COTE: Popularity System

On the other side.

Takada Hikaru had already returned to his dorm room. Also in the room was Kanzaki Ryūji.

Knock, knock.

The sound of knocking came from outside the door.

"Takada-san, it's me, Ichinose Honami. I've arrived."

"I'll get the door."

Kanzaki Ryūji walked over to open the door and welcomed her inside.

"Good evening, Kanzaki-san, Takada-san."

Ichinose Honami waved her hand, her face overflowing with a bright smile.

"Good evening, Honami."

Takada Hikaru smiled and nodded, then said, "There's nowhere else to sit here, so I'll have to trouble you to sit on the bed."

"Then... excuse me."

Ichinose Honami sat on the bed, her eyes looking at the boy opposite her. "When I received Takada-san's text message, I was really startled."

She had previously been discussing with classmates in her class how to deal with the upcoming VIP Exam. But after receiving the message sent by Takada Hikaru, she immediately rushed over.

"Takada-san, do you have any thoughts on this exam?" Kanzaki Ryūji walked over from the door, his eyes fixed on Takada Hikaru.

"Rather than thoughts, it's more about a course of action."

Takada Hikaru smiled lightly. "I want to do something in this exam, and I need to borrow your strength. However, Class A might not benefit from this. I need to remind you of this."

"The class won't benefit from this?"

Hearing what he said, Ichinose Honami and Kanzaki Ryūji were slightly taken aback.

Honami reacted quickly, a smile appearing on her face as she said, "Takada-san, could you please explain in more detail? Kanzaki-san and I are a bit confused about the situation."

Takada Hikaru curled the corner of his lips slightly and said, "For this exam, I want all students in Class A to refrain from participating in discussions or attempting to answer for the time being."

As soon as these words were spoken, the two leaders of Class A present immediately realized his intention.

"A defensive strategy?"

Kanzaki Ryūji frowned, his expression turning serious as he analyzed, "According to the teacher's explanation, each class should receive an average of 3 VIPs. If all of them are guessed correctly, the class will be deducted 150 class points."

"But if we don't participate in discussions, then the VIPs won't be at risk of being exposed, and the class won't lose class points due to them being guessed."

Kanzaki Ryūji looked up and said with some emotion, "It's very similar to the situation during the Deserted Island Exam."

During the Deserted Island Exam, Takada Hikaru also suggested that people in the class should not occupy strongholds and should not take the initiative to select a leader, all to prevent the leader from being guessed.

Now, arriving at the VIP Exam, he has proposed a strategy where everyone in the class refrains from participating in discussions.

In the past, Kanzaki Ryūji would have thought he was being too conservative. But now, he knew that Takada Hikaru was actually someone who dared to attack, just that he prioritized defense first.

Kanzaki Ryūji looked over, his expression softening slightly. "Takada-san, are you trying to find out the information about other classes' VIPs while ensuring that Class A's VIPs are not exposed?"

Takada Hikaru nodded slightly. "It will take a little time."

In fact, he already knew who the VIPs were right now. Relying on the [Seigan] he had previously exchanged from the System Mall, the moment the groups were confirmed, he was already able to identify the VIPs.

While looking at the member list for the rabbit group, he saw that the VIP for that group was Karuizawa Kei.

As for the VIPs of other groups, he would be able to know them very quickly after getting the member lists of each group.

Hearing his words, Honami smiled with relief and said, "If it's just like that, then there's no problem. If we don't participate in discussions or answer, there won't be a risk of point deduction, and it can also affect other classes from finding their VIPs. It's a plan very suitable for our Class A."

Honestly, she hadn't really thought about how Class A should deal with this special exam. Now Takada Hikaru had proposed a plan. Although the class wouldn't gain any benefits, there wouldn't be any losses either, so it was something acceptable.

Kanzaki Ryūji nodded. "This exam is different from the Deserted Island Exam. If we answer hastily, we could have many class points deducted, so adopting a conservative strategy is correct. The problem is on Katsuragi's side."

He said with a serious expression, "The gap between Class B and us is only 46 points. Guessing one VIP correctly would be enough to overtake us."

"If I were Katsuragi, I might try to guess the VIP of another class."

Based on Katsuragi Kōhei's performance in the Deserted Island Exam, Kanzaki Ryūji no longer dared to treat him as a conservative.

Damn it, checking into sixteen strongholds at the same time, you call this a conservative?

If it hadn't been for the leader's identity being guessed in the end, causing all points obtained from clocking in to be invalidated, the Class B led by Katsuragi would have won by a landslide.

Takada Hikaru shook his head. "I actually don't think Kōhei-san would do that. He can no longer afford to lose."

Katsuragi Kōhei had already brought significant losses to the class in the Deserted Island Exam. Not only did it make the gap with Class A even larger, he also had to give 800,000 points to the students of Class C every month.

If he made another mistake in the VIP Exam, then more students would defect to the Sakayanagi Faction.

And in the VIP Exam, the result of randomly guessing the leader of other classes is having a large number of class points deducted.

Even if it's just one wrong guess, the gap between Class B and Class A would be widened to nearly 100 points.

Just by leading the class to participate in two special exams, the gap between the class and the opponent had become larger and larger.

Most students in Class B would certainly not want to follow such an incompetent leader.

Knowing that he could no longer afford to lose, Katsuragi Kōhei had to ensure that Class B would not make mistakes in the VIP Exam. At the very least, he could not be left behind in terms of points.

"Takada-san, I understand."

Ichinose Honami smiled. "I will persuade everyone in the class to act according to your ideas."

Hearing what she said, Kanzaki Ryūji sighed slightly in his heart.

If only he had also stated that he would help persuade his classmates at the first opportunity during the Deserted Island Exam. Then in that exam, Class A would have been able to get 150 more points.

"Honami, there is actually one more thing I want to talk about." Takada Hikaru raised his palm, making a gesture to stop.