I have a life simulator.

"...Class C is a very strong group."

As if stunned by the list, Honami Ichinose paused for a moment before continuing:

"I just don't know if Class A and Class B have the same configuration."

Kitagawa Ryo naturally understood her meaning. Judging from the grouping of Classes B and C in this group, this group was undoubtedly an elite group. If the school really adhered to this grouping philosophy, then the members of Classes A and D in this group should also be the leaders of their classes.

"Ichinose-san, Kitagawa-san, you're here really early."

As soon as the two finished speaking, Hirata Yosuke's hearty laughter rang out, but unlike Class B, it seemed that he was the only one there.

Noticing the strange looks from the two, Hirata Yosuke explained:

"The other two members of our group are Karuizawa and Horikita, but Horikita isn't feeling well, and I don't want to go into the girls' room, so I'd like to trouble Karuizawa to remind her that it wouldn't be good if she missed the meeting time."

Although Hirata Yosuke's reasoning was sound, Kitagawa Ryo felt a pang of unease whenever he thought about Karuizawa Megumi facing Horikita Suzune.

"Actually, we were just talking about the group assignments. Seeing Hirata here, I'm even more certain that the composition of this group was arranged by the school."

Honami Ichinose, however, didn't think too much about it and took the initiative to strike up a conversation with Yosuke Hirata:

"Judging from this, Katsuragi-kun should be a member of this group."

"Is that so? Then please take good care of me."

Hirata Yosuke nodded. For Class D, which was already weak, this grouping was a huge pressure. Whether it was Kitagawa Ryo, Ichinose Honami, or Katsuragi Kohei, whose reputation had plummeted, they were all opponents that Class D had to take seriously.

Just as the three were chatting and laughing, Karuizawa Megumi and Horikita Suzune arrived late. Since it was already 8:30 pm, it seemed that the two had already taken a shower. Karuizawa Megumi did not tie her hair up in a high ponytail as usual, and Horikita Suzune also did not braid her hair, which was unusual. They came to the second-floor conference room with their hair loose.

"Kitagawa... Cool."

Upon seeing Kitagawa Ryo sitting there leisurely, Horikita Suzune's previously pale face flushed an unnatural red. After the exam on the deserted island, she had fallen ill for three days before her health had improved, and had only just begun to recover. However, whenever she thought about what happened on the deserted island, Horikita Suzune would fall into endless self-blame and doubt.

From a young age, Horikita Suzune followed in Horikita Manabu's footsteps, believing that everything could go according to her wishes, and that she could do anything as long as she worked hard, without needing any friends or partners.

Until he met Kitagawa Ryo.

This idea created friction with reality. The genius known as Horikita Suzune seemed to suddenly lose all her special qualities.

He's just a kid who can't do anything.

"Are you feeling better, Rin?"

Contrary to Horikita Suzune's expectations of a teasing or even mocking tone, Kitagawa Ryo's gaze genuinely revealed concern and worry. However, it was precisely this pitying look that made Horikita Suzune even more unbearable.

"Thanks to you, it's not so good."

Horikita Suzune returned a cold gaze. For the past three days, she had been wandering in a hazy dream. What annoyed her was that Kitagawa Ryo's figure kept appearing in various dream illusions, and there were even many instances where she defeated him. What was this? Did it mean that Horikita Suzune could only try to defeat Kitagawa Ryo once in her dreams?

"I lost the last exam, but I will win this time."

Kitagawa Ryo was initially worried that Horikita Suzune might have really suffered too much of a shock, but seeing how weak she was yet still uttering such harsh words, he rolled his eyes and lay back down.

"Then come on."

Unlike Horikita Suzune, who was at odds with Kitagawa Ryo, Karuizawa Megumi wanted to talk to him, but considering the large number of people around, she felt embarrassed to be too intimate with him. After all, she wasn't like Ichinose Honami, who had maximum social skills in the grade. Her behavior of going to the swimming pool with Kitagawa Ryo a couple of days ago had already been noticed by many people in Class D, so it was best to keep a distance for now.

However, Karuizawa Kei, with a quick glint in her eyes, bent down and said:

"Ichinose-san, Horikita-san isn't fully recovered yet, may she sit here?"

Honami Ichinose naturally didn't refuse; on the contrary, she happily stood up and gestured for Suzune Horikita to sit in her previous spot and rest.

"I'm not that fragile yet."

Horikita Suzune did not accept the favor. Whether it was because she simply wanted to be stubborn or because Kitagawa Ryo was sitting next to her, she simply refused.

"Alright, alright, I'll get up too. I'll give you a bigger seat, okay?"

Kitagawa Ryoya chuckled, shook his head, and stood up.

"If you're sick, just rest. If you have to withdraw from the exam because of health reasons, Class D might be affected in some way."

