While Hiyori and Symon were chatting in her mind, the remaining few people from Table Five arrived one after another. The time had just turned 9:50.
After guiding and confirming that all students were seated, Class A's Teacher Mashima stood in the center of the hall, holding a red and white megaphone, and announced formally:
"We will now begin the final special exam of this semester!"
As his voice fell, from a hidden door in the corner of the casino, twenty croupiers in black tuxedos led female waitstaff out. They walked out of the door, each taking their place at a student table, and began distributing chips.
Hiyori Shiina glanced over. The chips didn't seem any different from the ones she had used before.
Each person received 10 red and 9 black chips. Red chips represented 1,000 points, and black chips represented 10,000 points.
While the students were still collecting their chips, Teacher Mashima raised the megaphone and began to explain:
"Before the exam begins, I will provide some supplementary explanations on a few basic issues."
"First, although the chips used in this exam look the same as the ones you used the past two days, they are not interchangeable. The RFID chips inside have also been modified. Please do not mix the two, to avoid creating unnecessary work for the staff."
"Second, to prevent any misunderstanding of the rules of Texas Hold'em, please remember four principles before the game begins."
At this point, Teacher Mashima raised his right hand, holding up four fingers, and issued a stern warning:
"First, you are forbidden from hiding your own chips. Violators will have their chips confiscated. Hiding another person's chips will be considered theft. We will investigate seriously, and if confirmed, it will result in immediate expulsion."
"Second, you are forbidden from revealing your hole cards or folded cards before the showdown. Depending on the situation, we will issue penalties for any violations. Watch what you say and do."
"Third, you are forbidden from wasting time without reason. If you need to leave your seat for a special reason, depending on the specific circumstances, we may require the violator to compensate the other players with chips."
"Fourth—all bets are final. None of your decisions can be retracted."
"That is all."
Having said that, Teacher Mashima turned his wrist to look at his watch, confirming the time was just right. He then surveyed the crowd once more and announced formally,
"I now declare the Supplementary Special Exam officially open!"
As his voice fell, all the croupiers in the casino simultaneously opened new decks of cards. With the sharp 'rip' of plastic being torn, the curtain finally rose on this special exam.
At Table Five, while the croupier was still shuffling the cards, Hiyori Shiina raised her eyes and scanned the people at the table, only to see:
Chihiro Shiranami and Sō Shibata were huddled together nervously, whispering about something. She could vaguely hear words like "God of Gamblers," but couldn't quite make it out.
In contrast, Ishizaki's posture was the most relaxed. He sat sprawled in his chair, looking as if he wasn't taking the exam seriously at all.
Class D's Haruki Yamauchi was much the same, sitting casually in his chair, though his gaze would occasionally sneak toward the girls at the table.
As for the remaining two—Airi Sakura and Miki Yamamura—they were both staring at her with wide eyes, looking like they wanted to say hello but didn't quite dare, clearly shy in a crowd.
Seeing this, Hiyori thought for a moment, then clasped her hands together and smiled playfully,
"Ara~ Are you not going to say hello to me? You'll make me sad, you know."
"No!" x2
Miki Yamamura instantly stiffened and waved her hands, saying,
"H-Hiyori, good morning! Please, let's have a good game!"
"I... I... Me too, Hiyori-san, please... please let's have a good game..." Airi Sakura also hurriedly waved her hands, her words stumbling over each other.
Hiyori smiled back in response,
"You don't have to be so nervous. Being placed at the same table as friends must be a wonderful stroke of fate..."
"No, I didn't want to be at the same table as you at all, Hiyori," Chihiro Shiranami interjected from the side.
"I have absolutely no idea how to win, you know."
As she spoke, Miki Yamamura and Airi Sakura glanced at her with some confusion, unable to understand why she would think that.
Just then, the croupier finally finished shuffling the cards and placed the small and big blind buttons in front of Ishizaki and Hiyori respectively, saying,
"Before the game begins, please place your blinds."
Hiyori Shiina picked up a red chip and pushed it forward first. Beside her, Ishizaki casually tossed out two red chips.
