Chapter 36: The First Casualty and a Desperate Search

“Wow, Yuto-kun is right! As long as we all stick together, the Death Note owner won’t be able to kill anyone.”

“As expected of the Detective Club, truly impressive!”

Everyone seemed to regain their confidence, a renewed sense of hope sparking in their eyes.

Such praise visibly pleased Kuroda Yuto and Edogawa Rin. They smirked triumphantly, their lips curling upward as if reaching for the sky.

“It seems to be somewhat effective,” Nishionji Mitsuki whispered, her voice barely audible. “This way, we should be able to win smoothly, right?”

“Perhaps,” Bai Yuliang replied noncommittally. “But I feel that if it were truly this simple, then this task would be far too easy.”

****

Time ticked by, minute by minute, and before they knew it, nearly two hours had passed.

For many, the relentless pressure of survival had led to sleepless nights and extreme mental tension, making them unwilling to attend classes and often leaving them listless.

Yet, for this period at least, no one dared to doze off. Bloodshot eyes were fixed intently on others, each person terrified that the next moment, someone might pull out a notebook and write a name.

With the Grim Reaper’s scythe poised at their necks, one needed to be alive to even dream of sleep!

“Um… I, I need to use the restroom,” a girl suddenly announced, raising her hand, her face flushed crimson.

Bai Yuliang recognized her as Asahina Reiko, an adorable girl with a generous bust who had been quite popular during the school festival when she wore a maid outfit.

“Why now, of all times, do you need to go to the restroom?” Kuroda Yuto frowned in annoyance, glancing at the clock on the wall. “There are only three minutes left. Can’t you hold it?”

“Ugh… but…” Asahina Reiko’s face was so red it looked as though it might drip water.

“Oh, Yuto-kun, just let Reiko go! A girl’s body structure is different from a boy’s, didn’t our physiology teacher explain that?” Ichinose Yuki, the tanned bombshell, spoke out righteously. “Don’t bully girls. If Reiko holds it any longer, she’ll make a fool of herself in class.”

“Ugh… don’t talk nonsense, I didn’t say she couldn’t go,” Kuroda Yuto said helplessly. “She can go to the restroom, but she must take two people with her. That way, they can supervise each other, and the notebook owner won’t be able to kill her immediately.”

“As expected of Yuto-kun, quite thorough, aren’t you?” Ichinose Yuki agreed. “Who wants to go with me to escort Reiko?”

“I’ll go too.”

Qichuan Feng raised her hand then. Bai Yuliang noticed her face was a little flushed, and she was subtly rubbing her thighs, indicating she likely had some urine urgency as well.

Once the three girls had left, everyone’s gaze returned to the clock on the wall, unblinking.

The minute hand crept forward like a doomsday countdown approaching its inevitable end. The soft ticking of the second hand, though quiet, resonated like heavy drumbeats in their chests.

As the time drew near, Bai Yuliang couldn’t help but feel a surge of tension.

‘Could it truly succeed?’

‘The Death Note owner is so composed. If they don’t kill someone soon, *he* will be the one to die!’

“Ten…”

“Nine…”

“Eight…”

“Seven…”

The students unconsciously began to count down, their voices growing louder. Just as they were about to shout “One,”

Kuroda Yuto, seated at the front, suddenly spat out a mouthful of black blood. Clutching his chest, he collapsed to the floor.

Several classmates rushed to check on him, only to find that he had already stopped breathing.

Without a single warning!

Kuroda Yuto had died just like that, without any prior indication!

This sight filled everyone with immense dread, especially Edogawa Rin from the Detective Club. He was certain that Kuroda Yuto had been the first to die precisely because he had proposed a plan against the notebook’s owner.

And he, Edogawa Rin, was also part of that plan. He might very well be the next target!

“Who is it?! Who is the Death Note owner?! Step forward!” He scrambled onto the teacher’s desk, his face contorted in a ferocious snarl, and yelled at everyone in the classroom. “If you have even an ounce of humanity left, step forward! If you cause everyone’s death, you’ll surely live with guilt for the rest of your life!”

