The Person Who Changed the Plan of Action

"Hmm..."

After tilting her head back and drinking the herbal soup in the kettle in one gulp, the black-haired girl gently wiped the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand.

As she felt the warm liquid flow into her stomach, she seemed to smell a faint medicinal fragrance.

"Herbal medicine belongs to the category of traditional Chinese medicine, so it shouldn't work as quickly as cold pills," Hashiba Hikaru explained calmly as she took the water bottle handed to her. "Horikita- san, you can wait and see; perhaps you'll feel much better by the afternoon."

"Yes, thank you, Classmate Hashiba."

Having received a favor from the other party, Horikita Suzune was very polite and sincerely thanked the boy.

"It's nothing. If Horikita really wants to thank me, remember to readily agree next time I make a request."

Hashiba Hikaru smiled slightly. As a key figure with a complex entanglement with Kushida Kikyo, Horikita would definitely be indispensable if she wanted to improve Kushida's stock price in the future.

"..."

After the boy finished speaking his last words, Horikita Suzune fell silent, and the gratitude that had just risen in her heart vanished without a trace.

"Good..."

"Haha, I believe Horikita is a man of his word." Hashiba Hikaru nodded, then asked, "Do you need me to help you up?"

"No need, I feel much better already, no need to trouble you Classmate Hashiba."

This wasn't said out of spite, but because after drinking the herbal soup, even though the other person said it might take a while to take effect, after sitting for a while, Horikita Suzune clearly felt that her strength had recovered considerably.

So she quickly stood up from the grass, dusted off her tracksuit, and said to Horikita Suzune Hashiba Hikaru, "I'll head back now, Classmate Hashiba."

"Okay, Horikita, remember to take care of yourself, and be careful not to catch another cold."

"I see."

After the final conversation, Horikita Suzune immediately turned and disappeared into the forest. She still had her Key Card in her hand, so after feeling a bit better, she didn't want to spend any more time alone with Classmate Hashiba. Everything had to be focused on the exam.

As for what the other party just mentioned about perhaps making other requests later, let's wait and see.

Watching Horikita Suzune's decisive departure, Hashiba Hikaru's lips curled into a slight smile.

Although he initially thought the [Lucky Amulet] was useless when they first met, he discovered something quite interesting when he handed the girl the water jug filled with herbs at close range.

When Horikita was drinking her medicine with her head tilted back, something unusual was visible on her crossed legs. It was in the right pocket of her pants, where something hard seemed to be inside, stretching her sweatpants into a square shape.

Key Card?

The boy touched his chin. Although he hadn't confirmed with his own eyes whether what was inside was what he was thinking, it was already a pretty good discovery. Perhaps digging deeper would lead him to the most crucial answer.

Thinking about it this way, the [Lucky Amulet] is still quite powerful. In the following period, on the one hand, I need to keep an eye on Yamashita Saki who came to my camp, and on the other hand, I need to find out information about the class leader of Class C.

The boy, holding a water bottle, planned to return to camp for breakfast.

He didn't choose to follow Horikita Suzune because the students from Class A who went out to gather intelligence the previous night had already found the location of Class C's camp.

After this unexpected meeting, Hashiba Hikaru had some guesses, which made things much easier to handle afterwards.

"Perhaps we'll be able to confirm the names of all three class leaders soon, and that's the best way to win."

On the other side, after Horikita Suzune returned to her class's camp, she clearly felt the power of the herbs she had just drunk.

The girl's headache had disappeared, and her fatigue had also been relieved, making her feel much better overall.

"Is it really that effective..." Horikita Suzune murmured to herself.

But just then, a figure walked up to her. It was her usually quiet classmate, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

"Good morning, Horikita."

"Good morning."

After exchanging perfunctory greetings, Horikita Suzune planned to rest for a while before continuing her journey into the forest to collect supplies, as she had been too weak to have gathered much.

Watching her retreating figure, the quiet Ayanokoji's expression changed slightly, because he had already realized that Horikita Suzune was sick and was just putting on a brave face.

That's why he devised a rather comprehensive countermeasure plan, intending to win the exam by undermining the opponent's chances.

However, for this plan to be executed smoothly, the final step must be that Horikita Suzune can't hold on any longer, and then he must use the excuse that the class leader is unwell to apply to the teachers for a replacement class leader. This is the core idea for turning the tide.

But judging from her current appearance, has her cold already gotten better?

How is that possible?

Did something happen that I don't know about?

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's eyes, which were as calm as a lake, seemed to ripple slightly.

