"We did it!"
The news lady exclaimed, reflexively jumping on me.
I guess despite her demeanor so far, even she was scared for her life. Still though, she's....
"...kinda flat"
"Huh?! What did you say?!"
Crap?! I said that out loud?
The sharpness in her response and icy glare sent chills down my spine. That said, that thing that was bothering me has been cleared up right now. In fact, the answer I found might prove useful once I get out of here.
"All I have to do now is solo that clown"
The awkward silence between me and the news lady our way back to the others was rather suffocating, so I decided to use that opportunity to interrogate the news lady a little.
"So....why did you come all the way to Stone Valley just for lizard boy? Do you guys have a history or something?"
"I don't see how that's any of your business"
"Normally, I'd agree but.... That bastard almost killed me, so I can't help being curious about the kind of person who'd be obsessed with a freak like him"
"Even if I tell you, my answer will probably be too flat for you"
"You're still mad about that? I'm sorry for calling you flat.... Still, you can't deny the trut— Ow!"
She kicked me in the knee. Seeing the visible look of pain in my expression, she smirked
"I'll forgive you for now, watching you writhe in agony is enough to satisfy me"
"What are you, a sadist?"
"Hmph"
The mood had lightened a little and she seemed more likely to respond to my questions now
"One more thing..... About the fortune teller you met when you arrived—"
"—Let's hurry on back! We only have 6 minutes left and I won't be satisfied till I tear that friend of yours a new one"
"He's....not my friend"
I barely even know the male extra.
Well, If she's on the case, I don't have to worry much about him getting what's coming to him, I can focus on more important matters.
Returning to the others, I left the male extra in Eleanor's hands and chatted with Adrian for a bit, after which I handed him the last vial and we parted ways temporarily.
*CREEAAAAKKKKKK
Within the game room, a "secret passage" opened up leading to private elevator
Is it weird that I want to meet the architect who designed this place?
This was originally supposed to be a hotel, right? But then.... What kinda hotel has all this extraneous gimmicks?
*BEEP BEEP
Focus, Adam, this isn't the time.
I received a text message signalling the start of my challenge with the moth clown.
Congratulations on Clearing Stage 2. You've earned yourself the right to challenge yours truly for a one way ticket out of this establishment. Win, and you all leave here together. Lose, and your heads go KABOOM
Step into the Elevator if you Dare!
Oh, I dare!
Stepping into the elevator brazenly, I glanced at my teammates who stepped in with me and found myself silently laughing at the Male Extra's bruised face.
A soft melody echoed through the elevator as we descended towards the final frontier. Soothing as the music was supposed to be, it felt rather eerie to the 9 of us clustered inside— Fear, doubt and uncertainty plagued the thoughts of my compatriots as they grew more and more unsettled with the elevator's descent
Can we really win?
Are we going to die here?
Will our luck finally run out?
Couldn't be me though. I'll beat that clown and put him behind bars for the Chameleon case....
I owe Liz that much at least.
*DING
As the doors slid open, we were "warmly" greeted by a couple of puppets and the big boss himself— lifting his arms in the air like that one guy who's famous for the quote "it was all a part of my plan"
"Welcome.... To my hotel"
"You obviously stole that line, fraud!"
"Haha, Well.... glad to see an avid cartoon watcher like yourself gets the reference"
This guy..... He's going down!
*Sigh—Calm down.... Don't let him provoke you.
One step, two steps, hands in your pockets and aura farm like your life depends on it.
Now Speak
"Where's Michelle?"
"She's waiting for you at a separate location. You'll get to see her if you beat me—as unlikely as such a hurdle may be"
"Sorry, I don't speak puppet . Why don't you come out and face us personally?"
"I think I'll pass"
"Why? You scared?"
"Haha, you know as well as I do that things are fair this way"
So he really does know about my curse. Still though.... It wouldn't hurt to press him a little more. Who knows, I might even get some clues as to the location of his main body
"From what I heard, you read minds. So how exactly is this fair? "
"Quit playing dumb, you already know how I did it, and if you don't, you're even dumber than I thought"
"Yeah, I'm dumb, So get out here and face m—"
"Let's begin the game, shall we? We don't have all night"
"I'm not done tal—"
"If you win, I just might tell you where I'm hiding"
"Who's to say you won't run?"
"That's why you have your Silver friend keeping watch, isn't it?"
So he knew about that as well, huh?
I asked Adrian to stay on the roof, keep watch of anyone who tries leaving the building and restrain them with force if necessary.
With the vial I gave him, he'll be able to jump off the roof to catch the butler should he try escaping
I also considered having him get help but there's probably no one who can help us in this situation.
I already have Liz working on something for me so I'd rather not add to her plate and Sara..... Well, she'll most likely side with this guy.
We entered a small room that had nothing but a black table at the center and two chairs at the opposite ends of the table
"There are no spycameras in here, right?"
"Ofcourse not, getting caught cheating during a round is an instant loss in that round after all"
Which means as long as you don't get caught, it's alright
"Mind if I inspect the room? Unless you have something to hide"
"Knock yourself out"
I took my time checking for spycameras and wiretaps but came up empty
"And no hocus pocus shit, right?"
"Hahaha, are you always this sceptical?"
"I make it a point not to trust scum"
So he intends to rely on his powers of observation alone? Well, isn't he confident
I finally took a seat, catching my breath after the exhausting search for nothing.
"I'm sure the gyaru already filled you in on the rules, so let's begin"
"You're deliberately using anime terms wrong just to piss me off, aren't you?"
He ignored me and instead pulled out and opened a fresh pack of cards, handing them to me.
