COTE : Backed By Black Technology System-Chapter 180 - : The Ongoing Competition and Horikita Being Targeted

After the 100-meter sprint, the next event was the 110-meter hurdles.

Just like the sprint, this event also tested speed, but with the added difficulty of obstacles. Running fast alone wasn't enough—hitting a hurdle would add time to the final result.

For every hurdle knocked down, 0.5 seconds would be added. With ten hurdles placed every ten meters along the 110-meter track, knocking all of them down would mean an extra five seconds added to the final time.

So, it wasn't just about speed—accuracy in jumping was just as important.

Well, none of this really mattered to Kanda Shuichi. He wasn't fast, and he wasn't good at jumping either. Besides, starting from this event, the school had introduced a new rule.

Once the first seven runners in a group reached the finish line, the eighth runner wouldn't need to finish the race. Instead, they'd be taken off the track halfway to make space for the next round.

Seriously?

They're just messing with me at this point.

Of course, protests were useless.

So, after everyone else in his group finished the race, Kanda Shuichi was politely escorted off the track by the referee.

"Damn it, they're looking down on me!"

Even after leaving the track, he was still feeling frustrated.

However, not everyone was upset about this rule. For example, the chubby guy in their class, Sotomura, was actually thrilled. He could run, but hurdles were his weakness, so not having to finish the race was a huge relief for him.

Soon after, the boys from Class D all finished their races. As expected, Hirata, Miyake, and Sudou easily took first place.

The others, like Makita and Nishino, weren't lucky enough to win this time.

"Sigh... I was prepared for this, but still, not getting a good rank feels disappointing."

The voice came from Yukimura. He had finished in seventh place in both the 100-meter sprint and the 110-meter hurdles—one spot ahead of Kanda Shuichi.

He then turned to Kanda Shuichi, who looked completely indifferent. "Kanda, don't you feel frustrated at all?"

"Frustrated? Why? If it were you, even if you finished last, it wouldn't affect your test scores, right?"

"I've never failed a test before, but this definitely lowers my overall performance. Plus, this result puts extra pressure on our class and the Red Team..."

After saying that, Yukimura shook his head.

He had already accepted the fact that his athletic performance would suffer. He had even planned to place himself in the bottom ten to protect classmates who were at risk of expulsion.

But now that it was actually happening, he couldn't help but feel uneasy...

After all, he was the type who always aimed for the top—his goal was to reach Class A, no matter what. That was why he was always so harsh on people like Sudou, who didn't take their studies seriously.

Yet now, the tables had turned.

He was the one dragging the team down, and that was what really frustrated him.

"Yukimura, no one is perfect. There are things you can do that others can't, and there are things others can do that you can't. That's just how it is."

Kanda Shuichi smiled. "If one person could do everything, then what would be the point of having other people around?"

"It's because there are things we can't do alone that teams exist, right?"

"More importantly, if someone was good at everything, people would probably start to dislike them."

"Besides, having flaws is part of what makes us human."

Kanda Shuichi wasn't sure if Yukimura really understood, but he still took the time to say all of this, hoping Yukimura would learn to be more forgiving—not just toward others, but also toward himself.

Even if Kanda Shuichi couldn't always follow this advice himself, that didn't stop him from telling others to do so.

After the boys' first-year events ended, it was time for the girls' hurdle race.

In Class D, the most anticipated participant was definitely Horikita. During the 100-meter sprint earlier, Ibuki from Class C had deliberately targeted her. There was no telling if something similar would happen this time.

Of course, Kanda Shuichi thought worrying about this was pointless. He was sure that Ryuen wouldn't let Horikita have an easy time.

Paired in the same race as Horikita was Sakura Airi, who was also not good at sports.

Sakura took several deep breaths, seemingly trying to calm her nerves.

"Sakura, you got this!"

Kanda Shuichi's sudden encouragement startled Sakura. She quickly turned to look at him, and when she met his gaze, she seemed to get even more nervous.

Uh... she's not going to faint, is she?

Her good friend, Hasebe Haruka, saw the exchange and looked worried.

"Horikita's luck doesn't seem too great," Hirata commented after looking at the lineup. He quickly explained, "See the girls in lanes three and seven? That's Yajima and Kinoshita from the track club. They're the fastest girls in Class C."

"I see..."

