Horikita Suzune's Weakness / Ayanokōji Kiyotaka's Surprise

"Oh."

Even while holding her bowl, Yamashita Saki didn't stop observing the actions of the Class A members.

The longer she observed, the more certain she became that the true core of this group was indeed that Classmate Hashiba.

Everyone in the class showed him immense trust. Even though it was just a simple meal, he was always surrounded by many classmates, both boys and girls. Even if they only exchanged a few words, everyone still enjoyed it.

The real class leader, the pretty pink-haired girl, was the only one who could sit next to him the whole time. The two were very close, their shoulders were even touching, and it seemed that their relationship was not that of ordinary classmates.

However, the students in Class A seemed used to it and no one paid any attention.

Besides observing the two people, Yamashita Saki was also scanning the other students in the camp. After all, her goal was to get the leader's name, but she hadn't seen any trace of the Key Card yet, so she didn't dare to make any judgments and could only wait for the right opportunity.

After a hearty meal, everyone voluntarily gathered at the campsite, waiting for Hashiba Hikaru to give her speech.

Yamashita Saki stood to the side, also curious about what plan her Classmate Hashiba would announce.

"Today is our second day on the island, and there are still five days until the end of the exams. Therefore, I think we can adjust our approach to the exams. Please remember what I'm about to say, and feel free to ask any questions."

"The core of the adjustment is about the capture of outposts."

Hashiba Hikaru glanced discreetly at Yamashita Saki standing beside her, then said to the group, "I think we can temporarily abandon our attempt to capture the base."

"The existence of outposts inherently carries a certain risk, and the points awarded are limited, plus the tedious and repetitive check-ins are required. For us now, gathering intelligence is actually a more efficient approach."

The boy didn't mention that he already knew the names of the leaders of Class B, but everyone understood what he meant.

"As long as you can guess the names of the leaders of other classes, it doesn't matter how many strongholds they control, since the extra points will eventually be reset to zero, so they won't pose any pressure for ranking competition."

"So I think reducing the workload now is actually a good thing, as it allows us to focus more on another task. As for collecting supplies, that will remain a routine operation. Do you all understand?"

"Understood, let's do as Classmate Hashiba says."

Shibata glanced at Ichinose Honami beside him and Hashiba Hikaru standing at the front. Having spent so much time with them, he quickly understood why the boy had made such a decision.

Perhaps it has something to do with the student from Yamashita who came to the camp today, since she is a member of another class.

"Yes, I've always believed that the school's real purpose in this exam was to gather intelligence and supplies."

"Let's proceed with that then, everyone, good luck!"

"Come on!"

The discussion went smoothly and was quickly passed unanimously. Just as the students began to disperse, Yamashita Saki, who was standing to the side, was completely dumbfounded.

Her original plan was to see how the students in Class A swiped their cards at the base, even if it was a large group of people doing it together or forming a human wall to block the view from the outside; she had considered all these possibilities.

These methods at least provide a general range of candidates, but hearing about Hashiba Hikaru's plan to abandon the base completely stunned the girl.

If these people stop using Key Card altogether from now on, what should I do?

Search them one by one?

Isn't that asking the impossible...?

Chapter 158 The Weak Horikita Suzune

As dawn broke, feeling the lingering coolness in the air because the sun had not yet risen, the delicate-faced black-haired girl sat up from her bed.

She glanced at her watch, which she had never taken off in the past few days. It was about 6:30 a. m. As an extremely self-disciplined person who never overslept, Horikita Suzune usually woke up very early every day.

Today is the third day of the Uninhabited Island Exam. She touched her slightly feverish forehead and sighed bitterly.

In fact, the girl had already noticed something was wrong with her body; she had probably developed some mild cold symptoms on the Cruise Ship. However, at the time, Horikita Suzune never expected that the school would hold such a rigorous Uninhabited Island Exam.

But now that things had come to this, her competitive nature took over her mind after the Special Exam arrived, forcing Horikita Suzune to decide to rely on her own willpower to get through the exam.

After quietly making her bed, she glanced at the sleeping classmates around her, then reached into her pants and touched the cold object inside— the Key Card for Class C's upcoming exam.

Yes, Horikita Suzune is actually the leader of Class C. When the class was discussing this topic, for some reason, this heavy responsibility suddenly fell on her shoulders.

