Classroom of the Elite, After the Intel Refreshed, They Always Want to Conquer Me! 41

Horikita Manabu pushed up his glasses, his gaze behind the lenses remaining as calm as still water: "Do not worry. The school will replace the equipment immediately, and the class to which the vandal belongs will bear the corresponding penalty in class points."

"I see." Shimizu Akira nodded.

"As for those classes that agreed to the rental," Horikita Manabu continued, "just have them send representatives to the Student Council to sign the formal agreement, and the management permissions for the surveillance system will be transferred over at that time."

At this moment, Horikita Manabu took a brand-new laptop from under his desk: "This device has the dedicated surveillance system backend program pre-installed; you can take it with you now."

"You even prepared the hardware so thoroughly?" Shimizu Akira took the computer with both hands, his tone filled with sincere gratitude, "President, I really owe you one this time."

Afterward, Shimizu Akira carried the laptop bag from the office and walked quickly back to his dormitory.

The moment the door locked, he couldn't wait to flip open the laptop.

Following the operating guide provided by the president, he successfully logged into the surveillance system backend from the computer.

The moment the interface unfolded, Shimizu Akira was somewhat surprised—because the permission level was even higher than he had imagined.

(Real-time monitoring, history playback, video download...)

However, Shimizu Akira first clicked on the surveillance archives from last week.

(Just as I thought... they are all blank; it seems they have already been transferred away by the school.)

Just as he was thinking this, his phone suddenly vibrated.

Ryuen Kakeru from Class C sent a message, claiming that he had already discovered the hidden rules.

(As expected, the guy isn't an idiot...)

Shimizu Akira raised an eyebrow, not surprised by this news.

As a class leader, it was normal to figure out some of the rules within a month of starting school.

He had never expected to earn too many points from selling information—renting out the surveillance rights was his true goal.

He casually replied with a few words, while simultaneously pulling up the real-time surveillance feed for Class C.

On the screen, Ryuen Kakeru stood on the podium, his face, which always wore a cold sneer, showing a rare look of irritation.

"What era is this..." Shimizu Akira shook his head, "Who still sells information the traditional way?"

He watched for a moment longer, thinking of the information revealed today, and replied to the other party with a demand for 3 million points. He didn't expect that the big guy in the other class would directly pick up a chair and smash it into the surveillance camera.

"There really are such crazy people! I'm starting to feel sympathy for Ryuen Kakeru for no reason; you don't have it easy either."

He watched as half of the Class C surveillance feeds he could see turned pitch black.

However, he didn't really care—the Student Council President had already said that the school would replace the equipment.

"Is Class C not afraid of being deducted class points for doing this? If you end up worse than Class D by the end of the month, that would be truly embarrassing." He muttered to himself, then let it go, "Forget it, let's look at the other classes first."

Saying this, he minimized the Class C surveillance feed and switched to the surveillance for Class A.

Under the 4K high-definition quality, every detail in the classroom was clearly visible—he could even see the trembling of each student's eyelashes using the 16x zoom function.

(Is everyone here?)

What was surprising was that even though school had been over for a long time, the Class A classroom was packed.

Only two empty seats were particularly conspicuous.

The screen switched to the podium—Sakayanagi Arisu sat elegantly in her chair, and a bald boy with thick eyebrows and big eyes stood beside her; the two seemed to be saying something to the whole class.

The moment Shimizu Akira clicked on the audio monitoring, Sakayanagi's soft yet authoritative voice immediately flowed out from the speakers:

A tense atmosphere permeated the classroom, and Sakayanagi Arisu's sharp gaze swept over every student.

"Recently... no one should have leaked those confidential pieces of information, right?"

"Classmate Sakayanagi, no one has."

"Yeah, we wouldn't easily leak them to other classes."

The students below began to answer one after another.

"Very good..." She nodded slightly, a meaningful smile curling at the corners of her mouth, "After all, we cannot let our competitors gain any advantage."

Shimizu Akira clicked his tongue in secret, watching this scene.

Sakayanagi continued to lecture the students in her unique, somewhat lazy yet aggressive tone, which was nothing more than clichés about strictly forbidding leaks.

