It Started with a Bang (Continued)
What should we do with this watch?
"I'll leave it for now, and go to the school to exchange it after the exam starts tomorrow."
Shuichi Kanda had a reason for not replacing it now: what if the school saw the watch's terrible condition and realized he already knew the schedule?
The school could easily change the entire route in a day, collect the watches, reissue them, and then distribute them again before the exam begins.
In that case, all the efforts of Shuichi Kanda and the others would have been in vain.
However, if the watch is handed in after the exam has started, even if the school knows that Shuichi Kanda has already obtained the schedule, they will not allow the students to return because of this, since it would be too embarrassing.
After the group disbanded, Shuichi Kanda sent the schedule directly to Koenji, who was a key player in this exam. Knowing the schedule in advance would undoubtedly be a huge advantage for him.
[This?]
After receiving Shuichi Kanda's email, Koenji had some guesses, but he wasn't sure.
[This is the itinerary I exported from my watch; there are twelve routes in total.]
[As expected of you, your thinking is truly boundless.]
[You flatter me. However, the possibility of the school changing the route midway cannot be ruled out. You can decide for yourself whether to trust this information.]
[OK.]
After settling things off with Koenji Shuichi Kanda went to purchase supplies. He didn't bring his Lead Card because he figured 5,000 initial points would be enough, or even more than that.
After two weeks of Uninhabited Island Exam, the first thing to consider is, of course, survival.
When discussing this, we must consider the issues of food and water.
Especially water; the school only provides bottled water in three sizes: 2L, 1L, and 500ML, priced at 300 points, 200 points, and 150 points respectively.
Moreover, this is the price on the ship; once the exam officially begins, the price of these items will double again.
Upon seeing these prices, Shuichi Kanda was speechless. This is insanely expensive!
This is a tropical island, and you'll undoubtedly sweat a lot when you're Uninhabited Island, so students will consume more water than usual.
Considering everyone's carrying capacity, it's impossible to use all 5000 initial points to buy water, and even if you did, you wouldn't be able to take them with you. Therefore, students will almost certainly buy the expensive water.
Therefore, simply relying on points to buy water is definitely not enough. Even though initial points can be used to replenish water, it is forbidden to take water away. So the school is encouraging students to participate in projects that can obtain water.
If you can't get water for the project, then you'll only be eliminated.
Fortunately, Shuichi Kanda doesn't need to worry about these issues. With the Gourmet Tablecloth, he can even eat ice cream on this Uninhabited Island, and water is not a problem at all.
However, his lack of concern doesn't mean others aren't worried, so he can even use these resources to exchange for other things.
However, in order to avoid suspicion, Shuichi Kanda bought two 500ml bottles of mineral water, a backpack, and some dried meat in addition to a single tent.
In addition to these, Shuichi Kanda also brought a power bank, a flashlight, some toiletries, and spare clothes.
Of course, Shuichi Kanda would never forget the most important thing: the Intercom. He relied entirely on it to communicate with others during this exam.
"Is that all you brought?"
Seeing Shuichi Kanda organizing his backpack, Horikita Suzune, who was at the supply store at the same time, frowned.
That's enough.
Shuichi Kanda smiled, not intending to explain.
"Whatever you want." Horikita clearly knew Shuichi Kanda's character. Then she glanced at Shuichi Kanda's empty wrist. "Haven't you gone to get your watch yet? No, you need a tablet to buy supplies, so you must have already gotten yours."
Then, Horikita looked very puzzled. Having a tablet meant that the watch must have been received, but now the watch wasn't in his hand, which meant that he had taken the watch off himself.
"You didn't break the watch in the first place, did you?"
"Yes, I just wanted to test the watch's shock resistance, and it broke right away."
Of course, Shuichi Kanda wouldn't tell her in public that he had disassembled the watch in order to obtain the schedule.
Furthermore, unexpected situations can indeed arise during subsequent exams, so understanding the watch's impact resistance might actually be somewhat useful?
"If there's nothing else, I'll be going now."
Seeing the dazed Horikita, Shuichi Kanda waved to her and left the supply shop.
After making some preparations, Shuichi Kanda sent a text message to Kamuro and Ichinose, asking them to come to the second deck to meet up.
Because it was summer, the two were dressed very casually; their white shirts and white skirts were simple, but there was a strange, almost erotic, quality to them.
From a distance, Shuichi Kanda greeted the two of them.
"Masumi, Honami, over here!"
Upon hearing Shuichi Kanda's call, the two came hand in hand and sat down on the chairs.
"Shuichi, are you ready for the exam?"
"Well, there's really nothing to prepare."
Shuichi Kanda chuckled and replied.
"Huh? Shuichi, why aren't you wearing a watch?"
After Ichinose sat down, she immediately noticed that both of Shuichi Kanda's wrists were empty, but the tablet was placed on the table.
"I was just about to tell you about this."
Shuichi Kanda smiled smugly, then turned on the tablet, brought up the schedule, and pushed it in front of Ichinose.
"What's this?"
D9-D8...
Ichinose was a little confused when she saw the long string of numbers, but she quickly realized what was going on.
"No way?"
"That's right, this is the schedule contained in the watch. As soon as I got my watch, I asked Hideo Sotomura from my class to disassemble it, and then I got twelve schedules from it."
Ichinose swiped the tablet screen and indeed found twelve routes.
Kamuro was unsurprised by this, but Ichinose was quite astonished and impressed.
"Wow, Shuichi, that's amazing!"
"It's alright, nothing special." Shuichi Kanda accepted Ichinose's praise without hesitation. "Tomorrow is your birthday, so consider this compensation for not being able to celebrate with you."