After the cards were dealt, Hiyori Shiina picked up her hand and glanced at it: K♦, K♠.
After seeing her cards, the girl's violet eyes flickered for a moment. After some thought, she closed her two hole cards and pushed them toward the croupier, choosing to fold.
Beside her, Ishizaki was just about to push all his chips in. Seeing this, his eyes widened in an instant!
Wait, what are you doing, Hiyori?
"Planning to let out the line to catch a big fish?" Symon pondered for a moment and quickly understood the girl's thinking.
"That's right."
Hiyori looked at the others at the table who were sneaking glances at her, and replied softly in her mind,
"Everyone's guard is up, after all."
If others needed to think about how to advance, she needed to consider how to win even more.
With everyone wary of her, and with the option to fold indefinitely to preserve chips, the result of her entering the game aggressively now would probably be to make the atmosphere at the table extremely tense. While she would certainly still win that way, she definitely wouldn't win a large amount of points.
Only when everyone's chip stacks started to become unbalanced, when the table became chaotic, when people's hearts began to be swayed by the gambler's spirit and greed, that would be the time for her to formally enter the game.
Meanwhile, the others at the table saw that Hiyori had already folded, but they didn't think too much of it. After the dealing round ended, only the three boys—Ishizaki, Shibata, and Yamauchi—remained at the table. The pot had accumulated to 6,000 points.
Since it was only the first hand, everyone played rather cautiously. In the subsequent flop and turn rounds, all three chose to check.
As the final river card was dealt, the community cards on the table were now: ♦9, ♦Q, ♠A, ♦8, ♠J.
And at this moment, on the previously placid table, someone finally broke the silence, ending the cycle of checking. It was none other than:
Yamauchi, sitting in the last position, scratched his head and said with a laugh,
"Aah, isn't this a little too boring?"
As he spoke, Yamauchi casually reached for his stack, grabbing two red chips. Feeling that wasn't quite enough, he added two more, clasped them together, and placed them directly on the table, saying with a grin,
"I raise to 4,000!"
As his voice fell, Ishizaki unhesitatingly threw his hand to the croupier.
Although his hand wasn't bad, he had Hiyori on his side, so there was no need for him to play himself. He was going to have an easy win sooner or later anyway.
"Ah, did I bet too much?" Yamauchi scratched his head, seeming a bit troubled. He turned to look at the last player, Shibata, with an expectant look on his face.
Seeing this, Shibata hesitated for a long while before tentatively placing four chips on the table.
Just as he was about to speak, he saw Yamauchi's mouth instantly break into a brilliant smile. Unable to wait, he stood up and raked all 14,000 chips from the pot toward himself, chuckling,
"Haha, I knew someone would take the bait!"
As he spoke, Yamauchi looked at the stunned Shibata, flipped over his hole cards and declared with a grin,
"Three Queens and a pair of Jacks. It's impossible for a bigger hand to appear in this game. I win, hehe."
Shibata's face immediately twisted as if he had eaten a bitter melon—in short, he was filled with regret, immense regret!
Ishizaki turned his head away and couldn't help but shout,
"Can you not laugh so disgustingly, you bastard?"
It was unclear whether he was disgusted with Yamauchi or relieved that he himself hadn't taken the bait.
Yamauchi patted his head,
"Ah, sorry! Sorry! I was just too happy."
While the three boys were talking, the croupier took one red chip from Yamauchi's winnings and began to shuffle the cards again.
At the same time, Hiyori Shiina watched all of this quietly and said softly in her mind,
"Mr. Ghost, it looks like it's already started, hasn't it?"
Symon sounded slightly surprised,
"Hmm... I thought it would take a few more rounds. I didn't expect it to go so smoothly."
Someone performed, and someone was deceived. Someone was joyful, and someone was regretful.
Although the storm was still brewing and hadn't fully spread, and the balance of points had not yet been broken, one thing was certain—at least this Haruki Yamauchi would definitely not be able to escape today.
____
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