Class B's Action

At six in the morning, the skies over the island campus were already fully bright.

The sea breeze slipped through gaps in the forest, carrying away the lingering chill of the night. The entire campus was absurdly quiet—no noisy voices, no students fooling around, only the rustle of leaves in the wind and the faint rise and fall of distant waves.

Bai Mu opened his eyes right on time, his body clock as precise as if it came with its own countdown system.

In his previous life's high-intensity routine, staying up late, working overtime, and reversing day and night had all been normal. The consequence of chronically overworking his body had been a whole collection of minor ailments at a young age. Now that he had been reborn into a perfect physique, he had no intention of squandering it.

To Bai Mu, discipline had never been performative self-improvement or pointless competition. It was the most reliable trump card. Exercise combined with sufficient rest was the only way to keep one's body in peak condition. Blindly staying up late to work out and desperately exhausting one's stamina was nothing but ineffective effort that yielded twice the work for half the result.

After a quick wash, he changed into a light athletic school uniform, pushed open his dormitory door, and went for an unhurried morning run along the tree-lined track around the island.

There were very few students up this early. Most of the vast campus stood empty, completely unlike the bustling scene after classes ended.

After several laps at a steady pace, his lungs had fully opened up, his muscles and bones loosened, and all traces of fatigue had vanished. His mental state was instantly at its peak. Bai Mu slowed down and headed back toward the dormitory area, planning to freshen up and prepare for the morning classes.

Along the way, he gradually ran into quite a few Class B students who had gotten up early to attend class.

Hamaguchi Tetsuya, Shiratori Misaki, Ando Yu...

One youthful face after another corresponded to precise names and personality information in Bai Mu's mind. After school yesterday, Ichinose had specifically organized a class-wide self-introduction session. Her original intention had been to bring the students closer and strengthen the class's cohesion. For ordinary freshmen, it had merely been a routine social exercise, but for someone like Bai Mu, whose memory was maxed out and who excelled at sorting information, it had been like recording everyone into a database with one click.

"Hamaguchi, morning."

"Shiratori, Ando, good morning."

As Bai Mu passed them, he greeted each of them in turn, his tone calm and his manners impeccable.

The three Class B students froze on the spot, their faces full of astonishment as their brains seemed to shut down.

They only remembered that there was a handsome, low-key, aloof foreign student in their class. They had not remembered his name at all, much less expected that this cool dark horse would recognize them. Yet not only had he called them by name with perfect accuracy, he had even greeted them first. The contrast was overwhelming.

After their brief shock, they hurriedly snapped back to their senses and raised their hands in response, their voices carrying a few traces of nervous respect. "B-Bai Mu, good morning!"

Watching Bai Mu's composed figure walk away, the three exchanged glances and silently marveled.

Handsome, low-key, polite, and down-to-earth. He did not lord his strength over others, nor did he put on an aloof act.

By the time Bai Mu arrived at the teaching building after getting ready, more than half the class was already seated.

The atmosphere in Class B today was visibly tense, entirely different from the bewildered, relaxed mood of the freshmen yesterday. No one chatted or played around anymore. Everyone sat upright and behaved themselves, even deliberately lowering their voices when speaking, afraid that a careless mistake might violate school rules and cost them precious class points.

The moment Bai Mu entered, he noticed intermittent gazes falling on him—curious and admiring looks that seemed present yet not quite obvious.

After calmly taking his usual seat in the corner of the back row, Shibata Hayate, who sat in front of him, immediately spun around as if someone had flipped a switch. The excitement in his eyes was impossible to hide as he lowered his voice and exclaimed, "Bai Mu! You're seriously insane! You swept through every major club in the school yesterday afternoon, even crushing the upperclassmen! Now everyone in the entire first year has heard your name!"

Bai Mu casually took out a textbook without even looking up, then asked in an offhand tone, "The news spread that fast? Who told you?"

"Ichinose, of course!" Shibata Hayate replied as though it were only natural. "She briefly talked about your achievements in the class group last night, and she also shared the hidden point-deduction rules you figured out in advance! Now the whole class knows we've got someone as capable as you hidden among us. You helped the class avoid pitfalls and gathered crucial intelligence before school had even properly begun!"

