The Second Round Is About to Heat Up

"... Yeah?"

Katsuragi Kohei sighed:

"I don't have any better ideas right now. You should choose a route to the south. If that doesn't work, just throw away your luggage to reduce the burden and the risk of climbing the mountain."

"As long as no one gets hurt, the points can be earned back."

Upon hearing Katsuragi Kohei's words, Machida Koji sighed and hung up the call. Looking up, he saw Morishige Takuro and quickly patted him on the shoulder.

"Morishige? Pack your things quickly, the two of us will leave from the south!"

"Okay... okay."

Although Katsuragi Kohei just said that we could abandon our luggage, most students would never do so unless absolutely necessary. As the Uninhabited Island Exam has progressed, everyone has accumulated a considerable amount of drinking water and canned food in their luggage, not to mention tents and changes of clothes.

As he jogged back to his tent Morishige Takuro felt a surge of anger towards his past self. The tent had been pitched too tightly, and it took him quite a while to fold it up and stuff it into his backpack.

Meanwhile, on the other side, many students were hurriedly gathering their clothes that weren't completely dry, not even bothering to sort them, just rolling them up wet and stuffing them whole into their bags.

Many groups, like Morishige Takuro, were prepared to stay here for a few more days, and had almost finished setting up all the furniture. Now they were in a hurry to pack it all up, and the students from all classes were extremely nervous. A few minutes later, small-scale verbal conflicts broke out in various places.

However, there are indeed advantages to waking up late. Morishige Takuro even saw a group whose breakfast was already half-cooked when they received a notification that the restricted area had been refreshed. They were now hurriedly putting out the fire and clearing away the pot, looking quite disheveled.

It took almost an hour for most groups to finish packing. Because of the rush, they didn't have time to allocate space properly, and everyone had large and small bags hanging all over their chests and backs, with many people's belongings still sticking out.

However, now was not the time to be particular. Just as everyone was gritting their teeth and heading east or south through the restricted area, a large group of people suddenly surged into the camp in the F4 Area.

The one leading the group seemed to be Kitagawa Ryo from Class D, followed by other students from Class D. Because the one named Yamada Albert was too conspicuous, Morishige Takuro also took a second look at him.

After exchanging words with the Class D group that was staying in the F4 Area for a while, all the Class D groups followed them and left.

Then, Ibuki Mio from Class C walked in, coolly called over two students from Class C, and the Class C group followed suit and left.

Finally, Shibata Sō from Class B appeared, and suddenly only the students from Class A were left looking at each other in bewilderment.

"Are they... heading north?"

One of the girls hesitated before saying this.

In fact, people had considered breaking out to the east, south, or west, but no one thought of going to the north, because the north only had the impending restricted area and the boundless sea.

Although the Xi Sea Area wasn't designated as a restricted zone, were they really expected to swim along the coastline to the safe zone?

"Should we send someone to check it out?"

Another boy offered a suggestion.

The main problem is that everyone else is heading north, which is a complete dead end. If we're eliminated, we'll all be eliminated together.

However, most of the students in Class A suppressed their curiosity, and some groups even started heading south.

At that moment, a sudden inspiration flashed in Morishige Takuro's mind:

"I remember now! We can head north to the beach and take Jet Ski to leave! The Redemption Manual has Jet Ski!"

His shouts quickly drew everyone's attention.

This is a feasible solution.

The students in Class A immediately came to this conclusion.

But the group's joy didn't last long, because Kitagawa Ryo made another comeback.

Unlike before, this time he was holding up a sign.

The following sentence was written in large font above:

[A motorbike taxi on the sea will take you and your luggage to the safe zone!]

[The first passenger who voluntarily takes the ride only needs 1,500 points, the second passenger 1,800 points, the third passenger 2,000 points, and so on, all after that, 2,500 points each.]

[No Discount available for group purchases.]

At the same time, Kitagawa Ryo shouted loudly:

"We've rented all the Jet Ski!"

Morishige Takuro stared in disbelief, but he immediately tightened his grip on the package.

