Chapter 094: BD Alliance? No, This Is Class 1-B's Operation Zero Points!
Horikita Suzune stood up. Upon hearing the exam rules, she immediately proposed a system of distribution according to labor.
"With the current exam mode, Class D won't get any points at all.
But I know that many people in our class are a match for Classes A and B; we need to mobilize these people.
So, I propose distribution according to labor.
If someone can lead the class to earn Class Evaluation Points, they will receive half of the income. That is to say, if their individual strategy brings 100 evaluation points to the class, then starting from next month, they will personally receive private points equivalent to the value of 50 evaluation points.
Every person in the class must transfer 5,000 private points to that person every month until graduation."
She waved the agreement she had just drafted in her hand.
"This is the agreement. Once signed, as long as someone meets the criteria, everyone must transfer points at the 50% ratio. No exceptions."
"Why do we have to sign something again?" Karuizawa said, proactively picking a fight.
"No way, does our class really have someone that amazing?" Ike Kanji's eyes widened, putting on a shocked expression, but there wasn't a hint of surprise in his eyes—instead, they leaked resistance.
Standing in the corner, Ayanokouji saw through his thoughts at a glance.
Ike Kanji wasn't surprised.
He likely didn't want anyone suddenly revealing they were capable or "amazing." After all, everyone was in Class D; it was fine to stay "trash" together.
Suddenly, a brother turns out to be a powerhouse who was just hiding his strength? And now he's going to leave everyone behind and take off?
"However, if it really makes life better for the class, I feel like giving a little bit to the person who contributes isn't such a bad thing."
Karuizawa, who was the first to object just a moment ago, now suddenly became submissive.
"After all, if we do nothing, we won't have a cent at the end and we'll have to keep choking down the free mountain vegetable set," Karuizawa added.
These words were like a key that instantly unlocked everyone's minds. The silent crowd immediately became rowdy.
"If we can get more points, then of course it's good! I support Karuizawa!"
"I support it too! It's better than staying poor forever!"
"Eh? Asking me?" Kushida blinked, then showed a gentle smile, her tone so tactful she offended no one.
"I think either way is fine. It's a good thing to get more points; it ensures everyone's living expenses, and Hirata-kun's debt can be eased a bit."
As soon as these words came out, the crowd went silent for a few seconds.
It was only then that everyone remembered that at the beginning of the month, in order to protect Sudo and Yamauchi, Hirata had gone through a period of self-abandonment—threatening to drop out to save them and borrowing points to protect them.
Not even counting the external debts to other classes, he still owed 34,000 points within the class, of which only 8,000 had been repaid. Everyone saw the pressure on his shoulders.
Even if it was just for Hirata's sake, they should get more points for the class. A significant portion of the class wanted to support lightening Hirata's burden.
Just like that, the plan was about to be finalized.
Ayanokouji frowned slightly. He felt that something was slipping out of control. For instance, he had already realized that "distribution according to labor" was a front; Horikita Suzune likely hoped to obtain a massive amount of private points through this exam.
Why private points? Because simply raising Class D's evaluation points was meaningless—everyone knew that.
However, if she could get 400 evaluation points, it would mean obtaining 800,000 private points from the school every month through Class D. By graduation, she would certainly have the 20,000,000 private points required to transfer classes.
'Horikita Suzune wants to take the path of saving 20 million points to transfer classes! '
He realized this almost instantly.
But...
This might also be a viable plan for him. After all, a "trash" Class D was useless.
However...
Upon further thought, Ayanokouji felt it wasn't enough. Simply accumulating points to jump out of Class D wouldn't prove his ability. He could choose to transfer, but before that, he had to bring Class D to Class A at least once—he had to challenge the educational system of this school once.
So, he remained silent.
Although the current plan was proposed by Horikita for her own ends, he could still make use of it. His gaze instinctively fell on Hirata, who happened to look over at the same time. The two didn't speak, only locking eyes for a moment.
Then, Hirata spoke up to add, "Since no one has any objections, it's decided then.
I hope we can get a good result in this exam," his tone was gentle, his eyes full of hope for the class.
"But three years seems like a bit too long, doesn't it?" Matsushita Chiaki, who was under Karuizawa's lead, spoke up.
"For example, if someone earns 100 points for the class, but the class loses 50 points in the next exam, are those 50 points deducted from the class's public points or the individual's share?"
To put it bluntly, there had to be a guarantee for the aftermath. You couldn't just talk about earning points without mentioning deductions. Especially for Class D, which had managed to lose all 1,000 of its initial points in the first month.
"That's simple," Koenji Rokusuke, who usually never paid them any mind, spoke up. "Deductions come out of the class's public evaluation points first. If the public points aren't enough, then you deduct from the individual's earnings. After all, regardless of how the class arranges things, the school will deduct points directly from Class D.
