Kei Karuizawa's Direct Approach

Karuizawa Kei made a slightly sarcastic remark, but then waved her hand and said:

"Alright, alright, Liang, you should hurry up and go to the research project. If you can't register, you'll have to spend extra points to exchange for a tent."

"Then we'll be going now."

After waving goodbye to Karuizawa Kei, Kitagawa Group, for the first time today, went together to the location of the same research project.

"Karuizawa, did you draw a special card?"

As the four of them walked through the woods, Sakayanagi Arisu suddenly looked up and asked Kitagawa Ryo.

"Hmm? Why would Arisu think that?"

"Because it's obvious."

Sakayanagi Arisu shook her head and expressed her opinion:

"From all aspects, this Uninhabited Island Special Exam will give large groups of people a greater advantage, whether it's the combination of cards or the complementarity of each other's abilities. Single groups may have higher returns, but the risks are much higher, especially if they are forced to withdraw due to unexpected circumstances. Therefore, there will be at least three single groups in this test."

"In this context, students who still insist on forming groups individually either believe in their overall abilities and are willing to take risks for higher returns; or they have extremely poor interpersonal relationships and are isolated within the class to the point of being forced to form groups individually; or they possess a special card that allows them to obtain the greatest benefit only by forming groups individually."

"While Karuizawa's academic performance and athletic abilities are decent within the grade, they don't actually reach the very top tier overall. Therefore, the points gained by forming a group individually wouldn't exceed those gained by forming a larger group. The second scenario is even less likely. Not only is the overall atmosphere in Class 1-B quite united, but as the Class 1-B representative, Karuizawa would never find herself isolated to the point of being forced into forming a group."

"So Karuizawa must have obtained a special card, and it must be one of the [Resurrection] or [Reinforcement] cards."

"Why could it be [Resurrection]? I can understand [Reinforcement] though."

Horikita Suzune, who was standing to the side, asked with some confusion.

"Because Class B must have also thought of a way to deal with the last-place student dropping out. In their class's mind, Class Points and the so-called Class A are actually not as important as the possibility of any student dropping out. If Karuizawa has the [Resurrection] card, Class 1-B is very likely to adopt the plan that Classmate Sakayanagi mentioned before."

Before Sakayanagi Arisu could reply, Ichinose Honami spoke first to explain:

"If any team in Class B is at great risk of falling to last place on the last day of the exam, Karuizawa can directly reduce their group's score by exchanging for a large amount of supplies, and then use the [Resurrection] card to avoid his expulsion reward."

"The [Resurrection] special card can only exempt one student from expulsion, which is why Karuizawa must team up alone."

"So does Ryo know which special card Karuizawa- san received?"

Kitagawa Ryo and Ichinose Honami's watery blue eyes met for a moment, then Kitagawa shook his head and said:

"Actually, I'm not too sure either, since only the person who drew the card knows exactly what card they got."

"Didn't Arisu just say that there are three groups of singles in this exam, so it's not surprising that anyone would have a special card?"

"Liang is still favoring her."

"... I favor each and every one of you."

Kitagawa Ryo didn't want to continue this topic. In fact, they had already arrived at the [English Listening Test] area. There were already four other groups here. Looking around, he didn't recognize anyone. They were probably all from Class A and Class B.

"I'm here to sign up."

This project has a limit on the number of participants; only one person can participate from each group. Therefore, Kitagawa Ryo quickly walked up to the teacher in charge and signed up. Perhaps because Kitagawa Ryo's group is currently ranked first among the groups, their arrival obviously added some pressure to the Class A group, which originally seemed to be in full swing, and their expressions became a bit heavy.

"Registration closes in three minutes. You're probably the last group, since it's almost evening."

The teacher in charge remarked as she registered Kitagawa Ryo, handing him an earphone for the listening test and a tablet for answering questions.

About three minutes later, the teacher in charge asked the five students participating in the project to come to the center of the venue, indicating that the project was about to begin. Kitagawa Ryo also put on his headphones and waited attentively for the question to appear.

Ichinose Honami and Sakayanagi Arisu stayed on the sidelines and quietly watched Kitagawa Ryo solve the problem, while Horikita Suzune used this time to find another school staff member to select supplies, just as planned.

