-165- The hidden wolf

About three minutes later...

Hori, holding one of the contracts prepared by Katsuragi Kouhei, left the area and headed towards the location of Class D.

As Hori left, Katsuragi Kouhei watched him go, continuously confirming the contents of the contract in his hand until he was sure the contract would be effective, then solemnly tucked it away.

Just then...

"To think you would let go of the reward for guessing the leader of a class just like that, you truly have committed an unforgivable mistake, Katsuragi," came a voice that was both provocative and sarcastic.

Upon hearing this voice, Katsuragi Kouhei paused slightly, then turned around to look at the bushes behind him.

There, two figures were approaching.

One of them was Ibuki Mio.

The girl whom Katsuragi Kouhei referred to as having abstained and returned to the ship, was now walking silently in the rain.

And following Ibuki Mio was a man.

A man whom everyone recognized.

"It's surprising that I successfully sent Ibuki to Class D to act as a spy, and even managed to find out the leader of Class D, but now you've personally squandered this achievement. If Sakayanagi were to find out, she would surely be amused, wouldn't she?"

The person speaking these words was none other than Ryuen Kakeru.

Despite supposedly abstaining and returning to the ship, Ryuen Kakeru had also appeared here.

Upon closer inspection, Ryuen Kakeru was wearing a standard tracksuit, but was covered in dirt from head to toe.

Not only that, but Ryuen Kakeru had grown a beard on his chin, and his face was also covered in mud, making him look like a tramp, extremely unkempt.

However, despite appearing so disheveled and disheveled, Ryuen Kakeru's steps were still strong and powerful, and the expression on his face was as forceful and dangerous as ever, like a fierce beast, sending chills down one's spine.

Seeing Ryuen Kakeru like this, Katsuragi Kouhei narrowed his eyes and spoke in a low voice.

"I didn't expect that you actually spent nearly a week alone in the forest, it's quite surprising."

Yes.

Ryuen Kakeru had spent a week alone in the forest.

When Class C collectively withdrew, only Ryuen Kakeru remained in the forest, hiding his tracks and living alone.

This matter, aside from those present, was unknown to anyone else.

"It's just one person, as long as you think of a way, you can always survive on this island that has been developed everywhere by humans."

Ryuen Kakeru smiled dismissively and made this statement.

"Besides, I won't leave until it's confirmed that our transaction can be completed."

Transaction.

Ryuen Kakeru also used this word.

Just now, Katsuragi Kouhei told Hori that he had bought Ibuki Mio, had Ibuki Mio betray Class D, and obtained information about the leader of Class D.

In fact, it wasn't like that at all.

Katsuragi Kouhei didn't buy from Ibuki Mio, he bought it from Ryuen Kakeru.

And the person who made the first deal with Katsuragi Kouhei was not Ibuki Mio, but Ryuen Kakeru himself.

Ryuen Kakeru said so.

"C Class will spend 200 points to purchase the supplies designated by Class A, transfer them to Class A, and provide information about the leaders of Classes B and D to Class A, in exchange for the right to receive 800,000 personal points from Class A every month."

Ryuen Kakeru stared straight at Katsuragi Kouhei, revealing a sinister smile.

"Our transaction, you shouldn't have forgotten, right?"

Ryuen Kakeru revealed this astonishing insider information.

In other words, in order to obtain a monthly payment of 800,000 personal points from Class A, Ryuen Kakeru used the points specially allocated for this special exam as the price, helped Class A obtain the necessary supplies for daily life, and promised to provide information about the leaders of Classes B and D to Katsuragi Kouhei.

Everyone thought Ryuen Kakeru had given up on this special exam.

But in reality, while Ryuen Kakeru didn't care about the number of class points, he also wouldn't waste the points that were handed to him for nothing.

Therefore, Ryuen Kakeru made full use of the points specially allocated for this special exam to make a deal with Class A, in order to extract the personal points he needed.

As for Ibuki Mio and Kaneda Satoru, they were expelled by Ryuen Kakeru not because they had conflicts with him, but because Ryuen Kakeru, in order to achieve his goals, had used them as spies and sent them into Classes B and D, respectively.

"To successfully find out the leaders of Classes B and D, I went to great lengths. Ichinose is also quite capable. Although they took in Kaneda, she has always been cautious and did not reveal the identity of the leader. As for Nanaya, he's even more remarkable, managing a class full of useless people in an orderly manner. If Ichinose hadn't run to the camp of Class D to play house, and if Nanaya hadn't, like you, chosen the wrong leader, letting that inconspicuous guy named Ayanokouji carry an important key card, it would have been difficult to get photos of the key cards of both classes," Ryuen Kakeru shrugged, his voice dripping with sarcasm once again.

"In the end, such a good harvest was squandered half because of your mistake, just like Nanaya," Ryuen Kakeru taunted Katsuragi Kouhei.

Even though they were supposed to be partners, Ryuen Kakeru didn't show Katsuragi Kouhei any kindness, leaving a sense of disgust.

But Katsuragi Kouhei didn't care at all.

"This was indeed an unnecessary mistake. Yahiko still lacks a lot of experience and needs to be tempered, but what's done is done. No amount of talk will change it. In this situation, the current outcome is already quite ideal," Katsuragi Kouhei said solemnly.

"If Nanaya had guessed the leader correctly, all the reward points would have been invalidated. At that time, we would have lost a significant amount of points accumulated from occupying multiple fortresses since day one. Even the reward points for guessing the leader of Class B would have been offset. Such a loss cannot be allowed to happen."

Therefore, Katsuragi Kouhei had to give up guessing the leader of Class D and make a deal with Hori.

This was not only to preserve the reward points obtained from occupying points but also to preserve the 50 points to be obtained when guessing the leader of Class B.

"Not getting the 50 points from Class D is regrettable, but the current harvest is enough."

Because of Sakayanagi Arisu's absence, Class A lost 30 points from the start, leaving only 270 points.

However, due to the deal with Ryuen Kakeru, Class A was able to retain all 270 points, using the 200 points obtained from Class C to purchase supplies and survive on the deserted island for a week.

During this week, Class A occupied multiple points and accumulated 80 points.

As a result, adding the 50 points to be obtained when guessing the leader of Class B, Class A was expected to gain a total of 400 points in this special exam.

All these points would be added to the class points.

By then, Class A would once again widen the gap with other classes significantly, and for a long time to come, it would be unlikely to be surpassed unless there were major failures.

Because of these significant benefits, Katsuragi Kouhei convinced all members of Class A to pay 20,000 personal points per person per month, totaling 800,000 points per month, to make a deal with Ryuen Kakeru.

However...

"I also realized how tricky Nanaya Hori can be," Katsuragi Kouhei looked at Ryuen Kakeru and the silent Ibuki Mio behind him.

"It's really impressive that you managed to send spies into his class," Katsuragi Kouhei couldn't help but admire.

But this time, Ryuen Kakeru remained unmoved.

The only thing he said was this:

"It's precisely because it's him that we succeeded." Ryuen Kakeru said only this.