"This..." Hirata also showed a troubled expression. "Shinohara-san, I don't have any good ideas either..."
Seeing that Hirata was unreliable, Shinohara turned her attention to Horikita Suzune, who was also a girl.
"Horikita-san, we girls really can't use that portable toilet! Can you think of something?"
Horikita Suzune had been flipping through the guide that Natsukawa handed her since earlier. She naturally saw the sentence on the first page and the mark on the map.
She instantly understood Natsukawa's intention.
Facing Shinohara's plea, she merely looked up indifferently.
"For now, we can only endure. The top priority is to decide on a main camp. Class A and Class B have already set off. When the sun rises, this beach will become very hot and unsuitable for staying long."
She showed the simple map to everyone.
"Ike-kun, Sudo-kun, those of you with good stamina, go ahead and scout the way to see if there's a suitable place to set up camp. I roughly confirmed this location on the cruise ship," she pointed to the spot Natsukawa had marked with an X, "it should be pretty good. If you find a more suitable place, come back and report the situation there, and we'll compare."
Horikita Suzune arranged the tasks in a few words, temporarily suppressing the class disputes.
After the boys left, she turned her gaze to Natsukawa Sosuke, who was standing aside, seemingly unconcerned.
Natsukawa Sosuke noticed her gaze and merely pointed with his chin towards the depths of the forest.
Horikita Suzune immediately understood.
She said to the remaining students, "Alright, we can't stay here forever. Let's take our luggage and follow me to that place to take a look first."
With that, she proactively walked forward, tugged at Natsukawa Sosuke's sleeve, and motioned for him to lead the way.
On the way to the temporary stronghold, Shinohara Satsuki, seeing that Horikita had not resolved the toilet problem, redirected her complaints to Karuizawa Kei, the core figure among the girls.
"Kei-chan, look, how can we use that toilet! Horikita-san isn't helping us at all!"
However, Karuizawa Kei's reaction was beyond her expectation.
"I think it's fine," Karuizawa said nonchalantly, fiddling with her nails. "Just bear with it a little. What's a little hardship for tens of thousands more points every month in the future?"
"Eh?!"
Shinohara Satsuki looked at her in disbelief. But since even Karuizawa, who was at the center of the class's girls, said so, she could only close her mouth helplessly and followed behind the team, full of grievances... Natsukawa Sosuke walked at the very front of the team, pushing aside obstructing bushes to clear a path for those behind him. Horikita Suzune followed closely behind him, maintaining a subtle distance that was neither too far nor too close.
"Wait a moment, nominate me as the leader."
Natsukawa Sosuke's voice was low, as if he were just casually mentioning it.
Horikita Suzune's steps paused. She looked up at the tall figure in front of her, a complex emotion flashing in her cold eyes.
However, she didn't comment on it, but changed the subject and asked in an equally low voice, "How do you plan to use those 300 points?"
The corner of Natsukawa Sosuke's mouth curved into a nearly imperceptible arc.
'Good, she's starting to actively seek my opinions and help, instead of acting on her own as before. It seems that the Sudo incident changed her more than I imagined.'
"You must have seen the school's pricing," Natsukawa Sosuke continued without stopping. "Tents, flashlights, matches... these basic supplies are relatively cheap. But drinks, entertainment items, and such are much more expensive. What does this indicate?"
"It indicates..." Horikita Suzune's brows furrowed as she followed his train of thought, "the school hopes we will use tools and do things ourselves to achieve self-sufficiency."
"Exactly," Natsukawa Sosuke's voice carried a hint of approval. "However, you can't tell those simple-minded guys this directly. If you tell them directly, they'll only feel like you're depriving them of their right to enjoyment, which will create a rebellious mentality."
"Then what should I do?"
"Stimulate their intrinsic motivation." Natsukawa Sosuke's voice became somewhat playful. "First, give them future benefits and convenience, then let them personally experience the pain of lacking convenient facilities, and then let them see the hope of achieving results through their own efforts. People can only unleash their greatest potential in the alternation of despair and hope. And what you need to do is to become the one who gives them hope and sets the rules."
Horikita Suzune fell silent.
Natsukawa Sosuke's words once again refreshed her understanding of the term 'manipulating people's hearts.' It was cold, precise, and yet damn effective... After walking for about ten minutes, Natsukawa Sosuke led everyone to an open plateau located at the junction of the beach and the forest.
The terrain here was higher than the beach, the ground was dry, and dense tree canopies overhead blocked the sun, making it both cool and not humid. Moreover, from here, walking into the woods for less than five minutes would lead to a clear, shallow river.
Even better, on the side of the plateau was a huge rock wall. In the center of the rock wall was a small cave, about two people wide and several meters deep. Deep inside the cave, a machine flickering with a faint light was quietly embedded in the rock wall – that was the punch card machine used to occupy strongholds.
This cave was not only a natural stronghold, but the tall rock wall also served to block the damp sea breeze blowing from the ocean at night for the camp.
"This is the place."
Everyone put down their heavy luggage and found protruding rocks to sit on and rest.
At this moment, Hirata Yosuke walked over to Horikita Suzune, who was observing the cave, with a gentle smile on his face.
"Horikita-san, could I take a look at the guide manual? I want to see what can be exchanged to improve everyone's current situation."
Horikita Suzune turned around and gazed at him calmly with her cool eyes.
She didn't immediately hand over the manual, but rubbed her arms as if feeling cold, and slowly said, "You can. But, Hirata-kun, you can look, but you must bear the 'cost' of looking." After saying this, she handed over the manual.
Although Hirata Yosuke was somewhat puzzled by Horikita's words, he nodded and took the manual.
However, when he opened the manual and saw the line Natsukawa Sosuke had left on the first page, "I could have endured the darkness, if I had not seen the sun," his fingers hesitated to turn the page.
Hirata Yosuke's expression instantly became incredibly complex.
He stared blankly at the words, as if recalling the classmates in his class who struggled because their points had run out.
'Yes... if they were told from the beginning that we could exchange points for comfortable tents, delicious food, and convenient facilities, would they still have the motivation to endure?'
'And could I really stand by and do nothing when I knew the truth?'
After a long moment, Hirata Yosuke let out a long sigh. He closed the manual and returned it to Horikita Suzune.
"...I understand." His voice carried a hint of relief and also a trace of helplessness. "Thank you, Horikita-san."
'It seems he's not completely stupid after all.'
Natsukawa Sosuke took in this scene. Hirata Yosuke had clearly understood the meaning of that sentence.
'I could have endured poverty, if I had not seen wealth.'
This is human nature.
Just then, Ike Kanji and Sudo Ken, who were responsible for scouting other strongholds, finally found their way back.