"Only relentlessly pestering a girl will make you disliked."
Akichi Aya pulled free from Uesugi Kazuki's grip. After one last look at Uesugi Kazuki, she turned and left the chemistry lab.
Uesugi Kazuki was left standing awkwardly in the chemistry lab, his hand weakly outstretched towards Akichi Aya, yet he didn't know what to say to make her stay.
The moment Akichi Aya walked out of the chemistry lab, two tears rolled down the corners of her eyes.
In the chemistry lab, Uesugi Kazuki lowered his hand, turned, and kicked the nearby workbench.
He leaned his hands on the workbench, beginning to ponder why things had suddenly taken such a sharp turn for the worse when they had been progressing smoothly.
Just as Uesugi Kazuki was vexedly wondering what had gone wrong,
He inadvertently noticed the workbench Akichi Aya had just used.
Since Uesugi Kazuki had entered after seeing Akichi Aya complete the sealing,
Akichi Aya hadn't been able to clean up the items on the workbench.
Thinking of this, Uesugi Kazuki walked up to the workbench.
On the workbench lay a pan balance and a mortar and pestle, along with several emptied or mostly emptied jars. One of the jar labels read [Fe2O3].
Although Akichi Aya had put some of the powder from the mortar into a bag,
It seemed Akichi Aya hadn't controlled the dosage well during preparation, so a significant amount of gray powder remained in the mortar.
Uesugi Kazuki first sniffed the gray powder, finding no irritating odor.
Also, there were no gloves left by Akichi Aya on the workbench.
So, Uesugi Kazuki used a nearby spoon to lightly sprinkle some of the gray powder and carefully touched it.
As no burning sensation came from his finger,
A prompt flashed before Uesugi Kazuki's eyes.
[Life Achievement Triggered: First Contact with Thermite]
[There are many master keys in the world, but thermite definitely deserves a mention.]
[Reward: Lockpicking +1]
[Intelligence +1]
Thermite? What is Akichi Aya doing with this?
Puzzled, Uesugi Kazuki habitually looked out the chemistry lab window.
Then Uesugi Kazuki saw a very familiar black commercial van parked at the school gate, with Akichi Aya's mother and two men in black suits standing in front of it.
Instantly, Uesugi Kazuki understood what that fool Akichi Aya intended to do.
So, Uesugi Kazuki immediately ran out of the chemistry lab. But after only a few steps,
Uesugi Kazuki stopped, then quickly pulled out the pack of tissues Akichi Aya had rejected earlier from his pocket. After taking out the tissues, he put all the remaining thermite from the workbench into the tissue packaging.
Then, grabbing a box of matches, he ran towards the school gate, hoping he could still catch up to Akichi Aya.
But as soon as Uesugi Kazuki ran out of the school building, he saw Akichi Aya already at the school gate.
Growing more anxious, Uesugi Kazuki then saw the bicycle shed located on one side of the school building, where bicycles were parked.
Although theoretically, all students should have left the campus by this time,
There were still some bicycles in the bike shed on campus.
So, Uesugi Kazuki dashed straight to the bike shed, picking out a bicycle that looked fast and had a helmet hanging on its handlebars.
After sprinkling a little thermite on the bicycle lock, he pulled out matches and a crumpled piece of tissue, igniting the thermite.
In a shower of dazzling sparks, like an oversized sparkler, the bicycle lock was immediately burned through.
Amidst the prompt for a new achievement, Uesugi Kazuki put on the helmet, hopped on the bicycle, and cycled towards the school gate.
[Life Achievement Triggered: First Bicycle Theft]
[You're a real criminal, young man. Everyone inside is a talent, and they speak so nicely. Why don't you stay for a couple of days before you leave?]
[Reward: Lockpicking +1]
[Intelligence +1]
Pedaling to the school gate, the old gatekeeper was about to stop Uesugi Kazuki and ask which grade he was in, why he was still on campus at this hour,
And then, after registration, he would let Uesugi Kazuki go.
But Uesugi Kazuki was now riding a stolen bike, and Akichi Aya had already gotten into the black commercial van.
So, Uesugi Kazuki had even less reason to stay and register.
Thus, amidst the gatekeeper's gestures for him to stop, Uesugi Kazuki not only pedaled faster but also aimed the bicycle's front wheel at a ramp next to the school gate, prepared by some class for the cultural festival.
With the gatekeeper shouting, "Baka yarou! Stop!", Uesugi Kazuki jumped over the school gate on his bike.
He saw the taillights of the commercial van, which hadn't managed to get too far,
And simultaneously unlocked another new achievement.
[Life Achievement Triggered: First Stunt Ride]
[Do you know where the circus legends are? In the ICU!]
[Reward: Driving +1]
[Agility +1]
Although chasing a car on a bicycle sounds somewhat fantastical,
Thanks to Tokyo's traffic conditions during rush hour and the myriad traffic lights,
Uesugi Kazuki, after triggering a bunch of achievements like:
[Life Achievement Triggered: First Long-Distance Ride (5km)]
[As long as you keep moving forward, the road will continue to extend, so don't stop!]
[Reward: Driving +1]
[Stamina +1]
[Life Achievement Triggered: First Long-Distance Ride (10km Achieved)]
[As long as you keep moving forward, the road will continue to extend, so don't stop!]
[Reward: Driving +1]
[Stamina +1]
And other stamina-boosting achievements, finally saw the black commercial van drive into a luxurious Japanese-style villa.
Looking at the men in black suits guarding the villa wall and the sign on the gate that read [Happiness Mansion], it wasn't hard to guess what kind of place this was.
Uesugi Kazuki, on his bicycle, observed for a moment and then came to a conclusion.
Just looking from the outside wouldn't do any good; he needed to go inside to see the full situation.
But before going in... Uesugi Kazuki decided to set up an ambush.
He had followed them all this way; a few more minutes wouldn't hurt.
So, Uesugi Kazuki rode his bicycle to a convenience store. He pulled out a ten-thousand yen bill and asked a passing young man to go into the convenience store and buy him a pack of cigarettes.
Afterward, Uesugi Kazuki returned to the vicinity of the villa. Upon seeing the transformer on the street, which likely supplied power to that area,
Uesugi Kazuki first sprinkled half a pack of thermite onto the top of the transformer's metal casing. Then, he lit a cigarette and, using the cigarette and a match to create a simple delayed ignition device,
He placed this delayed ignition device on top of the thermite.
Having completed a bit of external preparation, Uesugi Kazuki then stealthily approached the villa, ready to begin his infiltration.
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I just wanted to say: Thermite is a pyrotechnic composition of a metal powder and a metal oxide. A common example is a mixture of iron(III) oxide (Fe₂O₃) and aluminum powder. When ignited, the aluminum reduces the iron oxide, producing a large amount of heat and molten iron, along with aluminum oxide. This reaction is highly exothermic, meaning it releases a substantial amount of heat.
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Read the author's thoughts if you are confused by MCs actions.
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