Chapter Summaries

Bai Lan proved that the first-year midterm papers had been leaked and used the threat of exposing second-year papers to pressure Nagumo into negotiating. Nagumo claimed he had only about 16.6 million points, but Bai Lan suspected he had hidden the rest on an anonymous points card.

• Nagumo learned that the papers Bai Lan presented matched the upcoming first-year midterm exam, then panicked when Bai Lan reached for another stack of papers.
• Nagumo stopped Bai Lan and proposed discussing a settlement, while Bai Lan privately decided he had never intended to expose the second-year leak.
• Bai Lan and Nagumo moved to a corner and Bai Lan asked whether Nagumo had prepared eighty million points.
• Nagumo showed Bai Lan his account and transfer records, which appeared to contain only 16,648,742 points.
• Bai Lan suspected Nagumo had hidden points on an anonymous points card, and Nagumo had not yet answered.

Nagumo explained how the second year’s past losses and the cost of maintaining his rule had left him with only a little over seventeen million points. Bai Lan rejected his claim of being poor, calculated that Nagumo could earn far more in the future, and raised his proposed fee to one or two hundred million, prompting Nagumo to offer valuable information instead.

• Nagumo described how dropouts and class conflicts had drained the second year’s points before he unified it, leaving him only six months to build his current savings.
• Nagumo explained that he controlled the class-point rankings and spent heavily to maintain his rule, leaving him with a little over seventeen million points at his disposal.
• Bai Lan called Nagumo poor, then refused to let him off the hook when Nagumo asked him to accept less.
• Bai Lan projected Nagumo’s future earnings and demanded one or two hundred million points to preserve his rule.
• Nagumo protested that Bai Lan could not count on future earnings and offered to share information he had bought from upperclassmen, even without confidentiality.

Bai Lan used Nagumo’s fear of losing more money to secure a 50-million-point settlement for Karuizawa’s side, with Nagumo paying on Yonekura’s behalf. After the agreement was signed and the down payment was made, Bai Lan prepared to distribute the proceeds as Nagumo and the others hurried away.

• Nagumo told Bai Lan that first-year special exams offered the best opportunities to gain points, while later-year students mainly competed to preserve theirs.
• Bai Lan calculated Nagumo’s likely future income and persuaded him to accept Horikita Suzune’s 40-million-point demand, then pushed him to raise the settlement to 50 million.
• With Horikita Manabu witnessing, Nagumo’s side agreed to pay 50 million points in installments, accrue interest, and have Yonekura clean the women’s restroom for one semester.
• Yonekura accepted the terms, and Nagumo paid a 15-million-point down payment that Bai Lan received on Karuizawa’s behalf.
• Bai Lan announced that he would distribute the proceeds, prompting Nagumo and the other outsiders to hurry away.

Bai Lan divided the fifty million points from Karuizawa’s settlement among himself and the others, who had initially refused payment. On the way out, he explained to Horikita and Kushida how the school’s incentives and informal rules made the exam leak and private settlement possible.

• Hirata, Horikita, Kushida, and Karuizawa each said they would pass on a share of the money, though Kushida privately wanted some.
• Bai Lan insisted on paying them, giving each one hundred thousand points and Horikita an additional thirty thousand.
• Horikita asked Bai Lan about the leaked exam questions, and he explained that the school had left students access to old questions so weaker classes would not lose too many students at once.
• Horikita questioned whether the school could accept a private settlement over bullying and bodily harm, and Bai Lan said the parties could call it a misunderstanding if they withdrew their accusations.
• Bai Lan explained that the school could overlook informal rule violations when the outcome resolved the problem, punished the perpetrators, and maintained order.

Bai Lan explained why Yonekura remaining at school would not protect her from his planned revenge, then waited to act until he could collect more points. After the midterms, Hirata called to arrange a weekend meeting with Bai Lan.

• Karuizawa worried that Yonekura might retaliate against girls in their class, and Bai Lan assured her Yonekura would regret staying at school.
• Bai Lan decided to postpone beating Nagumo and Yonekura until after June 1 so he could collect points owed to him, and he counted his 16,638,480-point balance in his dormitory.
• Bai Lan found that the midterm exam questions had all been changed and that the new paper was unusually easy.
• The two-day midterm exams ended, and the students began their weekend break.
• Bai Lan attended a trial visit at the Kyudo Club when Hirata called and asked to meet him during the weekend.