Perhaps Kitagawa Ryo's words had a persuasive effect, and Horikita Suzune finally sat down in that seat. Karuizawa Megumi stood next to Horikita Suzune as if to take care of her, while Kitagawa Ryo stood right next to the wall. After Ichinose Honami got up, she naturally returned to Class B's camp. After this series of actions, Karuizawa Megumi secretly gave herself a thumbs up.

The distance between the two suddenly closed considerably. Just as Karuizawa Kei was about to sneak up and smell Kitagawa Ryo to see if he smelled the perfume she had given him, the other man suddenly walked away.

"It's cold, come and get it."

It turned out that it was Hiyori Shiina who arrived with Ryuen Sho and Satoru Kaneda. It was Hiyori Shiina who had called Ryo Kitagawa away. She was holding two ice cream cones and staring intently at the three stacked ice cream balls above her, as if afraid they would fall.

"I'm coming."

Therefore, Kitagawa Ryo didn't notice Karuizawa Megumi's little movements at all. He quickly took two steps forward and took the ice cream cone from Shiina Hiyori's hand. Ryuen Sho and Kaneda Satoru had almost finished eating, and because they were chewing, they just nodded to Kitagawa Ryo.

When it comes to eating ice cream, Kitagawa Ryo is quite bold, taking a big bite without any hesitation, which looks like it would hurt your teeth. But Shiina Hiyori still licks it little by little like a lady, which looks a lot like Hotaru licking water.

Because it was a sight he had never seen before, Kitagawa Ryo watched Shiina Hiyori's posture with great interest after finishing his own. Every time she tried to take a small bite, she would frown slightly, which looked quite amusing.

It was soon 8:40 when Class A, led by Kohei Katsuragi, finally arrived. Since it was already time, the other three classes didn't bother with small talk, just exchanged brief greetings and went into their respective meeting rooms. Ryo Kitagawa, however, caught a glimpse of Masumi Kamuro.

"cold……"

Just as Kitagawa Ryo made eye contact with Kamuro Masumi, he felt Shiina Hiyori tug at his sleeve. Looking down, he saw the girl holding up an ice cream cone that was still a third full, with a pained expression on her face.

"We can't finish it all."

Of course, Hiyori Shiina couldn't bring the ice cream cone into the conference room, but it felt a bit wasteful to throw it away. Kitagawa Ryo had no choice but to take the remaining bit from her hand, swallow it in a few bites, and walk into the conference room while feeling the stimulation at the base of his teeth.

Upon closer inspection, one sees Chabashira Sae, the homeroom teacher of Class D. After confirming that all four classes have arrived, she begins explaining the rules:

"This exam will be conducted in twelve groups based on the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches. Your group is the Chen group."

Chen...Dragon?

-------------------------------------

The rules were no different from what they had heard before, and were even a bit boring. Apart from spending a little time memorizing the list of all the members of the Chen Group, Kitagawa Ryo almost fell asleep. It took him twenty minutes to finally get through the meeting room before the four members of Class C left.

As they came out, they bumped into Class A, who had also just finished listening to the rules explanation. Katsuragi Kohei immediately stepped in front of Kitagawa Ryo:

"Kitagawa, during the special exam on the deserted island, you betrayed three classes, didn't you?"

What does "betrayal" mean?

Kitagawa Ryo hadn't expected that even with the second special exam already underway, Katsuragi Kohei would still be so hung up on the previous result. He replied somewhat helplessly:

"Contracts are signed by both parties, and I didn't force you to sign them."

"But after you signed the contract, you revealed the information about the leader of Class A to other classes. Isn't that betrayal?"

Katsuragi Kohei's height was quite intimidating, and his emphasis gave off a somewhat aggressive tone.

"But the contract doesn't stipulate that we can't reveal the information about the leader of Class A, and shouldn't this be the reason why Class A didn't protect him properly?"

Kitagawa Ryo raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised, and said:

"Oh, thinking about it carefully, the leader of Class A is actually Totsuka Yahiko. What are his strengths in having someone like that as a leader?"

"Hmm... does it count as always liking to be by Katsuragi-kun's side?"

"you!"

In just a few words, the conversation veered to Katsuragi Kohei's nepotism that led to Class A's defeat. Katsuragi Kohei also subtly sensed the gazes of the three classmates behind him. Since the deserted island exam, his reputation in Class A had already plummeted. If someone were to use Kitagawa Ryo's words to kick him while he was down...

"Then how are you going to explain the problem with the medication?"

"Medicine? What medicine?"

Kitagawa Ryo feigned confusion and asked, but quickly replied with a smile:

"Now that you mention it, I do remember something like that. Apparently, Class A traded 200 points of supplies for 10 points of medicine with Class D."

"Have you considered that after this exam, other classes will refuse to cooperate with Class C again? Those who act justly will find many supporters, while those who act unjustly will find few. Class C's way of doing things will eventually lead to their downfall."

Seeing that Kitagawa Ryo refused to admit it, Katsuragi Kohei also spoke in a deep voice.

