Chapter 387: A New Uninhabited Island Exam!
"Sudo! You trash, did you really think you could take me?"
Housen Kazuomi, relying on his superior, robust physique and experienced fighting skills, quickly had Sudo Ken—who possessed stats but lacked the technique—pinned to the ground, grinding him into the dirt.
"Let go of Sudo-kun!"
Seeing this, Onodera Kayano immediately rushed forward, lifting her foot to kick Housen repeatedly in the back, trying to force him off.
"Stupid woman, get the hell away!"
Housen Kazuomi swung his arm in a sudden sweep, the back of his hand striking Onodera Kayano heavily across the temple.
The girl's body went limp instantly, and she collapsed unconscious on the spot.
"Housen, you bastard!!"
Watching his friend be struck down while he was pinned to the ground, Sudo Ken's eyes turned bloodshot with rage.
In a state of extreme fury, he suddenly erupted with an astonishing surge of brute force, prying himself free from Housen Kazuomi's grip. He swung a powerful heavy punch, smashing it into Housen's mouth and drawing blood.
"Pah!"
Housen Kazuomi spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva. Instead of slowing him down, the injury completely triggered the innate ferocity in his bones, a terrifying chill flashing in his eyes.
"Very good!"
"I like taming disobedient beasts the most!"
With those words, Housen Kazuomi lunged forward, his hands locking onto Sudo Ken's neck like iron pincers.
"Ugh!"
Sudo Ken struggled desperately, but he couldn't pry the other man's palms open.
A sense of suffocation swept through his body, causing his entire face to turn a bloated reddish-purple.
Yet, even at this point, he showed no intention of bowing his head to beg for mercy, continuing to glare fiercely at Housen Kazuomi.
"What? Looking at you now, you're still not submitting?
Then just die!"
Housen Kazuomi's face was twisted in a grin, and the strength in his hands suddenly increased.
"Wait, wait a minute..."
"Housen-boss, isn't this going too far?"
"There's really no need to blow things up to this extent!"
The first-year Class D students nearby, who had been holding up their phones to record, were already gripped by fear. Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, they hurriedly spoke up to intervene.
"Shut up!
I'm finishing this trash off today!"
Housen Kazuomi's eyes shone with murderous intent; he looked as if he had lost all reason.
Sudo Ken, being stubborn and obstinate, was on the verge of suffocating and rolling his eyes back, yet he refused to yield even an inch.
This stalemate put Housen Kazuomi in a difficult position.
Though he was arrogant and overbearing, he wasn't so stupid as to actually commit murder. His original intention was merely to use extreme martial force to thoroughly suppress Sudo Ken.
Unfortunately, he had picked the wrong target...
Clack—
Steady footsteps approached from the distance, carrying an invisible sense of pressure that made Housen's group subconsciously turn their heads.
"Not good!"
"It's someone from the Public Morals Committee!"
The faces of the first-year Class D students instantly turned pale.
In the two months since entering the school, the first-years had all heard more or less about Hikigaya's formidable reputation.
"Yo, isn't this Dead-Fish-Eyes-senpai?
What, did you come here specifically to save your classmate?"
Housen Kazuomi remained arrogant, his words showing no weakness, but the grip on Sudo Ken's neck tightened significantly less.
"Classmate? Are you trying to make me laugh?"
Hikigaya let out a cold, mocking sneer.
"I'm just passing by. Feel free to continue.
If you have the guts, go ahead and strangle Sudo to death. I promise I won't interfere."
This unexpected attitude left Housen's group looking at each other in confusion, momentarily unsure how to respond.
"Hmph!"
Housen Kazuomi said in a deep voice, "As the rumors say, Hikigaya-senpai really doesn't care about his own class at all."
"That's not for you to say."
Hikigaya didn't care to waste words. He directly stated his stance: "Violently assaulting a student. This is the second time, Housen Kazuomi!
What do you think the punishment will be this time?"
Housen Kazuomi's eyelids jumped. He bit the bullet and retorted, "Hikigaya-senpai's ability to twist black into white is impressive. This is clearly a mutual fight, so why should it all fall on me?"
"A mutual fight? I didn't see one."
Hikigaya signaled his selective enforcement: "The moment I arrived, I saw you choking Sudo until his eyes rolled back!"
"We can testify!"
"We recorded the whole thing on video!"
