The First Trial: Horikita Suzune's Stock Rises

"Because this school operates under a completely closed system, students cannot easily contact the outside world, making it very difficult to obtain money through external channels unless you write someone a bad check."

"However, just as the school stated at the beginning, this school prohibits students from communicating with the outside world. But in such a closed environment, such a complete living system has been established, so this campus can be regarded as a microcosm of a small society."

"So what?"

Horikita Suzune wasn't just listening for the spectacle; she was constantly reflecting on Hashiba Hikaru's explanations.

"So in order to earn points, we can use some of the methods from outside here, since the situation is similar," Hashiba Hikaru's tone was slightly somber. "In fact, the return cycle for these methods will be even shorter, because everyone is a kid and it's easier for them to take advantage of us."

"You're not planning to cheat others to earn points, are you? That's against school rules." Horikita Suzune's expression hardened as she looked at the boy in front of her with a serious expression.

"Of course not. I'm a member of the student Student Council, how could I do something so unethical? Besides, there's precedent for using deception to earn points."

As a member of the Student Council, he had specifically looked up some events related to points in the Student Council's archives, so he had a very good impression of them.

"There was once a senior who successfully accumulated 20 million Private Points by deceiving others. However, just as he was about to transfer to Class A, his lies were exposed by others, and he ended up being expelled in a humiliating way."

"If you want to earn points in accordance with the rules, cheating is too risky," Horikita Suzune studied the boy's smiling face. "What exactly is your method? Can you tell me now?"

"No rush. Now that we've established a cooperative relationship, I naturally won't hide anything from you. Otherwise, our plan wouldn't be able to begin, would it?"

Hashiba Hikaru got up and took out a piece of paper from his desk drawer. It was a contract that he had printed out at the Student Council that afternoon.

"Before I explain this plan to Horikita, I need you to sign this contract; it is the foundation of our cooperation."

He faced the girl with the front of the contract and gently pushed it toward her.

"This is..."

Horikita Suzune's expression changed instantly after she reached for the contract.

Because the contract only has one clause: when Hashiba Hikaru and the girl establish a cooperative relationship and carry out the plan to collect points, they must split the final profits equally, even if it is 1,000 points, 500 of which must be given to the other party.

The treaty, which appeared to be fair, suddenly angered the black-haired girl.

"Didn't you say your brother already gave you payment? Why are you taking half of the profits?"

"Hey Horikita, are you sure you're not mistaken?"

Hashiba Hikaru stared at Horikita Suzune's face with an expression of utter disbelief, and slowly said, "The payment you made to me, Horikita-senpai, was to help you. That's essentially my service fee. And the profits we make in our collaboration are value we created together. Since I've put in my mental and physical effort, I'm entitled to half of the profits."

"Do you really think the reward Horikita-senpai paid is enough for me to help you, and continue until you successfully collect 20 million points?"

After hearing the boy's explanation, Horikita Suzune fell silent.

Thinking about it carefully, it makes sense. If you could get someone to give you everything for free by simply paying a fee until you collect 20 million points, that would be asking too much.

The black-haired girl was a very decisive person. Once she decided to cooperate with the other party, she didn't have too many concerns. Rather than hesitating, she preferred to take action sooner rather than later.

"Alright then, I agree to sign the contract. No matter how many Private Points we earn in our collaboration, we'll split them equally."

"Great job! As expected of Horikita, I'm increasingly wanting to be friends with you now."

"Unfortunately, I don't want to be friends with you." Horikita Suzune pushed the contract back expressionlessly. "I've signed it. Now it's your turn."

"OK."

After both of them signed the contract, Hashiba Hikaru carefully put it away. While earning money from stocks was one thing, she couldn't let go of the Private Points she could collect; this was the most efficient way to cooperate.

"Then, I'll tell Horikita- kun what my solution is in the most direct way possible."

The boy took a stack of booklets from his desk and placed them in front of Horikita Suzune, saying calmly, "We can think of the school as a small society. The Private Points each person sets aside each month are like their salary. The salary can be used for food, shopping, and entertainment. Because the classes are different, the salary levels are also different."

"The more Private Points a class receives each month, the more Private Points students will have at their disposal, and vice versa."

Hashiba Hikaru opened a booklet, Horikita Suzune discovered that it contained Sudoku puzzles.

What does this mean?

The black-haired girl was somewhat confused.

"Nobody dislikes Private Points, nobody dislikes a windfall,"

Hashiba Hikaru pushed the Sudoku puzzle in front of Horikita Suzune: "I wonder if Horikita knows how to play this?"

