A New Base Is Discovered; Kushida Scores Big!

"Actually, it's Shiina's speculation," Kaneda said. "She thinks that the leader of Class C can't possibly be Suzune Horikita, Hachiman Hikigaya, or even Kikyo Kushida."

"Actually, girls can be excluded because it's difficult for them to keep up with the high intensity of clearing so many strongholds."

"And Shiina thinks that Hachiman Hikigaya's physical abilities are probably not up to par either," Kaneda said.

"Shiina, huh?" Ryuen had long noticed that Hiyori Shiina was quite Academic Ability, and although she was often alone, she was never ostracized or isolated; she was a very sensible person.

At the same time, they are also very intelligent.

He initially thought that Shiina, with her poor physical fitness and weak spirit, wouldn't be able to use her skills in this Uninhabited Island Exam.

So they let the other person return to the ship like any other student.

But in hindsight, it was a slightly miscalculated move.

Staying behind would at least allow him to serve as a strategist. However, since they were able to analyze the situation at Kōenji, the next step is to have Ibuki continue to infiltrate, and ideally, obtain a definitive photo of Kōenji using the Leader Card, or even just a photo of the Leader Card.

On the other side...

The three members of the Hachiman returned to the camp.

But.

After watching Horikita was not fully recovered, return to the tent, Hachiman looked at Kushida.

"Can you come with me somewhere next?" Hachiman asked.

"Of course." Kushida maintained her angelic demeanor.

It's like they accept anyone who comes.

However, after the two walked a few dozen meters...

Hachiman suddenly stopped moving.

"You can lead the way from now on," Hachiman said.

"Hmm?" Kushida turned her head and blinked gently.

What is Hachiman saying?

What does it mean that she led the way?

Could it be that...

Kushida suddenly thought of something.

Chapter 134 New Base Discovered, Kushida Takes the Lead!

Kushida looked at Hachiman's stopped figure, something suddenly occurred to him.

Previously, Kushida accidentally kicked the railing and exposed his true nature. This scene was seen by Hachiman Hikigaya, and Kushida was deeply threatened by him. He originally wanted to threaten him by pressing his handprint, but it had no effect. Instead, he was the one who was exposed and his weakness was exploited by the other party.

Then they have to obey the other party's orders to betray the class at a specific time.

For Kushida, who wanted to be everyone's angel and a pure white lotus, such a betrayal, if not handled properly, would severely damage her image. Therefore, this was something that hurt Kushida a lot.

"I suggested you try drawing, but you didn't listen," Hachiman said. "And then, on the ship Kanji Ike tried to confess his feelings to you."

"Even though the matter is resolved, you're still feeling pretty bad, aren't you?" Hachiman said.

Snort.

Kushida listened to the other person's words and realized what they were saying.

Are you saying you want to help her deal with her emotional issues?

"You watched the images of the island for quite a while on the ship. I think you probably found a good spot," Hachiman said. "And then, I just wanted to let off some steam these next couple of days."

"I don't have anything to do right now, so I can come along and keep watch for you."

"..." Kushida.

Really.

Hachiman Hikigaya's insight is annoying.

In the past, she used to vent her emotions by writing blogs, but people would see them.

Then the junior high school also exploded because of this.

I then considered keeping a diary, but the diary being exposed would also be dangerous.

So it turned into kicking the railing.

Use physical energy to vent.

Unfortunately, he was captured by Hachiman Hikigaya.

And now, the other person has become perhaps the person in this school who understands her best.

"Ugh, I hate it." Kushida said cutely to Hachiman, but when no one in the class could see, she added, "Then come with me."

The tone of the first sentence sounded like she was being coquettish, but the second half sounded like she was just going through the motions.

This is Kushida's cold tone after he turned evil.

Hey, Kushida, even though you're facing away from the camp, don't change your tone so quickly.

You should know that if this gets exposed, you'll be the one who suffers the consequences, okay?

Hachiman thought to himself, "This is what I'm complaining about."

However, Kushida's reaction suggests that her emotions are probably nearing their limit.

Therefore, intercepting her today was the right thing to do.

When Hachiman heard the exam announcement on the ship, he asked Sakura to record it.

Then everyone watches together and tries to remember the points that need attention.

