Day 5. 07:00 AM.
A thin mist blanketed the tropical jungle, obscuring the traces of the previous night's movements. At Class 1-C's Base Camp, the tension felt sharper than a newly honed machete.
Seiji Koroizumi stood in the center of a small circle consisting of Horikita Suzune, Hirata Yosuke, Karuizawa Kei, and Matsushita Chiaki.
In Seiji's hand, a white key card—the very heart of this exam—twirled nimbly between his fingers.
"Starting from this exact second," Seiji said, his voice low yet firm, "Matsushita Chiaki is 'dead'."
Matsushita's face went pale. "Dead?"
"Strategically speaking," Seiji clarified. He slipped the card into his own breast pocket, patting it lightly. "You will no longer hold this card. You will revert back to being the 'ordinary' Matsushita. Complain about the heat, sit in the tent all day, and don't do anything suspicious. Become invisible."
"But... doesn't the rule state that the leader holding the card must be the one to claim the Spots?" Hirata asked anxiously.
"The rule states 'The Leader must be present during the claim'. It does not state they must physically hold it the entire time," Seiji corrected. "As long as Matsushita is within the radius of the Spot area during the scan, the machine will accept it. But..."
Seiji smirked, a smile that sent shivers down Kei's spine.
"...the enemy doesn't know that. They assume the person holding the card is the Leader. Therefore, I will become the target."
"You want to be the decoy?" Suzune asked, her brow furrowed. "That's dangerous. Ryuen is targeting you physically."
"That is exactly the point, Suzune. Ryuen is a predator. Predators always chase the most conspicuous or the most challenging prey. If he sees me holding this card, his ego will force him to believe that I am the true 'Hidden King'."
Seiji looked at Matsushita.
"The first phase of the Invisible Hydra strategy is to hide the head. The second phase... is to sever a fake head to save the body."
Seiji turned to face the jungle.
"Sudou! Ike! Yamauchi!" he yelled.
The trio came running over.
"Ready, Boss Koroizumi!" Ike exclaimed, his mouth still full of his leftover breakfast.
"We're going for a morning stroll," Seiji said cheerfully. "Our destination is the Spring Water Spot in Sector G-4. That territory is close to Class D's border. We are going to claim it right under Ryuen's nose."
Sudou formed a savage grin. "Defying death? I love it!"
Sector G-4 - Rainforest.
The trek to Sector G-4 was not easy. The ground was muddy, littered with hanging roots, and swarming with unnaturally large jungle mosquitoes.
However, Seiji led his small party at a rapid pace. Behind him, Sudou, Ike, and Yamauchi—who were now functioning as his personal bodyguards—walked in a triangular formation.
Matsushita walked in the center, protected, yet Seiji intentionally kept his distance from her. He walked at the very front, holding the map and... occasionally patting his breast pocket with an exaggeratedly protective gesture.
Behind the dense thicket, a pair of eyes was watching them.
Kaneda Satoru from Class D adjusted his cracked glasses. He held a Walkie-Talkie with trembling hands.
"Target sighted," Kaneda whispered into the device. "Koroizumi is leading. He keeps touching his left pocket continuously. There's a card-shaped bulge there."
Ryuen's voice sounded from the other end, filled with static distortion yet clear in its cruel tone.
"Excellent. Who else is there?"
"The three idiots, and... Matsushita. That makeup girl is just walking while fanning herself."
"Ignore the girl. Focus on Koroizumi. He has to be the leader. Horikita is just a puppet, exactly as I suspected. Koroizumi has taken over field command. Intercept them at Coordinate X."
"Understood."
Kaneda turned off his device, then vanished into the shadows.
Seiji, whose ears were capable of picking up sound frequencies beyond the range of ordinary humans, smiled faintly without turning his head.
The fish has taken the bait.
They arrived at the Spring Water Spot. A small natural pool with crystal-clear water bubbling up from a crevice in the rocks. A scanner machine was embedded in the large tree beside it.
"Alright, claim the area!" Seiji ordered.
He pulled the key card from his pocket with a dramatic flourish, holding it up high as if showing it off to the sun.
"Matsushita, come closer," Seiji said quietly, his voice masked by the sound of the flowing water. "Stand behind that tree, pretend to take a rest. I'll do the rest."
Matsushita complied. She sat on the tree roots, right next to the scanner machine, but hidden from the sightline of any approaching enemies.
Seiji tapped the card against the machine.
Beep.[Spot Claimed: Class 1-C]
"Done!" Ike cheered. "More points!"
However, their celebration was cut short by the sound of slow, sarcastic clapping.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
From behind the dense bushes across the spring, Ryuen Kakeru stepped out.
He wasn't alone. Albert Yamada stood beside him like a giant wall, cracking his knuckles. Ishizaki and Ibuki fanned out to the sides, surrounding the Class C group.
