The scene changes, and it's now nighttime.
At 8:30 PM, Hiyori Shiina left her private room.
Since she rarely walked around the ship, the girl took a little longer to get there, but thankfully, she still made it in the nick of time, arriving at Room 208 on the second floor with a minute to spare.
After knocking and entering, the first thing she saw was Ms. Hoshinomiya sitting at a long table.
The others present were from Class C—three male students—Takumi Oda, Hidetoshi Suzuki, and Masashi Sonoda. The four of them were clearly waiting for her to arrive.
"Hiyori-chan, come take a seat. We were just waiting for you," Ms. Hoshinomiya said with a wave, a sweet smile on her face.
"?"
Hiyori tilted her head, not understanding why she was being so friendly, and could only nod in acknowledgment. "My apologies. I understand."
After she sat down, Ms. Hoshinomiya gave a theatrical little cough, then winked at the students and said with a smile:
"Alright then, I'm about to explain the special exam. I hope none of you interrupt me. Can you do that?"
The three boys simultaneously turned their gazes to Hiyori Shiina. Seeing the girl nod obediently, they quickly followed suit.
'Does this girl really have that much influence? How frightening.'
Noticing the boys' small gesture, Ms. Hoshinomiya inwardly quipped to herself. She then picked up the script in front of her and began to read aloud in her sweet voice:
"For this special exam, the school will be dividing all first-year students into twelve groups, based on the Chinese Zodiac."
"The purpose of this exam is to test the students' 'Thinking,' in other words, their cognitive abilities."
"There are generally three basic abilities required of adults in society: the ability to act, the ability to think, and the ability to collaborate."
"The previous Uninhabited Island Exam placed a heavy emphasis on teamwork."
"However, the focus of this exam will be on cognitive ability. In other words, you'll need to analyze the current situation, clarify the objective, devise countermeasures, and prepare a plan—skills you will certainly need in the future."
"Alright, any questions so far?"
Ms. Hoshinomiya put down her script and asked with a smile.
Seeing that none of the four students, led by Hiyori, spoke up, she continued:
"The following are the basic rules for this exam. Please listen carefully—"
"This special exam will shuffle the students from all classes and divide them into twelve groups named after the Earthly Branches or the Zodiac animals."
"The exam will be conducted within these groups. The school will ensure fairness and impartiality, and will guarantee that each group has 3-4 students from each class."
At this point, Ms. Hoshinomiya handed each of the four students a postcard, on which was written:
[Chen] (Dragon)
[Class A: Kōhei Katsuragi, Ryōko Nishikawa, Shinji Matoba, Koharu Yano.]
[Class B: Sayo Andō, Ryūji Kanzaki, Hitomi Tsube.]
[Class C: Takumi Oda, Hidetoshi Suzuki, Masashi Sonoda, Hiyori Shiina.]
[Class D: Kikyō Kushida, Yōsuke Hirata, Suzune Horikita.]
After confirming that everyone had received a postcard, Ms. Hoshinomiya clapped her hands together with a smile and explained, "These are the people in your group. Right now, they should be in other rooms, listening to the same exam rules."
"And one more thing—here are the detailed rules for the exam. However, you are not allowed to take this document with you or take pictures of it, so please be mindful of that."
Saying this, Ms. Hoshinomiya winked and distributed a copy of the detailed rules to everyone.
Following Hiyori Shiina's perspective, Symon read through the detailed rules and summarized the situation:
'The exam begins tomorrow at 8 AM and will last for a total of four days.'
'The objective of the exam is—to find the [VIP].'
'When the exam begins, the school will select one [VIP] from each group and inform them of their status via email.'
'The school will convene all members of each group twice a day at a fixed time and place for discussion. Each discussion period will last one hour, and there are no restrictions on the topics discussed.'
'After the exam concludes, the school will accept answers on the final night between 9:30 PM and 10:00 PM. All students will have one opportunity to submit an answer.'
Finally, there were the exam results. Different outcomes would lead to different rewards, with a total of four possible scenarios:
① If, after the exam ends, during the official answer submission period, all members of the group submit the VIP's name, and the answer is correct—all members of the group will be awarded 500,000 private points, with the VIP receiving an additional 500,000.
② If, after the exam ends, no one submits an answer—the VIP will receive 500,000 private points.
③ If, before the exam ends, someone submits an early answer, and it is correct—the person who answered will receive 500,000 private points.
④ If, before the exam ends, someone submits an early answer, and it is incorrect—the class of the person who answered will lose 50 class points, the VIP will receive 500,000 private points, and the VIP's class will gain 50 class points.
Special notes:
① Answers are submitted via email from a mobile phone. Sending the name to the school's designated email address counts as an answer.
② You can only guess the identity of the [VIP] within your own group.
③ If an early answer is submitted before the exam's official conclusion, the exam immediately ends for that group.
④ The school will not accept answers from the VIP themselves or their classmates within the same group.
⑤ The use of theft, threats, violence, or any other means to force someone to submit an answer against their will is prohibited—violators will be expelled.
.
After quickly getting a handle on the situation, Symon thought for a moment and then casually remarked, "So, who on earth came up with these ridiculously long and convoluted rules?"
"Mmm~" Hiyori puffed out her cheeks slightly, covering the lower half of her face with the paper, a faint glimmer of light dancing in her eyes.
:
It feels like we're playing a detective game.
Having read so many mystery novels, it would be a lie to say she didn't enjoy deduction.
Symon pondered for a moment before speaking up, "Based on your teacher's script, she was basically just repeating the same point over and over—that 'the VIP's identity is traceable'—as if she was afraid you wouldn't get it."
"If you want to play detective, you could start in that direction."
Hearing this, Hiyori pursed her lips, a troubled look on her face as she mused to herself, "If that's the case... then I'll need to compile all the information we have so far, including the meeting times, room numbers, zodiac signs, and group rosters."
"Afterward, I'll have to record the meeting times and locations for each group and filter out any irrelevant information. It feels like it's going to be a huge undertaking."
Symon chuckled at this and teased, "Don't you worry about that. Someone is definitely more antsy about this than you are. I won't name any names, though."
Hiyori Shiina blinked and let out a soft, gentle laugh. "Now that you mention it, I think I can guess who you mean..."
"It's Ryūen, isn't it? It has to be Ryūen! It's definitely Ryūen!"
____
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