"Hiyori, what do you think Ryūen will choose?"
As Ryūen asked this, Symon thought for a moment and posed the question with an inner smile.
"Logically speaking, competing and aiming for a draw would be more beneficial for gaining points, but…"
Hiyori said with a sly smile, "Considering Ryūen-kun's personality, he'll probably just go all out and tear into them, right?"
"What a coincidence, I was thinking the same thing."
Responding inwardly, Symon looked up to meet Ryūen's gaze, handed over the camera in his hand, and said with a smile, "You probably can't swallow this, can you? Do you have a plan?"
He spoke: "If he likes playing the rat, then let him play rat to his heart's content... What do you think?"
"I see. Well, do as you please."
Seeing him being mysterious, Symon didn't plan to press further.
In the end, no matter how Ryūen handled it, it wouldn't affect Class C. The final result was already destined to be zero points, but…
Thinking this, Symon glanced at the silent Morofuji beside him and reminded him, seemingly casually, "But no matter what, for everyone in Class C—they've gained nothing from this special exam. Have you thought about how to handle this problem?"
Their collaboration was seen by everyone in Class C. If they didn't even get a consolation prize in the end, there's no telling who this frustration would be vented on, and he didn't want to take the blame for Ryūen.
Ryūen understood the meaning behind her words. He looked up at "her" and said casually, "After we get back, I'll give everyone 100,000 points. You can rest assured about that."
Symon nodded calmly: "As long as you have a plan."
With that, the lunch break ended.
In the afternoon, Ryūen, for a change, didn't go out to cause trouble. Under Kaneda's direction, he took a shovel and worked with the boys to expand the campsite.
The girls, meanwhile, were directed by Hiyori Shiina, mainly doing chores like gathering firewood and fruit, boiling water, and preparing ingredients.
The scene changes, the time is now 8 PM.
Teacher Sakagami arrived at the camp with the roll book. Seeing the four shelters built with wood and waterproof tarps, he nodded silently to himself.
Then he called over the students who were sitting by the campfire playing poker or mahjong. "Roll call will now begin."
"Teacher," Kaneda calmly raised his hand and stated, "About ten minutes ago, Ryūen, Ishizaki, and Yamada left the camp. They said they'd be back within half an hour. Also, Nishino-san is currently with Class B."
Kazuma Sakagami pondered this for a moment, then turned to look at Hiyori Shiina.
Hiyori lowered her head slightly, thought for a moment, and said with a gentle smile, "Ara~ Everyone came back for dinner. I confirmed it."
Kazuma Sakagami nodded, took out a ballpoint pen, made a few marks on the roll book, and announced in a deadpan tone, "In that case, four people are absent for this roll call. A deduction of 20 temporary points."
"Pfft~" — that was the girls.
"Haha~" — that was the boys.
For a moment, the camp was filled with laughter.
After the laughter died down, the scene quieted. The students of Class C watched Sakagami leave.
Suddenly someone muttered, "Speaking of which... since our points are already zero and we've even sold out our leader's identity, why are we still here?"
As the words fell, everyone in Class C heard them clearly. The more they thought about it, the more it made sense, and they couldn't help but look at each other.
The question arose: what were they working their butts off here for?
"Hiyori-chan?" Yamashita Saki ventured.
It seemed no one present could answer this question besides Hiyori.
"That's a bit of a difficult question to answer..."
Hiyori smiled, blinking her eyes. "To put it simply—it's because there are still two secret plans in motion, and we need everyone to provide cover for Ryūen-kun. But he plans to give everyone some points afterward, so please bear with it a little longer."
Ibuki was confused: "That cheapskate is actually going to give out points?"
Hiyori nodded with a smile, confirming it: "About that, Morofuji-san also heard it this afternoon."
As she spoke, the students turned to look at Morofuji Rika. After the girl gave a soft nod and confirmed a number, they all cheered together!
Suzuki Miu raised her hands and cheered, "One hundred thousand! One hundred thousand!"
"Sniffle... I haven't seen that many points in so long," Takaratori Miko lamented pitifully.
Nomura stood up abruptly, pumping his fist. "Ryūen, you did great!"
Manabe Shiho pursed her lips: "Hmph! What's so great? Did you forget when he was taking 50,000 from you every month?"
Nomura: "Ryūen, you bastard!" (muttering)
That night, around midnight.
The night curtain fell, a crescent moon hung in the sky, and countless stars twinkled.
In the Class D campsite, Kiyotaka Ayanokōji came out of the boys' tent. He looked up at the menacing forest looming in the darkness nearby, silently switched on the flashlight he'd gotten from Hirata that afternoon, and stepped into the woods.