Chapter 160 The Person Who Changed the Action Plan

As the sky grew brighter, and it was almost time for roll call, the students in Class C's camp began to line up and yawn as they emerged from their tents. Although they had been told to try to get up earlier, everyone was basically right on time, since they would start working after roll call and wanted to rest a little longer.

"Now, let's begin roll call. Please line up."

As the class leader, Hirata was responsible for taking attendance. Holding a brown cardboard sign, he stood at the front of the class and began to read out everyone's names one by one. Apart from Koenji, none of the students in Class C were absent, so this routine task was completed quickly.

"Next up is breakfast. After breakfast, we'll ask everyone to go into the forest to collect supplies. As usual, work in pairs."

Although he is somewhat soft-hearted, Hirata Yosuke has good organizational skills. He was a class officer in junior high school, so he is already very good at these things.

Horikita Suzune had finished collecting supplies early in the morning, so she could have rested at the camp. However, after drinking the herbs given to her by Hashiba Hikaru, the girl felt much better, so she decided not to do nothing and wanted to explore the island alone.

After all, besides the base, Horikita Suzune understood that if she wanted to gain more Class Points, then guessing the leaders of other classes was very important. However, Class C had not yet obtained the names of any class leaders and was still lacking in intelligence.

"Horikita- san, do you want to scout out the other classes' campsites?" Hirata's expression was somewhat surprised after hearing Horikita Suzune's idea. "But you..."

"I'll be back before I clock out at the base, so please don't worry Hirata."

The black-haired girl raised her slender wrist and glanced at the time on her watch. There were still several hours until the next checkpoint visit, so she could do more things.

"Alright then, we all have great faith in Horikita's abilities."

Hirata Yosuke smiled, glanced at Kushida Kikyo who was surrounded by her classmates, and then asked Horikita Suzune, "So, Horikita, are you going to go with Kushida?"

"No need. I've already completed my quota for gathering supplies for today. Let me go out and gather more important intelligence on my own later."

"Okay, I understand. Then I'll look forward to Horikita's triumphant return."

As the class leader of Class C, Hirata Yosuke needs to be on-site at the camp at all times. Although the students in the class seem very united these days, there are actually a lot of frictions between the boys and girls. In order to resolve these problems in a timely manner, he must keep an eye on everyone's situation.

And then there's Manabe, who entered his camp. Although Hirata Yosuke agreed to let her stay, he never stopped observing her. After all, she's from another class, and nobody knows what she's thinking.

However, regarding this matter, someone volunteered to contact him, wanting to take on the responsibility of monitoring the other party. That person was Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who had always been relatively unknown in the class.

After glancing at the handsome young man helping to move timber in the camp, Hirata Yosuke felt that entrusting this task to him should be no problem.

For some reason, he always felt that this Ayanokoji was a very capable person, but she never really showed off her abilities.

Handing the wood to Kanji Ike, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka pretended to be tired and wiped the sweat from his forehead. In reality, this amount of exercise wouldn't make him sweat at all, but he still had to put on a show.

He actually noticed that Horikita Suzune had left the camp, seemingly to gather some intelligence.

Since greeting her in the morning, Ayanokoji had been observing her and finally confirmed that the black-haired girl's physical condition had really recovered a lot, and she was no longer in the sickly state she had been in when she had a cold.

After a quick internal deliberation, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka decided to adjust his plan. Since the other party had recovered, the countermeasure of changing the leader was no longer feasible.

Let's start with that undercover classmate.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka actually deduced that Manabe Shiho was an undercover agent the moment she arrived at the camp, because yesterday morning, he and Yamauchi Haruki, who was collecting supplies with her, had actually seen the large group of Class D returning to the Cruise Ship.

Ayanokoji immediately took a headcount. Although it seemed as if everyone had withdrawn from the exam, there were actually only thirty-six people present.

If no one withdrew from the exam early, it means that besides Manabe, there are at least three other students from Class D on this Uninhabited Island. This is the basis for his earlier plan to change the leader, and he will carry out a series of operations afterward.

However, now that Horikita Suzune has recovered, it is necessary to adjust the plan in a timely manner.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka recalled the conversation at the Cruise Ship theater. He wanted to be more serious and at least help Class D achieve a great victory. After all, he couldn't be sure if what the female teacher said was true, so he needed to show his attitude.

Despite being silently watched by several people, Manabe Shiho did not freeload at Class C's camp. As a chosen undercover member, in order to temporarily integrate into the group, she restrained her assertive personality and helped everyone collect supplies and start fires to cook, just like an ordinary high school student participating in club activities.