"Let me see. You need a pot, four sets of bowls and chopsticks, a disposable paper cup set, 3 liters of drinking water, two flashlights, and a lighter, right?"

The school staff seemed used to students coming to exchange supplies, and they quickly took out the various items Horikita Suzune had mentioned from the large tent behind them, which was piled with all sorts of supplies.

"Actually, if you want to cook for yourself, you might as well just redeem this kitchenware set. It not only includes the pots and pans you need, but also a lot of other kitchen utensils, and even a barbecue grill. The starry sky here at night is beautiful, and it would be a lot of fun to have an outdoor barbecue under there."

Seemingly sensing that some students intended to cook for themselves and not rely on portable food, the school staff kindly offered the following advice:

"It only costs 1200 points now, and if any of you four have a [Discount Card], it can be even cheaper."

"Wait a moment, let's go discuss this first."

Horikita Suzune was somewhat tempted by what she heard; she knew that Kitagawa Ryo's Discount card had already been upgraded to level two.

I mentioned the kitchenware set to Sakayanagi Arisu and Ichinose Honami, and Horikita Suzune also shared her thoughts:

"I think it's a great deal. Today is only the first day of the Uninhabited Island Exam. The earlier you buy this kind of thing, the more cost-effective it is. Also, our efficiency in earning points should increase starting tomorrow. After all, we only had less than half a day today, and we were able to get more than 1,800 points."

The "above" that Horikita Suzune mentioned naturally refers to Kitagawa Ryo, who is still taking the exam, indicating that she has considerable confidence in Kitagawa Ryo's ability to achieve a top-three ranking in this subject.

"Shouldn't we wait for Liang to decide? He's the group leader, isn't he?"

Although Ichinose Honami answered Horikita Suzune's question, her eyes were still fixed on Kitagawa Ryo, who was wearing headphones and deep in thought, as if she was still thinking about what Kitagawa Ryo had just said to her.

"Sure, I've never had cold barbecue before. Come to think of it, camping is supposed to be associated with barbecue, right?"

Sakayanagi Arisu stretched lazily, appearing nonchalant, but then quickly and somewhat abruptly asked a question:

"... What happened between you and Karuizawa in the past? It feels like you've known each other for a long time."

Like Horikita Suzune, she also keenly noticed Ichinose Honami's unusual behavior.

"No, it's just that I used to work in the logistics department of Liang's Theater Troupe for a while, so I had some interaction with her."

Ichinose Honami replied calmly, finally shifting her gaze slightly away, glancing at Horikita Suzune and Sakayanagi Arisu before quickly looking back:

"I just don't want to see anyone forced to make a certain choice anymore."

Horikita Suzune lowered her eyes, while Sakayanagi Arisu frowned; they both sensed a subtle warning in her words.

However, Ichinose Honami didn't care about their expressions; she reached into her pocket and touched something there.

The peach-pink hair clip is engraved with an exquisitely designed mythical bird with outstretched wings, its tail feathers trailing waves of gradually changing crimson flames.

Since Kitagawa Ryo gave her this hair clip two years ago, Ichinose Honami has never actually worn it.

Even the prettiest hair clip only comes alive when worn; once taken off, it becomes nothing more than a mosquito bite.

A dull and lifeless red.

Chapter 142: Karuizawa Kei's straight ball

"The [English Listening Test] project has ended. The top three are: Matoba Shinji (Kitagawa Ryo 100% accuracy), Matoba Shinji (95% accuracy), Ninomiya Yui (90% accuracy). You three can come and collect your rewards now."

About ten minutes later, just as the five participants took off their headphones, the teacher in charge efficiently announced the top three finishers. Apart from Kitagawa Ryo, who had a 100% accuracy rate, the second and third place winners were top students from Class 1-A and Class B of the first year, respectively. Ninomiya Yui Kitagawa Ryo especially remembered hearing Karuizawa Kei mention Ninomiya Yui's name before; she seemed to be a student who received an A- in academics but was somewhat lacking in physical strength, which was somewhat similar to Yukimura Teruhiko in their class.