Whether she was forced into it or reluctantly agreed, in order to prove her growth, the girl ultimately accepted this important task, wanting to take the initiative to lead the class to victory in this exam.

Despite this thought, in just a few days, one trouble after another occurred in Class C.

First, there's that arrogant student, Koenji. After the first day of exams, he chose to withdraw from the exam alone, which directly resulted in the class losing 30 points.

These points, which could have been converted into Class Evaluation Points, were wasted. In addition, the students' attitudes toward this exam were also absurd. Many things that could have been resolved by simply enduring them were instead spent using points to exchange for supplies.

Unfortunately, Hirata, as the class leader, is at a loss. Although he has a gentle personality, he simply cannot bring himself to refuse requests from his classmates, especially the girls. As a result, Class C has already used up a considerable number of points.

As for the last thing, it's the short-haired girl who's currently sleeping in the corner of the girls' tent. She has short, light green hair, and her schoolbag is next to her.

Her name is Manabe Shiho. She is not a student in Class C. She was "picked up" by her classmates yesterday. Although Horikita Suzune had also heard that Class D had given up on the exam, she was still a little surprised to see how easily everyone accepted members from other classes.

Although she harbored doubts, the girl didn't have a good solution. Class C had already captured a stronghold, so they had to swipe their cards every eight hours. Neither she nor anyone else could accept giving up the extra points on the stronghold.

Therefore, the only thing she could do at that moment was to keep her distance from the other party at all times and carefully hide her Key Card to prevent any exposure.

After exhaling a deep breath, Horikita Suzune stepped out of the tent to wash up. After finishing all that, she decided to go out and gather some supplies.

On the one hand, it's early morning and the weather is still quite cool. If she waits until the sun comes out, her already weak body, which is suffering from a cold, will probably feel even worse.

On the other hand, the students in the class were divided into simple groups to collect supplies, and the black-haired girl's group member was Kushida, whom she disliked quite a bit, so Horikita Suzune decided to go first.

After collecting the required amount for today, she can rest for a while at the camp.

This was a simple rule initially implemented in Class C: everyone had to serve the class and couldn't wait for others to prepare meals for them; they had to make their own contributions. Although some people were lazy, the rule generally progressed smoothly.

Having already spent two nights in the forest, Horikita Suzune's initial discomfort with the unfamiliar environment had long since dissipated. Now, the only thing that bothered her was the dizziness caused by her illness, but the symptoms weren't too severe, so she felt she could hold on for a while longer.

After wandering around in the forest for a while, Horikita Suzune felt a little dizzy, so she found a relatively clean tree to lean against.

Although a cold is not a serious illness, it can be quite uncomfortable when it actually strikes. It can make you feel weak all over, and you may also experience a series of symptoms such as a sore throat and dizziness.

"Call."

The black-haired girl, squinting slightly, felt that her dizzy head had not improved, so after touching her forehead, she stared blankly ahead.

But just then, Horikita Suzune heard the rustling sound of shoes stepping on the bushes, and then a figure appeared in front of her.

"Hey, Horikita, what are you doing here all alone?"

That voice... sounds familiar.

The black-haired girl tried hard to open her eyes wide to see who the figure standing in front of her was.

It was a boy, carrying a bag, looking at himself with a slightly surprised expression...

Hashiba Hikaru!

Horikita Suzune quickly recognized the other person, after all, the boy's figure and appearance were quite distinctive.

"Classmate Hashiba?"

"It's me. But judging from your appearance, are you really sick?"

Hashiba Hikaru scrutinized the black-haired girl leaning against the tree. An unnatural blush clung to her delicate face, and her breathing seemed somewhat irregular.

Recalling their previous meeting, the boy quickly concluded that the guy probably had a cold.

As the other person approached, Horikita Suzune felt inexplicably nervous. Although she wasn't in a good state, she knew that she and the boy in front of her were currently in a competitive relationship within the class, and she still had her Key Card in her pocket.

"Don't be so nervous, I just wanted to check on you."

Hashiba Hikaru smiled faintly. Although this black-haired girl was a member of another class, she could theoretically ignore her. Once Horikita Suzune really couldn't hold on any longer and collapsed, given the girl's own abilities, it would definitely greatly reduce Class C's fighting strength.

But doing so does not conform to the principles of being a young person. Even for the sake of victory, there is no need to be so heartless.

