Classroom of the Elite, After the Intel Refreshed, They Always Want to Conquer Me! Chapter 9

Just then, a conspicuous red-haired boy caught his attention.

The guy wore his hair long and flashy, walking up to the free-service window and standing right in front of two upperclassmen, pointing toward the high-end restaurant upstairs while saying something.

(I remember, he's a student from Class C.)

When the entrance ceremony began, he had seen the other boy standing at the very front of the Class C formation, so Shimizu Akira recognized him instantly.

He scanned his surroundings again and spotted another acquaintance from Class B.

Like the red-haired boy, this person was also standing at the very front of their class.

This beautiful girl with pink hair was currently chatting with a few upperclasswomen.

Despite wearing the same school uniform as everyone else, she inexplicably exuded a faint, elusive allure—perhaps it was the slender collarbone revealed by her slightly open neckline, or perhaps the leg lines vaguely visible beneath her skirt.

Shimizu Akira narrowed his eyes slightly, observing the scene without drawing any attention.

(Are the people from Class C and Class B already starting to scout for information from the upperclassmen?)

(It seems there is no shortage of far-sighted individuals in the other classes...)

015 Today's intel refreshed: Karuizawa Kei is looking for a "fake boyfriend"

After finishing his lunch, Shimizu Akira went to the supermarket once more.

He had noticed it while riding the bus this morning—the surrounding students were just like him, traveling light with at most a shoulder bag; not a single person was dragging a bulky suitcase.

The school's notice had stated that daily necessities could be purchased at the supermarket, but there was much for the students to consider.

And so, he began a massive shopping spree throughout the afternoon.

From slippers, toothpaste, and toothbrushes to bedsheets and quilts; from water heaters and power strips to toilet paper and more.

While browsing the shelves, Shimizu Akira was surprised to find that the supermarket displayed quite a few high-end items—the latest handheld consoles and high-spec laptops were laid out in a dedicated area.

However, the strings of numbers on the price tags were staggering, with even the cheapest starting at 50,000 points.

He rubbed the phone in his pocket, but ultimately decided against scanning the code to purchase anything.

Even though his account held a considerable amount of points, squandering them on the very first day of school could easily lead to a desperate situation by the end of the month.

What's more, the status of Class D hung over his head like the Sword of Damocles—who knew if they would even receive points next month?

If his luck was bad, he might have to live a life of penny-pinching for the next three years.

Although he carefully selected various affordable items, the costs added up.

At checkout, Shimizu Akira still felt a sting of pain when he saw the total on the terminal—a full 5,000 points, which, combined with his 1,000-point lunch, caused his account balance to plummet from 235,000 to 229,000.

The night passed without incident.

The next day.

At 5:30 AM, Shimizu Akira opened his eyes right on time.

He rolled out of bed without a moment's hesitation, changed into loose sportswear, and began his routine morning workout.

First came fifteen minutes of system-guided stretching—every movement was precise, and his joints emitted faint cracking sounds.

Once warmed up, the real training officially began.

100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats—this basic routine had long since become as natural as breathing to him.

By the time sweat dripped from his jawline onto the floor, he had already completed three full sets.

At 6:30, Shimizu Akira pushed open the door and headed to the school track.

After adjusting his breathing, he began to run at a steady pace.

He maintained a consistent rhythm for the first eight laps, his breathing completely undisturbed.

He suddenly accelerated on the ninth lap and went into a full sprint for the final one.

His time for today's 10-kilometer run was 39 minutes and 34 seconds.

The moment Shimizu Akira reached his seat, a familiar chime rang out in his mind right on schedule.

[Ding~ Today's intel has been updated]

[Intel 1: Yamamura from Class D, second year, is in urgent need of a large amount of personal points. She is willing to trade information regarding certain rules of the S System to freshmen in exchange for 30,000 points (her absolute bottom line is 10,000 points).]