"A beautiful morning for a robbery, eh, Koroizumi?" Ryuen greeted, his smirk stretching from ear to ear.
Sudou immediately jumped in front of Seiji, dropping into a boxing stance. "Ryuen! What do you want?!"
"Move aside, guard dog," Ryuen spat on the ground. His eyes were locked onto Seiji. "I came for the master."
Seiji shoved the card back into his breast pocket quickly—a movement intentionally designed to look panicked.
"Ryuen-kun," Seiji said, his voice calm yet carrying a feigned tremor of wariness. "We are in a neutral zone. Physical violence will get your class disqualified."
"Kukuku... Who said anything about hitting you?" Ryuen stepped forward, ignoring Sudou's threat. Albert stepped with him, forcing Sudou to hold his breath against the sheer physical pressure of the giant.
"I just wanted to confirm my theory. You're holding the card. You're giving the orders. You're the one protecting this trash class."
Ryuen stopped two meters away from Seiji.
"Horikita Suzune is too rigid. She lacks the flexibility to lead idiots like Ike and Yamauchi. But you... you're different. You're a manipulator."
Ryuen pointed at Seiji's breast pocket.
"Hand that card over to me. Or I'll make your vacation a living hell."
"What use is this card to you anyway?" Seiji asked innocently. "You can't use it to claim Spots for Class D."
"No. But I can throw it into the ocean," Ryuen threatened. "Without a card, you guys can't claim any bonuses. And I'll know for an absolute fact that you are the leader because you protected it with your life."
The tension peaked. Ike and Yamauchi were trembling behind Seiji. Matsushita, hiding behind the tree, held her breath, clapping her hands over her mouth to stop herself from screaming.
Seiji looked at Ryuen. Then he looked at Albert.
"Sudou," Seiji called out.
"Yeah?"
"If Albert moves, hold him off. Don't throw any punches. Just box him out like going for a rebound."
"Got it!"
"Ike, Yamauchi... run and take Matsushita back to camp the moment I give the signal."
"B-but what about you?!" Ike asked.
"I will take care of this 'trash'," Seiji answered coldly.
The word "trash" ignited Ryuen's fury.
"Crush him, Albert!"
Albert lunged.
Sudou slammed his shoulder into the giant's body. Thud! The two titans pushed against each other, muscle grinding against muscle.
Amidst the chaos, Ryuen sprinted toward Seiji, his hand reaching out to snatch the card from Seiji's pocket.
Seiji didn't dodge. He let Ryuen get close.
Just as Ryuen's hand was about to touch his chest, Seiji executed a simple Aikido movement. He pivoted his body, caught Ryuen's wrist, and used Ryuen's own running momentum to throw him toward the spring pool.
Splash!
Ryuen crashed into the water, getting soaked to the bone.
"You bastard!" Ryuen yelled, rising from the water, his face flushed red with rage.
However, as he stood up, he saw something floating in the water beside him.
The key card.
Seiji had intentionally dropped it while throwing Ryuen.
"The card!" Ishizaki yelled.
Ryuen snatched the card from the surface of the water. He laughed triumphantly. "Hahahaha! Got it! You were careless, Koroizumi!"
Seiji stood at the edge of the pool, his face appearing "pale."
"Give it back, Ryuen! That's a violation!"
"A violation? This is an accidental drop, man!" Ryuen held the card up. "Now I hold your life in my hands. If you want this back, get on your knees!"
Seiji clenched his fists. "We're retreating!"
"What?!" Sudou exclaimed, still grappling with Albert.
"RETREAT! That's an order!" Seiji barked.
Class C retreated in an orderly fashion, leaving behind Ryuen, who was laughing hysterically in the spring with his stolen prize.
The Jungle - The Trek Back.
The mood among the Class C group was grim. Ike looked like he was about to cry.
"It's all over... Ryuen has our card... we can't get any more bonus points..."
"And he knows Koroizumi is the leader," Yamauchi added. "Minus 50 points..."
However, at the front of the line, Seiji suddenly stopped. His shoulders were no longer tense. He turned around to face his friends.
And he smiled.
"Excellent acting, everyone," Seiji said brightly.
"Huh?" Sudou was confused. "What acting? We lost the card!"
Seiji reached into his pants pocket. He pulled out a pristine white card.
"The leader's card is right here."
Their eyes bugged out.
"Then... what is Ryuen holding?" Matsushita asked, emerging from her hiding spot in the middle of the formation.
"That was a dummy key card," Seiji explained with a Nurufufufu chuckle. "I borrowed Sudou's old, unused student ID card, slapped a white sticker over it, and wrote 'LEADER' on it with a faint marker."
"But... the machine beeped earlier!" Ike argued. "The green light came on!"
"That's because Matsushita tapped the real card while I was making that dramatic hand gesture," Seiji winked at Matsushita. "Right, Invisible Hydra?"
