Cooperating with Class C

At this moment, Ryuen seemed to have finally regained his composure.

He picked up the drink beside him and took a sip, pretending as if nothing had happened.

Before he could even swallow, Onizuka spoke up in a leisurely tone to remind him: "That bottle is mine, Ryuen."

Ryuen's hand stiffened, and a crack instantly appeared in the composure on his face.

He didn't seem to expect he would make such a low-level mistake; the corner of his mouth twitched imperceptibly, but he still put the drink back on the table with a cold face and coughed as if to cover it up.

"Stop playing games, Onizuka," Ryuen said slowly, lowering his voice as he addressed him.

"So, what exactly do you want?"

Onizuka curled his lips slightly, completely unaffected by him. His gaze drifted past Ryuen to look at the cruise ship on the sea, then he straightened his posture and watched Ryuen with a beaming smile.

"What else could I want? Naturally, I'm here to discuss a partnership, Ryuen."

"Naturally, I'm here to cooperate with you, Ryuen."

"Cooperation? Spare me that act. What about the contract we signed earlier? Tear it up first before we talk about cooperation."

"Oh? Why bother, Ryuen?" Onizuka smiled, his expression unchanged, his eyes carrying a hint of mockery.

"You and I both know that the previous contract was just a matter of each getting what they needed. One thing has nothing to do with the other, and it doesn't conflict with our current cooperation at all, does it?"

Listening to Onizuka's calm and composed tone, a flash of displeasure gradually rose in Ryuen's eyes.

His hands clenched involuntarily, as if he were trying his best to restrain himself.

"Don't get cocky too early, Onizuka. If you want to get some benefits, just say it clearly. Stop trying to fool people with this nonsense."

Onizuka looked at Ryuen's angry expression, smiled unhurriedly, and his expression revealed a touch of hidden meaning.

"Squandering all your exam points and only earning the twenty thousand points per month from Class A—in my impression, Ryuen, you have never been such a content person."

Ryuen sneered, retorting with a tone of disdain.

"That's where you're wrong, Onizuka. Stop being so self-righteous."

"Is that so?" Onizuka looked at him with a half-smile and said slowly.

"But why do I feel like it's not that simple?"

He narrowed his eyes as if pondering some mystery, his tone shifting to one of exploration.

"I've been chatting with you here for so long, so why are there only thirty-eight people here today? Those two 'good classmates' of yours have never appeared. Where did they go?"

Ryuen's expression sank slightly, though a forced smile remained at the corners of his mouth.

"Even with the utmost caution, there are always people who don't like my methods and want to rebel. So I kicked them out, lest they be an eyesore."

"Oh?" Onizuka raised an eyebrow with interest, his tone filled with playfulness.

"But you know full well that if they withdrew and boarded the ship, they would still be under the supervision of the teachers. They wouldn't be at your mercy, would they?"

"If they really disliked your behavior, wouldn't it be more convenient to just withdraw? Why go to the trouble of 'hiding' on this deserted island?"

Onizuka's sharp, probing question caused Ryuen's expression to freeze instantly.

The silence at that moment felt exceptionally cold. Ryuen's eyes flickered, but he was momentarily speechless.

It was as if all those indifferent excuses were suddenly stuck in his throat, and he couldn't even squeeze out a cold laugh.

Onizuka smiled and placed the Leader ID Card he was holding onto the table.

Onizuka watched Ryuen's expression, a flash of cunning light in his eyes, as he slowly placed the ID card in his hand onto the table.

"Ryuen, did you know that leaders can be replaced? As for the 'valid reasons' required by the school, there are plenty of them to be found."

Hearing this, Ryuen's pupils constricted. He finally realized where the sense of incongruity he felt came from, and he understood why Onizuka dared to brazenly place this ID card in front of him.

"You can't guess the scores of the leaders of Class B and Class D. On the contrary, you will lose points because we will guess yours correctly. In the end, the outcome for Class C in this exam will undoubtedly be zero."

Ryuen subconsciously retorted: "Wrong, we can also..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly realized something and swallowed the words back hard.

Seeing this look on Ryuen's face, Onizuka curled his lips into a cold smile, his tone filled with obvious contempt and provocation.

"You've realized it too, right? Your tactics have made it almost impossible for you to change leaders, because your currently available exam points are zero."

"Aside from you, I find it hard to imagine anyone else in Class C who could survive alone on this island without relying on any supplies."

Onizuka leaned back against his chair, deliberately slowing his speech, and said word by word:

"Or perhaps you want to gamble? With their lives?"

Ryuen's breath hitched at these words. He gritted his teeth, his face so gloomy it seemed like it could drip water, yet he couldn't say a word under Onizuka's gaze.

He knew Onizuka was right.

"I give up. I can just take everyone and withdraw, can't I? Even just those twenty thousand points are enough."

Onizuka crossed his arms and looked at Ryuen with an expression of surprise, a trace of imperceptible doubt flashing in his eyes.

"Doesn't the contract you signed force you to provide the intelligence on the leaders of each class to them?"

Ryuen let out a dry, hollow laugh.

"It's rare to see you guess wrong. That's right, the leader's information isn't strictly necessary."

Onizuka pondered for a moment, feeling somewhat unable to comprehend the situation.

For someone as cautious as Katsuragi to sign such a seemingly unrestricted contract, Onizuka found himself completely baffled.

No, wait, what gave Katsuragi the right to do that?

Why would he sign such an unequal contract? Did he really think he was guaranteed to win?

Between him and Sakayanagi, who was the real radical here????

Watching Onizuka, who looked as if he were questioning his own existence, Ryuen let out a sigh.

"Since that's the case, I can fully enjoy this vacation. At the very least, I won't be wasting seven days for nothing, right? Thanks a lot, Onizuka."

Hearing this provocation, Onizuka waved his hand dismissively.

"It doesn't matter. I just miscalculated that guy Katsuragi's confidence. Say, Ryuen, how about we cooperate?"

Ryuen was immediately intrigued; he was very curious to see how Onizuka could still maneuver in this situation.

"Hmph, don't beat around the bush. Tell me, how do you want to cooperate?"

"It's simple, Ryuen. You stay in this exam and don't choose to withdraw. I can persuade Class D and Class B not to vote against Class C. In exchange, your Class C must not leak the leader information of our two classes."

He paused, his gaze locking onto Ryuen with sharp intensity.

"That way, you can at least gain fifty points for reporting the Class A leader. That's better than ending up with nothing, right?"

Ryuen froze, his brow furrowing slightly. "And what about you? What do you get out of this?"

"It's simple. Every month, I need everyone in your class to transfer three thousand points to me individually, just like last time... just a little bit of a service fee."

Hearing Onizuka bring up the previous contract again, Ryuen's face darkened a few shades, but after carefully considering Onizuka's proposal, he realized it was actually feasible.

After all, twenty points were essentially free class points; it would be a waste not to take them, wouldn't it?

Seeing the expression on Ryuen's face, Onizuka knew he had agreed, so he immediately extended his hand.

"Pleasure doing business with you?"

Ryuen looked at him with disdain before reluctantly shaking his hand.

"Tsk, I never thought I'd be able to cooperate with you."

"Pleasure doing business with you!"