Digital Hackers' Memories

Chapter Twenty-Five: School Bullying

Organized, unapproachable, and dislikes getting involved in things that don't concern them...

This is how Chen Ze appears to most outsiders.

However, only Nogi Yu knew that Chen Ze's aloofness was simply because he didn't care about anyone else.

Because at some point, Nogi Yu had witnessed the smile and helplessness that Chen Ze showed when he was communicating remotely with someone.

Nogi Yu didn't know whether the person on the other end of the earpiece was Chen Ze's family or his friend who was far away in China.

The only thing he was certain of was that perhaps Chen Ze, on another level he couldn't reach, also possessed a gentleness and thoughtfulness that belonged only to him.

To put it simply, the reason the other person is so indifferent to you is perhaps just because you are not worthy of their smile.

Like Nogi Yu, he doesn't show too much enthusiasm in front of outsiders, except for a certain "hero" in his heart.

"Ze-jun, what are you planning to buy here?"

Then, Nogi Yu, who had just remembered her identity as a "waiter", bowed again and then asked rather embarrassedly.

"Perhaps I can recommend someone to you."

"No need, I just came to take a look around."

With that distant smile still on his face, Chen Ze politely declined the other party's offer.

He wasn't fooled by Nogi Yu's apparent "shyness"; the seemingly effeminate guy in front of him was actually quite something.

"If I see anything I like, I'll tell you."

............................................................................................................

"Ze-kun?"

After a moment, Nogi Yu watched Chen Ze's departing figure, then murmured in an enigmatic tone.

"So you really are from 'that world' too?"

At this moment, Nogi Yu's memory seemed to return to half a month ago, not long after Chen Ze came to her school as an "exchange student".

Prior to this, Nogi Yu didn't actually have a deep impression of Chen Ze.

Students attend school at designated times, study regularly, and do not participate in any clubs or organizations after school.

Aside from the "exchange student" label, Nogi Yu didn't think Chen Ze was anything special.

It wasn't until Nogi Yu was cornered in the restroom by several classmates, as usual, that he realized this "exchange student" wasn't as simple as he had imagined.

"Although I knew that 'school bullying' was a serious problem in Japan, I never imagined it would be this serious."

Completely ignoring the astonished and horrified looks from the students around him, Chen Ze pushed open the tightly closed door to the men's restroom.

Of course, before entering the restroom, Chen Ze didn't forget to close the door to block the students' view outside.

"The new transfer student?"

There are now three delinquents surrounding Nogi Yu in the corridor of the men's restroom.

One of them was Chen Ze's classmate and his deskmate after he transferred schools.

Because the time since he transferred schools was not too long, and because Chen Ze had always maintained a relatively polite distance, his classmates' impression of him remained that of a "new transfer student".

Even though he was Chen Ze's deskmate, this delinquent's impression of him was limited to trivial things like "he had excellent grades" and "he was very arrogant".

"I remember your name is Yuichi, right?"

Chen Ze glanced inadvertently at the toilet door behind him, which was mostly unopened, and could only sigh inwardly.

"Judging from your clothes and appearance, you don't seem like the kind of person who's short of money, do you?"

Although Chen Ze didn't understand things like Japanese brand names, he could tell from Yuichi's well-fitting clothes that the other person was not from a poor family.

Not only Yuichi, but also the other two delinquents beside him were dressed very appropriately.

Chen Ze could even smell men's cologne on one of them, something that was clearly not something that children from ordinary social classes could afford.

In other words, the reason these three delinquents surrounded Nogi Yu was probably not just because they wanted to extort money.

"Is it just for fun, or do you feel a sense of accomplishment from bullying the weak?"

As Chen Ze's voice grew louder, his expression became increasingly serious, exuding an aura of authority without anger.

Ultimately, regardless of Chen Ze's current physical age, he is a transmigrator who has lived two lives, possessing a maturity and composure far exceeding that of his peers.

In addition to his special experiences and repeated battles during this period, Chen Ze has become fundamentally different from ordinary people.

Just like soldiers who have actually experienced the battlefield, no matter how much they want to integrate into normal society, their special aura and temperament are enough to make them stand out from the crowd.

Not to mention, Chen Ze was not experiencing a human battlefield, but a far more dangerous supernatural phenomenon.

With such a powerful aura, let alone three delinquents who hadn't even entered school yet, even real adults would probably find it difficult to look him in the eye.

"You...you...this has nothing to do with you!"

Clearly intimidated by Chen Ze's aura, Xiong Yi was stunned for a moment before shouting in a fierce but intimidating manner, seemingly trying to boost his courage in this way.

"You bastard, do you think you're some kind of hero from a comic book?!"

Seeing this, the other two thugs also pulled out knives from their pockets and threatened Chen Ze with fierce expressions.

"do you know?"

“In this information-rich modern society, all I need to do is post your current behavior online, and you will be ‘socially erased’ and will never be able to bully others again.”

As he said this, Chen Ze deliberately pointed to the camera on his chest, showing no sign of backing down even when the other party pulled out a knife.

"you!"

Upon hearing Chen Ze's words, the trio of delinquents realized that the "brooch" on his clothes was actually a miniature camera.

Yuichi and the others, who were encountering this situation for the first time, were clearly unsure how to handle this "unexpected" event, just as they had never considered the feelings of the bullied party.

"Don't even think about taking this camera away, because I've already turned on the internet connection."

