A Sudden Special Exam

Monday morning.

Inside the Class B classroom.

Hoshinomiya walked into the classroom carrying a large stack of A4 paper, and everyone's gaze turned curiously toward the pile.

"Teacher, let me help you." Ichinose stood up to share the burden.

"Thank you, Ichinose. Please go ahead and distribute these."

"Mm, okay." Ichinose took the papers, paused for a moment after glancing at them, and then began handing them out.

Sitting in the front row, Kobashi Yume sniffed the air and said with surprise, "Hoshinomiya-sensei isn't drinking today. That's really strange."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Hoshinomiya put her hands on her hips, looking aggrieved. "Is that really the image you have of me? It truly breaks my heart."

Horikita Etsuka took the A4 paper passed down by Hamaguchi Tetsuya and saw four large characters printed on it.

[Special Exam?]

The others also exclaimed one after another.

"Wow, summer vacation is only a few weeks away, and there's a special exam?"

"The rules look so complicated, this is giving me a headache..."

Clap, clap, clap...

Hoshinomiya clapped her hands to signal for silence. "Everyone, I have some good news and some bad news. Which one would you like to hear first?"

"The good news, of course!"

"Oh? Is there something that could make us happy?"

"Teacher, stop keeping us in suspense and just tell us the good news!"

The crowd spoke up all at once.

Hoshinomiya smiled slightly. "The good news is, of course, that summer vacation is only a few weeks away, and you'll be able to play to your heart's content."

Horikita Etsuka's mouth twitched as he looked at the flighty Hoshinomiya on the podium. He looked at the paper in his hand and asked, "Hoshinomiya-sensei, the bad news you mentioned wouldn't happen to be this special exam, would it?"

"Oh my, little Etsuka guessed it right. Hmm, what a pity." Hoshinomiya pouted, seemingly dissatisfied that Etsuka had guessed correctly.

With that, Hoshinomiya picked up a piece of chalk and wrote several large characters on the blackboard.

Intelligence Defense and Offense Battle!

"Now, let me introduce it to you!"

"This is a special exam created to exercise students' thinking and class cohesion, known as the Intelligence Defense and Offense Battle."

"The core point is to create a [Class Key], protect it from being discovered by other classes, and investigate the [Class Key] of other classes!"

Horikita Etsuka listened to Hoshinomiya's explanation while reading the rules on the A4 paper.

The time limit is one week, ending at 11:59 PM on Sunday.

1. Core Rules

1. Key Formulation:

Under the supervision of the homeroom teacher, each class must hold a meeting and vote on a key (must be within 6 digits or characters) with more than half of the class in favor.

Examples: 54182, The Year the Cherry Blossoms Bloomed... etc.

Submission: The key must be confirmed on the spot by the homeroom teacher and submitted to the school system. The submitted key is the "absolute truth" and cannot be changed.

Inside the Class D classroom.

Hirata raised his hand and asked, "Teacher, if the key can be any 5 characters, can we use a free combination of special symbols, numbers, and text?"

Horikita Suzune nodded slightly upon hearing Hirata's question.

Indeed, if one wanted to ensure a high level of security for the key, using random combinations or obscure characters would greatly reduce the chance of leakage.

After all, even if other classes came to investigate, they might get it wrong because of the obscure characters.

Chabashira Sae shook her head slightly.

"You can take a closer look at the rule introduction. It explicitly notes that obscure characters and special symbols cannot be used, and the key must maintain coherence."

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji expressionlessly flipped the A4 paper over and saw several large characters on the bottom row.

[Rule Design and Safeguards]

1. The composition of the key must be coherent and cannot contain obscure characters or special symbols.

Chabashira Sae spread her hands. "So, you should give up on that idea. The school has already thought of everything you could possibly come up with."

If you like this book, please remember to add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose it next time.

Afterward, she walked slowly through the classroom with her long, black-stockinged legs.

"Secondly, there is the introduction of spies."

2. Spy Dispatch:

[Dispatch Mechanism]

Each class will secretly submit the target class they most wish to infiltrate with a spy.

If multiple classes choose the same target, the order of priority for dispatch will be determined by a lottery.

The class with higher priority gains the right to dispatch; those who do not win the draw must choose a second option or be randomly assigned by the school.

Note: The identity of the spy is strictly confidential and will not be disclosed by the school under any circumstances.

The school will create opportunities for espionage through the following methods:

1. Mandatory mixed instruction, with some classes having their class structures shuffled.

2. Opening a temporary Anonymous Chat System on the Student Terminal, which will serve as the primary battlefield for intelligence.

3. Opening designated public areas.

After reading the rules, everyone began to discuss them with great enthusiasm.

"Oh? A spy?" Yamauchi Haruki was immediately interested, striking a pose he considered cool:

"I specialized in playing Liar Game back in middle school. If it's about being a spy, I think I can handle it."

"With you, guy? You don't even look as reliable as Ike Kanji," Sudo mocked him mercilessly.

"Heh? That's not really fair." Seeing Kushida look over, Ike Kanji hurriedly straightened his clothes:

"Although I might be a bit better than Yamauchi, I think it's better for someone else to be the spy. After all, I'm an honest person!"

Having said that, his eyes drifted toward Kushida. He wanted to see if she showed an expression of admiration for his display.

Unfortunately, Kushida had already turned her head to chat with her seatmate, while Yamauchi Haruki was clearly displeased.

"Hey, hey, hey, Ike, what do you mean you're better than me? You should know I won quite a few awards back in middle school."

"Heh, are you talking about those awards with absolutely no basis, or your ability to act like you could reach the top at any moment?" Ike Kanji retorted without hesitation.

"Hey, you guy..."

Chabashira Sae watched the two arguing right in front of her without moving, not even having the slightest intention to stop them.

Hmph, this is Class D, a class that is just like trash.

Subsequently, her eyes shifted slightly to look at Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, who was sitting by the window in the back. At the same time, as if sensing something, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji also looked up and met Chabashira Sae's gaze.

Inside Class C, the classroom was silent, with only their homeroom teacher, Sakagami Kazuma, explaining the rules of this special exam on the podium.

3. Offense and Defense Phase

Review Mechanism: Each class can cast one anonymous vote per day to select the "most suspicious mole."

If a spy from another class is correctly identified: The spy's mission fails, and the class that dispatched the spy suffers a massive deduction of Class Points.

If the person voted for is not a spy: The class that cast the vote suffers a massive deduction of Class Points.

Note: Anonymous voting is not mandatory.

Individual Rewards (Core Option): Any student (including the spy) who provides key intelligence that directly leads to another class guessing the Secret Key will receive a massive reward of 1,000,000 private points. Providing information on a spy that leads to a direct identification rewards 500,000 private points.

4. Final Verdict

Each class can submit two final answers on Sunday:

1. [Guess the Spy] The name and class of the lurking spy.

2. [Guess the Secret Key] The real Secret Key obtained from another class.

Note: Submission is not mandatory. A spy can submit the Secret Key at any time; if guessed correctly, their class completes the special exam immediately and begins summer vacation early.

[Scoring System]:

1. Successfully protecting your own Secret Key from being guessed by any class adds 100 Class Points; otherwise, it is deducted.

2. Each correct guess of another class's real Secret Key adds 100 Class Points; otherwise, it is deducted.

3. Accurately identifying another class's spy and their class adds 50 Class Points; otherwise, it is deducted.

4. Classes without enough Class Points to cover deductions will enter a negative point system, which will also affect the distribution of points for the following month.

[Note]: The school reserves the right of final interpretation for all rules.

If you can't find the book by its title, try searching for the author; perhaps the name has been changed!