Though, having experienced dropping from 1,000 points to 0, I think you all should have learned to save some points by now," Koenji added, his tone surprisingly carrying a few hints of mockery.
Clearly, he wasn't supporting the plan; he just thought the class was pathetic and wanted to disgust them a bit.
But those words pierced everyone to the core.
That was Class D's shame and a past no one wanted to mention. Now that Koenji had pointed it out so bluntly, many people's faces darkened. Though, more or less, everyone felt they were also major contributors to the point deductions.
"Koenji, you guy, supporting this plan now—you aren't planning to show off in this exam, are you?" Sudo said immediately.
In P.E. and swimming classes, Koenji's speed was far greater than his, which already made him unhappy. Being so capable yet ignoring the class, only to suddenly interfere and pour cold water on everyone now, was truly unpleasant.
"Hehe." Koenji only smiled at Sudo, seemingly not intending to respond.
He wasn't about to "operate" or perform; rather, he was going back to the ship soon—he was going to forfeit the exam. He was only lingering here for a bit to see if, now that Horikita Suzune had stepped forward, Class B's Hikigaya Hachiman would show up.
"T-then... how are we going to... take this exam?" At that moment, a slightly introverted and timid voice rang out.
It was Sakura, who had very little presence in the class. No one expected her to speak up.
"Regarding that, after the agreement is signed, I will give everyone an excellent plan," Horikita Suzune said. "This plan will ensure the class has abundant living expenses for at least one, or even two years."
Oh?
Hearing that it involved their living conditions, everyone's interest was piqued. So, Horikita Suzune actually already had a plan?
"Abundant living expenses? No more mountain vegetable sets? Then I'm signing!" The brainless Yamauchi was the first to respond.
After all, he was the public enemy of Class D and had no other income. Why wouldn't he take free money? At the very least, he felt he didn't have any special advantages to bring points to the class, so being carried was fine too.
"Sign!" "Sign!"
"But isn't this exam a full-class uninhabited island survival? How do we earn points? Making the whole class suffer together doesn't count! Or are we going to capture a bunch of spots? But our class seems to be late for that."
Class D became noisy, but under Koenji's earlier suggestion and Horikita's additions, the "distribution according to labor" plan became more refined and was organized into a complete agreement.
Under the witness of the homeroom teacher, Chabashira Sae, the Class D students stepped forward one by one to sign their names.
During this, Ayanokouji glanced at Chabashira and found her expression unreadable; it was unclear if she supported or opposed the agreement.
But generally speaking, if this agreement could entice some capable Class D students to move, it would definitely be beneficial. He would then just have to wait for these people to jump out and manipulate them.
This was indeed an unexpected delight. He wouldn't have to monitor every single Class D student anymore. He thought Class D was just trash, but it still had some combat power.
Thinking this, Ayanokouji watched expressionlessly as the class representatives of Class B appeared in Class D's gathering area.
Ichinose Honami followed Hachiman, walking step by step into the Class D area. Her gaze instinctively landed on Class D's Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
According to Hachiman's previous "inner voice," if she hadn't changed and had followed Hoshinomika-sensei's arrangement to contact Ayanokouji, she would have ended up with a "love brain," dragging all of Class B down to Class D.
But looking at the Ayanokouji before her, her heart was full of confusion. He had delicate features but looked plain and ordinary—definitely not the type she would fall for.
How could there be such a terrible ending?
No, she absolutely could not let that happen.
Everyone in the class trusted her, and she wanted to spend her high school life well with everyone, working toward Class A together.
She could not ruin the whole class because of her private emotions. Moreover, that would go against her original intention of coming to this school for a fresh start.
'Good luck, Ichinose Honami!' she cheered for herself in her mind.
Then, she turned to look at Hachiman beside her and noticed that Hikigaya-kun seemed to have a somewhat serious expression.
'Mhm.'
Even though he had "dead fish eyes," it was undeniable that Hikigaya-kun actually looked quite decent; his features were proper.
According to her taste, if Hikigaya-kun wore glasses, his appearance and temperament alone would probably surpass Ayanokouji's.
But now was not the time for fangirling. Besides, Hikigaya-kun already had someone he liked.
Thus, Ichinose pushed aside her thoughts, a gentle smile appearing on her face as she spoke, "Hello, everyone in Class D!
I think everyone already knows the rules and arrangements for this exam."
Her gaze turned to Horikita Suzune, "We are here at Horikita-san's invitation."
"Horikita-san felt that everyone in Class D has had a hard time eating mountain vegetable sets for a month and wanted to help improve everyone's economic environment," Ichinose added with a smile.
"So, for this exam, our Class B will assist your Class D in securing a stable source of living expenses."