"What do you want to do...?"

As the boy drew closer, Horikita Suzune glared at him, but her body was too weak to exert any strength, so she looked like a cute little animal. Although she wanted to appear aggressive, she didn't exude any sense of pressure.

"Smack."

Hashiba Hikaru reached out and touched the other person's forehead. Sure enough, it felt a little hot. If they didn't take medicine immediately, it might get worse.

"!"

Feeling the masculine aura emanating from her, and with his hand on her forehead, Horikita Suzune's expression changed, and she immediately prepared to lash out.

But the next second the girl felt the other person's hand immediately move away, followed by a very calm sentence.

"I don't know why you're pushing yourself to this point, Horikita- kun, but I did promise Horikita-senpai terms. If something really goes wrong with you in this exam, I'm afraid he'll come after me."

"So I've given Horikita a suggestion: you stay here and don't move while I go get something. Is that okay?"

"..."

"A cold shouldn't affect your hearing, right, Horikita- kun?" Hashiba Hikaru looked directly into his purplish-red eyes and said, enunciating each word clearly, "Do you understand what I mean?"

"What are you planning to do?" the girl asked weakly.

"What else can I do? I'll go get you your medicine."

Hashiba Hikaru reached out and supported the girl's shoulder, then moved Horikita Suzune to a relatively flat grassy area nearby to sit down. If she was weak, sitting was better than standing.

"Then I'll take that as a yes. Wait for me here."

After saying those words, Hashiba Hikaru quickly turned and ran away, leaving the black-haired girl sitting there with a somewhat dazed expression.

Can you give me my medicine?

But shouldn't cold medicine require points to redeem?

She reached up and touched her forehead; the temperature emanating from her fingertips was quite noticeable, indicating that her condition had indeed worsened.

"Phew, what a mess..."

Horikita Suzune sighed. Although she didn't like Hashiba Hikaru always using her brother's situation to force her to do things she didn't want to do, after hearing what the other person said, the girl felt a strange mix of emotions.

Is he worried about me?

Or is it because he received a bribe from my brother that he's helping me?

Horikita Suzune was a little confused, but since things had come to this point, she decided to accept Classmate Hashiba's arrangement for the time being.

Anyway, I've already agreed to several of their difficult requests, so I'll just consider it an equal exchange.

Meanwhile, Hashiba Hikaru, who was running at full speed, recalled what happened that morning. After waking up, he spent 20,000 system funds to exchange for the [Lucky Amulet] that had been refreshed in the [Trading Shop].

The boy then left Class A's camp alone ahead of time, hoping to use the [Lucky Amulet] to gather some crucial information.

Instead of finding any information, they encountered a very weak girl in the forest who was ill.

Hashiba Hikaru glanced at the item description, her expression a mixture of amusement and exasperation.

[Lucky Amulet]

[Wearing this item can increase the wearer's luck stat, and may lead to unexpected lucky events at certain times.]

"Seriously, so this is what they mean by a lucky event? It's not what I expected."

Chapter 159 Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's Surprise

After sitting in the open space for about ten minutes, Horikita Suzune soon heard the sound of shoes stepping on the bushes again, and the tall figure of the boy reappeared in her sight.

"I'm back, Horikita."

What Hashiba Hikaru was holding was the herbal medicine he had brewed the night before using a combination of different plants. After mastering [Wilderness Survival (Master)], he had made several portions according to the recipe to prepare for future use, in case his classmates experienced headaches or fevers.

However, unexpectedly, the first person to use it is a student from another class.

"This is some herbal medicine I made myself; it can treat colds." Hashiba Hikaru handed the black-haired girl a bottle of herbal decoction, indicating that this was the medicine she had brought.

"Did Classmate Hashiba make it himself?"

A strange light flashed in Horikita Suzune's eyes; she had never expected the other party to possess such an ability.

"What, you don't believe me?" The boy shrugged and replied casually, "I lived in the wild when I was a child, so I know a little about some plants that can be used as medicine."

"I don't have any cold medicine on me, so I'll have to use this instead."

"..."

"Horikita- kun, you don't want to drink this?" Hashiba Hikaru raised an eyebrow.

"Of course not, I'm just a little surprised."

Horikita Suzune slowly shook her head. As someone recognized by her own brother, the girl simply felt that her assessment of his abilities had risen another level.