Chapter 232 Ironclad Evidence Against Ryuen Kakeru
On the dawn of the fifth day of the island exam, Shimizu Akira made preparations based on the information provided by Kamuro Masumi. Carrying his camera, he headed toward the beach right on schedule.
Yamamura Miki was supposed to be waiting for him there around 7:00 AM.
As he reached the beach entrance, he spotted the target: a girl with a slate-blue side ponytail standing somewhat stiffly on the edge of the sand.
"Shimizu-kun, hello!" Seeing him approach, the girl proactively walked toward him, though she kept her head down, avoiding eye contact, and spoke in a soft voice.
"I... I am Yamamura Miki from Year 1 Class A. Kamuro told me the details... You want me to secretly photograph Ryuen-kun checking in, right? Please leave it to me. I am quite confident in my ability to... follow people."
Shimizu could tell she wasn't being modest. Sakayanagi Arisu had previously assigned her to tail Ryuen; in terms of concealment and observation, she truly was the best candidate.
"Exactly," Shimizu nodded, then detailed his deduction.
"Based on my judgment, Ryuen is likely active near the sixth spot. The location is roughly..."
As he spoke, he gestured with his hands, clearly outlining the range of the unannounced spot.
During their chat, Yamamura's timid demeanor reminded Shimizu of Sakura Airi from his own class—both were equally shy, poor at socializing, and reflexively lowered their voices when speaking.
"In return, I will pay you 200,000 Private Points after the exam," Shimizu offered, considering the effort involved.
"No, no need!" Yamamura waved her hands quickly, her voice even softer.
"I've already eaten the snacks you gave to Kamuro... Consider that payment in advance."
"Snacks?" Shimizu blinked, then realized. "So, you and Kamuro are friends?"
"Yes!" Yamamura gave a tiny nod. Fearing she was wasting his time, she reached out to take the digital camera, her voice still trembling slightly with shyness.
"I-I'll go now then! I'll come back here around 6:00 PM to report. If I don't show up within ten minutes, please come back tomorrow morning at 7:00. Regardless of the result, I will give you the intel then."
With that, she took the camera and turned toward the forest. Her slender figure vanished into the treeline in moments. Since they had no transceivers or other communication tools, relying on pre-arranged times and locations was the most reliable way to meet.
However, Shimizu suddenly realized something. He was technically using one of Sakayanagi Arisu's people.
He wondered how she would react if she found out.
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Returning to the Class D camp, Shimizu wondered how many class points they had left. He sought out the nominal leader of Class D for an update.
Hirata Yosuke immediately reported the figures and explained the expenditures: "We have 176 points remaining. We spent 100 on the first day. Over the past three days, we've used another 24, primarily on four basic food packages at 6 points each. We haven't bought anything else."
Shimizu did the math. The class had been surviving on the wild game he brought back, which had saved them the cost of several food packages. Otherwise, the drain would have been much higher. Based on this pace, Class D would likely end the exam with around 150 points. That left a 100-point gap from his 250-point goal.
Closing that gap wouldn't be hard—if he could guess the leaders of two classes on the seventh day, he'd earn the 100-point bonus, securing his target.
At 8:00 AM, today's daily intel refreshed:
At 9:00 PM last night, Hashimoto Masayoshi of Year 1 Class A was commissioned by Sakayanagi Arisu to reveal two pieces of intel to Ryuen Kakeru: the true identity of the Class A leader, and a deliberate misidentification of a spot. At 7:10 PM tonight, Ibuki Mio of Year 1 Class C will begin her move as a spy. Students who return to the ship early are obligated to remain on standby inside the ship for the rest of the week.
Shimizu stared at the intel, then let out a dry chuckle. Hashimoto really was a "two-faced traitor" through and through! Not only was he selling out his own leader, but he was intentionally misidentifying spots? A wrong guess on a spot cost 50 points, and being correctly guessed by another class cost another 50. This meant Hashimoto, on his own, was causing Class A a 100-point loss.
And this was Sakayanagi's order? She was truly in a hurry to dismantle the Katsuragi faction. Shimizu didn't know whether to laugh or cry—Class A's internal strife during a survival exam was a rare sight. Then again, with over 1,000 points in reserve, such losses were likely just "frivolous spending" to them.
He raised an eyebrow at the second piece of intel. Ibuki was finally moving. But what about Shiina Hiyori? Could it be that Ibuki was the only active spy? As for the third point, it seemed even those resting on the ship were still on a leash.
