In Classroom of the Elite, Ichinose You Will Regret It

After being repeatedly beaten down by Ichinose over the past month, Uesugi Gen learned from his pain and began to seclude himself to study why he kept failing.

In the end, Uesugi Gen reached a conclusion.

The evil Ichinose had bewitched too many followers, causing him to be constantly attacked from all directions (backstabbed), and he couldn't figure out their attack patterns at all.

Therefore, to defeat Ichinose, he first had to dismantle her grassroots support and expose her true colors.

He would let the students of Class B see that he, Uesugi Gen, was the one most suited to lead Class B.

Watching Uesugi Gen's smile grow increasingly unbridled, Kanzaki Ryuji and Shibata Hayate beside him silently took a step back.

The two exchanged a look.

Kanzaki, what on earth is he trying to do?

I don't know, but it's definitely nothing good. Go call Ichinose quickly, otherwise, we won't be able to hold him back once he starts causing trouble.

Ring!!!

Accompanied by the bell, Hoshinomiya-sensei walked into the classroom empty-handed.

Shiranami Chihiro, sitting in the front, reminded her, "Um, teacher, it seems you didn't bring the textbook."

Everyone was well aware of this teacher's childish nature and simply assumed she had forgotten it.

Hoshinomiya smiled and waved her hand, explaining, "Today's period is a homeroom class, I changed it at the last minute."

"But this homeroom class won't be hosted by me."

After saying that, Hoshinomiya beckoned to Uesugi Gen in the back row, "Gen-chan, come on up."

Uesugi Gen straightened his clothes, held his head high, and strode toward the podium with the gait of a dragon and the steps of a tiger.

Kanzaki Ryuji and Shibata Hayate watched Uesugi Gen's retreating back and exchanged a look.

It's over!

Uesugi Gen stood on the podium, scanned the entire class, cleared his throat, and began his performance.

"Classmates, I believe you all already know that only by graduating from Class A can one obtain the school's employment and higher education recommendations."

Mm-hmm, the whole class nodded in tacit agreement.

"In other words, if we want to promote to Class A, the other three classes are our competitors."

That's right, this was an obvious fact.

"Therefore, I hereby propose to the whole class: while the other classes haven't reacted yet, we should strike first and win in one blow."

Uesugi Gen scanned the Class B students; some were hesitant, some confused, and some had calm expressions.

Uesugi Gen sighed inwardly. He knew his own class's situation better than anyone; to be honest, taking underhanded measures against others really went against their moral standards.

But that didn't matter; this was one of the main goals of his operation—to correct this mindset of theirs.

"So Uesugi, what is the specific plan?"

At this moment, Kanzaki Ryuji stood up and asked. Compared to the other students, Kanzaki Ryuji, as a scion of a prominent family, clearly did not have such burdens.

Uesugi Gen looked at Kanzaki, his eyes flashing with excitement.

Kanzaki, you really are my good brother!

He immediately pulled out a piece of paper and slapped it onto the blackboard.

"This is the key."

"Uesugi-kun, what is this?"

Amikura Mako, sitting in the front row, asked in confusion.

Uesugi Gen said to the whole class in a calm voice, "This is the exam paper for this midterm."

As soon as Uesugi Gen's words fell, the students of Class B were instantly in an uproar, and the entire classroom was filled with noisy voices.

Just then, a voice rang out, "Uesugi-kun, you can't do this!"

Ichinose jumped up from her seat and said anxiously to Uesugi Gen on the podium.

"This... should be a past exam paper, right?"

Kanzaki Ryuji looked at Ichinose with some confusion; the usually sharp Ichinose shouldn't have failed to notice this.

Ichinose's expression faltered for a moment, then she hurriedly sat back down.

"Ah, this is a past exam paper, and it is indeed the genuine midterm exam paper for this time. It's one of the school's unspoken rules; there is a tradition of using past papers for exams every year."

Her state just now was very wrong!

Uesugi Gen stared at Ichinose, deciding to set the matter aside for now and prioritize the situation at hand.

"Um, Uesugi-san, although it might not be the right thing to say, I don't think our class needs those past exam papers."

Shiranami Chihiro, who sat nearby and had good grades, spoke up.

No, no, I think it's better to keep them, thought Shibata Hayate, who had been obsessed with playing soccer lately and had no heart for studying, silently grumbling to himself.

"Of course, I never thought our class needed such things." Uesugi Gen pointed at the test papers behind him, revealing a reckless smile as he dropped a bombshell: "These are for the other classes."

Hearing Uesugi Gen's words, the students of Class B fell into a momentary state of confusion.

Why? Why would he give them to the other classes instead?

"Uesugi—"

Shibata had just started to speak when he was pulled back by Kanzaki beside him.

Kanzaki shook his head at Shibata; based on his understanding of Uesugi Gen, it definitely wouldn't be that simple.

Of course, it wouldn't be that simple. The people in the other classes weren't as pure as the little lambs in Class B.

If they found out about the existence of past exam papers, unless their grades were exceptionally good—good enough that they were certain they could pass this special exam—they would more or less take a look to give themselves some peace of mind.

