The Stalker

After the [Two-Person Cavalry Battle] project was completed, Ryuen Kakeru left without even having time to utter a harsh word, his figure disappearing into the forest in an instant.

He could now be considered a double agent for Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and Kitagawa Ryo. In this three-way meeting, it was far too easy to expose his true colors, so he left quite quickly.

As Ryuen Kakeru left, Ishizaki Group from Class C naturally followed closely behind. However, before they could even move, Kitagawa Ryo blocked Ishizaki Daichi.

"Um... Kitagawa, I admit I was a bit sorry about the topic earlier, but we're on different sides, so there's no need for this."

Ishizaki Daichi scratched the back of his head and chuckled.

"That wasn't the point in the first place."

Kitagawa Ryo as he leaned closer and asked in a low voice:

"I asked you to keep an eye on Hiyori for me back then, and what happened?"

Upon hearing Kitagawa Ryo bring up the topic, Ishizaki Daichi immediately put on a wronged expression and kept protesting:

"I certainly did as instructed."

"But who would have thought that the girls in our class would spread such bizarre rumors?"

"I don't know how it suddenly became that Kitagawa is pursuing Shiina, and is even willing to abandon his own class to help Shiina Group win."

Kitagawa Ryo was speechless upon hearing the Tempest. No wonder Ryuen Kakeru seemed to know everything about the relationship between him and Hiyori back then, and immediately tried to recruit him. The spread of rumors is truly deadly.

Thinking about it carefully, the reason why the girls in Class C had such a high level of affection for her was because of the few bags of handmade pastries she had given them back then.

"Okay, okay."

Having come this far, Kitagawa Ryo had no choice but to release Ishizaki Daichi and return to his own group.

"Amasawa just called me and said she got an upgrade opportunity and is going to pass it on to Liang in person."

Upon his return, Ichinose Honami told him this news.

In that instant, Kitagawa Ryo suddenly had some kind of illusion.

His lie seems to have completely turned this hidden plot into something else entirely...

Things like handshake tickets for idol meet-and-greets.

Chapter 170: The Stalker

"Since Ichika and the others are coming over later, let's just find a place to camp here today."

Kitagawa Ryo checked the time; it was around 3:30 PM. Actually, there was plenty of time to find one or two more topics, but today's goal had been basically achieved. Their group's ranking had skyrocketed to second place, and they were now only two hundred points behind the first-place Katsuragi Kohei group.

Although the group only participated in four topics throughout the day, which was fewer than in the days leading up to the exam, their scoring efficiency was actually much higher than before because they selected topics involving multiple participants within a specific scope. Many other groups from other classes that were competing against them basically got nothing.

Under the influence of multiple factors, the class rankings, which were originally clearly divided into three tiers, began to change quietly. Class A's unchallenged lead in scores could no longer be maintained, and it slowly fell to the same score range as Class B. Meanwhile, Class D finally began to shake off its unchallenged bottom position, with its scores visibly rising and even gradually approaching the position of Class C.

"There aren't any good research topics nearby, so if we stop here for today... it should be fine."

Ichinose Honami quickly scanned the distribution of topics and rewards in the surrounding grids and nodded in agreement with Kitagawa Ryo's suggestion.

Horikita Suzune and Sakayanagi Arisu had no objections. Since they weren't under any pressure regarding scores or rankings, finding a shady spot to pitch a tent and rest was undoubtedly a better option than trekking through the sweltering jungle.

"Then it's decided!"

The four members of the group unanimously agreed, and Kitagawa Ryo clenched his fist to announce it.

After several days of living on the Uninhabited Island, the group's camping skills improved rapidly. They quickly chose a good open space and skillfully cleared the ground to set up their tents.

"I really want an ice-cold carbonated drink."

After finishing all the camping work, Kitagawa Ryo lay down on the ground in a starfish position, muttering listlessly with vacant eyes:

"It's so hot!"

"Even the ground is steaming hot... Give me another topic: Open Water Swimming."

"After all, the circle is almost shrinking to the center of the island, and there are hardly any coastline squares left, so Liang shouldn't even dream about it."

Horikita Suzune sat next to Kitagawa Ryo, tilting her head back as she drank water and replied that the temperature today was much higher than the previous few days, and she had just been busy for most of the day. From Kitagawa Ryo's perspective, Horikita Suzune was also sweating a lot, and there was a conspicuous sweat stain on the back of her sportswear, which was almost transparent and stuck to her back, clearly showing the outline of her bra.

It's actually just a very ordinary sports bra style.

Having already seen Horikita Suzune's swimsuit look, Kitagawa Ryo remained completely unmoved.

"I remember the Redemption Manual mentioned those portable mini-fridges, right?"

Kitagawa Ryo was in high spirits.

"If Liang wants to buy that, he'll also have to purchase a complete set of power generation equipment."

Horikita Suzune calmly shattered Kitagawa Ryo's illusions.

"I don't think we have the energy to carry around such a bunch of electronic devices right now. It's only the fifth day of the exam, not the eleventh day."

"Then... where's the ice?"

"I remember ice cubes can be redeemed separately, right?"

"I can tell from Liang's voice that it's really hot."

"Suzune clearly feels hot too; your back is covered in sweat."

Kitagawa Ryo pouted and whispered:

"I can see the back straps very clearly."

"Say what?"

I don't know if she heard it or not, but I could feel Horikita Suzune's eyes suddenly sharpen.

"... Honami, Arisu! I'm going to go and get some ice!"

Kitagawa Ryo quickly jumped up, completely avoiding Horikita Suzune's question. After saying hello, he headed straight into the nearby woods without looking back, where the nearest supply exchange point was located.

"Ice cubes? What ice cubes?"