The value of the supplies he carried with him far exceeded 1,500 cents.

Now he has another option that allows him to avoid carrying all that stuff uphill at great personal risk.

"I'm in!"

"Alright, one private seat for you!"

Chapter 190: The Second Round of Competition Is About to Intensify

"Alright, one private seat for you!"

Just as Kitagawa Ryo finished speaking, a dark, muscular figure rushed up from behind him. Before Morishige Takuro could even react, the man snatched his bag from his shoulder, grinned at him, and revealed a set of healthy white teeth.

"Yes, sir."

"Since you are the first customer, we are offering you a complimentary bag-carrying service."

Kitagawa Ryo patted Morishige Takuro on the shoulder to comfort him, then held up a sign and shouted loudly:

Only two Discount spots left! Grab yours now!

On the other side, the students of Class A, having recovered from their shock, didn't entirely believe Kitagawa Ryo's words. Machida Koji frowned and confirmed with the teacher stationed at the supply exchange point in F4 Area:

"Can I still redeem Jet Ski now?"

"They've all been redeemed. Eighteen ships, and now there aren't a single one left."

The teacher in charge of exchanging supplies shook his head and even thoughtfully read out the numbers.

All the students in Class A, including Morishige Takuro had already registered, couldn't help but gasp. The daily rental price for Jet Ski was 2,000 points, and 18 jet skis would cost 36,000 points.

They even forgot about the existence of the [Discount Card] feature, and were completely overwhelmed by the enormous and somewhat frightening number.

"Only two Discount spots left!"

Kitagawa Ryo smiled and loudly reminded him again.

Breaking through the mountains from other directions won't cost you points, but there's a significant chance you'll be eliminated from this Uninhabited Island Special Exam.

Accept Kitagawa Ryo's offer and choose to give up some points in exchange for a 100% chance of entering the safe zone.

If there were more than just Class A left in the F4 Area, they would most likely still choose Option 1. This was essentially what Katsuragi Kohei meant earlier: if all the groups from each class were eliminated in this round of restricted areas, it would be the same as no one being eliminated.

But unfortunately, everyone from the other classes had already left.

"We're signing up!"

Two girls in the crowd looked at each other and raised their hands in unison, shouting.

Their physical strength was already a weakness, let alone carrying heavy luggage to climb high mountains several times within a set time.

Unless they abandon all their belongings and travel light, they probably still have some hope of escaping before the restricted area refreshes.

But like Morishige Takuro, neither of them was willing to give up their luggage.

If you can keep all your personal belongings and reach the safe zone without any risk, then two thousand points doesn't seem like an unacceptable number.

Their Class A group had already accumulated a lot of points in the past few days of exams, far ahead of other classes, and everyone there was quite confident.

As long as they are not eliminated, they still have a full seven days to turn things around.

As long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn.

With this in mind, the two girls agreed to Kitagawa Ryo's price.

However, they immediately looked nervously behind Kitagawa Ryo, fearing that another strong, dark figure might suddenly appear from there. In a sense, they actually hoped that Kitagawa Ryo would be the driver of the Jet Ski.

In that case, those two thousand points seem like a bit of a bargain.

"Don't worry, our motorcycle taxis are specially equipped with female drivers for female passengers."

Kitagawa Ryo smiled slightly, made a phone call using his watch, and soon Horikita Suzune arrived.

"Just follow her, there will be someone to meet you at the beach."

Horikita Suzune nodded, signaling the two to follow her away.

The departure of the three students made the remaining students in Class A somewhat restless, but after all, the Discount quota had been used up, and each remaining spot required a full 2,500 points.

The first to make a choice were Morishige Takuro and the other two girls in his group. Although everyone was entitled to use the group's points, they were ultimately the group's common property. Since the others had already used them, it would be a loss for them not to.

However, judging from their gloomy faces, they probably weren't in a good mood either.

After leaving the two groups, the students in the remaining three or four groups looked at each other in bewilderment. Each person needed 2,500 points, so four people would need 10,000, which was definitely not a small number.

