COTE : Backed By Black Technology System

The next day, the boys began competing for a spot as seeded athletes. 

And the first test… was strength? 

Well, that made sense. Events like cavalry battles required a good amount of physical power. 

"Everyone, I borrowed a grip strength tester from the gym teacher!"

As soon as class started, Hirata spoke with the gym teacher and got the grip strength measuring devices.

"Let's go in order. Just measure your dominant hand and tell me the result. I'll record it. I borrowed two devices, so we'll split into groups. But let's be quick—we still need time to practice for the events."

He was about to hand the grip strength testers to Yukimura and Hondou, but before Hondou could grab one, Sudou snatched it away.

"Let me go first, Hirata. Once I measure mine, everyone will know what a real high score looks like."

Just say you want to show off. No need for excuses.

"Watch closely! This is the strength of the man leading the class!"

Sudou grinned confidently, making no effort to hide his desire to win.

"Ughhh!"

He roared while gripping the device tightly with his right hand. His shoulders trembled from the force he was using.

The numbers on the device climbed quickly, passing 50, then 60, then 70.

Finally, it stopped at 80.2. The whole class went quiet for a moment, then burst into chaos.

"That's insane!"

"Yeah! I've never seen a student with grip strength that high!"

"Hmph, it's only natural. I train regularly," Sudou said proudly, then turned to Koenji with a smug smile. "Hey, why don't you give it a try?"

"Not interested. Just ignore me." 

Koenji was calmly polishing his nails and blew on his fingertips.

"Afraid you'll lose to me? Well, I guess I can't blame you after seeing my score."

"I don't do things without a reward."

"How about a bet? 100,000 points. If you win, I'll give you 100,000. If you lose, you have to participate in the sports festival without complaints."

Kanda Shuichi glanced at Sudou in surprise.

Was this really Sudou?

He actually thought of using both bribery and provocation?

Sure enough, Koenji turned his head toward Sudou and picked up the other grip tester.

"Remember what you said, Redhead."

Without breaking a sweat, Koenji casually squeezed the device. The number shot past 75, climbed further, paused at 80.2, then jumped slightly to 80.3.

Sudou had gone all out to hit 80.2, but Koenji beat him effortlessly. The difference was obvious.

It wasn't even a competition—it was pure domination. Anyone could see Koenji was just toying with Sudou.

"Don't forget, Redhead. You owe me 100,000 points."

Koenji tossed the grip tester back to Sudou without a care.

"Damn it! This thing must be broken!"

Sudou grabbed the device and squeezed with everything he had, but this time, it didn't even reach 80.2. It stopped at exactly 80.

"Argh! Ayanokouji, your turn!"

He grabbed Ayanokouji, who was trying to quietly slip away, and shoved a grip tester into his hands, completely forgetting how crushed he had just been by Koenji.

"Uh, Sudou… what's the average for high schoolers?" Ayanokouji asked, looking unsure as he held the device.

"Huh? No idea. Around 60, maybe?"

Sixty?

One of you dares to ask, and the other actually answers like it's true.

Come on! How many high schoolers actually hit 60?

Ayanokouji adjusted his posture, gripped the device, and gave it a squeeze. The number quickly passed 40, climbed steadily to 55, and then slowed down before finally stopping at exactly 60 kg.

Kanda Shuichi watched Ayanokouji's calm expression. His shoulders didn't even shake. It was obvious—he was holding back.

No way his real strength was only 60. If he went all out, he'd probably beat Sudou. He might even be on Koenji's level.

Ayanokouji glanced up and noticed Kanda Shuichi's stunned expression.

His heart sank. Did he overdo it?

Before he could say anything, Ike ran over to Hirata, waving his tester.

"Hirata! I got 42.6. Just round it up to 50 for me, okay?"

Ayanokouji sighed. He'd definitely been dragged into this mess by Sudou. The score had already been recorded, and there was no way to change it now. All Sudou's fault.

"Hirata, I got 60."

"Huh? Ayanokouji, you're pretty strong!"

Hirata looked at him with genuine admiration.

What else could he say? He couldn't exactly admit he got tricked by Sudou.

The other students took their turns. Sotomura hit 42, while Miyamoto reached 48. Most were below 50.

But Miyake Akito surprised Kanda Shuichi.

65 kg. Aside from Koenji and Sudou, he was the strongest in the class.

"See that, Shuichi? That's the result of my training. I'm not just hanging out with Hashibara-senpai all the time."

"Yeah, yeah. You're amazing, Akito."

Finally, it was Kanda Shuichi's turn. He gave it everything he had and… 36.6 kg.

Well, at least he wasn't dead last overall. He still beat most of the girls. Of course, there was no competing with someone like Horikita.

That girl was basically a gorilla in human form. What kind of high school girl has 55 kg of grip strength?

That was almost as high as Hirata's 58 kg. Completely ridiculous.

Then it hit Kanda Shuichi. 

If Horikita ever found out he'd helped Kushida plot against her, would she storm into his room and beat him up?

After everyone finished, Hirata used the results to decide the participants for the recommended events, starting with the four-way tug-of-war.

"For tug-of-war, we'll just go by grip strength. Sudou, Miyake, Ayanokouji, and me."

Hirata wisely left out Koenji. There was no way that guy would join. Better to skip his name than waste 100,000 points replacing him later.

"But what even is a four-way tug-of-war? Never heard of it. Kinda curious."

"I didn't know at first either, so I looked into it. It's just like the name suggests—it's like a four-way tug-of-war. Four students from each class, making sixteen people in total, all pulling against each other at the same time." 

What kind of crazy idea is this? That actually sounds pretty fun. 

"Eh—Hirata, do we even have a chance anymore?" 

Just like before, the students in the class were hoping they could contribute somehow. Or maybe they just wanted to win one of the top three prizes. 

"Not really. Take the scavenger hunt race, for example. It's less about athletic skill and more about luck." 

"Luck? Then how should we decide who joins?" 

"Simple is best. Rock-paper-scissors should do, right?" 

"Or we could draw lots." 

It might not sound very reliable to leave it to luck, but there's an old saying: 

*'In this world, there's something called luck. With it, nothing is impossible!'* 

 So, deciding the participants for the scavenger hunt race by rock-paper-scissors seemed fair, and no one objected. Everyone interested joined in. 

Of course, Kanda Shuichi didn't participate. He wasn't into sports. He just thought the event sounded fun. 

After all, this wasn't just about strength or luck. It also tested social connections to some extent. 

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You can read 10 advanced chapters at my patreon.com/YeyeQiu