The air in the box seemed to relax slightly after Mazumi Mami and his group left, but the silence and pressure left behind still lingered in the air.
Honami Ichinose looked down at the phone screen, sliding his fingers on the screen, quickly browsing the files sent by Mazumi Mami through Contract System.
Her expression was serious and focused, her brows were slightly furrowed, and her eyes were scanning back and forth between the lines, as if she was trying to carve this information into her mind.
Ryuji Kanzaki stood aside, and after she raised her head a little, she asked, "How is it, Honami Ichinose? What is the information above? Is it true? Is there anything suspicious about it?"
"There is a lot of information and it is very detailed..."
Honami Ichinose raised his head with a solemn gaze, "I'll send it to a small group of five of us. Everyone will take a look at it carefully, and then we will discuss it together."
She quickly operated her phone a few times and shared the document titled "Advanced Nurturing High School Freshman Special Examination Period Related Information" to a private group chat with five people.
Chihiro Shiranami couldn't wait to take out his phone and click on the document. After his eyes quickly glanced at a few lines, he couldn't help but read it out loud.
"Every freshman class will go through a Special Exam named 'Comprehensive Assessment Period' in the first month of enrollment... The content of the inspection includes class discipline and interpersonal relationships..."
She raised her head and blinked her eyes a few times. "That's it? Doesn't that mean that we should take classes well and behave well? Do you need to spend a million to buy it?"
"It's not that simple, Shiranami."
Ryuji Kanzaki interrupted her calmly, "Keep reading."
Chihiro Shiranami heard this, looked down at the screen again, and continued to scroll down.
As she read further, her expression gradually became serious.
Yume Kobashi was also quietly reading the document. Her eyes lingered on each line of text for a moment, and then she softly read out the key paragraphs.
"This exam will only be conducted in the first month of school, and will not be repeated in the future... However, the examination is very strict. Once there is any uncivilized behavior, the class score will be severely deducted. If it is serious, the class score may be directly reset to zero..."
"Classroom discipline includes whether you listen carefully in class and whether you complete the homework assigned by the teacher on time."
Asako Amikura has taken out a pen and quickly recorded the key points in his notebook.
"In terms of interpersonal relationships... it is to test whether students themselves abide by school disciplines and whether there is bullying behavior. The document specifically states that once bullying behavior is found, points will be severely deducted, and the penalty points will be much greater than other violations."
She raised her head, with a serious look in her eyes.
"This also explains why Hoshinomiya-sensei always emphasizes to us repeatedly in class, 'Be a good student', 'Be united and help each other', 'Don't bully others'... As our class teacher, she obviously knows these inside stories."
"But due to school rules or some kind of Contract restriction, she couldn't tell us the specific rules directly. She could only hint to us through repeated reminders."
Asako Amikura said.
"No wonder..."
Ryuji Kanzaki folded his arms on his chest, his eyes flashing with light of thought, "No wonder she takes the trouble to repeat those sermons that sound like clichés every time during morning meetings and class meetings. That's not actually preaching - that's handing us life-saving straws."
Chihiro Shiranami's brows furrowed even more tightly. "Then we were lagging behind from the beginning? It's been a week now... We don't know anything, maybe we've already been deducted a lot of points!"
"Calm down, Shiranami."
Honami Ichinose's voice was soothing. She raised her head and looked at her companions, "The most important thing now is not regret, but action. What we know is that it is indeed a little late. A week has passed, and there are still about three weeks until the end of the inspection period."
"We don't know yet how many points have been deducted - but at least, in the next three weeks, we must try our best to keep the remaining points and not make any more mistakes."
"The right choice."
Asako Amikura nodded, "I will sort out the information now and prepare to convey the precautions to the whole class."
"As expected..."
Ryuji Kanzaki leaned back in his chair and looked out the window, "This school's so-called '100% employment rate' and '100% admission rate', as well as the facilities on the school that are too luxurious to be considered a school - it is indeed not a free lunch."
"They provide a superior environment, but they also secretly set up harsh tests. If you don't stay vigilant, you may be kicked out at any time."
He retracted his gaze and said in a deep voice, "And I have a hunch that this 'special inspection period' is just the beginning. There will definitely be more similar exams and tests waiting for us in the future. We must prepare in advance and not be caught off guard like this time."
"Ahhhh, it's so annoying!"
Chihiro Shiranami couldn't help holding his head, looking crazy, "Why doesn't the school tell us these rules directly? It has to be hidden! Isn't this deliberately bullying the freshmen?"
"If we didn't know anything and just deducted all the Class Points in a daze, wouldn't all of us be drinking from the northwest wind? It would have been better if we had just been told the rules directly. Why do we have to be so mean-spirited!"
"This should be..."
