I See?

As he spoke, he handed over a bottle of chilled cola from the table beside him.

Ryuen took a Coke, unscrewed the bottle, took a big gulp, and then let out a satisfying sigh.

"I'm here for no other purpose than to say that you're all worried that someone in your class might drop to the bottom three or five in this exam, right?"

"Of course! Falling into the bottom five means expulsion. And if you unfortunately get last place, you'll lose 500 Class Points."

Upon hearing Ryuen's words, Takahashi Osamu from Class 1-A immediately understood that the other party had also come to resolve the final punishment, so he took the opportunity to make a sarcastic remark.

Meanwhile, Yagami immediately seized the opportunity, asking, "Does Ryuen- senpai have a good idea?"

"As long as each class pays 2 million Private Points and agrees to hand over the Invalidation Card to me, I will help you solve this problem."

Although Ryuen also wanted 6 million or 4 million for each class, he realized it was impossible because it would be uneconomical to invest too much. 2 million was the best conclusion he reached after analyzing various scenarios.

Furthermore, first-year students certainly don't have many Private Points accumulated yet. 2 million points would be 50,000 points per person. Even Class 1-C currently has more than 700 Class Points, so it's not difficult to collect them.

"Senior Ryuen, could you please explain your plan? It's really putting us in a difficult position to ask for Private Points and Invalidation Card right off the bat."

Takahashi Osamu looked troubled, while Yagami and Utsunomiya remained silent, waiting for Ryuen's reply.

"Hehe, I plan to make Class 1-D bear the punishment for the bottom three. The Invalidation Card and 6 million points you gave them are for them. As for the rest, you don't need to worry about it."

When Ryuen was talking to them, he deliberately concealed the fact that Qiao Huan would drop out of school and take the last place in the exam, and that 6 million was the number of points required after using the Halving Card.

"What about the fourth and fifth from the bottom, and the third-year students?"

The first-graders didn't rush to agree; instead, they asked about the fourth and fifth points first.

"I've already approached the third-year students, but under that Student Council President's rule, they're not willing to cooperate. So, the fourth and fifth from the bottom will be filled by second-year students, so you don't need to worry about that."

Ryuen answered their questions honestly, but Ryuen words displeased Utsunomiya from Class 1-C.

"The second-year students paid out a total of one Invalidation Card and 3 million points, while we first-year students alone borne 6 million Private Points and one Invalidation Card. Moreover, it was Class 1-D who took action, while the third-year students did nothing at all. Don't you think this is unfair, Senior Ryuen?"

Ryuen glanced at the other person with a hint of disdain in his eyes. "We were both initially assigned to Class C, and your vision is so limited? It's really disappointing. This year's Class C is hopeless. But it's fine this way."

In contrast to him, neither Yagami nor Takahashi spoke, but instead pondered the pros and cons.

"There's nothing unfair about it. You forgot to include one thing: the payment to Class 1-D. I promised them I'd give each student in that class 200,000 Private Points as living expenses after the job was done. Otherwise, do you think those guys in Class 1-D would cooperate obediently? As for the third-year students, hmph, I'll teach them a lesson during this exam."

"This..."

They are now faced with a choice: spend two million Private Points and an Invalidation Card whose whereabouts are unknown to ensure that the students in their class can take the exam without any worries, or believe that the students in their class will not fall into the bottom five and refuse to hand over the points and the Invalidation Card.

This is actually a very simple choice: choose the safe option or the risky one.

Takahashi Osamu and Yagami Takuya quickly figured out the reason. Ryuen only came to find them at this time because they had probably already dealt with Class 1-D. This could also explain why only Class D was not in this private room.

Moreover, since he dared to guarantee that the second and third-year students would voluntarily take on the fourth and fifth places, it means that he has already won over the second and third-year students.

If they refuse, they will likely face a combined attack from two grades plus Class D, a total of nine classes—three times their number. How can they possibly withstand that?

Therefore, they agreed to Ryuen's proposal almost without considering the potential for further losses.

"I can accept Ryuen's proposal on behalf of the students in Class A, but how can Ryuen guarantee it?"

"If you're not comfortable with that, we can sign a contract."

As he spoke, Ryuen gestured to Shiina, who was standing to the side.

Then Shiina took out a few sheets of paper from her small bag and placed them on the table.