[Intel 2: Ichinose Honami from Class B, first year—after only one day of school, the number of friends in her contact list has already exceeded three digits, many of whom are upperclassmen.]

[Intel 3: Karuizawa Kei from Class D, first year, is looking for a "fake boyfriend" to act as a protective umbrella.]

Shimizu Akira was slightly taken aback; the classroom clock was exactly at eight o'clock.

—This intel system is even more punctual than an alarm clock.

The first piece of intel was the one that intrigued him the most.

A senior from Class D, second year, actually wanted to trade "rules of the S System" for points?

This transaction itself was very thought-provoking.

On the second day of school, although Shimizu Akira had already figured out the two rules regarding the class ranking system and the uneven distribution of monthly points, the most critical criteria for the S-system evaluation remained shrouded in mist.

It was like playing a game where he couldn't see his opponent's moves.

Evaluation criteria... for students, the most intuitive one should be exam results, right?

If I'm not mistaken, Horikita-san's academic performance should be quite good.

His gaze drifted involuntarily toward his neighbor, Horikita Suzune.

The young girl was immersed in her copy of Crime and Punishment as usual, her long, raven-black hair cascading over the pages.

"I've told you to stop staring at me... Raskolnikov."

The sound of the book snapping shut brought Shimizu Akira back to his senses.

Horikita was watching him with those cold, clear eyes of hers.

Raskolnikov?

Shimizu Akira's pupils dilated slightly. This sudden literary reference caught him off guard—the protagonist of Crime and Punishment who struggled with moral dilemmas?

Memories of cramming classics during his university days to impress a literature major were still attacking him.

Those nights spent staying up late gnawing through Dostoevsky were actually coming in handy in this unexpected situation.

"I don't believe I've committed any murder yet," he replied calmly, picking up the thread.

Horikita's eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly.

This subtle change in expression convinced Shimizu Akira that he had successfully kept up with this sudden duel of literary codes.

"...Not yet! I'd bet the victim would be Yamauchi Haruki," Horikita interjected coldly.

Shimizu Akira suddenly realized that she was alluding to his confrontation with Yamauchi Haruki during the entrance ceremony.

To describe a classmate as a "victim"—this girl's talent for sharp-tongued remarks was truly merciless.

"He said you had a thin figure," Shimizu Akira added lightly, as if suddenly remembering something.

Horikita Suzune's body stiffened instantly, a flush spreading across her fair cheeks at a visible rate, and those eyes that were always calm and composed now burned with the flames of embarrassment and anger.

She stood up abruptly, walked toward Yamauchi Haruki with sharp, decisive steps, and looked down at him from above, her voice so cold it felt as if it could freeze the air:

"Yamauchi-kun, watch your mouth from now on. Otherwise—I will show you no mercy in meting out physical discipline."

She narrowed her eyes slightly and said, enunciating every word:

"If there is a next time, I will make sure your left hand won't be able to hold chopsticks for three months."

Yamauchi Haruki's body stiffened visibly for a moment, his lips parting as if he wanted to argue, but when he looked up and met the girl's icy gaze, all his words became stuck in his throat.

In the end, he just lowered his head dejectedly, shrinking his neck like a beaten dog caught in the rain.

Not far away, Shimizu Akira blinked, a subtle expression appearing on his face—wait, wasn't that the exact line he had just used at the entrance ceremony yesterday?

The two of them were quite in sync; when faced with annoying provocateurs, they were both too lazy to waste their breath and preferred to just use their fists to make the other party shut up.

"Horikita-san, if Yamauchi Haruki actually dies one day, you will definitely be the prime suspect."

"Wrong. Based on your 'spectacular performance' at the entrance ceremony yesterday, the first person the police would suspect is you."

016 Horikita Suzune still knows nothing about the rules

"Horikita-san, how were your entrance exam scores?" Shimizu Akira shifted the conversation to the main point.

Horikita Suzune lifted her chin slightly, her tone carrying unquestionable confidence: "Safely within the top five of the grade level."

