There were twenty-seven minutes left before the final confirmation window closed.
Horikita turned the countdown on her terminal for all of Class D to see, then stepped into the center of the base.
"The final confirmation target will be changed to the registered public confirmation point on the east side."
She did not explain why first.
Several people on the outskirts looked up. Yamauchi, who had been sorting water bags, stopped moving, while Sudo looked toward Gu Heng.
"We're changing it now?"
"This is the decision I'm making now," Horikita said.
"Wasn't the west side already confirmed?"
"What we submitted before was the west-side status." She looked at her terminal. "What we submit at the end is the current actual base. We'll move to the registered confirmation point on the east side first, then submit it."
She did not mention Gu Heng or Class C.
Yet everyone knew Class D would not change positions during the final stretch for no reason.
Hirata stepped up beside Horikita first and took the internal chart from her.
"Let's repeat the parts that remain unchanged."
He did not wait for an answer.
"Horikita remains the public representative. Supplies already consumed will not be recalculated. Withdrawal records will not be filed early or backfilled. Area control will only be recorded according to arrival and confirmation results. The only change is the current public base."
Yukimura immediately checked the rules page.
"Submitting after physically moving to a registered confirmation point complies with the final-stage fields. The school does not receive our internal route. How we handle the route is up to the class."
Someone quietly asked, "Then why change it now?"
Hirata did not explain on Gu Heng's behalf.
"Because this is Horikita's decision. You may not understand her judgment, but you need to know what