Swords Are Already Drawn Before It's Even Begun

[Oh, I see.]

Shuichi Kanda put away his phone and then noticed that Horikita across the street seemed to have also gotten results.

"How about it?"

"Ayanokoji was in room 204 from 6 PM."

"Akito, Akito Miyake started at 7:20 PM in room 205."

I asked two people, and they turned out to be different...

However, the two soon learned the whole story, as the class group chat had already erupted in discussion.

Many people have different schedules, though some do have the same schedule, but among those who spoke, only three rooms were numbered 204 to 206.

Should we ask the students in other classes?

After a slight hesitation, Shuichi Kanda closed Ichinose Honami's contact information and opened Kamuro Masumi's chat window.

[When and where do you meet?]

Read, but not replied.

What's this guy up to? Shuichi Kanda wondered.

Kamuro Masumi was quite annoyed by the message Shuichi Kanda: "You only think of me when you need me, and then you just leave me aside when you don't. Do you think I'm your ○○ cup?"

However, her fingers quickly sent the message.

[8 o'clock, Room 207.]

So concise, is she angry?

[Well done, my loyal dog!]

After offering a word of Kamuro, Shuichi Kanda failed to obtain any further information.

However, if these fragmented pieces of information are put together, it is easy to obtain some information.

First of all, the students' exams were held at different times and locations, which means that they were at least not written exams.

That's true. Even a school as ruthless as that wouldn't give students a surprise written exam during their vacation, would it?

Based on the time and location of each exam, it can be inferred that the students were divided into groups, and each group's exam time was likely 20 minutes.

Because everyone's meeting time is either on the hour, twenty minutes, or forty minutes.

Based on the messages in the class group, there were exams from 5:00 to 8:40, but none before or after that time. Therefore, the number of groups for this exam can be estimated to be twelve.

The group that gathers at 5:00 is the first group, and the group that gathers at 8:40 is the last group.

As for the content of the exam, that remains completely unknown.

However, one thing is certain: to ensure apparent fairness, all students should take the same exams.

But if that's the case, then why separate the students?

Since the school has done this, given its usual practices, there must be a reason for it.

Are they afraid that something will be discovered if the students are gathered together?

In other words, if we want to pass this exam smoothly, we may need to look at the students in groups, whether by connecting them horizontally with time as the center or vertically with the class as the center, it's all a matter of approach.

We still don't have enough information; we can only wait for the first group to return from the exam before making any plans.

Let me see who's in the first group taking the exam.

Um...

I don't recognize any of them!

There's no other way but to figure it out myself.

"Horikita, how much battery does your phone have left?"

"Battery level?" Horikita Suzune paused for a moment, then confirmed, "80%."

80%, if the call continues, it can probably last for 3 hours.

The current time is 2:30 PM.

Okay, that's fine.

"I'm planning to go check out the exam venue, do you want to come?"

As he spoke, Shuichi Kanda had already stood up, preparing to head to the examination location he had been notified of, room 206.

"Now?"

"Well, there's no rule against going, is there?"

Although she had no idea what Shuichi Kanda was up to, Horikita Suzune decided to go and see for herself.

Students generally don't come to the cabins on the second floor. Even if they are allowed to rent rooms here, the cost seems to be very expensive.

Therefore, according to Shuichi Kanda, very few students usually come here.

Meanwhile, Shuichi Kanda and Horikita Suzune were on the second-floor deck, so they could quickly find the room mentioned in the previous email, 206, by simply entering the cabin.

Knock knock knock.

Of course, Shuichi Kanda wouldn't just barge in; that would be too reckless. So he chose to knock first.

If there were guards inside, Shuichi Kanda planned to gloss over the situation and pretend he hadn't been there. If there was no one inside, then Shuichi Kanda planned to do something.

Who is it?

Oh no, someone's here, and judging from the voice, it seems to be Class C's homeroom teacher, Sakagami Kazuma.

Looks like there's no loophole to exploit.

Shuichi Kanda could only shake his head helplessly.

The teachers are working really hard, they've been guarding this room since now. Does that mean there are people in the other rooms too?

Soon, the door to the room opened, and just as Shuichi Kanda had expected, the person inside was Sakagami Kazuma.

"You're Shuichi Kanda from Class D, right? What can I do for you?"

"Yes, we were notified to gather in this room at a later time, so I wanted to come and scout it out first."

Shuichi Kanda didn't completely hide his thoughts, but he didn't mention at all that he wanted to bring in the phone while it was on a call.

"Unfortunately, from now until 9 PM, only students who have received instructions may enter the room."

Kazuma Sakagami answered Shuichi Kanda with a serious expression, stating that his little scheme was doomed to fail.

"I see, I understand. See you then, Sakagami- sensei."

After saying that, Shuichi Kanda and Horikita Suzune turned and left together.

Watching Shuichi Kanda's departing figure, Kazuma Sakagami sighed. Such an excellent student was assigned to Class D; Chabashira was really lucky!

