Hachiman Hikigaya, who returned from his studies after completing his training.

Ayanokoji's arm strength surpasses Albert's.

But my arm strength is also superior to Albert's, Ayanokouji!

Sitting up straight with his elbows close to his body, Hikigaya used all his strength, staring at Ayanokouji with a ferocious expression on his face.

At this moment, Ayanokouji could no longer maintain her unchanging indifferent expression; her face flushed just like Hachiman's, and her brows furrowed.

On the creaking little wooden table, Ayanokouji's hand touched the tabletop a little.

"Kill him, Ayanokouji."

"Go for it, Ayanokouji-san!"

Seeing Ayanokouji gradually fall into a disadvantageous position, Ishizaki didn't have time to think about why Ayanokouji's arm strength was stronger than Albert's. He immediately cheered Ayanokouji on, after all, Ayanokouji was still in their class.

With excitement on his face, Manabe joined Ishizaki in cheering for Ayanokouji.

Hearing others cheering for Ayanokouji, Hikigaya remained unmoved and increased his pressure, pressing his left hand firmly on his knee.

Suddenly, Ayanokouji loosened his grip, giving the impression that he had exhausted himself. However, to be on the safe side, Hikigaya also reduced the pressure in his hands.

We cannot afford to lose Jingzhou now.

"You win." Ayanokouji knew that he had lost the opportunity to use inertia to catch Hachiman off guard after sensing that Hachiman did not increase his strength in one go.

With a loud thud as Ayanokoji's hand was slammed heavily onto the table, the match ended in victory for Hikigaya.

"Eh--"

A sigh came from the group of students in Class C, as the fact that they had been defeated by students from other classes was starkly apparent.

"Looks like we'll have a good talk later." Ryuen patted Ayanokouji on the shoulder and then looked at Hachiman. "What did you want to talk to me about? Is it convenient to talk here?"

Hikigaya wouldn't come to Class C unless there was a reason; Ryuen knew his personality—he wouldn't come unless there was a reason.

"We need to find a quiet place."

After glancing at Hashimoto, who was arm in arm with a boy from Class C, Hikigaya left Ayanokouji, who was surrounded by the chattering boys and girls from Class C, and walked away.

Moving to the beach with a wide view, Hachiman turned to look at Ryuen following behind him.

"What were the conditions Hashimoto offered when he sought to surrender to you?"

The fact that Hashimoto was a double agent was just Hachiman's speculation. If Ryuen could tell him the conditions Hashimoto offered when he surrendered, he might be able to confirm it.

Before coming, he thought about it for a long time and basically confirmed that Class B must have reached some kind of agreement with Class A. He guessed that Sakayanagi sold all of Class A's remaining 100 test points to Class B at a slightly lower price.

The leak before the exam increased the distrust of him among the students in Class B, and he formed an alliance by giving concessions to Class B after the exam.

The strategy of Hikigaya Class 3 working together to take down Class A was quietly thwarted by Sakayanagi.

“…” Long Yuan fell silent.

Logically, Hachiman shouldn't have asked such a question, but he did anyway.

Since Hikigaya had not done anything dishonest, Ryuen decided to tell Hikigaya.

"After successfully forcing Sakayanagi to give up his exam points, I signed a contract with Hashimoto. The contract stipulated that after the exam on the deserted island, I would pay him three million personal points as a gesture of goodwill, and when the class raised seventeen million points, I could ask him to transfer to another class."

"Is there something wrong with Hashimoto?" Ryuen frowned. "His reputation is ruined, so he can't get into Class B or Class D. Now he's offended Class A too. Only Class C can accept him."

"Whether you've offended Class A is hard to say. Hashimoto and Sakayanagi might just be putting on an act and betray you in the blink of an eye."

"If this is just acting, the price is too high. The 140 exam points we extorted could be bought for more than three million."

"Sakayanagi is vying with Katsuragi for leadership of Class A. This exam was led by Katsuragi, and Sakayanagi would much rather Class A, led by Katsuragi, lose than see Class A win big," Hikigaya reminded Ryuen.

They have always viewed Class A in the special exam as a whole, but this view is one-sided. The entanglement between Sakayanagi and Katsuragi must also be taken into account.

No matter what the outcome, Sakayanagi is the winner, it's just a matter of whether it's a small win or a big win.

Even if Class A gets a zero score, Sakayanagi, who takes the leadership of Class A, won't lose out. And if Sakayanagi stands up and correctly guesses the leaders of the other three classes after Katsuragi's crushing defeat, then Sakayanagi will have won big.

