Capítulo 199: -197- Preferred Person
——The "Twelve Branches."
It was an ancient method of timekeeping that divided time into the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches. Nowadays, it is primarily used for calculating lunar calendar years and representing the twelve zodiac animals.
The Heavenly Stems are: Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, Gui.
The Earthly Branches are: Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, Hai.
The twelve branches Mashima Tomonari mentioned are actually the twelve Earthly Branches.
The twelve Earthly Branches are now commonly used to represent the twelve zodiac signs, making the twelve zodiac animals the symbolic representatives of the twelve branches.
Zi represents the Rat.
Chou represents the Ox.
Yin represents the Tiger.
Mao represents the Rabbit.
Chen represents the Dragon.
Si represents the Snake.
Wu represents the Horse.
Wei represents the Goat.
Shen represents the Monkey.
You represents the Rooster.
Xu represents the Dog.
Hai represents the Pig.
So when Mashima Tomonari said that Hori and his group belonged to the Mao Group or the Rabbit Group, he meant the same thing, just using different terms.
To make it easier for the students to remember, each of the twelve branch groups is named after its corresponding zodiac animal.
After all, in modern times, the twelve zodiac signs are more widely known than the twelve Earthly Branches.
Mashima Tomonari understood this well, thus directly referred to the groups by the zodiac names.
"From now on, you will no longer act as Class D but as the Rabbit Group. The outcome of the exam, whether you pass or fail, will be decided by you within your respective groups."
Saying this, Mashima Tomonari took out four sets of documents from the folder.
"In this special exam, each group will face only four possible outcomes. The exam is designed in a way that guarantees one of these four outcomes, with no fifth possibility. To help you understand, we have prepared documents outlining the results and rules. These documents are not to be taken out or photographed. Please review them here."
With that, Mashima Tomonari handed out the documents.
Hori took one and began to read.
The document contained the following information:
...
"Explanation of the Second Special Exam During Summer Vacation."
This exam is centered around the "Preferred Person" assigned to each group.
Using the prescribed method to answer the school will lead to one of four outcomes.
During this period, please first understand the basic rules of the exam.
The basic rules are as follows.
1. After the exam begins, an email will be sent to all first-year students at 8 AM the next day, notifying them whether or not they have been selected as the "Preferred Person."
2. The exam period starts from the day the "Preferred Person" is chosen and ends at 9 PM on the fourth day after this cruise trip ends, with one completely free day included. The actual exam time is three days.
3. Group members must gather twice each day, except on the free day, at designated times in a designated room for a one-hour discussion. The content of the discussion is up to each group to decide.
4. For the answering part, after the exam ends, the school will only accept answers from 9:30 PM to 10 PM that day. The answer is to identify the "Preferred Person," and each person can only submit an answer once.
5. The school only accepts answers sent via email to the designated inbox from each student's own phone.
6. The selected "Preferred Person" is not allowed to send an answer.
7. Answers submitted about groups other than the one the student belongs to will be considered invalid.
8. The school will notify all students of the detailed results of the exam via email at 11 PM on the last day.
These are the basic rules for this exam.
The four possible outcomes of this exam are as follows.
Outcome 1: If all group members, except for the "Preferred Person" and the students in the "Preferred Person's" class, correctly identify the "Preferred Person," the school will award all group members individual points (the students in the "Preferred Person's" class will also receive the same points).
Outcome 2: If any group member, except for the "Preferred Person" and the students in the "Preferred Person's" class, does not answer or answers incorrectly, the school will award the "Preferred Person" individual points.
...
The document ended there, without detailing the remaining two outcomes.
Of course, this would be addressed later.
Faced with the extensive rules and explanations in the document, Karuizawa Kei was the first to groan in frustration.
"Wait… what does all this mean?"
Clearly, for Karuizawa Kei, the exam content was overly complex.
"That's why I say people who aren't smart..."
Yukimura Teruhiko, noticing this, expressed his annoyance and frustration.
It seemed Yukimura Teruhiko thought Karuizawa Kei was holding them back.
In this situation, Mashima Tomonari briefly summarized in his usual tone.
"In reality, this exam isn't as complicated as you think. You just need to focus on one key point."
And what is that key point?
It's the existence of the "Preferred Person."
"The situation is actually quite simple."
Mashima Tomonari directed his gaze toward Karuizawa Kei as he spoke.
"For example, Karuizawa, let's assume you are selected as the 'Preferred Person.' Then, the answer for the Rabbit Group in this exam would be 'Karuizawa Kei.' After that, you just need to share this answer with all your group members. Once the exam ends at 9 PM on the last day, and the school starts accepting answers from 9:30 PM to 10 PM, as long as all the Rabbit Group students, except those from your own class, write 'Karuizawa Kei' and send it to the school via email, the Rabbit Group will pass. Furthermore, if this outcome is achieved, it will be confirmed as Outcome One, and all group members will receive a reward of 500,000 personal points each. This is the structure of the exam."
Upon hearing Mashima Tomonari's words, Karuizawa Kei leaned forward immediately.
"500,000...!? Does everyone get that much!?"
Karuizawa Kei's tone suddenly became more enthusiastic.
This reminded Hori of something.
This girl wasn't just a frivolous and strong-willed gal; she also spent a lot of personal points on clothes, accessories, and entertainment.
In the first month of the first semester, Karuizawa Kei was one of the students who had completely spent the 100,000 personal points given by the school.
Now, knowing that there were personal points to be earned, she naturally got excited.
But Mashima Tomonari's explanation didn't end there.
"Moreover, as a reward for leading the group to Outcome One, the school will even double the reward and grant the 'Preferred Person' a bonus of one million personal points."
Mashima Tomonari spoke indifferently, yet his words were shocking.
"One... one million...!?"
Karuizawa Kei was directly taken aback.
"One million..."
Yukimura Teruhiko also held his breath.
"One million..."
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka immediately looked at Hori.
"One million, huh?"
Hori raised his eyebrows slightly, finally showing a bit of interest in his eyes.
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