I have a life simulator.

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"This is... the third one."

Kitagawa Ryo breathed a sigh of relief and checked the real-time group rankings on his watch. Starting with the first [Olympiad Math Test] topic that morning, their group had participated in three topics without a limit on the number of group members, twice taking the top three spots and once taking the top two spots.

Before the fifth day of the special exam on the deserted island was even over, they had already racked up a whopping 8,000 points.

However, this also meant missing out on a topic that offered a chance to upgrade a regular card as a reward.

"The ranking has risen to second place, only a thousand points behind Katsuragi's group."

The intense movement left Horikita Suzune feeling somewhat tired, and she leaned back in a chair in the rest area to recover her strength.

"If we work hard, we should have a chance today."

Sakayanagi Arisu stretched and gently rubbed her calves. Her bag was already on Kitagawa Ryo's back, but even so, her strength had dropped to a rather difficult level.

"The Katsuragi team's scoring efficiency today is lower than the previous four days."

Honami Ichinose noticed something rather odd:

"Moreover, the increase in scores for the entire Class A this morning has decreased significantly. Although we contributed to that, something still doesn't seem right."

"It's like... half of Class A's group has been paralyzed."

Just as Ichinose Honami was feeling confused, Kitagawa Ryo's watch suddenly chimed, receiving a communication request from someone else.

"It's Kanzaki from Class B."

After glancing at the caller ID, Kitagawa Ryo generously showed the watch to the three girls before agreeing to the call request and placing the watch to his ear.

"I'm Kitagawa Ryo, what can I do for you?"

"Karuizawa-san is being besieged by a group from Class A."

Ryuji Kanzaki immediately explained the situation, his tone unusually tense.

"She's currently working on the [Singing] project in E5. The information was passed to me by Shibata and the others. He overheard Class A's plan by accident. Class A has realized that Karuizawa is holding the [Reinforcement] card and is preparing to target her."

If it were any other class, Kitagawa Ryo would probably just say, "Then you should hurry up and do other projects to get points and pass them on," since Karuizawa Megumi has now bought them precious time and space.

But considering that the other party was from Class B, Kitagawa Ryo could only offer a helpless consolation:

"Don't worry, the school staff are there too, and I believe Hui can handle it."

Kitagawa Ryo paused, then added:

"That's true, but we're not sure what other methods Class A might use. It's really impossible to defend against one person alone. For example, they might secretly hide something in your backpack while you're sleeping alone at night and then accuse you of stealing the next day. It's also troublesome to be bogged down in such troublesome matters."

"That's what I'm worried about too."

Ryuji Kanzaki picked up the conversation:

"Our group has moved closer to that side."

"Okay, I understand. If time allows, our group will also go and take a look."

Kitagawa Ryo nodded, made a vague promise, and then ended the call.

After hanging up the phone, Kitagawa Ryo asked without hesitation:

Which project is closest to the E5 area and offers a reward that includes a chance to upgrade a common card?

"E7 is two squares to our northwest."

Honami Ichinose was the first to answer.

"go there."

Kitagawa Ryo pressed his temples, his eyes gleaming.

"Ayanokoji, it will be there."

Chapter 167: A Different Development

More and more groups gathered around the "Singing" project. Although the registration for the project had already closed and there was no benefit to staying here, four or five groups from Class B still came from all directions, surrounding their class leader, Karuizawa Megumi, and confronting the Class A groups here with resentment.

Kiyotaka Ayanokouji is very familiar with Class B's style, especially considering that Megumi Karuizawa has the "Reinforcement" card for this exam and is willing to team up alone for the sake of the class.

They were already worried about Karuizawa Megumi's situation, so the slightest disturbance could completely disrupt the entire Class B.

Although Karuizawa Kei had told all her classmates in every communication that everything was fine, most of the B-class groups near this grid still resolutely came to support her.

"If Class A really intends to disgust Hui like this."

"Then let's just stay here like them and see who can grab it faster."