Bai Mu raised an eyebrow slightly, immediately understanding.

Just as expected of Ichinose.

She did not claim credit or draw attention to herself. Instead, she cleverly shared his achievements and intelligence with the entire class, stabilizing everyone's morale, avoiding the risks of early deductions, and raising the class's overall cohesion in the process. At the same time, she had subtly earned him a wave of goodwill from the class.

This woman's emotional intelligence and coordination skills truly were top-tier in Class B.

Shibata Hayate looked deeply impressed as he continued in a quiet voice, "It was seriously so clutch! If you hadn't warned us beforehand, we probably would've broken the rules without even realizing it and lost class points for nothing. Now the entire class is on edge. Everyone's focused on following the rules and behaving themselves. We absolutely won't drag the class down!"

Bai Mu nodded lightly and said nothing more, quietly lowering his head to preview the lesson material.

He had never intended to become the class hero or everyone's savior. He simply did not want to be dragged down by useless teammates, lose points for no reason, and have his quality of life ruined.

After all, the prerequisite for peacefully coasting through school and living a stable life was having enough points in hand, maintaining a steady class ranking, and not taking the blame for meaningless mistakes.

Once class officially began, the atmosphere in the room became even more absurdly intense.

There was no whispering, no zoning out, no sneaking looks at phones. All forty students sat upright, their eyes focused as they followed the teacher's pace from beginning to end, their learning efficiency pushed to the absolute limit.

Even the instructor standing at the podium could not help nodding inwardly, his eyes full of approval. It was truly rare for first-year freshmen to display such self-discipline.

It had to be said that the teaching quality at Advanced Nurturing High School fully lived up to its reputation as an elite institution. The teacher's explanations were logical and packed with substance. There was no wasting class time, no dragging out the pace. Each point built naturally upon the last and was easy to understand, completely unlike the lax teaching style of ordinary Japanese high schools.

Even for someone like Bai Mu, who had already mastered all kinds of knowledge and excelled at logical deduction, there were still plenty of new ideas and points to take away. The lesson had been highly rewarding.

By the end of the entire class, every student in Class B had studied obediently. Zero violations, zero mistakes—it was practically the model example of a class.

The dismissal bell rang. Just as the teacher walked out of the classroom, a gentle figure headed straight toward the back row.

Ichinose Honami walked lightly, her brows and eyes gentle, a faint smile on her face. She stopped beside Bai Mu's desk.

"Bai Mu, do you have a moment to talk?"

The students around them, who had been chatting quietly, instantly fell silent and turned to look. Everyone understood that Ichinose had come to coordinate key intelligence with Bai Mu.

Bai Mu raised his eyes and gave a faint nod. "Sure."

Ichinose leaned forward slightly, her voice soft and brimming with sincerity and gratitude. "Thank you so much for yesterday! The hidden monitoring and point-deduction rules you warned us about helped our class avoid a huge trap. Did you also get a lot of core information about the school from the upperclassmen? Would it be convenient to share it with me? I'd like to organize it and tell the whole class together, so everyone can avoid risks and prepare properly."

She had not a shred of selfishness. The moment she obtained intelligence, she thought of sharing it with everyone, always putting the class collective first. Such broad-mindedness and sense of responsibility were truly rare among this group of freshmen.

Bai Mu did not keep anything to himself either. Concise and direct, he began explaining the two core rules.

"First, the school's guaranteed advancement and employment benefits apply only to students who graduate in Class A. Classes B, C, and D receive no official safety net whatsoever—they're merely accompanying tiers."

"Second, private points come with a top-tier safeguard privilege. Save up twenty million private points, and you can unconditionally negate one expulsion-level penalty. You can also transfer directly into Class A, ignoring class rankings and academic-year rules."

Though only a few words were spoken, every one of them carried tremendous weight.

Ichinose Honami's pupils contracted slightly. The gentle smile on her face faded, replaced by utter shock and gravity.

She had vaguely guessed that the school's benefits were not shared by everyone, but she had never expected the gap between the tiers to be so immense. The four classes, A through D, had been destined for vastly different endings from the very beginning.

And the absurd authority granted by twenty million points completely overturned everything she thought she knew.

