Chapter 217 Intelligence of the Day: Class A and Class C are in a Cooperative Relationship
The second day on the deserted island.
Although there were no cell phones, the watches issued by the school came with a special setting—after setting the time, they would emit a "ding-ling-ling" alarm sound. Thus, Shimizu Akira woke up around 5:30 AM.
He scanned his surroundings with bleary eyes before belatedly realizing that he wasn't sleeping in a cabin on the cruise ship, but in a single tent. There were no soft quilts or pillows here; he had to make do with folded clothes as a makeshift pillow, and there was certainly no air conditioning. Lying flat like this was a bit hard to get used to.
However, Shimizu wasn't the type to be picky about where he slept. Last night, he had fallen into a deep sleep within ten minutes of lying down. One could only say that the physical foundation of a young man allowed for falling asleep the moment his head hit the "pillow."
In truth, his living conditions were already quite good—after all, his classmates were currently squeezed into four shared tents. He glanced at the walkie-talkie. When he clocked out yesterday, Hirata Yosuke had specifically said he would use the radio to notify him if anything important happened. Since the radio had remained silent all night, it seemed the night had passed peacefully.
After getting up and changing, Shimizu began his exercise routine as usual; even on a deserted island, this habit remained unbroken. However, the location for his run had to change to the beach. Running in the forest was too dangerous—while his reflexes were good enough to avoid tripping on branches, the risk of getting scratched was high.
Upon reaching the beach, Shimizu scanned the area and noticed several tents pitched nearby—the camp for the school staff to facilitate their work. At this hour, the long tables and seats by the tents were still empty. It wasn't until his third lap that a few staff members began trickling out of the tents.
He checked the time; it was exactly 7:00 AM. These people brought out several computers and an electronic device from the tents, then lined up walkie-talkies on the long table, clearly beginning their workday. Those computers were likely used to track the students' locations—since everyone wore a watch with GPS and an emergency button. If the button were pressed, the school would receive an immediate notification.
As for the walkie-talkies, they were for communicating with the homeroom teachers. When students ordered supplies, the teachers would use their radios to coordinate with the staff here. The electronic device with a card reader looked like it was specifically for the Leader's key cards. If a device was damaged or a change of Leader was required, it would likely be handled through that machine.
After finishing his run, Shimizu did a few sets of stretches and then greeted the staff with a smile: "Good morning, uncles!"
One of the staff members was the man who had helped install Class D's temporary toilet yesterday; he recognized Shimizu instantly.
"It's you, student. Hello, hello," the middle-aged man stammered, his tone surprised.
"Up this early for a workout on the beach?"
"It's a habit. I should be thanking you all for your hard work starting so early," Shimizu smiled, then added, "By the way, what are your normal daytime working hours? What time is most convenient for deliveries? I'll let Class D know so it's easier for you."
"Uh... technically we offer 24-hour delivery, but honestly, it's best to order between 7:00 AM and 7:00 PM. Doing this would really be a huge help to us," the staff members looked at each other and spoke honestly. For men in their forties, they certainly didn't want to pull all-nighters; they preferred working during the day.
On this island, they couldn't drive and had to walk everywhere. A single delivery round could take one or two hours. If they had to deliver at midnight, they'd be trekking with flashlights, which was exhausting.
That said, in all their years on the island, they had seen students who spent nothing and ate wild fruit, and those who blew everything on the first day—but they had never met a student who proactively asked about their working hours to avoid causing them trouble.
Regardless of whether it was just politeness, this gesture put him leagues above the other students.
"Is it okay to ask: if we need to change a Leader to get a new key card, or if the manual or watch is lost or damaged, do we come here to handle that? Also, can these be handled outside working hours? How long does it take?" Shimizu asked the critical questions. He remembered Professor Chabashira mentioning that changing a Leader required the individual to come to the beach. He took this opportunity to ask about the specific process.
"...If there's a problem with the manual, just tell your sensei and we'll deliver a new one. As for a damaged watch, if the teacher hasn't reported it, it's considered a serious situation—we'll immediately send someone to the student's location, as safety is the top priority."
The staff member figured this wasn't confidential information, and since Shimizu was so polite, he explained patiently: "However, changing a Leader using the key card definitely has to be done here. The exact time varies depending on the situation, but it can be handled 24 hours a day. Also, a word of advice: if it's urgent, come straight to the tents to find us. Don't go toward the cruise ship, or you'll break the rules and be disqualified!"
"Understood, thank you very much."
Shimizu nodded, mentally organizing the info: a damaged watch would trigger a manual check by the school without even needing the emergency button, and the Leader change was available 24/7 because the staff worked in shifts. He had indeed gathered quite a bit of key intel.
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Returning from the beach to the forest, Shimizu went to the river to wipe himself down with a towel. The school was considerate enough to allow everyone to bring their own towel alongside a change of clothes—they couldn't realistically leave the students with no way to clean themselves.
