Unexpected

Sakura's face had remained flushed a bright red for nearly an hour now.

Zhuge Linghao even started to wonder if she was suffering from heatstroke.

Suddenly, Sakura pointed at something and said, "Th-there seems to be a path here, leading to... that cave?"

Zhuge Linghao looked along the small path, and his field of vision suddenly opened up; at the end of the trail, there was indeed a place that looked like a man-made cave.

Sakura guessed, "Could this be the so-called base? Sh-shall we go take a look together?"

Zhuge Linghao nodded and said, "Probably, but I'm not sure if there's anyone inside. Let's wait 10 minutes before we go in."

Sakura's large eyes blinked as she said, "Y-you're right. We should wait a little while."

No sooner had the words left her mouth than two people walked out of the cave entrance!

The bald Katsuragi Kohei and the green-haired Totsuka Yahiko!

Zhuge Linghao hurriedly pulled Sakura Airi behind a large tree to hide!

At this moment, Zhuge Linghao recalled what Chabashira had emphasized.

[Each time a base is occupied, you gain 1sp. A base can only be occupied for 8 hours.
Only the class leader can declare the occupation of a base.
The key card for such occupiable bases will be issued to the leader.
Additionally, if you can correctly guess the leader of another class before the roll call on the seventh day, the class that guesses correctly will receive 50sp; if you guess wrong, 50sp will be deducted.]

Zhuge Linghao smiled confidently; he seemed to remember this plot point in his mind!

The key card the bald guy was holding was a decoy; the real leader was Totsuka Yahiko!

But Zhuge Linghao seemed to have forgotten one person!

Because of Zhuge Linghao's somewhat rough movements just now and the cramped hiding space, Sakura Airi was now frozen in an extremely suggestive position.

Zhuge Linghao was crouching in front, while Sakura Airi was half-crouched, pressed against Zhuge Linghao's back!

That pair of large breasts was trembling precariously, hovering right above Zhuge Linghao's head!

The bald Katsuragi scanned the surroundings with a sharp gaze; he thought he had heard some movement just now.

Totsuka Yahiko said excitedly, "We're so lucky! We occupied a base as soon as we landed on the island!"

The bald Katsuragi denied it, "Luck? I had already targeted this place before we even landed. Coming here was inevitable."

The bald Katsuragi continued to keep a lookout, saying, "We must be careful; there might be people nearby eavesdropping. You too—make sure you don't commit any minor mistakes."

"Before we landed, the cruise ship specifically circled the island once. That was the hint!"

"You could see the path cleared through the forest from the ship's deck. After that, we just had to take the shortest route!"

Totsuka Yahiko said with an expression of admiration, "Did you see through the school's intentions? That's amazing! Now Sakayanagi won't have anything to say!"

After the bald Katsuragi and Totsuka Yahiko left, the moment Zhuge Linghao stood up, he felt his head bump into something soft!

Sakura let out an "ahhh" and collapsed to the ground, curling up like a hedgehog, her body twitching unnaturally.

Zhuge Linghao was startled and asked with concern, "Sakura? Are you okay?"

Sakura, her face even redder than before, made an unintelligible sound: "Ying ying ying, I-I-I-I'm fine!"

Inside the cave, Zhuge Linghao and Sakura Airi inspected the electronic equipment inside.

Zhuge Linghao said, "This is indeed a base. Look at this device; it says [Class A, countdown 7 hours 50 minutes...]"

Sakura Airi said, "Mm-hmm, Zhuge-kun, you saw it too, right? C-could that bald guy holding the key card be the leader? It seems we've stumbled upon an incredible secret!"

Zhuge Linghao smiled at Sakura Airi and said, "It looks like you really are our class's little lucky charm! I will report to Hirata about the huge contribution you've made to the class!"

Zhuge and Sakura returned to the rest area.

Hirata asked with concern, "Thank you both for your hard work. Where is Koenji?"

