The Harsh Voting Rules. / Praise Votes That Can Be Manipulated...

The students in Class A were all shocked after hearing the explanation of the [Protection Point]. The reward was simply outrageous; if it could prevent expulsion, wouldn't those [Protection Point] be worth twenty million?

"No way, that's amazing! It means I can avoid being expelled!"

"Yes, if that's the case, wouldn't those who gain [Protection Point] be able to act with impunity?"

"The reward of being exempted from expulsion is basically equivalent to receiving 20 million Private Points, that's really generous."

The students were all amazed by the rule, since Class A had been implementing a system of Halve points since the beginning of the semester, with each student having to give half of their monthly Private Points to Ichinose Honami.

Even after persisting for nearly a year, the Private Points in the slush fund had just exceeded forty million. This was even with everyone winning the Special Exam consecutively, meaning they could only have a maximum of two opportunities to avoid expulsion.

But this Additional Exam actually grants a one-time exemption from expulsion—such a reward seems far too "generous."

"It seems everyone is quite surprised, but I want to emphasize that the use of these [Protection Point] is conditional,"

Chie Hoshinomiya looked at everyone with a smile, "That means [Protection Point] cannot be transferred after they are obtained; they can only be used by the person who obtained them."

"That's great too. Even if it can't be transferred, it's still possible to work around it."

Kanzaki Ryuji stroked his chin. He glanced at Hashiba Hikaru, who was sitting there silently. Although [Protection Point] cannot be transferred, if used properly, they can definitely become a powerful weapon in class competition.

"That's right, but judging from this, it seems only one student in the entire grade can receive [Protection Point]?"

Hashiba Hikaru raised her hand. "Please continue explaining the rules to us, teacher."

"Hehe, Classmate Hashiba is indeed very perceptive. I'll continue then."

Chie Hoshinomiya continued to explain the rules and details of this Additional Exam.

"This Additional Exam is different from all the exams so far. Some of your guesses are actually valid. The reason for this Additional Exam is—[No one has dropped out]."

"Besides those who receive a large number of Praise Vote and thus gain [Protection Point], there will also be those who are punished."

"Wait... could it be someone who received a lot of Criticism Vote?"

"What kind of punishment was it?"

Upon hearing the word "punishment," the students in Class A all changed their expressions. They had been actively participating in the special exam competition and cared a great deal about rewards and punishments.

Since the reward is [Protection Point] that can prevent expulsion...

As for the punishment...

Many people had already noticed that, as his face turned pale, many students focused their attention on Hashiba Hikaru, and the boy did not disappoint them, taking the initiative to speak.

"Does the student who receives the most Criticism Vote face expulsion as punishment?"

Hashiba Hikaru and Chie Hoshinomiya met eyes, and the female teacher immediately smiled, seemingly agreeing with his guess.

"That's right, this is the unavoidable result of this Additional Exam."

Chie Hoshinomiya's tone suddenly turned into that of an executioner's pronouncement, her voice cold and stern.

"This time, only the student who receives the most Criticism Vote will be punished. Other students will not be punished no matter how many Criticism Vote they receive, because the purpose of this Special Exam Addition exam is to select the top student and the last student in the class."

"Wait, does this mean one student from each class has to drop out?"

Ichinose Honami's expression changed drastically. Her bright eyes suddenly filled with deep confusion, as if she were questioning the school about why they had made such an outrageous rule.

"Unfortunately, Ichinose, this is the school's goal. For the next four days, everyone must follow these rules to select their preferred candidates, whether it's Praise Vote or Criticism Vote. After filling in a few names, you can complete this exam."

Although Chie Hoshinomiya had a good relationship with the students in Class A and usually took good care of Ichinose Honami, once the rules of this exam were announced, everything was beyond her control.

"Isn't this going too far? Are we supposed to elect someone in the class to drop out?"

Shibata Sou shouted loudly, the athletic boy's face turning red, and he even slammed his hand on the table twice.

"Yes, everyone has worked so hard until now, why should we have to face this kind of illogical exam!"

Every student in Class A has supported each other since the beginning of the school year, so it's impossible to choose one of them to kick out of the school.

This is absolutely asking the impossible.

Despite the indignation of the crowd, the young female teacher remained calm and explained the rules.

