I created a foundation

At this moment, a cold and firm voice sounded.

"President."

Yukinoshita Yukino stood up from her seat, her black cat ears moved slightly under the light, and there was no fear in her ice-blue eyes, only her usual calmness and concentration.

"Sobu High School is where I used to go, and I'm relatively familiar with the environment there. I'm requesting to be in charge of the initial investigation and intelligence gathering of this incident as the vice president of the student council. This will be the least likely to alert the school and potential targets."

Lin Qing turned his gaze to her but did not answer immediately.

Yukino hadn't been with the Foundation long, but he was impressed by her rapid growth, the calmness and exceptional abilities she had demonstrated during several missions. Her awakened [Observation Haki] in particular gave her a unique advantage in exploration and perception.

After a moment of silence, Lin Qing nodded slightly.

"permit."

His voice remained steady.

"Your [Observation Haki] is indeed suitable for initial investigations. Remember, safety first, efficiency first. Once you lock onto a suspicious target or perceive an unmanageable danger, retreat immediately and report. Do not act on your own."

"Yes, President."

Yukino's answer was concise and powerful.

After the meeting, Yukino didn't waste a moment and immediately started preparing.

The next morning, sunlight shone through sparse clouds onto the tree-lined avenue of Sobu High School.

Yukinoshita Yukino stepped into the familiar campus again.

With her position as vice president of the student union, she easily accessed the detailed academic records, course schedules, club activity records, and recent interpersonal interactions of the three deceased.

The office printer made a slight humming sound, and sheets of documents were printed out neatly.

Xueno carefully flipped through the cold paper documents. The names, ages, classes, hobbies, and comments from teachers and classmates were all clearly recorded.

But these are just appearances.

What she needed to know was the truest emotional fluctuations in the hearts of these deceased people before they encountered misfortune, and whether anyone around them had abnormal emotional reactions as a result.

This is the key to finding out the mastermind behind the scenes.

During lunch break, the corridors of the teaching building are crowded with students laughing and playing, and the air is filled with the noise and vitality unique to youth.

Xueno walked alone to a relatively secluded window, turned her back to the passing crowd, and looked at the figures running on the playground.

Then she slowly closed her eyes.

【Observation Haki】.

The invisible perception was like the most sophisticated radar, spreading silently around her with her as the center.

Passing through the noisy classroom, passing through every young face, passing through every beating heart.

In an instant, countless complex emotional "colors" flooded into her mind like a tide, painting a dynamic, colorful picture in her spiritual world.

The bright orange represents the excitement after finishing the physical education class.

The elegant blue represents the tranquility of being immersed in a book and concentrating fully.

The shy light pink is the vague affection that arises in the hearts of young boys and girls when they look at each other inadvertently.

The depressing grayish-white color represents the inescapable anxiety caused by the upcoming exams.

Her focus was on the students who had close interactions with the three deceased women. According to the information, the three unfortunate girls all belonged to the same active social group.

Time passed by minute by minute.

Fine beads of sweat oozed out of Yukino's forehead. The high concentration of her mind was taking a toll on her.

Suddenly, her perception froze.

Near the classroom of Class 2, Grade F, two extremely dazzling dark colors that were incompatible with all other colors were like will-o'-the-wisp in the dark night, instantly grabbing her full attention.

One of the clumps was a rich and turbid dark yellow, like mud that had been solidified for a long time, which was disgusting.

The source of this color points to the blond girl Miura Yumiko, who stands out in the crowd and is surrounded by people like a star. She is the queen of the campus and one of the core members of the small group.

And next to Yumiko Miura, right next to her, there was another emotional scene that was even more shocking and chilling.

It was pure, bottomless black.

What made Yukino's heart sink even more was that within that pure black, there were also large patches of dirty, dark gray that seemed stained with blood. It was the guilt and regret that came from the depths of her soul and could not be washed away.

