Demon Slayer: I was taken home by Shinobu Kocho at the beginning.

"Hello, the exam rules have just been announced. Aren't you first-year students going to discuss how to deal with this exam?"

Upon hearing this, Nan Yun's lips twitched. "To paraphrase me, is that right?"

"Since none of us first-year students have taken the test on the deserted island, we're asking our seniors for information."

Yagami laughed heartily and then explained his purpose without reservation.

“I see.” Kamio Tatsuya nodded, then glanced at Nagumo. “Last year, our second-year students took the deserted island exam as a class, but the rules weren’t as strict as they are this time.”

At least no one in the last-ranked class will drop out, and it won't affect individual points.

Kamio Tatsuya briefly explained the deserted island test he had experienced last year, without hiding anything. Kamio Tatsuya also intended to take care of this polite junior.

"I see, thank you, Kamio-senpai." Hatano thanked him gratefully. "Actually, there were some rumors among the first-year students that Kamio-senpai was difficult to get along with. It seems we misunderstood. I'm very sorry."

"This is not your fault. After all, from the perspective of a first-year student, the rule change in the last joint exam seems to be my fault."

Tatsuya Kamio replied casually.

“Since Kamio-kun is so generous with his advice, I should say something too.” Nagumo smiled. “Although we are already third-year students, we did not participate in the deserted island exam last year.”

However, the exam rules two years ago were different from those for Kamio Tatsuya and his classmates. Back then, each class formed four groups, for a total of sixteen groups competing against each other.

There are actually exams like this? How interesting...

"Will this be helpful to you?"

"Yes, thank you very much, Chairman Nagumo."

"If there's nothing else, you should go back. Your classmates are probably still waiting for your news." After saying that, Nan Yun dismissed the two of them.

Yagami and Hatano also tactfully left the student council office. With their keen observations, they noticed that Vice President Kamio and President Nagumo seemed to be at odds.

After all, the atmosphere just now was really tense.

But what does this have to do with them?

One is the current president of the student council, who controls the entire third year.

Another is a formidable individual who can single-handedly force schools to change their exam rules, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, he will be the next student council president.

They didn't want to get involved in this fight between the two.

"Takuya, is it true that the student council president Nagumo issued a bounty to expel Ayanokouji-senpai and Kamio-senpai from school, as you mentioned last time?"

"Of course it's true, but we can't even handle Ayanokoji-senpai, let alone Kamio-senpai with his overall abilities."

Yagami Takuya feigned helplessness.

"Maybe I'll have a chance to take the test on this deserted island."

"Oh? Do you have any ideas?"

"Kamio-senpai and Nagumo-sensei clearly don't get along. If they fight each other during the exam on the deserted island, our chance might come."

Hatano smiled.

"We'll see when the time comes. By the way, do you want to team up with me for the deserted island exam?" Yagami smiled gently and then extended a team invitation to Hatano.

"Of course, but let's wait until the item cards are distributed tomorrow before making a decision."

……

After the first-year students left, Tatsuya Kamio didn't bother to continue the confrontation with Nagumo.

"Continuing this stalemate is not a solution. Tell me, what are your conditions?"

This exam was initiated, led, and put in effort by Nagumo. Kamio Tatsuya just wanted to hitch a ride, so giving Nagumo some benefits wouldn't be a bad idea.

They've done all the hard, tiring, and dirty work, so we can't be ungrateful, right? Otherwise, how can we have fun together in the future?

Even if Kamio Tatsu was confident of taking first place in this exam, he didn't want to do it. While it would be very satisfying to steal the credit, it would also offend Nagumo to no end.

According to Nagumo's policy, the student council president will remain in office until graduation.

Although the school might not agree to this in order to maintain the stability of the student council, Nagumo still has two or three months left in his term.

After the second semester, there will be at least one or two more exams, which will mostly be led by Nagumo.

The rules haven't been announced yet. What if this makes this guy withdrawn and he stops playing with second-year students? Wouldn't that be a loss?