"Are you the Hikigaya Hachiman from Class B?" Some students were very curious about Hachiman. After all, they had heard his name long ago.
Last month, Horikita and the others had taken 500,000 points from him to buy the useless votes in everyone's hands. Later, to save Sudo and Yamauchi, Hirata had also borrowed over 300,000 points from him.
Although Yamauchi's character was... hard to describe, anyone willing to lend that many points to Hirata was not just kind-hearted, but definitely wealthy. "Hikigaya Hachiman from Class B is very rich"—nearly everyone had guessed this.
"I am Hikigaya Hachiman," Hachiman said. "Even though you haven't seen me before, I believe you already know the rules for this exam. In the rules, everyone is allocated 300 initial points, but these supplies are simply not enough to support 40 people living on the island for a week."
"So, the 300 initial points will definitely be consumed."
He paused and continued, "From afar just now, I heard your discussion. You set up a 'distribution according to labor' plan and are worried about losing your share due to deductions after earning points."
"Is there a solution?" Karuizawa said at this point. "For example, a way to let us have stable living expenses?"
'But you're a Class D student; is it really okay to proactively ask someone from Class B?'
Of course it was.
Chabashira stood to the side, knowing full well in her heart—Karuizawa was Hikigaya Hachiman's person.
She had already been scammed by these two once; Karuizawa being so proactive now was being too obvious. Chabashira grumbled inwardly.
But the other students of Class D didn't think in that direction at all.
One could say Horikita's plan was indeed tempting—the capable could earn points, and the incapable could be carried. But there was one problem... even if you got Class Evaluation Points, you might not be able to keep them. As members who created the record of 0 points in the first month, they were very aware of their own destructive power and that of their classmates.
"It's simple. Your Class D definitely has no hope of rising to Class A, but this exam is an opportunity you can seize," Hachiman said. "That is, sell your class's 300 initial points to us. We, Class B, will continue the exam, but all supplies will be provided by you."
"And when the exam ends, we will give you 600,000 private points in living expenses every month for two years."
So that was the plan?
In the crowd, Ayanokouji instantly understood Class B's intentions.
For dozens of people to live on an island for a week while avoiding point deductions from people dropping out due to illness, they had to maintain everyone's condition. They certainly couldn't suffer too much, so they would naturally have to use initial points to exchange for supplies.
But if they used another class's supplies, their own class's initial points could be fully preserved. After the exam, those initial points would be counted toward the final result and would most likely become evaluation points.
To put it bluntly, Class B wanted to use Class D's initial points to get more evaluation points, while simultaneously cutting off any possibility of Class D rising.
Once the 300 initial points were sold, Class D would lose that portion of nearly 100 evaluation points they could have potentially saved.
Chabashira remained silent, her expression unchanged, but her heart was clear.
"..." Koenji also raised an eyebrow, saying nothing, but a flash of amusement crossed his eyes.
Chabashira finally understood why Hachiman said Class D couldn't climb to Class A—with him around, Class D had no chance at all.
And right now, it was indeed the case. After he made this proposal, Class D immediately began to stir. A portion of the students had already begun to waver.
What were they talking about? You mean after participating in this exam, you go back and have a guaranteed 15,000 points in living expenses every month?
This is great!
"But if we give the initial points to you, what do we do?" Kushida spoke up, representing the voice of a large part of the class. "Do we not have to take the exam?"
"Of course not," Koenji said at this time.
"The exam score is Initial Points + Guessing the Leader + Spot Bonus, and there shouldn't be negative scores.
If you all return to the cruise ship now, you'll get 0 points for this exam.
But the benefit is you get stable living expenses and don't have to suffer together on this boring island.
This so-called 'Operation Zero Points' is indeed the optimal solution for Class D," Koenji said. "Quite an interesting tactic."
But after he said this, he noticed the students around him were looking dazed.
Because... wait. Koenji, which class are you in? Why are you speaking in favor of Class B's plan?
"Class B's technique is upper-middle level, passable for now," Koenji evaluated. "It doesn't reach my expectations."
'Expectations? What expectations do you even have?'
However, since Koenji was an eccentric, no one took his words to heart, yet his words thoroughly moved many people.
"In other words, if we forfeit here, we can get stable living expenses and even go back to the cruise ship to continue enjoying a luxurious life for these seven days!"
"Then let's agree!"
"Anyway, even if we suffer here, we might not save much of the initial points. Better to just sell them; it counts as an exchange of interests. We've done quite well." More and more people were moved.
"Especially—" Everyone thought of what Koenji suggested earlier: how to handle point deductions if they earned points but then lost some. Whether it was losing the class's public points or the individual points they worked hard for, as long as they agreed to Class B here, it seemed... they could have stable living expenses for two years!
