I have a life simulator.

However, Tianze Yixia chose to give him a good beating.

Instead of appeasement, they chose threats, and the most direct form of violence at that.

At that moment, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji suddenly thought of the things between him and Masaru Nagumo.

First, he must admit that he did indeed deduce Nagumo Masa's psychological changes by summarizing the commonalities between the two students, Sakayanagi Arisu and Amasawa Ichika, based on Nagumo Masa's changing attitudes towards them. However, considering that Amasawa Ichika was sent by Kitagawa Ryo to deceive Nagumo about the criticism votes he had at the time, the other party should have seen through Nagumo Masa's psychological state much earlier than him.

In other words, what he is doing now, Kitagawa Ryo could have done long ago. After all, the other party's background is even stronger than his own. The title of the sole heir of the conglomerate is there for all to see. Now, Nangumo Masaru would definitely abandon all past grudges and directly pledge allegiance without any psychological burden, as long as Kitagawa Ryo is willing to reveal even the slightest bit of such intention.

But Kitagawa Ryo did not choose to do so.

This shows that he himself felt it was unnecessary to recruit Nan Yunya, and he wouldn't even mind giving her to him.

Looking back further, Masumi Kamuro is another example; she's someone Kitagawa Ryo had the ability to win over but didn't.

Perhaps, just like choosing a lover, the other party also has their own set of standards when it comes to recruiting subordinates.

Kikyo Kushida probably didn't pass the test either. Her becoming a spy was most likely a chance occurrence, or a casual move, and not the result of Kitagawa Ryo's intention.

This chance encounter could very well be the direct reason why Tianze Yixia used violence against the other party.

During that special exam on the deserted island, Kikyo Kushida must have seen something she shouldn't have seen, and it was most likely a meeting between the real spy hiding in Class C and Ryo Kitagawa.

After all, according to the information that Miki Yamamura had gathered, Kikyo Kushida herself had a habit of occasionally going out in the middle of the night to vent her psychological stress in blind spots of surveillance.

It seems I'll have to find a way to get the spy's name out of her.

After sorting out all his thoughts, Kiyotaka walked out of the forest and encountered Ishikura, who had been waiting for him, on the main road. The leader of Class 3-B quickly came up to him and explained the current situation.

Following Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's instructions, the students of Class 3-C and Class 3-D have all entangled with the students of Class 3-A, constantly provoking them to create friction. On the one hand, this is to prevent the other side from having time and space to support Kitagawa Ryo, and on the other hand, it is to distract the school and cause the school's teaching staff, which is used to maintain order, to exceed their limit and become overloaded.

After all, Dongyu itself needs to allocate staff to drive away wild boars. With a student report coming in every two minutes, the teaching staff available to resolve disputes is stretched thin, and the control over the entire special exam naturally drops to its lowest point.

"Hmm, let's wait a bit longer and let the second-year girls finish first."

"Then, we first and third graders will make our move."

Chapter 415: There are way too many people who could kidnap him (6k)

Upon realizing that the enemies he would face in this special exam would include most of the first-year and third-year students, as well as almost the entire second-year students, Kitagawa Ryo frowned. Under such circumstances, he obviously couldn't handle it alone. After all, even if these hundreds of people took turns 'serving' him, it would be enough to greatly slow down or even ruin his grades in this course.

Just like Kiryuin Kaede and Asahina Nazuna from before, Kitagawa Ryo also needs to find some helpers to deal with the situation and try to create some space and time for him.

His most natural allies and strongest supporters are undoubtedly Class 3-A and Class 1-B. The former is the class Horikita Manabu is in, and the latter is the class Kitagawa Ryo is currently in. They are teammates who will definitely stand by his side.

However, considering that the encirclement against him was orchestrated by Kiyotaka Ayanokouji, the enemy certainly wouldn't overlook his two helpers. They might already be in a state of chaos, given that the enemy's forces undoubtedly have a significant numerical advantage.

It can only be said that Kitagawa Ryo was indeed initially fooled by Sakayanagi Arisu's double trap. For him, it was not surprising that Ryuen Sho and Class D would join forces with Ayanokouji's Class C. Rather, it is more accurate to say that Ryuen Sho's personality has always been like this. When it comes to the interests of the class, he would be perfectly willing to go to a deserted island and live a life of hardship. This matter itself has nothing to do with the private relationship between the two parties.

