Undercurrents and Rehearsal

At six-thirty in the morning, there were already over twenty people in the gymnasium. Besides Hanyu Xiuyi, Horikita Suzune, and Ayanokoji Kiyonaga, Hirata Yousuke had mobilized over a dozen classmates willing to participate in training, including Sudo Ken and Hasebe Haruka.

Teacher Sugino stood in the center of the venue, stopwatch in hand.

"First, a basic fitness test!" His voice echoed through the empty gymnasium. "Everyone, one kilometer run, now begins!"

Over twenty people lined up on the track. Hanyu Xiuyi stood in the second row, observing everyone's condition. Sudo Ken was clearly the most athletic, charging to the front from the start. Horikita Suzune held the middle, her form textbook-perfect. Ayanokoji Kiyonaga stayed at the back of the pack, his pace eerily steady.

Three minutes later, the results came in. Sudo Ken was first with a time of three minutes and five seconds. Hanyu Xiuyi was second at three minutes fifteen seconds. Horikita Suzune was fifth at three minutes thirty seconds. And Ayanokoji Kiyonaga... three minutes twenty seconds, fourth place.

"You sprinted at the end?" Hanyu Xiuyi asked quietly.

"Mm." Ayanokoji nodded, his breathing steady. "Saved energy in the front."

This stamina allocation ability was too bizarre. Hanyu Xiuyi silently filed it away.

"Next up, strength training!" Teacher Sugino shouted. "Pull-ups, push-ups, squats! Twenty reps per set, three cycles! Begin!"

The training was brutal. An hour later, most people were collapsed on the ground, with only Sudo Ken and Hanyu Xiuyi still standing. But what surprised Hanyu Xiuyi was that although Ayanokoji Kiyonaga was also sitting on the floor panting, his level of fatigue was noticeably lighter than the others'.

"This kid's physical fitness is no joke." Sudo Ken wiped his sweat. "Doesn't look like much, but he can really hold out."

"Indeed." Hanyu Xiuyi agreed.

After training ended, Teacher Sugino gave a summary: "Your basics aren't bad, but your endurance is lacking. Especially your long-distance travel ability—if the Special Exam requires extended walking or running, a lot of people won't make it to the end."

"Then what do we do?" Hirata Yousuke asked.

"Strengthen your aerobic training," Teacher Sugino said. "Starting tomorrow, add a three-kilometer jog every morning. Also, on weekends, I'll take you to the mountain behind the school for wilderness hiking training."

"Can we enter the back mountain?"

"With permission, yes." Teacher Sugino said. "I've already applied. Saturday morning at seven, meet at the school's back gate. Remember to wear appropriate shoes and clothes."

This news Encouraged everyone. Practical training was far more effective than training in the Gymnasium.

Noon, Study Area in the library.

Hanyu Xiuyi met his first tutoring student—Yamashita, a Second Year from Class C. He was a bespectacled boy who seemed somewhat introverted.

"Junior Hanyu, hello." Yamashita was a bit stiff. "Ayanokoji said your math is good..."

"Let's begin." Hanyu Xiuyi opened his textbook. "I heard you're having trouble with the calculus section?"

"Yes." Yamashita sighed. "Especially the application of limits and derivatives..."

Hanyu Xiuyi spent forty-five minutes explaining the core concepts in a concise and clear manner. Yamashita went from initial confusion to gradual understanding, and finally showed an expression of sudden realization.

"So that's how it is! I never understood this conversion relationship before..."

"The most important thing in math is understanding the logical chain." Hanyu Xiuyi said. "Memorizing formulas is useless. You need to understand why the derivation goes this way."

Yamashita nodded repeatedly. After the tutoring session, he promptly paid 5000 Points.

"Junior Hanyu, you explain better than our teacher." Yamashita said sincerely. "Could I add another session per week? I also have some friends who need tutoring..."

"Sure." Hanyu Xiuyi agreed. "But my time is limited. At most, I can take on two more people."

"Great! I'll introduce them to you tomorrow!"

After Yamashita left, Hanyu Xiuyi calculated his income: Yamashita's Twice a Week sessions at 10000 Points, plus the two new students he'd introduce, each at 5000 Points per session, would bring a total weekly income of 20000 Points. Not a huge amount, but stable, and it would help build Connections among the Second Years.

