I have a life simulator.

"Longyuan, stop hiding, come down."

The one who spoke was Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, whom he had been searching for for half a day.

"Ayanokoji? Is something the matter?"

As Long Yuanxiang climbed down from the tree, he tried his best to maintain a composed expression:

"I've already delivered today's supplies to Katsuragi and the others. But you seem to be a bit behind the top three, right? Try a little harder for our deal."

Attempting to seize control of the conversation first, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji completely ignored Ryuen Sho's question, instead raising his eyes to look Ryuen Sho up and down before suddenly asking:

"You're a [Resurrection] card, right?"

"Of course, otherwise I wouldn't be able to cooperate with you, since my current score is definitely last place."

Long Yuanxiang put his hands behind his head and answered casually.

"Then you should know the hidden settings of special cards, right?"

"When you receive an upgrade opportunity from a regular card, you can transfer that opportunity to anyone in person, including students in their class."

"...It seems there is such a setting."

Long Yuanxiang nodded, responding quickly and answering first:

“I had an upgrade opportunity before, but I happened to meet Ishizaki at the time, so I gave the opportunity to him.”

Long Yuanxiang's words preemptively blocked any further questions from the other party and also concealed his deal with Kitagawa Ryo.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's expression didn't change much; he simply nodded.

"Then we can add this clause to our cooperation agreement."

"If you get an upgrade opportunity later, transfer it to me."

Then, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji added:

"Of course, this is also to get my ranking into the top three, which is good for everyone."

"Whether or not you make it into the top three is something you should be worried about, Ayanokouji. If you want me to give you a chance to upgrade, you'll have to offer other conditions in exchange."

Appropriately displaying his ever-present greedy nature, Ryuen Sho looked at Ayanokouji Kiyotaka with a cold smile.

"For one upgrade opportunity, I can pay you 100,000 personal points."

"You're really generous."

Somewhat shocked by Kiyotaka Ayanokoji's generous offer, Ryuen Sho clicked his tongue:

"If I get an upgrade opportunity, I'll come to you."

Just as he finished speaking and turned to leave, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka called him back once again:

"Your Class C should have another holder of a special card, right?"

In an instant, Long Yuanxiang felt a cold sweat break out on his back, but he managed to maintain his composure and said without turning his head:

"I……"

"It's Hiyori Shiina."

Before Ryuen Sho could even utter a word, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka had already ended all his lies and escape routes, aggressively stepping behind him.

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji pressed down on Ryuen Sho's shoulder.

"【Dual Blade】or 【Chosen One】? I don't care and I'm too lazy to care which special card she has, but I hope that she can be like you and consider me first if she gets an upgrade opportunity."

"Shiina is unaware of our collaboration."

"This has nothing to do with whether you know it or not."

Kiyotaka Ayanokouji tightened his grip and spoke coldly in Ryuen Sho's ear:

"If you define this collaboration as between you and me..."

"So that means Class A and Class C are still essentially competitors, enemies that need to be eliminated?"

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's words subtly conveyed a sense of threat, and Ryuen Sho gritted his teeth and shook his head, saying:

"Shiina is not someone I can control, and besides, the person she likes is Kitagawa from Class D. The chance of promotion is very likely, no, it will definitely be only for him."

"……Yeah?"

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly saw Totsuka Yahiko walking towards them in a huff, as if he had overheard their conversation.

I'll contact you again later.

Not wanting to get entangled with someone like Totsuka Yahiko, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka released Ryuen Sho and disappeared into the forest in a few quick steps.

Ryuen Sho stood still and sneered at Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's back before taking a step in another direction.

At the same time, he made a direct call to someone.

But he hung up the call in just one second.

This was just a signal that Shiina Hiyori had agreed upon.

meaning is--

Plan passes.

Chapter 173: The Ultimate Brainstorming King

After getting rid of Totsuka Yahiko, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka went to the place he had arranged to meet someone beforehand. There, the blond, frivolous boy seemed to have been waiting for a while, idly playing with a fairly neat leaf that had fallen from a nearby tree.

Masayoshi Hashimoto is the second useful piece that Kiyotaka Ayanokoji carefully selected after Masumi Kamuro.

One person's strength is always limited, and besides, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji didn't think he had much talent in interpersonal communication and information gathering. From the moment he entered the university, he had been looking for useful people to work with. However, his initial choice of Masumi Kamuro was thwarted by Ryo Kitagawa, and the plan fell through.

After setting his sights on Masayoshi Hashimoto as his second target, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji spent about a month figuring out the man's personality.