"Meeting."

"Then try to see how long it takes you to solve this problem." He pulled up his phone's timer, a very serious look on his face.

"I'll give it a try."

Horikita Suzune certainly knows how to play Sudoku. She calculates to find the answer by filling in the numbers, which is a very challenging puzzle that tests one's brain and thinking speed, so it's not difficult for a girl.

Less than two minutes later, Horikita Suzune brought over the solved Sudoku page.

"Great! It seems Horikita's brain works really well." Hashiba Hikaru checked the other's answers, and sure enough, they were all correct.

"Does this have anything to do with all that analysis you just mentioned?"

"Of course, because this is our key tool, or rather, our temporary key tool."

Hashiba Hikaru organized all the data in the handbook and explained to Horikita Suzune, "If I told you that you could challenge a round of Sudoku by submitting a registration fee of 1,000 points, would you participate?"

"This..."

"As long as you successfully solve the final answer and guarantee it's correct, in addition to receiving your original 1000 points, you'll also receive extra reward points."

Do you understand now?

After understanding what the other person meant, Horikita Suzune immediately realized. "You mean we can use this method to attract students to come and take on the challenge, and then set up difficult problems so that they lose their registration fees for nothing?"

"Of course not. If we deliberately make the questions too difficult from the start, everyone will know that we're cheating. So we can't make them too complicated. At the very least, experienced people should be able to solve the earlier questions within a few minutes. Then we can gradually increase the difficulty until they can't pass the test after paying the registration fee."

"I see. But the registration fee of 1,000 is too little. If we want to accumulate 20 million points, this is probably not enough at all."

The black-haired girl quickly calculated in her mind that there were probably less than 500 students in the three grades combined. Even if everyone participated, the number of points obtained would still be very small.

"Yes, so this plan is just the most basic one. As everyone completes more Sudoku puzzles, the final reward will double." Hashiba Hikaru handed the girl her previously prepared plan. "For example, after completing five Sudoku puzzles, 1,000 Private Points will become 5,000. As long as you complete them, you can take all of those Private Points with you."

"If you answer ten Sudoku puzzles correctly in a row, you can double your 5000 points to 30000."

"Each five questions form a card. To advance to the next stage, you need to give back the points you've won so far, and also add half of that as challenge funds. For example, if someone completes five questions and wants to unlock the next five, they'll need to pay 10,000 points first."

"So, do you understand how this plan works now?"

"I understand."

Horikita Suzune instantly understood the core idea of the plan: to exploit human greed. Having already tasted success, people are easily tempted to gamble big, and if successful, they can gain even more points.

"And it's not just Sudoku; it's just one approach. Many other activities can be incorporated into this strategy. As long as you can create a buzz, people will definitely take the bait."

Hashiba Hikaru laughed and said, "Moreover, we can use a trick in this: at the beginning, we shouldn't focus on earning points. The key is to let some people win points, which will then circulate in the school as the most persuasive advertisement. This is the key to the long-term and effective execution of the plan."

"If we do that, we'll need start-up capital, right?"

Horikita Suzune hesitated for a moment. After understanding the logic behind the operation, she knew that if she really wanted to carry out the plan, she would first need to obtain a sum of start-up capital as a bargaining chip to make a name for herself, since the initial expenses would not be small.

"I've already thought about this. I can borrow those points, and we'll pay them back after we earn some money." Hashiba Hikaru rephrased the points she got from Horikita Manabu. "What do you think, Horikita?"

"I think it's necessary to conduct an initial trial before formal implementation."

Practice is always the sole criterion for testing truth; no amount of flowery talk can compare to the effectiveness of a single practical operation.

"Of course, I'll start editing the post now. After the information spreads, we'll apply to a community group to serve as our activity base."

"Club?"

"You don't think collecting points is a short process, do you? Having a fixed Matoba helps you gain people's trust."

Although it sounded more and more like some strange scam organization, Horikita Suzune nodded.

"... Understood."

Chapter 246 First Experiment, Horikita Suzune Stock Rises

"Then let's cast a wide net. Besides the school forum, we can also post posters on the bulletin boards for each grade." Hashiba Hikaru started editing the post on her phone, then looked at Horikita Suzune and asked, "Horikita- san, do you know how to use graphic design tools?"

"... probably some."

Actually, she didn't know how. Horikita Suzune had been busy studying since she was a child, and she only used computers to look up information and solve problems. She didn't have much opportunity to use other computer applications.

