The Second Discussion: Advancing the Dragon Group's Results, Part One / The Monkey Group Answers Early

There was less than an hour left before the second discussion at 8 PM, so the boy found a place to rest and started texting Ichinose Honami.

Hashiba Hikaru: Ichinose, what are you doing right now?

Meanwhile, the pink-haired girl sitting in her room saw Hashiba Hikaru's text message and immediately typed a reply with a beaming smile. She had been pondering the strategy for the second discussion and was therefore quite troubled.

Ichinose Honami: I'm thinking about the strategy for the second group discussion later. What's up, Classmate Hashiba?

Hashiba Hikaru: After the second discussion, let's arrange a place to meet. I have something very important to discuss with Ichinose.

Ichinose Honami: Okay, I'll come straight to Classmate Hashiba's room after the discussion.

Hashiba Hikaru: Sure.

After putting down his phone, the young man mentally checked the list of those VIP once more. To prevent any unforeseen complications, tonight was actually the best time to answer. However, before that, he still needed to sort out the situation with the Dragon Group.

After all, a cooperative relationship has been established with Kushida Kikyo. If the Dragon Group can achieve Result 1, it won't be too much of a loss, as at least two million Private Points will be transferred to the class.

As for the group containing the three students from Class A VIP, they must figure out how to answer in a way that would benefit the class more. However, before that, it is more important to firmly grasp the benefits they can obtain.

Chapter 197 Second Discussion, Advancing the Dragon Group's Result (Part 1)

Around 7:50 PM, Hashiba Hikaru arrived at the door of the Dragon Group's room. At such a crucial moment, probably no one would like to arrive right on time; arriving early was the safer option.

"Classmate Hashiba, you've arrived."

The other three students from Class A had already arrived, and they immediately surrounded Hashiba Hikaru upon seeing her.

"Okay, good evening everyone."

After greeting them, the boy did not explain his discovery to them. To keep it a secret, it was best to wait until the results were finalized before explaining it to everyone.

"Let's go in together, since it's almost time anyway."

Kanzaki Ryuji gestured for everyone to enter. There were quite a few people inside; apart from the students from Class D, the students from Class B and Class C were all present.

After a while, Ryuen led three students from Class D into the classroom. Once the members of the Dragon Group had assembled, the second discussion officially began at 8:00 AM.

"Well, since the discussion has already begun, how about we, Class A, speak first again, following the pattern from last time?"

Since Hashiba Hikaru has decided to help the Dragon Group achieve Result 1, he must fully convey his ideas and gain the agreement of everyone present.

"Our Class B won't participate in the discussion; you can say whatever you want."

Katsuragi Kohei, still with his arms crossed, solemnly made his declaration.

"What about your two classes?"

Hashiba Hikaru looked at the students in Class C and Class D. Kushida Kikyo seemed to still be the spokesperson for Class C, so she immediately replied.

"Our class will participate in the discussion, we'll talk about it when it's our turn."

After exchanging glances with the short-haired girl, the boy's gaze finally settled on Ryuen Kakeru.

The long-haired man had an impatient look on his face, Hashiba Hikaru naturally knew why. After all, he had just forced him to sign a contract, so Ryuen Kakeru had long understood the boy's plan.

"Hashiba, stop pretending. Just tell me your plan, and I will keep our promise."

Ryuen Kakeru's statement was easy to understand, so it immediately attracted the attention of the two classes next to him.

Katsuragi Kohei's expression changed slightly at first, then he gave Hashiba Hikaru a deep look. He hadn't expected that in just a few hours, she had already reached a cooperation agreement with Ryuen Kakeru.

Meanwhile, a flicker of surprise flashed in Kushida Kikyo's beautiful eyes. Initially, her and Hashiba Hikaru's division of labor was for her to persuade Class B, and then the boy to persuade Class D. But judging from Ryuen's tone, could it be that the other party had already succeeded?

Hashiba Hikaru naturally didn't have time to pay attention to the various expressions on the faces of the crowd. Instead, she looked at Ryuen Kakeru and said lightly, "As expected of Ryuen, it's a good thing that you understand the importance of contracts."

"But since you've already pointed it out, I won't hide it from you anymore."

The boy stepped to the center of the room and began to express his thoughts.

"Everyone, our Class A's answer plan remains unchanged: let the Dragon Group complete result one."

Hashiba Hikaru's gaze swept over Katsuragi Kohei, Kushida Kikyo, and Ryuen Kakeru, and she explained calmly, "Because outcome one is the best solution. As long as we can achieve this result, each class will gain Private Points, and there will be no dispute over Class Evaluation Points, allowing us to end this exam peacefully."

