"In an exam where it's impossible to completely control all students, it's very easy for various loopholes to appear," Katsuragi said.
Ichinose, however, remained silent, her gaze slightly shifting, because she realized that what Katsuragi said was similar to what Hikigaya had just said, meaning Hikigaya could actually be placed at Class A's level?
"So we chose not to participate, because we are Class A. For this kind of exam, we only need to maintain our Class status," Katsuragi said calmly.
And this was indeed a safe approach, but it was also done because of the failure in the island exam, wasn't it? Because they lost, if they lost here too, it would be over. So they had to be more careful, cherishing every point and not letting it be deducted.
The Class ranking ABCD in this school is based solely on Class evaluation points, and students initially assigned to Class A develop a sense of superiority, but also pressure.
They don't want to fall, falling would make them ridiculed, and it would also prove their own inadequacy.
And if they fall and can quickly climb back up, then they can still have morale. But if they stay down for a long time, like Ryuen's Class, who have been in Class D for a long time, now if you call them Class D, hardly any student will get angry and say they were originally Class C students or something.
This is an example right before their eyes.
So their pressure is immense.
"And not just this exam, but even future exams, I will continue this policy." Katsuragi seemed to notice Hachiman, so he shifted his gaze. "I've heard about your Class contribution and punishment system, so Hikigaya, you've really put in a lot of effort to get into Class A."
"It's just that our Class won't just watch you climb up like that."
Katsuragi displayed himself as a Class A person, with the spirit of Class A.
But unfortunately, both Hachiman and Sakayanagi had long ignored Katsuragi.
They felt that Katsuragi was the easiest to bully. So he just maintained a polite smile towards the fighting spirit Katsuragi displayed.
"What are you talking about!"
There were still students in room 2303, and a noisy sound came from inside.
Upon hearing that voice, Hachiman immediately walked inside, because the person who said that was none other than Horikita Suzune.
Logically speaking.
The Dragon Group's discussion in room 2303 should have already ended, but the students hadn't fully come out yet. The one who just walked out was Katsuragi from Class A, and Hachiman's Class C members were still inside.
The members of the Dragon Group are as follows:
Class A: Katsuragi Kohei, Nishikawa Ryoko, Ban Shinji, Yano Koharu
Class B: Kanzaki Ryuji, Ando Sayo, Tsube Hitomi
Class C: Horikita Suzune, Kushida Kikyo, Hirata Yo-suke
Class D: Ryuen Sho, Oda Takumi, Suzuki Hidetoshi, Sonoda Masayuki
In total, there are 14 people.
And now, in the room, there are only Kushida, Hirata, Horikita, Ryuen, and Kanzaki Ryuji from Class B.
Ryuen sat on the chair, a smug smile on his face, while Horikita looked very displeased.
"What happened?" Hachiman hadn't paid attention to their conversation inside just now, so he didn't have a complete understanding of the situation.
"Ryuen wants our Class C to cooperate with him, and he also wants to take pictures of Horikita," Hirata explained from inside.
Taking pictures again, huh?
Ryuen, do you really like taking pictures of girls that much?
"What are the terms of cooperation he offered?" Hachiman said.
"Are you saying Hikigaya... really going to cooperate with him?" Hirata became a bit hesitant.
"He said to tell him all the Beneficiary names," Horikita Suzune said, "and he won't guess our Class's Beneficiary, so our Class won't lose points."
"He also said to cooperate with our Class B," Kanzaki Ryuji, sitting in the corner, added, "The conditions are the same: he won't guess our Class's Beneficiary, choosing the answer method of Result 1, meaning everyone answers together on the third night, the result where each month gets 500,000 private points."
"There are only four Classes in one grade, and now you want to team up with both Class B and Class C? Are you saying, Ryuen, this time you are..." Ichinose walked in, and she probably heard what happened.
She didn't expect Ryuen to propose the same plan as Hikigaya.
"Of course, it's Class A," Ryuen Sho said, "You all know that this school ranks Classes according to their Class evaluation points, and only students from Class A who graduate can get everything. Other Classes are trash. So don't deny it, you definitely don't want to stay at the back forever, but take a look."
Ryuen scribbled on a piece of paper, "Class A 1258 points, Class B 1121 points, Class C 1041 points, Class D 0 points."
