Chapter 390 30 People Expelled All Together!
July 20th.
All the teachers and students of Advanced Nurturing boarded buses to gather at Tokyo Bay. Over four hundred students from twelve classes took turns boarding the luxury cruise ship in accordance with their class order.
"Humph! Just you wait, you damn dead-fish eyes! This grand me swears I will absolutely take you down!!" Hosen Kazuomi made absolutely no effort to conceal the malice within his eyes.
Because he was standing far away, Hikigaya wasn't able to hear the threatening words uttered by the opponent clearly.
However, judging by that contorted, ferocious expression on the other party's face, his attitude was obvious without even needing to say a word.
"Tsk, tsk~ Looks like you've been targeted by a gorilla, Hikigaya."
Ryuen Kakeru cast a look full of playfulness over: "How about it? If you swap cards right now, it's not like I can't team up with you."
Because he had drawn the 'Going It Alone' card, the restrictive condition was that the holder must participate in the exam completely by themselves, which was why Hikigaya had rejected Ryuen Kakeru's previous invitation to team up.
However, according to the rules, cards were allowed to be exchanged freely.
"I'll still pass." Hikigaya shook his head: "I don't have many hobbies, and money happens to be one of them."
A holder of the 'Going It Alone' card could obtain a two-fold multiplier bonus on the points they gained during the exam period.
"Besides, I thought about it; if I were to team up with a workaholic like you, I'd definitely have to work myself to the bone."
This was the choice Hikigaya made after weighing the pros and cons.
"Of course! The margin for splitting points in this special exam is massive!
How could this great me possibly miss out on such a golden opportunity to rise up the classes?" Ryuen Kakeru expressed absolute self-confidence.
If nothing else, when it came to the capacity for endurance, Ryuen Kakeru truly was quite a figure. One had to know that during the previous deserted island exam, Ryuen Kakeru had intentionally made Class C spend every single one of their points and had the vast majority of the students collectively drop out of the exam as a smokescreen, just so he could play a game of "True Wild Survival" on the island completely by himself.
If he hadn't been exposed by Hikigaya, he would have undoubtedly managed to completely crush the other three classes in a single stroke!
"Teaming up is out of the question, but if there's an opportunity to cooperate, it's still worth a try." Hikigaya didn't completely close the door on the idea. Ever since he drew the 'Going It Alone' card, he had faintly sensed a conspiracy directed against him from the school side.
Hikigaya wasn't naive enough to believe that he could contend with a monster from the White Room or a certain violent psycho relying solely on his own strength. When necessary, requesting assistance from a third party was highly essential!
"Oh? ...To think there would also be a day where you, Hikigaya, would have to ask me for help!" Ryuen's eyes widened, the corners of his mouth curving up frantically.
"It's merely being prepared for any contingency."
"Then on what basis do you think I would help you?"
"Because you have things to ask of me; you won't lose out by doing me a favor." zk
"Tch! Then your face is truly big enough!" Ryuen clicked his tongue, yet he showed no intention of refuting Hikigaya. Realizing he was getting nowhere, he headed back to his own class line.
"Hachiman-kun."
The combination walking over from the front this time was somewhat surprising.
"Arisu and Honami...? What kind of contrast combination is this."
Hikigaya had a face full of astonishment. With the two of them standing together, the difference was roughly like the gap between a ProMax and an AirMini.
"Ugh~ Hachiman-kun actually called Sakayanagi-san's name first..." Ichinose Honami puffed out her cheeks.
"Heheh~ A contrast, is it? What exactly are you referring to?" Sakayanagi Arisu narrowed her eyes, similarly displaying an unfriendly expression.
"Provoking two class leaders right when you open your mouth, Hachiman is as impressive as always." Kamuro Masumi was carrying two suitcases.
"Masumi, are the three of you forming a team?" Hikigaya quickly discerned the situation of the three. One font-of-wisdom commander, one academic pillar, and one mobile deployment asset; this combination was actually quite fitting!
"For this exam, our Class A has reached a certain degree of strategic cooperation with Class B."
Sakayanagi Arisu smiled slightly, teasing in a soft voice: "My, my~ Hachiman-kun won't feel troubled by this, will he?"
"Tch~ What does that have to do with me?" Hikigaya expressed complete lack of interest.
"Um, while the exam is certainly important, I feel that living on a deserted island for two weeks requires everyone to cooperate fully."
Ichinose Honami shifted the topic, looking at him with a hint of worry: "By the way, Hachiman-kun, I heard you obtained the 'Going It Alone' card and are participating in the exam by yourself. Won't that be a bit too forced?"
"It's fine, if it's just one person, the consumption of resources will actually be even lower." Hikigaya appeared thoroughly casual: "At worst, the big deal is just thick-skinning it to freeload off other groups." In any case, he didn't care about the exam results as long as his ranking wasn't at the very bottom facing expulsion; as for personal points, he would harvest as many as he could.
"Heheh~ Quite true, with Hachiman's connections, presumably no matter where you go, there will be women willing to keep you." Sakayanagi Arisu smiled slightly, her tone certain as if she were stating a plain truth.
"If that's the case... then Hachiman-kun must absolutely come find me!" Ichinose Honami stared at him with an earnest expression: "Uh, what I mean is, we should help each other..."
"Yeah, helping each other." Hikigaya nodded with a touch of awkwardness.
"Hey! Hachiman, hurry up and keep up! Our class is about to board the ship!"
Horikita Suzune's shout interrupted their conversation. Standing behind her were the girls from the [Class D United Front Command].
"That Sakayanagi actually joined forces with Ichinose!"
"We really can't let our guard down even for a split second!"
"What is there to fear? We have more people, the advantage is on our side!" Internal strife among the Class D women was one thing, but when it came to the stance of dealing with external classes, their opinions were completely unanimous!
The luxury cruise ship set sail.
Reaching the destination of the deserted island required a voyage of one day and one night. During this period, the students could move around freely on the ship.
However, taking into consideration that they had to confront the upcoming wilderness survival the next day, the students of almost every class conducted themselves with extreme restraint. No idiot would go and enjoy the entertainment facilities on the ship at a critical juncture like this. Biding one's time and putting forth the maximum effort to pass the exam was the only way to earn the qualification to enjoy a pleasant cruise life. s
The outcome of failure was expulsion!
Furthermore, the number of spots for expulsion this time around was far greater than ever before. If calculated based on a full large group consisting of 6 people, a maximum of 30 students would be expelled during this exam!
Pulling off such a massive stunt, that old codger Tsukishiro Tokinari truly was not human.
Such a crazed expulsion mechanism had already vastly exceeded the original design intention of Advanced Nurturing's S-System. As an acting chairman who had been parachuted into the position, it was impossible for Tsukishiro Tokinari to completely cover the sky with one hand.
Hikigaya now suspected that this heaven-defying operation of the opponent looked a bit like a final bout of madness right before stepping down!
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