"I'll teach you after I finish editing this post. After all, when I'm busy, Horikita can design new plans and posters himself using the software."

Hashiba Hikaru didn't even look up; he was just focused on typing.

His advertising strategy was well-thought-out. In addition to the school forum accessible to all first-year students, he also commented on promotional posts from some arts and culture clubs, because they were bound to be quite lacking in talent.

The reason he knew this was because the funding applications from these clubs had been marked with crosses by other senior students in the Club Management Department a few days earlier, and the boy himself had handed them to the shredder.

"... OK."

Horikita Suzune stared at the boy sitting there typing intently. Although he had only come to cooperate with her because he had received payment from his brother, seeing someone working hard for her ideas still made her feel complicated.

Recalling the Uninhabited Island and their interactions, a slight ripple stirred in the girl's previously calm heart.

[The herbs on the Uninhabited Island, the private conversations, and the collaboration with my brother.]

[Classmate Hashiba has helped me several times, hasn't he...]

[But this is just a collaboration; we... are not friends.]

The girl rubbed her temples. After seeing Hashiba Hikaru reply to the post, she immediately stood up.

"Horikita, please sit here. I'll teach you how to use the graphic design software."

Hashiba Hikaru let Horikita Suzune sit in her usual chair, while she stood beside her and shared her experience. "While you can use the simplest black and white text for advertising, it's not very appealing. Without adding some gimmicks, it's hard to attract people."

"Um."

"This is the start button, followed by the import and editing functions. Give it a try."

Hashiba Hikaru gently taught the girl how to use the image editing tools. Although they were very close, he didn't have any other thoughts, as he was busy with important matters at the moment.

However, this distance made Horikita Suzune feel a little uncomfortable. The black-haired girl's shoulder was already touching the other person's arm. Feeling the masculine scent emanating from him, she tried her best to concentrate and stared at the software interface on the screen without moving.

About half an hour later, Horikita Suzune had learned some of the specific operating methods. Just as she was feeling herself making progress, Hashiba Hikaru suddenly let out a soft laugh.

"Someone's already taken the bait, Horikita."

"Really?" The girl turned to look at the other person, her expression somewhat surprised. She hadn't expected it to happen so quickly.

"Then let's go meet this first prospective member." Hashiba Hikaru straightened her clothes and said with a smile, "Let's agree on a story first. We'll say that this plan is part of our club's activities, and its purpose is to discover the hidden talents of others."

"?"

"Don't look so confused, Horikita."

"Since we're going to implement this plan on a large scale, we naturally need a legitimate reason."

The boy gazed at Horikita Suzune's delicate face and said gently, "Discovering Talent, as the name suggests, is about letting everyone see if they have the ability to tackle Sudoku. If you succeed, you can win a sum of Private Points. This is the purpose and content of our club's activities."

"This can not only be included in the club's activity documents, but it can also be used to apply for club activity funding."

"... I see."

Horikita Suzune's face was cold. Clearly, someone's shamelessness had been reinforced in her mind once again. To be able to say such a lie without changing his expression was, in a sense, quite remarkable.

"Then let's go."

Hashiba Hikaru gestured for the girl to leave, and gave her a final instruction. "Remember, our goal is to give the money away. Horikita can pretend to be my assistant and record our activities. I'll pay the points upfront; consider it my advance payment."

"OK."

Following the information posted on their phones, the two arrived at a floor of the Club Activity Building and soon spotted a girl at the door of a classroom.

"Um, is that Nakamura who just posted this?" Hashiba Hikaru greeted him with a smile.

"It's... it's me."

Yamamura -kun is a girl with braided pigtails. Her face turned slightly red after seeing the handsome Hashiba Hikaru.

"It really is Classmate Hashiba! I thought I was seeing things."

"Of course it's me. You can't fake things on the forum. This is an activity from my club. Since you're interested, Yamamura -kun, would you like to give it a try?"

The boy took out his Sudoku booklet. "For a fee of 1000 points, if you solve the first five puzzles, I will give Yamamura 5000 points. That's the rule."

Is it really that simple?

Yamamura is a student in Class 1-B. Because her Art Club's funding application was not approved, the club members had to pay for the paint purchases themselves, which made the girl a little short of money. After seeing the advertisement posted by Hashiba Hikaru, she was immediately tempted.

The Yamamura had initially approached the situation with a "let's try our luck" attitude, but they never expected the other party to actually come.

"Yes, the purpose of our club is to let everyone test whether they have the talent to tackle Sudoku. If they can pass, we will pay for it, which is in accordance with the club's operating rules."