The message in the anonymous group was still displayed on Kei Karuizawa's phone.
As she passed through the automatic doors, she first saw the direction Kushida had left in.
Then she flipped her phone into her palm.
The movement was quick, as if she were checking whether anyone behind her had seen the screen.
Two girls on the other side of the hallway waved to her.
"Kei, are you going to the cafeteria later?"
"I'll be right there."
Karuizawa answered from the side, her natural smile slipping into place.
The two girls headed toward the cafeteria first.
After taking a few steps, one of them turned back and asked whether she wanted to switch to a seat by the window.
Karuizawa agreed with a smile, then left the empty table beside the cafeteria entrance for another group of girls.
She remembered everyone's seats, as well as who did not want to sit with whom.
Such arrangements looked like mere social habits, but in the identity exam, seating could also reveal the order of contact.
Karuizawa held her phone against her chest and avoided the students passing through the hallway.
She did not immediately follow her companions. Instead, she stopped outside the public lounge and lit up her phone again.
At the top of the screen was still the Snake Group marker.
The anonymous message below revealed only half a sentence.
`R-17 confirmed. Chicken Group's answer direction is credible.`
Karuizawa did not open the message itself.
A normal gathering reminder popped up on the Snake Group page.
She did not reply to the anonymous group. Instead, she first sent her companions, "I'll be right there."
That choice kept her in a visible social position, but cost her the chance to question it immediately.
She opened the input field, typed a single