More importantly, during the tutoring, Yamashita had inadvertently mentioned some information:

"Last year's Special Exam was a 'Class Debate Tournament.' Our Class C lost and got a lot of points deducted..."

"Second Years get 50000 more Points per month than you guys, but our expenses are also high..."

"That Person, Ryuen... you need to be careful. Last semester, he really messed up a Second Year senior..."

These fragmented pieces of information were all valuable. Hanyu Xiuyi recorded everything in his notebook.

During the afternoon Club Activity time, Hanyu Xiuyi went to the Shogi Club. Ishida saw him with a complicated expression.

"Hanyu, I have something to tell you." Ishida pulled him into a corner. "Ryuen came again yesterday. This time he brought two people—Sato from Second Year and Ito from Third Year."

"Upperclassmen?"

"Mm." Ishida lowered his voice. "Those two Upperclassmen have a terrible reputation. They often use all kinds of methods to get Points from underclassmen. Ryuen hanging out with them is definitely bad news."

"What did they say?"

"They didn't say it outright, but they hinted they wanted to 'invest' in your performance in the shogi tournament." Ishida said. "I suspect they want to manipulate the match results and earn Points through side bets."

Hanyu Xiuyi frowned. "Does the school allow this kind of betting?"

"Not officially, but it's always existed on the down-low." Ishida said. "Especially among the Upperclassmen, there are often small-scale bets. As long as no one gets caught, the school turns a blind eye."

This was a dangerous signal. If Ryuen was really teaming up with Upperclassmen to manipulate the matches, then the upcoming Internal Tournament would no longer be a simple competition.

"Thank you for telling me this." Hanyu Xiuyi said.

"Be careful." Ishida said seriously. "Those people will do anything for Points. If things feel wrong, you can withdraw from the tournament anytime."

"I won't withdraw." Hanyu Xiuyi said calmly. "But if they want to play Off-court Tactics, I'll make sure they know the consequences."

Ishida looked at his resolute gaze and finally nodded. "Okay. Come find me if you need help."

That evening, Class Study Session.

The atmosphere was better than the past few days. After the morning's joint training, everyone's relationships had noticeably grown closer. Even the usually aloof Horikita Suzune occasionally answered others' questions.

"The solution to this problem..." Horikita was explaining to Karuizawa Kei. "See, you need to use this formula here..."

"Horikita-san is amazing!" Karuizawa Kei exclaimed sincerely.

"It's just the basics," Horikita Suzune said, but Hanyu Xiuyi noticed the corners of her mouth lift slightly.

On the other side, Yukimura Teruhiko and a few boys were discussing physics problems. When Hanyu Xiuyi walked over, they were locked in a heated debate over one question.

"I think we should use conservation of energy..."

"No, there's friction here..."

"Need help?" Hanyu Xiuyi asked.

"Hanyu-kun, perfect timing!" Yukimura said. "We've been arguing over this problem for ages..."

Hanyu Xiuyi glanced at the problem—it was a classic Inclined Plane Slider Problem. He picked up a pen, sketched a diagram on the paper, and began explaining.

Three minutes later, the boys all wore expressions of sudden realization.

"So that's it! Hanyu-kun, you're amazing!"

"It's nothing. Just practice more," Hanyu Xiuyi said. "By the way, I have some Last Year's Mock Exams here. You can make copies if you want."

He pulled out the prepared materials and handed them out. These were obtained through a system loophole Horikita Suzune had discovered—not official exam questions, but still valuable references.

Halfway through the study session, Kushida Kikyo suddenly asked, "Everyone, regarding the Special Exam, shouldn't we assign tasks in advance?"

The question was far-sighted. Hirata Yousuke immediately responded, "Kushida-san is right. We need to know what each person is good at to allocate tasks properly."

"I'm decent at sports," Sudo Ken said. "Leave the physical labor to me."

"I'm good at cooking," Hasebe Haruka said. "If we need meals, I can handle that."

"I have a good sense of direction," Sotomura Hideo said shyly. "Reading maps and finding my way is no problem."

Everyone took turns speaking. When it was Ayanokoji Kiyonaga's turn, he thought for a moment. "I... have decent observation skills. I can handle lookout and reconnaissance."

"Good division of roles," Hirata Yousuke noted. "Then we need a leader for overall coordination."

All eyes turned to Hanyu Xiuyi and Horikita Suzune.

