Chapter 83 – I think Katsuragi is right

On the first day of the special test for preferential treatment students, at 1 p.m., Yukio arrived at meeting room 205 on the second floor of the cruise ship, punctually with Ryuuen and Shinna

Upon entering, they saw Katsuragi with three students from Class A, seemingly resting and gathering their energy. Ichinose from Class B was happily chatting with Kushida from Class D, while Hirata was conversing with Kanzaki, creating a rather warm atmosphere.

Horikita sat alone, quietly observing the room as if trying to identify the preferential treatment student in their group, (Dragon group). She even glared menacingly at Yukio upon his arrival.

Noticing that Yukio ignored her, Horikita was even more infuriated, wishing she could charge at him and end him right there!

When Class C arrived, everyone's gaze shifted towards them, and the previously friendly atmosphere tensed up slightly.

"Good afternoon, everyone." Yukio casually greeted and took a seat, also giving Katsuragi a glance: "What's with that look, Katsuragi? You seem out of sorts."

"You didn't lose sleep over this special test last night, did you?"

This comment was clearly provocative, suggesting that Class A lacked the composure of Classes B, C, and D, who appeared spirited and undisturbed by the special test.

One of Katsuragi's loyal students from Class A, Totsuka, immediately voiced his anger: "What do you know! We're just choosing not to join the discussion! It's not that we're lacking energy! And we certainly didn't lose sleep over being nervous!"

Yukio paid little attention to Totsuka's retort, instead greeting Ichinose: "How about you, Ichinose? Did you get a good rest last night? I suppose you wouldn't be too nervous, right?"

Ichinose struggled to hold back a laugh, considering the feelings of the students from Class A, and only managed to shrug lightly: "I, I had a good rest."

"However," Ichinose quickly changed the subject, focusing on Class A: "Totsuka-san's comment about not joining the discussion, was that Katsuragi-san's decision?"

Finally, Katsuragi, shedding his "fatigued middle-aged man" demeanor, opened his eyes wide: "No need for any probing. I'll just say it. This time, all of Class A will not participate in the discussion."

"Not just my group, but all Class A students across the twelve groups will follow my strategy."

"It's your choice to discuss. This time, Class A will defend to the end, aiming for outcome two for all twelve groups, preventing you from finding any preferential treatment student."

"This is our strategy for this special test." Katsuragi's statement was firm and resolute, as if he had learned from the lessons of the uninhabited island test, not giving Yukio or anyone else any chance to break through.

"I get it, playing turtle," Yukio summarized with a laugh, sarcastically suggesting that Katsuragi has encased Class A in a cumbersome shell.

Everyone assigned to the Dragon group was smart enough to grasp Katsuragi's strategy, which essentially aimed to maintain the status quo.

Currently, Class A is the only class with points exceeding a thousand, and every special test tends to cause significant shifts in class points.

Some classes might gain a substantial number of points, overturning the rankings, while others might fail disastrously, plummeting from their high positions.

Thus, Katsuragi's conservative choice to maintain the status quo, opting for a defensive route that ensures no class gains or loses points, seemed prudent.

If Class A refrains from discussions, it becomes harder for other classes to identify the preferential treatment students, leading to the likely outcome where the identity of preferential treatment students remains undiscovered, allowing only the preferential treatment students to gain fifty thousand points, with nothing gained by others.

Given that each class is fixed to have only three preferential treatment students, evenly distributed across the groups, even if all groups end with outcome two, each class would only gain an average of one hundred and fifty thousand personal points, which is negligible.

This would leave the class points unchanged, allowing Class A to maintain its superiority. It may seem like outcome two offers the least gain, but it's enough to solidify Class A's leading position.

Totsuka, Katsuragi's loyal follower, was visibly upset by this characterization, but Katsuragi himself seemed unfazed by the mockery: "Say what you will, Yukio. In any case, we'll keep quiet."

After understanding Katsuragi's strategy, the other classes started to actively look for ways to crack this "turtle shell." Horikita coldly observed Katsuragi: "Could it be that the preferential treatment student in the Dragon group is from Class A, and that's why you're deliberately keeping silent to cover for them?"

Not responding could easily be seen as an admission of guilt or evasion, which would be disadvantageous for Katsuragi.

However, Katsuragi remained composed, not even bothering to reply, instead choosing to rest with his eyes closed, not uttering a single word, making it frustratingly difficult for others to find a point of attack.

Ichinose, initially intending to say something, realized Katsuragi was determined to remain silent and sighed in resignation: "Well, now it seems only our three classes can engage in discussion."

"No matter what, I will not agree with Katsuragi's strategy. Nobody knows how many more special exams there will be in the future."

"And special exams are the only way to increase or decrease special points, allowing us to ascend to Class A. If A Class continues to defend like this in future exams, we will never have the chance to become a top-ranked class."

"Therefore, I absolutely disagree with Katsuragi's policy."

Ichinose and Horikita both made their positions clear, indicating that Classes B and D are determined to identify the preferential treatment student. Finally, it was Class C's turn.

Thinking this, Ichinose and Horikita simultaneously turned their attention to Yukio, even Katsuragi couldn't keep calm and opened his eyes slightly, staring intently at Yukio.

Everyone was wary of Yukio, the most feared among the three classes, wondering what trick he might have up his sleeve to break through this special exam. However, to everyone's surprise, when they looked at him, Yukio and Ryuen were already pulling out their phones, engrossed in a mobile game, as if indifferent to their concerns.

Perhaps sensing their gaze, Yukio finally looked up: "Huh? Why is everyone looking at me? Oh, we think Katsuragi is right, we're also not going to join the discussion."

Horikita, Ichinose, and Katsuragi were all stunned!

What? Katsuragi, seemingly inspired, pointed to himself... Yukio thought he was right? It seemed, hehe, quite right! Thinking this, Katsuragi couldn't help feeling a bit smug.

Horikita and Ichinose exchanged bewildered looks, filled with questions. Yukio agreed with Katsuragi's strategy? He agreed? How could he agree?! Did Yukio not want to participate in this special exam? Did he not want to gain class points to overtake Class A?! Had he gone mad?

Or was he planning to repeat his old tricks? Like in the uninhabited island special exam, where he claimed not to participate on the surface but secretly dominated?

"Talk less, throw some potions over, my character is about to die," Ryuen said, focusing back on the game, urging Yukio to return to playing instead of worrying about external issues.

Since they had already found a way to clear the exam, why bother with what Katsuragi was saying? As long as they could clarify one or two more preferential treatment students from other classes, with enough known variables, they could find the rule for selecting preferential treatment students.

Thus, they could clear the exam in one go, securing the maximum benefit.

By then, Katsuragi's turtle shell strategy would collapse on its own.

***

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