Once they looked, they would fall straight into the massive net woven by Uesugi Gen.

Watching the students of Class B gradually calm down, Uesugi Gen explained:

"You've all cheated on answers before, right? How do you usually do it? First, you check if the questions are the same as the ones you remember, then you check if the correct answer you remember is there. If it is, you pick it and move on. That's how most people do it, right?"

"..."

Most of the students in Class B looked at Uesugi Gen with blank expressions. Was that really how cheating worked?

Uesugi Gen covered his face with his hand. Fine, I was too naive.

"Uesugi, could it be—"

Kanzaki Ryuji stood up abruptly, his eyes filled with shock as he stared at Uesugi Gen.

Whoa, Kanzaki, you caught on to my meaning immediately. It seems you aren't as serious as you look on the surface.

Uesugi Gen laughed out loud and announced his plan to the entire class:

"That's right, it is exactly that. First, let the other classes in the first year know that these past exam papers exist."

"Then, as the exam approaches, I will use my authority as the vice president of the student council to apply to the school for a change in the test papers."

"I will then use points to make a deal with the school administration, having them make changes in the direction I specify."

"That is, to not make large-scale changes to the midterm exam papers, but to only change a small portion."

"And those students who have seen the past papers and know the correct answers will absolutely step into the trap I've prepared, provided they don't read the questions word for word."

"Think about it: the first few subjects are exactly the same as the past papers, but in a subject like English, which has many multiple-choice questions, a letter or a word is changed. Would you notice?"

"Or, if the test paper is handed out and the first few questions are identical to the past papers, would you still look at the later ones so carefully? In science subjects like math, just changing a symbol or the position of a parenthesis changes the result entirely."

"Even if the options are different, as long as the originally correct option is there, they will think they remembered it wrong. After all, who looks at the other wrong options when reading a question? Most other questions are the same; as long as they've seen the past papers, there are plenty of ways to confuse them."

"At the same time, the worse a student's grades are, the more they will study the past papers—some might even memorize the correct answers for the entire test. Those with a bit more confidence will look at them less, and those with good grades won't look at them at all."

"This creates a situation where the worse a student's grades are, the more they remember from the past papers, leading them to make more mistakes. The better their grades are, the less they look at the past papers, leading to fewer mistakes."

"If the plan succeeds, the scores across different grade tiers in the other classes will be stretched significantly."

"If we're lucky, it wouldn't be impossible to have a dozen or so students expelled at once."

"This way, Class D will lose their chance to compete with us forever, Class C will suffer a heavy blow and their strength will be greatly weakened, and even if Class A is unlucky, it's not impossible for one or two of them to be expelled."

"In one exam, we can become Class A, kick Class D out of the game permanently, and ensure Class C won't recover for a year or two. For the remaining time, we only need to focus on dealing with Class A, who will have fallen to Class B. Three birds with one stone."

"This is my Manjian Qifa plan!"

One AOE attack, sweeping the entire field indiscriminately.

Only those who can block this are qualified to play this game with me.

On the podium, Uesugi Gen revealed his wicked smile.

Chapter 26: I Will Regret It

Silence.

The entire class fell into a deathly silence.

This plan was too insane. Expelling a dozen students at once—such a precedent had likely never occurred even in a school as fiercely competitive as Kōiku.

But conversely, if the plan succeeded, the benefits to Class B would be enormous. The cost would only be points, and the risk was almost non-existent, as Class B was not the type of class that would look at past exam papers in the first place.

For a moment, no one in Class B spoke. Everyone lowered their heads, sitting motionless in their seats.

Just then, A voice broke the silence.

"I approve of this plan."

A calm voice came from the back of the classroom, and the whole class turned to look toward the source. Kanzaki Ryuji raised his hand with a placid expression, expressing his support for Uesugi Gen.

"As long as our goal is to reach Class A, the other classes will target us sooner or later. Rather than sitting around waiting for our demise, it is better to take the initiative and annihilate them in one fell swoop."

Facing the gaze of the entire class, Kanzaki Ryuji stated his reasoning with composure.

Uesugi Gen looked at Kanzaki Ryuji and silently shed crocodile tears.

Kanzaki, you really are my good brother. It was wrong of me to call you Ichinose's lackey before. Just you wait; once I become the class representative, I will crown you as the crown prince.

"I also approve."

Himeno Yuki, who had always acted as a peripheral figure in the class, expressed her support for Uesugi Gen through her actions.

Shibata looked at the two people around him who had both raised their hands, closed his eyes, and gritted his teeth.

"Um, I approve of it too..."

Immediately after, scattered voices began to emerge from various corners of the classroom one after another.

"I also approve of this plan..."

"Count me in..."

"I..."

Uesugi Gen scanned the students who had raised their hands, silently noting down their names, and sighed inwardly.

So, it adds up to less than ten people in total.

Well, it makes sense; the act of personally severing the futures of others is still too difficult a choice for them to make.

Immediately, Uesugi Gen shifted his gaze to look at that slender figure who kept her head lowered and remained silent.

Come now, Ichinose, let me see what you will actually do.