Even among the Class A groups, at most only three or four projects a day can achieve a ranking or reward. After deducting the points spent on resources, most Class A groups have only accumulated around 20,000 points since arriving on the island. If half of that is suddenly removed...

"It's almost 10 o'clock now. If you're not planning to take a motorcycle taxi, you'd better hurry up, otherwise you might not be able to get out of this restricted area."

Having said that, Kitagawa Ryo stuck the sign into the ground, leaned against it, and waved to them.

"Hurry up, or we'll really be too late. The mountain roads to the south are difficult to navigate. If you slip and fall while trying to save time, you might be forced to withdraw from the exam."

At this point, the various groups gathered together to discuss the matter.

"How about we have the girls in the group take all the luggage and use the points to ride the Jet Ski, while the other boys come with me to climb the mountain?"

One of the boys was the first to offer a suggestion.

The others also brightened up, finding the idea quite feasible.

But when they turned around to talk to Kitagawa Ryo, they found that Kitagawa Ryo had already taken out a piece of chalk and quickly added two more strokes to the sign:

"We currently have a group Discount; if a group of four registers together, one person's fee will be waived."

The Class A group, who had just made up their minds, were now caught in a dilemma again. The Class A group that remained here also had two male and two female members. Right now, they only needed to add 2,500 more points to secure two spots on the boat to leave. It seemed like it was acceptable...

After all, unless absolutely necessary, the boys really didn't want to rush to cross the ridge at the last minute, as it not only severely depleted their energy but also posed certain risks. Taking Jet Ski was definitely more comfortable.

"Um, can I pay the reward using Private Points?"

At that moment, another girl asked Kitagawa Ryo.

"No, we only accept the transaction method of exchanging points for the materials we specify."

Kitagawa Ryo tapped the sign and drawled out his words:

"If I don't make a decision soon, I'm going to leave now. Maybe I can still make it to the next round of research. Time is money, after all."

"Let me calculate. The students from the other classes who set off in the first round should already be in the safe zone participating in the project?"

These two sentences shattered the psychological defenses of many students. One group leader gritted his teeth and stepped forward, saying:

All four members of our group signed up.

After the first leader appeared, the remaining groups also fell into chaos. In the end, except for a group of four boys who insisted on leaving by climbing the mountain, the other groups chose to escape the safe zone by taking Kitagawa Ryo's Jet Ski.

Although Kitagawa Ryo tried to cleverly help the group that was leaving on foot with their luggage, he quickly plugged the loophole by saying that they could not bring other groups' luggage onto the bus, and in the end, that group could only leave alone under everyone's gaze.

It's uncertain whether they'll be able to escape this area before midnight.

However, these people's emotions did not last long. After following Ryo Kitagawa to the beach, they immediately saw a quite spectacular sight. More than a dozen sea motorcycles were speeding on the sea, constantly taking students away from this area.

"Come on, sign the contract first, then get on the bus with your ticket."

Kitagawa Ryo enthusiastically pulled the person to Mashima Tomonari's side. For this operation, he had contacted the homeroom teacher in advance while in the D9 area, asking him to act as a witness for the school to complete this large-scale transaction.

The students in Class A, who had scored 2,500 points, seemed a bit down, but their attention was immediately drawn to the Jet Ski that were coming from the water.

Kitagawa Ryo patted the Jet Ski parked next to him and smiled at Machida Koji from Class A:

"Get in the car!"

Machida Koji was just feeling a little bad about his 2,500 points, was still blaming his teammate Morishige Takuro for acting on his own. He nervously sat in the back seat, and after Kitagawa Ryo helped him secure his luggage, he immediately drove him directly along the coastline to the southeast of the island, finally stopping in the J9 area.

"How was it? Was it fun?"

Kitagawa Ryo turned around and called out.

Machida Koji's legs were still trembling a little, but he nodded excitedly:

"That was really exciting!"

"Never played this before, have you?"

"I've never played it before."