So, if Nagumo agrees at this time, it's not impossible for Kamio Tatsuya to keep to himself and avoid conflict.

Let's all make money together, right?

However, if this guy gets too cocky, Kamio Tatsuya will have to go all out.

To prevent the subsequent exams from affecting his second year, Kamio Tatsuya had no choice but to make him disappear from the school!

"It's very simple. I will put in a lot of effort to help one of the groups get first place in this exam, but you will get half of the total rewards from this exam."

This guy is really asking for the moon; he actually wants half of it.

"What a wonderful idea, but unfortunately, I refuse." Kamio Tatsuya said calmly, "How about this, you tell me the first team you've decided on, and I'll provide you with assistance to help you deal with unexpected enemies, how about that?"

"Not so great, Kamio-kun. I've already said it: if you want to hitch a ride, then go and compete for first place yourself. Besides, even if I told you I was going to compete for first place, would you believe me?"

Nagumo is completely unyielding and has absolutely no idea that cooperation would be mutually beneficial.

As for whether they will trust each other, that's actually the last thing Kamio Tatsuya is worried about.

Because all that's needed is a contract, and Nanyun is already in his final year at this school; he certainly doesn't want to drop out at the last minute.

"President Nagumo, it's good to be confident. I hope you won't be harmed by this confidence."

Nagumo's policy of non-cooperation was actually forcing Kamio Tatsuya to compete against him in this exam.

If he wins, not only will he be in a better mood, but he will also have something to show for the third grade.

However, if they lose, Nagumo will lose 6000 million points, which is enough to transfer three people to the class.

The foundation of Nagumo's dominance over the third-year students was his emphasis on individual strength and his willingness to amassed points to help them transfer to other classes before graduation.

Therefore, if Nagumo loses, it will definitely cause a lot of dissatisfaction among students in the lower-ranked classes.

Nagumo certainly understood this, but even if he did, he still chose not to cooperate because he felt that even if Kamio Tatsuya sabotaged him, he could still win first place.

At this point, Tatsuya Kamio no longer wanted to waste any more words with Nagumo.

I originally just wanted to take advantage of the situation, but now I have no choice but to put in the effort.

Of course, there are other ways. For this exam, Nan Yun will definitely gather the strength of the third graders to help them become the first place winner, and then assign all the rideshare cards to this predetermined first-place group.

Since each person can only use the same card once, a large number of students will inevitably follow suit.

Therefore, Tatsuya Kamio didn't actually need to compete for first place; he only needed to find a large number of groups designated by the third-year students.

However, compared to this method, it is obviously more ingenious to compete for first place yourself and then have your people designate you to hitch a ride.

After glancing at Nagumo once more, Kamio Tatsuya stood up and prepared to leave. At this point, there was no need to continue the conversation.

Kamio Tatsuya was unlikely to offer any additional compensation, while Nagumo was determined to settle things with Kamio Tatsuya. Their desires had become parallel lines, making further cooperation impossible.

However, this situation was actually within Tatsuya Kamio's expectations. After all, he had just humiliated Nagumo, so it would be a bit much to expect him to cooperate now.

So it would be best if this conversation could lead to cooperation between the two sides. If not, Tatsuya Kamio still has plnB.

Not long after leaving the student council office, Kamio Tatsuya received a message from Kiriyama.

Upon seeing this, Tatsuya Kamio smiled, it seemed that the plnB plan was proceeding smoothly.

Although Nagumo was very confident that he could defeat Kamio Tatsuya, the people below him were a different story.

For Nan Yun, losing 6000 million private points wouldn't matter much, since the money wouldn't end up in his hands anyway, as it would ultimately be used for class transfers.

But it's a different story for the lower-ranked classes; this exam involves far too many personal points.

In summary, the difference between first and second place is 6000 million private points, which is a huge sum of points that can save three people.

In order to increase their chances of getting into the class, they would absolutely not let Nanyun do whatever he wanted.

Even if they don't dare to openly defy Nagumo, it's not impossible for them to do some underhanded things.

