Landing on the island

At noon the next day, Lezheng woke up in bed.

The cruise ship had been quiet that morning. Perhaps everyone had overindulged yesterday; Lezheng had only seen a few scattered people during breakfast hours in the dining hall, though the two from Class D who were reflecting on their mistakes were there too.

The two of them sat in a corner of the dining hall. Lezheng saw none of the dejection on their faces that Ichinose had shown. On the contrary, they both ate calmly.

Kanzaki was currently serving as Class B's acting leader. Their class was exceptionally united, and they were working hard to help heal Ichinose's wounded heart.

The chair opposite Lezheng was pulled out, and a girl quietly sat down. It was Shiina.

"What have you been busy with lately? I haven't seen you in the library for ages," Shiina said softly.

"Some odds and ends," Lezheng answered honestly.

Shiina nodded and ate her breakfast in small bites.

"Want to look around after we finish eating?" Lezheng invited her.

"Sure," Shiina said with a nod.

So far, Lezheng had found that Shiina was only interested in detective-related things. She was generally placid about everything else.

But people had to try new things. They came to a maid café.

"Want to try it?" Lezheng asked, giving Shiina a tentative look.

"..." Shiina said nothing, merely narrowing her eyes with a smile.

"Then how about that?" Lezheng indicated the arcade beside them.

"Let's take a look at that one."

Following Shiina's gaze, he saw a shop called "Odd Jobs."

Lezheng readily agreed, and the two entered the shop together. Only after going inside did they learn that it offered virtual-world experiences.

A staff member led them to a private room for two, explained the rules and precautions in detail, and then left.

"Which one should we start with?" Lezheng asked after putting on the equipment.

"Let's start with this." Shiina selected Ring.

Lezheng and Shiina played the male and female leads in the story. Piecing together the clues they found, they slowly worked through the mystery and eventually found the "killer."

After the cruise ship had sailed for three days, an announcement over the speakers called everyone to assemble.

The ship did not stop. Instead, it began circling an island. Lezheng thought nothing of it on the first circuit, but the ship kept going around. He narrowed his eyes and studied the island's scenery and terrain. After three circuits, the ship stopped in front of a beach.

Two staff members brought over a small platform big enough for one person to stand on. Mashima stepped onto it with a megaphone and began speaking.

"Students of all classes, you will now take part in a Special Exam on the deserted island before you."

Complaints immediately erupted from the students, with Class D being the loudest. They had been scraping by at school and had finally enjoyed a few comfortable days aboard the cruise ship, only to be dumped straight onto a deserted island. Wasn't this just messing with them?

"I will now read out the exam rules."

The exam would last one week. Each class would receive 300 starting points for the exam, and exam points would be converted into Class Points once the exam ended. Each class had to select a leader, who would hold a Leader Card. The card could be used to claim sites, with each claimed site earning one provisional point. However, a claim would only last eight hours, after which the site had to be claimed again; furthermore, the leader had to personally hold the card to claim a site. Provisional points would only be awarded after the exam ended.

The homeroom teachers would take attendance at eight in the morning and eight in the evening, with five points deducted for each person absent. Damaging the environment was prohibited. Minor damage would cost 100 points, while severe damage would result in immediate expulsion. Harming students was prohibited, with the same penalties as damaging the environment.

On the final day, each class could guess the identities of the other three classes' leaders. Each correct guess would earn 50 points, while each incorrect guess would cost 50 points.

Each class would receive a handbook, with ten points deducted if it was lost; losing the Leader Card would cost 50 points; changing leaders without a special reason would cost 50 points.

Once the rules had been announced, the staff directed the four classes to disembark in order. They formed four square formations on the beach to collect the free supplies provided by the school.

After confirming that their preparations were complete, the four classes entered the jungle from four different directions.

Although Mashima had said that the school had swept the deserted island several times to ensure there were no plants or animals that threatened the students' lives, startled cries still rang out along the way.

"Lezheng, Takimura has already agreed to cooperate with me. What about you?" Katsuragi walked up beside Lezheng.

"Here's to working together." Lezheng nodded.

"You..." The speech Katsuragi had prepared stuck in his throat.

"I'll keep an eye on Hashimoto. You pick the leader. Just let me know once you've chosen," Lezheng said, as though he could see the future.

"..."

Seeing that Lezheng had said everything he had wanted to say, Katsuragi fell silent.

Wouldn't this make it three against one? How could that be allowed? Naturally, Lezheng would not allow it. It wasn't as though the leader couldn't be changed.

After walking through the woods for about twenty minutes, Class A found a favorably situated spot.

"Katsuragi, there's a cave over there with a machine inside. It should be one of those sites," Machida Kōji said, pleasantly surprised.

"Right. Thanks for your effort."

Katsuragi had not expected to find a site so quickly, much less one that happened to be right beside their campsite. He immediately sent someone to fetch Lezheng.

"Chosen someone?" Lezheng raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. You'll know who it is once we get to the site." Cautiously, Katsuragi did not give a name.

"Have everyone spread out in groups of three. Two in each group have to be from our side," Lezheng suggested.

Katsuragi nodded in agreement and gathered the students to explain his idea. Surprisingly, the members of the Sakayanagi Faction did not object.

Once everything had been arranged, Lezheng, Katsuragi, and three other students aligned with Katsuragi headed toward the site in the cave.

Inside the cave, there were only three people. Yahiko held the Leader Card against the site's device. An A appeared on the screen, with a countdown beneath it.

"I think we only need to hold this one site. That would also keep us from being exposed." Katsuragi still chose the cautious approach.

"Isn't that just waiting to die?" Lezheng countered.

"Heh, if you want to take risks, go by yourself. We won't be joining you," Yahiko sneered.

"You know talking like that can easily get you killed?" Lezheng grabbed Yahiko by the throat.

"Urgh... let..." Yahiko tried to pry Lezheng's hand away with both hands, only to find that he couldn't.

"Lezheng, I apologize on Yahiko's behalf," Katsuragi said, rather helplessly apologizing for Yahiko.

"Do something about that foul mouth of yours, or just wait for someone to use it to attack Katsuragi." Lezheng tossed Yahiko to the ground.

"Are you sure we should claim other sites?" Katsuragi was still conflicted.

"I think we need to. We just need the others to surround the device while we claim it. I'll look after the camp. Think it over." With that, Lezheng left the cave, leaving the two of them some space.