After I told Ming Hao about the method the school was really using to determine which class a flag belonged to, I explained the plan in detail, then parted ways after earning his agreement. Step one was already complete, gaining the class's united strength — and now, step two was also done. Step three, however, was about to commence — and it would probably be the hardest part of this whole plan, in all honesty.

Reason being, this step was out of my control. It was all up to Long Lu's charisma and leadership skills. If he could convince the class to wholeheartedly go through with this plan of mine, everything would flow smoothly from there. But alas… the chances of that happening are slim. They might accept it in the end, but they won't be that confident in it, thereby losing faith and devotion.

Even so, however, there was no panic. As long as the class cooperated and no one betrayed us — which wasn't likely since we were all on the same boat here — we should come out on top.

Soon, 7 PM rolled around. Everyone gathered back in the meeting room, and Long Lu began his speech after making eye contact with me.

"Alright, folks. So, I've come up with a plan — one that might not be rewarding a first glance, but definitely brilliant in the long run.

"

Our classmates all listened intently, waiting to see what kind of 'brilliant' plan their representative had come up with.

"Essentially, we are to completely abandon this Base of ours and put our all into helping Class A get as many flags as possible, then defending against Class B and C.

"

"…

"

The entire class just stared at him, expressions frozen on their faces. I sighed.

That really wasn't the right way to do this…

Han Xiao Bing was the first to react.

"Oi… what are you talking about?

" He demanded furiously.

"You said we could win. How are we supposed to win if we abandon our Base and help a different class?!

"

"Yeah, yeah!

"

"What the hell?!

"

Long Lu hurriedly stood up and attempted to calm everyone down.

"Guys! Listen to me!

"

After everyone reluctantly quieted down again, he took a deep breath and continued.

"… I formed an alliance with Class A. This was part of the terms. I know you all are wondering how this will work, but for fear of someone betraying the class, I cannot tell you the details of this plan. I only ask for everyone to trust me — just this once.

"

"We trusted you last time, and we placed dead last,

" a student snorted in contempt.

"Why should we trust you again?

"

Long Lu sighed.

"You all agreed, no? Believe me — all you have to do is follow this plan of mine, and victory will be ours. If it isn't, well… I will drop out, just like I promised.

"

"Hmph… what good is you dropping out going to do? Sure, we lose a burden to the class, but it doesn't cover for the large gap of points created from losing two special exams in a row,

" another added, clearly done with this class rep.

Long Lu clenched his fists and suddenly slammed them down on the table furiously, which caught everyone — including myself — off guard.

"… Fine. You don't believe in me, huh? Well then… how about this — my family is one of the Eight Great Families of Fragment. Should we not place first in this exam, I will offer you all money, high-quality resources, and a job when you graduate. I swear this in the name of my ancestors.

"

Oh…? Long Lu is also from one of the Eight Great Families? Interesting…

"This…

" The students exchanged glances.

"Hoho…

" Han Xiao Bing chuckled, clapping his hands.

"Now that's manly. I like that.

"

"Obviously, the rewards offered to you won't be nearly as good as if we come in first by the end of the school year, but it can at least guarantee a future for you,

" Long Lu continued.

"So, how about it, everyone?

"

The girls and I immediately agreed, and the rest of our classmates did as well.

Han Xiao Bing grinned and slapped the table.

"Well… if you're willing to sacrifice so much, I can tell this isn't just a whim of yours. I'll play along.

"

Couldn't you already tell it's not a whim judging from him willing to drop out…? Ah, but I guess people are greedy and just want rewards. Makes sense.

The other students reluctantly agreed as well, having been offered a deal they had no reason to refuse. Long Lu sighed, as if he already regretted his decision.

"Alright… since everyone has agreed, nothing else needs to be said. Right after the exam begins, we'll move out for Class A's Bas-

"

"Good evening, underclassmen,

" Qian Hua's familiar gentle voice suddenly resounded across the entire forest, reaching everyone's ears.

"I hope you all took the time given to familiarize yourselves with the forest and formulate plans. The exam will begin shortly, but before then, there are a few rules I purposely did not mention this morning to let you all explore with open minds.

"

Here it comes… how students will be expelled.

"While this exam is a class-vs-class fight, individual strength and contribution will also be evaluated. Look at your left wrists.

"

I glanced down, only to see a wristband of some sort suddenly materializing on it.

"Woah…

" the students were all shocked, some even frightened at the sudden appearance of these bands. On it was a screen, making it seem like a smartwatch.

"On your wrists right now are special devices that will track your score for this exam. Everyone and anyone who falls below a score of 60 will be expelled at the end of the exam.

"

"What?!

" Our classmates erupted in bewilderment at this sudden announcement, though I wasn't all too surprised. No doubt, however, the other classes were also panicking right about now.

"There are three ways to gain points — stealing flags, taking down enemies, and overall class placement. For every flag you still, it will be worth 2 points. Every enemy takedown will be worth 1. The students in the class placed in last by the end of this exam will get 20 points, 3rd will get 30 points, 2nd will get 40, and 1st will get 50. In other words, the class in 1st place is essentially guaranteed not to have any expelled members.

"

Huh… does stealing a flag from someone else deduct their points…? If so, that would ruin my plan completely…

If that was really the case, when I took the flags from Class A last-minute, the students in that class would all find out. I couldn't just take the flags from the beginning either, since they would realize they didn't gain any points…

"In addition, individual points will be updated every hour,

" Qian Hua continued, which surprised me.

"That's all. Flags will be sent out in 10 minutes, and the exam will begin then.

"

Oh… updated every hour, you say? That provides some leeway for me. I could let the Class A members take all the flags, then make my move an hour before the exam ends. That is quite the tight schedule, and honestly, I'm not sure if I could make it or not, but this was better than nothing.

As her broadcast ended, the students quickly began panicking.

"C-Class rep!

" A girl in our class raised her hand with a worried expression on her face.

"What do we do… if we only help Class A, we won't get any points!

"

Long Lu sighed.

"Calm down. We will be playing extremely aggressive in the first part of this exam, and we'll be responsible for taking out the other classes' forces while Class A infiltrates their Base and steals the flags. This will earn us plenty of takedown points. In the second half, the other classes will start playing aggressive themselves, once again giving us an opportunity to get more takedown points. And besides, we'll be taking first anyway, so there's no need to worry.

"

"Erm… but in case we don't get first and end up expelled…

"

"Don't worry about it,

" Long Lu cut in, tired of all this panicking.

"Even if we are all expelled, I already guaranteed you all futures, no? Just believe in me — trust.

"

"… O-Okay.

"

The girl fell silent, but she appeared to still not be convinced.

Well… this is the best possible outcome. Long Lu's thoughts aligned with mine, letting Class A do the infiltrating, but to the rest of our classmates who didn't understand the details of my plan, this seemed pretty unrealistic.

Soon after, five black flags suddenly appeared on the table between us, surprising us all.

"Well… seems like the test has begun,

" Long Lu chuckled.

"Everyone, begin heading in Class A's direction — you'll be safe, since no other class will be out this quickly.

"

The girls and Long Lu all set out along with the rest of my classmates, while I sucked all the flags on the table into my Space Locket, preparing to hand them over to Ming Hao.

It was time to employ the core of my plan, a special new Legendary Tier Shadow Element spell — Infinite Illusions.