Staring at Ryūen’s smirking face, full of arrogant confidence, Uesugi Gen sighed in exasperation.

  "I swear, you never learn, do you?"

  Ryūen Kakeru remained unfazed. There was no harm in bringing this up now—if Uesugi had actually abused his authority as student council vice president to manipute the exam, then this would be a huge win for him.

  The reason none of his past schemes against Uesugi had worked was simple: every time he tried something underhanded, it always ended up in a student council dispute. And in the end, he was the one who lost.

  Damn it, politics is filthy!

  Ryūen clenched his fists in frustration.

  But if he could use this opportunity to strip Uesugi of his vice president position, he’d be killing two birds with one stone—getting revenge for the st time he was humiliated and eliminating a major threat.

  "I share this concern as well," Katsuragi Kōhei added without hesitation. "Judging by Css B’s actions earlier, they clearly knew in advance that this special exam would be an uninhabited isnd survival test. Where exactly did they get this information? If it was obtained through his position as student council vice president, wouldn’t that be grossly unfair to the other csses?"

  Seeing Ryūen’s intent, Katsuragi immediately took advantage of the situation. If they could hit Css B with a major setback right at the start of the exam, it would be a huge advantage.

  Mashima-sensei turned to Uesugi.

  "Uesugi, while I do not have the authority to demand an expnation from you, if they escate this to the school administration, you will be required to give one. It would be in your best interest to settle this matter now."

  As Css B’s English teacher, Mashima Tomonari knew enough about Uesugi to be certain—he wouldn’t make such a rookie mistake. He must have deduced the answer from subtle clues. Even so, Mashima was still curious—how exactly did he figure it out?

  Meanwhile, Css B students grew increasingly anxious. If what Uesugi said earlier was true, then their entire strategy was based on privileged student council intel…

  If that were the case, Uesugi was in deep trouble.

  Uesugi, however, casually waved a hand, signaling them not to worry.

  Then, he stepped forward, took the megaphone from Mashima, and turned the volume to maximum.

  His first move? A massive taunt.

  "I gotta ask—do you guys seriously not have any friends?"

  At that moment, Horikita sneezed adorably from the sidelines.

  Uesugi continued in a tone filled with exaggerated disappointment.

  "If any of you had even one uppercssman friend and bothered to ask, you’d know that uninhabited isnd survival is one of the school’s most common test formats.

  A very generous senior told me ages ago that the school practically runs this every year."

  "So, the moment I heard the school was sending us to an uninhabited isnd for a ‘trip,’ I immediately knew what was coming. Seriously, just how bad are your social skills that not a single person was willing to give you this info?"

  But, Uesugi-kun… I didn’t have anyone tell me either…

  Ichinose discreetly wiped away a bead of sweat while maintaining a composed smile.

  Uesugi’s words left the entire first-year cohort in stunned silence. Many students now looked lost in thought.

  Wait… Is my social life actually that bad? Do my uppercssmen secretly hate me? Is that why no one warned me?

  Even Ryūen’s expression flickered for a moment.

  I already know I have no friends. But still—why didn’t I think of just bckmailing someone for the answer?

  Have I… actually been outpyed in terms of underhandedness?

  Katsuragi rubbed his smooth, bald head, deep in contemption.

  Who is this ‘very generous senior’ Uesugi keeps mentioning? Would he be willing to share more cssified information?

  Mashima sighed, rubbing his temple.

  The students might not realize it, but as a teacher, he knew—special exam intel was valuable. This kind of information could be traded for huge amounts of private points.

  There was no way anyone would just hand it out for free.

  However—Css B’s silence had a different reason.

  They now realized something very important.

  Uesugi already knew that uninhabited isnd survival was a recurring test.

  Which meant—there was no cssified intel from the student council.

  Then…

  Where the hell did all their money go?!

  In unison, the entire Css B turned to stare at Uesugi with an eerie expression.

  Uesugi, perfectly composed, returned the megaphone to Mashima and casually walked back to his spot.

  With a completely straight face, he conveyed one simple truth—

  What do you mean your money?

  This is my money.

  No, this is the Emperor’s money. If you think otherwise, try calling it and see if it responds.

  Css B collectively narrowed their eyes.

  We’ll settle this ter.

  With the commotion settled, Mashima resumed the expnation.

  "As a fundamental aspect of this special exam, each css will be given an initial 300 test points. By wisely managing these points, you may enjoy this special exam as if it were a vacation.

  For that purpose, we have also prepared an official guidebook."

  Mashima gestured as other teachers distributed thick booklets, spanning dozens of pages.

  "This guidebook contains a full list of items avaible for purchase using points. Necessities such as food and drinking water are avaible, as well as equipment for barbecuing. We have also provided numerous recreational items for enjoying the ocean."

  Ah, here it comes—the basic survival safety net.

  Uesugi smirked. 300 points, huh?

  In a sense, that was pretty generous. If they completely disregarded the actual test, they could just use the points to enjoy a comfortable week-long vacation.

  Next—

  Came the most important rule of all.

  The Leader System.

  Each css was required to select a Leader, who would be issued a special key card.

  On the final day of the exam, during roll call, each css would have the opportunity to guess the leaders of the other csses.

  Correct guesses would earn their css 50 points per correct answer.

  Incorrect guesses would result in no penalty.

  However, any css whose leader is correctly identified will lose 50 points.

  Additionally, the isnd contained multiple base camps that could be occupied.

  Occupying a base once would grant 1 point.

  A base could be occupied once every 8 hours.

  However, if a css’s leader is exposed, they will lose all accumuted base points.

  Additional key rules:

  A leader’s key card is required to cim bases.

  Occupied bases can be freely used.

  Unauthorized use of another css’s base results in a 50-point penalty.

  Only the Leader can use the key card.

  Leaders cannot be changed without valid reason.

  These were the core rules of the special exam.

  ---

  T/N: hmm best cote fic i've ever read was checkmate honestly it was nuts...

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