The Power-Based Supremacy Classroom Backed by Black Technology Chapter 48

"Are you suggesting that Shiina would betray Class C?"

Shuichi Kanda said while flipping the meat slices.

"That possibility exists."

"I see." Shuichi Kanda nodded. "Alright, I'll have to decline."

When he heard "alright," Ryuen's lips had already curled into a contemptuous smirk, but the following words directly froze his expression.

"In that case, HiYori, what's your stance?"

"I won't sell out my class!"

"Yeah, you probably wouldn't. But my trust doesn't matter—plenty of people in the class don't believe you. Just that alone would already affect my plans and hurt Class C."

Faced with Ryuen's aggressive pressure, Shiina opened her mouth several times but couldn't get a word out.

"Enough. You're just worried Shiina might leak Class C's intel, right? No need to be this paranoid."

Unable to watch Shiina struggle, Shuichi Kanda threw a sharp jab at Ryuen.

"To rise to Class A, no amount of caution is excessive."

"So you had those three idiots under you pick a fight with Class D?"

At that mention, Ryuen perked right up.

"That reaction from Sudo—you put him up to it, didn't you?"

"That's right, I told him to say that. Now you've got no move, do you? And honestly, your tactics are too crude. Without evidence, how can you win? Don't believe me? Look at me—I made Class A lose 200 Class Points in one go. Now that's a real self-sacrifice play."

The moment Shuichi Kanda said this, Ryuen immediately recalled the earlier incident.

"So that was intentional on your part!"

"So don't you think, compared to my move, your method this time was a bit rough? Staking your victory on Sudo slipping up—isn't that a little arrogant, or rather, a little foolish?"

After saying this, Shuichi Kanda stared into Ryuen's eyes without blinking, sparks seeming to fly between their gazes.

A few seconds later, Ryuen suddenly laughed.

"How interesting. This school really doesn't let you get bored."

Seeing Ryuen laugh, Shuichi Kanda returned to his duties as the chef for the occasion.

"Besides, you don't need to target Shiina. Like you said, saving up 20 million Private Points isn't that hard, is it?"

Having his own words thrown back at him so quickly, Ryuen's expression soured.

"How about this—we cooperate. That way, you won't have to worry about Shiina leaking your intel, right?"

Hearing this, Ryuen looked as if he'd heard something hilarious. "Are you joking? You want Class C and Class D to work together?"

So even this guy looked down on the trash in Class D.

"Looks like you enjoy joking too. I meant me, not Class D."

With that, he pointed his right thumb at himself.

At this, Ryuen's expression turned serious.

"Let's hear it."

"For example, in the next Special Exam, we could try cooperating first. What do you think?"

"Special Exam? What do you mean?"

"This school holds exams that affect Class Points to spur competition among students. Those are collectively called Special Exams. Their timing and format are unknown. For instance, right after enrollment in April, there was the First-Year Conduct Exam. Then the May Midterm Exam tested students' ability to gather intel."

Ever since the Midterm Exam ended, the matter of the past exam papers was no longer a secret, so the true purpose of the Midterm Exam had been exposed to all first-years.

"I know all that. Get to the point."

Ryuen picked up a piece of meat and ate it, impatiently urging Shuichi Kanda to state his goal.

"You know that after the Final Exam, we'll have a two-week vacation, right?"

Ryuen's hand paused. "You mean that's part of the school's Special Exam?"

"Of course. Do you really think the school would be kind enough to let us vacation on a Southern Island without a catch?" Shuichi Kanda smiled.

Hearing this, Ryuen began weighing the pros and cons.

Chapter 80: Shiina: I Was Worried for Nothing

While Ryuen was thinking, Shuichi Kanda started eating, even serving Shiina some food.

"To reach Class A, the biggest obstacle isn't our Class D, nor Ichinose's Class B—it's Class A with Sakayanagi. I don't know what benefit you got from her last time to choose self-destructing alongside Class B, but didn't that just widen the gap with Class A?"

"So you even know about that."

Ryuen narrowed his eyes, staring at Shuichi Kanda.

"Isn't it obvious?" Shuichi Kanda said, exasperated. "Class B might look united and strong, but their weaknesses are glaring. They're nothing to fear. The real problem is Sakayanagi, who treats people like chess pieces."

"So that's why you want to team up with me first to take down Class A?" Ryuen's face twisted into a cold grin.

"If necessary, I'll drag Class B into it too."

A similar smile spread across Shuichi Kanda's face.

Watching the two of them with their sinister grins, Hiyori Shiina suddenly felt her worries were unnecessary—they were birds of a feather after all!

And so, the meal went fairly smoothly. Ryuen agreed to cooperate during the summer exam depending on the situation, and until then, he wouldn't cause trouble for Class D.

In return, Shuichi Kanda promised not to counter-sue Ryuen for false accusations over this incident. That was the real reason Ryuen had invited him today.

If it came to that, Ryuen's class would likely lose the case, driving their Class Points close to zero and pushing them into an even more reckless self-destruct.

At that point, all four first-year classes might end up suffering together.

To avoid such an absurd outcome, Shuichi Kanda accepted Ryuen's invitation and even squeezed him for a good meal.

Neither side wanted mutual destruction, so let Class A take the fall—after all, they still had plenty of points.

Thus, the two reached a tacit agreement on their cooperation strategy.

In reality, Class D couldn't launch a counter-suit either. Honestly, even though the other side had provoked first, Sudo had still thrown a punch.

