The Zoo's strategy was excellent; no matter how many people participated, they could always select suitable individuals to host the event.
Those chosen were delighted, and those not chosen merely sighed about their bad luck, as only a minority were selected.
The unselected people did not leave but instead watched the upcoming activities from the sidelines.
"I am green!"
"Me too."
"And me."
"I am also green."
Tanaka Masao and his group—Tanaka Masao, Yukinoshita Yukino, Fujiwara Chika, and Shinomiya Kaguya—successfully advanced in the first round.
The other three were eliminated.
With over a hundred people and only twenty spots, their group's luck seemed pretty good.
After confirming the twenty participants, the staff continued.
"Alright, everyone, pay attention. We will now proceed to the second round of screening. The twenty participants, please find a partner within ten seconds.
If time runs out and you don't have a partner, you will be eliminated. Ten…"
This round primarily tested everyone's social skills. Most people came in groups of two or three, and the chances of all of them being selected among the twenty spots were slim, so most participants didn't know each other.
However, Tanaka Masao's group didn't have to worry about this issue.
They were exactly four people and could be divided into two groups.
There was no need to agonize over the grouping; based on familiarity, Tanaka Masao and Yukinoshita Yukino formed one group, and Fujiwara Chika and Shinomiya Kaguya formed another.
The ten seconds passed in a flash, not even enough time for a few sentences. Those who wanted to find a suitable partner missed their chance due to hesitation.
The clever ones, however, immediately teamed up with the person next to them.
In this round, half the people were eliminated, leaving only ten.
Everyone stood with their teammates, chatting and asking about each other's names and other details, in case the upcoming activities involved such questions.
But for a group of acquaintances like Tanaka Masao's, there was no such segment; they went straight to the verbal sparring.
Fujiwara Chika provoked Tanaka Masao.
"Hmph hmph, Junior Tanaka, Kaguya-douchi and I have been good friends for many years. We understand each other exceptionally well, and our coordination is perfect. Just wait to be defeated by our team later."
Shinomiya Kaguya: Fujiwara student, although we've known each other for many years, I've never felt our coordination was that good.
Tanaka Masao pushed up his glasses.
"Perhaps you're right. I might not be your match in terms of tacit understanding, but it wasn't stated that this round tests the cooperation between two people.
It's also possible that it's about two people competing against each other."
As he spoke, a sinister smile appeared on his lips, and the reflection on his glasses obscured his eyes.
"Fujiwara-senpai, as best friends, can you really bring yourself to do it?"
"What."
Fujiwara Chika stepped back in a panic; she hadn't considered such a possibility.
She looked at Shinomiya Kaguya with a somewhat pleading gaze.
"Kaguya-douchi, what should we do if that's the case?"
"Fujiwara student, we are the best of friends."
Seeing Fujiwara Chika's somewhat pleading eyes, Shinomiya Kaguya's face showed a Kaguya-style gentle smile.
"So you know me…
No matter what challenge or competition I face, I will give my all, so, Fujiwara student, I will not hold back."
[Fujiwara student, get ready to be utterly defeated by me.]
"Sigh~"
Hearing this, Fujiwara Chika's face fell, but she couldn't do anything about Shinomiya Kaguya.
"Kaguya-douchi is just too serious. Facing Kaguya-douchi, I have no confidence in winning at all."
However, she quickly shifted her attention to Tanaka Masao.
"What about Junior Tanaka? Does Junior Tanaka have the confidence to defeat Xuezhixia Classmate?"
Facing Fujiwara Chika's question, Tanaka Masao shook his head helplessly, a faint smile on his face.
"Yare yare (Good grief), Fujiwara-senpai, you still don't understand me. I am Tanaka Masao, a person with no upper limit, constantly growing stronger. Facing Xuezhixia Classmate, of course, I will…
Directly concede."
Tanaka Masao's sudden turn almost made Fujiwara Chika's waist give out.
He had spoken so spiritedly before, looking like he was the only one in heaven and on earth, only to directly concede.
Fujiwara Chika complained.
"I think Junior Tanaka doesn't have no upper limit, but no lower limit."
Their interaction was quite amusing, much to the delight of the onlookers.
While they chatted, the staff began to announce the rules for the next round.
Yukinoshita Yukino stood next to Tanaka Masao and whispered.
"Tanaka-kun, if it really comes down to competition later, please don't just concede directly. After all, I can't accept that kind of victory.
First place should be earned through my own efforts."
Hearing this, Tanaka Masao nodded and began to listen carefully to the game rules.
[Since Xuezhixia Classmate said so, I won't go easy.]
"In the first two rounds, we tested everyone's luck and social skills. In this round, we will test everyone's strength.
Now, please, all contestants in each pair, check the number on your number plate. The contestant with the larger number must carry their teammate with the smaller number in a princess carry.
Successfully holding for one minute will be considered a successful challenge and will advance you to the next round."
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at their number plates.
"I'm sixty-nine, Xuezhixia Classmate?"
"Seventy-eight."
Hearing this, Tanaka Masao looked at Yukinoshita Yukino, his eyes narrowing slightly, and raised an eyebrow.
"So that means I'll be princess carried by Xuezhixia Classmate."
Yukinoshita Yukino glanced at Tanaka Masao, then spoke after a few seconds of silence.
"Can I just refuse?"
"Of course not!"
Tanaka Masao said righteously.
"Didn't Xuezhixia Classmate just say that first place should be earned through her own efforts? How can you give up so easily?
Can't you overcome such a small difficulty?"
Yukinoshita Yukino's eye twitched uncontrollably.
"Tanaka-kin, such a small difficulty? You should be clearer about your own situation than I am."
Hearing this, Tanaka Masao felt no embarrassment whatsoever and began to earnestly persuade her.
"Xuezhixia Classmate, I know you've probably never done anything this difficult before.
But isn't there a saying, if there's a difficulty, you should let others do it, and if there's no difficulty, you should create one and do it anyway.
So don't be afraid, try it bravely, I will do my best to cooperate with you."
Yukinoshita Yukino listened, somewhat bewildered, feeling that Tanaka Masao's words were very flawed.
What did he mean by 'if there's no difficulty, create one and do it anyway'? Isn't that just asking for trouble?