New Skill, Yay!

As soon as he finished speaking, the system's prompt tone sounded...

[Kanzaki Ryuji Affection +1 (Highly approves of his rational analysis and risk insight). Current: 45 (Approval)!]

[Target (Kanzaki Ryuji) Skill Unlocked: Rational Analysis and Decision Making B-Rank Simulation Permission!]

[Shiranami Chihiro Affection +1 (Information Supplement and Agreement). Current: 41 (Familiar).]

[Simulation Points +5 (Provided key risk analysis, guided class cognition). Current: 50 Points!]

Kanzaki Ryuji nodded heavily, "Toudou's analysis is correct. Loans, especially those involving interest, are absolutely forbidden on campus. Class D's plight is sympathetic, but this method is no different from digging their own graves. I hope their homeroom teacher discovers and stops it in time."

He thought of Chabashira Sae's coldness after handing out the materials, his brow furrowing even tighter.

Shiranami Chihiro silently took notes, saying softly, "This reminds us how necessary class reserve funds are. At least they can ensure that in extreme situations, classmates won't resort to desperate measures for basic survival."

"Yeah! That's why we need to manage our points even better!" Kobashi Yume nodded vigorously. Her vitality was infectious, strengthening her sense of belonging and responsibility towards the class.

Toudou Shizuka listened to his comrades' discussion, understanding dawning in his heart. Class D's loan scandal was a tumor inevitably bred under the pressure of zero points. This news would soon spread through various channels.

How would Chabashira Sae handle it? Would she coldly suppress it, or use this incident to further provoke Class D? Or... was this itself part of some kind of "test"? Of course, for someone like her, it might also be indifference. After all, regarding the class's situation, she cared more about whether "Ayanokouji, the ace," could lead Class D to greater heights.

He remembered Miyazawa-sensei's reminder about "Class Behavior." Class D's chaotic borrowing was undoubtedly extremely negative "Class Behavior," only worsening their evaluation.

And Class B must take this as a warning, ensure internal stability, and seize every opportunity to display "positive Class Behavior."

After lunch, Toudou Shizuka politely declined Kobashi Yume's invitation to the library and headed alone towards the relatively secluded direction of the old school building. He needed to find a quiet place to immediately simulate and learn the two B-Rank skills he had just unlocked—Kanzaki Ryuji's [Rational Analysis and Decision Making B-Rank] and Shiranami Chihiro's [Information Synthesis B-Rank]. These two abilities, combined with his existing [Thought Acceleration], would greatly enhance his strategy formulation and information processing capabilities, serving as crucial weapons to deal with future "Major Events."

He chose a bench half-hidden by vines and sat down, closing his eyes.

His consciousness first focused on [Rational Analysis and Decision Making B-Rank].

[Enter Virtual Training Ground to simulate learning Target Skill: Rational Analysis and Decision Making B-Rank?]

Confirm!

His consciousness sank.

Scene: A projection of a virtual Class B meeting room. The atmosphere was heavy, and the projected figures of "Ichinose," "Kanzaki," and "Shiranami" were frowning. Scene Information: [Simulation Scene: Class encounters a sudden crisis (e.g., an important member is framed for cheating and faces point deductions).

Information is fragmented, difficult to discern truth from falsehood, and public opinion is rampant. Training Objective: Within 15 minutes, based on limited information fragments, analyze the core conflict and potential risks of the incident, formulate an optimal decision plan, and persuade core members.]

A large amount of chaotic information fragments flooded Toudou Shizuka's mind: snippets of an anonymous tip, the invigilator's vague testimony, the framed individual's anxious defense, other students' speculative gossip... like a tangled mess.

Toudou Shizuka forced himself to calm down, striving to imitate Kanzaki Ryuji's method of unraveling the situation thread by thread to reach the core. He tried to sort out the timeline, analyze the logical flaws in the anonymous tip, and assess the reliability of the invigilator's testimony...

[Failure: Information processing was chaotic, failed to grasp the key conflict points. Was swayed by emotional public opinion, and the decision plan (demanding the school thoroughly investigate the tipper) alienated too many people and was inefficient.]

Scene reset.

He tried focusing on the framed individual's behavior trajectory and the rationality of their motive...

[Failure: Focused too much on a single point, ignoring the potential blow to the class's overall reputation and morale. The decision plan (strongly defending the individual) failed to resolve the class crisis.]

Once, twice...

Toudou Shizuka hit wall after wall in the torrent of information, his decision errors causing the virtual class to fall into deeper trust crises or resource losses.

He deeply understood the difficulty of B-Rank rational analysis and decision-making: How to accurately pinpoint the core problem when information is insufficient?

How to weigh pros and cons amidst complex variables to find the path with the least risk and greatest reward? How to maintain absolute calm under pressure, discarding emotional interference to focus more?

As the scene unfolded again, Toudou Shizuka, like a pre-set program, instantly locked onto a minor temporal contradiction in the anonymous tip!

Using this as a breakthrough, combined with the ambiguities in the invigilator's testimony, he quickly constructed a logical chain of "possibility of framing." Simultaneously, he assessed the feasibility and risks of "thoroughly investigating the tipper" (likely to cause greater suspicion) and the limitations of "strongly defending the individual" (unable to recover reputational damage).

Finally, he proposed a compromise plan: on one hand, demand the school re-examine the evidence according to procedure (claiming procedural justice); on the other hand, have the class core members publicly endorse the framed individual's past conduct and abilities (rebuilding trust), while secretly gathering counter-evidence. This was a two-pronged approach.

[Success: Grasped the key contradiction, the decision plan balanced procedure, reputation, and substantive counterattack, gaining the approval of core members.]

[Comprehension: Rational Analysis and Decision Making B-Rank: 22.18%... 58.74%... 89.36%... 99.99%!]

Information flow merged! Countless fragments of knowledge about logical deduction, risk assessment, plan optimization, and weighing pros and cons, combined with the painful experiences of his numerous decision failures, crashed together! A cold clarity, like the meshing of precise gears, infused his core consciousness.

[Congratulations Host! Skill Acquired: Rational Analysis and Decision Making! Level: B-Rank!]

[Simulation Points Obtained: 20 Points!]

[Current Simulation Points: 70 Points!]

Immediately afterward, without pause, his consciousness locked onto [Information Synthesis B-Rank]!

[Enter Virtual Training Ground to simulate learning Target Skill: Information Synthesis B-Rank?]

Confirm!

Scene switch: A virtual information center piled high with messy paper reports and flashing electronic data streams. Scene Information: [Simulation Scene: Within 30 minutes, from massive, redundant, and unknown sources of rumors, historical fragments, and rule interpretations regarding the "Special Exam," extract the three most likely true core pieces of information with the most actionable value.]