Chapter 79: Using the Enemy's Plan Against Them
The time returns to several hours earlier. Ryuen, who was alone deep in the forest, was sitting in front of a campfire eating a roasted frog when the walkie-talkie placed beside him suddenly rang.
"It's me, Hashimoto. I have something important to say." A frivolous male voice came through the walkie-talkie.
"Hmph, Hashimoto, you really made me wait. You're in the same class and you don't even know who your own class's leader is. You're a pretty useless spy, aren't you?" Ryuen sneered, his voice filled with mockery.
"Hey, hey, hey, you can't blame me. Who told Yukinoshita to get two extra key cards and then have that cautious guy Katsuragi guard them so closely... I've been staying up for days just to find this leader," Hashimoto said with a hint of helplessness.
"I didn't give you a walkie-talkie to listen to your complaints. Get to the point. Do you have any useful information?" Ryuen spat out a bone and asked, frowning.
"Don't be so impatient..." Hashimoto chuckled leisurely: "I've found out Class A's leader. It's Totsuka Yahiko, the lackey who follows Katsuragi around."
"Oh? Is that so? How do you know, and how do you explain the other two key cards?"
"I overheard a conversation between Katsuragi and Yukinoshita last night. I heard Yukinoshita say that the two key cards held by Kamuro and Kito were forged tools obtained from one of the bases. Only the real key card in Totsuka's hand will show a successful occupation prompt when placed on the occupation device. Using the other two forged key cards on the device has no effect."
"I see. So there's such a thing at the base..." Ryuen stroked his slightly stubbled chin. "Regarding the leader you mentioned, I'll have Kaneda and the others go verify it later. That's all."
"Wait a moment. I've told you Class A's leader as agreed, but for now, it's just a verbal agreement. I want a formal written contract," Hashimoto said seriously.
"Hah—do you think I would breach the contract?" Ryuen let out a loud snort of laughter at Hashimoto's demand.
"Who knows... If I can't be sure you'll keep your word, I'll spread the word that you're still on the deserted island."
"Hmph..." Ryuen snorted softly, then thought for a few seconds before saying: "To avoid exposure, I won't meet or contact you again until the exam is over. As for the formal written contract, go get it from Kaneda and the others. I'll have them wait for you on the beach. That one million private points can only be transferred to your account after we return to the cruise ship. Any other questions?"
"...No, that's all. Pleasure doing business." The walkie-talkie was silent for a moment, then a casual remark was tossed out, and the communication was abruptly cut off.
Ending the call, Ryuen dropped the food in his hand and lowered his head, lost in thought.
Now that Hashimoto had given him the name of the Class A leader, all he had to do was have Kaneda and the others confirm it. Since Class A couldn't change their leader without a valid reason, all they had to do was write down the name Totsuka Yahiko at the end, and all of Katsuragi and Yukinoshita's arrangements and efforts over the past few days would be for naught.
Even if Class A managed to find a way to replace the leader, the school sends students who withdraw from the exam back to the cruise ship by boat. If anyone from Class A withdrew, Kaneda and the others observing on the beach would find out immediately and report it to him. At that point, all they would have to do is not write down the name of the Class A leader.
As for Class B, the leader he saw before was Shiranami Chihiro, but the name Hashimoto gave was Shibata Souta. It seemed he needed to go confirm that himself.
This deserted island exam is destined to be a complete victory for Class C!
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"Th-that should do it, Yukinoshita-san."
In the cave, Hashimoto, who had just finished talking with Ryuen, turned to Yukinoshita, who was silently standing by and listening, and offered a ingratiating smile.
"Yes, thank you for your effort. Once you receive that one million private points, please submit all of it as Class A's class fund," Yukinoshita declared coldly, without any mercy.
"...I understand." Hashimoto nodded with a bitter smile.
Not long after Yukinoshita called him for the conversation (interrogation), Hashimoto had confessed everything about the reason and process of his betrayal of the class.
Before coming to the deserted island, Hashimoto had received a text message from Sakayanagi, asking him to cause some trouble during the exam and create difficulties for Katsuragi and Yukinoshita.
Since Yukinoshita had partnered with Class 1-D at the beginning of the exam to obtain a large amount of supplies, Class A's 270 Material Points had been successfully retained.
To complete Sakayanagi's task, Hashimoto carefully studied the exam rules. He had considered intentionally using the supplies of other classes, but because the resulting
reduction in the class's retained Material Points would be easily discovered, he abandoned that idea.
Finally, Hashimoto decided to secretly leak the information about Class A's leader to another class. This way, even if Class A had 50 points deducted because their leader was correctly guessed by another class, they would still have 220 points left.
Hashimoto initially planned to trade with Class B, but worried that Class B might use the opportunity to catch up and destabilize Class A's secure position.
After careful consideration, he ultimately contacted Kaneda of Class 1-C, or more accurately, Ryuen Kakeru, the tyrant of Class C.
Since Yukinoshita and Hikigaya were completely tight-lipped about the leader's identity, in order to gain Ryuen's trust, he chose to inform him of the locations of Class A's bases and the likely leader of Class B, and promised to find an opportunity to confirm the identity of Class A's leader. In exchange, Ryuen had to pay Hashimoto one million private points and try his best to reduce Class B's Material Points.
After learning about the deal between Hashimoto and Ryuen, Yukinoshita decided to use the enemy's plan against them by having Hashimoto pass false information to Ryuen, which led to the recent phone call.
"One more question. Why would Sakayanagi-san instruct the classmates to cooperate with me on one hand, and on the other hand, have you betray the class's interests?"
Saying this, Yukinoshita glanced at Hashimoto with a look of doubt. Yukinoshita clearly trusted Sakayanagi more than Hashimoto.
"I wouldn't know that. You should ask the little princess Sakayanagi yourself, Yukinoshita-san." Hashimoto quickly shook his head, then hurriedly changed the subject: "Yukinoshita-san, Ryuen just said he's going to have the Class C students test out Katsuragi and the others. It might be best to warn them first."
"I will confirm the situation with Sakayanagi-san when I get back... But regardless, Hashimoto-kun, it would be best for you not to do anything else that harms the class's interests."
"Don't worry, Yukinoshita-san. I really want to graduate as a Class A student," Hashimoto hurriedly nodded.
Yukinoshita narrowed her eyes and gave Hashimoto a sharp look, then took the walkie-talkie out of her pocket.
"This is Yukinoshita Yukino. Katsuragi-kun, is Kamuro-san with you? I have something important I need to tell her. Please set the walkie-talkie frequency to Frequency A before handing it over to her."
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