On the surface, Hashimoto Masayoshi has always actively supported Katsuragi Kohei's authority in Class A and has never hesitated to contribute to various class affairs. Even though he often shows a frivolous side, his reputation in the class can be considered positive due to his outstanding abilities and appearance.

However, after truly investigating Hashimoto Masayoshi, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka saw through his disguise. For Hashimoto Masayoshi, belonging to someone else's command was irrelevant.

No, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she didn't care at all. In this respect, she had a completely opposite attitude to Totsuka Yahiko in her class.

Regardless of whether Katsuragi or someone else was the leader in the class, he always chose the side that was profitable.

Moreover, unlike most of the students in Class A, Hashimoto Masayoshi even considered the possibility of other classes. He didn't seem to think that the current Class A would definitely be the final Class A, and that there was a possibility that they would drop to Class B or Class C midway through.

Under this cautious approach, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji discovered that Masayoshi Hashimoto had even chosen to contact students from other classes. Like a cunning rabbit with multiple burrows, he had already crossed paths with the up-and-coming Sho Ryuen at a very early stage.

At first, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji even wondered if the spy that Ryo Kitagawa had planted in Class A was Masayoshi Hashimoto, because every move the other party made seemed to declare that if necessary, he could leak information about Class A without hesitation, and as long as he laid out enough connections in advance, no matter who reversed the situation in the end, Masayoshi Hashimoto could win.

However, after observing the other party for another month, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji did not find any connection between the other party and Ryo Kitagawa. Or rather, Masayoshi Hashimoto's current plans are limited to Class B and Class C. In his eyes, Class D, with zero class points, is not even worth investing in.

After discovering this, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji finally took the initiative to contact Masayoshi Hashimoto.

Since Hashimoto Masayoshi's actions are all driven by self-interest, all that's needed is to show what he can give him. In Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's eyes, Hashimoto Masayoshi is no different from Kamuro Masumi, who stole things in pursuit of excitement. All that's needed is to grasp what the other party wants, and he can easily control him.

"How about it?"

Upon seeing Ayanokouji Kiyotaka arrive, Hashimoto Masayoshi casually tossed aside the leaf he was holding, which had been stripped down to its veins, and raised an eyebrow at him, asking a question.

"Judging from Ryuen's reaction, Shiina should indeed be in possession of a special card."

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji nodded in reply.

"After all, I saw it with my own eyes, I just couldn't see which one it was."

Hashimoto Masayoshi was somewhat disappointed. This morning, while participating in a project, he ran into Shiina Hiyori's group from Class 1-C. He noticed some words about special cards and hidden mechanisms in their conversation, so he paid more attention and peeked at the corner of Shiina Hiyori's watch that she had inadvertently revealed from afar.

"That hidden mechanism was mentioned by Kitagawa in their group's discussion just now, and Ryuen didn't deny it either, so it seems to exist."

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji glanced down at his watch, which showed that the "Discount" card level was still stuck at level five.

"Once a special card holder obtains the opportunity to upgrade to a regular card, they can transfer it to any student in person, without restriction to their own class."

Hashimoto Masayoshi shook his head and repeated it, then shrugged somewhat helplessly:

"It's a pity that none of our Class A students have a special card. It seems the school really does use randomness."

As he spoke, he pursed his lips again:

"Although I always felt that it was intentional to leave out our Class A."

"However, the holders of the special cards are now basically clear."

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji ignored Masayoshi Hashimoto's complaints and calmly analyzed all the information he had gathered:

"If Ryuen Sho is [Resurrected], then Karuizawa Megumi should have [Reinforcement], and Shiina Hiyori has either [Chosen One] or [Dual Blades]. This is relatively easy to determine. We just need to track one of her projects and determine the score increase as soon as the project is completed."

Seeing Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's serious expression, Hashimoto Masayoshi also put aside his frivolous side, stroking his chin as he expressed his opinion:

"If there is an inherent logic to the school's distribution of special cards, the current distribution of the three special cards is one in Class B, two in Class C... and the last one is most likely in Class D."

"Recently, Kitagawa Ryo's group has seen a rapid rise in scores and rankings. Could it be that someone in their group obtained the [Chosen One] card, which can increase scores?"

"Although I can't be sure, based on the internal conversation of the Kitagawa group that I just overheard, all four of them have regular cards, and Kitagawa himself has the same [preferential] card as me."

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji did not completely believe everything he heard, but still told it as part of the intelligence.

