Chaos in Classroom of the Elite: Class 1-C

The hotel lobby is currently the best place to gather information. The latest news from each project group flows through here, allowing all AN High School students to understand the status of the various groups.

However, this time, the information coming from the eel farm project group shocked everyone. Sakayanagi managed to pull off an ending that no one had anticipated.

"What's this? Reporting? Sakayanagi from the first years reported the eel farm project? And it actually worked? The place got shut down? All scores were reset to zero?"

"Does that mean you guys worked for almost a month for nothing? And now with the farm under investigation and sealed off to prevent evidence tampering, all four classes get zero points?"

"No, no, no, you're not getting it. This was all part of Sakayanagi's class strategy! She made sure the other three classes got nothing while her own class benefits the most by exposing the corruption. They'll definitely get bonus points from the school for that!"

"Amazing! First, Ichinose took over all the shops in the food district project, then Class D's promotion strategy, and now a report that completely wiped out the project. Are the first-year students really this powerful? They just destroyed the entire project!"

"Oh yeah, speaking of which, in Ichinose's food district, all the second-year A, B, and C classes were involved, and they all lost. Meanwhile, the second-year Class D got eliminated in the eel farm project... To sum it up, the second years got completely wiped out in this special exam?"

"Damn! Now that you mention it, that's true! All four second-year classes are finished, not one managed to secure a good result!"

Originally, everyone was just marveling at Sakayanagi's impressive move—shutting down the entire project and giving all participating classes an early vacation.

But once they started counting, they realized that the second-year students were wiped out completely, with no positive outcomes. At that moment, some of the second-year students couldn't hide their embarrassment.

It was just too tragic. Even though they had an extra year of experience, which should've given them an advantage over the first-year students, with more accumulated personal points as well.

It was similar to how Kiriyama's Class 2-B in the food district project held a large-scale event to attract a huge number of customers in a bid to regain their spot as Class A.

This is the advantage of having more personal points, a strategy that first-year students couldn't replicate.

From the very beginning, when the workplace special exam rules were announced, the homeroom teachers had already informed the students that the core task was to formulate strategies to increase the project's income.

For strategies created by first-year students, the project leader would cover 40% of the cost, while for higher-year students, the cost had to be entirely self-funded.

Given these conditions, it's clear that first-year students didn't have enough personal points to organize big events.

Take Class 1-D, for instance. They were so poor that they could only use the AN High School's reputation to film a one-minute promotional video.

Was it because Class D didn't want to involve more people? Or that they didn't want to make the advertisement longer? Not at all—it was simply because they couldn't afford it.

In contrast, Kiriyama's Class 2-B could fully self-fund a large-scale food district event, offering discounts, hiring hosts and bands, and organizing various activities.

The difference is obvious. This special exam clearly favored upper-year students, which is why the school offered various subsidies for first-year students, including a 30% scoring bonus.

But even with such advantages, the second-year students were still overtaken by the first-years.

Once everyone truly realized this, all the upperclassmen couldn't help but feel a chill run down their spines.

When did the first-years become this dangerous?

At the start, during the sports festival, everyone had only heard of Yukio, believing he was the top student of the first years, which didn't seem like much of a concern.

After all, every year has its geniuses, and this year just happened to produce an exceptional one that overshadowed the others.

Then, when Ichinose dominated the food district, becoming the de facto boss of the entire street, it made people realize that the first years had more than just Yukio—they had other exceptional talents too.

However, Ichinose's method of making all the food district owners dote on her as if she were their beloved granddaughter was unique and situational, so people didn't pay it too much attention.

Following that was Class 1-D's use of the AN High School's fame in a promotional strategy that created a huge impact with minimal effort, and finally, Sakayanagi's complete shutdown of the special exam project.

This was what shocked all the upperclassmen, making them realize that without anyone noticing, the overall strength of the first-year students had already far surpassed theirs!

Of course, it's clear that the first-year students could outclass the second-years, but when facing the third-years, the outcome was still uncertain.

As people came to this realization, the discussions became even more intense: "Doesn't that mean the yukata project with Horikita-senpai and Yukio from the first-year is the last hope for the upperclassmen?"

"That's right. If even Horikita-senpai loses to Yukio, then it won't just be the second-years. Even the third-years might be completely defeated by the first-years."

"No, no, that's impossible. There's no way Horikita-senpai would lose to Yukio. You're overestimating the younger students. Horikita-senpai is the most outstanding student council president we've had, and his class has been at the top with all A's for three years straight. He won't lose."

"I believe in Horikita-senpai too. He's our last hope and the pride of the upperclassmen."

If Horikita Manabu overheard this discussion among the upperclassmen, he'd likely feel crushed. He doesn't have the mental space right now to think about whether he's the last hope of the upperclassmen.

Currently, it's after working hours, the night has deepened, and everyone has returned to the hotel from their project sites. Horikita is busy discussing Sakayanagi's actions with his classmates.

They were reviewing everything, trying to figure out if there was an issue with Takahashi's yukata workshop, or if they could replicate a strategy and seize first place.

After holding a long meeting, they realized that Takahashi was a pretty honest businessman with no shady dealings, leaving them with no choice but to compete fairly.

Just when everyone was thinking about taking a break, Takahashi called Horikita Manabu's phone: "Horikita-kun, something terrible has happened!"

Horikita Manabu's mind went blank. What? Another problem? It felt like every time one issue at Takahashi's yukata shop was solved, another would arise. But he couldn't voice that thought. Instead, he used a calm tone to help Takahashi regain his composure: "Take your time. No need to panic."

"Mr. Takahashi, no matter what, we must remain calm. Whatever has happened, please try to explain it to me as clearly as possible."

"Well…" Takahashi hesitated for a moment, then decided to lay it all out for Horikita. "You see, it's about the yukata competition. Recently, we've made it into the top three, and our reputation has grown."

"I thought I'd invite the competition committee members out for dinner. Of course, rest assured, I'm quite experienced with this sort of thing. They were very pleased with how I hosted them."

"But it's exactly because of that, they privately informed me that several competitors have filed complaints, accusing Takahashi's Yukata Shop of unethical business practices and illegal promotions. Their accusations were terribly harsh, and now the competition organizers are in a tough spot because of the numerous complaints and reports."

"Our work might be disqualified from the competition! That's what I'm most worried about!"