The source of this complex and distorted emotional color comes from a girl with a cute bun hairstyle who is now forcing a smile and agreeing with Miura Yumiko - Yuigahama Yui. She is also a member of that small group and usually looks harmless.

The emotional colors of these two people formed an extremely sharp and abrupt contrast with the relatively simple and bright colors of other students around them.

It was like two large drops of thick ink on a spotless white drawing paper, hideous and eye-catching, full of ominous meaning.

Yukino suddenly opened her eyes.

The sunlight was a bit dazzling, and she narrowed her ice-blue cat eyes slightly.

Deep in his pupils, there was a sharp and cold light flashing, like a hunter locking onto his prey.

"found it."

She whispered to herself, so quietly that only she could hear it.

Without any hesitation, Yukino took a step forward, her petite figure carrying unquestionable decisiveness and a sense of oppression as she walked straight towards Class F of the second year.

Yukino's footsteps echoed in the empty corridor, neither fast nor slow.

Yuigahama Yui followed closely behind her, half a step away, almost walking hand in hand with her, taking every step carefully.

Yumiko Miura was sandwiched between the two of them, her face looking a little ugly, but she still tried to maintain her calm appearance.

Finally, Yukino stopped in front of a wooden door that looked no different from any other classroom door.

The doorplate read "Music Preparation Room", but the paint was peeling and the words were blurred.

She reached out and effortlessly turned the doorknob, which had long since given way.

"Squeak-"

A harsh friction sound indicated that the door had not been opened for a long time.

Yukino moved sideways, motioning for the two to go in first.

A smell of stale wood.

A thick, dusty smell.

The mixture of the two hit Yuigahama Yui in the face, choking her so much that she couldn't help but want to cough, but she forced herself to hold it back, and her little face turned red.

Yumiko Miura frowned in disgust and fanned her nose with her hand.

Yukino was the last one to walk in.

She closed the door behind her.

"Click."

The sound of the old spring lock falling automatically was particularly abrupt in the small and enclosed space.

This so-called music preparation room is even more dilapidated than I had imagined.

The air was so thick that it seemed frozen.

The only window had most of its glass shattered, and the remaining part was covered with thick dirt, allowing almost no light to penetrate.

Only a few faint beams of light, tinged with dust particles, slanted in through the cracks in the glass, barely outlining the contours of the objects in the room.

There were several chairs with broken legs piled up in the corner.

An old music stand with a warped tabletop and covered in scratches stood alone.

A dusty piano stands quietly in the corner.

Faded musical notations can be vaguely seen on the walls, most of which are covered with mold.

Icy.

Damp.

An invisible sense of oppression weighs heavily on everyone's heart.

"Yukoshita-san."

Finally, Yumiko Miura couldn't stand this strange silence anymore. She crossed her arms and tried to make her voice sound as powerful as usual.

Even though she herself could feel that there was a barely perceptible tremor in the ending tone.

"What on earth do you want? Bringing us to this kind of place?"

She deliberately straightened her back and raised her chin high, trying to use this posture to hide her inner anxiety.

"I repeat, I have no interest in the childish mutual assistance games you play in the Ministry of Service."

"If you want to scare me or make me change my mind in this way..."

Her eyes swept over Yukino's calm face.

His voice was filled with his usual contempt.

And disdain.

"Then you've made a wrong calculation, Ice Queen."

Yuigahama Yui stood behind Miura, her body huddled even tighter.

She kept twisting her fingers, her nails digging deep into her palms, but she didn't feel any pain at all.

Her lips moved, as if she wanted to say something, but no words came out.

He could only look at Yukino helplessly with eyes full of pleading and fear.

I hope this classmate who seems aloof on weekdays but always solves problems at critical moments doesn't really do anything terrible.

Yukino's gaze passed lightly across Miura Yumiko's face, which was deliberately putting on a haughty expression.

It fell on Yuigahama Yui's eyes, which were filled with fear.

She didn't speak immediately.

The dust in the air floated slowly in the thin beam of light.

Time seemed to be infinitely stretched at this moment.