"..." Katsuragi Kohei remained silent, demonstrating through his actions that their class would not participate in the discussion.

"Kushida?" He looked at the short-haired girl.

"Our class agrees with this plan. After all, guessing VIP is too difficult and carries a certain risk. If we guess wrong, we'll lose Class Evaluation Points, which is something no one wants to accept."

Kushida Kikyo's tone was so genuinely worried about everyone; her acting was truly amazing.

"If we all choose option one, everyone will get Private Points in the end. Wouldn't that be the best outcome? Five hundred thousand points should last a long time, right?"

"Yes, that's true. After all, nobody doesn't want Private Points."

After nodding, Hashiba Hikaru Hashima looked at Ryuen Kakeru, feigning ignorance, and asked, "So, Ryuen, what are your thoughts?"

"Hmph, since you've already said that, we might as well agree with your idea. Anyway, we won't lose anything if the result is one."

Ryuen Kakeru's original plan was to find out who the Dragon Group's VIP were, and then figure out the school's VIP patterns to expand the class's gains. This was a good way to help him control the class.

However, after being tricked by Hashiba Hikaru, and forced to sign a contract, he could only agree to Class D' s choice as the answer method for the first result, according to the boy's plan.

"In that case, the only class we need to persuade is Class B."

Hashiba Hikaru turned around and looked at Katsuragi Kohei, who was standing with his arms crossed. The bald man remained silent with a stern face after seeing the three classes suddenly unite.

"Classmate Hashiba, let me go and persuade him."

At this moment, Kushida Kikyo had already walked up to Hashiba Hikaru, intending to carry out her own mission.

Let's go together.

Just to be on the safe side, Hashiba Hikaru walked up to Kohei Katsuragi together with Kushida Kikyo Katsuragi Kohei.

"Does Katsuragi Kohei really not want to agree to our plans?" Kushida Kikyo asked anxiously.

"..."

"Let me do it."

Seeing that the other person remained silent, Hashiba Hikaru slowly walked up to him, a smile suddenly appearing on her lips.

"Katsuragi's strategy of not discussing is to achieve outcome two, allowing your class's VIP to remain hidden until the end and obtain 500,000 Private Points as a reward."

"But such benefits are not clear. Don't forget what's written in the rules: the school can make multiple point payments to hide the information of those VIP. You can't determine which faction these people belong to, can you?"

"If these people are from the Sakayanagi Faction, does Katsuragi really still think this exam result is what you wanted?"

"..."

Can you really guarantee that everyone will achieve outcome one? Just based on verbal promises?

Katsuragi Kohei suddenly spoke up; he was well aware of the stakes involved, so his attitude softened somewhat.

Of course not.

Seeing that the other party had relented, Hashiba Hikaru immediately smiled and said, "We can prepare a contract for everyone present to sign, on the condition that everyone agrees to the first option. Before the final discussion ends, the Dragon Group's VIP must step forward and reveal their identities. Then we must wait until the designated time of 9:30 to answer, and during this period, any act of betrayal is prohibited."

"Although there is only half an hour between the end of the discussion and the time to answer, those who answer before this time will be considered to have breached the contract, and the consequence will be expulsion."

"Ultimately, the difficulty of this exam lies in convincing students from other classes that since we can reach a consensus, why can't we work together to collect points from the school?"

"What's your opinion, Katsuragi?" Hashiba Hikaru looked at Katsuragi Kohei's somber face.

"..."

After thinking for a while, Katsuragi Kohei finally nodded.

"Let's do it that way then."

Chapter 198 The Monkey Group That Answered in Advance

At the second group discussion meeting of the Dragon Group, Hashiba Hikaru's proposal was agreed upon by all classes.

When the rules of this Special Exam were revealed, everyone understood that both result one and result two were excellent ways to answer the questions. Under the fair selection of the VIP, both results would allow each class to receive a Private Points reward paid by the school, without incurring any cost.

Choosing result three or four, while offering a chance to obtain Class Evaluation Points, carries a high risk due to numerous restrictive rules. A wrong guess could result in significant consequences for the class.

Without absolute certainty, choosing the first two options is clearly the safer option. This was also the execution strategy that Kushida Kikyo had planned from the beginning, allowing her to seize the initiative and reap the greatest benefits.

After confirming that everyone agreed to carry out the procedure, the girl touched the contract in her shirt pocket and then reached in and pulled it out.

"Classmate Hashiba, I've prepared the contract."

"Well, actually we can have everyone sign now, so as to avoid creating any new trouble."

Hashiba Hikaru Hashima took the contract in her hand and glanced at the plan. She had to admit that Kushida was very meticulous; she had sealed off all possibilities with words, preventing anyone from taking advantage of any loopholes.