The three first-graders each picked up a sheet and began reading it carefully, afraid that Ryuen might try something sneaky.

"If that's the case, I can agree on behalf of everyone in Class B."

Yagami Takuya was the first to express his opinion, followed by Takahashi Osamu from Class 1-A, who also said he had no problem. That left only Utsunomiya Riku.

"I need to ask for the opinion of all the students in Class C."

"No problem."

So, Utsunomiya picked up his phone, did a few things, and quickly received a reply.

"Okay, Class 1-C also agreed."

Hearing that the three classes agreed so quickly, Ryuen smiled.

"In that case, let's sign the contract. You can hand over the Invalidation Card to the students in Class D later. Nanase will select the people who used the Invalidation Card. As for the 6 million Private Points, considering that you may not have accumulated many Private Points, I can allow you to give them to them on the first of next month."

"No problem."

After signing the contract, the first-year students went home first.

Ryuen did not hire students from these three classes because their classes actually had students capable of competing for the top three spots, so they would never entrust Ryuen with their important student resources that could support them.

Since that's the case, Ryuen didn't mention it at all.

Because Nagumo definitely couldn't persuade the students from those three classes to support him; he was absolutely certain of this when he saw the three of them at Ryuen.

Furthermore, the combination of Class 2-A, Class 2-D, and Class 1-D might not necessarily lose to the people from Nagumo's side, since Koenji, that savage, is strong enough on his own.

Ryuen had to do was cause trouble for the third-year students and stop those third-year students who were causing trouble for Koenji.

Having three classes of students to direct is enough for him.

Chapter 303 So that's how it is?

Ryuen's success in managing four first-grade classes wasn't particularly brilliant; it simply stemmed from their understanding of their most pressing needs.

Classes A, B, and C are worried that their students will fall into the bottom three, which would not only deduct Class Points but also result in the loss of a large number of Private Points.

While Class D wasn't afraid of losing Class Points, they were terrified of falling into the bottom five and being expelled, and they desperately needed living expenses.

Ryuen took advantage of the fact that the four classes were gathered together to discuss countermeasures, and struck first, forcing Nanase into a corner. Then, they used the results they got from Class D to deal with the remaining three classes.

As for their subsequent discussions about this matter, Ryuen isn't afraid, since the contract has already been signed and they can't go back on their word.

As for the Invalidation Card for the second and third grades, it's not a problem for the second graders. The four classes are cooperating, and no one will be reluctant to give up an Invalidation Card.

In fact, Invalidation Card only have an effect when the team is in the bottom five.

Next, let's talk about the third grade. That's even simpler. We, the first and second graders, have taken the last four places from the bottom. We've made such a huge sacrifice, and we're already being generous by not asking you for money. It's not unreasonable for you to use Invalidation Card to take the fifth place from the bottom, is it? I believe they will make the right choice.

In other words, Ryuen only spent 3.9 million Private Points to pay the salaries of Class 1-D, and directly secured the last five spots.

Then he spent another 3.9 million to hire first-year students. Shuichi Kanda still had more than 50 million of the 60 million Private Points he had promised. Just thinking about Ryuen made him very excited.

In reality, it wasn't that he didn't want to extract points from the third grade, but the third grade had almost no points left because of Nagumo's policy. Even students in Class A were short of points, let alone students in other classes.

Almost all of the points from the third grade were held by Nagumo, namely the 120 million points, which is why Ryuen gave up on extracting points from them.

Meanwhile, after Kamuro returned, Shuichi Kanda sent the information that Qiao Huan from Class 3-A was destined to be last in this exam to a temporary group chat for second-year students, which only included Shuichi Kanda, Sakayanagi, Ichinose, and Ryuen.

[You're quite fast, Kanda- kun.]

Sakayanagi replied to the message the fastest, so he seems to be quite free right now. Next up is Ryuen.

The remaining two spots for the last three places will be filled by the first-year students.

Upon seeing Ryuen's reply, Shuichi Kanda raised an eyebrow. How long had it been? Ryuen had already found someone to take the blame?

Upon seeing Ryuen's reply, Sakayanagi was somewhat puzzled. Why was Ryuen so proactive? Logically speaking, there were quite a few physically fit guys in Class D, so he should be the least worried about his classmates being expelled.

