Since the intelligence slip said the favored person was in Class B, why would they still propose collecting the numbers on the poker cards?
Isn't doing so a losing business?
No!
Amane-san's lips curled slightly.
This smile made Yonezu feel as if his entire being had been seen through.
It was precisely because they knew the favored person was in their own class that they wanted to collect the poker card numbers.
Because this matter must be happening in all discussion groups. If they were to go around individually tomorrow, during the break, to propose buying poker card numbers, it would inevitably arouse suspicion from others, especially since the favored person will be announced tomorrow night. Why would Class B be in such a hurry to buy them?
Out of conservative thinking, some people would definitely refuse the transaction. In that case, even if Class B knew the favored person rule, if they didn't know everyone's poker card numbers, they could only stand on the same starting line as other classes and guess.
In that case, the benefit of threatening Horikita to obtain information would be completely lost.
It might even be more trouble than it's worth.
The information gained by completely antagonizing Class D, but it couldn't be used effectively, so why antagonize Class D?
Therefore, if Class B wanted to maximize its benefits, it could only announce the acquisition of poker card numbers today. In this way, even if interested people didn't make a transaction in the discussion group, they might privately find someone from Class B to trade with. This way, Class B might be able to find most of the favored people at once.
So why would the snake group favored person be in Class B and they still want to acquire poker card numbers?
Think about it, if Class B in other discussion groups are all acquiring poker card numbers, but the snake group shows no reaction at all, what does that indicate?
It indicates that the favored person is within Class B, and they don't need to acquire them. Wouldn't that be a self-incrimination? So, even if they knew some groups were losing money, they still had to grit their teeth and spend some unnecessary points to clear the possible favored person stigma.
Seeing through this, Amane-san immediately came up with an interesting idea.
So she started sending private messages to Sakayanagi and Shiina.
Soon, Sakayanagi and Shiina reacted very quickly. Not long after, people from both Class A and Class C almost simultaneously lowered their heads to check their phone messages.
Instructing them to 'flexibly' sell their poker card numbers.
"Yonezu-san, how many points are you planning to pay?"
Fukuyama Shichika from Class A was the first to ask for a price.
Yonezu's face immediately broke into a smile when he heard someone willing to ask for a price.
"I'll pay 30,000 individual points per person."
"How is it only 30,000? Yonezu-san, are you too stingy? Don't think we don't know that the favored person is linked to the numbers on the poker cards. One number is at least 100,000 points, otherwise we won't sell! If the favored person is among us, you could instantly get 500,000 individual points. Wouldn't we suffer a huge loss?"
Fukuyama Shichika's sharp rebuttal immediately left Yonezu speechless.
But in his budget, 100,000 points per person was simply unrealistic.
Just as Yonezu was feeling troubled, Amane-san lightly coughed.
Immediately, Fukuyama stopped speaking.
Everyone's gaze once again focused on Amane-san.
"First of all, Yonezu-san, your request is somewhat excessive, because you are essentially openly trying to collect information on who among us is the favored person. And such a piece of information is 100% present in one of us, which means that as long as you buy everyone's poker card numbers, you will definitely get 500,000 individual points and 50 class points. The person you find will also have 50 class points deducted... Everyone is taking the risk of being criticized or even ostracized by their class to be willing to trade with you. Do you understand this?"
Amane-san's words undoubtedly carried more weight than Fukuyama's.
Students from both Class A and Class C immediately spoke up in agreement after hearing her.
Although they didn't know what pattern Class B had discovered, one thing was certain: the favored person was definitely in the group, and if discovered, the class of the person who traded the favored person's poker card number would have 50 class points deducted.
This was a very serious penalty, and even if they didn't know the pattern now, they would eventually find out after the exam.
The person who traded would definitely be singled out by the class, and it wasn't hard to imagine the kind of criticism they would face then.
And a mere 100,000 individual points, unless others demanded it, no one would be willing to take that risk to trade with Class B.
"That being said... I really don't have that many points."
Yonezu also had his difficulties, because besides the dragon group and the Monkey Group, which had already completed the exam, there were still a full ten groups.
If every group were to acquire openly, it would undoubtedly be a huge expense.
Ichinose had used all her points to distribute to everyone, so Yonezu didn't have much left.
It wasn't that they couldn't afford over a million points, but Shibata and Ichinose had repeatedly emphasized to acquire at the lowest possible price, ideally keeping the cost within 500,000 points per group. This way, they could still offset losses with profits, and any remaining losses could be compensated by the increased class points.
However, if this exam drained their entire savings, Class B would be completely unable to cope with any special circumstances, because they would never be able to accumulate so many points again.
"Then how much can you control?"
Amane-san's direct question made cold sweat break out on Yonezu's forehead.
He looked to Himeno beside him for help.
Himeno, however, pretended not to see, seemingly having no intention of defending her classmate.
Yonezu hesitated for a moment before holding up five fingers.
"Five million? In that case..."
"Five hundred thousand."
As soon as Yonezu said he only had a budget of 500,000, mocking laughter immediately erupted from Class A.
It was obvious who was laughing, but Yonezu couldn't do anything about it.
He had 1,000,000 individual points from Ichinose at his disposal, but he couldn't use them lavishly, which led to the current awkward situation.
Amane-san feigned contemplation.
She subtly observed Yonezu's expression. When she saw him immediately let out a sigh of relief upon realizing Amane-san hadn't directly objected, Amane-san instantly deduced that the points Yonezu held must be far above 500,000, though this was probably the maximum he could control, right?
"Since that's the case, how about a flat rate of 50,000 points for each person, and everyone tells you their poker card number? Of course, students who don't want to can choose not to sell."
"But such a low number of points..."
Fukuyama Shichika pouted, seemingly very dissatisfied with the price.
Amane-san saw that Fukuyama wanted to play a double act with her and immediately said seriously.
"You guys, first of all, Yonezu-san can only offer this price. If he doesn't buy, wouldn't you not even get 50,000 points? Moreover, everyone knows that among so many numbers, only one person's number is what he needs. Once he finds the number he needs, why would he spend a lot of money to buy your points? Their Class B's points don't just come out of nowhere."
Amane-san's look of deep regret made Yonezu feel a little moved.
He never expected Amane-san to be so considerate of him. If he didn't need to continue acting for the class's plan, he would have told Amane-san that his purchase of points was just an act, and Amane-san didn't need to worry so much.
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