If the counter-suit backfired, they'd end up in the same awkward spot as Class C.

Besides, with their mindset, just getting through this crisis was enough—they had no intention of stirring up more trouble.

Pathetic, really...

The worst part was that they all carried that tiresome sense of righteousness.

So rigid...

Most importantly, if those guys caught wind of this opportunity, they'd get cocky and likely fall into Ryuen's trap.

Making Sudo hold out for a week was already the limit; there was no way to drag it out further. The sooner this was settled, the better.

So even if someone wanted to use this chance to attack Ryuen, Shuichi Kanda would stop them.

Know when to quit. Overreaching is a fatal mistake.

As for Ryuen, this meal had raised his assessment of Class D's danger level by several notches. He'd thought it was a class full of nobodies, but unexpectedly, it had someone like Shuichi Kanda.

As a kindred spirit (in Ryuen's own mind), Ryuen understood how destructive such a person could be. If he couldn't take Shuichi Kanda out first, retaliation would bring endless trouble.

So until he had absolute certainty of crushing Shuichi Kanda, Ryuen saw no point in these probing games and decided to pull back for now.

Besides, Shuichi Kanda was right—Class D had less than 100 points. They could try cooperating to bring down the far-ahead Class A first.

In this school, being the strongest didn't guarantee Class A status. You had to be stronger than the other three classes combined to hold that seat securely.

Otherwise, before the final showdown, Class A's position was never stable.

No matter how arrogant Ryuen was, he didn't have the confidence to beat all three classes working together. So he'd stir the pot, close the gaps, and then in the final battle, everyone would fend for themselves and fish in troubled waters!

Because at that life-or-death moment, every class would have a chance, and cooperation would be impossible!

Time came to Saturday at nine in the morning. The weather was scorching, so Shuichi Kanda put on a breathable ice-silk short-sleeve shirt and slim-fit pants, ready to head out.

Today, he'd agreed with Kushida to accompany Sakura to get her camera repaired. They'd arranged to meet in the first-floor dormitory lobby.

Honestly, Shuichi Kanda still felt bad for Sakura. This whole mess had nothing to do with her, yet she'd been dragged in for nothing, and her beloved camera had been broken.

Even though Kushida had clearly offered to cover the repair costs, that didn't erase the trouble it had caused her.

The meeting point was the first-floor dormitory lobby.

Shuichi Kanda arrived first. He never liked being late, so whenever he made plans with someone, he always showed up early.

Even if the other person's lateness sometimes drove him up the wall, he'd still arrive ahead of time next time.

Today, though, he ran into someone he hadn't seen in days: Masumi Kamuro.

"Long time no see, Kamuro."

"Oh, you're still alive."

Hearing Shuichi's greeting, Kamuro glanced his way. Her mood, which had been fairly calm, instantly darkened, and she spat out words that could choke a person.

"What nonsense are you talking about? Before I grind your face into the ground, how could I bear to die?" Shuichi Kanda paused for a moment, then fired back.

"With that body of yours that got knocked into a concussion with one punch?"

Seeing the contemptuous look on Kamuro's face, Shuichi Kanda's eyebrow twitched several times, and he rubbed his brow.

Why does it feel like she's mad at me? Shuichi Kanda raised a hand to rub his forehead, utterly baffled.

Last time we studied together, the atmosphere was pretty good, right? So why is it like this all of a sudden?

Then, a possibility crossed his mind—one he could barely believe himself.

"Kamuro, you..."

Shuichi Kanda leaned in toward Kamuro, and in an instant, the distance between their faces shrank to less than 10 centimeters.

Listening to Shuichi Kanda's breathing up close sent a flutter of panic through Kamuro's heart, yet the expression on her face remained as calm and composed as ever.

"Could it be you're worried about me?"

"Who's worried about you? Even if you died, it's none of my business." Kamuro stubbornly turned her head away, not daring to meet Shuichi Kanda's eyes.

"Then why don't you dare say that while looking me in the eye?" Shuichi Kanda's eyes brimmed with amusement. "But I'm really happy, you know. Nothing pleases me more than earning the concern of a loyal dog."

Hearing Shuichi Kanda's words, Kamuro's breathing grew noticeably quicker, and the rise and fall of her chest became distinctly more pronounced.

"Oh my, Kanda-kun, long time no see."

Just then, a voice from not far away made Shuichi Kanda's face tighten.

Damn that white-haired loli, why are you everywhere? Can't you see I'm having a good time here?

"Please don't bully Masumi-san."

Following the voice, Arisu Sakayanagi, dressed in a white strappy dress, had a homely feel unlike her usual self.

The gray beret she normally wore had today been swapped for a large white round hat, and even the usual white thigh-high stockings were absent.

Always wearing a hat—are you afraid I'll discover you're actually bald?

And you, did you get shorter?

"Oh, is that so? Speaking of which, did you get shorter?"

Shuichi Kanda demonstrated his consistency between words and actions here.

Shuichi Kanda's words made the smile on Arisu Sakayanagi's face freeze for a moment, then her hand gripping the cane tightened slightly.

The next moment, her eyes filled with killing intent as she glared at Shuichi Kanda.

"If it weren't impossible, I'd very much like to use this cane in my hand to break both your legs, then have you enjoy the same view as me."

"Hey hey hey, don't say such hair-raising things with a smile on your face." Shuichi Kanda rolled his eyes, then suddenly realized something.