"I think Hanyu-kun is more suitable," Karuizawa Kei said. "He thinks things through comprehensively."

"I agree," Sudo Ken chimed in, rare for him.

Horikita Suzune glanced at Hanyu Xiuyi. "No objections."

"Then," Hanyu Xiuyi Stood Up, "if everyone trusts me, I'll do my best to lead. But the prerequisite is that everyone follows orders and doesn't act on their own."

"No problem!" Everyone agreed in unison.

At that moment, Hanyu Xiuyi felt the class's cohesion truly form. No longer scattered sand, but a team with clear roles and goals.

After the study session ended, Hanyu Xiuyi and Horikita Suzune stayed behind.

"I've drafted a preliminary Supply List," Horikita Suzune said, handing over a sheet of paper. "Based on data from the Uninhabited Island Exam three years ago, the most essential items are: Water Purification Tool, First Aid Medicine, Basic Tools, Waterproof Cloth, and rope."

Hanyu Xiuyi scanned it. "What's the budget?"

"No more than 100,000 Points," Horikita Suzune said. "That's the school's upper limit for bringing your own supplies. We need to be frugal."

"Okay," Hanyu Xiuyi said. "We'll start purchasing tomorrow. Also, about Ryuen..."

He relayed the intel he'd gotten from Ishida.

Horikita Suzune listened, her brow furrowing. "If Upperclassmen get involved, things get complicated. It's hard for us new students to fight them."

"So we need allies," Hanyu Xiuyi said. "Like Ichinose Honami's Class B. Their class has a clean reputation, and they also have reason to stop Ryuen's scheme."

"You want to ally with Class B?"

"A temporary Tactical Alliance," Hanyu Xiuyi said. "For this Special Exam, we can cooperate with Class B to counter Class C."

Horikita Suzune thought for a moment. "Worth a try. But we have to be careful not to expose our Core Plan."

"Of course," Hanyu Xiuyi nodded. "I'll go talk to Ichinose tomorrow."

Back in his dorm, Hanyu Xiuyi received an email from Ayanokoji:

"How did the tutoring go today? Yamashita-senpai said he was satisfied. Also, I heard something: Ito-senpai from the third year—the one hanging around Ryuen—was warned last semester for Match Manipulation. He has a Previous Conviction.—Ayanokoji"

This confirmed Ishida's intel. Hanyu Xiuyi replied:

"Received. Thanks for the intel. Also, What Do You Think the chances are of allying with Class B?"

A few minutes later, the reply came:

"Ichinose Honami is an upright person who despises dishonest methods. If she learns that Ryuen is colluding with upperclassmen to manipulate the match, she should be willing to cooperate. But Class B also has its own interests to consider, so we can't rely on her entirely. —Ayanokoji"

A very objective analysis. Hanyu Xiuyi replied:

"Understood. I'll test the waters tomorrow."

Turning off his phone, Hanyu Xiuyi began organizing all the intelligence he had gathered today:

1. Ryuen is colluding with upperclassmen, possibly to manipulate the match.

2. Second Year Yamashita and others can be developed as sources of information.

3. The class has initially formed a team division of labor.

4. The Supply List for the Special Exam has been confirmed.

5. A Tactical Alliance with Class B may be possible.

Everything was proceeding according to plan, but the undercurrents were growing fiercer.

Hanyu Xiuyi walked to the window and looked out at the campus in the night scenery. The lights in the Gymnasium had gone out, and a few scattered lights still burned in the library. This school appeared calm on the surface, but in truth, it hid countless rivalries and schemes.

And he had to find his own path within it.

Not only to earn points, to elevate his class, to counter Ryuen's plots, but also to achieve good results in the upcoming Special Exam.

The pressure was immense, but he wasn't afraid.

Because he wasn't fighting alone. There was Class D gradually uniting, allies like Horikita Suzune, intelligence provided by Ayanokoji Kiyonaga, and now upperclassmen Connections and a potential class alliance.

The Chess Pieces on the board were growing more numerous.

And the game had only just entered the mid-game.

He turned off the light and prepared to rest. Tomorrow, there was still much to do—tutoring, training, procuring supplies, meeting with Ichinose...

Every task was important.

Every task could not afford mistakes.

In the darkness, Hanyu Xiuyi closed his eyes, and the schedule for tomorrow surfaced in his mind.

Everything had to be executed with precision.