Before the official match, Ayanokoji placed a Class C matchup chart beside Gu Heng's review sheet.
"I wasn't the one who got this."
"Then why are you giving it to me?"
"Because it will make you change someone's position."
Gu Heng did not look at the paper first. He asked where it had come from.
Ayanokoji did not answer.
"The source can't be confirmed," Gu Heng said. "Then it can only be put under verification."
"What if it's real?"
"Then it can only be treated as a possibility."
Ayanokoji withdrew his hand. "You're becoming more and more like the school's record keeper."
"At least a record keeper won't be led around by a single sheet of paper."
Ayanokoji looked at him, but Weight Vision did not produce any stable entries.
Gu Heng did not force himself to look.
The silence between them produced no answer, but it confirmed a new boundary for their cooperation: Ayanokoji could hand over unverified leads, but Gu Heng would not fabricate a source for him.
After the match began, Class C did indeed focus on Sudo according to the matchup chart.
But the paper did not mention something else: Class C had placed a student with better stamina in the second leg, intending to pressure Class D during the handoff.
The information Ayanokoji had provided was only half right.
Gu Heng did not dismiss the entire sheet because of that discrepancy. Instead, he had Horikita judge based on the positions on the field.
Horikita noticed that Class C's second runner had moved up to the exchange line early and immediately told Class D to maintain their original exchange distance rather than fight for position.
Sudo finished the first leg. Class D was behind, but they did not fall into the chaos Class C had anticipated.