The first-year students nearby immediately held up their phones and argued loudly.
"A video itself doesn't explain everything."
Hikigaya glanced cursorily at the screen and pointed out the key issue: "Furthermore, in the video, you are engaging in malicious verbal provocation. Therefore, the primary responsibility lies with you!"
"The one who started it was Sudo-senpai, and that... dark-skinned ugly woman lying over there!"
Housen Kazuomi released Sudo Ken's neck and deliberately used scathing words to belittle Onodera Kayano.
"YOU MOTHERFUCKER!!"
These words completely ignited Sudo Ken's fury. He grabbed Housen Kazuomi's shoulders tightly and, using all his strength, slammed his head forward in a vicious headbutt!
"?!"
Housen Kazuomi's head rang from the impact. His forehead split open on the spot, and crimson blood instantly dyed half of his face.
Everyone present was startled. Looking at the two men, both with blood streaming from their heads, they felt quite terrified.
'This idiot...'
Hikigaya cursed Sudo Ken in his heart.
This move was equivalent to confirming Housen Kazuomi's "mutual fight" accusation.
"Sorry... Hikigaya."
Sudo Ken also knew he had fallen for the provocation, but he had done it without hesitation: "I couldn't stand this bastard insulting Onodera-san..."
"It was your choice; just bear the consequences yourself."
Hikigaya's face showed neither sadness nor joy.
From a rational perspective, it would have been better to endure it to hold Housen Kazuomi accountable later.
But human will is often influenced by emotion.
Even Hikigaya himself was no exception to this.
If he were in Sudo Ken's position and the woman beside him was being bullied...
To hell with weighing the pros and cons—kill the opponent first!
"Sudo!"
Housen Kazuomi clamped his hand over his bleeding forehead. His rage had reached its peak, and the look he gave Sudo was full of malice, as if he wanted to twist his head off.
"Housen-boss, calm down!"
"You absolutely cannot strike again now!"
The first-year Class D students rushed forward, holding back Housen Kazuomi, who was about to go on a complete rampage.
"What, you want to make a move on me too?"
Hikigaya narrowed his eyes slightly, stepped forward, and grabbed the other man's collar directly.
Housen Kazuomi clenched his fists. After his gaze landed on the Public Morals Committee armband on Hikigaya's sleeve, he forced himself to restrain the urge to strike, growling through gritted teeth, "Hikigaya-senpai, this method of provocation is a bit too lame!"
"Is that so?"
The moment Hikigaya finished speaking, he grabbed Housen's wrist, twisted his arm, and drove a knee into his lower back. In an instant, he had Housen pinned against the wall, his face pressed hard against the cold surface, unable to move.
"Hikigaya, you dare...!"
Housen Kazuomi shouted in frustration.
The lackeys nearby instinctively wanted to step forward to help.
But they were stopped by a single sentence from Hikigaya: "The Public Morals Chairman is conducting business. Anyone who dares to interfere can wait for expulsion!"
"I don't accept this! I'm appealing to the Student Council President!
It was clearly a mutual fight, why are you only taking me?"
Housen Kazuomi argued based on logic.
Listen to that—this guy was actually starting to be reasonable!
Hikigaya was almost moved to laughter by the irony. He turned his head and signaled to Sudo Ken: "Sudo, squat down with your hands behind your head."
"Huh? Oh, okay!"
Sudo Ken was stunned for a moment, but he quickly caught on. He followed Hikigaya's order immediately.
"Look at him, what a great attitude toward admitting a mistake.
Now look at yourself... looking all fierce, like a mad dog!"
Hikigaya kept his palm on the back of the other's head, pressing his face against the wall.
-
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Having subdued the arrogant Housen Kazuomi upon his arrival, Hikigaya's reputation became even more fearsome.
The result of the mutual fight was a two-week suspension for Housen Kazuomi and a one-week suspension for Sudo Ken.
Hikigaya argued that school discipline had been deteriorating lately, so he advocated for the maximum penalty to deter other classes.
He proposed that both Class Ds be docked 200 class points each!
This immediately terrified the students of both classes!
200 points was equivalent to a monthly reduction of 20,000 personal points for every student.
Especially for first-year Class D; after the first month's behavioral tests and special exams, their score was down to only 190 points.