This leader of Class A, who was always elegant and composed in public, was actually so aggressive when dealing with her own classmates in private.

This made Shimizu Akira feel as if he had returned to the scene where the two first met at the convenience store—at that time, the other party had displayed this kind of innate sense of superiority and undisguised desire for control.

However, during their two subsequent meetings, this sense of superiority had indeed gradually faded.

At the very least, when she spoke to him, she acted like a normal person.

"So, that bald guy must be Katsuragi Kohei, right?"

Shimizu Akira remembered that Kamuro Masumi had once said that Class A was currently led by two leaders—Sakayanagi Arisu and Katsuragi Kohei.

Combined with the information obtained a few days ago regarding the other party's characteristic of having alopecia, the identity of the bald boy standing on the other side of Sakayanagi Arisu was self-evident.

"It's unexpected that she can manage Class A so well." Shimizu Akira pondered to himself, "I was originally worried that a dual-leadership system would lead to a power struggle, but now it seems the two have reached some kind of delicate balance."

He couldn't help but draw a parallel to the situation in Class D—the obvious sense of rivalry Kushida Kikyou felt toward Hirata Yosuke, while Hirata always unconsciously stepped back. Having two leaders in a single group was indeed a recipe for power struggles.

However, the very next second, Shimizu Akira realized his assessment had been off-base.

Katsuragi Kohei suddenly stepped forward, intervening in the conversation with a calm composure, naturally seizing the lead in the discussion from Sakayanagi Arisu.

Shimizu Akira instinctively moved his mouse over Sakayanagi Arisu's face and zoomed in 32 times; her brow was furrowed so tightly a fly could have been crushed between them.

"Hmm, looks like Class A is about to start infighting..." Shimizu Akira watched the scene unfold and reached a very obvious conclusion.

ps: A quick explanation regarding the surveillance issue. Since this is the author speaking, this section is free of charge.

Point 1: Renting the surveillance footage can prevent one's own class from losing points in the future.

Every class is now aware of the daily behavioral standards; playing on phones or talking in class will result in point deductions. By renting the surveillance and deleting the relevant data at the end of the month, they can avoid point deductions with 100% certainty.

Point 2: Deleting previous surveillance data can recover class points.

The violation data from the first two weeks (which other classes are unaware of; the first week's data was already taken by the school, a fact disclosed to Shimizu Akira privately) can be completely wiped. Theoretically, this would allow the four classes to reclaim over 900 class points.

Point 3: The fear that Shimizu Akira might sell surveillance access to others, which is actually the biggest concern for Class A and Class B.

Although the school explicitly told Shimizu Akira he could not sell surveillance access to other classes, that doesn't mean the other classes know about this rule.

This creates an information gap—even if Class A and Class B haven't lost many points due to violations, the surveillance data for these two weeks exists. During this time, every word spoken by the leaders of Class A and Class B, and every action taken by their students, has been fully recorded. If this content were leaked to rivals in other classes, it would be equivalent to the opponent having "wallhacks," allowing them to study their moves in advance.

This is what Class A and Class B value most.

Point 4: Psychological pressure.

072 Sakayanagi Arisu: Yes, I look down on Katsuragi Kohei.

Shimizu Akira knew Sakayanagi Arisu's character all too well—this genius girl who fancied herself above all others could not tolerate anyone standing over her. This near-pathological arrogance was perhaps a common trait among geniuses.

And as for that Katsuragi Kohei...

Judging by the way he forcefully intervened in the conversation, he clearly wasn't content to remain under Sakayanagi Arisu's thumb either.

The taut line of his jaw and his deliberately straightened back all signaled that he was an equally strong-willed character.

When two strong leaders are together, there is bound to be a casualty.

Shimizu Akira felt as if he could already foresee the bloodbath about to unfold in Class A.

Though, actually! Shimizu Akira still wanted to cheer Katsuragi Kohei on.

As for the reason.

"He is a bald guy, after all!" Shimizu Akira couldn't help but quip as he looked at the reflective head on the monitor.

The guy had alopecia, not hair loss from later life.

Otherwise, Shimizu Akira would have really suspected the guy was a real-life version of Saitama.

"It seems collecting class fees from Class A shouldn't be a problem."