He hadn't taken two steps…
Snap! A strange sound came from behind him.
Ayanokōji turned his head. Seeing Hirata standing a short distance away with an awkward expression, he paused for a moment before asking calmly, "Hirata, is something wrong?"
"Sorry," Hirata scratched his face and smiled awkwardly, explaining in a gentle tone, "I checked our point balance earlier tonight and noticed some were missing, so I asked Chabashira-sensei about it."
Manabe: "Well said!" (muttering)
"I apologize for acting on my own," Ayanokōji said calmly. "I exchanged for a smartphone and 6 pinhole cameras. It cost 18 temporary points in total."
"It's alright," Hirata stepped forward, coming to Ayanokōji's side, and asked gently, "I'm just a bit concerned, what do you plan to do with those things, Ayanokōji-kun? Can you tell me? I promise I won't tell anyone."
Pinhole cameras were an extremely sensitive item, especially in the current situation where boys and girls were separated by just a tent. Although he didn't want to suspect anyone, if there was a chance to prevent something wrong from happening, he would do his best.
"Since you've already found out, it can't be helped. If you want to know, then follow me."
Ayanokōji said this casually and turned to walk into the forest.
At this juncture, with Horikita sick, he was short on useful tools. From what he knew of Hirata, as long as the harmony of Class D wasn't disrupted, the boy was a very easy type to control.
Seeing that he intended to explain, Hirata quietly breathed a sigh of relief. A bright smile appeared on his face, and without a second thought, he followed.
Half an hour later, at the tower spot—
On the terminal's screen, the sign indicating Class A's occupation was clearly visible. The refresh countdown showed 3 hours remaining.
While Hirata was a bit dazed, Ayanokōji casually plucked the pinhole camera from the terminal, extracted the memory card, and inserted it into his phone.
Hirata leaned over, asking curiously, "Is that the pinhole camera you bought?"
"No, this one belongs to Class C." Ayanokōji replied casually, browsing the video files on the memory card. He tapped on one, dragged the progress bar, and quickly found the most crucial segment.
In the video, Class A's Yahiko Totsuka was holding a light green key card and tapping it on the terminal.
A soft "beep" sounded—a successful occupation!
Hirata's pupils contracted. "This is…"
Ayanokōji met his gaze and stated calmly, "The terminal at our campsite has one of these as well."
Hirata's expression was stirred. "..."
Meanwhile, Ayanokōji reinserted the memory card into the camera, rebooted the device, opened his phone's Bluetooth to search and pair with it, and then stuck it back in place.
Ayanokōji stood up. "Let's go. To the next one."
Hirata hurried to follow.
Walking side-by-side, Hirata looked at Ayanokōji's somewhat cold expression under the moonlight and asked tentatively, "Ayanokōji-kun, the camera at our campsite... did you take it down?"
What he really wanted to ask was whether Class D's leader had been exposed.
Ayanokōji shook his head. "I took it down to look once, then put it back."
"?" A question mark appeared over Hirata's head. Do you hear what you're saying?
"This exam has a rather inconspicuous rule—the leader cannot be changed without a special reason."
Ayanokōji glanced at him and explained, "I confirmed with Chabashira-sensei—as long as the leader retires from the exam, costing a 30-point deduction, the leader can be changed."
"Since Horikita has already been exposed, then changing the leader is imperative."
"In this situation, it's best not to alert Class C. After we change the leader, when Class C guesses incorrectly, they'll lose 50 base points—you should understand now, right?"
Hirata's eyes widened—You can do that?
With that thought, the two soon arrived at the cave campsite occupied by Class A.
Outside the cave were two tents. Boys seemed to be sleeping inside, as soft snores could be heard.
Arriving at the cave entrance, which was covered by a plastic sheet, Ayanokōji turned off his flashlight, held up a hand to stop Hirata, and gestured for him to wait before slipping into the cave himself.
Inside the cave, the Class A girls were lying on a makeshift bed patched together from free supplies, fast asleep and huddled together, taking up nearly half the cave's space.
Fortunately, Class A had intentionally left a path, allowing Ayanokōji to smoothly make his way to the terminal.
At the same time—
In the darkness, a pair of light purple eyes slowly opened. The corners of the long, light-brown-haired girl's mouth gradually curved into a smile, her entire gaze fixed upon the boy.
Shiraishi Asuka: Tell a joke—The top student of the 4th generation, the White Room's greatest masterpiece, the son of the White Room's founder, Kiyotaka Ayanokōji, just wants to live a peaceful life.
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