The blank space below is a place for everyone to sign their names. The Dragon Group currently has 15 people. As long as everyone obediently signs their names, this contract will take effect on the spot.

After reviewing the contract, Hashiba Hikaru checked the time; there were still several tens of minutes left before the discussion ended.

"Since everyone agrees to answer according to result one, let's sign this now," Hashiba Hikaru said, showing the contract to everyone. "To put everyone in the Dragon Group at ease, once we've all signed, there's no need to worry about any other unexpected events. Do you all understand what I mean?"

"Let's sign the contract then. After all, it wasn't easy for everyone to reach an agreement."

As the class leader of Class C, Hirata Yosuke spoke up in a very supportive manner at this time. He approved of Kushida Kikyo's battle plan, which was a plan that could bring a lot of benefits to the class, and there was no reason to oppose it.

"Then let's sign it."

Katsuragi Kohei had figured out the stakes involved. If he could control such an important resource as Private Points, he would have more leverage to compete with Sakayanagi.

"Hehe, it seems you've prepared very thoroughly, Hashiba."

Ryuen Kakeru's words were laced with sarcasm. He had just seen that the contract was taken out of Kushida Kikyo's pocket, which meant that they had been cooperating for a long time.

"It's good that you're well-prepared, Ryuen."

Hashiba Hikaru handed out the contract, letting the students who gathered around sign their names one by one. Only after completing this step could the cooperation with Kushida Kikyo be officially established.

However, what the other party didn't know was that the boy had already figured out all the information about the class's VIP. If nothing unexpected happened, eight groups would finish their exams early tonight, and all the rewards would go to Class A.

A few minutes later, the contract was signed by all the Dragon Group members. Hashiba Hikaru folded the contract and handed it back to Kushida Kikyo, smiling as she said, "Then please keep this contract safe, Kushida. We'll bring it out again for the final discussion before the exam."

"Yes, I will take good care of it." A faint smile appeared on the short-haired girl's pretty face.

She never expected the plan to be completed so smoothly. At first Kushida Kikyo was worried that she wouldn't be able to convince the students in Class B and Class D, thinking that it would take at least several rounds of negotiation. However, thanks to Hashiba Hikaru's efforts, they managed to integrate everyone's ideas and complete the signing of the contract in just the second discussion.

"Now that everyone has signed the contract, it's time to relax. We don't need to be too tense; let's just wait for the discussion to end."

Hashiba Hikaru's gaze swept over everyone in the room, her tone relaxed. "Perhaps next time we discuss this, we can bring some entertainment items along, since sitting around like this can be quite boring."

"What does Classmate Hashiba like? I can bring it over tomorrow." Kushida Kikyo spoke up quickly; she was sitting right next to the boy, turning her head to gaze at his handsome profile.

"Well, I'm fine with anything, I don't have any particular preference, I'm open to poker or board games."

"Then I'll prepare a board game for tomorrow that many people can play together, so everyone can get involved."

Kushida Kikyo has always enjoyed organizing group activities, so this is one of her specialties. She has experience with common board games and card games, so she made her decision quickly.

"Alright then, it's entirely up to everyone whether to participate or not." Hashiba Hikaru looked at the other three students in Class A, and they all agreed.

"Uh-huh."

The second discussion session ended quickly as everyone chatted.

As the students began to disperse, Hashiba Hikaru called out to her classmates and led them to a quiet corner.

"I'm going to talk to Ichinose about something very important later, so please keep an eye on your text messages and remember not to tell anyone, understand?"

The young man solemnly gave the three instructions, since the Dragon Group's exam wouldn't end early, so he had to explain it to them beforehand to avoid any unexpected situations.

"Understood, we will do as Classmate Hashiba wishes."

"Yes, is Classmate Hashiba already confident of victory?" Tsube Hitomi smiled.

"I guess so, but nobody can say for sure until the very last moment, so everyone needs to remember to stay calm and let's all look forward to the final result."

"Yes, we understand. Please go ahead and do it Classmate Hashiba."

Kanzaki Ryuji had a pretty good idea of what Hashiba Hikaru was planning, but now wasn't the right time to ask. If Class A could win this Special Exam, he could figure out his doubts later.

"Then let's disband."

After separating from the trio, Hashiba Hikaru immediately headed towards her dormitory. Just as she turned the corner, a very familiar pink figure suddenly appeared in her line of sight—it was Ichinose Honami.

"Classmate Hashiba, you're back."

Since there were other people in the room, Ichinose didn't call the boy by his name when she greeted him, but instead walked up to him with a smile.

"Yes, Ichinose."