The 200 points awarded to the first place winner have been automatically transferred to Kitagawa Ryo's team's account. However, because there was still a physical two-person tent to learn, Kitagawa Ryo also followed the second and third place winners to the tent where supplies were stored.

Just as the three of them finished receiving their rewards and were about to leave, Kitagawa Ryo was suddenly stopped by Matoba him. Turning around, he saw Matoba with a kind smile on his face, leaning closer to him and whispering:

"It must be Kitagawa-kun from Class D."

"Um, is there something you need?"

Kitagawa Ryo looked at the other person with some doubt. He had never interacted with Class A, and he had never spoken a word to this Matoba.

"Here's the thing, I'd like to exchange my single tent for the double tent you just got, Kitagawa-kun."

Matoba Shinji glanced at the darkening sky and said anxiously:

"This afternoon, I ran into a classmate who said they saw you, Kitagawa-kun, had already gotten a three-person tent for the [Impromptu Poetry Recitation] project, and now you've gotten a two-person tent too. We really need a two-person tent right now... If Kitagawa-kun agrees, we'll give you some other supplies to compensate for the price difference."

He seemed to find it difficult to speak, and his words were somewhat disorganized. However, Kitagawa Ryo understood what he meant. It seemed that the opposing team was short of a single-person tent, but did not want to use their precious points to purchase one. They made this decision on the spur of the moment after learning that their four-person team had a five-person tent.

"What supplies can you use to make up for the price difference? Besides, I think a two-person tent is more spacious and should be quite comfortable to sleep in."

Since the other party had asked for his help first, Kitagawa Ryo didn't hold back. In any case, Class A and Class D were absolute competitors in this Uninhabited Island Exam, and whether or not he helped was entirely up to him.

Upon hearing Matoba Shinji gritted his teeth and pulled out a half-frozen piece of pork from the compartment of his backpack. The pork was already starting to drip water and looked quite substantial.

"This is an award we received this afternoon for another project, is that alright?"

The boy behind Matoba Shinji, he had been thinking about how to cook the meat for himself ever since he got it. When he saw that Matoba Shinji was going to give it to Kitagawa Ryo, he subconsciously showed his dissatisfaction.

In fact, judging from the points on the Redemption Manual, the value of this piece of fresh meat exceeds that of a single tent. However, considering that points are the only criterion for final ranking, and pork cannot be exchanged for points, its value cannot be simply determined in this way.

For Class A, who wanted to maximize their score, using a piece of reward pork to save points was a very worthwhile thing, especially since they didn't have any better cooking utensils to prepare a proper meal.

"Okay, but you have to come with me to the teacher in charge so he can witness this exchange."

Kitagawa Ryo seemed oblivious to the boy's expression and readily nodded in agreement.

"... Of course, no problem."

Matoba Shinji hadn't expected Kitagawa Ryo to be so cautious, but he genuinely had no ulterior motives. So he went with Kitagawa Ryo to the teacher in charge of the project and explained that the exchange was entirely of his own volition.

Carrying the pork carcass back to Sakayanagi Arisu two, Kitagawa Ryo was still pondering how to cook it when Horikita Suzune spoke first:

"The necessary supplies have been exchanged, but I bought an extra kitchenware set than expected. After Discount the [Discount] card, the total cost was 1,462 points."

With this large expenditure of points, Kitagawa Ryo's group's ranking instantly dropped to the middle. To be frank, they spent more points than many groups earned in an entire afternoon of research.

This is even with the Kitagawa Ryo Level 2 [Discount] Card offering a 25% fee reduction.

"It's alright, there's always some going in and some coming out. Having more kitchen utensils makes it easier for me to cook these things."

However, Kitagawa Ryo didn't pay much attention to it. Instead, he proudly showed Horikita Suzune the half-portion of pork he was carrying.

Although Horikita Suzune obtained a large amount of ingredients for the [cooking] project, due to various factors, the meat she brought back was mostly canned cooked food, which was naturally inferior to fresh meat to some extent.

"Then let's go back, it's getting dark soon."

"Hmm, let me help Arisu carry some things; they're a bit heavy."