Then, as if remembering something, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji suddenly asked:

What is the relationship between Shiina from Class C and Kitagawa from Class D?

"Shiina? Kitagawa?...If we're being honest, could it be considered an ambiguous relationship?"

Hashimoto Masayoshi looked at Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's face and said with a smile:

"It's normal that I haven't heard of you acting alone, Ayanokouji. But these past few days... or even earlier, there have been rumors about the two of them back in school."

When it comes to this kind of topic, Hashimoto Masayoshi immediately becomes adept at it. He has received confessions from girls in Class A before, so he is definitely experienced in this area.

"Actually, you can understand it if you think about it. There are very few cross-class romantic relationships in Tokyo Advanced Educational High School, and the leader of Class C is that Ryuen. The obstacles to them being together must be quite great."

With a beaming smile, Masayoshi Hashimoto continued:

"Besides, you can tell from the group assignments for this deserted island exam. Kitagawa's group is all girls except for him. Tsk tsk, is this the treatment of being chosen as the number one by the girls?"

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji had also heard his classmate Kikyo Kushida mention the ranking list, so he was able to keep up with Masayoshi Hashimoto's pace.

What's the story behind that rumor you mentioned?

"It's probably a rumor about Kitagawa and Shiina. According to the students in Class C, the two seem to be having an ambiguous relationship. Even during the exam on the deserted island, Kitagawa wanted to directly help Shiina, who was clearly a competitor for a class position."

Masayoshi Hashimoto chuckled as he answered Kiyotaka Ayanokouji's question.

He now discovers that this seemingly perfect mastermind behind Class A is not without flaws after all.

Kiyotaka Ayanokouji was unaware that Masayoshi Hashimoto had already labeled him as an emotional idiot. He recalled what Ryuen Sho had said to him back then, and after considering all the evidence, it seemed that he wasn't lying.

The identities of three of the four special card holders have been confirmed. If, as Hashimoto Masayoshi deduced, the last special card was assigned to Class D, then Kitagawa Ryo, who also possesses the [Discount] card, should do the same thing as him, asking the cardholder to transfer the opportunity to him so that he can quickly upgrade his [Discount] card and gain an advantage.

Even with the hidden setting that the transfer must be done in person, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji was unable to pinpoint the last special card holder through his investigation of Ryo Kitagawa's group.

In the past few days, Kitagawa Ryo has had direct contact with so many students from Class D. Whether it was Sudo Ken's group, Matsushita Chiaki's group, Sakura Airi's group, or other groups, in just five days, Kitagawa Ryo's group had spent a long time in close proximity with almost half of the students in Class D.

While it's theoretically possible to investigate all these groups and find out if they received any upgrade opportunities for regular cards in the past few days, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji had absolutely no concrete track record of their movements.

However, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji desperately needed the crucial information of this last cardholder.

Without this hidden setting, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji believed that his leveling efficiency would not lag behind Ryo Kitagawa's, but this setting added an element of uncertainty to their race.

Karuizawa Kei of Class B, who holds the "Reinforcement" card, has a close relationship with Kitagawa Ryo. The interaction between Kanzaki Ryuji's group and Kitagawa Ryo's group in today's "Double Horseback Battle" challenge also shows that Class B and Class D have probably reached a cooperation agreement.

If Shiina Hiyori and Hashimoto Masayoshi are also having an ambiguous relationship with Kitagawa Ryo, as Shiina Hiyori said, then her chances of advancement will definitely fall directly to Kitagawa Ryo.

Even if we include the scheming Ryuen Sho on our side, the ratio is only one to two, and that's without considering that the last person with an unknown identity will also help Kitagawa Ryo.

Kiyotaka Ayanokouji closed his eyes and pondered for a while. Karuizawa Kei was now being held back by the people from Class A, and it would be difficult for her to get the reward of a promotion opportunity in the short term. This brought the battle ratio back to one to one.

The most urgent tasks now are to restrict Shiina Hiyori's movements on the one hand, and to find the hidden fourth person as soon as possible on the other.

At this moment, I recall Kitagawa Ryo's actions after arriving on the island, where he lavishly invited his classmates to a joint dinner and camping trip, completely disregarding their grades.

It's likely that by then, Kitagawa Ryo had already learned about the hidden setting and devised a strategy to conceal the most important person within the flow of people.

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji raised his eyes and looked up at the vast, boundless blue sky.

As expected, that person went so far as to release him and send him to this school, so that he would face an opponent he had never seen before in the white room.

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

"You mean, Hiyori's intelligence has been exposed?"