Hachiman remembered mostly the bases, but Kushida was different; she was looking for... a place suitable for her to do something like kicking a railing.

The place that Kushida chose... was the central tower.

The white tower offers a view of other outposts, making it a highly advantageous location.

However, although Kushida went there, she did not head towards the White Tower.

She led the way only around the small tower, then walked straight toward the grass at the edge of the white tower.

Then it stopped.

"Kushida?" Hachiman looked at her.

Then I came to Kushida's side and understood why she had suddenly stopped.

That is it.

Looking at the two sides of the bushes, I noticed two strange spots: two large nails driven quite deep.

Bend down and look down.

Immediately, a large area of emptiness was seen.

Where the two large nails were located, a steel ladder was hanging, and next to it was a very thick rope, seemingly used to tie oneself up as a second layer of protection.

Seeing that Kushida wasn't moving, Hachiman took action. He grabbed the rope and started walking down two flights of stairs to check the strength of the steel nails and make sure they were secure.

"Is this where you found it?" Hachiman asked.

"I discovered this by chance," Kushida said. "I had memorized two areas and thought I could take advantage of coming to the island to vent my emotions. But then Kanji Ike confessed to me, which completely overwhelmed me."

"Then, unfortunately, after arriving at the island, I discovered that the two areas I remembered were both outposts. They had already been cleared by Kōenji," Kushida said. "So I had no choice but to explore new areas on my own."

"Then, luckily, we found this place."

Is that so?

"Then this location is downwards, and you should go down a few flights of stairs and see," Kushida said.

In other words, she actually walked downwards.

So, Hachiman went down the stairs.

The distance is not high, only about ten meters.

What appeared before him was a small valley, and not far from the stairs was a small house.

Yes.

It's a house.

Standing on the grass atop the central tower, there's a significant drop in elevation around the hut; if you're not careful enough, you might easily miss it.

Hachiman went down the stairs and arrived at the cabin. Hearing the sound, he found that Kushida had also come down.

She was probably tied with a very thick rope while going down the stairs.

I didn't pay attention to Hachiman.

So Hachiman can confirm that she was wearing underwear today...

That's for sure.

Since they were wearing sportswear, nothing could be seen.

"I've been here once before," Kushida said. "But I didn't go straight down to this flat area. Instead, I found a small cabin on the stairs and then an open area before going back."

"Since there's a cabin here, there's no guarantee that there won't be anyone here."

In other words, she came out alone to explore the area, but she was also worried about encountering danger.

"There are indeed people here," Hachiman said. "However, they shouldn't be here during the exams."

As he said this, he pushed open the door.

The door was unlocked. There wasn't much dust on the wooden floor, suggesting that someone might have lived there just a few days ago.

It can also be noticed that there is a bed, fishing gear, and even a small refrigerator and a small kitchen in the house.

A pair of binoculars hangs on the wall.

"This should be the residence of the administrator of this artificial island," Hachiman said. "Ordinary islands wouldn't have so many resources, and the vegetable gardens on Ichinose's side are definitely not wild."

"These crops can't be grown without someone taking care of them. So, do they come by boat to take care of them every time? Obviously not, so there must be staff accommodations somewhere."

"And this is probably where this residence is."

"It should be this place."

"Because most of the island's outposts can be seen from the central tower."

"And there are also telescopes here."

This is a reverse calculation. They wanted to see their surroundings, so they equipped themselves with binoculars.

"Is that so?"

"Is it possible that the administrator is still on the island, or that he might temporarily return to this house?" Kushida asked.

The reason she said this was that she saw a wooden stake in the open space in front of the cabin, which the caretaker might have used for exercise.

At the same time.

It's similar to a railing; you can kick it.

So, Kushida taking it quite seriously.

But I was also a little nervous.

Even though Hachiman Hikigaya can help keep watch, if the administrator suddenly returns, he might still be seen in his true form.

So I'm not entirely at ease.

"We won't be back during our exams," Hachiman said firmly.

Then they walked over to where the fishing gear was placed.

Kushida followed and noticed a card reader next to the fishing gear. It was still dark, indicating that no other students had yet discovered or entered the area.

There are many outposts on the island. To earn points, you need to find the card reader in each outpost and have the team leader swipe the card using their Leader Card.