After confirming the key information, Shimizu Akira decisively closed the Class A surveillance feed.

As for the remaining Class B and Class D, he pulled up their feeds at random.

Both classes had been dismissed for quite some time; only a few scattered students remained in the classrooms, nothing like the formal class meetings being held in Class C and Class A.

"...Does Class B have other talents, too?"

While observing Class B, he unexpectedly discovered that Ichinose Honami wasn't the only popular figure—several people were chatting happily around a student named Kanzaki, while others were crowded around a handsome boy. Unfortunately, no one called out that boy's name, so Shimizu Akira had no way of knowing his identity.

"Wait... I suppose this counts as spying on people..."

This ability to openly peer into every classroom in the first year, enjoying 4K high-definition quality, dragging the progress bar at will, and capturing every subtle expression with a simple click of the mouse—how should he put it? It was actually quite fascinating.

It was probably like that line from his past life—I will keep watching you, forever and ever.

However, the eye strain from staring at the screen for too long quickly made that sense of novelty vanish.

His assessment of himself was that he still hadn't watched enough surveillance!

"For now, I should focus on pushing the surveillance rental rights." He rubbed his throbbing temples, "I need to notify both Class B and Class D."

Thinking of how he had already contacted Class C, Shimizu Akira switched accounts cleanly and sent almost identical surveillance notifications to Ichinose Honami, Kushida Kikyou, and Hirata Yosuke. The only difference was the names of the recipients; even the fee structure was exactly the same.

Even though he was in Class D, he never intended to provide services to his class for free—wanting surveillance access? Then be prepared to pay a massive amount of points.

"Ah, almost forgot..." A playful smile curled his lips, "I need to notify that daughter of the board chairman in Class A and that bald classmate as well."

Skillfully switching back to his main account, Shimizu Akira copied and pasted the message to Sakayanagi Arisu, whom he had already added as a friend, and began sending the same text.

"Class A must continue to maintain this level of discipline." Katsuragi Kohei's steady voice echoed through the classroom, "According to my deductions, it is highly likely that there will be special exams in the future. I hope everyone will be able to play to their strengths when the time comes."

He scanned the crowd and continued, "At the same time, the class will implement a reward system. The points for these rewards will come from the class fund, and we will provide incentives to those who perform well, such as for this final exam..."

Sakayanagi Arisu rested her chin on one hand, watching Katsuragi Kohei's back with a look of utter boredom.

(What a... truly uninteresting man.)

In all fairness, Katsuragi could indeed be considered excellent—his outstanding academic grades and steady, reliable personality were what had allowed him to secure his footing in Class A.

Take, for instance, the various policies he is currently pushing; they certainly do a good job of mobilizing the class's enthusiasm.

But the problem is... he is far too rigid.

So rigid that it's tedious.

Every one of his decisions feels like it was copied straight out of a textbook; while the floor is high, the ceiling is pitifully low.

To use a grading analogy, he forever hovers in the 70 to 80 range, never once touching the threshold of 90.

In other words... he has never given her a single surprise.

He is nothing more than a "genius" in name only.

—The limit of what a mere mortal can achieve.

Sakayanagi Arisu does not despise ordinary people; on the contrary, she occasionally appreciates the way those mortals struggle with all their might.

It's just that...

To be someone who has merely reached the limit of a mortal, yet harbor the delusion of competing with her for the position of leader of Class A, is simply too much of an eyesore.

"Classmate Sakayanagi... what is your opinion?"

Suddenly called by name, she turned her head gracefully to meet the gaze of Katsuragi Kohei.

On the surface, it was a question seeking an opinion, but it felt more like he was issuing a notification.

(How truly... unpleasant.)

However, this time, she really could not find a reason to refute him.

These measures would indeed make Class A more secure.

"What an excellent proposal; as expected of Classmate Katsuragi." Sakayanagi Arisu raised a perfect smile, though there was not a hint of warmth in her eyes.

"...Is that so?" Katsuragi Kohei frowned slightly. He admitted that he did harbor some intentions of vying for power, but more than that, he hoped this classmate would, like him, prioritize the interests of Class A above all else.

After all, they were already Class A, standing at the very pinnacle.