COTE : Backed By Black Technology System

Seeing the expressions of Ichinose Honami and Kanzaki Ryuji, Kanda Shuichi understood what they were thinking. They probably didn't trust the source of the information.

After all, this was all based on their side's word. It was normal for them not to believe it.

Maybe Ichinose herself trusted that Kanda Shuichi wasn't lying, but she couldn't risk putting the whole class's fate on the line just because she trusted him.

Most of Class B hadn't even seen what Kanda Shuichi looked like. They only knew that he had once tricked Class A.

But even though this situation made them feel comfortable, he's from Class D.

Maybe for him, all the upper classes are enemies, and that's the mindset of most people in Class B.

So, unless Kanda Shuichi provides more solid proof, Ichinose will definitely not write down the name of Class A's leader on the last day. If she gets it wrong, she won't be able to explain it to the students in Class B.

Therefore, in this case, she would rather do nothing than make a mistake.

But she also knew this might let down their allies, so a troubled expression appeared on Ichinose's face.

Seeing this expression, Kanda Shuichi understood immediately that she was thinking of refusing.

"Sorry, Kanda, it's not that I don't trust your analysis, but…" 

Indecisive. You've been cooperating with us from Class D, but you're still afraid we might trick you. That's why Class B can't beat Class A.

So, Kanda Shuichi decided to deliver a strong blow to Ichinose, something that would knock her straight off her feet.

"I understand your concern, Ichinose. After all, we don't have solid proof that Totsuka Yahiko is the leader of Class A, just like we don't have proof that your Class B leader is Shiranami Chihiro."

Kanda Shuichi's casual words sounded like a bomb in Ichinose's ears. Even Kanzaki Ryuji, who had always remained calm, couldn't help but stand up, looking at Kanda Shuichi in shock.

Why?

How does he know that Shiranami Chihiro is the leader of Class B?

Could Horikita or Ayanokouji have figured it out?

No, no, no, their expressions were shocked too, so it can't be them.

So, what's going on?

We've protected this so well. Every time we swipe the card, we carefully check that no one is around, and only after surrounding Chihiro did we swipe the card. There's no way anyone could have known.

Could it be Kaneda from Class C, who was kicked out by Ryuen?

No, we deliberately avoided Kaneda when we took the base today, and there were students watching him, so it can't be him either.

But why?

Is it just a guess?

But Kanda Shuichi sounds so confident; it doesn't seem like a guess at all.

Or has he hidden it too well, and I missed the flaw?

In just a few seconds, Ichinose's mind raced, but no matter how hard she tried to think and recall the details of today's outpost capture, she couldn't find any flaws.

That's because, even though Class B's strategy and execution didn't have any flaws, sorry, even without flaws, we can still easily figure out who your leader is.

Yes, that's what I am saying.

Compared to Ichinose and the other Class B students, Horikita and Ayanokouji were even more shocked. They knew clearly that during today's exploration, no one saw any trace of Class B.

Except for Ayanokouji's group, if any other group had found out who the leader of Class B was, they would have immediately shared it when they returned.

Also, Horikita didn't think that Ichinose Honami would be careless enough to let the Class D students who went out on the exploration discover their class leader's identity.

So, why?

Meanwhile, next to Horikita, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, who had never faced any setbacks in his life, was also caught in confusion. From the current situation, there was no doubt that Kanda Shuichi had guessed Class B's leader's name, and he had done so without any evidence.

And his tone wasn't that of someone testing or guessing; he was completely certain.

Was it just a guess?

Or does he have mind-reading abilities?

No, mind reading is just cold reading, but he'd never mentioned anything about the leader of Class B before, and yet he said the name so accurately.

If this really is cold reading, how strong must this person's cold reading skills be?

No, no, no. Based on their past interactions, Kanda Shuichi definitely isn't someone who would use cold reading, but how can we explain this situation now...?

So, was it just a guess? Did he really get it right by a 1 in 40 chance? It feels a little off...

