration fade away.

But just then, the PE teacher, who had been closely watching the match as a referee, blew his whistle and made the announcement.

"Class D, Sudou Ken! Intentional harm! Disqualified from the competition!"

The moment he heard those words, Sudou froze in place.

He looked down at his shaking hands, his whole body trembling, and memories from middle school started flooding back.

Sudou didn't come from a well-off family. In fact, his home life was rough. His father was a janitor, and his mother worked as a hostess.

Later, after his mother ran away from home, Sudou was forced to toughen up—or maybe it just made him more aggressive.

That was when he found basketball. He wasn't good at teamwork, but for some reason, when it came to basketball, he could accept working with others.

With time, his skills improved, and thanks to his natural talent, he got stronger and stronger. He had even received an invitation from one of the top basketball high schools in the country.

But then, because of a violent incident, that opportunity was taken away from him...

So, when he found this school—a place that could secure his future without requiring tuition—he enrolled without hesitation.

Now, looking at Ryuen lying on the ground, the satisfaction he had felt just moments ago completely disappeared, replaced by confusion and doubt.

Did I... make the same mistake again?

The tug-of-war competition was in complete chaos. The noise from the crowd rang in Sudou's ears, making him feel dazed.

Is this the end for me?

"...Sorry."

Muttering those words, Sudou walked off the field.

Because of that punch—thrown in front of so many people—he was disqualified from the competition. And depending on how things played out, all of his previous scores could end up being voided as well.

"Hirata, w-what should we do?"

Sudou's sudden departure left the students of Class D feeling lost. Even though many of them disliked his violent behavior, now that he was actually gone, they realized how much they had relied on him.

Watching all of this unfold, Kanda Shuichi let out a sigh.

Ryuen, huh? You really went all out, even using a self-sacrificing trick just to mess with me.

Knowing Ryuen's personality, there was no way he would've let Sudou land a hit on him under normal circumstances. Yet this time, he didn't dodge. His underlings didn't react either.

It was as if he had been waiting for Sudou to throw that punch.

No, it wasn't "as if"—he did it on purpose.

He was trying to replicate the strategy I used against Totsuka Yahiko before.

I told him last time that his "injured act" wasn't convincing enough.

So this time, he decided to prove himself by doing it right.

After Sudou left, it didn't take long for Ryuen to get up from the ground.

"Ugh!"

He spit out some bloodied saliva, wiped the corner of his mouth, and smirked.

"He actually hit me... But did that guy really just run off with his tail between his legs?"

No one could argue against Ryuen's taunts, because even if he was the one provoking first, Sudou was still the one who lost his temper and threw a punch in public.

"Ryuen, you bastard!"

Ryuen's continued provocations made most of the Class D students furious, clenching their fists in anger.

"What? You wanna hit me? Go ahead, I won't block or dodge. If you've got the guts, come at me!"

But no one stepped forward. Whether it was Class D or Class A, all they could do was glare at him.

To be honest, things had already gone beyond what Kanda Shuichi expected.

He had guessed that Ryuen would pull some tricks, but he didn't think Sudou's temper would be this bad. To throw a punch at Ryuen in broad daylight was basically walking right into his trap.

And judging by the way Sudou looked earlier, something must have happened. Otherwise, there was no way his expression would have been that shaken.

After Ryuen and his group left, Hirata immediately approached the gym teacher who was acting as the referee.

"Sensei, is Sudou really going to be disqualified?"

"There's no other way. It's the rule. Since he did this, he has to be punished, unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Unless Ryuen forgives him. Otherwise, Sudou won't be able to continue competing. And on top of that, violence is a serious offense. His previous achievements might also be revoked."

"How can this be..."

Hearing this worst-case scenario from the teacher, the Class D students were devastated. Losing their ace, Sudou, was a massive blow to them.

As for getting Ryuen to forgive and return, that was obviously impossible.

"What exactly happened just now?"

The girls' tug-of-war had just ended, with the AD alliance taking the victory.

The commotion among the boys had been clearly seen from over there, and as soon as Horikita arrived, she heard about Sudou being disqualified.

Seeing Horikita frowning with an unhappy expression, Ayanokouji explained what had happened.