Yume Kobashi took over, her tone gentle but thoughtful, "To test our self-discipline and observation ability. Looking back now, this school is actually full of clues and anomalies."
"For example, those points that distribute free supplies, such as the blackboard with points at the entrance of the senior class, such as the teachers' meaningful instructions... It's just that we were immersed in the joy of getting 100,000 points when we entered school, and ignored these clues."
She sighed softly, "Obviously as long as we keep an open mind, we can find so many abnormalities... but we didn't react at all. This is indeed an issue we need to reflect on."
"Who would have thought! Who would have thought from the beginning that the school was engaging in such a trick!"
Chihiro Shiranami still muttered unconvinced.
"Someone just thought of it."
Ryuji Kanzaki calmly pointed out, "Mazumi Mami not only thought of it, but also figured out the rules faster than all of us. He also used this information gap to earn one million points from us."
Chihiro Shiranami was immediately at a loss for words. He opened and closed his mouth, closed and opened it again. In the end, he was unable to say anything to refute, and could only reluctantly puff up his cheeks.
"To be honest..."
Ryuji Kanzaki's eyes gradually became far-reaching, "I even have some doubts now - the ordering of the four classes A, B, C, and D may not be a simple random order or the order of admission scores."
"Perhaps... from the moment they are divided into classes, this sorting has already represented some kind of 'good and bad' division. If not, it is difficult to explain why Class A can react so quickly and show such high unity and execution."
His words were like a stone thrown into calm water, causing ripples in everyone's heart.
Honami Ichinose heard this and did not answer the call immediately.
She was silent for a moment, and then said slowly in a hesitant tone, "If this is really the case... then wouldn't Class D..."
She didn't finish what she said, but everyone here understood what the second half of her unfinished sentence was.
"I passed by Class D classroom several times."
Asako Amikura put down his pen and said with a neutral observation in his tone, "Their performance... To be honest, it is really difficult to call it 'excellent', and it can't even be called 'qualified'. Late for class, sleeping, playing with mobile phones, and whispering are common. Some students don't seem to take learning seriously at all, and it is more like treating this school as a huge playground."
She paused and added, "So, Kanzaki's speculation - ranked in order of merit - is not completely impossible."
"No matter what..."
Honami Ichinose shook his head gently, "It is always not good to make rash assertions about other classes before there is conclusive evidence. Our top priority now is to take care of our own affairs first."
"Then Honami, should we also sell this information to Class C and Class D? Since Class A can sell the information to us, then we can also sell the information to other classes to make up for the deficit of one million points?"
Chihiro Shiranami's eyes lit up and he made a suggestion that seemed quite reasonable.
"There's nothing logically wrong with this idea."
Ryuji Kanzaki immediately poured a basin of cold water on it.
"But I suspect that Class C and Class D can't spend any extra points to buy information now. According to what I have observed in the past few days - the students of Class D are the most exaggerated spenders this week."
"You can see them in almost every entertainment venue and high-end restaurant. They are like birds just released from the cage, eager to spend all the 100,000 points in one go."
His tone became calmer and measured.
"If you contact them rashly now, you may not only get no points, but you may get bitten back by them, and you may even be dragged down by them. I suggest that before the end of the special inspection period, we'd better reduce unnecessary contact with other classes and focus on improving our own performance."
Ryuji Kanzaki said.
"Well, I also agree with Kanzaki's point of view."
Asako Amikura nodded, "Now it is almost impossible for us to catch up with Class A before the end of the inspection period - but we can at least ensure that we will not be surpassed by Class C and Class D."
"The value of this intelligence is that it gives us a first-mover advantage over Class C and Class D. If we give up this advantage, our situation will be even more passive."
Asako Amikura said.
"I also agree with this decision."
Yume Kobashi echoed softly.
Honami Ichinose glanced at the faces of several companions one by one. Although they had different expressions, they all had the same seriousness and sense of responsibility in their eyes, and she felt a little warm in her heart.
"Then let's decide."
She stood up from her seat and faced the afternoon sunshine coming in from the window, her tone carrying the solemnity and perseverance unique to a new leader.
"Everyone, we now know the rules. Although it is a little late, we still have three weeks to make up for it. Now, the primary goal of all of us at Class B is to maintain our class scores and pass this special inspection period smoothly."
She turned around and held out her hand, palm down, waiting for a response from the others.
Chihiro Shiranami was the first to put his hand up, followed by Asako Amikura's hand, Yume Kobashi's hand, and finally Ryuji Kanzaki's hand - the five hands overlapped together, as if they were the first cornerstone of an invisible fortress.
"Let's do our best together!"
"Okay!"
Five voices merged into a not loud but extremely firm echo in the private room in the afternoon.