“That’s right! Step forward now!”

Another wealthy student, a plump boy named Okubo Matsu whose family reportedly owned a company, also spoke up.

“I have 20 million yen (approximately 1.02 million RMB) in my account. This was originally money my father gave me to invest in funds, but I’ll give it to you immediately if you step forward now!”

However, no one responded. No one was foolish enough to trade their life for money. Compared to life itself, 20 million yen, or even 200 million, was utterly insignificant.

The classroom fell silent, everyone staring at each other, like statues petrified by Medusa’s gaze.

Outside, the corridor buzzed with activity. Students from other classes moved about carefree, seemingly oblivious to the grim scene in Class 3-D.

Inside and outside the classroom, two starkly different worlds existed.

And precisely at that moment, the three girls re-entered the classroom.

Upon seeing Kuroda Yuto’s gradually vanishing corpse, they screamed in terror.

“Those three weren’t in the classroom just now!” a student accused, pointing at the recently returned girls. “I suspect the Death Note owner is among them!”

“Oh?”

Edogawa Rin’s eyes immediately turned cold as he glared at the three girls.

“You three just went to the restroom. Did it really take that long?”

“Hey, it was quick, alright?!” Ichinose Yuki retorted furiously. “Haven’t you ever seen your mom use the restroom? Girls are always slow, okay? Plus, the three of us took turns.”

“Took turns?” Edogawa Rin seemed to grasp a crucial point. “So, all three of you had an opportunity to kill!”

“Are you out of your mind? The three of us were supervising each other; there was no chance to use the Death Note!”

“I don’t believe it! The killer must be among you!”

“Then expose me, you bastard!” Ichinose Yuki challenged aggressively. “I’m standing right here. Try to expose me! Let’s see who dies!”

“Ugh—”

Despite the intense argument, Edogawa Rin lacked the courage to expose her. She was only a potential suspect, and without 100% certainty, he dared not risk his own life.

“That’s it! That’s how it is!” Edogawa Rin suddenly exclaimed, as if a realization had struck him. “Quick! Someone, search them!”

“What?!” The girls’ faces paled, and Ichinose Yuki cursed, “You pervert, are you trying to assault us?!”

“No, it’s not that! I understand now. The Death Note might not even be a physical object! Don’t we all have something called a ‘notebook’ in our phone apps?”

Edogawa Rin clung to this idea like a drowning man to a life raft.

“Just check their phones, look for any similar records in the corresponding app, wouldn’t that work?”

“Eh…”

The three girls froze, strange expressions appearing on their faces.

“What? Are you scared?”

“Uh… no, I can’t…” Qichuan Feng’s expression was extremely awkward, her eyes darting evasively toward the back of the classroom.

“But…” “That kind of thing…”

The other two girls wore similar expressions.

“Honestly, it’s not like we’re looking at your browsing history, what are you afraid of?” Edogawa Rin was utterly baffled.

Just as the situation reached an impasse, Nishionji Mitsuki, the class representative, stood up.

“You can search them, but I should be the one to do it.”

She walked to the front of the classroom and, with a solemn expression, addressed the other students.

“To protect everyone’s privacy, I believe it’s best if I conduct the inspection alone. I give you my personal guarantee that, aside from the notebook holder, I will not reveal anyone’s privacy.”

The students below found her reasoning sound and agreed to her proposal.

Though the three girls were somewhat reluctant, under the circumstances, they had no choice but to hand over their phones.

“Uh…”

What Nishionji Mitsuki saw was truly something. Her expression grew increasingly animated as she scrolled, her eyes wide with obvious shock and amusement, making the other students curious about what exactly was inside.

“No, no problems here!”

After finishing the inspection, Nishionji Mitsuki returned the phones to the three girls, all of whom were blushing furiously, especially Qichuan Feng, whose face was red all the way to her earlobes.

Edogawa Rin, still unconvinced, then had the class representative check all the other students. The representative’s own phone was handed to another trustworthy student for inspection.

However, even after all this, they still found nothing.

By this point, lunchtime was almost over.

The second three-hour period was also drawing to a close…

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