"With limited time until voting day, let me continue explaining the rules. First, the voting results for those who receive praise and those who receive criticism will all be released on the day the exam ends. In other words, everyone's voting results in the class will be published. However, the details of who voted for whom will be kept anonymous and will never be made public."

"I know we all get along very well, so there's no need to worry about your friends finding out your voting results."

This statement did not resonate with the students; their expressions remained grim, and they were unwilling to respond to the teacher.

"Every Praise Vote and Criticism Vote will affect each other. For example, if a person receives ten Criticism Vote and twenty Praise Vote, then after offsetting them, it will become a bonus of ten votes. Whether it is a vote of praise or Criticism Vote, you should not treat yourself as the object of the vote."

"In addition, everyone must select three people to vote for Criticism Vote and three people to Praise Vote. Please note that you cannot submit the same name twice."

"Teacher, can I abstain?"

Someone from Class A suddenly spoke up.

"Of course not. Even if you're sick on the day of the exam, you'll still be required to fill in your name. Everyone has to write six names, and that's absolutely unchangeable."

Chie Hoshinomiya reiterated the seriousness of the rules in an unyielding tone: no matter what, everyone had to choose a name, even their closest friends, and decide whether to include them in the options.

"These four days are for everyone to think. Whether it's praise or criticism, please carefully choose the names you want to fill in. This will help you pass the exam smoothly and prepare for the final Special Exam of the year."

"Did everyone understand?"

Chapter 578 Manipulated Praise Vote

Because Chie Hoshinomiya had always been quite easygoing, everyone understood that this exam was unavoidable after she displayed such a cold tone; they had to choose someone facing expulsion according to the exam rules.

Is there any way to stop it?

Some people sounded a bit impatient. In any case, although Class A had already accumulated more than 40 million Private Points, everyone was still very unhappy if they were to hand over 20 million without any thought of a solution.

Ichinose Honami rubbed her head, seemingly trying to figure out if there was any way to find a loophole in the rule, since she was the one in the class who least wanted her classmates to drop out.

"Wait, if everyone has to vote, can't we discuss it beforehand? Isn't the final score supposed to be calculated by subtracting the number of Criticism Vote from the number of Praise Vote?"

Shibata Sou, one of the key figures in the class, suddenly realized this at that moment.

"Shibata- kun makes a good point. If that's the case..."

Kanzaki Ryuji seemed to have been inspired by his thinking as well, and he immediately began to consider the possibility of this plan.

"Praise Vote can select three students, Criticism Vote can select three students. If everyone in the class can unite to control the voting, is it possible to make the students who receive Praise Vote and the students who receive criticism votes have the same score? If so, wouldn't we no longer need to rank them?"

"Yeah, that way everyone won't have to drop out of school!"

Upon hearing their thoughts, the students in Class A immediately became excited. If they could follow this approach and work together as a unified team, it would be easy to achieve this.

Despite their excitement, when the students looked at Hashiba Hikaru, they noticed that the boy, the core decision-maker of the class, did not show any joy; his expression remained serious.

"Classmate Hashiba... don't you think this is a bad idea?"

After all, Hashiba Hikaru was like a pillar of strength in Class A, and everyone couldn't help but feel uneasy when they saw that he hadn't said anything.

"Yes."

Hashiba Hikaru glanced at everyone, her tone strangely calm, "Think about it, if the school thinks it's unusual that no first-year students have dropped out, then why would they leave such a simple loophole in the rules of this Additional Exam?"

"If I'm not mistaken, even if the scores are the same, it's still not acceptable, right?"

As he said this, the boy looked at Chie Hoshinomiya's young face again.

"That's right, as expected of Classmate Hashiba, your thinking is so clear."

Chie Hoshinomiya nodded with a smile and continued to explain the rules.

"The core purpose of this Special Exam is to select the first and last place. The exam will not end until this condition is met, whether intentionally or by chance. If the voting results in everyone having the same score, then another vote will be held. In short, it will continue indefinitely until a student is decided to drop out."

"Such loophole-exploiting behavior is pointless. If you think it's okay to keep voting, then this line of thinking is indeed possible."

"..."

Upon hearing this, everyone's previous excitement vanished instantly. They were once again shocked by the school's sinister intentions. If the school was going to expel students anyway, what was the point of collusion?

After realizing this, the classroom of Class A immediately fell silent, and an uneasy atmosphere began to permeate the air.