Hirata asked Bai Lan to help him pursue his goal of creating a class without bullying after seeing how Bai Lan had trained Karuizawa to defend herself. The midterm results then confirmed that every student had passed, and Hirata prepared to address the class about an important matter.

• Hirata visited Bai Lan and confirmed that Bai Lan had helped Karuizawa turn the bullying case around and learn to fight back.
• Hirata realized Bai Lan’s training might help him eliminate bullying and asked Bai Lan to help him achieve his dream of a class without bullying.
• At Monday’s assembly, Chabashira announced the midterm results, and every student passed without facing expulsion.
• Chabashira explained that the class would learn its points from the midterm later, so the exam rewards and penalties were postponed.
• Hirata stood to tell the class something important, and Bai Lan recognized that he was about to discuss the matter they had worked on.

Bai Lan arranged for Karuizawa to teach First-Year Class B how to respond to bullying, turning her experience into a way to protect classmates and build her confidence. Karuizawa completed her first lesson at the morning assembly, while many students formed rescue networks and sought reliable allies.

• Bai Lan asked Karuizawa to teach the class anti-bullying techniques so she could test her skills, gain confidence, and build connections with her classmates.
• Hirata told the class that Karuizawa had been bullied and framed, warning that jealous students might target former Class D members and put them at risk of suspension or expulsion.
• At Hirata's request, Karuizawa agreed to explain how she had handled the crisis and presented her advice at the podium.
• Karuizawa taught the class to prepare backup plans, arrange coded calls for help, record evidence, share locations, bring companions, and reward rescuers with part of any compensation.
• Many students exchanged contact information and asked reliable classmates, including Hirata, to become their rescue allies.

Bai Lan and his classmates chose rescue targets while the end of May approached, and Sakura selected Karuizawa, who accepted despite doubting her ability to protect anyone. On June 1, the school announced the updated class scores, leaving Class B relieved to retain its rank but warned that Class C had nearly caught up.

• Bai Lan accepted several classmates’ piggyback applications, while Kushida rejected the boys who approached her and chose Onodera instead.
• Yamauchi, Ike, and Sudo offered to rescue Sakura, but Sakura called them perverts and hid behind Karuizawa.
• Sakura asked Karuizawa to be her rescue target, and Karuizawa accepted while Bai Lan assigned her 20% more daily training.
• Bai Lan received a 74,100-point allowance notification and calculated that the original Class D had gained at least 121 class points.
• Teacher Chazhu announced the new scores: Class A had 1,075 points, Class B 741, Class C 727, and Class D 220.
• Teacher Chazhu warned Class B that Class C had cut its lead from 40 points to 14 and that Class A had pulled farther ahead.

Bai Lan understood Chabashira’s hint that there would be no special exams before the final and learned that she was inviting him to cooperate. He examined the midterm bonus rules and explained how the former Class D’s 121 points and its score-control rewards and penalties were determined.

• Chabashira warned the former Class D not to grow complacent and hinted to Bai Lan that Ichinose’s Class would catch up by the final exam.
• Bai Lan inferred there would be no special exams before the final and recognized Chabashira’s hint as an invitation to cooperate.
• Bai Lan paid Chabashira 30,000 points for the detailed scoring sheet and learned that the former Class D earned 121 points from universal passes and high scores, with no deductions.
• Bai Lan reviewed the score-control plan he had set, which assigned students reward shares by option level and fines for failing their targets.

Bai Lan collected the former Class D members’ points and planned to redistribute them before his upcoming fight with Nagumo. At lunch, he confronted a girl he thought was cutting in line, but she stopped him before explaining why she had approached him.

• Bai Lan told the former Class D members to transfer all their points to Horikita and promised to post the redistribution details by the next day.
• Bai Lan announced the midterm earnings of several classmates to encourage everyone to earn points.
• Bai Lan went to the cafeteria, thinking about enjoying a good meal before his fight with Nagumo and possible expulsion.
• A purple-red-haired girl stepped in front of Bai Lan and began to say that someone wanted to treat him.
• Bai Lan slammed his hand against the wall beside the girl and told her not to cut in line, but she called out, “Wait!”