Matsushita grinned widely, awe radiating from her face. "You're insane. Completely insane. The speed of your hands just now was invisible to the human eye."
"So..." Sudou started to understand, a massive grin forming on his face. "Ryuen is currently holding a piece of trash, thinking it's treasure?"
"Exactly," Seiji said. "And more importantly... he is now 100% convinced that the card is the leader's card, and that I am its owner. He will fill in the name 'Koroizumi Seiji' on the final day's guessing form."
"And his guess will be wrong," added Suzune, who emerged from behind a tree up ahead (she had been waiting at the rendezvous point). "Because the leader is Matsushita."
"Checkmate," Seiji declared.
"Class D will lose 50 points for an incorrect guess. And we are safe."
The gloom instantly transformed into stifled cheers. They had just conned the biggest con artist in the school.
"But be careful," Seiji warned. "An angry Ryuen who realizes he's been played... will be far more dangerous than an arrogant Ryuen. We have to be prepared to face the real storm."
Midday - Class A's Camp (The Collapsed Ichinose Market).
While Class C celebrated their tactical victory, Class A was on the brink of collapse.
The sabotage of their water and food had caused their morale to plummet. Ichinose Honami tried desperately to calm her classmates down, but her smile was beginning to crack.
"We have to ration," Ichinose said hoarsely. "From now on, there will be no more free handouts to other classes."
"It's too late, Ichinose," Kanzaki said coldly. "We've already spent half our points as capital, and now our merchandise is ruined. We're going to finish with a low score."
Suddenly, a girl from Class C appeared at the border of Class A's camp.
Kushida Kikyo.
She was carrying a jerrycan of clean water.
"Excuse me..." Kushida greeted them with a concerned face. "I heard your water was contaminated. Horikita-san and Koroizumi-kun sent this over. They said... 'Remember your debts'."
Ichinose's eyes welled up with tears. "Koroizumi-kun..."
"But," Kushida continued, her voice dropping. "In exchange, we ask for one thing. Information."
"What information?" Kanzaki asked warily.
"Who the leader of Class B is," Kushida said. "We know you have spies over there. Give us the name, and this water is yours. Plus... protection from Class C if Ryuen attacks again."
It was an offer that was hard to refuse. Ichinose looked at the thirsty, frightened faces of her classmates.
Ichinose took a deep breath. She was a bankrupt merchant, and now she had to sell her final asset: her pride.
"Alright," Ichinose whispered. "I'll tell you."
In the distance, Seiji observed the transaction through a gap in the trees.
"I'm sorry, Ichinose," Seiji murmured. "In this world, a weak merchant will be devoured by a strong syndicate. Class C just acquired your assets."
Kushida returned with a victorious smile and a name.
Class B's Leader: Katsuragi Kohei. (At least, that was what Class A believed).
However, Seiji knew Sakayanagi Arisu wouldn't play that straight. The information from Ichinose might be true, or it might be a trap set by Sakayanagi specifically for Ichinose.
A three-dimensional game of chess, Seiji thought. Let's see how deep the layers go.
Nighttime - South Beach.
Ryuen stared at the card in his hand under the light of the campfire.
He felt something was off. The texture of this card... felt a bit different.
He peeled back the corner of the white sticker.
Underneath it, he saw a photo of Sudou Ken grinning stupidly. A standard student ID.
Silence.
Ishizaki and Albert took a step back, terrified of their boss's reaction.
Ryuen didn't scream. He didn't throw a tantrum.
He just laughed.
Softly at first. Then louder. A laugh that sounded like broken glass being scraped against asphalt.
"Kuh... Hahahaha! Ahahahaha!"
Ryuen crushed the card until it snapped.
"Koroizumi... you cunning bastard."
Ryuen stood up.
His face no longer held the arrogance of a delinquent. His face was now blank, cold, and utterly lethal.
"You want to play bait? Fine. I'll swallow your bait, your hook, and your fishing rod all at once."
Ryuen picked up his Walkie-Talkie.
"Plan B. Burn it all down."
"W-what do you mean, Ryuen-san?" Ishizaki asked, trembling.
"We aren't going to win with points," Ryuen stated flatly. "We're going to win by making sure every other class is disqualified."
Ryuen pointed toward the jungle.
"Start a forest fire. Cause mass food poisoning. Steal underwear. Do whatever it takes to make the school cancel this exam. If I'm falling into hell, you're all coming with me."
That night, on the Uninhabited Island, the wind shifted direction. The storm Seiji had predicted was no longer just a metaphor.
Black clouds rolled across the sky, covering the moon. And on the ground, the devil of Class D had slipped his leash.
Seiji Koroizumi, who was keeping watch from atop a tree, felt the change in air pressure.
"It's going to rain," he whispered. "And this rain... is going to run red."
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