COTE : Backed By Black Technology System

Seeing Kanda Shuichi and Kamuro come out of the elevator, Kushida greeted them.

"Good morning, Shuichi."

"Good morning, Kikyo."

Hearing them call each other by their first names, Kamuro, who had been in a good mood, suddenly felt annoyed.

"And good morning to you too, Kamuro."

"Yes, good morning, Kushida."

Kamuro couldn't get angry at such a friendly greeting, so she responded indifferently.

"By the way, Horikita said she was going to study in her room. Why is she here?"

After greeting Kushida, Kanda Shuichi took two steps forward and stood in front of Horikita.

Horikita was wearing a light green dress with a large sun hat on her head and carrying a bag in her hand. It was obvious she was going out for some fun. 

Hearing Shuichi's teasing, Horikita Suzune glanced at Ayanokouji beside her, then let out a sigh. "If I had a choice, I wouldn't have come." 

"Did you do something?" 

Kanda Shuichi noticed Horikita's reaction and curiously asked Ayanokouji. 

Ayanokouji looked at Kamuro Masumi, who was following behind Kanda Shuichi, then shook his head. "Nothing." 

It seemed like he couldn't say anything because Kamuro was here. 

"Since everyone's here, let's get going." 

Seeing that the small talk was over, Ike, who had been waiting impatiently, couldn't help but urge them. 

"Exactly! It's already almost 8:30. If we wait any longer, the sun will get really strong." 

Yamauchi Haruki, Ike's close friend, agreed right away. But Kanda Shuichi found it a little odd that Sudou didn't seem interested. 

"Huh? Isn't that Kushida? Good morning!" 

Just then, Ichinose and three of her female friends came down in the elevator. They were all carrying backpacks, and from the looks of it, they had the same destination as Kanda Shuichi and the others. 

"Don't tell me you're heading to the swimming pool too, Ichinose?" 

"That's right." 

Since the pool was only open for three days, it wasn't surprising to run into others. In fact, just in the short time they had been talking, quite a few people with bags had already left the lobby, likely heading to the same place. 

"Since we got this chance, why don't we all go together? What do you think?" 

"Of course, you're welcome to join!" 

Ike and Yamauchi, who had just been urging everyone to leave, immediately rushed forward. 

On the way, Kushida and Ichinose's group of girls walked in the front, chatting and laughing. Behind them were Ike and Yamauchi. 

Kanda Shuichi and the others walked at the back. Ayanokouji was in the middle, with Kanda Shuichi and Horikita Suzune on either side. Sudou walked next to Horikita Suzune, while Kamuro was beside Kanda Shuichi. 

"Kanda, don't you think something feels off?" 

Horikita started talking to Kanda Shuichi, with Ayanokouji between them. 

"Off? You mean how you originally didn't want to come but suddenly changed your mind?" Kanda Shuichi asked as they walked, immediately cutting off what Horikita was about to say. 

But since what she wanted to say seemed important, she fell silent for a few seconds before continuing. 

"From what I know about Ike and Yamauchi, shouldn't they be way more excited about this?" 

"Oh, that? I just figured they can't really join in on Kikyo and the others' conversation, so they're feeling left out." 

Seeing that Kanda Shuichi still didn't get what she meant, Horikita Suzune was getting frustrated. Why couldn't this guy notice something was off? 

Of course, Kanda Shuichi had already realized something was strange about them. 

They were just going to the pool, so normally, all they needed was a swimsuit and a towel—maybe some sunscreen at most. 

But their bags looked like they were carrying something heavy, with the straps pulled tight from the weight.

"Can't you tell their bags are filled with something heavy?" 

"Maybe it's just water guns filled with water. Nothing strange about that." 

Horikita Suzune was about to explode with frustration. If Kamuro weren't here, she would have shouted right into Kanda Shuichi's ear: *Those bags have remote-controlled cars inside! They're planning to use them to spy on the girls' changing room!* 

But Kanda Shuichi completely ignored her, making her feel like she had just punched a pillow with all her strength—only for it to sink in without any effect. 

Just as Horikita Suzune was about to take action, Kanda Shuichi's gaze shifted toward a different path. 

"Yo, Akito, what a coincidence." 

Walking over from the second-year dorms were Miyake Akito and Hashibara-senpai, both from the archery club. 

Hashibara-senpai, full name Hashibara Kaoru, was a second-year student and the captain of the archery club. Her archery skills were nothing to scoff at. 

At that moment, Hashibara and Miyake Akito were chatting and laughing as they walked over, running into Kanda Shuichi's group. Judging by their appearance, they were probably heading to the pool as well. 

Hearing Kanda Shuichi call out to him, Miyake turned to look in their direction. The moment he spotted several of his classmates, his expression stiffened with awkwardness. 

