Backup Plan

The race continued. Yamauchi took the fifth leg; he tried his best, but Class D remained in last place.

For the sixth leg, Kanji Ike. He was nervous when he took the baton and had a slow start.

For the seventh leg, Karuizawa. She ran desperately, closing the distance slightly.

For the eighth leg, Yukimura. Despite an injured knee, he sprinted with all his might, narrowing the gap to third place to ten meters.

Now, it was time for Ayanokoji's ninth leg.

When he received the baton, Class D was in fourth place, trailing third-place Class C by five meters, second-place Class B by fifteen meters, and first-place Class A by twenty-five meters.

It was nearly impossible to catch up.

Unless...

Ayanokoji took a deep breath, and then—

The body control granted by Combat Mastery (Master Level) erupted in full force.

He took off. It wasn't a conventional running posture, but a more efficient, energy-saving stride. The angle of every push-off, the amplitude of his arm swings, and his breathing rhythm were all as if precisely calculated.

At fifty meters, he caught up to Class C.

At seventy meters, he overtook Class C.

At one hundred meters, he was neck-and-neck with Class B.

At one hundred and fifty meters, he surged past Class B, moving into second place.

The entire stadium erupted. No one had ever seen such speed, such a running style.

"What kind of running style is that?!"

"So fast!"

"That Ayanokoji from Class D... he's this strong?!"

At the final exchange zone, Ayanokoji handed the baton steadily to Mio Ibuki.

Now, Class D was in second place, trailing Class A by ten meters.

For the final leg, Mio Ibuki faced off against Class A's anchor—a student no one had seen before.

"Who is that?" someone asked.

"I don't recognize him..."

"Class A swapped their runner!"

Sure enough, Class A had used a substitute. The student looked unremarkable, but once he started, his speed was astonishing.

Mio chased with all her might, but the opponent was also fast, and the ten-meter gap remained impossible to close.

In the final hundred meters, Mio gave everything she had, narrowing the gap to five meters.

But in the end, she couldn't overtake him.

Class A finished first, Class D second, Class B third, and Class C fourth.

When the results were announced, the Class D section erupted in mixed cheers—there was regret, but more importantly, pride. Coming from last place to second, especially with Sudo injured, this result was already remarkable.

But Ayanokoji didn't think so.

He looked toward the Class A section. Sakayanagi Arisu was clapping with a smile, as if everything had gone exactly as expected.

That substitute runner... there was definitely an issue with the strength assessment. Class A had exploited a loophole in the rules to field a hidden ace.

[Ding! Malicious action detected: Rule Abuse (Substitute Runner). Recorded.]

["Helmsman in the Storm" mission progress: 3/3]

The third malicious action was complete.

The mission progress was full, but the competition wasn't over yet.

During the lunch break, at the stadium cafeteria.

The members of Class D gathered to eat, the atmosphere somewhat heavy.

Sudo's ankle had been bandaged; the doctor said it was a mild sprain that required three days of rest. This meant he couldn't participate in the upcoming individual events.

"I'm sorry..." Sudo said, head bowed. "If I had been more careful..."

"It's not your fault," Hirata said. "Class C targeted you on purpose."

"But we're missing a key player now," Horikita analyzed calmly. "There are three group events and five individual events left this afternoon, and Sudo can't participate in any of them."

"What about substitutes?" Karuizawa asked.

"The substitute has already been used," Ayanokoji said. "Kanji Ike was originally a substitute, and he's already competed. There are no more substitute slots left."

Everyone fell silent.

"Also," Mio suddenly spoke up, "I don't think it's over yet."

She looked at Ayanokoji. "During the relay, I noticed a few students from Class C in the stands acting suspiciously. They kept checking their watches, as if they were waiting for a specific time."

"Waiting for what?"

"I don't know. But it feels... like they're trying to create even greater chaos."

Ayanokoji pondered. A smoke bomb? Or something else entirely?

