On another deck of the cruise ship, night had completely swallowed the sea. The pitch-black water churned as waves gently slapped against the hull, making a dull sound that mingled with the howling sea wind and lent the air a stifling quality. Ryuen Kakeru stood in a corner of the deck surrounded by every member of Class C. Their expressions were grim, their eyes filled with hostility and resentment. The oppressive aura radiating from him kept the other Class C students from daring to speak.
With his hands in his pockets, he stared fixedly at the dark sea. Their crushing defeat on paper in the Uninhabited Island Exam had been beyond his expectations. His plan had only been half successful: he had secured a contract guaranteeing personal points from Class A, but his later attempt to guess the leader had ended in failure. "Last time, we were completely fooled in the Uninhabited Island Exam and earned the fewest Class Points. Now, in this VIP Exam, Class A's turtle-up strategy has left us completely clueless. We haven't found a single lead!"
The Class C students around him lowered their heads, too afraid to meet Ryuen's gaze. Shiho Manabe stood at the front, her brow slightly furrowed as she cautiously replied, "Ryuen, we want to find the VIP too, but Class A refuses to communicate, and we can't make any progress with Classes B and D either. It's hard to get useful information. Besides... we aren't even sure which class the VIP is in—or whether they might be among us in Class C."
"Among us?" Ryuen gave a cold laugh and swept his sharp gaze over every Class C student present, suspicion filling his eyes. "You've reminded me. The VIP could be in any class. They could even be hiding right among us, taking points from Class C while secretly helping another class and watching us make fools of ourselves!" His voice grew colder, and his oppressive presence intensified. "Since we can't find any leads in the other classes, we'll start by investigating our own people! I want to see who dares to pull a stunt right under my nose!"
The Class C students looked surprised. Some hesitated, while others appeared flustered. Clearly, they hadn't expected Ryuen to suddenly propose investigating their own classmates. "Ryuen, this... this isn't right, is it?" one student ventured cautiously. "We're all in Class C. We should trust each other. Besides, won't investigating our own people hurt our unity?"
"Trust?" Ryuen scoffed, his voice full of scorn. "There's no such thing as trust in this exam! There are only interests, only winning and losing! If the VIP really is among us and we don't find them, Class C will lose even worse, and then everyone will have to face the consequences!" He swept his gaze over them again, his tone firm and uncompromising. "I've made up my mind. Everyone will show me all the school messages they've received, along with their chat histories with other students. I'll inspect everything! If anyone tries to hide something or lie, don't blame me for what happens!"
It was indeed a quick and effective way to identify the VIP in their class. Messages from the school couldn't be altered, and with all of Class C present, no one had a chance to delete them on the spot.
As soon as Ryuen finished speaking, silence fell over the deck again. Every Class C student looked uneasy, clearly unwilling to expose their private information. After all, their messages and chat histories might contain personal thoughts or private conversations with other students. Making them public would not only invade their privacy but might also reveal what they were thinking—or give Ryuen something to use against them. The sea wind continued to howl, and the waves sounded increasingly muffled, as if echoing the unease and resistance in everyone's hearts. Ryuen's gaze swept over each student's face like a cold knife, and the pressure he exuded grew stronger. No one dared openly oppose him, yet no one was willing to take out their Student Terminal.
Seeing them remain frozen in place, Ryuen's eyes grew more hostile. He stepped forward and kicked the metal railing beside him. It rang out with a loud clang, breaking the deck's dead silence and making everyone flinch. "What? Have you all gone deaf?" His voice suddenly rose, filled with undisguised fury. "I'll say it one last time. Everyone, take out your Student Terminals right now, open all your school messages and chat histories with other students, and hand them over for me to inspect! Anyone who delays or refuses will regret it!"
The threat landed like a sledgehammer on every student's heart. Most of Class C hadn't contributed to the Uninhabited Island Exam; for them, it had basically been a vacation. Whatever the circumstances, most of them had done nothing, and Class C still received 150 personal points each month—their share of the class's final 150 Class Points. Although Ryuen withheld 100 points from each person, claiming they were for class use, the points they received with no effort left them little grounds to protest.
Several timid students had already begun to take out their terminals, their fingers trembling slightly. They were clearly prepared to give in, even at the cost of their privacy, rather than become Ryuen Kakeru's target.
Just then, a cool, resolute voice rang out from the crowd, breaking the oppressive standoff with undisguised defiance. "I refuse."
Everyone looked up. Mio Ibuki stepped out from the crowd, arms folded across her chest and her expression cold. Her brow was tightly furrowed, her eyes full of disdain and stubbornness. She looked straight at Ryuen without the slightest fear. Even in the face of his rage, which seemed ready to devour her, she didn't back down. As one of the more headstrong members of Class C, Ibuki had always been blunt and fierce, and she hated being forced into things. She couldn't accept Ryuen's indiscriminate demand that everyone reveal their private information.
"Ibuki, what did you say?" Ryuen's voice was icily cold, his gaze fixed on her as his fury threatened to erupt. "Dare to say that again?"
Ibuki didn't back down. Instead, she took a step forward, her voice even firmer. "I said I refuse. Ryuen, what gives you the right to force us to reveal our private information? Those messages include school notices about the exam, but also our personal thoughts and private conversations. They're private. You have no right to demand that we make them public."
She paused, then continued with a touch of mockery in her voice. "Besides, you keep saying you want to investigate the VIP, but have you even thought about it? The VIP's main task is to stay hidden. What you're doing will only expose Class C's internal affairs, giving Classes A, B, and D a chance to take advantage of us. Then we'll lose even worse. Is that what you call 'doing this for Class C'?"
Ibuki's words voiced what many of the students were thinking. Those who had been standing frozen began to show their agreement. Some nodded discreetly, and their resistance grew firmer. "Ibuki's right! We can't reveal our private information!" "Exactly, Ryuen. This is completely unreasonable. If students from other classes see our chat histories, we'll be finished!" "We can investigate the clues together, but revealing our private information is out of the question!"
Hearing everyone back her up gave Ibuki more confidence. She kept looking straight at Ryuen, her tone unwavering. "Ryuen, I know you can't accept our failure in the Uninhabited Island Exam and are desperate to find the VIP and wipe away the disgrace. But you can't use such an extreme method, sacrifice everyone's privacy, and destroy the class's unity. If you insist on forcing us, then I can only refuse. Go ahead and submit me as the VIP if you want. I accept it. That's better than letting you drag everyone down with you!"
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