Even so, in Kitagawa Ryo's vision, the first year should have been a situation where he had Class A and Class B to compete fairly against Classes C and D. However, as Sakayanagi Arisu's ambitions became clear, the two-on-two situation suddenly turned into one-on-three, which made the overall situation suddenly unfavorable.

If the last class vote special exam was a tacitly agreed-upon pincer attack by classes A, B, and D against class C, then this time the target of the pincer attack has become class B of the first year. After all, class B's current position is quite delicate. Above them is class A, which wants to maintain its position, and below them is the former class A, which is eyeing the top and wants to return to the top.

Of course, in this special exam for the mixed training camp, the one who attracted the most hatred was definitely Kitagawa Ryo himself, while Class B was somewhat innocently caught in the crossfire.

Thinking of this, Kitagawa Ryo naturally thought of Ichinose Honami and Karuizawa Megumi, who were currently in the same class as him. From the current outcome, it was indeed unlucky or a waste that these two were drawn into the same group, because with their abilities and reputation, they were qualified to be leaders in any group. Being assigned to the same group affected Kitagawa Ryo's judgment of the situation on the girls' side.

Despite Kitagawa Ryo's constant running around getting food and going to bed and back during lunch and dinner over the past few days, considering that Sakayanagi Arisu was just putting on an act with him, Amasawa Ichika's mind was preoccupied with indescribable things compared to group affairs, Horikita Suzune was only realizing she'd been fooled on the fourth night, and Ichinose Honami and Karuizawa Megumi were also having a rough time in that chaotic second group, he actually didn't know much about the girls' situation. The key information actually had to be relayed by Asahina Nagisa, his senior, and Kamuro Masumi, a student from Class C.

If Kitagawa Ryo's prediction is correct, this winding, eighteen-kilometer-long trail should now be filled with students waiting for him to appear, ready to swarm him like the second-year girls from before.

With his eyes slightly closed, Kitagawa Ryo thought for a while and recalled his memories of looking down at this area from near the highest turning point yesterday.

The 18-kilometer training march refers to the distance from the forest school along this mountain path to the turnaround point and back. However, as the proverb says, all roads lead to Rome. In fact, there are many more roads to the turnaround point than the one marked by the school. It's just that this road is the only one that is paved by man and is the easiest to walk.

Theoretically speaking, following the animal trails made by wild animals through the nearby forest to the turnaround point would not violate the exam rules at all. After all, the school staff at the turnaround point would only record your score and would not care which route you took. The terrain in the mountains is rugged, so who would deliberately choose a more difficult path, or even a forest trail where wild boars might roam, instead of taking the designated route?

However, for Kitagawa Ryo at the moment, this road has become a good choice. Firstly, it makes it easier for him to avoid other students on the main road, and secondly, it allows him to temporarily hide and observe the situation to find a way out. Moreover, he is also confident in his physical abilities. Neither the muddy and rugged mountain forest trails nor the wild boars that may appear will pose any real obstacle to him.

Rather, given the current situation, Kitagawa Ryo is now somewhat hoping for another wild boar to appear. After all, since the situation has already become a complete mess, he might as well let everything spiral out of control, and perhaps he can even pull chestnuts out of the fire.

Having clearly defined his short-term goal, Kitagawa Ryo plunged into the dense forest and began sprinting towards the turning point, relying on his exceptional sense of direction and superhuman physical abilities.

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Meanwhile, in the second group of first-year girls who had been conducting their long-distance running training as usual earlier, Honami Ichinose and Megumi Karuizawa almost simultaneously noticed something, unconsciously slowing their pace and exchanging glances. Chihiro Shiranami, another girl from Class B in their group following behind them, also abruptly stopped and asked with some confusion:

"What's wrong?"

"Don't you feel something's off? It's a bit too quiet."

"Hmm? Is that so? If Fanbo is referring to the fact that our group was reduced to just the three of us while running, then there's no need to make a fuss about it. After all, since the start of this special mixed training camp exam, our group has always been operating independently, just like the rest of the class."

"It's not that aspect... but you could say it is. What I find strange is that the students from these three classes disappeared at a very close time, almost as if they received some kind of instruction at the same time."

Faced with Chihiro Shiranami's somewhat indignant complaints, Karuizawa Kei knew that the other had suffered some grievances during the training camp these past few days. However, she was not in the mood to comfort her at the moment. Instead, she began to frown and recall the various details she had seen along the way and how the other members of the group had fallen behind or overtaken others.

"I know why it felt a bit quiet."

At that moment, Honami Ichinose suddenly remembered something and turned around to look at the other group of students who were hanging behind the three of them.

