"Four."

"Three."

"Two."

Chongzong counted down while twisting his fingers.

The woman sat in the chair, watching everything, her cloudy eyes gradually becoming clear.

Let's call her Ayaki Yuriko for now.

Although she seemed to have given up on everything before, she was actually calculating her options.

Even though she was caught and couldn't overpower these two high school students with her physical abilities, they were still just two children, no matter what they said.

Even if she didn't cooperate, didn't say anything, they couldn't do anything to her.

On the other hand, although she didn't have much core information as a pawn, if such a pawn were to be captured, Bai Yaxin couldn't possibly remain indifferent, right?

It wasn't to protect her subordinates, but to protect himself.

So, although the possibility was low, the possibility of Bai Yaxin coming to rescue her was not zero.

Anyway, let's wait and see?

Ayaki Yuriko thought this way, emptying herself, and adopting an indifferent attitude towards Chongzong and Hayami and how they would handle her.

She didn't believe these two children could do anything to her.

As a result, without realizing it, two months had passed.

She had almost become a broken person who was toyed with in this small dark room.

But there was not a single sound from Bai Yaxin's side.

It seemed that there was no need to come and save her.

She was already a discarded piece.

In the days that followed, Ayaki Yuriko began to have such thoughts.

In that case, she couldn't rely on Bai Yaxin anymore.

She had to figure it out herself.

And she had to do it without betraying Bai Yaxin.

Otherwise, even if she managed to get out alive, she would not escape Bai Yaxin's wrath.

Such a dilemma.

Being born as a human, there was nothing worse than this. Living in this world, there was only oneself to rely on, and there was no safe harbor anywhere else.

Anyway, the previous methods won't work anymore.

Here, let's think of a way to change the situation.

"One."

As Chongzong finally twisted down his last finger, Ayaki Yuriko abandoned her previous indifferent attitude, straightened her posture, and looked at Chongzong with a more rational gaze.

"I have two conditions."

Ayaki Yuriko stared directly at Chongzong and began her negotiation.

"First, let me leave this place."

"Second, you cannot disclose anything I have said or done here to anyone in any form."

Without much thought, Ayaki Yuriko gave her conditions, which she had already considered.

She answered too quickly, which made Chongzong and Hayami need to ponder for a moment.

With just a simple negotiation, the dynamics shifted subtly.

Ayaki Yuriko, who had been the target of everyone's criticism, was now leisurely sitting in the chair, waiting for Chongzong and Hayami's response.

The expected answer--what would it be?

Chongzong was not surprised by Ayaki Yuriko's response.

"Let me leave here," she said.

"You cannot disclose anything I have said or done here to anyone, in any form," she added.

Those were the two conditions she had. One was freedom, and the other was safety.

It made sense, and it didn't cause any loss to Chongzong.

However, he didn't want Ayaki Yuriko to have it so easy and go exactly as she planned.

Otherwise, he would feel like he was being led by someone else.

Especially by this woman who had once tried to assassinate Mizuo.

Even though she had made reasonable demands, Chongzong had no idea what she was planning behind his back.

He didn't feel too pleased about not being able to see through her intentions.

"Sure, that's fine," he said after thinking for a moment.

"But why should we trust that you won't say anything?"

"And why should we trust that what you're saying is true?"

He launched his own counterattack.

"Yeah, there is a barrier between us. We can't trust each other, and we can't provide any evidence to make the other believe."

"But I choose to believe you now."

"The rest is up to you."

Ayaki Yuriko said this, but her expression didn't show any sincerity.

"Alright, let's do it this way," Chongzong agreed without seemingly noticing anything.