That evening, behind the second-year dormitory building, Kamio Tatsuya met Kiriyama.

"Are you planning to compete with Nagumo for first place in the exam?"

Upon meeting, Kiriyama looked at Kamio Tatsuya with a serious expression and began to ask him about the exam.

"If I could, I wouldn't want to work this hard."

"In that case, let's make a deal."

"Tell me."

Tatsuya Kamio crossed his arms and looked on with interest.

"I'll help you find out which main squad Nangumo has assigned to this year's exam. And you, don't cause any trouble for us during the exam."

Kiriyama put forward a very constructive proposal, which was Kamio Tatsuya's plnB, to gather information through Nagumo's subordinates.

Then they will be placed in the same group as the third-grade students, but whether Kiriyama can find out about this main team is still a question mark.

"Okay, as long as Kiriyama-senpai can really find out which main group Nagumo has arranged, I promise not to cause trouble, because I will also designate this group with the ride-sharing cards I have."

Having received Tatsuya Kamio's affirmative promise, Kiriyama nodded in satisfaction.

In his opinion, this was absolutely the best result. He even considered giving the first-place prize to Tatsuya Kamio in exchange for personal points.

Because anyone who has done the calculations knows that even if a third-grader gets first place, those class points won't be able to generate any more personal points.

Since the exam is in August, these points will be valid from September, and graduation is in April, which is a total of 7 months.

Considering that there are not many students in each class in the third grade, the points generated in this time may not even be enough to reach 2000 million.

But it's different for second graders. After they get the first place points, they generate a whole year more points than third graders. As for first graders, it goes without saying that they get an extra year more.

But no matter what, it's impossible for a first-grader to get first place; that would be too embarrassing.

Regardless, Kiriyama still has some sense of shame.

After Kiriyama left, Kamio Tatsuya curled his lip, clearly not believing that Kiriyama could obtain the correct information.

Nagumo could have waited until the exam started to announce the main team to prevent others from knowing and following suit.

Therefore, Tatsuya Kamio did not place his hopes on Kiriyama at all. Besides Kiriyama, he had other informants, such as... Asahina from the third year of class.

Information that others might not be able to obtain, is something that Asahina, as a classmate and childhood friend, might be able to get her hands on.

Although we haven't been in touch for a while, I hope my dear Asahina-senpai won't refuse my cute junior's request.

With that thought in mind, Tatsuya Kamio returned to his room and started chatting with Asahina on a messaging app.

However, when he asked Asahina to help him gather information, Asahina immediately called him.

"Hello, good evening, Asahina-senpai."

"Kamio-kun, if you're hoping I'll help you gather information, I advise you to give up on that idea as soon as possible."

As soon as the call connected, Asahina poured cold water on Kamio Tatsuya.

"Can I ask why?"

Kamio Tatsuya was still somewhat unwilling to give up.

"The third grade has already set the strategy for this exam, just as you expected. But Ya also said that I will tell you which groups you need to be assigned before the exam starts."

Asahina mimicked Nagumo's words.

"Although Ya would most likely not refuse if I asked, do you dare to believe information obtained this way?"

Presumably, he wouldn't dare. If Asahina were to ask Nagumo, Nagumo would surely tell him.

But whether it's true or not, that's hard to say.

Alright, another lead has been lost. Now it's up to Kiriyama. If he doesn't take action tomorrow, plnB will probably have to declare bankruptcy, and then he'll probably have to face Nagumo head-on.

Chapter 320 Horikita's Idea is Unexpected

The next morning, after Tatsuya Kamio woke up, he habitually touched his phone, which was placed next to his pillow, and saw a notification on the home screen that there was a new email.

Upon opening the email, you'll find a special item card—the Invalid Card.

The effect of an invalid card is that when penalized, the personal points paid will become zero.

In other words, if you have this invalid card, even if you accidentally end up in the bottom five, you don't have to worry about being expelled.

It's unclear whether this invalidation applies to the entire group or only to the cardholder.