Once the race began, Horikita kept pace with them, running and jumping right behind them. But the two from Class C didn't give her a single opening.

Despite being the most watched athlete from Class D, Horikita Suzune finished in third place.

Hirata shifted his gaze to Kanda Shuichi—not because Horikita had lost, but because something about the way the race was arranged felt off.

It was strange. Normally, if Class C wanted to maximize their points, they would have placed Yajima and Kinoshita in separate races.

All the other classes had done it that way, and it had worked well for them.

Even Class C had been following this strategy—at least, until this round.

So suddenly putting both of their best runners in the same group as Horikita didn't seem like a coincidence.

But nothing is certain. What if Ryuen just guessed correctly? Hirata found it strange but wasn't sure, so he turned to Kanda Shuichi.

Kanda Shuichi nodded, then shook his head, signaling that something was off, but the details were unclear and needed further confirmation.

However, in Hirata's eyes, it looked like Kanda Shuichi had already figured it out and was telling him to keep quiet.

After the hurdle race, the third event was the pole-toppling competition.

This is a classic Japanese sport. The competition is divided into two teams, with poles set up in the field. Each team is split into attackers and defenders, and the first team to knock down the opponent's pole wins.

It's a simple yet intense and dangerous game.

"You guys better win! That idiot Koenji isn't here, so you have no excuses!" Sudou shouted, rallying the boys from Class D and Class A.

"Haha, get ready to see Class A's strength!"

Shibata Sou, the athletic guy Hirata had seen at the pool before, gave a thumbs-up and flashed a bright smile.

The pole-toppling competition is a best-of-three match, meaning if a team wins twice in a row, the third round isn't needed.

For the first round, the attacking and defending teams were set: Sudou led Class D, while Shibata and Kanzaki led Class A.

Looking at the opposing lineup, it seemed like the defenders were members of Class B, led by Katsuragi, while the attackers were from Ryuen's Class C.

Class C looked particularly troublesome—not only did they have Ishizaki, Komiya, and Kondo, the trio who had fought Sudou before, but they also had Yamada Albert, a strong mixed-race student.

And on top of that, there was Ryuen himself, a venomous snake who could strike at any moment. This was shaping up to be a tough match.

Class B, on the other hand, had the steady and reliable Katsuragi. There was also a tough-looking guy with an unfriendly expression—Hirata vaguely remembered seeing him before; his name was probably Kito Hayato.

Besides those two, there were others like Hashimoto Masayoshi, but they were more of the standard type, nothing too special.

Pole-toppling is a contest of strength, and unfortunately, Class D didn't have many strong players.

In reality, only a few people can use their full strength in this event. The area around the pole is limited, yet nearly forty students from both teams are squeezed in.

Trying to use everyone's full strength is nothing more than a pipe dream. That's why Kanda Shuichi had no intention of stepping into the inner circle.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

If too many people get involved, things could get messy. If Ryuen takes the chance to play dirty, Kanda Shuichi won't stand a chance.

After all, while the rules forbid intentionally hurting others in this event, physical contact is still allowed.

Kanda Shuichi had no intention of betting on Ryuen's sense of fairness.

No, actually, he trusted Ryuen's personality too well. That's exactly why he wouldn't take any risks. Once was enough—there would never be a second time!

"Hey, don't worry! Even if I'm the only one, I'll make sure to take down the opponent!"

Sudou grinned confidently.

"You're supposed to knock down the pole, not the people..."

Someone reminded him from the side.

"I can't promise that! I'm still pissed about what happened with Koenji!"

Before Class D could settle down, the signal for the match to start rang out.

Sudou let out a battle cry and charged straight toward the enemy's pole. The more enthusiastic students followed right behind him, rushing into Class C's side.

Of course, not everyone was eager to fight. Some students, who disliked conflicts, hesitated at the back.

"Oh crap, let's go, Ayanokouji! I don't want Sudou to kill me for slacking off!"

Ike, who had been hanging back, shouted and took off running. Ayanokouji quickly followed.

As for Kanda Shuichi, he lagged behind on purpose, even circling around to the edge of the field to observe the match from a safe distance.

And just as he expected, even though direct contact between attacking teams was forbidden, once enough people got involved, things got chaotic fast.

Watching the mess unfold, Kanda Shuichi felt relieved that he had snuck away early.

---

————— ----

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