"Stop trying to get points!"

Many girls expressed their indignation one after another, which gave Karuizawa Kei a bit of a headache.

"All students, please remain silent! Regardless of whether you have registered for this project or not, all students who have come here, please remain silent!"

The teacher in charge, holding a megaphone, loudly announced:

"The project is about to begin! Any further noise will be considered as disrupting the normal progress of the project and will result in a deduction of points from the group's score!"

The uproar finally subsided.

The teacher in charge wiped the sweat from his brow, also wondering why so many students had suddenly arrived.

At this moment, there are nearly twenty groups gathered here, including those from Class A, Class B, Class C, and Class D. They are all staring wide-eyed at the center of the field.

Amidst all sorts of calculations, the "singing" subject, which originally didn't offer particularly generous rewards, suddenly became the most anticipated special exam on the deserted island, with even the teachers in charge feeling a bit worried for the participating students.

The pressure you feel when singing in front of a few people is definitely different from the pressure you feel when singing in front of dozens of people.

The first girl from Class A to go on stage seemed a little nervous as soon as she walked to the center of the field; you could clearly see her hand trembling as she held the microphone.

"I...I choose."

I reluctantly chose a popular song that I was fairly familiar with, but as soon as the accompaniment started, I suddenly jumped to the beat and sang the first line.

Although all the students in Class B were kind-hearted, they naturally wouldn't give a good look when they saw the students from Class A making a fool of themselves, which added to the psychological burden of the girl from Class A.

After struggling through the song, the final scoring system gave it a failing grade of 37 points.

However, for the girls, finishing the song was already a relief, so they quickly lowered their heads and ran back to their class's camp.

Meanwhile, another group of onlookers gathered around.

After all, the sheer number of people will attract others to come and see for themselves.

"Okay, I'll go then."

Sakura Airi greeted Karuizawa Megumi casually, then walked into the venue as if it were nothing out of the ordinary, picked up the microphone, and smiled as she did so under the watchful eyes of dozens of people.

Her demeanor was completely different from the previous girls.

The teacher in charge looked at Sakura Airi, then looked up at the azure sky, where only the blinding sunlight was shining down.

But I always felt like the other person was standing under some kind of dazzling spotlight.

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[Type: Sports]

[Topic: Two-person horseback riding battle]

[Description of the activity: One person carries another to form the "rider" and "horse rider" teams. Both must wear headbands provided by the school. While protecting their own headbands from being taken by others, they must also capture as many headbands as possible from other teams. The team whose headbands are taken from both the "rider" and "horse rider" teams is eliminated. At the end of the allotted time or when only one team remains, the top three teams with the most headbands win.]

Each group can only have two members (if a single person forms a group, they can partner with other group members from the class). Registration will close when twelve people have registered or one hour after the topic is announced.

[First Place: 1200 points, one chance to upgrade to a regular card]

Second place: 1000 points

Third place: 800 points

Kitagawa Ryo finished browsing the topic information on grid E7 and frowned slightly.

This project is clearly a variation of the "Four-Person Horse Riding Battle" at the Sports Festival. However, since the "horse riding" has changed from three people to one, it has indirectly increased the physical requirements for the student who is "riding".

Since it concerned an opportunity to upgrade a regular card, Kitagawa Ryo naturally wanted to personally take the field to increase insurance. However, his team consisted entirely of girls except for himself, so he couldn't let them take the lead. Even Horikita Suzune, who had the best stamina among the three, was not someone Kitagawa Ryo thought could support him for very long.

Therefore, the only remaining option is for him to take on the 'riding' position.

Compared to the physical and endurance-testing 'horse riding', the 'rider' on the back is the main force responsible for snatching the headscarf, requiring a higher level of agility and judgment.

"Let Arisu participate in this project with me."

After thinking for a moment, Kitagawa Ryo also made a suggestion.

"I think it's okay."