Losing 200 points would mean hitting zero, something they absolutely could not afford! (Note: The first-years did not yet know that class points cannot go negative, so no one thought of a zero-point strategy.)
Nanase Tsubasa of first-year Class D came forward proactively to negotiate.
Second-year Class D was also unwilling to lose their hard-earned class points and chose to negotiate as well.
After a series of discussions, both sides finally decided not to press charges against each other.
As the instigating party, first-year Class D paid an additional 500,000 points as compensation.
The incident ended peacefully there.
Thereafter, the first-year Class D, having suffered a major loss, finally quieted down for a while.
At the end of May, a routine monthly quiz was held.
This exam would not count toward class competition.
But as students, studying is a basic duty.
Plus, with the threat of expulsion from final exams, most people studied hard to avoid cramming at the last minute.
Time moved into June.
Upon entering the second half of the semester, everyone noticed a significant increase in physical education classes.
Many sharp-minded students had already guessed that the next special exam would likely be related to physical competition.
During a routine homeroom class one morning, Chabashira-sensei's words confirmed their suspicions.
"It's June. Seeing that none of you have dropped out is, first of all, worth praising.
Now, I must explain the summer vacation arrangements ahead of time..."
The familiar opening line immediately put everyone on guard.
"Chabashira-sensei, let's not beat around the bush.
Are we going to have another troublesome special exam?"
After being tricked by the school several times, the students had wised up. Their first reaction upon hearing about summer plans wasn't where they'd go to have fun, but how the school would torture them!
"Heh...
Good awareness."
Chabashira Sae smiled faintly. She tapped her tablet a few times, and on the projection screen behind her, the full view of a giant luxury cruise ship appeared.
The ship had many decks and was several times larger than the one they had taken when they entered as first-years.
"What a huge and grand luxury cruise ship!"
"Is the school organizing a sea vacation for us?"
"Don't make it too simple. The more beautiful the vacation, the harsher the exam behind it!"
Loud discussions broke out in the classroom.
"This trip will last for eight days and seven nights. You can board this super cruise ship and enjoy your summer sea voyage to your heart's content.
During the time on the cruise, no special exams of any kind will be arranged."
Chabashira Sae threw out the benefits first to soothe everyone, then changed the subject to reveal the catch: "But to qualify for this trip, you must successfully pass the next special exam."
Horikita Suzune was the first to raise her hand: "Excuse me, when will the special exam be held?"
"According to past practice, the special exam should have been scheduled within this semester.
But considering the combination of weather, venue, and other factors, this exam will be delayed until the summer vacation."
Chabashira Sae paused, then dropped another bombshell: "The assessment content is uninhabited island wilderness survival. All students from all grades in the entire school will participate and compete together!"
Hearing this, Hikigaya's eyebrows twitched slightly, thinking to himself: 'Another unconventional exam arrangement; it must be another hidden move by that Acting Chairman Tsukishiro.'
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka remained calm and thoughtful: 'All students in the whole school participating means the White Room assassins will make their move on me.'
"Look at the specific exam schedule yourselves."
Chabashira Sae opened the PPT file.
[Exam Schedule]
July 19: Boarding and Departure July 20 – August 3: Special Exam: Uninhabited Island Wilderness Survival. August 4 – August 10: Free Activity on the Ship. August 11: Return and Dispersal.
"As you can see, the scale of this special exam is larger than the last one.
The exam site is also larger than the uninhabited island you visited before, with more complex terrain...
Furthermore, students from all classes across all grades will participate.
The opponents you will have to deal with are the most numerous in history!"
After hearing this, the chatter became even more intense.
"The whole school... which means we won't just be competing with classes in our own grade, but also with senpai and kouhai classes!"
"This is too complicated, isn't it?"
"A battle royale between three grades!"
"We actually have to live on the island for two weeks. How are we going to solve the food and water problem?"
"The key is bathing! In this heat, if you don't wash for a day, your body will stink!"
"And what if someone gets sick?"
"Are there wild... Will there be wild boar attacks like in the last forest camp exam?"
"Clap clap! Everyone, quiet down!"
Chabashira Sae clapped to interrupt the discussion and explained seriously: "The specific rules of the exam cannot be announced yet.
The only thing I can tell you is that you can participate in this exam individually or in a group.
The maximum number of people in a group is six.
The scope is the same grade; students from any class are allowed."
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