"The score difference between Class A, B, and C is very small, but the distance between you and my Class is too far, so what's there to say about me wanting to score points? Moreover, if I can bring Class A down."
Ryuen paused, "Ichinose, you will be directly promoted to Class A."
If Ryuen gets the 3 Beneficiary names of Class A and guesses correctly.
Then Class A -150 points.
It will become 1108 points.
Class B would do nothing and could still be promoted to Class A.
A freebie, so to speak.
"..."
Being told this by Ryuen, Ichinose seemed to hesitate slightly, but this hesitation didn't turn into wavering. "Our Class B will not join."
She said, "Because during the island exam, it was you, Ryuen, who sent Kaneda over, right? And the purpose was to obtain information about our Class B's Team Leader."
Because they had been tricked before, did they feel that Ryuen's proposal, though tempting, was actually poisonous?
This is indeed the case.
If Ryuen betrayed them midway and Class B's Beneficiary was guessed, then the pressure on Class A would decrease, and their Class B would also fall to Class C.
"But can you really do this?" Ryuen didn't seem anxious after being rejected by Ichinose. "You should know that your Teacher hopes you get promoted to Class A, and the gap between you and Class A is so large, it's really stressing her out."
Ryuen said, "Don't you know? Originally, the members in the Dragon Group were you and Kanzaki. But, after the answer was revealed, you were actually in another group. And what kind of students are in the other group? Ordinary, unremarkable, trashy students."
"Hey, Ryuen!" X2
Kanzaki and Hirata both erupted at the same time, because what Ryuen said also meant he was insulting the students in their respective Classes.
"Hehe--" Ichinose maintained a smile, "This exam and the previous exams were both decided and assigned by the school, so it's not like Hoshinomiya Teacher has any particular ideas."
"You really don't know, do you?" Ryuen scoffed. "The rules of this exam were indeed set by the school, but which students are assigned to which group is something the teachers can choose themselves. So, as the leader of Class B, do you know why you were transferred to a shabby group like the Rabbit Group?"
He decided to gently persuade her.
"It's probably because I'm there," Hachiman suddenly interjected, and this interruption immediately made Ryuen shut his mouth, even making him ponder: So, Class B's Teacher actually thinks Hikigaya Hachiman from Class C is even more terrifying than Class A and other excellent students?
Indeed, one Uninhabited Island Exam alone turned the tide and gained 491 points, which was simply insane. So the Class B Teacher sent their strongest combat power over.
And if it's excellent VS excellent like this, then the Dragon Group wouldn't be the strongest; perhaps the Rabbit Group would be.
"..."
Ryuen didn't want to talk about this topic anymore, because it suddenly made him feel that being in the excellent Dragon Group was boring.
And he had considered this point from the beginning: why wasn't Hikigaya Hachiman from Class C in the Dragon Group? Instead, there were mediocre people like Hirata and Kushida. Is this a joke?
The Dragon Group had Katsuragi, him, and Kanzaki Ryuji, which was top-tier combat power, but Hikigaya Hachiman wasn't here, and even Ichinose wasn't here, which made him feel uncomfortable.
And from the information obtained from Mr. Banjo Suguru, the student groups could be allocated to some extent by the teachers, and he also learned that Hikigaya Hachiman and Ichinose were both in the Rabbit Group. He felt that this Class B Teacher was not simple, probably thinking that Hikigaya Hachiman was the most dangerous.
So, in this Teacher's eyes, Class C is currently being highly vigilant.
This display made Ryuen very annoyed, so he originally wanted to mock Ichinose for being thrown into a trash group, but Hikigaya Hachiman's single interjection prevented him from doing so.
So, is Hikigaya Hachiman naturally his nemesis?
"Hikigaya, you're truly an amazing person," Ryuen said in a sullen tone, "Although I also like following women around, you follow both Ichinose and Horikita."
"..." To be honest, Hachiman really couldn't deny it, because he had indeed been with Horikita all this time.
Sometimes he would also have meals with Sakayanagi.
It's just, Ryuen, couldn't you be a bit more polite?
Even if it's good luck with women, what he said was so unpleasant.
Ryuen continued, "You should know, Class A's performance in the Uninhabited Island Exam was terrible, and the main reason for this is that Sakayanagi Arisu from Class A didn't participate."