Kamuro Masumi summoned Bai Lan to lunch on Sakayanagi's behalf, while Bai Lan privately recalled that he knew Kamuro's secret and considered how useful she could be. After a bystander mistook their close position for flirting, Kamuro began wondering whether Bai Lan's unsettling presence excited her, and Bai Lan accepted Sakayanagi's treat by ordering an extravagant meal.

• Kamuro Masumi told Bai Lan that someone wanted to treat him to lunch and talk with him, and Bai Lan readily agreed.
• Bai Lan recognized Kamuro and recalled discovering that she was a thief, then considered using her secret against Class A if he remained at school.
• A student in line told Bai Lan and Kamuro to stop flirting and blocking the line, prompting Kamuro to realize how close they were standing.
• Kamuro backed away from Bai Lan, then wondered whether her racing heart and attraction to his appearance meant she might like him.
• Bai Lan ordered an extravagant meal at Sakayanagi's expense.

Bai Lan joined Sakayanagi Arisu in a private cafeteria room after Kamuro brought him an expensive meal, where Sakayanagi declared war on him. She explained that she had once believed he would not compete with her, but Class D’s rapid rise revealed that she had misjudged his intentions.

• Bai Lan ordered premium dishes costing over twenty thousand points, and Kamuro paid for his meal before leading him to Sakayanagi.
• Bai Lan ate as he waited, then joked with Kamuro while she escorted him to a private room on the cafeteria’s third floor.
• Bai Lan found Sakayanagi waiting alone in the room and sat down across from her.
• Sakayanagi declared war on Bai Lan, saying his actions had surprised her.
• Sakayanagi recalled buying information from Bai Lan because she believed he was pursuing personal gain rather than helping Class D.
• Sakayanagi realized Class D’s promotion by two ranks meant Bai Lan had been her strongest competitor all along, and she reconsidered his actions during April.

Sakayanagi concluded that Bai Lan had deceived her during their information trade, costing her class points and giving him a two-million-point advantage. After learning Bai Lan was a free-spirited natural genius rather than a White Room student, she used the midterm exam to restore her standing and declared war on him, proposing a contest at the next special exam.

• Sakayanagi realized Bai Lan had used their information trade to investigate her class while feeding her false information, leading her to give him extra points.
• Sakayanagi recalled losing a chess match to a White Room student after only a week of training, then learned that the student was in Class D and was not Bai Lan.
• Using information from her father, Chairman Sakayanagi, Sakayanagi checked Bai Lan's file and concluded that he was a natural genius shaped by freedom rather than artificial training.
• Sakayanagi organized study groups and intensified her own review, helping her class earn 185 points on the midterm exam.
• Believing the midterm results had restored her to equal footing with Bai Lan, Sakayanagi declared war on him and proposed competing in the next special exam.

Bai Lan refused Sakayanagi’s challenge, provoking her by insisting she had no chance of beating him. As Sakayanagi suddenly suffered chest tightness and began to collapse, Bai Lan reached across the table to catch her.

• Sakayanagi declared that she wanted to compete against Bai Lan, but he laughed because he expected to be expelled before their next chance to face off.
• Bai Lan refused the challenge and deliberately made his words sound contemptuous to provoke Sakayanagi and help ensure his eventual expulsion.
• Sakayanagi took Bai Lan’s refusal as a genuine judgment of her abilities and grew furious.
• Sakayanagi clutched her chest, turned pale, and began to sway as Kamuro rushed over from the doorway.
• Bai Lan activated Overlord Body and grabbed Sakayanagi by the collar to keep her from falling.

Bai Lan learned that Sakayanagi had a serious heart condition after she collapsed, but argued that she had chosen to compete and should take responsibility for the risks. He then urged her to use her intelligence and willpower to overcome physical limitations, leaving Sakayanagi listening as he challenged her claim that she was not a genius.

• Bai Lan caught Sakayanagi when she became dizzy, and Kamuro explained that Sakayanagi had a weak heart and could not handle intense stimulation.
• Bai Lan said he would have skipped the meeting if he had known about Sakayanagi’s condition, angering Kamuro.
• Bai Lan argued that Sakayanagi had chosen to start their contest and could not expect opponents to hold back or avoid trash talk.
• Bai Lan told Sakayanagi to accept responsibility for competing despite her heart condition, while Kamuro tried to defend her.
• Sakayanagi stopped Kamuro from interrupting Bai Lan as he compared human frailty with the strength of wild beasts and urged Sakayanagi to rely on her intelligence and willpower.
• Bai Lan asked Sakayanagi whether she really was not a genius, since she never objected when others called her one.