"Starting half an hour ago, none of the students from other classes we encountered along the way spoke to us, not even a greeting. Even the students from Class A of the first year were the same. At first, I thought everyone was focused on the exam and didn't have time, but it's still too abnormal that none of them spoke to us."

As the most socially active student in her grade, Ichinose Honami knew that with her proactive transformation, her popularity wasn't as explosive as it was at the beginning of the semester. However, even with her current popularity, she shouldn't be ignored by all the students along the way. It seemed that they were intentionally avoiding any interaction with her.

Just as Ichinose Honami and Karuizawa Megumi were beginning to have doubts and vaguely sensed some mysterious undercurrent, they suddenly saw someone running in the opposite direction towards them on the road ahead. Anyone who didn't know better would think that this guy had already finished the first half of the race and was starting to sprint for the second half, but this long-distance race had only just begun. Even if someone could fly, they couldn't fly that fast, since the first half of the race was originally a more difficult uphill section.

However, as the student ran closer and closer to the three of them, Karuizawa Megumi and Ichinose Honami realized that the guy running wildly in the opposite direction was none other than Kanzaki Ryuji, the vice class president of their first-year class B.

The Ryuji Kanzaki before them was quite the opposite of his usual composed demeanor. Despite it being winter, his forehead was already covered in a fine layer of sweat, and his slightly curly hair clung to it, making him look rather disheveled. Upon seeing them, he stopped running, bent over, and, supporting himself on his knees, panted heavily. He stammered as he spoke to Honami Ichinose and Megumi Karuizawa:

"Several girls in our class are being harassed by the third-grade students. They're saying some really nasty things and they're blocking the way for them now."

"Third grade? Which class?"

"I'm not sure, it seems like students from classes B, C, and D all have it."

"Is this deliberate provocation or has some real conflict occurred?"

“I’m sure it was deliberate provocation. I was standing not far behind when it happened. It seemed to be a senior from the same group as Wang Cang and Ji Ye who insisted that there was something wrong with the breakfast they made this morning, causing someone in their group to have an upset stomach and miss the long-distance running class. She was determined to give them an explanation or she wouldn’t let them go. But everyone is supposed to eat the breakfast that each group makes. How could only one or two people feel unwell? And when something like this happens, the first thing to do should be to suspect that there is something wrong with the ingredients provided by the school.”

After listening to Ryuji Kanzaki's story, Honami Ichinose and Megumi Karuizawa exchanged a somewhat serious glance. Meanwhile, Chihiro Shiranami, following behind them, began to worry about her good friend in class and urged her anxiously:

"This kind of thing should be reported to the school as soon as possible, so that the teacher can come and resolve it. It's obvious that the other party is deliberately causing trouble."

"I tried."

At this point, Ryuji Kanzaki gave a wry smile and wiped the sweat from his brow:

"I've already run around this area for quite a while. It's no exaggeration to say that there are incidents or disturbances everywhere ahead. The few staff members assigned by the school simply can't handle it all, since they also have to arrange for people to drive away wild boars and tally the scores at the turnaround point."

Kiyotaka Ayanokouji's approach this time undoubtedly absorbed the idea Kitagawa Ryo had in the special exam on the deserted island: no matter how carefully the school designs each special exam, reality is not a game, and there will always be human-made loopholes or bugs.

Just as the food and water provided by the school in the last special exam on the deserted island were not unlimited, there must also be a limit to the human resources that the school can invest in this special exam. Once the limit is exceeded, it will naturally become overloaded. After the school loses its intervention, all the rules will eventually return to the students' hands for a short period of time.

Sure enough, upon hearing that school staff couldn't arrive immediately, Chihiro Shiraha gritted her teeth:

"Then let's do what we did on the deserted island last time and call everyone in our class together. Let's see if these so-called seniors dare to bully us juniors again."

As a girls' group that received special attention, just like Karuizawa Megumi and Ichinose Honami complained to Kitagawa Ryo in the cafeteria a couple of days ago, the disintegration of the first-year second group so far can indeed be blamed half on these seniors who were picking on each other. After all, unlike Horikita Suzune's third group, they didn't have Asahina Nazuna to mediate. Therefore, even Shiranami Chihiro, who has always been timid in the class, was a bit emotional at this time.

"No."

To Chihiro Shiraha's surprise, it was Ryuji Kanzaki who stepped forward to stop her after resting for a while.

"I think this is just a smokescreen to distract our B class. Their real target is actually Kitagawa."

