Chapter 267
Everyone held their breath at that moment.
They wanted to know just how far this usually low-key classmate could go.
A significant portion of the faculty and students hoped that Aragaki Shun could answer as many questions correctly as possible, allowing him to demonstrate his true abilities.
From the moment he took over the competition using his Commander Tower privileges until now, the man's answering rhythm has remained unchanged. He calculates the answer as soon as the questions are refreshed, seemingly oblivious to the increasing difficulty.
It's obvious that the so-called difficult problems assigned by the school were child's play for Aragaki Shun from beginning to end. They were nothing compared to pushing his limits, and he couldn't even get serious about them.
This is simply too unbelievable!
60...50, 49...32, 31...10, 9...4, 3...
As the countdown was about to end, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka finally moved.
He opened his eyes, a hint of helplessness flashing within them, but could only type out an answer he wasn't entirely sure about and submit it.
The next moment, an error message rang out, indicating that the [Rapid Mental Calculation] competition had come to a conclusion.
The proctor, waiting in front of the screen in the Audio-Visual Room, paused for a moment, then immediately reacted and excitedly announced on the spot:
"The winners of this [Rapid Mental Calculation] competition are Class A's Commander Tower Aragaki Shun, who completed seventeen questions, and participant Ichinose Honami. Congratulations to Class A for their fourth consecutive victory!"
Without causing the slightest ripple, everything seemed perfectly natural.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka made a calculation error on the seventeenth question.
So Class A won, and Class B lost, that's all.
But this was an expected outcome; the vast majority of members from both classes did not believe that the other could defeat Aragaki Shun from the very beginning.
It should be said that the Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was able to hold out until now before finally losing is enough to make many people look at him with new respect.
But for the Masterpiece himself and those associated with the White Room, such as Tsukishiro Tsunenari, at this moment, what inexplicably welled up in their hearts was an endless, surreal sense of loss.
"Is this what defeat is like when overwhelming strength prevails...?"
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's usually expressionless face underwent an indescribable complex change, just like the bewildered thoughts rising in his mind. Even the Masterpiece himself was unsure of what he was feeling.
Should I be happy?
Because his defeat was that man's defeat.
Should I feel disappointed?
Because no matter what, he wanted to achieve final victory.
Should we deceive ourselves?
Because he wasn't in good form today, because his teammates didn't help, because [Rapid Mental Calculation] isn't his forte... if he wanted to, he could definitely find a whole bunch of excuses to explain this defeat.
But a loss is a loss, and there's no point in making excuses!
So you're definitely still quite unwilling to accept it, what a strange experience...
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
"How could Ayanokoji lose? How could he possibly lose!"
Upon hearing the proctor announce the competition results, Tsukishiro Tsunenari stared intently at the screen and immediately slammed his fist on the table.
We're doomed!
After the White Room's Masterpiece was sent to Advanced Nurturing, it not only failed to unleash its potential and grow further as that person had hoped, but was instead treated like a stray dog and kicked to death... How could he face Dietman Ayanokoji now!
With the entire Aragaki Family backing him up, Aragaki Shun naturally doesn't need to give that man any face. Even if he destroys the White Room's decades of hard work in one fell swoop, he doesn't need to worry about any bad consequences.
But he can't.
Ayanokoji Atsuomi paid such a high price to be appointed as the Acting Board Chairman of the Advanced Nurturing Program, with the aim of having him monitor the state of the Masterpiece during this period and find ways to provide it with the right guidance.
But now, it's all over.
"If I can't get revenge on Aragaki Shun, I'll at least kill you!"
Tsukishiro could already fully imagine the man's furious appearance.
Bitter~
"No, I need to think of something. Calm down, there's always a way..."
Forcing himself to calm down, Chairman Tsukishiro looked at the Matoba in different classrooms on the screen, gazing at Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, Koenji Rokusuke, Aragaki Shun, Kanzaki Ryuji as he fell into thought.
To be honest, he wasn't actually that loyal to Ayanokoji Atsuomi.
Their work style is similar to that of Yorozuya; they only interact with clients with whom they can mutually benefit, and they immediately abandon them once the clients lose their value.
Therefore, his relationship with that person was more like one of mutual exploitation.
I am currently performing poorly and may face severe punishment in the future. Under normal circumstances, I must find a way to salvage my reputation.
But if given the opportunity, seeking alternative paths seems like an option as well...
The command Command Room where the Commander Tower is located.
Katsuragi Kohei stared blankly at Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's defeat, unable to recover for a moment.
In fact, a week earlier, on March 15th, when the four first-grade classes announced their respective ten projects, he also learned about the [Rapid Mental Calculation] competition set up by Class A.
To his knowledge, the highest international records in this field are mentally adding 100 four-digit numbers in 30.9 seconds and mentally adding 50 five-digit numbers in 18.71 seconds.
Compared to this score, the difficulty of the seventeenth question chosen by the school—[five-digit number, twenty-five digits, one second]—actually only requires mentally calculating the sum of 25 five-digit numbers in 25 seconds, which can be considered child's play.
The problem is that the person who set the world record was a rare mental arithmetic prodigy who not only had extraordinary talent but was also subjected to intense training by his parents from a young age, spending five to six hours practicing every day and maintaining focus through meditation.
He's the world's number one expert in this field, so it's normal that an ordinary student like Ayanokoji can't compare.
But looking at Aragaki Shun's effortless and relaxed demeanor in this match, why does it always feel like he could break even the world record if he wanted to?
He's actually competing with this monster?
The school really thinks highly of Class B...
He couldn't help but laugh at himself. At this moment, Katsuragi didn't feel any resentment from the defeat. After all, the gap was too big, and it didn't inspire any competitive spirit at all.