Being seen going to the pool with an upperclassman wasn't what embarrassed him. What made things awkward was that he had originally turned down Kanda Shuichi's invitation—only to get caught heading there anyway. 

Unlike Miyake, Hashibara-senpai was much more straightforward. She immediately grabbed Miyake's arm and walked over. 

"Kanda, why did you left the archery club without even telling me?" 

Like a madwoman, she wasted no time ruffling Kanda Shuichi's hair. 

"You're not the club president. Why would I tell you?" 

Kanda Shuichi swatted her hand away and took a step back, looking annoyed. 

"Uh, Shuichi, actually... the club president changed," Miyake scratched his head and glanced at Hashibara-senpai. 

"Oh, well, that's it then. The archery club at ANHS is doomed." 

"Oh?" Hashibara-senpai flashed a *very* friendly smile. "Kanda, you've got some guts, huh?" 

"Hmph! Kamuro, protect me!" 

Kanda Shuichi quickly retreated behind Kamuro Masumi, who stepped forward with an equally displeased expression to block Hashibara. 

*I haven't even touched Shuichi's head before, and yet you did it without hesitation...* 

"Alright, alright, Shuichi was just joking," Miyake quickly stepped in to smooth things over. "Actually, during this summer's club tournament, Hashibara-senpai performed amazingly and earned tens of thousands of points from the school." 

Hearing Miyake's praise, Kanda Shuichi let out a snicker. 

"Tens of thousands? That's nothing. In the last special exam, I got tens of *millions* of private points." 

... 

Silence. 

Complete silence. 

Kanda Shuichi's words were on a whole different level. 

*How are we even supposed to respond to that?* 

"Uh... Kushida and the others have already gone ahead. We should catch up," Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, who had been silent the whole time, finally spoke up, shifting the topic to break the awkward silence. 

Taking the opportunity, the group moved on, restoring the mood to how it was before. 

When they arrived at the pool, they were immediately greeted by the sight of students in all sorts of swimwear. Most of the guys were wearing standard school-issued swim trunks.

The girls had a lot more variety—some wore slightly conservative school swimsuits, others went for sexy bikinis, and some even wore beach dresses. It was a dazzling sight. 

Even though this special swimming facility was still part of the school, the administration was considerate enough to allow students to enter without wearing uniforms for these three days. 

Since it was also the last day of summer vacation, a huge crowd of students had already gathered outside even before the official opening time. The atmosphere was lively and energetic. 

Walking through the entrance of the pool, the changing rooms were on the left. The school had thoughtfully separated them by grade level. 

On the right, opposite the changing rooms, was a hallway—not too long, not too short—that led to the pool area. 

"Alright, everyone, let's meet back here in twenty minutes." 

Just like during the special exam, Ichinose from Class B naturally took the lead in organizing things and made the suggestion to the group. 

Kamuro handed Kanda Shuichi's bag to him. 

"See you in a bit." 

"Yeah, see you soon." 

After taking his bag from Kamuro, Kanda Shuichi noticed that almost all the guys had disappeared in an instant. Except for Miyake, who had just finished talking with Hashibara-senpai, the rest had already rushed into the changing room like a swarm. 

"Let's go too, Akito." 

"Yeah." 

As they entered the changing room, they saw Ike and Yamauchi huddled in the corner, acting suspiciously. Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was with them. 

"What are they doing?" 

"Who knows?" 

Ignoring Miyake's curiosity, Kanda Shuichi changed into his swim trunks, put on a rash guard, and secretly placed his four-dimensional pocket inside. 

"I'm gonna head to the bathroom real quick. Wait for me outside." 

"Alright, I'll wait in the hallway." 

After making up a random excuse, Kanda Shuichi went to the restroom, entered a stall, and waited for a bit. Then, he pulled out his time-viewing device and locked onto Ike as his target, setting the time to five minutes ago. 

The screen displayed the scene from earlier—there was Ike crouching by a ventilation duct, pulling out a remote-controlled car and some tools that he had wrapped in a towel. 

With practiced movements, he unscrewed the vent cover, removed the panel, and quickly placed the remote-controlled car inside. Then, he reattached the cover as if nothing had happened. 

Next, he took out a small metal part hidden inside the duct, carefully placed the car down, and started controlling it. 

--- 

Fast-forwarding through the footage, it only took a little over a minute for Kanda Shuichi to figure out what these two idiots were up to. 

They were actually trying to use a remote-controlled car to sneak through the ventilation ducts and spy on the girls' changing room?! 

What the hell—this was insane! 

And judging by how smooth their movements were, there was no way this was just a spur-of-the-moment idea! 

I never even thought of doing something like this, and you guys just went ahead and did it like it's no big deal?! 

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You can read 10 advanced chapters at my patreon.com/YeyeQiu