Landing on the Island

"It really is spectacular..." Ying said, gazing at the island with a sigh.

"Indeed. It's a pity I cannot disembark. Still, I should be happy enough just to be on the ship," Sakayanagi said.

Students began to fill the deck one after another. Everyone was marveling at the beauty of the island and the school's extravagant funding.

But this was all a facade; how could the school be so kind? It was merely a cover for a special exam. Thinking of this, Ying shook his head subconsciously.

"Did you discover something, Byakuya?" Sakayanagi asked, noticing Ying shaking his head.

"Nothing... I just thought that circling the island now allows us to better appreciate the scenery. It's truly wonderful," Ying said.

"Heh, I shall remain on the cruise ship and enjoy your performance," she finished. Kamuro helped Sakayanagi return to the cabin. On the way, Sakayanagi gave some instructions to Hashimoto...

"We are about to land on the uninhabited island owned by this school. Students, please change into your sportswear within 30 minutes. After confirming your designated bags and luggage, bring your terminals and gather on the deck. Leave all other personal items in your rooms. Since you can still access the restrooms for now, please take care of your needs."

As the broadcast played, Ying hurried back to his dormitory to change into his sportswear before heading to the deck.

"We're about to land! I'm so excited!" Hamaguchi, who shared a room with Ying, said excitedly as he walked with him after changing.

"Indeed, it is certainly something to look forward to," Shibata agreed.

"But Ying, you're usually the loudest one at times like this. Why aren't you saying anything?" Beppu asked.

"It's nothing, I'm just mourning the arduous seven days of life ahead," Ying replied.

The others were slightly puzzled, dismissing it as Ying just acting strange again.

As the ship drew closer to the island, the excitement of the first-year students reached its peak.

"Now, please disembark in order, starting with Class A. Also, terminals are prohibited on the island; please hand them over to your homeroom teacher before you step off."

Following the teacher's command over the megaphone, the students walked down the cruise ship's stairs in sequence.

"The sun is so harsh! Can I still go back on the ship to put on sunscreen?" Hamaguchi complained.

"How about you find some aloe vera on the island to rub on later?" Ying suggested.

"Are you kidding me? Isn't wild aloe vera poisonous?" Hamaguchi said, speechless.

"Alright, alright. Now, we will conduct roll call for Class B. Ichinose, help me with the list." Class B's homeroom teacher, Hoshinomiya, said. Although she didn't look drunk, she was still quite lethargic.

Shortly after Ichinose finished the roll call, Class A's homeroom teacher, Mashima, stood on the white podium.

"With the exception of one student, everyone has arrived here safely. Now, we will begin this year's first special exam. I will now explain the rules for this exam..."

Then, Mashima announced the cold, hard truth that shocked the entire first-year cohort.

"Surviving on an uninhabited island for seven days? Are you kidding me!"

"What about our summer vacation!?"

Many students couldn't help but complain loudly the moment they heard about the special exam.

But it was all in vain; they could only passively listen to all the rules of the exam.

To summarize, in this special exam, each class must survive on the uninhabited island for seven days, with each class starting with 300 points. Initial points can be used to purchase various supplies, and the points remaining after seven days will be added to each class's total class points.

There is one more crucial aspect to this exam: each class has a leader who carries a key card. By checking in at various designated spots on the island over the seven days, they can earn a large number of reward points. Furthermore, after the seven days are over, classes can guess the leaders of the other classes.

A class that guesses correctly will receive 50 points, while a wrong guess results in a 50-point deduction. Additionally, if a leader is exposed, the reward points they earned are wiped out.

There are also rules for surviving on the uninhabited island; classes that violate these rules will also have points deducted.

"Everyone in Class B, you understand the exam rules, right? Once you've chosen a leader, let me know. I'm going to go see how Sae is doing," Hoshinomiya said before running off toward Class D.

"Everyone in Class B, you understand the exam rules, right?" Ichinose looked at the group, and seeing everyone nod, she continued, "This exam offers a chance to earn a large number of points. If Class B can achieve victory, we will leap up to become Class A. Therefore, I propose that we carefully study a battle plan."