Sakayanagi Arisu and Ichinose Honami readily took over the conversation, and the three of them chatted and laughed, showing no trace of the tense atmosphere from just moments before.

The dull, murky light of dusk filtered through the gaps in the branches and leaves, casting various patches of light on the people, and occasionally one or two wild birds could be seen suddenly hopping out.

Kitagawa Ryo and Horikita Suzune each held a newly redeemed flashlight and led the way. The upright beams of light, like lightsabers, sliced through the increasingly dark night. The four of them followed the two beams of light and the real-time map on their watches toward the camp.

When Kitagawa Ryo's group returned to the camp, Karuizawa Kei had already started a large fire. She knew that there would be Uninhabited Island survival activity during the summer vacation, so she had specifically learned the basic wilderness survival methods. When she saw Kitagawa Ryo and the others return, she gathered around the fire and waved to them. The dim firelight reflected on her face and gave people a strange sense of tranquility.

"Let's make stew and barbecue today."

Kitagawa Ryo put down his backpack and took out a folding barbecue grill, a bundle of barbecue skewers, knives, and a stew pot. The school's kitchenware set was indeed worth its price of 1,200 points; the selection was quite complete.

"Let me help Liang prepare the ingredients."

Although Horikita Suzune had been saying that she wanted Kitagawa Ryo to cook dinner, her actions betrayed her words when the time came, and she stood up to help share the burden.

"I'll help too."

Ichinose Honami followed suit. Although her mother only allowed her to focus on her studies and not to do any housework that might distract her, Ichinose Honami, who had received her past memories, did not blindly follow her mother's advice. Moreover, she had participated in some logistical work in the Theater Troupe a few years ago, so she was quite skilled at cooking.

Karuizawa Kei and Sakayanagi Arisu bewildered glances. Karuizawa Kei genuinely couldn't cook, and in recent years she had devoted most of her energy to acting, getting used to waiting for Kitagawa Ryo to feed her at the Theater Troupe. As for Sakayanagi Arisu, although she had some cooking experience in her memory, she was a typical case of having learned it in her mind but not in her hands, so it probably wouldn't be good if she tried to show off.

The scene quickly transformed into two separate scenarios Kitagawa Ryo, Ichinose Honami, and Horikita Suzune skillfully and methodically handling the various ingredients, while Sakayanagi Arisu and Karuizawa Kei sat by the fire, lost in thought.

The night began to slowly darken. There were many stars tonight, but the moon was nowhere to be seen. The outlines of the trees around the campsite gradually became blurred and heavy. Occasionally, the wind would blow through the leaves, making a rustling sound.

In fact, the positions of those shining stars have never changed; they are just not as conspicuous as the moon. Not everyone can look up and find the North Star, but everyone can see the moon.

This is perhaps why, throughout history, this special planet has become a repository of countless images and emotions.

When Karuizawa Kei looked up and couldn't find the moon, a whole bunch of random thoughts suddenly popped into her head.

"Is Karuizawa interested in astrology?"

Sakayanagi Arisu was standing next to her, seemed to find the wait a bit boring as well, and took the initiative to start a conversation.

The two of them tacitly avoided looking at the other group of three. It wasn't that they weren't concerned about the progress of dinner, but rather that they didn't want to see the same tacitly coordinated Matoba unfolding there.

"I don't understand any of this; I'm just looking at the stars."

Karuizawa Kei seemed a little surprised that Sakayanagi Arisu initiative to speak to her, but she quickly responded with a smile.

"Does Arisu know a lot about these things?"

"No, besides, we haven't seen the stars in the city for a long time."

Sakayanagi Arisu also shook her head, placed her hands on the laid-out floor cloth, looked up at the stars, and said.

This was her first time in such a remote and desolate place.

But I didn't feel scared or uncomfortable; instead, when I looked up and saw the starry sky, I suddenly felt a profound tranquility.

"The stars shine so that one day everyone can find their own star."

Sakayanagi Arisu suddenly spoke up and said those words.

"What if different people find the same star?"

Karuizawa Kei lowered her eyes, as if she were genuinely discussing the topic of stars with Sakayanagi Arisu.