Zhuge Linghao blinked and said helplessly, "If my calculations are correct, he should have withdrawn from this exam by now!"

As soon as Zhuge Linghao's words fell, the whole class began to discuss it heatedly!

"Is this guy too casual?"

"Damn, are we going to lose 30sp on the first day?"

"Are you kidding me! What exactly is going on with that Koenji?"

"What a jerk, completely disregarding the honor and interests of the class!"

Ayanokoji called Zhuge to the side and began to whisper.

Ayanokoji said emotionlessly, "Was Koenji withdrawing from the exam your doing? I remember Chabashira's requirement was to reach Class A, right? Theoretically, saving as much sp as possible is the most important thing."

Zhuge Linghao said, "I don't have that kind of ability! However, his withdrawal should actually save the class a lot of SP, right?"

Ayanokoji looked at Zhuge Linghao's refined profile and asked, "What do you mean?"

Zhuge Linghao hinted, "What kind of person do you think Koenji is?"

Ayanokoji did not answer; he began a rapid deduction and proposed a possibility.

"Koenji is naturally unrestrained, so he would likely be absent from the 8:00 AM roll call sooner or later. Since each absence costs 5 SP, he would lose 30 SP after just six absences, and it's unimaginable how much SP would be deducted if he missed them all..."

"On top of that, he is inherently unstable and an uncontrollable factor. He might pollute the environment without even realizing it, and a single instance of polluting the environment costs 20 SP. So, your judgment is that having him withdraw from the exam would save more class SP, right?"

Zhuge Linghao nodded and emphasized once more, "Exactly, but you got one thing wrong! It really wasn't me who made Koenji withdraw from the exam. I truly don't have that kind of power! He was going to withdraw on his own accord!"

Ayanokoji wore an 'I understand, I understand' expression.

Zhuge Linghao sighed, Ayanokoji is overthinking things again!

Just then, Hirata Yosuke said excitedly, "Ike and the others found a base with a water source. Let's head over there quickly!"

Ike Kanji had already taken off his shirt. He emerged from a small stream and said to everyone, "How about it? This is a pretty good base, right?"

Karuizawa Kei praised, "Not bad at all! The water here is very clean! There are also lots of fish and shrimp over there!"

The other students of Class D joined in to praise Ike and his group.

Hirata walked up to a piece of equipment about half a person's height and read the text on it: "Only the class that occupies this base can use it."

Consequently, Hirata called everyone over and asked, "Should we set up our camp here? Should we occupy this base?"

Ike Kanji affirmed, "Of course we should occupy it! Once we occupy it, we can use the resources here, right? Plus, we get bonus points every 8 hours."

Hirata nodded and said, "That's right, but it requires the leader to refresh the base every 8 hours."

Karuizawa Kei, who was standing nearby, said, "That's true, but we can't let the leader be exposed to the sight of other classes, right?"

Yamauchi Haruki had a good idea: "Then we can just form a circle and hide the leader."

Hirata sought the opinions of those around him, and most of them voted in favor!

Seeing the class's cohesion so strong, Hirata Yosuke said cheerfully, "Great, let's do as Yamauchi suggested! Now, the next step is to decide who will be the leader!"

At this moment, Kushida made her move!

She waved at everyone and said, "Everyone, follow me. Let's go to a secluded and quiet place to discuss this!"

She found a patch of grass covered in half-meter-tall weeds and asked everyone to crouch down and whisper.

Kushida Kikyo suggested in a low voice, "Although Hirata and Karuizawa would be suitable as leaders, it would also be very easy for other classes to guess correctly. So, how about we find a classmate who is harder to guess? What do you all think?"

Hirata, Karuizawa, and the others nodded in agreement.

Then, Kushida Kikyo pointed at Horikita Suzune... and then at Zhuge Linghao behind her, saying, "I recommend Zhuge Linghao to be the leader!"

Zhuge Linghao, having been called by name, was utterly shocked: Kikyo-chan! Are you seriously changing the plot on your own? How am I supposed to play along now?