The difference in class points between Class B and Class A was only 60 points. If Class B could achieve excellent results in this exam, they would be Class A by the next semester.

"So now, I want everyone to discuss who we should choose as our leader," Ichinose organized.

"We definitely have to pick Ichinose," one student said.

"Are you stupid? The other classes know that Ichinose is our class representative. If we pick her as the leader, what happens if the other classes guess it?" another student replied.

"That's true. Then who should we pick?" that student fell into deep thought.

"Does Byakuya-kun have any ideas?" Ichinose suddenly asked Ying.

Ying was still rummaging through his dusty memories, looking for useful information.

"Uh, how about we just let Hoshinomiya-sensei pick?" Ying said.

"That's it! If we let the teacher pick randomly, the other classes definitely won't be able to guess!"

"I think Byakuya-kun's suggestion is excellent. When it comes time to check in, the whole class can go together. That way, even if people from other classes see us, they won't know who it is," Ichinose agreed.

"Yes, we agree too."

Finally, the policy for Class B's leader was decided. Next, they began organizing students to explore the island and choose a base camp.

Just then, an unexpected male student walked over.

"Ichinose, want to make a deal with Class C?" Ryuen from Class C approached them as soon as he entered the forest.

"What do you want? The rules clearly state that you cannot interfere with other classes," Hamaguchi said, his face tightening instantly.

"Heh, I just want to use some points to give Class B some benefits. The bargaining chip is the contract between Class B and Class C, how about it?" Ryuen asked Ichinose.

After thinking for a moment, Ichinose agreed to hear what Ryuen's offer was first.

Previously, due to school intelligence, Class B and Class C had signed a contract, one clause of which stated: "If a direct confrontation between classes occurs, Class C shall not take hostile actions against Class B."

Before, Ryuen wasn't sure if the school would actually hold such confrontations in the future, so he wasn't in a hurry to destroy the contract.

However, this special exam served as a wake-up call, warning Ryuen that a large number of special exams would appear in the future. If that were the case, the sooner this contract was destroyed, the greater the benefit to Class C.

As for this exam, he had already thought of a way to win completely, and taking this opportunity to destroy the contract was the best choice.

In the end, Class C would provide supplies worth 100 points to Class B, in exchange for the destruction of the contract between the two classes.

This deal was also more beneficial than harmful for Class B. Currently, the point gap between Class A and Class B was not large, and every point saved could be the key to victory or defeat between the two classes. It was impossible to determine if there would be a better opportunity than this in the future. Being able to save 100 points meant that Class B would have at least 100 more points than before.

"There is flat ground here and a river nearby, so why don't we set up the Class B base camp here?" After arriving at a location, Ichinose proposed.

Afterward, Class B began to purchase necessary survival supplies, such as tents and portable toilets, consuming a total of 130 points, though in reality, it only cost 30 points.

"The base is all set up, so we can start thinking about dinner," Ichinose said, and everyone began to worry.

Ying grinned; he knew it was time for him to step up. His memories from the White Room were not for nothing, and he possessed plenty of survival skills.

"Wait a moment, everyone." Saying this, Ying began to search in the nearby bushes.

"Lucky me, there's a cluster right here. These long, oval-shaped, purple-black berries are honeyberries. They're a bit sour, but they're edible." Following that, Ying picked a few and put them in his mouth.

"Hiss~! So sour!" Although Ying said that, he continued to eat them.

"Mmm, the taste is not bad." Ying looked in the direction of the sound and saw Hamaguchi and the others eating apples.

"No way, how could you waste points buying apples?" Ying just felt it was a pity.

"Ah, who told you we bought them? These are wild apples that grew in a wild orchard that Beppu just discovered nearby," Hamaguchi retorted.

Ying looked over in that direction. Good grief, this artificial island really lived up to its name; it even had a wild orchard. Why not just throw in a wild village while they were at it?

"Everyone, come quickly! There's a wild village over here!"

Ying: wdf?