Found You

Karuizawa Kei counted on her fingers:

"Official Twitter operation, local tours, attracting audiences outside the fanbase, refining a portion of the fanbase, and then releasing related merchandise."

"The reason why people from other Theater Troupe were so envious of Liang was because Liang's commercial value was arguably the highest in the theater industry."

"Although the result was that the scale of the purge I faced at that time was unprecedented."

Sakura Airi thought Karuizawa Kei really harbored some resentment towards Kitagawa Ryo, so she quickly explained on Kitagawa Ryo's behalf:

"Wasn't Liang trying to raise money for his sister's medical expenses back then? He spent almost all the money he earned on that."

"Of course I know."

Karuizawa Kei glanced at Sakura Airi, then suddenly burst out laughing:

"Of course I don't blame him."

"And at that time, I could have quit anytime I wanted."

As she finished speaking, Karuizawa Kei stretched lazily.

"That's often how it is; you just have to get through it."

"And now that Liang has quit, most of his fans have switched to my side. Maybe one day I'll have to support him."

Karuizawa Kei said this jokingly.

"If that day ever comes, count me in."

Sakura Airi smiled and joined in on the topic.

Because she had to stop her idol work due to enrolling in college, the resale price of her first-edition fan-limited autographed support outfit has risen to 70,000 yen per piece.

Their laughter once again drew Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's attention.

He looked at it from a distance.

It was Sakura Airi from Class D, and her face was beaming with an incredibly bright smile.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's mind instantly conjured up a piece of information that Miyabi Nagumo had told him not long ago, information that had been concealed for a whole semester.

At the beginning of the school year, Sakura Airi took advantage of the negligence of school staff and her own social influence to obtain a large amount of Private Points as compensation from the school.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka narrowed his eyes.

That alone was enough for him to remember the name.

I need to take a day off to finish my thesis.

I need to write the first draft of my graduation thesis these next few days, and time is a bit tight because I have to go to job fairs and other recruitment events during the day.

History majors are indeed not very competitive. Basically, anything you can do, Chinese Language and Literature majors can do too. It's a perfect substitute. It seems that the only options left are to take the teacher qualification exam, the civil service exam, or the government-affiliated position exam.

I lost my ID card today, sigh.

Chapter 166: I've Found You

Because the reward for the [Singing] task wasn't particularly generous, and it was a skill that was easy to learn but difficult to master, most groups didn't seem to have any intention of venturing into it. Even after almost an hour of the task being presented, only six groups, totaling eight students, had managed to gather to participate.

Although there was no limit to the number of people who could sign up for each group, most groups only sent one or two of their best singers to sign up. After all, it would be quite embarrassing and difficult to sing in front of so many people if they didn't sing well.

As the Uninhabited Island Exam has progressed, many students haven't fully shifted their mindset and approach to the topic. If Ryuen Kakeru were here, he would definitely have everyone from Class C who came here sign up.

Forget about losing face; the most important thing is to fill the maximum number of registration slots.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka stared at a group from his class who had come here, hesitantly letting only one person go up to sign up, and subconsciously thought of Ryuen Kakeru from Class C.

After the start of the Uninhabited Island Exam, he made contact with the Leader of Class C, and the other party's behavior and conduct left some impression on Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

"Ayanokoji."

Katsuragi Kohei, who looked like he had run all the way, was panting heavily and holding his knees. He gestured for Hirata Yosuke to take Kushida Kikyo to register, and then moved his burly body to sit down next to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

"Over there."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka didn't say much, but subtly pointed out Karuizawa Kei's location to Katsuragi Kohei.

"Katsuragi, you probably guessed it already, right? That Karuizawa..."

"Hmm, the special card she possesses is most likely [Reinforcement]."

"It's not just highly likely, it's certain."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka subtly shifted to the side, while Katsuragi Kohei had just engaged in strenuous exercise, radiated considerable heat.

"Because [the Resurrection] is over at Ryuen."

"This is also the basis for his deal with me."

"I see."

Katsuragi Kohei nodded, glanced at Kamuro Masumi who was idly studying the patterns on the surface of the tree, then leaned closer and asked in a low voice:

"However, I still don't know what kind of deal you made with Ryuen?"

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka glanced at Katsuragi Kohei, and considering that he would still need to rely on him as the apparent Leader of Class A in the future, he chose to reveal some information:

"I asked him to provide one-way assistance to your group, and you should have received it, including supplies and help with certain projects."

"As for what I gave up, that was insignificant. I promised Ryuen that I would be in the top three, so he tied all the [Free Ride] cards from Class C to me."

"If I don't make it into the top three, I'll have to pay him a portion of his Private Points."

"Private Points?"

Katsuragi Kohei instinctively wanted to ask more questions. He also knew Ryuen Kakeru's personality very well. If the so-called Private Points compensation did not exist or the amount was too small, the other party would definitely not agree to this cooperation.

But then he saw Ayanokoji Kiyotaka shut his mouth and look away, which meant that the other party did not want to explain everything in detail.

Since the start of the school year, Katsuragi Kohei still hasn't truly understood Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

"... I see."

However, Katsuragi Kohei quickly convinced himself that as long as Ayanokoji Kiyotaka remained a student in Class 1-A, he wouldn't do anything to harm the class, so he had no excuse to question him.