Kanda Shuichi had no idea that the bold move he made for Ichinose had completely overloaded Ayanokouji, the greatest creation of the White Room.

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, a successful product of the White Room at the Genius Research Institute, had been mastering all kinds of knowledge and skills since birth. The amount of knowledge he had accumulated over the years could probably fill up a large library.

However, Kanda Shuichi's actions today were far beyond what he could understand.

Driven by his thirst for unknown knowledge, Ayanokouji started to take an interest in Kanda Shuichi.

"So, do you believe it now?" 

Kanda Shuichi was very pleased with how things were going. 

Since you're indecisive, I'll force you to make a choice!

Kanda Shuichi's words snapped Ichinose Honami, who had been confused for nearly a minute, back to reality.

Seeing Kanda Shuichi's calm and confident smile, Ichinose's face was instantly filled with a bitter smile.

"Kanda-kun, you're really scary."

"What nonsense are you talking about? I'm the kindest man in Class D," Kanda Shuichi said naturally, believing his own words.

"Eh? Isn't Hirata the kindest man in Class D?"

Who? 

Who said that?

Oh, it's you? Damn Ayanokouji!

Ayanokouji's words made the room go silent for a moment before Ichinose Honami spoke again.

"No, I think Kanda-kun is also very kind."

Listen to that!

Ayanokouji, listen to that!

This is what it means to know how to speak!

"This is your answer, right, Ichinose?"

"Since Kanda-kun has said it like this, I guess I have no choice but to agree. Our Class B will write Totsuka Yahiko's name on the last day."

The decision was made by Ichinose, while Kanzaki Ryuji, who was standing nearby, didn't seem to play any part in this. Kanda Shuichi couldn't help but feel suspicious. What's with this guy? Is he Ichinose's bodyguard or something?

"In that case, please wait a moment."

With that, Kanda Shuichi turned and walked over to Hirata. After a quick conversation, he returned with two items from Class D's large stockpile.

"What's this?"

"Walkie-talkies. As long as you set them to the same channel, you can talk. According to the school, as long as you're on this island, there shouldn't be any problem with the signal."

These walkie-talkies were from Class D. Originally, they were meant to be used for contacting Ryuen, but when Ryuen sent someone over, Kanda Shuichi realized that they had likely prepared the same thing. It seemed their thought processes were somewhat similar.

Since that's the case, these could be given to Ichinose and her group.

"You even have things like this?"

"Yeah, let's make 6 the mutual contact channel. If anything unexpected happens during the exam, I'll let you know. If you guys need anything, you can call us anytime."

Kanda Shuichi handed one of the walkie-talkies to Ichinose.

"As for how to use it, just press the numbers and hit the 'OK' button to set the channel." He then fiddled with the walkie-talkie with Ichinose to test it.

"Hello? Hello?"

"Mm-hmm, the sound is coming through."

After a few minutes of testing, confirming that the walkie-talkie worked, Ichinose and Kanzaki got ready to leave.

It was already past 7 o'clock. If they didn't leave now, they'd probably miss the 8 o'clock roll call. If they weren't present for roll call, everyone would lose 5 points from their starting points.

Although D-Class didn't care about things like this, Ichinose and the others still had their starting points left.

So, after a brief farewell, Ichinose Honami and Kanzaki Ryuji grabbed their flashlights and headed back to Class B's camp.

Once they left, Horikita Suzune turned directly to Kanda Shuichi.

"How did you know the identity of Class B's leader?"

Her sharp eyes seemed to say, "If you don't give me an answer, you won't be sleeping tonight."

"What do you think?"

Kanda Shuichi wasn't going to tell her about the time-viewing device. That kind of thing couldn't be exposed. If the government found out about such advanced technology, it would be a disaster.

If that happened, the world's secrets wouldn't be secrets anymore, and it could even trigger a world war. In some ways, it would be more dangerous than any value-adding bank.