Ichinose Honami and Sakayanagi Arisu, who were making their beds and tidying up their luggage inside the tent, came out of the tent with some confusion after hearing Kitagawa Ryo's voice.

"It's just ice in the literal sense; it feels too hot to handle."

As Horikita Suzune answered their questions, she turned her head awkwardly, as if trying to see what was behind her.

"It's really hot today. I hope it will cool down a bit tonight, otherwise I won't be able to sleep well."

Ichinose Honami fanned herself with one hand while constantly tugging at the hem of her shirt with the other, looking quite hot.

"Anyway, the inside of the tent is no different from a steamer right now."

Sakayanagi Arisu nodded in agreement, her face flushed red, with a thin layer of sweat on her forehead and nose.

"When the temperature rises, I feel my mood is affected, and I become more irritable."

"That's probably why Class A and Class B suddenly had a conflict today; everyone was very angry."

"If the temperature remains like this for the next few days, I feel there will be quite a few students suffering from heatstroke."

"I remember the school initially distributed cooling balm and essential oil."

The three girls chatted away, and before long, Kitagawa Ryo's figure reappeared from the depths of the forest.

What he was holding in his arms was a large insulated box filled with ice.

"Here it comes!"

The rather heavy insulated box made a loud thud when it was placed on the ground, and the ice inside rolled around with a clatter. Kitagawa Ryo lifted the lid of the insulated box, and a refreshing blast of cold air rushed out.

Everyone even forgot to ask Kitagawa Ryo how many points she had spent; they all instinctively leaned their faces closer. Kitagawa Ryo even tried to shove both of her hands into the ice, but before she could do so, Horikita Suzune slapped her away.

"Is it possible that we can use this to preserve the ingredients?"

"Should... be okay?"

Ichinose Honami tilted her head, while Sakayanagi Arisu eagerly stuffed several bottles of drinking water into the ice, seemingly intending to chill them.

Forbidden by Horikita Suzune to stick his hands directly into the pile of ice, Kitagawa Ryo had no choice but to fish out two pieces, holding them in his left and right hands, lying to the side like a cultivator absorbing spirit stones, silently sensing the changes in his body.

Although the ice will melt into water in your palm a few minutes later.

"You can make a smoothie!"

Once his mind and body had calmed down, Kitagawa Ryo jumped to his feet.

Horikita Suzune glanced indifferently at Kitagawa Ryo:

"If I hadn't stopped you in time, we would have been able to eat a smoothie with someone's sweaty hands right away, wouldn't we?"

"I am guilty."

Kitagawa Ryo and collected manner, admitting his mistake. He then turned around and took out a plane from the kitchen utensil set in his backpack, but quickly thought of another problem:

"But we don't seem to have any fruit or other ingredients on hand. We can't exactly make smoothies with canned meat, can we?"

After imagining the horrific scene, even the three girls who had complete faith in Kitagawa Ryo's cooking skills shook their heads with strange expressions, rejecting the culinary disaster.

"Looks like I'll have to go to the exchange counter again."

Just as Kitagawa Ryo was rubbing his chin, preparing to set off again, Amasawa Ichika and Sakura Airi, who had finally arrived at grid E7, also discovered their campsite.

"What are you making? A smoothie?"

Amasawa Ichika, who skipped and hopped over to Kitagawa Ryo's side first, looked curiously at the plane in Kitagawa Ryo's hand and the ice block next to him.

"Yes, but it's a bit difficult to make it without fruit."

"Ah, Airi, it's been a long time."

While answering Amasawa Ichika's question, Kitagawa Ryo greeted Sakura Airi as she approached:

Do you have any of these ingredients? I'd like to treat you to some smoothies.

"Hmm... there are only a few apples and some bananas left."

Upon hearing this, Sakura Airi rummaged through her backpack and took out a small bag of fruit.

"We got this from a research project this morning, but we've already consumed quite a bit of it."

"It's alright, this should be enough."

Kitagawa Ryo considered it for a moment and then replied with a smile:

"You guys chat with Honami and the others for a while, I'll bring it over when it's done."

Although Kitagawa Ryo took some of the ice, the remaining ice was enough to form a small cooling field. The five girls huddled around the insulated box containing the ice, not saying a word, all looking at Kitagawa Ryo who was processing the food on the other side.

Smoothies aren't that complicated. After slicing apples and bananas and juicing them by hand, Kitagawa Ryo poured the juice directly onto the shaved shaved ice, filled it into glasses, inserted spoons, and served it to the girls two glasses at a time.

On this hot afternoon, simply holding a cool glass was refreshing; none of the six people spoke, each immersed in the coolness of their shaved ice.

"He's alive..."

After finishing the entire glass of smoothie, Kitagawa Ryo let out a long sigh of relief, then pressed the glass against his face before exclaiming with a sense of relief.

"I never imagined that the services I could enjoy anytime at Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School would one day feel so precious."

Sakayanagi Arisu licked the juice from her lips and sighed.

"But don't eat too much."

Horikita Suzune maintained a remarkably restrained tone in her speech:

"The body may not be able to withstand such a sudden change in temperature."

"That's true. One summer, my sister ate too much ice cream in one day and ended up rolling around in bed with a stomachache."

Ichinose Honami said, with a spoon in her mouth.

"I took him to the hospital."

Kitagawa Ryo raised his hand to add further explanation.

"I have confidence in my body."

Amasawa Ichika smiled and finished the entire glass of smoothie.

"It's a rare treat to have a proper meal, so I don't mind."

Sakura Airi didn't seem to care. After swallowing a mouthful of shaved ice, she said:

"I was basically not allowed to eat these things before, especially before each concert. Anything that could affect my voice and physical condition was strictly prohibited."

"That must have been really tough."