"Even if we didn't collude beforehand, there's still a possibility of people getting the same vote during a random voting process, right?"

Ichinose Honami, then raised her hand and asked, "What if two students receive the same number of Criticism Vote?"

"That's right, this kind of thing can happen, right?"

Just as everyone was chiming in, Chie Hoshinomiya revealed a confident smile and spoke gently.

"There's one more rule I haven't told you. In addition to the students in your class voting, the school will give everyone an extra Praise Vote. And this Praise Vote can be cast by... all other students in the same grade outside of your class."

"What?"

"I see. There's another Praise Vote for students from other classes. This way, because everyone has different interpersonal relationships, the chances of getting the same vote are greatly reduced."

"Yes, it's really hard to predict the final result of this scoring formula that subtracts Criticism Vote from Praise Vote."

Hashiba Hikaru stroked her chin. If there was such a chance, it meant that even the students in the class couldn't directly predict who would be expelled, unless the candidate was decided in advance and Criticism Vote votes were collected and cast for the same person.

"That's right. The school wants you to choose one student from three classes outside your own and vote on them. This is also a vote of Praise Vote. Even if a student is disliked only in their own class but loved by students in other classes, they might still get the most important [Protection Point] even if the Criticism Vote each other out in the end."

After understanding the teacher's explanation of the rules, everyone suddenly realized the key to this exam.

If the decision is made solely within the class, it could create a lot of conflict. However, if a Praise Vote comes from another class, the room for maneuver increases significantly.

While the students were thinking, Chie Hoshinomiya wrote the specific rules of the exam on the blackboard, so that everyone could understand the details of the exam more clearly.

[Additional Exam: Class Vote]

[Exam content: Each student has three Praise Vote and Criticism Vote. The class votes to determine the final result.]

[Rule 1] Praise Vote and Criticism Vote will influence each other; Praise Vote - Criticism Vote = final result.

[Rule 2] You cannot vote for yourself, whether it is Praise Vote or Criticism Vote.

[Rule 3] No ballot may be filled with the same name multiple times, and no ballot may be left blank or abstaining.

[Rule 4] The competition will continue until the first and last place winners are determined, and the last place winner will be expelled.

[Rule 5] Students have a special vote to Praise Vote for students in other classes, which is mandatory.

"These are all the rules explained. Now that everyone understands the rules for this Additional Exam, it's up to you to decide how to proceed."

After explaining all the rules, Chie Hoshinomiya smiled at everyone. Her gaze swept across the classroom, finally landing on the seats of Hashiba Hikaru and Ichinose Honami, as she waited for them to lead the class.

"Light?"

The girl turned her head to look at her boyfriend's handsome profile.

"Now that the rules have been announced, let's think of a solution."

Hashiba Hikaru sat up from her seat, a playful smile playing on her lips.

Chapter 579: Ways to Recoup Your Investment

After announcing the rules of this unsatisfactory Additional Exam, Chie Hoshinomiya quite cleverly walked to the side of the podium and handed over the opportunity to lead the discussion on countermeasures to the boy who had already stood up from his seat.

"Classmate Hashiba, please lead us in figuring out how to approach this exam."

"That's right!"

"I believe that Classmate Hashiba can come up with the best solution!"

When the students below saw Hashiba Hikaru walk onto the podium, each of them showed an expectant look on their faces, believing that the other could make the perfect decision.

"Please be quiet."

After Hashiba Hikaru stood on the podium with a blank expression, he waved his hand, and the classroom instantly fell silent. No one dared to make a sound at that moment.

Now is not the time of the start of the school year. After winning the Special Exam one after another, Hashiba Hikaru's status and prestige in Class A of the First Year are extraordinary. Her words are even more effective than those of Chie Hoshinomiya, a fact that the young female teacher is well aware of.

Moreover, the boy is currently the President of the Student Council, and he has enough authority to make everyone respect his ideas and decisions.

"Since the school has already set these exam rules, it means we can't change them or find loopholes. In any case, we must ultimately choose the person with the most Criticism Vote."

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions turned sour. After all, they had spent so much time together, and no one wanted their classmate to drop out of school like this.

"Don't make that face, everyone. After the sudden announcement of the Additional Exam rules, I actually feel that the point Halve mechanism we established at the beginning of the semester has come in handy."