But there was also the possibility that humanity would think it was alien technology, and they'd all unite to rapidly develop science and technology, quickly inventing a time machine...

"Don't tell me you just guessed."

Seeing Kanda Shuichi smiling, Horikita Suzune said impatiently.

"Bingo! Congratulations, you guessed right. I was just guessing."

"Huh? Do you think I'm an idiot? The way you spoke had no doubt in it. You were so confident in your words. There's no way you were just guessing!"

Kanda Shuichi's words made Horikita feel like her intelligence had been insulted. She put on an extremely displeased expression, thinking that if it were Ayanokouji, she probably would've just slapped him.

But she didn't dare do that to Kanda Shuichi. What if this guy really got hurt? What if he dropped out of the exam?

This exam was going in a direction she didn't expect. Aside from Kanda Shuichi, she didn't know who else could handle the abnormal D-Class.

So, she just stared at Kanda Shuichi with her sharp eyes, hoping to get an answer from him, even though she knew he might not say anything. But what if?

Seeing Horikita Suzune's gaze, it was clear that Kanda Shuichi's explanation wasn't convincing her.

How could you guess so accurately? Who are you fooling?

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, on the other hand, started to believe that Kanda Shuichi might actually be guessing, because he really couldn't think of any other way Kanda Shuichi could have found out the identity of Class B's leader.

"Alright, alright. Actually, I calculated it."

Kanda Shuichi finally admitted.

"Calculated?"

"Yep, calculated."

"With probability theory?"

"No, with mysticism!"

Clearly, their definitions of "calculating" were very different.

"Are you messing with me? If you don't want to say, just say so. Don't talk about fortune telling… Do you think I'll believe in that stuff?"

After being made a fool of several times, Horikita Suzune's face was now flushed red.

Well, her little red face was pretty cute.

"Then I won't say. Is that okay?"

Bang!

Horikita Suzune suddenly kicked the tree trunk behind Kanda Shuichi. Several leaves fell from the tree, landing on Kanda Shuichi's head, his clothes, and the ground.

Horikita Suzune then turned and walked away, her hair, which hadn't been washed for two days, almost smacking Kanda Shuichi in the face.

Damn, women can be so petty!

Muttering under his breath, Kanda Shuichi decided to sit by the campfire. The atmosphere there seemed nice.

"Huh? You're not leaving?" 

Kanda Shuichi looked at Ayanokouji, who was standing still, confused.

"Did you... really figure it out?"

...

Then Kanda Shuichi was shocked!

What the hell!

It's the 21st century, and someone actually believes such a ridiculous thing?

Kanda Shuichi found Hirata.

At that moment, Hirata was digging a hole to store food waste.

Cooking inevitably produces waste, like vegetable roots or the seeds from the center of peppers—things that aren't used in cooking.

Even if these things are left alone, they will decompose on their own, but Hirata chose to dig a hole and dispose of them all together.

Maybe one day, when students come back to this island, they'll be able to eat the peppers Hirata grew? (^?^*)

As for other things, like the plastic bags used to hold ingredients, they also needed to be sorted properly and saved for school recycling.

Even though they wouldn't lose points for throwing garbage around, environmental issues can't be ignored.

No matter what the government does, most students still want to protect the environment.

Kanda Shuichi had originally planned to discuss something with Hirata, but he had to wait until he finished these tasks.

After about ten minutes, Hirata finally finished these chores and had some free time.

"Is there something you need, Kanda?"

For Hirata, having a teammate like Kanda Shuichi was really great.

He could keep track of the overall situation in the class, make decisions, and even find relatively easy solutions to harsh exams like this one.

If it were up to him, he probably wouldn't have come up with such a surprising solution. He'd probably just endure with everyone until the last day.

But with someone as capable as Kanda Shuichi, all he had to do was follow along and execute the plan.

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You can read 10 advanced chapters at my patreon.com/YeyeQiu