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In fact, Class A didn't need to put out the full twenty million.
The invited person should have some points, right?
Just like Akira—he currently had ten million points, meaning if Class A could produce ten million now, he could transfer immediately.
However, Akira still had some doubts about Class A's selection criteria.
Is it based on contributions to the original class?
But even with outstanding performance, students from other classes would probably be hard to notice—after all, it's only the second month of school, and the four classes haven't officially started their confrontations yet.
Now that he thought about it, even if Class A really had such a selection mechanism, the threshold would probably be terrifyingly high.
Moreover, he never intended to join Class A—mainly because Sakayanagi was too troublesome.
Of course, he naturally wouldn't confess these thoughts to Kamuro.
He hadn't forgotten that last time she'd kicked his calf with her foot. Next time, he didn't know where she would kick.
"I will try my best." Akira finally gave this formulaic response, just to get it over with.
At this moment, he suddenly remembered that he still owed Kamuro ten thousand private points, so he immediately transferred them.
However, she seemed not to have noticed, showing no reaction to his repayment.
Now that he thought about it, he was carefully considering: should he sell the information he had to the four classes?
However, this time's information was far less valuable than last month's information about the hidden rules of the S-System.
Akira estimated that this time he could at most sell it to one class—after all, information is something that can't be kept secret for long.
So he switched to his alternate account.
Unexpectedly, Sakayanagi from Class A suddenly sent several messages, which surprised him a little.
{You're online, I've been watching you these past few days!}
{Hehe, you came online on Monday because the monitoring expired and you wanted to see our reaction, right? Why are you online again today?}
{After two days, you suddenly reappear. Don't tell me you want to do business with various classes again?}
{Last time's business with the four classes earned you over ten million, didn't it? Isn't that enough?}
Akira was stunned—he hadn't expected that she would guess about his transactions with the four classes.
{?}
{Still pretending, huh? I specifically observed two weeks ago, and most people in the four classes went for the free meal—isn't that the most direct evidence?}
Akira thought for a moment and immediately understood.
This reasoning indeed confirmed that the four classes were short on points—after all, only when money is tight do people go for free meals.
{I won't let you have it so easy this month. You suddenly came online, could it be because there's a special exam this month?}
{Hehe, I knew it. After all, the last few questions on the previous exam papers were simply not something first-year students could solve, and the homeroom teacher even said there were other ways to avoid something! It was practically a clear hint!}
{I kept wondering, what exactly is the method that can absolutely prevent students from failing?}
{After much thought, the answer is actually just two words—exam papers.}
{For example, buying exam papers from teachers. But unfortunately, I asked and was refused.}
{So, what's the solution regarding exam papers? The answer is actually very simple: old questions.}
{These past few days, I also specifically paid attention to the students in second-year Class D—they didn't plan to study at all, yet each of them exuded an air of confidence.}
{So! I found a second-year upperclassman who was short on points! And from him, I obtained all of the first-year exam papers! As expected! The content was practically identical!}
{Later, I also asked the teacher! This time, there really is a special exam, and each class can get a maximum of 100 class points.}
{This time, I won't let you earn points so easily, because I'm also going to sell information.}
Akira's heart skipped a beat.
He hadn't expected that she not only completely guessed the answer but also thoroughly understood the rules for adding class points.
'Although she's just a brat, her intelligence is top-notch.'
'Wait! She's also going to sell information? Are people actually trying to steal business these days?'
'Doesn't she have Class A's interests in mind? Selling information to other classes, isn't that helping opponents strengthen their power?'
He was different from Sakayanagi. He had no sense of belonging to Class D, but she was, after all, the leader of Class A.
Akira couldn't quite figure out whether her words were true or false—perhaps she was deliberately deceiving him, or perhaps she really had such an intention.
Sakayanagi, as a person, perhaps truly had no so-called stance.
Akira even felt that sometimes she would rather harm the class's interests to achieve her own goals—in her eyes, her personal interests probably always came before the class's interests.
In any case, he definitely couldn't follow her lead.
{I just came online to check, and you've thought so much. The answer to the special exam is the exam paper? Well, I really have to thank you for the reminder. By the way, you're planning to sell information that benefits other classes? I've screenshotted it, you know. I wonder what Katsuragi Kohei in your class, or other students in Class A, would say if I sent it to them.}
Akira was different from her—she was in the open, he was in the shadows.
Therefore, he easily knew what her weakness was: prestige.
If this matter were screenshotted and sent out, Sakayanagi's popularity would inevitably decrease.
Silence hung on the other end of the screen for a moment before Sakayanagi's message popped up.
{Hehe, a screenshot? But do you think Katsuragi-kun would question me because of something like this?}
{Even if they knew, they would only think it's part of my plan.}
{A plan? Selling information to opponents is also a plan?}
{Otherwise? Letting you monopolize information transactions alone, watching other classes being led by you, that would be the most disadvantageous thing for Class A, and even for other classes, wouldn't it? As for me, I really hate being led by the nose all the time!}
{Besides, this special exam is not a competitive match; it's not a zero-sum game where if you get one point, I lose one. Even if all four classes increase their points by the same amount, Class A's position will not be shaken.}
{Public information can become an olive branch that Class A extends to other classes. Even if we tell them that, based on an average score of 60 points, each class can at most increase their class points by more than 30 points—public information can serve as a bargaining chip for future cooperation, prevent other classes from forming alliances to increase their strength, and also earn a decent sum of points. Why not?}
Her words seemed to make some sense.
So Sakayanagi was worried that—after Class A became dominant, it would be targeted by the other three classes working together, so she wanted to build good relationships with other classes in advance?
So she planned to form alliances? To win over the other classes?
Thinking about it carefully, this was entirely possible.
Historically, there were many similar examples.
Class D's monthly exam average was sixty-four points. Other classes' averages would only be higher than this.
That is to say, a class could at most earn a little over thirty points.
Rather than that, it would be better to make the information public—using these thirty class points to gain the trust of other classes, plus a bargaining chip for future cooperation, this deal was simply too good.
Currently, Class A had nine hundred fifty class points. They didn't really need these thirty points—moreover, the points of all four classes increase simultaneously, which wouldn't affect Class A's advantage at all.
It must be said, Sakayanagi played this move beautifully.
He always felt that the course of events seemed to be exceeding his expectations more and more.
However—if things developed this way, it would be even more interesting, wouldn't it?