"Oh?" Shimizu Akira raised an eyebrow.

It was unlikely that Horikita Suzune was lying.

This answer made him even more certain that the criteria for class placement were definitely not based solely on academic performance.

If that was the case, following the same logic, the evaluation system for the school's distribution of points was likely far more complex than it appeared on the surface.

"What do you think of this class placement system?" Shimizu Akira suddenly asked a seemingly casual question.

Horikita Suzune paused slightly, her fingertips tapping gently on the desk: "...It's nothing more than a random distribution."

Her gaze swept across the classroom involuntarily—given Shimizu Akira's intelligence, his grades were clearly not inferior to hers, not to mention that there were outstanding students like Hirata Yosuke in the class.

In Horikita's perception, Class D's strength was actually quite high.

"Horikita-san," Shimizu Akira suddenly asked, "In these past two days, besides me and Ayanokouji-kun over there, have you really spoken to anyone else? For example, students from Class B, Class C... or even Class A?"

His gaze swept across the classroom with a pointed meaning, finally landing on Ayanokouji Kiyotaka nearby.

Surprisingly, this introverted man nodded toward them with a hint of awkwardness.

Shimizu Akira couldn't help but raise an eyebrow—in his impression, this classmate shouldn't be the type to be easily shy.

However, out of politeness, he returned a friendly nod.

Ayanokouji's tone carried a subtle sense of detachment, "Aside from that one question yesterday, I haven't really spoken to Horikita-san at all..."

Horikita Suzune's answer was crisp and decisive, without a moment's hesitation: "...I have no interest in making friends."

Shimizu Akira almost blurted out the second half of the sentence for her—"If there are any aliens, time travelers, or espers among you, feel free to come find me." This thought made him laugh to himself; after all, the cold-as-ice girl in front of him didn't seem to have anything in common with the energetic Suzumiya Haruhi.

(But then again...)

Even if someone is averse to socializing, an ordinary high school student should at least have one or two friends they can talk to.

To be completely alone like this is just too...

"Doesn't that mean you've only spoken to me these past two days?" Shimizu Akira suddenly realized this fact, a hint of surprise unconsciously leaking into his tone.

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka shifted his gaze between the two of them and said expressionlessly, "Horikita-san, you seem to enjoy talking to Shimizu-kun quite a bit."

Horikita Suzune immediately frowned and retorted coldly, "Enjoy it? Don't misunderstand. We just happen to be in the same class and sit next to each other, so it's just necessary communication."

At this moment, Shimizu Akira finally clearly realized a fatal flaw in Horikita Suzune—her near-paranoid social impairment had already seriously affected her judgment.

(So that's how it is...)

Horikita Suzune certainly possessed superior intelligence, but her method of completely sealing herself off in her own world resulted in her being unable to establish even the most basic campus information network.

Just like right now, her understanding of the class assignment system was still stuck at the superficial level of "random distribution," a judgment based entirely on her isolated conjectures.

(Only spoken to me for two days... no wonder.)

Shimizu Akira couldn't help but recall how he had managed to pry the truth about the class assignment rules out of the homeroom teacher.

Even if a person is incredibly smart, it is impossible to obtain all key information while in a state of complete isolation.

Horikita Suzune was like an isolated island; although the island was rich in resources, it was gradually falling into a predicament because it had cut off all contact with the mainland.

Shimizu Akira shook his head slightly, his tone calm yet unquestionable: "You guessed wrong. It is not random."

"What evidence do you—" Horikita Suzune retorted instinctively, but stopped abruptly when she saw the expression on his face.

There was not a trace of mockery in those eyes, only the certainty of stating a fact.

She suddenly realized that the person in front of her had no motive to deceive her.

Silence spread between the two of them.

Shimizu Akira watched Horikita as she fell into thought; he admired the girl's beauty and stubbornness, but information was never a free lunch.