Shibata's finger still hovered above the confirm button.
The prompt for the next round of discussion had already lit up.
The member statuses beneath the public screen began to refresh.
Discussion preparation: 9 minutes remaining
Kanzaki reached out and gripped the edge of the table.
"Close the page."
Shibata didn't look at him.
"Let Gu Heng finish first."
"He can't speak for Class B."
"I didn't ask him to speak for Class B."
Shibata pointed at the screen.
"I just want to know what he plans to use to stop me."
Gu Heng looked at Class C in the candidate list.
"I'm not stopping you."
Kanzaki turned his head.
"Gu Heng."
"I'm just making the outcome clear first."
Gu Heng pointed to the note beneath the submission page.
"If you click confirm, it'll leave a record of the submission attempt."
"I know."
"If the answer is wrong, Class B loses fifty points."
"I know that too."
Shibata's fingertip lowered slightly.
Morishita Ai pulled her terminal back against her chest.
"How many do you have left?"
"This isn't a class meeting."
"I'm asking about you personally."
Shibata didn't answer.
Gu Heng saw Kanzaki's gaze settle on that finger.
He didn't press Shibata again.
The two weights from earlier were enough.
The real reason he stopped was that personal points and identities were not recorded.
"What you want to protect isn't this submission," Gu Heng said.
"You want to protect the choices you'll still have after you press it."
Shibata looked up.
"Sounds like you've already reached a conclusion for me."
"The conclusion is whether you'll press it."
Gu Heng pointed at the page.
"The reason hasn't been determined yet."
Shibata withdrew his finger.
The confirm button immediately dimmed.
Kanzaki released the table's edge.
"You promised to close it."
"I