"Hashimoto's plan allowed me to obtain evidence of who the leader of Class A is." Ryuen said, somewhat incredulously.

"It must be Totsuka from the Katsuragi faction."

"This is not something I can easily tell you, Hachiman."

Ryuen looked at him suspiciously, and Hachiman thought that Ryuen might be suspecting him of trying to get something for nothing.

However, Long Yuan's suspicions were indeed correct; he had already gotten something for nothing.

Since Ryuen has evidence of who the leader of Class A is and wants to sell it to him, this evidence must have come from Totsuka. If Katsuragi were the leader, he would not have allowed Ryuen to obtain the evidence.

"Leaders can be replaced. The guidelines clearly state that once the school determines that the exam cannot continue, the exam leader can withdraw from the exam just like other students. And there are many ways to get the school to determine that the exam cannot be taken."

However, even knowing that the current leader of Class A is Totsuka Hikigaya, he wouldn't fill in the blank, because it's not surprising that someone as imaginative as Sakayanagi could think of changing the exam leader.

“That makes sense now. I would have been tricked if you hadn’t reminded me.” Long Yuan’s face was very ugly.

Both Class C and Class D currently have nearly 300 test points, and with the points earned from checking in and occupying strongholds, it wouldn't be surprising if they reached 330 or 340.

However, if both Class C and Class D guess the leader of Class A incorrectly, or if Class A correctly guesses the leader, then the points for the stronghold occupied by the correctly guessed leader will be invalidated and 50 points will be deducted; if they guess incorrectly, 50 points will be deducted. Therefore, they will only have a maximum of 200 points left.

If Class A sells information to Class B, allowing Class B to correctly guess the leaders of Classes C and D, then they will only have 150 points left.

If Sakayanagi's plan was indeed like this and she succeeded, then he and Hachiman would be clowns.

Chapter 81 Horikita's Departure

Day six of the exam on the deserted island, night.

Today, no student complains about the hot summer weather, as torrential rain covers the small, uninhabited island.

"Set off."

Holding a flashlight wrapped in a plastic bag, Hachiman, dressed only in a swimsuit and shorts, left the cave entrance and walked into the heavy rain, followed by Hirata Sudo and Miyake, who were dressed similarly.

After a near-complete encounter with Ryuen on the beach, Hachiman and Ryuen signed a contract, witnessed by their C-class homeroom teacher, Sakagami-sensei, promising never to guess each other's exam leadership.

With the contract guaranteeing they wouldn't harm each other, the two reached an agreement targeting Class A; the final battle would begin tonight.

"Horikita."

"coming."

After calling out "Tonight's main character" in front of the girls' tent, Horikita Suzune, dressed in a thin tracksuit, quickly stood in the heavy rain with Hikigaya and the others.

Beneath the white tracksuit, quickly soaked by raindrops, the black school swimsuit was faintly visible.

Hikigaya touched his wet hair to clear his vision, and with a flashlight in hand, he walked at the front of the group, followed by Horikita, with the other three boys at the back.

After a ten-minute walk, the group arrived at the riverbank, where the heavy rain had raised the river level a few notches.

"The boys can walk around freely in a place where they can see me for about five minutes, and then we will gather and depart for the dock after five minutes."

"it is good."

Hirata responded and led Sudo Miyake along the riverbank, stopping and starting as if they were searching for something.

The reason given to the school for preventing Horikita from continuing the special exam was simple: just create a suitable excuse for Horikita to "fall into the water and faint".

On a dark, rainy night, it's quite reasonable for a student searching for lost items by the river to accidentally fall into the water, right?

As for why she went to search even in such a harsh environment instead of waiting until tomorrow, that's thanks to Horikita's 'stubbornness' as a girl.

"It's finally going to end." Horikita tossed her long, rain-soaked hair, her face pale in the dim moonlight.

She was getting tired after repeating the task of capturing strongholds dozens of times over six consecutive days.

"Thank you for your hard work. Shiina will transfer the 100,000 points to you after the exam."

"For me, 10,000 to 20,000 points per month is enough."

“The more capable you are, the more you will receive. I want the students in Class D to remember this.” Hachiman looked at Hirata, who was giving selflessly without expecting anything in return. “Moreover, there are many ways to use personal points, such as sponsoring your brother when he needs them.”