What annoyed her was that a boy in the class named Yamauchi Haruki kept trying to talk to her. If it weren't for the undisguised desire in his eyes, Manabe would have thought she had been exposed.

"Manabe, how about I help you? Moving timber is something boys are best at, you know."

As one of those who supported keeping the short-haired girl, Yamauchi Haruki had long harbored a rosy fantasy in his mind.

What's this?

This is a classic case of a hero saving a damsel in distress!

The girl who was bullied and ostracized by the class leader and was unable to board the ship discovered her whereabouts with her keen senses and strongly advocated keeping her on board.

Moreover, once they entered the camp, their attitude towards me was clearly different from that towards everyone else.

Could this be... my spring has arrived?

"No need, I can do it myself. After all, I can't just eat and drink for free."

Manabe Shiho shook her head slightly, declining Yamauchi Haruki's help.

Although she outwardly displays a strong personality, like a rebellious teenager, she is equally capable of playing the role of a good girl; she just doesn't usually want to.

"It's alright, I'm very strong, I can manage this." Undeterred, Yamauchi Haruki took the piece of wood from Manabe's arms and gave her what he thought was his coolest smile.

"..."

Manabe Shiho gave the other person a deep look, but in the end agreed to his request. Continuing to argue with someone like Yamauchi Haruki, who was full of empty boasts, would only cause more trouble.

"Then I'll go help the girls with other things."

"Yeah, Manabe."

Yamauchi Haruki nodded at her, looking quite pleased with himself.

"Hey, you wouldn't actually have a crush on Manabe, would you?" His best friend Kanji Ike, naturally noticed Yamauchi's actions and whispered beside him, "But she's from another class."

"What's wrong with students from other classes? Is there some rule that forbids them from interacting with students from other classes?"

"That's true, but I still think Kushida- chan is cuter."

As a staunch supporter of Kushida Kikyo, Kanji Ike has no immediate plans to abandon his beliefs.

"But Kushida- chan is too popular, we probably don't have a chance."

"Yeah, that's right..."

While the two were sighing, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka continued to silently move the wood. Since he suspected that Manabe might be an undercover agent, he would have to verify the information more carefully when swiping his card at the base later.

Just before the eight-hour time limit for the outpost expired, Horikita Suzune returned to the camp. Everyone understood the upcoming arrangements, so their expressions were somewhat solemn.

"Then let's proceed according to the original plan."

Hirata Yosuke instructed the boys in his class to hold hands and form a large circle, covering the card reader at the checkpoint, and then had the girls in the class form an inner circle at the very back.

Looking at it from the side, the area around the machine is completely surrounded by a dense crowd of people, making it impossible to tell who is swiping their card.

Horikita Suzune was surrounded by several girls in the class who were a little taller than her. She quickly looked around with a serious expression, and after finding that Manabe was not looking at her, she quickly took out her Key Card from her pocket and stuck it on the base device.

[Beep! Outpost captured successfully. Time reset. Remaining usage time: 7 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds.]

After hearing the sound of the base respawning, the girls in the innermost layer began to pass messages outwards layer by layer. Several more minutes passed before Class C gradually dispersed and returned to normal.

"Ugh, it's so hot every time we have to squeeze together like this."

"There's nothing we can do about it; it's all for base points, so don't complain, Karuizawa."

"Sigh, I wonder how many points our class will have left after the exams. We really don't have enough points each month."

Hopefully, things will get better after this week.

While the students in Class C were discussing amongst themselves, Ayanokoji noticed that Manabe, a student from another class, hadn't even glanced in their direction during the capture of the stronghold.

Did they already know who the leader was?

This was his first conclusion: Manabe Shiho had arrived at their camp yesterday afternoon, so Class C had refreshed their base in the early hours of the morning.

Because it was a girls' tent, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka could only ask the key holder, Horikita Suzune, about the situation in the morning. Her answer was that she had confirmed that Manabe Shiho was asleep before swiping the card.

Was it already exposed at that time?

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's original plan was to deliberately reveal the leader's name to her, then have her tell that name to the Class D students who were still on the island, and finally carry out the plan to change the leader so that they would lose points.

Now that Horikita has recovered, the original plan can no longer be used. However, if the plan is not carried out, the intelligence will be exposed for nothing, and no benefit will be gained. In fact, 50 points will be deducted.

[We must keep an eye on her every move. Now that she knows the class leader's name, she'll probably be passing on the information soon.]

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka decided to start monitoring the other party's every move from now on. After all, he possessed energy that was beyond the reach of ordinary people. Now that the leader had been exposed, he had to obtain the name of the leader of the other class in order to stop the damage in time.