The Third Semester Begins as Scheduled

January 8th, the first day of the third semester at Advanced Nurturing High School.

At 7:00 AM, the shrill ring of the alarm clock exploded as it always did.

The faint morning light filtering through the gap in the curtains drew a soft line across the ceiling, signaling the arrival of the new semester.

Chang Shui Jing got up, washed his face, and brushed his teeth, just as he always did.

After leisurely putting on his uniform, he looked at the slightly upturned hair at the back of his head in the mirror and splashed some cold water on it.

After a week of rest, he looked energetic and full of drive.

He pressed the familiar elevator button, walked down the familiar path, looked at the familiar scenery, played the familiar music, walked into the familiar school building, and stood in front of the familiar Class 1-D door.

His muscle memory anxiously urged him to open the door and enter quickly.

"Am I already a student of Class B?"

He muttered a sentimental remark and paced slowly. Even a worn-out rag develops an attachment after being used for a long time.

An unfamiliar route, an unfamiliar environment, and on top of that, being half-stranger to his new classmates.

"Whew~ Why does this feel like going to a job interview?"

He opened the door, and the students of Class B were stunned for a moment, but they immediately reacted.

That's right, from today on, Chang Shui Jing was officially a member of Class B.

"Everyone, let's welcome Chang Shui-kun," Ichinose said, taking the lead.

Welcome... welcome...

Ah, geez. I don't even know their names, so how should I greet them politely? It seems I need to ask Nagumo-senpai for more advice.

"Hello everyone, I am Chang Shui Jing. I like fitness and reading."

"That is all."

Compared to his self-introduction in Class D, he stood there for a few seconds longer. He should be grateful for that.

"Hmm, that was a very short speech."

"What an energetic introduction."

Everyone wore polite, non-awkward smiles, even though they had heard rumors and were already mentally prepared.

"Oh, this seat is nice."

His new seat was designed in the back row by the window, and Chang Shui expressed that he liked it very much.

"Everyone, we are only 65 points behind Class A after this special exam. Let's keep up the good work in the new semester!"

"Let's push hard and overtake them!"

"With Ichinose-san, we can definitely do it."

Under Ichinose's encouragement, various slogans rang out.

Chang Shui suddenly remembered something: if his monthly point income increased after transferring to Class B, but the deduction rate also increased, didn't that mean his income hadn't actually increased at all! He heard it was 50 percent.

Primeval Forest Special Exam Results

Class A 940+280+20= 1240

Class B 775+300+100=1175

Class C 390+280+20=690

Class D 307+260+50=617

"Hey, Chang Shui. What's with you, you traitor?"

Sotomura was the first to step forward and question him.

"Huh? Why don't you look at which class I'm in first?"

Late at night, the members of Class D gathered in front of the homeroom teacher's office after the special exam ended.

"Kagami, what is going on? What exactly happened between you and Ayanokoji?"

Kushida pushed through the crowd and grabbed Chang Shui's arm as she spoke.

Everyone had too many questions that needed Chang Shui to answer.

"It was obviously Ayanokoji's doing. He used the Devour Permission, and since time was tight, I had no choice but to leave."

"But there was no need to transfer classes, right?"

Yamauchi pressed further.

"If Water Ghost and Ayanokoji were working together, how could I have just stood by and done nothing! Can you take responsibility if I get expelled? You idiot!"

"This..." Yamauchi was intimidated by Chang Shui's voice and shrank back.

"Truly outstanding. I didn't expect my plan to succeed. So, having Water Ghost designate someone to withdraw from the exam seals the permission—that's a new discovery for me as well."

Ryuen walked slowly to the front, taking all the blame upon himself.

"It's really quite something, the expressions on your faces. What exactly happened? I'll be merciful and explain it to you."

"What would you do if you suddenly discovered you were eliminated while alone with someone? And if the Trust Card was in their hands, you'd definitely run first."

"Just as I expected, I initially used Manabe's Water Ghost authorization to force Nagami to withdraw from the special exam. This created a rift in their relationship."

In the end, the two turned against each other.

"I'm sorry, it's my fault. I was on the way to clock in with Nagami, and he suddenly just ran off. I instinctively thought Nagami was going to take the points to Class A."

Ayanokoji explained.

"I used the Devour skill on my own initiative to prevent Nagami from gathering enough points to transfer classes; that would have been even more disadvantageous for us."

"I lied at the time for the sake of the class."

"If you hadn't intentionally misled everyone, no one would have thought Kagami was a traitor. Besides, when Kagami withdrew from the exam, why didn't anyone hear the broadcast? It must have been your doing! And you prepared Karuizawa's recording in advance just to eliminate Kagami!"

Kushida vaguely guessed the sequence of events and didn't believe Ayanokoji at all.

"The people in Class D were having a party at the time; it's perfectly normal that the base's speakers were too quiet to hear. When Koenji was eliminated back then, didn't no one hear it either?"

Sotomura stood on Ayanokoji's side.

"That is indeed possible. When Karuizawa was eliminated, the sound from the base's speakers was indeed very faint."

Horikita also chose to believe Ayanokoji.

Ryuen from Class C explained, rounding out Ayanokoji's lie, claiming that Class C used the Water Ghost to drag him down, causing Nagami to withdraw from the exam and be unable to use his phone to contact anyone. It wasn't Ayanokoji who backstabbed Nagami.

Nagami mistakenly thought Ayanokoji had activated the Devour skill, so he ran away and spent 4 million points to transfer classes, seeking help from Ichinose.

Ayanokoji thought Nagami was going to betray the class, so he asked Karuizawa to use the Water Ghost authorization to force Nagami to drop out.

As for devouring half the points, it really did seem to be for the sake of the class's interests, preventing too many points from falling into the hands of the enemy.

Everything was rounded off, and the Class Points for Class C also matched up.

A perfect lie! No one except those involved knew the truth.

Those who believed Ayanokoji thought they had been manipulated by Ryuen of Class C to sow discord among classmates.

Those who supported Nagami thought it was all a setup by Ayanokoji and Ryuen.

Ryuen had been in cooperation with Ayanokoji from the very beginning.

Nagami still wanted to say something; there were simply too many suspicious points.

How did Ryuen know their departure time, and how could the Virus File Ayanokoji prepared be explained?

"It's not like that at all, you idiots. Don't you think the timing is too coincidental? How could this be possible if Ayanokoji and Ryuen weren't colluding!"

"Hey, Nagami. Everything was Ryuen's doing. What is your goal in continuing to smear Ayanokoji? You aren't part of Class D anymore."

Sotomura's statement woke Nagami up.

He suddenly remembered when he played Biohazard Mode; everyone cooperated well when they were humans, but once they turned into ghosts, they showed no mercy to their former companions.

That's right, if he were still in the position of Class D, everyone would believe him. But now, he had already jumped ship to the competition.

Ichinose couldn't possibly use a Revival Ticket for him now that he was in Class D, and to avoid dropping out, he had no choice but to transfer classes.

Now that it had come to this, a sense of powerlessness crawled over his entire body.

Interesting, it's truly interesting.

Ayanokoji, did you really calculate things to this extent!

"Hoo—" He took a deep breath.

I have to admit, you are the stronger one this time.

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