It's a bit of a shame, though. Class B has now lost four games in a row, so it seems he's destined to leave Advanced Nurturing.
Is it even necessary to continue?
Seeing that Katsuragi seemed to have adjusted his mood, Aragaki Shun, who had just casually defeated the Masterpiece, put down the mouse, crossed his hands to support his chin, and asked with interest:
"We've won four out of seven events. No matter how hard Class B struggles, they can only make their defeat more humiliating, and they can't change the outcome that's already set in stone."
"For the remaining three projects, why don't you just admit defeat and save everyone's time and energy?"
Naturally, the Baldy rejected the suggestion without hesitation.
"I said at the beginning of this special exam that if Class B can win, even if it's just two matches or one event, it will have special significance!"
"You're already leaving, yet you still don't know how to let go? Well, it seems I have no choice but to teach you a lesson!"
To actually think you can take at least one victory from him is to seriously underestimate this cheater.
Aragaki Shun's expression returned to calm, clearly showing no intention of showing any mercy.
It wasn't until this point that Sakagami Kazuma and Chabashira Sae, who were in charge of proctoring the exam, snapped out of their daze from the previous [Rapid Mental Calculation] section.
Their expressions became quite subtle as they looked at the Leader of Class A, who seemed to have no other thoughts and merely brushed away the dust with a wave of his hand.
But no matter what their feelings are, teachers still have to do their job.
The draw results for the fifth match were quickly announced.
[Physics Exam]
Number of people required: 3;
Time limit: 50 minutes;
Competition Rules: The class that answers the questions within the scope of this year's curriculum first wins.
Commander Tower: Only one participant can be selected. Command Tower can provide answer suggestions at any time, and the participant can decide whether to adopt them.
It's outrageous that another project from Class A was selected, and it's also the last project that Class A hasn't yet completed.
At this point, all five projects designated by Class A have been drawn, while Class B has still not drawn a single one.
According to probability theory, the chance of this outcome is only four in a thousand, yet it still happened.
Is it fate, or was Class B just really unlucky?
352. The defeat of Koenji and Ryuen Kakeru; human strength is no match for cheat codes.
To encounter something with a 0.4% probability—I don't know whether to say Aragaki Shun is just incredibly lucky, or if Class B is just really unlucky?
Regardless of how helpless Katsuragi felt, the result was that Class B suffered another predictable defeat. Their score in this Selection Exam was now 5-0, meaning they hadn't won a single match from start to finish.
The only piece of good news, though not exactly good news, is that with Class A achieving a five-game winning streak, all of their planned events have been completed, and the remaining two draws will only randomly select from Class B's five events.
In other words, they finally have the opportunity to compete against the students from Class A in areas where their class excels and under rules they themselves have set.
Seeing Katsuragi Kohei's strange expression—a mixture of crying and laughing, as if he had breathed a sigh of relief— Aragaki Shun rested his chin on his hand and said speechlessly:
"Do you really think you can win just by selecting Class B? It's better to enjoy dreams while you're asleep."
The Baldy didn't respond; he just watched with longing as Sakagami Kazuma began to preside over the draw for the sixth match.
As the countdown ended, they finally drew the first project designated by Class B since the start of this Special Exam.
[100m Dash]
Number of people needed: eight;
Competition rules: Athletes run the 100-meter straight track as fast as possible, with a maximum of eight athletes per round. The class that finishes first wins.
Commander Tower: Allows for the arbitrary change of a contestant's round of the competition.
Looking at the competition events displayed on the computer, especially the rules regarding the Commander Tower, Aragaki Shun was somewhat speechless.
This [100m Dash] requires eight people from each of the two classes, but only eight people can compete in each round, meaning there will only be two rounds in total.
So what exactly is the purpose of "arbitrarily changing the round of a contestant's competition"?
Clearly, Class B's strategy was to limit the Commander Tower's interference to the extreme, preventing it from playing any role other than assigning personnel.
But do you think that's enough to win the game?
Aragaki Shun thought to himself, "Naive!" Without hesitation, he immediately began arranging suitable participants.
Class A designed five projects, and the number of participants required for each project was set at the minimum: one person, two people, three people, four people, and five people. The total number of participants for all five projects was only 15.
According to the rules regarding participation, each student may participate in only one event in this Special Exam, and may not participate in more than two events.
With 52 students in Class A, 37 students remain to participate in the [100m Dash] and the last event.
Aragaki Shun quickly selected eight runners from the 37 participants, with Kanzaki Ryuji, his right-hand man, leading the pack.
On the other hand, Class B has 35 students. Excluding the 15 who have already participated, there are 20 remaining as potential combatants.
But Katsuragi Kohei was not discouraged. Instead, he seemed relieved and registered Koenji Rokusuke's name as a participant in this round.
It's safe! It's safe!
Since Aragaki Shun can't participate in the race himself, how could the rest of Class A possibly defeat Koenji in the 100m Dash?
Class B can finally win a project!
"Kanzaki boy, it seems this match is a duel between you and me."
On the [100m Dash] track, Class A and Class B each sent four students to participate in the first round of the competition. The most eye-catching among them were Kanzaki Ryuji from Class A and Koenji Rokusuke from Class B.
Both are core members of their respective class's management team and are among the top performers in their grade.
According to the rules, the winner of this event will be the class of the fastest runner who takes first place.
If nothing unexpected happens, the key lies with these two.
"Koenji," Kanzaki said expressionlessly, squinting at the blond, muscular man before him, "Judging from the current score of 5:0, Class A has already won this Selection Exam. But Aragaki's intention is not to let any of them slip away, so unfortunately, you will face defeat in this event!"
As the only son of the Koenji Conglomerate, Beautiful Brother's abilities are undeniable, but Kanzaki Ryuji is equally confident of victory.
As if everyone isn't a chaebol heir!