He then ventured into the forest and found a few fruit trees bearing apples and peaches. He picked a few, rinsed them in the river, and ate them directly. Those fruits were enough for breakfast.
Then, he prepared to head back. He hadn't forgotten his promise to Hirata to be at the Class D camp for roll call—missing a single check-in would cost 5 points.
When he arrived, he saw Chabashira Sae with a notebook, checking people off one by one. At that moment, the "Daily Intelligence" prompt in his mind rang on time.
Katsuragi Kohei of Class A was very satisfied with Ryuen Kakeru's "performance" yesterday. After a night of deliberation, he has decided to cooperate with him. The current Leader of Year 1 Class A is Totsuka Yahiko. In the past two years at Advanced Nurturing High School, there was a student who withdrew from the island special exam as a Leader due to being unwell.
'Wait'
At first glance, it seemed these three pieces of intel were increasingly critical.
First: Ryuen's "performance"? Katsuragi plans to cooperate?!
'Hold on! It really was an act?!'
Seeing this, Shimizu immediately thought of how Ryuen had declared he would blow all 300 points yesterday and argued with Ibuki Mio and Shiina Hiyori. So, it was a ruse!
What was his goal? To show weakness and create a facade of internal strife in Class C? But were Ibuki and Shiina in on the act? Shimizu thought it unlikely. Ibuki's anger seemed genuine enough to hit him, and Shiina didn't seem the type to lie. This meant Ryuen likely said he'd spend all the points specifically to provoke those two. He truly had some tricks up his sleeve.
But what did it mean for Katsuragi to cooperate with him? What common ground did these two classes have? If he got a chance to see the Class A and C camps, he might be able to figure out their scheme.
The second piece was equally vital. It told him directly that Class A's Leader was Totsuka Yahiko. Having interacted with Katsuragi recently, he knew Totsuka was a very close subordinate. It seemed Class A, like Class D, didn't put their high-profile core figures in the Leader role.
However, if he remembered correctly, Totsuka was hot-headed and a bit careless. It was surprising Katsuragi would give him such a critical role. Was there really no one better in Class A? He knew Class A was split into the Katsuragi faction and the Sakayanagi faction. Since Sakayanagi Arisu couldn't attend due to physical reasons, her faction was likely leaderless and currently following Katsuragi.
It seemed Katsuragi didn't trust the Sakayanagi faction, so he chose his own confidant. But planning to cooperate with Ryuen? Wasn't he afraid of being backstabbed? Ryuen was a venomous snake who didn't know the meaning of a fair trade. In Shimizu's eyes, while Katsuragi was a capable leader, he was no match for Ryuen when it came to underhanded tactics.
'Class A's situation is looking complicated. I wonder how Kamuro Masumi is doing.'
Shimizu suddenly felt a bit worried about her. With no phones, he couldn't even send a text to check on her. He didn't even know which faction she had joined or what role she was playing in this exam. He wasn't even sure if she was going hungry after the first day.
'Don't let her starve!'
He mapped out the situation: if A and C were cooperating, their targets would undoubtedly be B and D. After all, those two classes had cost Class C 100 Class Points in previous months. With Ryuen's vengeful nature, he was definitely looking for payback.
When he saw the last piece of intel, a previous doubt was cleared up.
'As expected, if a Leader is unwell, they can withdraw from the exam.'
This was predictable. It was a deserted island; if a Leader claimed to have a severe stomachache and needed a doctor on the ship, the school couldn't forcefully stop them. No one would want to take responsibility if something went wrong.
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Chabashira Sae's roll call was quick—just checking names against a list. By the time it was Shimizu's turn, most students had finished. Notably, Koenji Rokusuke was there—after
signing in, he glanced at Shimizu and swaggered back into the forest, a move that drew the eyes of the whole class.
"Hey! Look, he really came!"
"Where did he stay last night? Did he just sleep out in the open?"
"With his physique, that's actually possible!"
The students whispered. Koenji was a man of his word; he said he'd sign in, and he did. Shimizu wasn't surprised. Their trade included "on-time check-ins"—after all, a missing student meant a point deduction.
It seemed Koenji took the "favor" he owed quite seriously.
Afterward, Shimizu found Hirata Yosuke and passed on the information he'd promised the staff. Hirata agreed without hesitation, promising that Class D would plan their purchases and complete them during the day. It wasn't much of a hassle for the class, anyway.
Then, Shimizu began preparing for his hunt. He went back to his tent for his canteen, filled it with hot water from the class supply, and gathered a bunch of plastic bags—they would make carrying prey much easier. Finally, he picked up a handy, medium-sized rock from the riverbank as a weapon for self-defense and hunting.
As for today's plan, he intended to scale back. He wouldn't stockpile like before; he'd only catch what he needed to eat.
This wasn't home, and there was no fridge for extra game.
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