Then, without warning, Horikita elbowed him in the ribs.

"Why didn't you stop him?"

"Why do you think I could've stopped him?" Ayanokouji asked, holding his side.

Even Horikita was getting frustrated now. Sudou being disqualified wasn't just his problem.

In the upcoming three-legged race and cavalry battle, his partners would be forced to forfeit since they no longer had a teammate.

Especially for the cavalry battle, Sudou, Miyake, Hirata, and Ayanokouji made up Class D's strongest team. But now that Sudou was out, their strongest force had collapsed.

And then there were the recommendation-based events. Just thinking about it gave Horikita a headache—but that wasn't the only thing bothering her.

The next event was the obstacle course race, and the boys' performance was a disaster. Aside from Hirata and Miyake, everyone else failed miserably.

On the other hand, Class A did really well. Both Shibata and Kanzaki easily took first place. They were definitely reliable allies.

For the girls' race, Horikita once again faced off against Yajima and Kinoshita. Then, something unexpected happened.

In the final 50-meter sprint of the obstacle course, Horikita kept looking back at Kinoshita, who was in third place. After a few glances, the two of them suddenly collided and tumbled to the ground like rolling gourds.

Seeing this, Kanda Shuichi sighed. Damn, Ryuen, you really are something.

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The distance was too far to catch the details, but it was obvious—this was Ryuen's doing.

As Horikita and Kinoshita struggled to get up, the other runners overtook them, pushing them to the back of the rankings.

Just imagining the pain of falling at full speed made Kanda Shuichi wince.

Horikita and Kinoshita took a while to recover. Horikita was the first to stand, limping her way to the finish line, ultimately placing seventh.

Kinoshita, however, wasn't as lucky. She couldn't get back up in time and finished last.

"That... wasn't just an accident, was it?"

Hirata, who had also been watching Horikita's race, walked up to Kanda Shuichi and asked.

"Yeah, it's pretty obvious Ryuen was targeting Horikita on purpose." Kanda Shuichi nodded, pretending to be caught in Ryuen's trap. "And I bet some of our classmates have already figured it out too."

"I'll handle this," Hirata said firmly.

He still regretted not stopping Sudou earlier, so now he wanted to do something for the class.

Meanwhile, Horikita limped over.

"Is your foot okay?"

Seeing how even sitting down was a struggle for her, Kanda Shuichi decided to check on her out of basic human concern.

"It's fine. It won't affect the match. I just need a little rest."

"Really? Let me see."

As he spoke, Kanda Shuichi reached out and touched Horikita's injured ankle.

"Ugh!"

The moment he made contact, Horikita winced in pain.

"That doesn't look 'fine' to me."

"Don't touch me. And stay out of it. This kind of injury—I can handle it."

Ignoring her protests, Kanda Shuichi simply took off her shoe, rolled up her pant leg, and removed her sock, revealing her swollen ankle.

Since she couldn't move well, she had no way to stop him anyway.

The injury was already badly swollen. It was obvious how painful it must have been, yet she had managed to endure it.

"You're not joining the next match. Go to the infirmary right away."

"No! If I drop out now—"

Horikita became agitated and even tried to stand up to prove she was fine.

"With Sudou gone, Class D has no chance of winning. Even if you manage to scrape up some last-place points, it won't change anything," Kanda Shuichi said flatly. "Besides, this isn't a discussion. It's an order. You still owe me a favor, don't you?"

Horikita gritted her teeth. Of course, she hadn't forgotten. But...

Ignoring her pleading look, Kanda Shuichi walked over to Hirata.

"Hirata, Horikita's injury is really bad. I'll take her to the infirmary. That means I won't be joining the next match."

"Is it that serious?"

Hirata's face tensed the moment he heard Kanda Shuichi's words.

"Yeah, it's already swollen. Hopefully, the bone isn't injured."

Kanda Shuichi wasn't a doctor, so he couldn't be sure, but from the looks of it, the injury was pretty serious.

"Got it. Do you need help?"

"No need, I can handle it alone." Kanda Shuichi shook his head. "The class still needs you here."

His weak and fragile days were in the past. He wasn't super strong now, but at least he was as capable as any normal person.

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