Just then, the broadcast system chimed:

"Notice: Due to weather conditions, some outdoor events this afternoon will be moved to the indoor gymnasium. Please check your class's electronic manual for specific arrangements."

Weather conditions? It was clearly sunny outside.

A message from Sakayanagi Arisu arrived almost simultaneously:

"It seems someone couldn't wait any longer. Watch out for the fire suppression system in the indoor gymnasium. :-)"

The fire suppression system?

Ayanokoji understood immediately. If someone triggered the fire alarm inside the gymnasium, the sprinkler system would activate, making the floor slippery and forcing the competition to be suspended.

The first indoor event of the afternoon was the "Balance Beam Relay," and Haruki Yamauchi from Class D was participating in it.

"Yamauchi." Ayanokoji turned to him. "Be careful of your footing during the competition this afternoon. If there is sudden water or an alarm sounds, stop immediately. Safety first."

"O-okay." Yamauchi looked a bit nervous.

"Also," Ayanokoji looked at Hirata, "we'll split up. Hirata, take a few people to check near the fire alarms in the indoor gymnasium. Ibuki, come with me to the surveillance room; I want to see the live feed."

"Now?" Hirata asked.

"Now." Ayanokoji stood up. "If they intend to act, they've likely made preparations before the competition even begins."

1:00 PM, indoor gymnasium.

The course for the Balance Beam Relay had already been set up. There were four narrow balance beams, each ten meters long and thirty centimeters wide. The competitors had to carry a small sandbag across the beam and pass it to a teammate on the other side in a relay.

Haruki Yamauchi and the competitors from the other three classes were warming up.

Ayanokoji and Ibuki arrived at the surveillance room. After showing the temporary permit from the Student Council, the security guard let them in.

The surveillance screens displayed footage from various angles.

"Look there." Ibuki pointed to one of the screens.

In the frame, two students wearing green tracksuits (Class C) were standing near a fire hydrant. One of them had his back to the camera, his hands behind his back, as if he were operating something.

"Zoom in." Ayanokoji said.

The guard zoomed in on the image. The student was holding... a small electronic device?

"It's a remote control." Ibuki recognized it. "The kind that can remotely trigger a smoke detector."

"Can we stop it?"

"We can, but we need evidence." Ibuki said. "If they haven't triggered it yet, they can just deny it if we rush over there."

Ayanokoji thought for a few seconds, then took out his phone and sent a message to Sakayanagi Arisu:

"Class C is planning to trigger the fire alarm to interrupt the Balance Beam Relay. Does Class A have any participants in this event?"

A few seconds later, a reply: "We do. And I don't like seeing a competition interrupted by such low-handed tactics. Need help?"

"Help me stall them for two minutes. I'm having someone handle it."

"Deal."

Ayanokoji immediately called Hirata: "Hirata, take two people to the fire hydrant. Pretend to ask for directions or just chat to stall those two Class C students. Be careful, they might have a remote control on them; don't alert them."

"Understood."

On the surveillance screen, Hirata and two Class D students walked toward the fire hydrant and began talking to the two Class C students. The others were clearly surprised but had no choice but to engage.

Taking this opportunity, Ayanokoji said to the guard: "Can you temporarily cut the power to the smoke detectors in that area? Just for five minutes."

The guard hesitated: "This... I need a reason."

"To prevent someone from maliciously triggering the alarm and disrupting the competition." Ayanokoji said seriously. "If the competition is interrupted, the school will hold someone accountable. And you are the one in charge of monitoring."

The guard thought for a moment and finally nodded: "Just five minutes."

He operated the console and cut the power to that specific zone.

Two minutes later, Hirata and his group left. The two Class C students took out the remote control again and pressed it a few times, but nothing happened. They looked at each other, completely confused.

"It worked." Ibuki let out a sigh of relief.

"It's not over yet." Ayanokoji watched the monitor. "They might still have a backup plan."