The Second Phase Begins

At 5:47 in the morning, more than half of Class D's camp was already awake. The last few sleeping bags were being rolled up, while last night's school notification still sat in the terminals' notification bars.

The supply bags rustled softly in the wind. A boy crouched beside them, checking the remaining food on his own.

"Don't touch the communal supplies." Horikita walked over and pressed down on the bag's opening. "Looking at it won't make more appear."

The boy awkwardly pulled his hand back.

Hirata first checked on the two people who had developed fevers the night before. One had recovered, while the other was still dizzy but insisted they could walk. Kushida stood among the girls, her fingers pressed against the edge of the clipboard, but she did not write down the reasons.

Gu Heng lit up his terminal.

5:59.

One minute later, every terminal vibrated at once.

The second phase has begun.

The registered evaluation zones of each class have entered dynamic assessment. Time spent remaining in fixed areas, supply consumption, personnel status confirmation, and zone control results will affect subsequent total scores.

Risk colors indicate only current assessment pressure and do not equal immediate point deductions. Specific conversions will not be disclosed.

The first status confirmation window will be from 06:30 to 06:50. Any member who fails to check in at any public confirmation point during the window will enter absence-risk review.

On the terminal map, the edge of the evaluation zone containing the old camp took on a pale yellow hue.

The yellow zone covered the evaluation coordinates announced by the school beforehand, not the camp boundaries Class D had drawn for themselves the night before. There were no student markers on the map, only public confirmation points and the time of the next window.

The registered coordinates of the old camp itself included a public confirmation point. Members staying behind could check in where they were, while those who left had to reach another confirmation point along the route before the window closed.

Ike Kanji immediately frowned. "It affects the assessment again. How many points does it deduct? They still won't say?"

"At least they clarified one thing this time." Yukimura pushed up his glasses. "Yellow means risk. It doesn't mean points have already been deducted."

Gu Heng turned the screen toward everyone.

"So we can't say the old camp will definitely cost us points yet. But if everyone keeps staying here, our supply consumption, personnel condition, and leader's position will become easier and easier for the other classes to figure out."

Horikita looked at him. "Your conclusion?"

"Move part of the class first and test how the color and assessment prompts change. We're not moving the whole class."

"What if the color doesn't change when people move?"

"That means the number of people staying may not be the main factor. Then we keep the old camp and stop gambling on relocation."

"And if the color changes?"

"That would only prove that moving people is related to the risk prompt. It still can't be directly converted into points." Gu Heng said, "This time, we test it on the smallest scale. We don't present guesses as rules."

Yukimura wrote down the departure time, headcount, and current color of the old camp on the back of the supply sheet. The school would not disclose its formula, so Class D at least had to preserve its own baseline data. Otherwise, any change could later be explained as Gu Heng having guessed right.

Someone had just reached for a bag when Hirata pressed down on the supplies.

"Listen to the assignments first. Nobody rushes."

Gu Heng picked up a branch and drew the old camp, the edge of the forest, and the lowland water source in the sand. The three gathering points were internal arrangements for Class D and would not be submitted to the school. The school only recognized the public confirmation points marked on the map.

"The first group will follow the forest to the outer edge. The second group will go around the water source. People will remain at the old camp to maintain appearances. Once each group reaches its internal gathering point, the group leader will count heads before going to the nearest public confirmation point to check in."

Ike Kanji looked miserable. "Wouldn't splitting up make it easier to lose people?"

"Unrestricted movement is what counts as scattering." Gu Heng said. "This is a staggered transfer. Each route only covers one segment, and there must be someone to count heads and someone to guard the rear."

Horikita stared at the routes drawn in the sand.

"The people with poor stamina will be exposed first."

"They will."

"Who takes responsibility for those losses?"

That question made several people who had been looking down raise their heads.

Gu Heng did not cover the issue with the word "safe." He broke the branch and placed its pieces over Horikita, the supplies, and personnel status.

"First, we divide responsibility into three lines: leader protection, supply verification, and operational status. No line can depend on me alone."

The first piece of branch landed by Horikita's feet.

"You're the visible leader. Stay at the old camp for ten minutes first. You can't act alone."

"You're using me as bait?"

"Let the other classes keep seeing you. Ten minutes later, withdraw whether anyone approaches or not."

Sudo immediately spoke up. "I'll go with her."

"You go to the rear of the first group," Gu Heng said. "This isn't about fighting. It's about bringing anyone who falls behind to the gathering point."

Sudo clicked his tongue, but he did not argue in the end.

Ayanokoji sat beside a tree root, his terminal already tucked back into his palm.

"I'll stay at the old camp," he said. "It really isn't appropriate for Horikita to stay here alone."

Horikita glanced at him. "You're being proactive."