After hearing Kanzaki Ryuji's words, Ichinose Honami and Karuizawa Megumi, who were standing next to him, nodded in agreement. They had also considered this point, which was why they hadn't spoken up to echo Shiranami Chihiro.

It has to be said that Ryuji Kanzaki's emotional intelligence is truly remarkable. After all, no matter which of them said these words, Chihiro Shiranami would probably have interpreted them differently, thinking that they valued Ryo Kitagawa more than the other students in Class B. However, now that Ryuji Kanzaki brought it up, it was easier for them to respond.

"As far as I know, many people don't want Liang to get first place in the whole school in this special exam."

"Well, if Liang gets it, our Class B might be able to overtake the class points and become the new Class A."

Without making a scene, Karuizawa Megumi brought the matter back to the topic of class interests and proactively asked Kanzaki Ryuji:

Have you seen Liang along the way?

"No, there are many other students besides me looking for him. There are boys and girls from all grades. It seems that they have already started searching into the forest or are blocking the gate at the turnaround point."

“Going to the turnaround point to block the gate is indeed a good idea. After all, I estimate that Liang should have already plunged into the forest. Although I can chase after him myself, I feel there is no need to do so.”

After all, she was a girl who had survived alone on a deserted island for nearly two weeks, so Karuizawa Kei's words were quite convincing.

"The most important thing now is to gather our students together and then find other students who are willing and able to help."

"How about going to Class A? Wasn't Beichuan a transfer student from their class?"

"...No, Class A must have defected too, because I saw a Class A student in the search party for Kitagawa on the way. Although they didn't seem very willing, they did it for the sake of the class. In the end, they didn't want to be squeezed out by our class."

After hearing Ryuji Kanzaki's explanation, Megumi Karuizawa frowned slightly, but then something else occurred to her:

"Go find Class D, go find Hiyori."

Of the three first-year classes besides their B class, A and C classes have already confirmed that all members are following orders to surround and intercept Kitagawa Ryo. So, the only class left that can be won over is D class.

To be precise, it was the girls in Class D of the first year.

Although Ryuen Sho has always claimed to be the absolute leader of Class D, in reality, both Class D and Class C have the same problem at this stage: neither Katsuragi Kohei nor Ryuen Sho can truly lead the girls in their class. This is because neither of them is the type to get along well with girls. The former mainly relies on Kushida Kikyo and Hirata Yosuke, while the latter, needless to say, basically relies on Shiina Hiyori.

However, there are also differences between the two classes. The current Class C, which was originally Class A, is quite clear-headed when it comes to matters involving the interests of the class. Even Morishita Ai and Kamuro Masumi, who had previously been somewhat uncooperative, were forced to obey Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's orders.

However, such discipline and subjective awareness do not exist in Class D. Moreover, Shiina Hiyori is the most ruthless member of Kitagawa Ryo's faction. If she were willing to speak out and take action, she could rally a group of people against Ryuen Sho. After all, she had already ousted Ryuen Sho from his position as leader during the Sports Festival.

"No, you can contact all the students in Class D, especially Ishizaki and Komiya, who are in the same group as Kitagawa Ryo."

After Karuizawa Kei suggested the strategy of finding Class D, Ichinose Honami added this sentence, her bright blue eyes shining.

"The fact that Ayanokouji can command Class C so easily means that his bargaining chips or conditions are something that Class C can't refuse right now. Ryo told me at the end of winter break that he made contact with Nagumo in the second year, so this reward that can mobilize the entire Class C must be related to the debt between their class and Nagumo. It is very likely that it is the reduction or even full reduction of these millions of yen in debt."

As soon as Honami Ichinose finished speaking, Megumi Karuizawa quickly understood her meaning. However, seeing that Ryuji Kanzaki and Chihiro Shiranami still looked a little confused, she added another explanation:

"Just like Class 1-C owes Nagumo a debt, the students in Class 1-D are now also indebted to Ryuen. Rather, this is one of the fundamental reasons why the other side was able to smoothly take back control of the class after the sports festival, and why the position of class leader has remained unshaken after the cultural festival defeat and the withdrawal of the opposition Manabe Shiho in the class vote special exam."

“Since Ayanokouji can use Class C to his advantage by solving his debts, we can also sow discord in Class D by helping them pay off their debts. We could even directly bring their students to our side. Then Ryuen will be left all alone again. After all, Ryo has very good interpersonal relationships in Class D, and many students probably don’t want to mess with him.”