"You still remember?"
Ichinose's face, and she looked at Shuichi Kanda with affection in her eyes.
"Yes, of course."
Last year, Ichinose spent her birthday on Uninhabited Island, and this year was no different. I thought Shuichi Kanda would forget about it, but I didn't expect him to remember.
"Ahem." Kamuro was standing to the side, couldn't help but cough twice as he watched the two of them. "We're still outside. Do you two want to just kiss like that?"
"It's not impossible."
Shuichi Kanda muttered something under his breath, and was immediately glared at by Kamuro.
Ichinose blushed slightly and dared not speak; she couldn't help it, having just been truly moved.
Moreover, if they actually kissed, how would Kamuro feel?
"By the way, don't tell Sakayanagi about this itinerary yet. Just give her the itinerary after you've decided on the specific route."
Ichinose and Kamuro both nodded, because letting Sakayanagi know the entire route would be tantamount to aiding the enemy.
Given that guy's chess skills, once he knows the route, he'll probably treat this exam like a game of chess.
After explaining some routine matters regarding the exam to the two of them, Shuichi Kanda parted ways with them.
The last day before the exam quickly came to an end. After a night's rest, the three grades finally faced the long-awaited Uninhabited Island Special Exam.
"Just as Chabashira-sensei explained, this is a much larger island than the Uninhabited Island it was a year ago."
As the cruise ship drew closer, Shuichi Kanda and the others could see the entire island from the deck.
"Even if it's just living a normal life for two weeks, some students probably wouldn't be able to handle it."
Shuichi Kanda nodded. In late July, even the wind was hot; the temperature, approaching forty degrees Celsius, was quite unbearable.
This island is completely different from the one from last year. The well-maintained port stands out starkly against the Uninhabited Island, clearly indicating that people have lived here for many years.
Unlike last year, the ship did not circle around the island's perimeter, but instead headed straight for the port, which is area D9 on the map.
"Don't worry, Yosuke, no one will drop out this time."
Seeing Hirata's expression, Shuichi Kanda reassuring tone.
"Therefore, I will do everything in my power to help Koenji win."
Shuichi Kanda knew that someone had taken the last five spots, but for Hirata, as long as Shuichi Kanda won the bet, even if a student fell into the last five, he could use his Private Points to help them.
When the bet was made public, Hirata subtly inquired about the source of Shuichi Kanda's score, presumably because he also felt conflicted about Shuichi Kanda not helping Yamauchi.
However, Shuichi Kanda directly attributed the source of the points to the former Student Council President.
He's already graduated, so what chance does he have of exposing Shuichi Kanda?
Hirata chose to believe this answer and then worked hard to keep Shuichi Kanda's bet.
At 8:40, the ship entered the harbor and began to slowly dock. This Special Exam included 158 groups, ranging from singles to groups of four.
Because Senior Sister Qiao Huan didn't board the ship at all, she was automatically disqualified from the exam when it started.
Furthermore, because she did not form a team, she was directly ranked last, and Class 3-A had 500 Class Points deducted before the exam even started.
As for the other students who came in last place, Shuichi Kanda and Ryuen discussed it yesterday. They decided that as soon as the exam started, the three groups of Class 1-D would withdraw from the exam, and then the students in Class D arranged by Ryuen would withdraw from the exam.
Just as agreed yesterday, the first-year students disembarked first, and then three students from Class 1-D were left behind.
"Teacher, we're withdrawing from the exam."
Under the watchful eyes of the second and third graders, three students stepped forward and approached their homeroom teacher, Suma Norinori from Class 1-D.
"Fukada, Toyama, Ihara, all three of you are in solo groups. Are you sure you want to withdraw from the exam now?"
Suma Norinori frowned.
"Yes, we have prepared the points and Invalidation Card for the relief effort."
As he spoke, he took out his phone and immediately used the Invalidation Card and the Halving Card. With one Invalidation Card, two Halving Cards, and 6 million Private Points, he directly exempted them from expulsion.
"The data is correct. You can go back to the ship and rest now."
In addition, since they were going to withdraw from the exam from the beginning, they sold their 5,000 initial points to people who needed them yesterday, making a small profit.
The actions of these three individuals caused a stir among the second- and third-year students.
What's going on?
Quitting the exam right at the beginning?
"Don't they care about the points deducted from their Class Points?"
"Class Points of Class 1-D seems to have 0 points; they really don't seem to care about deducting any."
"If it's 0 points, where would they get the Private Points for the rescue?"
"It seems someone paid them to take the places of the last few."
Just then, Ryuen winked at one of the students in the class, and the student immediately stepped out from the line.
"Teacher, I want to withdraw from the exam too."
The student said this, then took out his phone and showed the Invalidation Card to Sakagami.
"Okay, I understand. Go back to your cabin and rest."
At that moment, Ryuen stepped forward.
"Third-year students, I'm sure many of you know that Qiao Huan senior from Class 3-A, didn't come to take the exam, and she didn't team up with anyone."
"Senior Qiao Huan, with the four groups that just withdrew, the final five groups for this exam have been determined. That means even if you withdraw from the exam now, there's no risk of being expelled."
Ryuen's words immediately shook the third-year students, most of whom were actually not qualified to go to Class A.
Therefore, Nagumo's success or failure has nothing to do with them, since the 100 million Private Points in Nagumo's hands won't be spent on them anyway.
Therefore, some of them genuinely didn't want to take the exam, but they also didn't want to drop out of school, so they had no choice but to take it.
But if the last five spots are all taken, why wouldn't I just enjoy a leisurely fourteen-day vacation on the ship?