That's 20,000 points (total class share distributed) every month. At that time, if Class D could maintain 100 or 200 evaluation points, wouldn't everyone's quality of life rise back to the level of 30,000 or 40,000 points a month?
"Isn't that basically selling out the class?" Ayanokouji thought for a moment and finally spoke.
His goal was to lead Class D upward, or at least perform well in this exam. But once Class D chose to sell its initial points to Class B, then not only would Class D's rise encounter difficulties, but Class B would also gain more points.
This was not a good thing for Ayanokouji. Because he wanted to win.
Winning could mean having enough points on his own side, or weakening the opponent's points. So, Class B's continuous point gain was not something he wanted to see.
He pointed out the truth of this transaction with piercing insight: they were selling out Class D's future.
But...
In the next second, Hirata Yosuke directly negated him, "Ayanokouji-kun, I think this plan is very good. This way, everyone can settle down."
Ayanokouji fell silent.
After saving Hirata at the beginning of the month, he had a deep talk with him, learned about Hirata's past, and became one of the few people who knew Hirata's secret. He was someone Hirata trusted quite a bit.
But now, he, this "important person," was... backstabbed by Hirata.
However, he also realized that Hirata could never become his "tool." Hirata's obsession was maintaining class stability and protecting everyone from expulsion. For this, he would give everything—just like now, backstabbing him directly. This was also Hirata Yosuke's biggest flaw.
As long as it brought stable income to Class D and stabilized the class, Hirata would resolutely persist.
"I called Hikigaya over with this exact thought in mind," Horikita Suzune finally continued. "Everyone knows Class D's situation, and everyone knows what days without living expenses are like; I won't say more."
"Since what we are obtaining are not Evaluation Points, I will not take a single cent from this exam," Horikita said.
'In other words, Horikita-san doesn't plan to profit from the class?'
This act actually changed some people's views of her. After all, she previously looked like she wanted to sell information and gather everyone's points, but now, she gave everyone a chance to get a stable source of points.
"However, these 300 initial points are only worth 600,000 private points a month, and only for two years. That's equivalent to less than 150 evaluation points. Isn't that a bit too little?" Hirata had made up his mind, but he still hoped to fight for a bit more for Class D.
"You have to realize that we are also taking a special exam; points could be lost sooner or later," Hachiman said.
"Yes, even for upperclassmen, it's hard to maintain high evaluation points forever," Ichinose added, speaking in a gentle tone to appease the crowd.
"We are also taking a risk by proposing this plan. Please understand."
Ichinose herself was someone with extremely good popularity; she had even talked to many people in Class D. So her words carried a lot of weight.
However...
"Then wouldn't it be better if we sold the initial points to Class A?" some "smart" person suddenly suggested. "Class A can pay a high price, right? After all, they don't want to fall. And that Sakayanagi girl didn't come to the exam."
Hachiman looked at that "smart" little thing. It was Karuizawa Kei, with her beautiful blonde ponytail. And this smart little thing was currently making the suggestion with a look of curiosity.
Undeniably, this proposal was indeed viable. Class D had other choices.
But...
"Of course you can. But I don't recommend it," Hachiman said. "Because Class A, like our Class B, has adopted the same plan of purchasing supplies. They have already purchased their supplies."
"..." The crowd went silent instantly.
In other words, Class A bought Class C's supplies?
'So that's how it is!'
Then, if Class B didn't buy from them, wouldn't Class D be unable to sell at all?
Ayanokouji glanced in Karuizawa's direction. Earlier, the way Karuizawa incited the Class D students and took the initiative to be friendly with Class B was very blatant, making him think Karuizawa was Hikigaya's tool.
But looking at it now, it seemed it wasn't the case. She probably didn't belong to anyone yet.
But at this moment, Ayanokouji also clearly realized his weakness in Class D—he had no voice. The only person he could slightly drive, Hirata, would reject him without hesitation for the sake of class stability.
He had failed to obtain Kushida's information before. Perhaps, next, he could try contacting Karuizawa.
Before Ayanokouji could think further, the Class D crowd had reached a consensus—sell the 300 initial points to Class B.
However, at this time, someone noticed that since Class D chose to sell the initial points and everyone was forfeiting the exam, wasn't there still the "Guessing the Leader" part?
Since it was going to be 0 points anyway, for the sake of obtaining stable living expenses, could they also sell the identity of the leader?
Thus, the price instantly rose.
After some bargaining, the price offered by Class B rose from 600,000 to 800,000 private points per month.
As for whether Class D had any "Spot Points" to sell? Everyone remained silent.
In the morning, the students of Classes A, B, and C were all on the deck using cameras and binoculars to observe the island; they were clearly prepared. Their Class D probably had no chance of snatching a single spot.
As such, Class D's special exam had ended before it even officially began.
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