While the two were chatting idly in their minds, Hiyori Shiina had already taken off her socks and changed into the school's summer uniform. She was about to leave and head to the Card and Game Room to assemble as instructed in the email.
Just then, the girl's phone rang. The call was from Ryūen.
Hiyori Shiina glanced at it and said softly in her mind, "He's probably calling about the special exam, but it seems the school doesn't intend for us to do much preparation this time..."
"There's really not much to say about this exam."
As he said this, Symon took control of the body and answered the phone, "This is Hiyori Shiina."
"It's me," Ryūen said calmly, getting straight to the point. "You've read the rules. What are your thoughts."
"None. This exam is a pure test of individual skill. There isn't much room for strategy."
Symon replied casually, sitting back down on the sofa, and explained in a calm tone, "The exam is divided into three phases. The total points for the first phase are 16 million, with 4 million for each class. The second phase has 10 million, and the third phase has 4 million, for a total of 30 million points, plus 300 class points."
"On the surface, the rewards for this exam seem high."
"But in reality, because of the rule that takes five percent of the pot each hand, combined with the super long-haul battle of 5 rounds per phase—one round is when the dealer button makes a full circle around all the players—it's doubtful whether even 20 million of those 30 million points will remain in the end."
"And on top of that, for these 20 million points, the school will also collect all the chips at the end of each phase, ensuring that all the chips don't end up concentrated in the hands of a single class."
"When you calculate it all out, you'll find that—even if you get first place, the final class point gain from this exam will absolutely not exceed 250 points. That's the actual return on this exam."
On the other end of the line, Ryūen let out a chuckle upon hearing this—if this exam hadn't prohibited all forms of chip trading, he would definitely find a class, have them throw their games to advance his own people to the second round, and end the exam while also making a tidy profit. Unfortunately, he couldn't do that.
Symon paid no mind to his attitude, paused for a moment, and continued, "Also, unlike previous exams—this one's advancement rules don't consider class factors at all. It's purely based on individual performance."
"If you want to talk about the biggest room for strategy, it's the rule about cheating—the penalty is merely forfeiting your current chips to the pot. Compared to the massive rewards for advancing each round, this penalty is practically negligible."
"However, whether it's hiding cards, swapping cards, or using props to cheat, the former requires long-practiced sleight of hand, and for the latter, there's too little preparation time. But you could agree on some signals, like touching your ear when you have a good hand."
"Also, relying on the first round's blind rules, people with little confidence can choose a conservative strategy in this phase. That way, after 5 rounds, an individual can at worst still retain 85,000 personal points."
"But this conservative strategy has a fatal flaw—it basically means giving up any chance of advancing to the next phase."
"What's particularly hard to accept is that the points for advancing to the second phase are a bit too high. Each person gets 500,000 points, a five-fold increase compared to the first phase."
"Beyond that, during the exam, classmates at the same table can cooperate, find an opportunity to go all-in, and intentionally lose their points to another person, directly raising the advancement threshold."
"Because this strategy is viable, and since the second phase tables only have 5 people, once the number of students from a class advancing to the second phase is too low, those who advance will likely face being ganged up on. Every time they fold, the chip gap could instantly widen to an unacceptable level, making advancement to the third round practically impossible."
"Under these circumstances, adopting a conservative strategy in the first phase is basically slow suicide."
"As for the situation in the second and third phases, we can only analyze that after the point differences and advancement list from the first phase are released. For now, that's all."
"Is that so..." Ryūen sounded thoughtful upon hearing this, then sneered, "Just what I wanted."
With that, Ryūen hung up, leaving only a dial tone.
Immediately after, in the Class C chat room, one message after another began to pop up, all of them commands from Ryūen.
Hiyori regained control of her body. Through the girl's perspective, Symon took a quick look.
It was nothing more than Ryūen asking if there were any unconventional talents who knew how to cheat at cards. The answer, of course, was no. He then talked about cooperation within groups and set up some signals.
But since it wasn't really applicable to her, Hiyori gave it a quick glance, confirmed there was no information worth noting, and then slipped on a pair of small black leather shoes. She left her room, joined a classmate on the elevator, and arrived at the seventh-floor casino.
The casino still had its previous splendid golden appearance. None of the furnishings had been changed in the slightest. Even the slot machines still kept their colorful lights flashing, their jingles pleasant to the ear. The entire atmosphere of the casino seemed completely unaffected by the exam.
Upon arriving, the homeroom teachers for each class were already in position, guiding the students into the main hall to find their seats.
Hiyori walked a few steps into the hall and soon saw Chihiro Shiranami stand up with a happy expression, calling out, "Hiyori-chan, over here, over here!"
Hiyori followed the voice and went over, looking at the number card on the seat: "Table 5, Seat 1 — Hiyori Shiina."
She then looked at the remaining number cards on the table:
Seat 2: Class C, Daichi Ishizaki
Seat 3: Class A, Miki Yamamura
Seat 4: Class B, Chihiro Shiranami
Seat 5: Class B, Sō Shibata
Seat 6: Class D, Airi Sakura
Seat 7: Class D, Haruki Yamauchi
After reading the group list, Hiyori Shiina tilted her head in confusion and turned to look at Table 4 next to them:
Seat 1 was Class B's Ichinose. The Class C members were Manabe and Rika. The rest were people she couldn't name, basically sacrificial pawns.
Table 6 wasn't much different. Seat 1 was Kaneda, partnered with his classmate, Mariko. The other seats were filled with names she'd hardly heard of, except for Class D's Kanji Ike, who was slightly familiar. He was a notorious show-off in the first year, impossible not to recognize.
Following the girl's perspective, Symon also quickly noticed the situation and complained in his mind, "I am now absolutely certain—this group list was definitely adjusted on purpose. Never mind that there's not a single strong player in sight, but the empty spot from Sakayanagi's absence just had to be at our table. I wouldn't believe for a second there isn't some shady business behind this."
Hiyori Shiina's eyes softened slightly. She said gently in her mind, "It probably doesn't matter...."
___
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