"So that's how it is... No wonder everyone is fighting so hard to get into Class A." Ichinose murmured, then quickly composed herself. Her gaze turned resolute. "I understand. Thank you, Bai Mu! I'll organize the information right away and explain it to the entire class during the class meeting, so everyone can understand the rules early and prepare themselves!"

With that, she turned and briskly walked toward the podium, beginning to organize the information and prepare what she would say. Her ability to act remained as efficient and dependable as ever.

The class meeting began promptly during the break.

Standing at the podium, Ichinose Honami looked serious and composed. Without exaggerating anything, she clearly and systematically relayed the two core rules Bai Mu had told her to everyone in the class.

The moment she finished speaking, the previously quiet classroom erupted. Cries of surprise rose one after another.

"What? Only Class A gets guaranteed advancement and employment? So everyone in Class B is just here to make up the numbers?"

"I'm seriously devastated! I thought I could just coast for three years after getting in, but the gap is this huge?"

"Twenty million points is ridiculous! Even if you maxed it out, it's only a hundred thousand a month, three million six hundred thousand at most in a year. How many years would it take to save twenty million? It's completely impossible!"

Everyone had been dealt a heavy blow by those cruel rules. Some were anxious, some helpless, and some unwilling to accept it.

After the brief uproar, the classroom quickly fell quiet. Everyone's mindset had subtly changed. Those who had originally intended to coast completely abandoned their wishful thinking. They finally understood that this seemingly perfect elite academy offered no comfort whatsoever.

Seeing that everyone's spirits had dipped somewhat, Ichinose promptly spoke up to reassure them. Her tone was firm, stabilizing the entire class.

"Everyone, there's no need to be overly anxious! Although twenty million points are very difficult to accumulate, our current core goal is to stabilize our class points, protect Class B's ranking, and keep Class C and Class D from overtaking us! As long as all of us remain disciplined, follow the school rules, avoid losing points through violations, and steadily build our advantage, we may still have a chance to challenge Class A!"

Immediately afterward, she proposed a prudent collective plan.

"I propose that everyone voluntarily contribute a portion of their private points each month. I'll keep them collectively as an emergency reserve for our class. If we encounter a special exam, an unexpected point-deduction crisis, or a classmate falls into a point shortage and faces the risk of elimination, we can use this fund as a safety net—insurance for the class to protect itself."

The proposal was fair and prudent, benefiting both individuals and the group. It instantly won the unanimous approval of the entire class.

Most students in Japan were already accustomed to living frugally and had no objection to contributing a small number of points each month. On top of that, Ichinose was trustworthy enough that everyone believed in her. No one raised any objection.

Without any suspense, the entire class voted unanimously to appoint Ichinose Honami as the sole manager of the class's reserve points.

Watching the composed and steady girl at the podium, calmly planning everything out, Bai Mu sat in the corner and observed coldly, seeing through it all with perfect clarity.

The future leader of Class B had now completely secured her position.

Gentle, kind, responsible, broad-minded, and possessed of exceptional execution and cohesion—Ichinose had nearly every quality a leader could need. Unfortunately, no one knew that behind this perfect class leader, she carried an enormous point debt that would be enough to crush an ordinary person. That hidden ticking bomb would sooner or later trigger a crisis in Class B.

The class meeting ended, and the dismissal bell rang on schedule.

Quite a few classmates spontaneously organized a group outing, planning to relax at the school's KTV and strengthen their bonds. Ichinose immediately approached Bai Mu, her eyes curving into crescents as she extended a sincere invitation.

"Bai Mu, everyone in our class is going to sing and relax together. Would you like to come too? Everyone really wants to get to know you better!"

Faced with her gentle and sincere invitation, Bai Mu lightly shook his head. His tone was polite but firm as he refused without hesitation.

"No. You all go ahead. I have something to do."

He truly had no interest in group outings or lively socializing. Rather than crowding together to chat and laugh in meaningless social interactions, he preferred quietly being alone—reading, reflecting, assessing the situation, and living peacefully. That was his ultimate pursuit.

Ichinose did not press him. She simply smiled gently and nodded. "Okay, then we can hang out together next time if there's a chance!"

Afterward, the students left in small groups, and the classroom soon became empty and quiet.