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Time passed quickly. By 4:00 PM, Shimizu was carrying five freshly dressed pieces of game toward the Class B camp to fulfill his promise to Ichinose Honami.
Near the B camp, he saw a stranger: a boy with a brown mushroom cut standing alone under a tree, radiating a sense of isolation. He was staring at the game in Shimizu's hand, then looked at his face with clear surprise.
Before Shimizu could speak, a girl's voice came from behind. "Shimizu-kun, does he look unfamiliar? That is Kaneda-kun from Year 1 Class C!"
He turned to see Amikura Mako, a girl with a large purple ponytail who was often with Ichinose. She explained the situation with a serious expression. So this bespectacled student was Kaneda Satoru.
"I heard about yesterday," Shimizu said to Amikura. "Are you really planning to keep him until the end? Aren't you worried he's a spy?"
"We have to keep him until the exam finishes," Amikura nodded with a hint of helplessness.
"It was Ichinose's decision. We don't have any objections, but we're trying to watch his every move without disturbing him."
Shimizu glanced at Kaneda again. Though he stood alone, a Class B student was clearly watching him from a distance.
Furthermore, the spot Kaneda was standing in offered no view of Class B's actual camp or spot. Ichinose was kind, but she wasn't a fool.
It seemed Kaneda, like Ibuki in Class D, would find it very difficult to identify the leader through conventional means.
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Around 6:00 PM, Shimizu met Yamamura at the beach. He hadn't expected much since she'd had less than a day, but there she was.
"Shimizu-kun, I captured evidence of Ryuen-kun checking in. It's in video format. Please take a look." Yamamura greeted him and handed over the camera, looking slightly excited.
Shimizu played the video. It was exactly as she described.
The recording started around 2:00 PM today, centered on a check-in terminal on a tree. Soon, Ryuen Kakeru emerged from the woods. He looked disheveled—unshaven and exhausted like a man in his thirties—but he remained vigilant.
He used his body to shield the machine while checking in, stayed for ten seconds, and then retreated into the forest.
The camera then zoomed in on the terminal. The screen clearly displayed: "Year 1 Class C" and a "Countdown: 7h 56m 12s."
He didn't even need to see the card. Seeing Ryuen alone at the spot followed by the countdown resetting was ironclad proof that he was the leader.
"Thank you! Yamamura-san, you're amazing!" Shimizu praised her sincerely. Her stealth, efficiency, and decisiveness exceeded his expectations. Truly a product of Class A.
Yamamura looked down shyly.
"Um... I'm sorry, but Kamuro-san saw the contents of the camera beforehand."
"Oh? That's fine." Since Kamuro was the middleman, it was natural.
"Also, once Kamuro-san knew, she contacted Katsuragi-kun and asked him to come to the beach. He should be here in ten minutes," Yamamura added carefully.
"Katsuragi-kun knows you commissioned me, but I didn't tell him the contents of the camera. My leader is Sakayanagi Arisu, after all."
"Uh, okay." Shimizu was stunned. Kamuro had already lined up the buyer. Her efficiency was incredible.
Yamamura nodded and left. Shortly after, Katsuragi Kohei appeared at the end of the beach.
"Shimizu-kun, good evening," Katsuragi got straight to the point.
"Kamuro Masumi told me everything. You have evidence on that camera that proves Ryuen is the leader? May I see it? I am willing to pay 500,000 Private Points."
Katsuragi had long suspected Ryuen, but as a cautious man, he wouldn't bet without proof. A wrong guess cost 50 class points, and he wouldn't take that risk. He didn't try to seize the camera; he knew the rules about "plunder." Since Yamamura was in the Sakayanagi faction, he couldn't command her anyway, so he opted for a clean transaction.
Besides, while he had a secret contract with Ryuen, it didn't forbid guessing each other's leaders. Guessing Ryuen wouldn't break the rules of their alliance.
Shimizu handed the camera over. For a Class A leader, 500,000 points was a fair price. Katsuragi looked at the video, his stern face breaking into a look of joy. "Success! The leader of Class C is indeed Ryuen Kakeru! This is the proof!"
Once confirmed, he took Shimizu to the school staff on the beach to draft a formal contract: after the exam, 500,000 points would be transferred to Shimizu's account regardless of the outcome.
To Shimizu, 500,000 was good, but not mind-blowing. Seeing Katsuragi's delight, he couldn't help but feel the man was celebrating too early.
This was just current leader intel. What if they switched leaders at the last second? But since the points were secured, whatever Katsuragi did next wasn't his problem.
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