Horikita Suzune nodded. She was well aware of the importance of this topic to Kitagawa Ryo. She was the tallest of the three, but in terms of agility, she was not as good as the more petite Sakayanagi Arisu.

"If Arisu is there, Ryo can relax a bit more."

Honami Ichinose also replied with a smile, but there was something strange about her words.

Sakayanagi Arisu seemed to understand this as well. She pursed her lips, walked over to Kitagawa Ryo, and held up her hand to compare her height. She was more than a head shorter than Kitagawa Ryo.

"Then I'll do my best in a bit."

Kitagawa Ryo suddenly reached out and gave Sakayanagi Arisu a high five:

"Arisu probably hasn't played this before."

"I've seen something similar at the sports festival."

Sakayanagi Arisu silently withdrew her hand behind her back and replied:

“Tokyo Advanced Educational Junior High School allows the children of school staff to visit the school’s annual sports festival. I’ve seen the horseback riding battle event at every previous sports festival.”

"But that's a rule for four people."

As she spoke, Sakayanagi Arisu glanced at Kitagawa Ryo, then looked back at Ichinose Honami and Horikita Suzune, inexplicably conjuring up some scenes that might not pass censorship.

"Even if it's her first time, Arisu should be fine."

Kitagawa Ryo nodded, his tone full of encouragement and expectation, and said with a smile:

"Anyway, geniuses always learn faster, right?"

"of course."

Sakayanagi Arisu kicked a small pebble off the road and answered confidently.

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"According to the rules, since you, Ayanokouji, are in a solo group, you can choose a member from another group in the class to temporarily form a team. If you make it into the top three, the reward will be split in half and added to your team and his team respectively."

At the registration desk for the "Two-Person Horseback Riding Battle" event, Akane Tachibana, a third-year student from Class A and the student council secretary, was explaining the rules in detail to Kiyotaka Ayanokouji, who had come to register.

"So, do you have someone in mind to team up with?"

"some."

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka nodded, and a man with long hair covering his face, a fleshy face, and a fierce appearance that didn't look like a high school student at all walked in.

"I'm Hayato Kito from Class 1-A. This time, I'm forming a temporary team with Ayanokouji."

"Please wait a moment while I verify your identity."

Akane Tachibana nodded, pulled up the detailed information of Hayato Kito from Class 1-A on her tablet, and quickly replied after comparing the photo with the person in person:

"Alright, Ayanokouji-san and Kito-san's temporary team has been successfully registered. Please wait patiently in the rest area before the project begins."

Upon hearing this, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji turned and left without hesitation. Beside him, Hayato Kito, who was originally part of the Hashimoto Seigi group but had been temporarily reassigned to partner with him, was also a quiet person and followed behind Kiyotaka Ayanokouji in silence.

As the only student in Class A of the first year to receive an A in physical education evaluation in his entrance report, Kito Hayato initially thought that Ayanokouji Kiyotaka simply valued his physical qualities and had him serve as the 'horse rider'.

However, on his way here, Kito Hayabusa noticed that Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's speed was in no way inferior to his own. In fact, in running alone, he was even a few points behind Kiyotaka. This made him quite interested in Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, who seemed to be Katsuragi Kohei's follower.

"Hahaha, we've snagged a bargain! I told you there was no one around here. I don't know what went wrong with the students from Class A and Class B, they're all running north. Did they dig up some treasure?"

Before anyone even arrived, Ishizaki Daichi from Class 1-C's laughter rang out. He was seen patting Komiya Yogo on the shoulder, and occasionally turning back to boast to Kaneda Satoru and Yoshimoto Kosetsu, his tone full of smugness.

"We're the second group to sign up, right?"

Daichi Ishizaki walked quickly to Akane Tachibana, who was in charge of registration, and asked her questions impatiently.

"Yes, let me see, it's Ishizaki Daichi and Komiya Yogo from Class 1-C, right?"

"It's the two of us! Hey, I remember we met a couple of days ago, about that... [piano performance] project, I think you were in charge of the registration."