If the plan fails, then we can only ask Hirata to obtain information from the students who have already finished their exams.

However, he hadn't yet asked Hirata when and where he received the text message.

After asking, he got the answer: 8 o'clock, room 206.

She was in a group with herself and Horikita Suzune.

It's not that Shuichi Kanda is bragging, but in Class D, apart from Kiyotaka Ayanokoji who hasn't shown his strength yet, and the extremely self-centered Koenji, if the others are ranked according to their overall strength, these three should be among the top in Class D.

But the school actually grouped the three of them together. What is the school doing?

Forget it, there's no use thinking too much. We'll know when the true nature of the exam is fully revealed.

Then, as time went on, the students entered their respective rooms in groups to begin the exam.

However, when the first group of students came out, Shuichi Kanda others, who hadn't had their turn yet, already had a general idea of what the exam would be about.

It seems to be a game similar to Werewolf, where the winner receives Class Points or individual points.

The specifics are too complex to explain in a few words...

Because these guys can't express their thoughts clearly, and it seems like it's not just one class, but all the classes are like this.

So, all those guys who went in before us were actually idiots?

Soon, it was 8:40 PM, Shuichi Kanda and Hirata Yosuke prepared to team up and head to the examination hall.

Because they had some scattered information from previous students to rely on, the two of them were not nervous.

As a key figure in the class, Hirata had already been approached by others to discuss the upcoming exam.

As his roommate, Shuichi Kanda also overheard most of the exam content, which is why he was able to see the true nature of the exam.

Regardless of what the school says, the exam had already begun the moment the first group entered the room!

Why were Shuichi Kanda, Hirata Yosuke, and others left to have their explanations given to them last?

No, perhaps the question should be: since the content is exactly the same, why leave the best people to explain last? Is there something wrong with them?

Of course not. The reason for letting them know in advance and having them meet with the teacher last is to give them time to analyze and reflect on the exam.

Let them use this time to think about the questions they want to ask, and then ask the teacher.

"Kanda, there's something I'm concerned about regarding this exam..." Hirata said, offering his opinion as they walked down the stairs. "It's about why the school explained things in such a fragmented way. If efficiency is a concern, wouldn't it be more efficient to give a brief explanation first, and then assign groups accordingly? That would be the usual approach."

"Ah, that's what I'm also wondering about. Maybe we'll find out soon." Shuichi Kanda nodded. "And I have a feeling that whether we can find out the hidden information is the key to whether we can pass this exam."

Although he wasn't particularly interested in class competitions, Shuichi Kanda still had some anticipation for this kind of puzzle game.

Chapter 123: Tensions Rise Before It Even Begins (4K)

As mentioned before, Shuichi Kanda and his companions lived on the third floor of the ship, while the meeting place was on the second floor. Therefore, the two of them did not use the elevator but chose to take the stairs instead.

"Ayanokoji?" After going down the stairs, Hirata saw Kiyotaka Ayanokoji standing at the entrance of the building. "Could it be that Ayanokoji is also in this group?"

It's understandable that Hirata would have such a misunderstanding, because he didn't know that Ayanokoji was in the group at six o'clock.

"Uh, no, Horikita asked me to come."

"You've really had a tough time."

Watching Kiyotaka Ayanokoji being bossed around by Horikita, Shuichi Kanda couldn't help but sigh.

"That's right, you were already here, but you still insisted on calling me here."

Damn it, I take back what I just said!

You don't want to be bossed around, so you let her boss me around? You're a real dog!

As the three of them chatted idly against the wall, their acquaintances began to appear one after another.

The first familiar face to appear was Katsuragi Kohei from Class A. He seemed to have recovered from his previous disappointment, but when he passed by Shuichi Kanda, the wariness in his eyes was clearly exposed.

"Katsuragi, you don't need to be so wary of me. According to the information, we're going to cooperate this time."

In reality, Shuichi Kanda n't harbor much hostility towards Katsuragi; it was just that Katsuragi was in Class A, and their positions were different.

"On this point, I have no intention of cooperating with you, even regarding the requirements of the exam; my stance remains the same."

Katsuragi stopped and looked at Shuichi Kanda, his vigilance remaining unwavering.

"Is that so? That's a real shame." Shuichi Kanda smiled, not at all angry, and looked behind him. "So, Ryuen, shall we continue our cooperation?"

"Of course I wouldn't refuse if the benefits were enough."

Ryuen's cunning voice came from the end of the corridor, followed by two unfamiliar male students.

Compared to Katsuragi, who came alone, Ryuen Kakeru and Shuichi Kanda already had the upper hand in terms of momentum.

Upon hearing Ryuen's voice, Katsuragi's face immediately darkened.

If losing to Shuichi Kanda could be attributed to Shuichi Kanda's superior strength, then losing to Ryuen was truly due to his own blindness in failing to see through Ryuen's Ryuen and betrayal.

This sudden change in attitude suggests that Katsuragi really dislikes Ryuen.