"But I agree more with another saying: there are no eternal enemies or eternal friends in the face of interests. Didn't Class A agree to the contract with Class C this time because they were greedy for interests?"

Kitagawa Ryo looked at Katsuragi Kohei with disdain:

"And the question you should be thinking about now is whether Class A will fall behind after this exam."

"Tsk tsk, Class A was demoted before the first semester was even over. Katsuragi, your name will be remembered forever."

This time, Katsuragi Kohei didn't get angry. He simply looked into Kitagawa Ryo's eyes and said, word by word:

"Then let's give it a try. The gap between Class A and Class C can't be bridged by just a few tricks."

After uttering these harsh words, Katsuragi Kohei turned and left. Behind him, Kamuro Masumi gave Kitagawa Ryo a wink, and Kitagawa Ryo nodded knowingly.

"Well then, now we just have to wait for the email at eight o'clock tomorrow morning."

After Katsuragi Kohei and his group left, Kitagawa Ryo lazily yawned.

"Liang, what's Class C's strategy this time?"

Shiina Hiyori unusually inquired about the exams, something she wouldn't normally do, simply following the steps agreed upon by Kitagawa Ryo and Ryuen Sho. Hiyori wasn't one for conflict, so Kitagawa Ryo had never asked for her opinion.

What is Hiyori thinking?

It was rare to see Hiyori Shiina offer her opinion, so Ryo Kitagawa asked her a question in return.

"Um……"

Shiina Hiyori thought for a moment, then smiled and spoke softly:

"I want Class A, where Sakayanagi-san is, to lose."

"Well, this way..."

Before Kitagawa Ryo could respond, Shiina Hiyori continued speaking, her tone as casual as if she were discussing a novel with Kitagawa Ryo:

"It's not bad that Class B, where Ichinose is, lost."

"As for Class D, they can get points from Class B every month to pay for their contract with our class anyway."

"So it's okay if the class points drop to zero, right?"

Chapter 41: Don't get involved with Karuizawa Megumi anymore.

"Now, all boys, please hand your phones to Daichi Ishizaki, and all girls, please hand your phones to Hiyori Shiina."

At 7:55 a.m. on the first day of the special exam for privileged students, just as the school was about to send an email informing them of their privileged student status, the students of Class C had already gathered at the bottom of the ship's cabin. This was also one of the few locations in Ryuen Sho's intelligence that was not under surveillance. Kitagawa Ryo glanced at the time on his phone and spoke.

"You don't need to worry about me looking into your privacy. I'll only glance at the school's text messages on each phone, not even for three seconds."

Sensing the students' slight hesitation, Kitagawa Ryo reiterated his assurance:

"This is an important step in passing this exam, and we hope everyone can cooperate."

His usual prestige and past performance came into play at this moment. The students' cell phones were quickly confiscated and piled up in front of Kitagawa Ryo. As soon as it was eight o'clock, he immediately began to browse through them. After looking at each cell phone, he would casually delete the email.

Although the school prohibits unauthorized access to other students' phones to obtain information about privileged students, rules are rules, but people are flexible. However, it is true that only Class C can instantly grasp the information of all privileged students in the class. Although Class B has enough cohesion, Ichinose Honami's personality would never allow her to do such a thing. At most, she would just suggest that students who feel troubled because of their privileged status can seek her help.

Kitagawa Ryo suspected that there might be some kind of pattern to the identities of the privileged individuals, but finding the pattern would take time. He didn't want anyone to discover any flaws in the people from Class C who were chosen as privileged individuals. Even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance, he had to eliminate it. Therefore, he had to ensure that only he and Ryuen Sho knew the specific privileged individuals in Class C.

To deceive your opponent, you must first deceive yourself. If the favored party doesn't even know they are favored, there's no way they can guess correctly.

So after discussing it with Ryuen Sho, Kitagawa Ryo's first step was to delete the emails after reading them himself.

Forty phones may seem like a lot, but once you get the hang of it, it only takes a few minutes. After returning the phones to the class, Kitagawa Ryo told them to disperse on the spot and just casually go over to the discussion at 1 p.m.

"How about it?"

After most of the students in Class C had left, Long Yuanxiang came over and asked.

"Just as we guessed, there are three special treatment recipients in total. The school did indeed allocate them according to the quota of three per class."

"Hmm, what's the pattern? Have you figured it out yet?"

"The sample size is too small; with only three samples, it's impossible to tell anything."

Kitagawa Ryo sent the names of the three privileged students from Class C and their corresponding groups to Ryuen Sho, rubbing his temples as he said:

"We need to find a few more. If we have six, it should be easier to find the pattern."

However, neither Kitagawa Ryo nor Ryuen Sho were discouraged at this point; instead, they both smiled knowingly.

"I have connections in Class D."

“I can get intelligence from Class D.”

Almost simultaneously, Kitagawa Ryo and Ryuen Sho spoke.