Bai Lan challenged Sakayanagi to train around her weak heart, and she thanked him and promised to compete with him after overcoming her weakness. After Bai Lan left, Kamuro questioned why Sakayanagi had accepted his advice so readily.

• Bai Lan told Sakayanagi to build emotional resilience and practice low-strain physical techniques to compensate for her weak heart.
• Sakayanagi agreed that she should develop her physical abilities and said she would challenge Bai Lan again once she overcame her weakness.
• Bai Lan left the meal, wondering why Sakayanagi seemed convinced despite his lack of evidence.
• Kamuro asked Sakayanagi why she had been so easily persuaded by Bai Lan.

Sakayanagi explained to Kamuro that Bai Lan had persuaded her through his actions and experiences, and decided to improve her own physical abilities so she could become a worthy opponent. Her father learned of the plan and intercepted it, leaving Sakayanagi to go to his office to retrieve it.

• Kamuro questioned why Sakayanagi had listened to Bai Lan, and Sakayanagi admitted to herself that she had considered him as a potential husband for the Sakayanagi family.
• Sakayanagi told Kamuro that Bai Lan had earned her trust by acting on his advice and overcoming harsh conditions, including fighting wild beasts.
• Sakayanagi asked Kamuro to find a yoga instructor and arrange a low-intensity program approved by her attending physician.
• Kamuro arranged a training plan with an outside instructor and Sakayanagi's physician before lunch break ended.
• After school, Kamuro told Sakayanagi that her father had intercepted the plan and that Sakayanagi would need to collect it from the chairman's office.

Sakayanagi Arisu asked her father, Chairman Sakayanagi Narumori, to let her begin exercising despite their agreement, explaining that she wanted to shape her future through her own efforts. Their conversation turned to Bai Lan, and the chapter left Arisu astonished after she learned he had exposed leaked exam questions and extorted fifty million points from a second-year student.

• Sakayanagi Arisu met Chairman Sakayanagi Narumori after he summoned her to discuss her proposed training plan.
• Arisu argued that she wanted to improve her body through her own efforts while still keeping surgery as an option, and Narumori neither approved nor forbade the plan.
• Narumori asked Arisu about Bai Lan and hinted that he had recently caused a serious incident at school.
• Arisu paid 200,000 points for information about Bai Lan, agreeing not to share it with anyone else.
• Narumori told Arisu that Bai Lan had reported the leak of first-year exam questions and extorted fifty million points from a second-year student, and Arisu was shocked to learn he already had twenty million.

Sakayanagi Arisu learned that Bai Lan’s wealth and actions could provoke the school to restrict him, but Sakayanagi Narumori explained that the school would not target him for reporting the leaked exam questions because it caused no substantial harm. The chapter then shifted to Bai Lan coaching Horikita on how to distribute class points in a way that would build trust and strengthen her leadership.

• Sakayanagi Arisu worried that Bai Lan’s enormous point reserves and influence would make their future competition unfair, while Sakayanagi Narumori explained that the school might otherwise expel or restrict him.
• Sakayanagi Narumori told Sakayanagi Arisu that the school would not punish Bai Lan for reporting the leaked questions because every first-year student passed and the exam changes caused no substantial losses.
• Sakayanagi Narumori said the school could only counter Bai Lan’s point holdings if he made a serious mistake or stopped using them for class competition.
• Bai Lan told Horikita to redistribute the collected class points by 8:00 the next morning and explained that the gesture would build classmates’ trust in her leadership.

Bai Lan told Horikita he had been manipulating her with PUA, hoping she would resent him and stop trusting him. Instead, Horikita realized she had gained far more than she had lost and began to question why their growing distance upset her.

• Bai Lan urged Horikita to work overtime on his assigned tasks and claimed he had been PUAing her all along.
• Bai Lan explained that he wanted Horikita to finish distributing her points sooner and to dispel her mistaken belief that he was helping her advance.
• Horikita suspected Bai Lan had an ulterior motive for confessing, since exposing his methods seemed like a losing move.
• After they parted, Horikita felt distressed that she and Bai Lan seemed more distant and wondered why she cared.
• Horikita reviewed what she had gained while following Bai Lan's influence and concluded that she had mostly benefited from it.