At this moment, the students of Class D erupted in astonishment.
"Four or five bases!?"
"Is it true!?"
"This is incredible..."
Ike Kanji, Yamauchi Haruki, and Sudou Ken exclaimed excitedly, representing the emotions of all the students in the class.
Discovering four or five bases?
What does that mean?
As mentioned earlier, as long as one can occupy three bases and hold them until the end of the special exam, they can receive a reward of over 50 points.
But what about occupying four or five bases?
By then, it wouldn't be surprising to receive over 100 points in rewards, right?
100 points!
Even the total points distributed by the school were only 300 points!
This 100 points is equivalent to one-third, more than the increase in class points during the midterm and final exams.
If they could get these 100 points at once, combined with the remaining points, Class D would significantly increase their class points.
That would be a huge gain for the class.
Even Horikita Suzune, rubbing her arms, visibly relaxed.
Because, Hori's discovery not only meant an increase in points but also ensured the class's actions in the future.
Since they knew where the bases were, they could go directly to them without exploring the forest, avoiding many accidents and hardships.
And confirming the bases early meant receiving more reward points.
After all, only one point of reward was generated every eight hours, and the later they occupied the bases, the fewer points they would receive.
Moreover, confirming the bases would ensure many actions.
It was inevitable for everyone to be excited.
Of course, along with excitement, everyone was also surprised.
"You... Were you already preparing for the exam from the deck?" Karuizawa Kei asked incredulously.
To this, Hori didn't react.
"Mashima-sensei also said that smart students should have noticed the significance of this summer vacation long ago. Given that they already knew about this and that the uninhabited island was the exam location, it's not strange to pay attention to the island from the moment it approached the shore."
Hori revealed some bad news.
"It's not just me. There must be others in other classes who were prepared at that time. Like Katsuragi from Class A, Ichinose from Class B, and Ryuen from Class C. Those guys were ready for the exam when they were on the deck, and they probably found one or two bases and are getting ready to enter the forest."
Hearing Hori's words, everyone was shocked and quickly looked in the direction of the other classes.
As it turned out, Hori's words were correct.
Class A, led by Katsuragi Kouhei, was already marching towards the forest.
Class B was also heading to the forest amid cheerful laughter, as if they were going camping.
Only Class C, with Ryuen Kakeru, didn't know what was going on. He was chatting happily with his homeroom teacher, Sakagami Kazuma.
As a result, only Class D was still idle.
"Hey hey hey! Are you kidding me!?"
"Are we already behind!?"
"Darn it! We're running out of time! Let's hurry!"
Ike Kanji, Yamauchi Haruki, and Sudou Ken all exclaimed anxiously, causing the students in the class to become restless.
"Nanaya-kun."
Kushida Kikyou stepped forward and requested to Hori.
"Anyway, can you please lead us to the bases you found?"
Kushida Kikyou pleaded.
"Please, Nanaya-san." Hirata Yousuke lowered his head and earnestly requested, "Although we have many problems to solve now, we must first strive not to fall behind other classes. I hope you can help us."
With the lead of Kushida Kikyou and Hirata Yousuke, some other students also quickly spoke up.
"Please! Nanaya-kun!"
"Please, help us, Nanaya-san!"
"Please tell us where the bases are!"
Many people bowed their heads to Hori.
Of course, there were also those who were unwilling to bow their heads.
Like Karuizawa Kei, who had just clashed with Hori, and some other girls who were usually close to her, they looked gloomy and chose to remain silent.
So, faced with this situation, what choice would Hori make?
For Hori, whether to lead the way or not was not difficult. Hori had no reason to lead the way, but also no reason not to.
Originally, Hori, who was not interested in class competition, wouldn't care about these matters.
Perhaps he could lead the way on a whim, or he could refuse to do anything at all. Either option was possible for Hori.
However, at this moment, if there was a situation that made Hori's scale tilt even slightly, then Hori would make a choice without hesitation.
And this situation that made the scale tilt appeared soon enough.
"Nanaya-kun..."
At the back of the crowd, Sakura Airi had been watching anxiously since just now.
Perhaps even she hadn't noticed it herself?
Under the blazing sun, Sakura Airi's face had turned somewhat pale, her forehead covered in sweat, and her face flushed.
In that state, it wouldn't be surprising if she collapsed from heatstroke at any moment.
In other words, Sakura Airi couldn't be left to sunbathe on the beach any longer.
Seeing this situation, Hori's scale tilted.
"So be it."
After uttering these words, disregarding everyone else, Hori took the lead and walked towards the direction of the forest.
"Wait, Nanaya-san!"
"Wait!"
The students in the class all smiled slightly and quickly picked up their belongings, catching up with Hori.
"That's great..."
Kushida Kikyou and Hirata Yousuke also breathed a sigh of relief.
Even Horikita Suzune and Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, who had been silently observing the situation, decisively followed suit at this moment.
"Hm~~"
Kouenji Rokusuke, who had been applying sunscreen since disembarking from the cruise ship, hummed a tune and, seemingly indifferent, followed the large group with an unabated arrogant smile.
Finally, only Chabashira Sae remained standing in place, watching Class D walking towards the forest, her eyes flickering slightly.
Then, Chabashira Sae fixed her gaze on two people.
One was Hori, leading the way at the forefront.
The other was Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, bringing up the rear.
"What kind of surprises can you two bring me?"
With such a softly spoken sentence, Chabashira Sae also picked up her luggage and followed Class D.
Thus, Class D entered the forest.
This special exam had just begun.