VIP Exam (3): Saturn Group Gathers in Full

The morning light was faint; a night had passed.

The sun climbed slowly toward the azure sky.

Beneath the blue sky, the sea stretched out, vast and boundless.

Seagulls spread their wings, soaring freely, occasionally letting out crisp cries.

The sea breeze blew.

At 8:00 AM, Yi Chen was already sitting at his desk reading manga.

"Buzz~"

Yi Chen's phone vibrated once.

Yi Chen slowly picked up the phone:

"Has it finally started?"

Yi Chen took a quick look and discovered that he was not the Target.

"That's strange? If I'm not the Target?"

"Then what does it mean that the First Wall has opened?"

Yi Chen thought for a moment and decided the first priority was to find the people from yesterday's group.

"If, what if..."

Yi Chen hoped for this.

Yi Chen was the first to find Sudo Ken.

He arrived at Sudo Ken's door.

"Knock knock."

Sudo Ken opened the door and looked at Yi Chen, looking both nervous and excited.

Sudo Ken quickly pulled Yi Chen into the room.

He excitedly told Yi Chen that he was the Target.

Yi Chen was a bit surprised, but he understood it in an instant.

"What does it mean when the first gate opens?"

Sudo Ken, who was not originally the Target, had been modified.

Yi Chen smiled without saying a word.

After some thought, he told Sudo Ken:

"From now on, you are not the Target; I am."

Sudo Ken asked in confusion:

"What's wrong? Brother Yi Chen, are you a Target too?"

Yi Chen said calmly:

"No."

"There is only one Target per group."

Sudo Ken suddenly realized:

"Ah, it seems that's right."

Yi Chen:

"What was said yesterday was probably just a joke."

"Think about it yourself, if everyone in every group received 500,000 points,"

"Then wouldn't the original class rankings remain unchanged?"

Sudo Ken said nervously:

"Oh, oh, I see, so that's how it is."

"I understand what you mean."

Yi Chen:

"That's right. For a class like Class A, it wouldn't matter if the rankings didn't change."

"But we are Class D; we still have Class C and Class B above us."

"The suggestion from yesterday is an impossible scenario."

Sudo Ken:

"Don't worry, I understand, Yi Chen, but we can't just swap the Target."

Yi Chen:

"It's very simple. Right now, only you and I know about this."

Sudo Ken:

"Yes, you came to find me right after it was sent."

Yi Chen:

"That's fine. We just need to present a united front to the outside world that I am the Target."

Sudo Ken didn't quite understand, but he agreed to Yi Chen nonetheless.

Yi Chen:

"We should head to the classroom now to share this information."

Yi Chen took out his phone and said to Sudo Ken:

"For now, you use my phone, and I'll use yours to show everyone in the class that I am the Target."

Sudo Ken scratched his head:

"Brother Yi Chen, is this because of that Kushida from last time?"

Yi Chen:

"Yes, just in case."

Sudo Ken:

"Did something happen between you two? You're so certain she's a traitor."

"She helped with my situation last time, too."

Yi Chen:

"Do you trust me?"

Sudo Ken:

"Don't worry, I trust you more than Kushida, I just don't know why you're doing this."

"Kushida is usually pretty good to everyone, after all."

"Did you see her betray us?"

Yi Chen replied calmly:

"Not exactly, but you'll understand once you see the results of the exam yourself."

"Only you and I know that you are the Target."

"If you keep your mouth shut and I don't say anything, do you think we'll be found out?"

Sudo Ken looked at the expressionless Yi Chen:

"Fine, I want to see how this plays out."

Soon, everyone arrived at the Class D Conference Hall.

It was equivalent to a classroom.

On the Cruise Ship, every class still had its own designated conference hall.

In the Class D Conference Hall, most of the students had already arrived.

Everyone began to share information.

The Mars Group and the Saturn Group had the Targets from Class D.

Mars: Karuizawa

Saturn: Yi Chen

Yi Chen held up Sudo Ken's phone for everyone to see the email, and everyone learned that Yi Chen was the Target.

Kushida silently noted this information.

Afterward, everyone began discussing how to handle the situation moving forward.

Yi Chen took Sudo Ken and Airi with him.

It was better for members of the same group to act together.

Sato whispered:

"Yi Chen-kun is the Target, so our class is set."

Airi:

"Sato, you shouldn't say that. Be careful someone hears you; it'll make things difficult for Yi Chen-kun."

Sato stuck her tongue out at Airi:

"Blehh~"

"I know, I know. Why are you so concerned about Yi Chen, Airi?"

Airi blushed.

Yi Chen made a shushing gesture toward Sato:

"Sato, you look very pretty today."

Sato's face flushed red upon hearing this.

The group ate breakfast together, chatting about things related to the exam.

Afterward, they returned to attend to their own business.

Sudo Ken swallowed hard, thinking to himself:

"I'm not the one with the VIP status; brother Yi Chen is."

"Sigh, doing something this thrilling for the first time is so exciting."

"If there really is someone who betrayed the class like Yi Chen said, I will definitely teach them a lesson."

"The protagonists of this special exam are none other than me, Lord Sudo Ken, and my good brother Yi Chen."

"Since Yi Chen doesn't like to hog the spotlight, then I will be the one to—"

Sudo Ken began to fantasize about everyone looking at him with newfound respect, singing his praises one after another.

He chuckled foolishly to himself.

Soon, it was 1:00 PM, and Yi Chen and the others arrived at the Saturn Group Discussion Room on the 6th floor of the Cruise Ship.

Yi Chen looked at the people inside the room.

The room was quite spacious, with a huge round table in the center.

There were 14 seats.

The room felt more like a large living room.

Off to the side, there were sofas, a television, a water dispenser, a refrigerator, and so on.

Yi Chen and his group walked over to the round table.

Yi Chen saw a few familiar faces.

Tangben Yishan looked at Yi Chen and greeted him enthusiastically.

Albert and Kanzaki looked at Yi Chen and his group indifferently.

Subsequently, everyone in the room turned their gaze toward the four of them.

Yi Chen nodded in acknowledgement without changing his expression.

The four of them then took their seats.

After everyone had sat down, no one said anything for a while.

Tangben Yishan was the first to break the awkward silence:

"Hello everyone, I suppose many of us here don't know each other yet."

"Why don't we start by introducing ourselves?"

The people from Class C looked at Tangben Yishan helplessly.

Sudo Ken stood up enthusiastically to introduce himself.

The situation became awkward once again.

The atmosphere turned quiet.

Tangben Yishan proceeded to introduce the people from his own class on his own.

Although they were annoyed, the people from his class had no choice.

Sudo Ken also introduced Yi Chen and the others.

The people from Class A and Class B looked at these two with utter helplessness.

Sudo Ken and Tangben Yishan continued their double act.

The people from Class A and Class B also began to introduce themselves with resignation.

The seven seats on the left were occupied by:

Class A: Hashimoto Masayoshi

Class A: Kamuro Masumi

Class A: Yamamura Miki

Class B: Kanzaki Ryuji

Class B: Himeno Yuki

Class B: Beppu Ryota

Class C: Tangben Yishan

The seven people on the right, excluding the four from Yi Chen's group, were:

Class C: Shiina Hiyori

Class C: Albert

Class C: Nishino Takeko

The atmosphere among everyone was extremely cold.

After the initial introductions, everyone began to observe the members of the other classes.