"If Sakayanagi had participated in the exam, then you certainly wouldn't have been able to get such a high score. At the very least, Class A's Team Leader information definitely wouldn't have been leaked."
No one could deny this point.
And Hachiman even took advantage of Sakayanagi's absence to desperately accumulate points.
"So, while Sakayanagi isn't here to participate, shouldn't we continue to deal a heavy blow to Class A?" Ryuen continued, "So this is a godsend opportunity."
"Then..." Hachiman began.
"So you agree?" Ryuen was a bit surprised. He originally thought Hachiman would be the most difficult to deal with, but he was going to agree first?
"Then I'll give you the same treatment," Hachiman said, "You tell me the Beneficiary information for Class D, and I'll tell you the Beneficiary information for all Classes except Class A."
"..." Ryuen. "That's impossible. Can you get all the Beneficiary information for Class D? You Class C can't do it. If you could unite and cooperate, then you wouldn't have been Class D in the first place. But I can. I use violent rule. I've checked every student's phone, so I know exactly who the Beneficiary is."
This way of speaking truly made him a cold and terrifying man.
Ichinose and Kanzaki from Class B became serious, because besides the fact that Kaneda and Ibuki were spies, they once again confirmed what kind of Class the original Class C, which ranked after their Class B, truly was.
Ryuen's current advantage is that he alone holds the Beneficiary identities of Class D, so he probably wants to obtain the Beneficiary identities of other Classes to deduce patterns. This is a very clever idea.
And are there really patterns?
It's possible.
Because Class B had 3 preferential treatment students.
There were a total of 12 preferential treatment students, with 3 per Class.
It seemed to be an even split.
At the same time.
Hikigaya also specifically sent a message to Ichinose, which made people wonder what Hikigaya wanted to know about Class B's preferential treatment students.
So.
That's how it is.
There's a pattern.
...
Horikita stood by, listening quietly. Although Ryuen's method was to directly use force to make students check their phones for preferential treatment student information, Hachiman also managed it. He, she, and Kushida were responsible for checking the phones of their classmates and even sealed all the phones.
This prevented classmates from messing around.
"In short, the Class I most want to cooperate with is your Class B. First, our common enemy is Class A. At the same time, Ichinose, you must be able to control the information of your Class's preferential treatment students, right? After all, you are so popular."
"Ah... haha." Ichinose seemed a bit embarrassed. "Actually, you overestimate me. I haven't gained that much trust from everyone, so..."
But this was clearly just modesty, as Ichinose was indeed very popular and had gained the trust of her Class B classmates.
Allowing them to continue talking like this was not very beneficial for Hachiman.
Because he had already confirmed that Ryuen's thoughts were the same as his. Ryuen was currently obsessed with obtaining information about other Classes' preferential treatment students, not just unilaterally for a single group's victory. He had considered that this exam had a pattern, and the selection of preferential treatment students followed a pattern.
From the previous Sudo assault incident, it could be seen that Teacher Sakagami Kazuma from Ryuen Class even participated and spoke on behalf of Ryuen Class.
Teacher Sakagami from Ryuen Class was relatively unprincipled and often revealed some information that teachers shouldn't, or rather, ambiguous information, to Ryuen. Therefore, the fact that preferential treatment students had a pattern was once again confirmed by Ryuen.
It was not in vain that he had always regarded Ryuen as a very useful person.
So Hachiman stepped forward, "This is clearly a meaningless cooperation, because once you cooperate, it means pushing Class C and Class A together. And in such a targeted situation, Class A will definitely choose to cooperate with us. Do you think it's interesting for both sides to be equally matched? And Ryuen, you've tricked Class B. How can you guarantee your trustworthiness?"
"..." Ryuen looked at Hachiman. "Then you all just wait to be utterly defeated in this exam!"
He kicked his chair and walked out directly.
It was clear that he had actually tried to bluff Ichinose just now, first obtaining information about one preferential treatment student and then deducing the pattern from it. But Hachiman's words meant that Ichinose would become wary, and even refuse to cooperate with him.
So the plan was interrupted.
Therefore, a somewhat displeased Ryuen kicked a chair, appearing rude.
But this was just a facade.
Because he already knew that Class BC had formed an alliance, it was difficult to split them or obtain information about preferential treatment students.
So.
The Class Ryuen truly wanted to find was the weakest Class in this exam.
Grade 1 Class A.
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