"With my brother's abilities, he wouldn't have fallen to the point where he needs my help." Horikita pursed her lips, knowing that what Hachiman said was impossible.

"Anyway, keeping it won't be a bad thing."

After Horikita tacitly agreed, the two stood silently for a while before Hirata and the others returned to the group one by one.

"The show's over, let's head to the dock." Hachiman once again took the lead.

If you're going to put on a show, you have to go all the way. Everyone's watch has GPS tracking, which is evidence that they did indeed come to the riverbank in Horikita and accidentally fell into the water.

After walking for another ten minutes or so, the group stopped at the edge of the jungle near the pier.

"Can't you just pretend to faint?"

Hirata looked at the pale-faced Horikita and the clenched fist of Hikigaya standing in front of her.

"Isn't it wrong to hit a girl?" Sudo also felt somewhat uncomfortable about the matter.

Horikita just changed Hachiman's plan, from pretending to faint to actually fainting, and Hachiman agreed.

Horikita and he had both studied martial arts, and being beaten was commonplace for them, but it was a bit ahead of Hirata and the others.

"Don't worry about me, this is my own request." Horikita retorted to the two of them, then looked directly into Hachiman's eyes without fear. "I'm ready."

"it is good."

Aiming at the trigeminal nerve area under Horikita's pink lips, Bi Liu = Temple e?〕（〈o》six） Qiba Erba Qigu handed over his fist without any pity.

Having gotten used to beating up the female students at the Oniryuuin Academy, he's become immune to attacking girls.

After Hirata, Sudo, and the others turned away, unable to bear the sight, a muffled thud sounded.

"It's done."

He picked up Horikita in a princess carry and let her close her eyes, resting her face, as if she were asleep, on his shoulder.

Several streaks of water flowed down her damp bangs onto her delicate, fair sleeping face.

Looking at Horikita's face, Sudo muttered, "You really have the heart to do that to such a pretty girl."

"You'll get used to it."

"You're used to it?!" The usually aloof Miyake broke down, revealing a shocked expression.

"Yes, I'm used to it."

As he answered Hachiman, he stepped out of the jungle. The sunshade where the dock workers were located was brightly lit.

After they got a short distance away, the staff noticed them, and several teachers who were not their homeroom teachers but were carrying umbrellas hurriedly came over and held the umbrellas up for them.

"What's wrong with Horikita?" their Chinese teacher asked anxiously.

Horikita's pale face and fainting appearance made him worried that something had happened, which was not a good thing for them.

"Horikita accidentally left something by the river this afternoon and only remembered it in the evening. Just now, when we went to look for her, she accidentally fell into the water. By the time we found her and pulled her out, she had already fainted."

"Why don't you go look for it tomorrow? It's dark and raining now," the English teacher complained after checking Horikita's breathing.

"I want to take Horikita to the ship's medical room for treatment; I'm worried something might happen to her."

Following several teachers into the sunshade, Hikigaya placed Horikita on a clean table.

"If we do this, Horikita will lose her exam qualification and points. Maybe she'll wake up soon and continue the exam. There's only half a day left before the exam ends?"

"In my heart, Horikita's health is more important than the test score." After answering the English teacher, Hachiman Hikigaya took the leader's key card from Horikita's pocket.

"Because Horikita had to withdraw from the special exam, I am requesting that Class D have a new leader."

Seeing the key card being held up, all the teachers in the sunshade wore strange expressions. They were so moved by Hikigaya's words about cherishing classmates.

The claim that Horikita accidentally fell into the water and fainted is clearly misleading; they deliberately made her faint by exploiting loopholes in the school rules.

This guy with dead fish eyes is really bad.

"After all, he's a leader, so I have to verify his identity."

A male teacher, who looked to be in his forties or fifties and whom Hikigaya had never met before, walked up to Horikita and examined her eyelids, revealing her unfocused, lifeless eyes.

"Confirmed unconscious, application approved." The male teacher looked at Hachiman with a blank expression. "Whose replacement?"

"Akito Miyake," Hikigaya announced the recently confirmed candidate.

Before he arrived, he had already decided that whoever spoke the last words to him among the three of Hirata would be chosen as the leader. If he could guess that correctly, he had nothing to say.

"Okay, Mr. Yamada, go and get the new key card."

Shortly after Horikita was taken to a ship for treatment by two teachers, a keycard with Akito Miyake's name on it appeared in Hikigaya's hands.

"Going back to sleep, I'll be busy tomorrow."