After hearing Karuizawa Megumi's explanation, Kanzaki Ryuji and Shiranami Chihiro looked enlightened, but immediately asked:

"But we can't just make empty promises. Now the whole grade knows that our Class B spent all our personal points to transfer to Beichuan, and it's even going to our homeroom teacher's account. Do the students in Class D really believe that we have the ability to help them pay off their debts?"

"It's alright if we don't have any. Ryo definitely has enough points. Besides, Hiyori from Class D has a lot of personal points stored up on him. When it really comes down to it, she probably won't be stingy with the money."

After Ichinose Honami gave this explanation with a smile, Karuizawa Kei glanced at her with some apprehension. After all, both of them knew that the personal points Shiina Hiyori had accumulated on Kitagawa Ryo were for the purpose of transferring classes in the future. Unexpectedly, Ichinose Honami still had the extra thought to calculate the transfer fee under such circumstances. The rather heavy emotions that were faintly revealed behind her made Karuizawa Kei feel a chill down her spine.

"That's good."

Seeing that Ichinose Honami and Karuizawa Kei had quickly sorted out the situation that had been giving him a headache, Kanzaki Ryuji breathed a sigh of relief.

"We'll split up now."

Before Ichinose Honami could speak, Karuizawa Megumi took the initiative to give instructions:

"Kanzaki, you and Chihiro go and gather the rest of our Class B students nearby, then take them to Amakura and Himeno. With your numbers, those third-year students shouldn't be able to stop you. Honami and I will contact the students in Class D, and we'll meet up at the turnaround point."

However, Ryuji Kanzaki himself was quite cautious. After noticing that Honami Ichinose did not object, he nodded in agreement and left with Chihiro Shiranami.

"Let's go find the students in Class D. It would be even better if we could run into Hiyori; it would save us a lot of trouble."

Seeing Kanzaki Ryuji and Shiranami Chihiro jogging away, Ichinose Honami also called out to Karuizawa Megumi, only to find her still standing there with a thoughtful expression.

"What's wrong?"

"...I suddenly remembered the last exam on the deserted island. Fanbo, do you remember? I was once surrounded by Class A, which eventually dragged almost all the students from Class B into it. In other words, I was the hostage used to kidnap the class back then."

"what do you mean?"

"Yes, this time the target is Liang."

Despite it being a rather serious topic, Karuizawa Megumi's tone was filled with helplessness and resentment when she got to this point.

"There are too many people who could kidnap him."

Chapter 416: How Can I, the Person on the Cover, Fall So Easily?

Just as Honami Ichinose and Megumi Karuizawa were planning to set off to find Hiyori Shiina from Class 1-D and seek her help, just like Sherlock Holmes meeting and confronting Professor Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls cliff, this avid fan of detective novels was also experiencing the greatest crisis to date.

However, this didn't mean that she had encountered a wild boar attack like Mizowaki and Tonokawa yesterday, and her life was in danger. But for Shiina Hiyori at this moment, she might have preferred to encounter a wild boar. After all, the probability of Kitagawa Ryo miraculously arriving to save her was much higher than her current predicament of searching dozens or even hundreds of times in the empty pocket of her down jacket to find the ring that she had carefully kept there.

Ever since she unexpectedly received that ring from Kitagawa Ryo during the obstacle course race at the sports festival, Shiina Hiyori, unlike Sakayanagi Arisu, never flaunts a sports ring on her wrist every day, but she always carries it with the utmost care and cherishes it the most, even when participating in the special exam for this mixed training camp.

After all, the Tokyo Advanced Educational Junior High School only confiscated all electronic devices from the students before the exam started. Even Arisu Sakayanagi's sports ring was not spared. However, the school did not care about such personal accessories. Just like Nazuna Asahina is now wearing the amulet that Hotaru brought back to her wrist, Hiyori Shiina's ring is also allowed to be worn.

Since this was a shared accommodation session with unfamiliar girls from other classes, Hiyori Shiina was very careful and kept the ring in the small pocket inside her down jacket. She didn't have to worry about it falling out during exercise, as long as the zipper was closed.

But not long after the field training began, when Shiina Hiyori reached out to touch the ring as usual, she unexpectedly found nothing. Even after turning the entire inner pocket inside out, she couldn't find the ring at all.

Theoretically speaking, with the zipper closed, the ring should not roll out due to movement. After all, there were long-distance running training sessions in the days leading up to this special exam, and Shiina Hiyori had never encountered such a situation before.