[If we add the Invalidation Card from our second grade, we can confirm four groups. That leaves only one group. If we can ask the third grade for help, this exam will be completely stress-free.]

Ichinose's suggestion was also what Ryuen wanted to say.

[I'll handle things with the third-grade students. Is it alright if I get the Invalidation Card from the second-grade students? I'll arrange for someone to fill the fourth-to-last place.]

[No problem.]

[No problem.]

[No problem.]

Since Ryuen took the initiative to assume this loss of combat power, the other three immediately agreed. Anyway, it would benefit everyone, and they weren't afraid that Ryuen would renege on his promise.

Besides, if he dared to mess with three classes at once, Ryuen would definitely get a combined beating from all three classes.

This is a situation that even Ryuen would not want to see.

But...

[If the last five places from the bottom are all booked out, then our gathering today feels a bit redundant.]

It was rare for Ichinose to crack a joke.

[Of course it's not superfluous; you can ask Sakayanagi if you don't believe me.]

[That's true, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get Masumi to join my group.]

After chatting for a while about the significance of the collaboration, Shuichi Kanda extended another invitation.

Let's meet again after school tomorrow to discuss who gets the prop cards.

[No problem] *3

Several hours have passed since the contract was signed with Nagumo, and there is still no news about the bet on the forum. It seems that the guy is deliberately hiding it.

Kiriyama and Kiryuin roughly knew what had happened, obviously didn't say anything more.

If Kiryuin isn't interested, then what about Kiriyama?

Thinking of this guy, Shuichi Kanda's lips curled into a playful smile.

But let's not rush things. If we turn Kiriyama to our side now, Nagumo might Yamashita before the Uninhabited Island Exam.

Although there are no Special Exam for second graders this month, it's not certain that there will be for third graders.

The next day, Shuichi Kanda woke up an hour earlier than usual and waited for the item cards to be distributed. The moment he received the email from the school, he turned on his phone.

Then his item card was Trial Card.

Shuichi Kanda eyebrow upon seeing the card. Was this really random?

He then took a screenshot of the message and sent it to the temporary group a while later.

Then I immediately received three ellipses representing speechlessness.

Looks like my chance to make a fortune off you is gone.

This is Sakayanagi. Although Class B has over 800 Class Points, Class B financial situation is not actually very good because the contract signed between Katsuragi and Ryuen is still in effect, and they signed a 20 million yen contract in their eagerness to send Kamuro away.

[Hehe, maybe there will be an opportunity.]

Shuichi Kanda's reply left Sakayanagi somewhat puzzled, but since there was an opportunity, it meant there was something about this exam that she didn't know.

"This is getting more and more interesting," Sakayanagi said with a smile.

Shuichi Kanda then checked the whereabouts of the other special cards. The Reinforcement Card was in the hands of Asakura Mako from Class C, while the Invalidation Card was in the hands of Yano Koharu from Class B. As for Ryuen Class, they did not receive any special cards.

After washing up and eating something, Shuichi Kanda went out, and just as he stepped out of his room, he ran into Ayanokoji, who had just passed by his room.

"Yo, good morning, Ayanokoji."

Good morning, you're here early today. Is something the matter?

Although Shuichi Kanda had never been late for school, he almost always arrived just two or three minutes late. Arriving ten minutes early like today was truly rare, which inevitably made Ayanokoji suspicious.

"I guess so. By the way, I heard that Ishizaki and his group from Class D approached you yesterday. Are you planning to team up with them?"

Shuichi Kanda saw this in the class group chat, and there were even photos as proof.

At the time, some people even doubted the credibility of this information. Even without seeing their expressions, Shuichi Kanda felt that every single student in Class A who learned of this news must have been completely bewildered.

Ayanokoji and Ishizaki, what could these two possibly have in common?

It's not that it's unrelated, after all, Ishizaki was once beaten up by Ayanokoji, but yesterday Ishizaki asked Ayanokoji to leave with a smile on his face.

This is... a friendship built through fighting?

"Uh, no, I don't have that. I plan to take the Uninhabited Island Exam alone."

"One person?"

Shuichi Kanda eyebrow.

"Because I feel this might be Tsukishiro's last chance to harm me, and being with me could be very dangerous."

Shuichi Kanda glanced at him but did not refute him.

Is it dangerous to be with you?

Are you that kind of person?