Specialty

Kiyotaka Kiyotaka really hadn't expected that his first gift from a friend would be a puppy—and a live one at that.

He was completely stunned, even subconsciously stroking the puppy's head as he thought to himself, So this is what a friend's gift looks like? Then should I prepare something in return? Is this how friendship works?

"Thank you."

Those two short words satisfied Beihai immensely; it meant the other had accepted, and as long as he accepted, there was no reason for him to come looking for Beihai again.

"No need, no need. I'm glad you like it."

Beihai waved his hand generously, settling the matter on the spot.

Taking advantage of the moment, the two of them walked to the classroom together, backpacks slung over their shoulders. But just as they reached the classroom door, a voice came from behind them.

"Beihai, today is May 1st."

"Huh?"

Beihai turned his head instinctively in response, then understood. May 1st meant that this school's abstract rules were about to kick in. The students were about to learn the so-called cruel rules of this institution!

Kiyotaka Kiyotaka waited for Beihai's answer. He knew Beihai was the same type as himself—

Someone who would use whatever means necessary when the time came, cutting off all ties without hesitation. It was precisely because they were the same type that they were drawn to each other.

"If you want to advance, now's the time to show your strength. If not, just hide it."

Beihai said it without any psychological burden. This school's abstractness and rules were impossible to rationalize—there wasn't even a reason to convince himself.

If you didn't know better, you'd think all these brutal rules were designed to strip ordinary students of their good qualities one by one, calling it "strength," then letting them cause endless trouble and cross every line of decency.

Three years later, you might not even graduate from Class A, dragging down your academic progress, and going home a full-blown demon reborn.

You'd think they were selecting a savior or training spies, only for insiders to realize—oh, it's just for college admissions. Isn't that pure torture?

Any parent with a normal brain wouldn't send their child to this school.

What's more, his Mind Sharing was tied to Honami Ichinose in Class B, which meant he was committed to supporting her indefinitely.

So even if that emotionless guy behind him wanted to lead Class D to the top, he would stop him by any means necessary and protect Honami Ichinose in Class B.

And now, Class D had finally lost its usual noise. The three biggest troublemakers, normally the loudest, sat silently in their seats, pulling out their Terminals and tapping away, as if refreshing something.

When Beihai entered the classroom, no one even looked his way.

Seeing the atmosphere, Beihai immediately lowered his head, putting on a dejected expression.

Kiyotaka Kiyotaka followed Beihai into the classroom and saw the heavy air hanging over the whole class. Just then, someone looked up in his direction, drawing a bit of attention.

Kiyotaka Kiyotaka made a snap decision. Imitating Beihai, he dropped his head and even let out a theatrical sigh—far more exaggerated than Beihai's act.

Those who noticed him saw this and lost interest.

The two of them sat down in their respective seats, waiting for the final outcome, waiting for Class D's homeroom teacher.

Class D's homeroom teacher, Sae Chabashira, arrived at the classroom about a minute after they entered. As soon as she walked in and saw the lifeless state of the class, she couldn't help but let out a sneer.

But the teacher's arrival was like a rallying point. A student raised his hand half-heartedly, stood up, and began to ask directly.

"Miss Chabashira, this month's points haven't been deposited yet. Weren't we supposed to get them on the 1st of every month?"

Sae Chabashira crossed her arms, clearly unimpressed by his question.

Instead of answering, she picked up a piece of chalk and wrote on the blackboard: A, B, C, D. Behind each letter, she filled in numbers.

A, 960

B, 890

C, 560

D, 0

Unmistakably, these were the Class Points. Class A had been completely undisturbed last month, untouched by any incidents. It was only natural they'd have this score after gathering intel and reacting in time.

Class B was a bit worse off. If Honami Ichinose had contacted Beihai the first time Class C harassed her, the score wouldn't be like this.

After all, Class B was the first to know about these rules.

Class C, though inevitably losing some points due to violence, managed to hide most of it while clashing with Class B.

Their goal was clear—they knew Class B might have information, but they couldn't extract it. Still, as long as Long Yuanxiang wasn't brain-dead, he'd just let it go. After all, he could just copy A and B, couldn't he?

If he dared to cause trouble for other classes, he'd naturally keep an eye on them.

Seeing the top two classes playing it so safe, if he kept jumping around, wouldn't he just be clowning alongside Class D in a race to the bottom?

Sae Chabashira's expression was grim. This year, all three classes were tough nuts to crack, while her own class was a bunch of dead weight.

So her voice naturally carried a sharp edge.

"Points? Haven't they been deposited already? Everyone's points for this month have been credited."

And at that moment, Sae Chabashira could finally let out everything she'd been holding in for a month.

A small word game—not even really a word game. Word games are like "deposit" vs. "down payment," or signatures written in disappearing ink.

This was just something left unclear, and a whole group fell for it.

The truth of this school: only Class A can get everything they want in the monthly Special Exam.

The code of conduct had already begun from the moment they entered this school. The exam results were such a mess that everything had been deducted entirely.

To advance, they needed to earn Class Points, which were tied to their own point system. In other words, to gain the ability to survive, they were forced to fight!

The entire class's month of wild revelry had finally ended. Faced with such a brutal truth, it was naturally like a bomb going off.

Beihai watched the chaotic frenzy in the classroom and mourned for these pitiful students for three seconds—no more, because the rest of his time had to be spent studying.

While the others wailed in agony, Beihai was writing his text comprehension.

But the teacher on the podium wasn't finished yet.

"Thinking it's over? To be honest, it'll be about this time next month. There will be a real exam. If you fail, you'll be expelled."

"And your grades and baseline performance? Hah, last month they were an absolute disaster. If you keep up results like that, I imagine quite a few people will be expelled."

Just as Beihai had guessed, if this class really could rise to Class A, the enterprises and the school naturally had to check the quality—they couldn't just shove an idiot up there.

So these exams existed to directly eliminate the useless ones. Truly Slack's signature style. He sincerely remembered that this signature style had been heavily criticized.