Seeing that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka Katsuragi Kohei nodded in agreement. Just then Kushida Kikyo Hirata Yosuke returned after successfully registering, which broke the somewhat awkward atmosphere.

"Long time no see, Ayanokoji."

"It must have been tough being all alone on that Uninhabited Island, Ayanokoji."

The man and woman, both possessing exceptional social skills, naturally greeted Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, Hirata Yosuke smiled and sat down on the other side of Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

"Although it's just one person, Ayanokoji's ranking is quite high; it must be the result of a lot of hard work."

"I remember yesterday we were almost in the top ten."

"They're even better than many full squads of four."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka could even speak, the two of them started praising him, one after the other.

"Have you all signed up for this project?"

"I remember Kushida sings very well."

In this situation, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka could no longer remain silent and took the initiative to speak.

"Yes."

"However, I feel that the sound reception might be affected if it's outdoors."

Kushida Kikyo looked up at the azure sky. As someone who had always been at the top of her social circle, karaoke was one of her most frequent social venues, and singing was naturally a skill she needed to master.

"Actually, the sound quality issue isn't a big deal. The main problem is that I just saw Sakura from Class D."

Hirata Yosuke smiled and shook his head:

"They're almost at a professional level; after all, singing and dancing are considered basic skills for idols."

"Anyway, we're not here to compete for first place; we're just passing by."

When Hirata Yosuke mentioned Sakura Airi, even Kushida Kikyo had to nod and purse her lips in Karuizawa Kei's direction.

"But the more points the better, let's try our best to get into the top three."

Hirata Yosuke cheered for Kushida Kikyo in a very cheerful manner.

Meanwhile, in the rest area on the other side, Karuizawa Kei and Sakura Airi also noticed the arrival of Katsuragi Kohei's group.

"I have a feeling they're up to no good."

Karuizawa Kei rested her chin on her hand and looked at Katsuragi Kohei and his Ayanokoji Kiyotaka Katsuragi Kohei. She knew Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's personality, especially the time during the Uninhabited Island Exam. The fact that he had gone so far as to attack her directly in the rainy night in order to make her withdraw from the exam 'due to illness' so that the Leader could be replaced was still a vivid memory for Karuizawa Kei.

Moreover, it's strange that a top-ranked group like Katsuragi Kohei would participate in a project with such modest rewards.

Judging from their condition when they first arrived, it seemed like they had run all the way here.

"They must be looking for me."

Considering that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was already there before Katsuragi Kohei and his group arrived, Karuizawa Kei made the same judgment.

Because Ayanokoji Kiyotaka would absolutely not participate in the [Singing] project. Although he pretended to sign up, it was definitely for other purposes.

Are you here to see Hui?

Sakura Airi frowned, and said with some concern:

What are they trying to do?

"They don't want me to keep scoring."

Karuizawa Kei stood up and glanced around at the other groups gathered for this project. Apart from her and Sakura Airi, the other four groups were all from Class A.

"Although violent interference was prohibited in this exam, there are still loopholes in the setting of the upper limit on the number of topics that can be submitted."

Karuizawa Kei sat back down and calmly analyzed the situation:

"While it's unclear whether Class A is targeting only me or the entire Class B group, one thing is certain: they're quite concerned about me, even sending the Katsuragi Group."

Sakura Airi, reminded by Karuizawa Kei, quickly realized the strategy for Class 1-A.

Based on the projects conducted on the Uninhabited Island over the past four days, according to the registration rules, the projects are generally divided into two types: those with a limit on the number of participants per group and those with no limit on the number of participants per group.

Groups that tend to be the former are mostly led by the class's elite, with others providing assistance. They may even select topics around the leader, like Kanzaki and Shibata Group in Class B.

Groups that tend towards the latter are generally composed of members with strong overall abilities and hope to maximize their score. The Kitagawa Group is currently focusing on this type of topic.

But in fact, regardless of the type, achieving just one of these conditions can greatly increase the chances of winning, and may even secure the victory.

The goal is simply to ensure that all groups participating in the project come from the same class as much as possible.

However, no class was willing or able to take such action in the past four days. This was partly because the watch's communication function was not yet unlocked, making communication between groups within the same class difficult, let alone collaboration.

On the other hand, and more importantly, generally speaking, to reach the registration limit for a project, you need five or even six groups, but the rewards are only given to the top three.

If five or six groups from a class work together, they can indeed sweep the top three spots, but this will also leave the remaining groups with nothing.

Putting aside the potential conflicts, in the end, this approach might not be as efficient at scoring as having each person act separately.

However, this self-destructive tactic is, in a sense, very suitable for targeting specific other groups. Although it also results in heavy losses for both sides, Class A, which is currently firmly in the top of the class rankings, has enough resources to plan such an encirclement of Karuizawa Kei.

"Of course, in the end, we still suffered a loss."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka lowered his eyes and said this.

Just like in MOBA games, when you use four or even five people to try and catch one of the opponents, regardless of whether you succeed in the end, you've already fallen behind in the overall game.

"But this is just the beginning."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka turned to Katsuragi Kohei and calmly said:

"She is connected to Kitagawa from both Class B and Class D."

Spread the word.

"It would be best to draw everyone's attention this way."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka paused for a moment, then showed his cards to Katsuragi Kohei.

[Discount: Cardholders will receive a 45% reduction in points spent when redeeming items (level 5)]

"Give me some time."

"I can support the entire Class A."