When he got home and checked the time, it was still before 10 a.m., so Masashi decided to go to class in the afternoon. He rummaged through his drawer, found his ID, and then took a taxi to the bank.
There weren't many people at the bank in the morning, and it felt a bit quiet. Masashi went up to a service desk and asked a bank clerk, "I have a sum of money transferred from the Swiss bank. I'd like to check if it has arrived yet." He handed over his ID.
"Please wait a moment."
Soon, Masashi's data was found. However, the clerk stared at the screen in disbelief, her hand shaking as she held the ID.
"Excuse me, are you Mr. Hirota Masashi?"
"Isn't it clearly written on the ID?"
"Please, please wait a moment." The clerk quickly ran off to find the manager.
After a while, the clerk returned, breathless, with a middle-aged, overweight man in tow. After checking the screen, the man looked at Masashi in disbelief.
"Are you Mr. Hirota Masashi?"
"I am." Masashi found the bank staff's questioning excessive.
"Because your funds are extremely large, we need some time to process it. Could you please wait a bit?"
"Alright, please hurry up."
The manager immediately had someone escort Masashi to the VIP room to wait.
In the VIP room, Masashi had no idea that his photo, taken by the bank, was already sent to the personnel department at the police headquarters. After several rounds of verification, the information was sent back to the bank.
"Well? Is it confirmed to be him?" the manager asked anxiously.
"The information from the personnel department confirms that it is indeed him. Hirota Masashi, male, 16 years old, currently a first-year student at Hirai High School."
"Unbelievable! At just 16 years old, he already has over a billion dollars in assets. What a lucky little guy. We need to immediately register him as our highest-level VIP and make sure we don't treat him lightly."
"Understood, manager."
The manager had no idea that the billion-dollar fortune was only a portion of what Masashi had stored in Swiss banks, and even Masashi himself had forgotten how much gold he had securely kept in Switzerland's most tightly-guarded vault. After all, for someone with infinite life, saving money had become more of a habit than a goal.
Finally, the transaction was completed, and the manager and the clerk handed over the passbook and credit card with utmost respect, their expressions solemn as if performing a ritual.
After leaving the bank, Masashi grabbed a quick bite and then rushed to school.
When he arrived at the school gate, he found it locked, and several interview vehicles, resembling TV station vans, were blocking the road. Several reporters were gathered at the gate, looking around.
Even reporters had arrived—this seemed like a big deal.
Not wanting to be photographed, Masashi went to the back of the school and climbed over the wall.
When he entered the classroom, he found that all classes had been replaced with self-study. The classroom, which was already noisy, felt even more chaotic today, almost like a marketplace.
"Excuse me, what happened?" Masashi asked two people who were speaking in a more refined manner, but their conversation was still full of gossip.
"Ah, it's you, Masashi. Didn't you know?" one of them asked in surprise.
"Sorry, I took the day off yesterday."
"Ah, that explains it. Yesterday was a big day at school—something unprecedented happened. You won't believe it…" The person, now having an eager listener, started to tell the story in great detail.
Although Masashi had a rough idea of what happened, he didn't expect the process to be as spectacular as it turned out.
Early in the morning, when students walked into the classroom as usual, they were shocked to find three naked male students lying together in an extremely disturbing manner. Several girls were so frightened they passed out.
When the students brought the disciplinary director to wake them up, the three boys, in a crazed state, tried to assault the director. This poor middle-aged man never imagined such a thing would happen to him. His anguished screams echoed in the ears of the students, sending shivers down their spines.
Luckily, a male teacher present heroically stopped the assault, saving the director's dignity. However, the teachers who helped also suffered various degrees of trauma, and two of them were still receiving psychological counseling.
It was unclear who called the police, but soon enough, the police arrived and took the three boys to the hospital.
It was later confirmed that the three boys were second-year students in the high school division: Yamamoto, Watanabe, and Daiki. Furthermore, a plastic bag containing what was suspected to be drugs was found on Daiki. The police suspected that the boys' behavior was triggered by a combination of stimulants and hallucinogens. The three boys were still receiving treatment at the hospital. Meanwhile, the reporters had gathered at the school entrance, having heard the news. It seemed like the principal would lose even more hair over this.
After hearing the story, Masashi regretted missing the excitement. He couldn't believe he missed such a thrilling scene, and cursed Lei Li for making him miss the drama.
"By the way, Masashi, since yesterday, Ms. Naoko has been looking for you. She seemed pretty anxious."
"I see, thanks. I'll go find her now."
Masashi went to Naoko's office and knocked on the door.
"Come in," came Naoko's clear voice from inside.
"Ms. Naoko, did you need something?" Masashi asked casually as he opened the door.
"You finally came. I thought you were too scared to come back to school," Naoko said angrily.
"I had something urgent yesterday, so I took the day off. Is there something wrong?" Masashi asked, playing it cool.
"Stop pretending. Tell me, did you do this?" Naoko unfolded a newspaper and pointed at a headline.
The headline read: *'Three High School Boys Attempted to Assault (Male) Disciplinary Director'*. Masashi smiled. The headline was indeed eye-catching.
"Don't you think you've gone too far?" Naoko looked at him seriously.
"Oh? Really?" Masashi slowly raised his head and looked at her. "I don't really see what I've done wrong."
"You..." Naoko was taken aback.
"You're also a victim here. Do you think the girls who were violated by those guys would think this outcome is too much? I know what you're about to say, but there's one thing I want you to understand: those guys are not human, they're just three beasts. Don't tell me they're still young. Don't forget, they're legally adults with ID cards. As for beasts, I never go easy on them. This result barely qualifies as a prank in my book."
As Masashi calmly met her gaze, Naoko slowly lowered her head.
"Maybe you're right, but…"
"When you eat steak, have you ever thought about the cow that was ruthlessly slaughtered for your meal? When you eat eggs, have you thought about the chick that was denied the chance to be born because of you? I guess you haven't, and neither have I. I just know that when I'm hungry, I need to eat, whether it's steak or scrambled eggs. People can be compassionate, but there's no need to waste sympathy on things that don't deserve it. There's an old saying in China: 'As long as you're true to your heart, why should you care about other people's opinions?'"
"Thank you, now I understand," Naoko said, feeling like a little girl in front of Masashi.
"Now that you understand what happened, remember my words: don't tell anyone about what happened that night. Otherwise, the one who'll get into trouble is you. If there's nothing else, I'll leave."
"Uh… Are you free tonight? I'd like to invite you to dinner to thank you properly."
Seeing the pleading look in Naoko's eyes, Masashi replied, "You don't need to go to such trouble. How about tomorrow night?"
"Then I'll pick you up tomorrow night," Naoko said, clearly happy.
Masashi thought about how Kazumi would react to this and then added, "Actually, I'll come find you."
"Okay," Naoko said, looking pleased.
Back in the classroom, Mizuta approached and asked, "What did Ms. Naoko want with you?"
"Nothing, just asking about my recent studies," Masashi replied.
"Ah, I see. Bet you were excited to be with such a beautiful teacher. Her figure is absolutely irresistible," Mizuta said with a lecherous grin.
Another beast. Masashi really wanted to punch his face.
Not bothering to respond, Masashi walked past him. Mizuta, feeling embarrassed, glared at him before walking off to find others of his kind.