After a brief interlude, Ryūen, who had been disqualified for cheating, was escorted directly out of the exam venue.
"Now announcing the results of the second round!"
Mashima-sensei looked at the nineteen examinees seated before him. His gaze paused for a fleeting moment on the students from his own class, his expression slightly complex, before he spoke in a clear voice: "Likewise, for this round, only the list of qualifiers will be announced. Please calculate the scores yourselves."
"The first qualifier—Class C, Hiyori Shiina."
As his voice fell, everyone in the venue turned to look at the girl.
Hiyori Shiina paid them no mind; lowering her head, she picked up her fork again and ate her cake in small bites, beginning to replenish her energy for the next round of the game.
The school's arrangement was intended to let students eat something during the break after folding their hands. They hadn't anticipated encountering Hiyori, someone who didn't play by the rules at all and played 25 rounds straight. As a result, she and Symon had been starving until now.
Although she didn't feel it was much of an issue, a certain ghost had been stifled by it for quite a while.
While the girl ate her small cake, someone in Class C's chat room had already started listing the point standings following the end of the second round:
『Satoru Kaneda: Class A: 5.8 million points, Class B: 6.25 million points, Class C: 3.75 million points, Class D: 7 million points.』
『Satoru Kaneda: Shiina, Kanzaki, Ayanokōji, Kōenji. Considering that no one from Class A advanced to the third round, Class A's score is now fixed. If she doesn't want to end up in last place, Shiina-san needs to win 1.05 million points in the final round.』
『Kakeru Ryūen: Heh, a loss is a loss. I was underprepared this time. If I had just learned a method to cheat at cards beforehand, I wouldn't have had to pin my hopes on a woman.』
『Satoru Kaneda: It's good that you can think that way.』
『Mio Ibuki: Don't you guys think Class D is weird? Class D has the most people advancing in both the second and third rounds.』
『Shiho Manabe: Just good luck, right? Look at Class A, they don't have a single qualifier.』
[Shiho Manabe has been muted by the group owner for 12 hours]
In a certain dormitory room on the fourth floor, Kei Karuizawa clenched her fist. Watching Ayanokōji seated at Table 1 on the TV screen, the slight confusion in her eyes gradually turned into determination.
To be able to make it to the end in such a competition was itself the best proof of ability. Her choice to abandon Hirata and defect to Ayanokōji's command was indeed correct.
Just as the girl was thinking this—Knock, knock, knock! Three raps on the door.
Chiaki Matsushita, worn out and just returned from the casino, walked through the door, greeted by the enthusiastic welcome of Nene Mori and Satsuki Shinohara.
"Chiaki! How did you do it? Qualifying, I mean!" Nene Mori quickly went to meet her, pulled her back to the sofa, and diligently began massaging her friend's shoulders.
Chiaki Matsushita was stunned for a moment, then casually offered an excuse: "It was just good luck. Look, didn't I lose miserably in the second round..."
This was a lie. She was inherently a very clever person; she had simply chosen to hide herself after seeing the state of Class D upon enrollment.
It was just that the strategy for this exam was too bizarre. It was truly, truly difficult to suppress one's desire to win in such a pure individual competition. It wasn't until she came to her senses just now that she realized she had forgotten about hiding her abilities.
"But you still kept over 300,000 points, right? That's way stronger than those annoying guys in Class A."
Shinohara seemed to dislike Class A very much, wearing a rare smile on her face: "You definitely wouldn't know since you were taking the exam, but we could see it clearly from here—Class A lost terribly this time."
"I only know that no one from Class A advanced to the third round..." Chiaki Matsushita asked with slight confusion, "Is Class A's score very low?"
"Not just ordinarily low," Kei Karuizawa brushed her hair aside nearby, casually interjecting. "Just like at your table, Class A basically exited with zero points. Aside from a girl named Asuka Shiraishi, only that bald guy retained some points."
"Kei-chan seems very happy today." Seeing the girl actively join the conversation, Nene Mori's attention was instantly diverted.
"Huh? Am I...?" Kei Karuizawa froze, her eyes darting away to avoid her friend's curious gaze. She lifted her chin, forcing a calm demeanor as she spoke: "Isn't this how I always am?"
Beside her, Shinohara pretended not to notice her evasiveness, waving her hand with a laugh. "Well, looking at you these past two days, you always looked like you had something on your mind. Chiaki and I were worried. Could it be that your period came early this month?"
Karuizawa: "Why would you think that?!"
Chiaki Matsushita smiled as she watched her friends banter. After a while, she finally turned her gaze to the LCD TV screen, and her expression instantly turned bizarre—
Round one, first hand. After the dealing round ended, Hiyori Shiina and Rokusuke Kōenji pushed all their chips onto the table simultaneously, casually saying: "All in."
Chiaki Matsushita was shocked on the spot: Wait, is this how this game is played?!
Obviously—no matter how smart one is, there is an insurmountable chasm between a girl and a genius.
For example: Mortals can never understand what Kōenji calls "Beauty".
Gulp... Actually, including Symon, Hiyori, Ayanokōji, Kanzaki, Ryūen, and even Sakayanagi, who was far away on the other side of the ocean watching the live broadcast, no one could understand it.
On the TV, Rokusuke Kōenji swept a glance at Kanzaki and Ayanokōji, who were still making small movements, then turned to the dealer, crossed his arms, and smiled confidently: "Deal the cards."
The dealer nodded at the words and casually spread out the five community cards:
Only then did Kōenji reach out, pick up the two hole cards belonging to him on the table, cut the cards with a casual snap of his fingers, and spread the two cards on the table:
Hiyori Shiina tilted her head, reached out to check her hand cards, and after a brief thought, spread them open with a smile:
Kōenji couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
Hiyori Shiina's smile remained unchanged.
Kanzaki and Ayanokōji looked as if they were seeing gods.
At the same time, outside the exam venue, the students watching the exam in front of their TVs were in an equal uproar:
"Damn it! Four of the same card, this is obviously cheating, can't there be a rematch?!" — This was a student from Class D, furious in their impotence.
"I really want to learn that!" — This was an excited student from Class C.
"This isn't fair at all!" — This was an angry student from Class B.
"If we could do that too, we probably wouldn't have lost so miserably." — This was a sighing student from Class A.
Meanwhile, Symon also teased with a laugh in his heart: "Facts have proved—cheating carries risks, switching cards requires caution, but supernatural powers are ultimately no match for destiny."
Hearing this, Hiyori Shiina chuckled softly, responding gently in her heart: "I didn't see Kōenji-kun's movement when he switched cards just now... Did you notice anything, Mr. Ghost?"
"Don't ask me, my eyesight isn't even as good as yours."
"Is that so... By the way, how would you win if you encountered such an opponent, Mr. Ghost?"
"Simple. If I can't afford to lose, I call the police. Let no one have a good time. Anyway, thinking of taking advantage of me is impossible."
Ps: (This story will only have 2 extra chapters, because I'm very close to the original author 😉)
One more episode and we'll catch up with the original. Has the original author stopped writing yet?
I believe he just took a short break. He mentioned something about it in the last chapter. I'll keep an eye out for the next updates, but I hope this story still has many chapters because I really enjoyed it.
____
🔥 The latest chapters are being posted! 🔥
New Story: COTE: Natsuki Subaru Returns to School, but as the Purge King
✅ Read up to 40 chapters in advance (all stories)!
✅ Access exclusive posts and updates first!
Let's achieve our community goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 extra chapter for everybody
🚀 140 MEMBERS = +5 additional chapters on ALL STORIES!
👻 P - Walnutchan