Cheat Million Love

After spending a wonderful time with Leona at Skyview Lounge, Nic returned to his room feeling content. He dropped onto his bed, still thinking about Leona's smile, which lingered vividly in his mind. But his peace was soon interrupted when the system suddenly activated.

"You have successfully completed your third date with Leona. Special passive acquired: Anti-bad smell."

Nic blinked, taking a moment to process that. "Bad smell? What's that even good for?" he muttered with a sigh.

"This passive allows you to completely ignore all unpleasant smells. You won't be bothered by any foul odor."

Nic just shrugged. "I mean, I guess that's not bad. Still, kinda weird. Are you trying to tell me I'm about to be surrounded by stinky stuff?" He chuckled before deciding to get some sleep.

---

The next morning, the school hall was packed with students gathered for an announcement. The principal stood at the microphone, looking both serious and excited.

"Alright, everyone. As part of our annual program, this week we'll be holding a camping event combined with survival training. This will serve as preparation for the upcoming wilderness survival competition."

The room immediately buzzed. Some students cheered, while others looked less enthusiastic. Nic, standing in the middle of the crowd, just gave a small smile. "Camping, huh? Sounds like fun," he murmured.

"Also," the principal continued, "you'll be assigned to mixed teams based on a random draw. So don't be surprised if your classmates aren't on your team. That's part of the challenge!"

Nic rolled his eyes. "Of course. This is gonna be messy, I can already tell," he muttered.

---

The day of departure arrived. Several buses lined the school parking lot, waiting for the students. Nic walked slowly toward the bus assigned to him, but stopped for a moment when he caught sight of another bus nearby.

A girl stood outside it, chatting casually with her friends. Her short blonde hair gleamed under the morning sun. She looked confident and cheerful, and something about her aura made her stand out from everyone around her.

"Love Map activated. Target detected. This girl is suitable to be the next girlfriend."

Nic heard the notification from the system, but didn't show any reaction. "This system never quits, huh," he thought, giving the girl one last glance before boarding his bus.

Once inside, Nic noticed none of his girlfriends were on the same bus. That struck him as odd. "They're not here? Guess they got different buses," he muttered as he looked for a seat.

He ended up sitting next to a younger-looking student who glanced at him nervously a few times before finally speaking up.

"Uh… You're a Senior, right? Eleventh grade?"

Nic turned and gave a small smile. "Yeah. You're in tenth?"

The boy nodded. "My name's Fin. Sorry if I'm... not good at talking."

"Don't worry about it, Fin," Nic replied casually. "I'm not that great at conversations either."

They both laughed lightly, though Fin still looked a bit stiff. Nic decided to help break the ice.

"So, Fin, have you ever gone camping before?"

"Nope. This is my first time. I'm kinda nervous, especially with the survival training and all," Fin admitted honestly.

Nic nodded. "I don't do it often either. But hey, just try to enjoy it. There's always something fun to find."

Fin nodded slowly, starting to feel a little more at ease.

During the ride, Nic wondered about the reason behind the random team assignments. "This school really loves to complicate things," he muttered. "If none of my girlfriends are in my group, what am I supposed to do? Who do I mess around with now?"

Still, he knew this was a good chance to meet new people. Maybe something interesting was waiting ahead—even if he didn't know what it was yet. He spent the rest of the ride casually chatting with his girlfriends through messages.

Outside the window, the cityscape slowly gave way to endless stretches of greenery. The bus continued deeper into the countryside.

---

After a long ride, the group finally arrived at the campsite. All the students got off the bus and were directed to a wide field surrounded by dense forest. Tents had already been set up in preparation for the night.

At the center of it all, Nia—the always-composed student council president—stepped onto a small stage set up by the event staff. With a clear voice, she made the announcement:

"Attention, everyone! Tomorrow, we'll be having survival training for those who want to join the upcoming competition. Teams for the training will consist of six people, and they'll be split from the same bus groups. But this is optional. If you don't want to join, you're free to just enjoy regular camping activities here."

Some students looked excited, while others seemed hesitant. Among them, all of Nic's girlfriends chose not to join. They didn't want to be separated from him, especially knowing they probably wouldn't end up on the same team.

Nic, however, decided to join. His team was made up of:

* Fin, the quiet kid from Class 10-A

* Hima, a cheerful girl from Class 10-C

* Nic, obviously, from Class 11-B

* Dinna, a smart girl from Class 11-A

* Zen, a senior from 12-C known for his arrogance

* Kiyan, from 12-D, who always looked dead serious

Training would start tomorrow, so today was all about settling in and socializing.

---

Instead of bonding with his new team, Nic chose to hang out with his girlfriends as usual. They gathered around him, filling the area with their familiar chaotic energy.

Vivi and Leona looked annoyed.

"Why'd you even sign up for it, Nic?!" Vivi complained, arms crossed. "If I'd known I couldn't be on your team, I would've joined just to mess with your group!"

Leona nodded. "Same here! But... ugh, whatever. Let's just enjoy regular camping."

Nic grinned. "You guys are overthinking it. It's just for a day."

Meanwhile, Yui was off to the side, sketching the forest landscape with full concentration.

"Yui, drawing again?" Nic asked.

"This forest. The colors are beautiful," she replied shortly, her pencil still moving.

Violet was eating with Mika and Lily nearby, and as expected, things got rowdy.

"Lily, that's my food!" Mika shouted, trying to grab back her half-eaten sandwich.

"What? I thought you were done with it," Lily replied casually. Violet just laughed while chewing her own food, watching the two like they were kids.

Elsewhere, Jenny and Fanny sat next to Nic, both looking a bit grumpy.

"Nic, can't you just not go? I'm bored here," Jenny pouted.

"Don't be a baby, Jenny," Fanny chimed in, glancing at Nic. "But… yeah, it is boring without you. Makes me wanna punch someone."

Nic sighed. "I'm gone for one day and you all act like this?"

Olivia, on the other hand, was watching Melody play a flute. The melody was so beautiful, it drew in attention from other students.

"Amazing, Melody. You really have a gift. You made the whole place go quiet," Olivia said, smiling warmly.

Nearby, Luna was fiddling with something suspicious. Nic narrowed his eyes. "Luna, what are you up to?"

"Oh, just a little experiment. It's a secret!" she replied with a mischievous grin.

Raina and Eliz giggled from the side as they watched the others complain about not being able to join Nic.

"Look at them. So dramatic," Raina said.

"Free drama," Eliz nodded.

In the middle of it all, some students unfamiliar with Nic looked around in confusion at the massive group of girls around him. One of them walked over.

"Uh… what's going on here? Why is it so crowded?"

Before Nic could answer, Nia walked over, having wrapped up her duties.

"Oh, this? This is the Unity Club. Curious? Feel free to join—oh wait, sorry, not open to new members," she added with a playful smile, patting the student on the shoulder before joining Nic's group.

---

Meanwhile, on the far side of the campsite, Sylvia—the strong, respected class president of the seniors—sat quietly staring at the sky. Her expression was serious, as if she were anticipating something bad.

"Everyone, make sure you're fully prepared for tomorrow," she instructed her team.

"Why so serious, Syl?" asked one of her teammates from her class.

"I have a feeling this one's going to be tough. So just be alert," she replied firmly.

Her team didn't seem worried. "As long as we have you, we're gonna win for sure!" one of the underclassmen said enthusiastically.

Sylvia gave a faint smile. Deep down, she knew tomorrow's challenge wasn't going to be easy.

To be continued...