With a disdainful glance at a certain restless delinquent, Chen Ze calmly added.

"However, compared to this kind of mental 'threat,' I think it would be more memorable and leave a deeper impression if you directly experienced physical pain."

Before he could finish speaking, Chen Ze, under Nogi Yu's horrified gaze, took the initiative to meet the trio of delinquents.

"Because this is real 'bullying'!"

Chapter Twenty-Six: Combat Instinct

"Because this is real 'bullying'!"

The trio of delinquents, who had no combat experience, seemed to be stunned by Chen Ze's unconventional approach, and for a moment they were at a loss and took two steps back.

Snapped!

The first slap landed squarely on Xiong Yi's face; Chen Ze wouldn't hold back just because the other was young.

Chen Ze was determined to make those two delinquents, especially those who dared to pull out razor blades, understand what "real bullying" meant.

"you wanna die!"

The first bad guy to react felt his head spin, and without thinking, he grabbed the knife in his hand and stabbed Chen Ze.

"careful!"

Upon seeing this, Nogi Yu, who had been huddled in the corner of the toilet, screamed in terror, a look of fear appearing on her face.

"You are far inferior to 'them'!"

With just a soft murmur, a strange yet familiar brutality instantly surged into Chen Ze's heart—it was the white flame beast's fighting instinct.

Snapped!

No need for excessive words or predictions...

Just like a professional fighter who has learned professional fighting techniques, Chen Ze simply tapped his opponent's wrist and easily neutralized the unfavorable attack.

"what!"

The next moment, Chen Ze used his Iron Mountain Lean to ram his shoulder directly into the delinquent's arms, and a scream immediately came from the other man's mouth.

Bang...

The last thug was clearly terrified by Chen Ze's series of brutal attacks, and the knife in his hand fell to the ground.

"Wait, don't hit me..."

After taking several steps back until he was pressed against the toilet wall, the last delinquent finally screamed uncontrollably.

"Begging for mercy now? It's too late!"

With a nimble backstep, Chen Ze let the brunt of his blow fall to the ground before turning his gaze to the last "survivor".

"Please, let me go!"

They had no backbone at all; the delinquent was crying with snot and tears streaming down his face, as if he was afraid that Chen Ze would rush over and punch him.

Not only that, even Yuichi, who had just been slapped and was still stunned, just covered his face and dared not make any more noise, for fear of attracting Chen Ze's attention.

"Let you go? You didn't seem to be planning to let me go before, did you?"

With a helpless smile, Chen Ze launched another attack before the last person could react, delivering a powerful punch to the opponent's abdomen.

"vomit!"

The delinquent only had time to vomit once before his vision went black and he completely lost consciousness before he could vomit up the money from the previous night's meal.

"See that? This is what's called 'bad behavior'."

After dealing with the three delinquents, Chen Ze walked up to Nogi Yu with a relaxed expression, then reached out and grabbed her.

"As long as you have the courage, you don't even need any force to make them expose their 'weak' side."

To everyone's astonishment, Chen Ze deftly flipped his hand and easily removed the EDEN watch from Nogi Yu's wrist.

"So what you need more than this 'thing' is courage."

Chen Ze simply swiped on the screen of his wristwatch, and a virtual screen was projected onto the wall on one side of the toilet.

What was being shown on the virtual screen was the entire process of the three delinquents threatening Nogi Yu, and Chen Ze decisively and violently dealing with them afterward.

Clearly, Nogi Yu had already secretly activated the camera function of the EDEN device and secretly recorded the fact that she was being "bullied at school".

"I have no right to accuse you of 'retaliation'..."

"I don't want to know what you plan to do with this 'video' afterwards..."

After skillfully deleting all the footage from after he made his move, Chen Ze returned the watch to Nogi Yu, as if he had nothing to do with the incident.

"But rather than seeking 'revenge' afterward, the most important thing is to proactively prevent things from happening in the first place."

Looking at the seemingly shy but actually cunning "cross-dresser" in front of him, Chen Ze said this.

"As long as you act tough enough and have enough courage, they won't dare to provoke you in the first place."

"It is your concessions and your avoidance that make them think you are an easy target, someone they can take advantage of, which is why they choose to target you as a 'bully'."

"Maybe you'll feel like you can 'get back at them' afterward, just like you're planning to do now..."

"However, since the fact of 'bullying' has already been established, no matter how you retaliate against them afterward, it will be of no use."

"You will get hurt, your family will be sad, and your studies and life will be affected."

"Especially after they learn of your retaliation, their bullying of you will not only not lessen, but will intensify."

"After all, once we know your 'methods of revenge,' it's not actually that difficult to deal with them."

At this point, Chen Ze deliberately paused, giving Nogi Yu enough time to think, before continuing.

"So... next time you encounter something like this, be brave and stand up and fight back!"

"As long as they know you're not a pushover, they'll never dare to bully you a second time."

After saying that, Chen Ze suddenly grabbed Xiong Yi by the collar and solemnly warned him.

"You know what to say when you go out, right?"

"I don't want any more rumors of 'bullying' to circulate, and I don't want to hear about what happened here."

In fact, after realizing that Nogi Yu was secretly filming, Chen Ze already regretted getting involved in this "school bullying" incident.

You should know that you are an "exchange student". If there are rumors of campus fights or bullying, you will be deported back to your home country 100%.