"What did you say?!" Perhaps because Horikita's revelation was so astonishing, even Katsuragi was caught off guard, nearly twisting his neck in a sharp turn, looking at Horikita in disbelief.
Ichinose was also slightly taken aback, her gaze shifting to Horikita. How could someone forcefully take all the classmates' phones, directly check for the privileged student's messages and delete them?! Would the other students be willing? Impossible!
Horikita's expression was far from pleasant. Under the dazzling lights of the KTV, she looked like an office worker scolded by a superior. Seeing Katsuragi's disbelief, her expression grew even darker: "I mean!"
"Yukio's defense is watertight! Even more formidable than your silent turtle shell tactic, Katsuragi! Your tactic of silence and not participating in discussions is merely a verbal defense!"
"But once someone knows they are the privileged student, subconscious actions, expressions, and facial expressions will all reveal flaws! Sooner or later, the privileged student will be found!"
"But with Yukio's approach, only he knows who the privileged students in Class C are. He won't reveal any flaws, nor will the students of Class C! So, if we want to find the privileged students of Class C, we can only rely on luck!"
"That's why Yukio can be so confident, his defense is impeccable."
Katsuragi was so rattled that he nearly stumbled, thankfully catching himself on a nearby wall, or he might have fallen.
Yes! Why hadn't he thought of this method?! Katsuragi had thought himself immovable, skilled in defense, but it seemed in front of Yukio, he was just a novice, completely outclassed.
Despite his regret, Katsuragi didn't forget his responsibility. Even if he felt reluctant and frustrated, he needed to minimize the losses for Class A, which was his greatest responsibility at the moment.
So, he made one last attempt: "Yukio, is there really no chance you might dissolve the contract? Your tactic might be effective, but there's still a chance we could guess correctly, right?"
"In the remaining three groups, it's just a matter of choosing one out of three, or one out of four. There's a risk of loss for you!"
Yukio actually laughed: "Katsuragi, you're not quite yourself now. The normal you would never say something like that."
"Risk? Even if all three of our class's privileged students are found by you, we would only lose 150 class points, a personal loss of fifteen thousand points per person. But the contract with Class A involves a per-person payment of twenty-five thousand to us, plus the gains from Classes B and D, why would I cancel the contract?"
"And moreover, let me step back for a moment. Assuming you really just rely on luck, and you're so lucky that you can guess all three of our class's privileged students correctly, what then? How are your three classes going to divide the benefits among yourselves?"
"Don't look now; you've come together, standing shoulder to shoulder, but when it comes time to divide the benefits, won't you still end up arguing?"
"So, Katsuragi, stop making people laugh. Go back and rest, cool down a bit."
Yukio, as if he had dominated the entire situation, spoke slowly and deliberately, his words like sharp knives piercing into Katsuragi's heart.
Each sentence was a precise strike to the core, causing Katsuragi to stagger intensely. He couldn't even stay upright with the support of the wall anymore and needed the help of students from Class A on both sides to prevent him from falling.
Horikita, who had been watching the drama unfold, now felt energized. First, she glanced at Katsuragi being supported by others, her initial concern for the capabilities of Class A students gone. Then she turned seriously to Yukio: "Katsuragi's proposed trade is unrealistic."
"But the trade I propose, I believe you will choose to accept."
Yukio, looking towards the door, was momentarily confused. Had he influenced others? Why had trading become so popular lately?
"Eh?" Ichinose, truly there to watch the drama, was also somewhat surprised. She had come to confirm whether Yukio had found all the privileged students, so she hadn't thought much about it and had no trade in mind.
But seeing Katsuragi and Horikita, she realized these people had come with their own agendas!
Horikita calmly laid out her thoughts, almost sounding like a startup founder pitching to an investment company: "Yukio, you remember, right? During the midterm exams, we agreed to pay two hundred thousand private points per month from Class D."
"After the deserted island special exam, it became three hundred thousand private points per month, meaning each of us in our class needs to pay out seven thousand five hundred points to meet this amount."
"Although the special exam isn't over yet because your Class C's privileged students are still in, we can already calculate the approximate outcome."
"After the deserted island special exam, our Class D's class points, considering three privileged students were correctly guessed by you, are left at merely 20 points."
"Thus, each student's income per month is just two thousand points, nowhere near enough to maintain the monthly payment of three hundred thousand! In this way, wouldn't you be losing a lot of points for nothing?"
"So instead of losing points for nothing, why not we make another agreement? You just need to privately inform us of the identities of two Class C privileged students."
"Of course, the reward of one million personal points for guessing the two privileged students correctly, Class D will transfer back to you, and then with the class points gained, we will increase the monthly payment amount to you to seven hundred thousand points per month."
"How about it?" Horikita confidently laid out her proposal, looking at Yukio, sure that he would agree to her terms!
According to her plan, it would be mutually beneficial, with both sides profiting.
Horikita's gain would be that Class D wouldn't lose too many class points, preserving the foundation to catch up with the higher-ranked classes, while Yukio would naturally earn more private points.
However, Yukio remained uninterested, even yawning in the midst of listening: "Not interested."
"Wha- What?!" Horikita's confidence lasted less than a second, her assured expression still in place. The thoughtless rejection left her momentarily unable to adjust, only able to stammer out in confusion: "Why? Why not?"
"Heh." Yukio's gaze was deep, whether he was looking at Horikita and Katsuragi, or pondering the school's myriad complex rules in the abstract: "You don't understand? That just means you're thinking too small, too scared."
"Since I've enrolled, I've been probing the school's various rules, clarifying each one."
"Do you know? For instance, temporarily using balloons to block the school's surveillance is no problem. If you spray paint to completely blur a camera then turn yourself in, you only need to pay a few thousand points for cleaning. But direct damage incurs class point deductions and severe penalties; two severe penalties and you're expelled."
"Another example, private points have more uses than you know. For instance, with twenty million private points, a student can transfer classes, meaning they can move to any class within their grade they wish. In other words, Horikita, with twenty million, you could directly move up to Class A."
"After the special exam for the privileged students, we've moved up to Class A. I'm curious if you'll work hard to earn points and then, come to our class." Yukio said this as a joke, but with a look of anticipation.
"You, you've come to understand this school... to such an extent?!" Horikita, Katsuragi, Ichinose, and the others all widened their eyes, unable to imagine what Yukio had done in just one semester to have uncovered a corner of the deeply hidden iceberg of the school's system!
Dealing with surveillance, twenty million for class transfer, undoubtedly, these were significant pieces of information! Beyond their shock, they also deeply felt the absolute gap between themselves and Yukio.
"So, Horikita, do you understand now? I just wanted to see, when you're unable to pay, how the school would 'round' it, what the 'rounding' rules are. From the beginning to the end, your efforts were just minor disturbances to me."
***
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