"I'm just walking ten minutes less."

The second piece of branch was pressed beside the supply bags.

Yukimura would calculate the water and food, while Hirata would verify the requests against the actual headcount. Ike Kanji would handle carrying and copying, but he could not change numbers alone.

"You don't trust my calculations?" Yukimura asked.

"I don't trust anyone to handle both the request and the verification alone," Gu Heng said. "Including myself."

Yukimura did not argue further. He simply split the supply sheet into two copies.

The third piece of branch was placed at Hirata's feet.

"Operational status only asks three things: can they walk long distances, can they carry weight, and do they need someone at the rear to look after them? It's up to the individual whether to say why."

Hirata accepted the clipboard. "I'll keep the final records."

"I'll help ask around among the girls first," Kushida said with a smile. "There are things they might not want to tell boys directly."

"Fine." Gu Heng looked at her. "You handle communication, but don't write the final version yourself. After the person confirms it, hand it to Hirata."

Kushida's fingertips paused on the clip for an instant before she quickly nodded.

The girls did not relax right away. Someone tugged her bag strap farther up her shoulder, as though once the words "can't walk long distances" were spoken, they would become a label visible to the entire class.

Hirata turned the clipboard to its back side.

"The final version will only state the action arrangement, not physical reasons. Anyone needing assistance will receive their own receipt. The public groupings will only show front, middle, and rear sections."

"What if someone forces themselves to keep going?" Horikita asked.

"For conditions that can be confirmed on-site, the group leader can suspend their assignment," Gu Heng said. "The reason still won't be forced out of them. Operational safety and public privacy are not the same thing."

Horikita did not say she agreed. She merely wrote that rule into the edge of the temporary assignment sheet.

Horikita suddenly asked, "Which line are you on?"

Gu Heng pointed the branch at the space between the three lines.

"I'm responsible for keeping information cross-linked, but each group needs someone who can move first. The most dangerous thing isn't nobody taking responsibility. It's everyone waiting for me to speak."

"Sounds nice," Ayanokoji said from against the tree. "All another class has to do is watch the slowest group, and they can follow the rear to find out who you're really protecting."

The bag strap Ike Kanji had just loosened was clenched tight again.

Gu Heng used the branch to erase the latter halves of the three routes, leaving only the paths to the first gathering point.

"Each group only knows its own next segment. After arriving, the leader receives the next route. The other classes can see Class D splitting up, but they can't see the full transfer all at once."

"What if the group leader can't be contacted?" Hirata asked.

"Stay at the gathering point. Don't guess the route yourselves. If the internally agreed time is exceeded, the rear guard from the previous segment returns to the last confirmed location."

The arrangement would be slow, but it was steadier than having everyone chase a single lost message at once.

Hirata accepted the first group's list. Sudo would guard the rear. Those with unstable stamina and a tendency to panic would go first, so they would not fall behind only during the final round, when everyone was at their most exhausted.

When one girl was called, she instinctively looked toward the old tent. Hirata handed her a lighter bag.

"Get to the gathering point first. Someone will carry the rest."

At 6:12, the first group began moving.

The line was not orderly. Some people kept looking back, while others began panting after only a few dozen meters. But Sudo remained at the very back, and he did not rush anyone.

Yukimura called out the first group's headcount at the old camp, and Hirata called for a response again at the front of the group. Ike Kanji crossed off the names of those who had left, and every name required confirmation from both ends.

"Is this really necessary?" he could not help asking.

"If you think it's troublesome now, it'll be even more troublesome if someone goes missing later," Yukimura said.

Ike Kanji rolled his eyes, but his pen did not stop.

Gu Heng stayed at the fork in the path to verify the sequence. The internal gathering points, routes, and group assignments existed only on Class D's sheet. The school terminals would not count heads for them.

The second group had not departed yet. Most of the tents and empty supply bags remained at the old camp. From beyond the tree line, Class D looked more like they were reorganizing than like they had decided to withdraw.

Horikita stood in the most conspicuous position, while Sudo left with the first group. Even if another class watched from afar, they could only confirm that Class D had moved some people. They could not tell where the visible leader would go next.

Ten minutes after the first group departed, Hirata's message arrived first.

The first group has reached the forest edge. Three people are missing from the count.

A second message followed immediately.

The last person saw them take the wrong marker at the fork. No one is responding to communications for now.

Gu Heng looked up toward the tree line.

The terminal did not show the locations of the three people. It only continued counting down the public confirmation window in the upper right corner.

Time remaining: 28 minutes.

If the three could not reach any public confirmation point before the window closed, the school would only then begin absence-risk review.

Less than twenty minutes into the second phase, what Class D lost first was not its base.

It was three people from its own internal roster.