Chapter 78: The Leader is Exposed
"Katsuragi-kun, it's almost noon. Why don't we find a spot to rest? I just heard the sound of water over there. Let's go wash our faces," Totsuka Yahiko, tired and hot after walking in the mountain forest for several hours, wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and spoke wearily to Katsuragi.
"Hmm, the River Base isn't too far from here. We'll occupy that one and then stop for a thirty-minute rest to eat something and recover our energy," Katsuragi checked the time on his watch and led the group toward the sound of water.
They hadn't walked far when the Class A group saw a thin stream of water flowing through the dirt road. Katsuragi and the others quickened their pace, continuing to follow the shallow, narrow tributary. As they walked, the lush forest gradually thinned out.
The sound of water grew louder. Pushing aside the obstructing bushes, a wide, open riverbank suddenly appeared before them. The area was quite flat, as if it had been cleared. If they hadn't already chosen the cave as their base camp, this place might have been an ideal spot for a camp. However, besides this area, the elevation differences all around were quite pronounced.
The river was about ten meters wide, with clear water flowing far into the distance, shimmering with a silvery-white light under the sun. The current was slow, giving off a cool, refreshing atmosphere.
The waterside grass was a vibrant green, and the tree roots on the bank extended into the water, forming a natural landscape painting. Small fish swam in the water, and the aquatic plants swayed gently with the current, creating a lively scene.
The river was surrounded by a deep forest and a gravel path. A wooden sign, placed by the school, was posted next to the gravel path, bearing the warning: "River is a designated base; unauthorized use is prohibited." The three students holding key cards walked up to an oddly shaped, prominent large rock by the river and occupied the River Base.
A cool breeze, seemingly drawn by the sound of the water, blew across their faces, carrying the gentle rustle of leaves, as if harmonizing with the river's natural melody. The summer sun filtered through the leaves, breaking up the green shade, forming dappled patches of light that shone on the ground like gold, lifting their spirits.
Just as the Class A group was resting in the shade, chatting while eating the food they brought and the fruit they picked at other bases, the walkie-talkie in Katsuragi's arms rang again.
"This is Yukinoshita Yukino. Katsuragi-kun, is Kamuro-san with you? I have something important I need to tell her. Please set the walkie-talkie frequency to Frequency A before handing it over to her."
Frequency A was a pre-arranged frequency known only to Katsuragi and Yukinoshita. If both parties tuned to the agreed-upon frequency, they could communicate one-on-one. Moreover, without knowing this fixed frequency, no one could eavesdrop on the information.
"I understand." Katsuragi quickly adjusted the frequency. After confirming that the communication was normal with Yukinoshita, he handed the walkie-talkie to Kamuro: "Kamuro-san, Yukinoshita-san said she has something she wants to talk to you about."
Seeing Katsuragi's serious look, Kamuro took the walkie-talkie and walked away from the group. She started speaking only after confirming that no one else could hear her.
"...This is Kamuro. Yukinoshita, what do you need? Why are you being so secretive?"
Kamuro held the walkie-talkie in one hand, slowly squatted down, picked up a smooth small stone by the river, and threw it across the river as if skipping stones.
The stone cut through the water's surface, splashing concentric ripples. It bounced five or six times on the water and leisurely flew to the opposite bank.
"Kamuro-san, the reason I contacted you this time is to discuss the matter of Class A's leader."
Over the walkie-talkie, Yukinoshita calmly spoke about her plan, her speaking pace steady and slow, carrying the confidence of someone who had everything under control.
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After lunch, the Class A group walked along the winding path, heading toward an unoccupied base.
Taking advantage of Katsuragi and Totsuka Yahiko leading the way, Kamuro quietened her steps and walked next to Kito. With a nimble flick of her fingers, she slipped a paper ball into Kito's palm.
Kito glanced at Kamuro with some confusion, then held a corner of the paper ball between his fingers, slowly unfolded it in his palm with his thumb, and casually glanced at it. After reading the instructions written on the paper, Kito nodded lightly at Kamuro, then crumpled the paper back into a small ball and slipped it into his pocket.
After walking for about half an hour, Katsuragi's group finally arrived at the base deep within the forest. Just as the three took out their key cards to occupy the base, they suddenly heard a sound coming from the bushes not far away.
Kito and Kamuro turned their heads toward the sound of something cutting through the air, only to see two fist-sized stones flying towards the occupation device. The two, reacting quickly, immediately retreated to dodge. However, the two stones lost momentum and
dropped to the ground not far in front of them, and they wouldn't have been hit even if they hadn't deliberately dodged.
"Look out—!"
Katsuragi immediately turned his head toward the occupation device and saw that Totsuka Yahiko, having not noticed the flying stones, had already pressed his key card against the occupation device. The device's screen immediately displayed the message: "Base occupied."
"What's going on?" Noticing the movements of Kito and Kamuro, Totsuka Yahiko finally reacted.
The Class A group turned and looked in the direction the stones came from, and saw the Class C group emerging from the bushes.
"Hahahaha, the two Class A students have impressive reflexes. But what a pity... Ibuki-san, did you get the shot?" Kaneda asked with a triumphant smile on his face.
"Yes, it's very clear," Ibuki, holding a camera, lowered her head to confirm the clarity of the recording, then nodded at Kaneda.
"Attacking students from another class is an act of violence, which violates the rules of the deserted island exam," Katsuragi stared sharply at Kaneda, accusing him in a low voice.
"Breaking the rules? Katsuragi-kun, don't just say things without proof," Kaneda said with a smile.
"The reason why only the leader can use the key card in this exam is because there is a camera on the occupation device for facial recognition of the user. Your attack on us has already been recorded. I will file a complaint with the school to have you disqualified from the exam and expelled," Katsuragi said seriously.
Kaneda smiled indifferently, lightly pushing up the glasses on the bridge of his nose: "What recorded attack? We were outside the camera's range the entire time."
While the attention of the Class C group was drawn to Katsuragi, Kamuro and Kito exchanged glances and secretly placed their key cards on the occupation device. Because their bodies were blocking the occupation device, the Class C students did not notice that the time on the screen had jumped back by more than ten seconds.
"The two of you don't need to struggle anymore. We've already seen through your disguise," Ishizaki curled his lip in contempt, not caring about the small actions of Kamuro and Kito, as if he was certain that the key cards they held were forgeries.
"Well, Katsuragi-kun, we'll see you during the leader guessing phase."
Looking at the grim expressions on the faces of the Class A group, Kaneda chuckled and led the Class C group away with a swagger.
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