"You shuffle first, then me. We'll alternate each round"
Respecting the ambience, I used a classic riffling shuffle whereas the puppet stuck to a plain old hindu shuffle
"What? Were you expecting something fancy? Haha, how embarrassing"
Every single thing this guy does pisses me off!
After the deed was done, we each drew four cards and the 10 of clubs was placed in the pot.
"Let's begin"
Michelle was correct on her initial assumption on how he "reads minds". From the footage of our exploits within the building, he took note of our demeanor, unconscious body language and other tells, using those gestures to read our probable hand in a fixed situation game like this.
However, there's a major flaw, or condition for his strategy to be effective— No matter how much data you've gathered, you still need to be able to sample it in an actual match to filter out the "noise" and plethora of useless information— This is the true reason why he let Michelle have the first round, to observe her properly and use that data for the subsequent rounds.
Because of that, he cannot go on the offensive on the first round. In my case however, unlike Michelle, I can't read expressions of a freaking puppet, that's just insane!
However, I can tackle this problem in my own way—My strategy is set....so then....
As I didn't have a matching pair in my hand, I drew a card and passed my turn
"You must be really unlucky, my friend"
He said, somehow smiling sheepishly.... I guess?
"Huh?"
"I mean.... Drawing a Joker on your very first turn, how unlucky"
What? How?! How did he know?!
"You're probably thinking "how did he know?" Maybe I can read minds after all"
The clown was right, I really did draw a joker and lost the first round instantly.
2nd Round.
I didn't expect him to go on the offensive on the very first round.
Was it a fluke, or perhaps a lucky guess? Unlikely. Then how? There's no way he was able to get a read on me that quickly, I wasn't even—
"Did it ever occur to you that perhaps my game with your gyaru friend was all part of my scheme to misdirect you and make you walk into this game believing that I actually couldn't read minds"
He said, handing me his shuffled deck
"Calling that girl a gyaru is an insult to all the gyarus out there"
"Changing the subject will get you nowhere, your anxiety is plain as day..."
He pointed at my hand as he continued
"... You've lost so much fire that you switched to a Hindu shuffle"
"My deck, my choices"
I stopped shuffling at that moment and looked at him square in the eyes
"Alright, let's say you're telling the truth, what's the point of making me think your mind reading was a hoax?"
"Hahaha, you can't even figure out that much? You really are stupid....."
This guy.....
He continued
".... It's for this very situation, a case where you can't read my mind"
"...."
"Your biggest advantage is that curse of yours, without it, you're just cannon fodder"
"That so? Then why don't you tell me what I'm thinking right now"
Resting back on his chair he replied with an air of confidence
"It doesn't take a mind reader to guess that one, right now, you're thinking I'm full of shit and you're going to kick my ass, aren't you"
.
.
.
"No actually, I was thinking how great a pillow Sara's funbags will make right about now"
It was probably for less than a fraction of a second, but I definitely felt a wave of intense anger from his direction.
Was it from guessing wrong? Or was it the mention of Sara's b**bs that got him worked up?
Nevertheless, I didn't lose sight of this opening. Imitating Sara's mischievous smile I said
"See.... You really are a fraud, guess I was worried for nothing"
I switched to an overhand shuffle and finished arranging the deck, then we began.
He took the first turn and matched according whereas I just drew and passed my turn
The turn followed a similar trend, and eventually we went up to five turns without me discarding a single card.
"So that's your strategy, huh?"
He commented with a rather unsurprised tone.
"I have no idea what you mean"
"While I admit, going for a deck out victory is admirable in theory, it's a rather weak strategy all things considered"
Deck Out— Simply put, it's a situation where there are no more cards left in the deck to draw while the game is still underway.
Naturally, if there are no cards left to drawz the game will automatically end and as per the rules, the person with a greater number of cards in their hands wins
The aim of this game is to have more cards than your opponent at the end of the game, not necessarily to empty out your opponent's hand.
"Oh really? How so?"
"Do you honestly think you'll last long enough to see the bottom of the deck? With my calls I'll be able to eliminate your hand...."
"Then I just have to be careful not to have too many matching cards on hand"
"Let's say for the sake of argument that we do indeed reach the bottom, with me eliminating your hand, I'll be the one with more cards in the end"
"I think you're the one who doesn't get it"
"Huh?"
Raising my cards to cover my face like a fan, I retorted
"You only have three calls, bro. After that, it's a free country— I can stack up as many matching cards as I want and you can't stop me. Even if you draw the Joker, it won't matter because I won't even need to use my calls"
"You honestly think you can trick me into wasting three calls on low yield returns?! You really underestimate me... unless...."
I could tell the puppet caught to certain...."tells" in my expression and saw right through me
"....All that talk just now was just misdirection"
Deep breaths.... Calmly, carefully, boldly—
"Maybe, Maybe not. Maybe all that was just a lie to get you to exercise restraint with or calls....or perhaps it's reverse psychology to get you to use a match call right now so I spring my joker on you.... Well, which one do you think it is"
He took a brief moment to weigh the possibilities while looking straight at my confident exterior— I couldn't tell in exact detail the expression I had at that moment, but I'm sure it was one of a brazen gambler
Finally, he spoke.
"You gave me two options and psychologically placed me in a position where I am to choose, thinking those were the only options available to me. Knowing I'd realize that and attempt to think outside the box for a third possibility, you expected me to arrive at the conclusion that a joker was indeed in your hand and I should use a joker call. However..."
He rested is arm on the table
"... I'll go with the fourth option"
"Oh, and what is that?"
"That your simply full of shit.... Match Call"
With those two words, my hand crumbled.
"All your sophistry was simply to hide the fact that you had a decent number of matching cards on hand. Your plan's all but failed, will you give up?"
"Like hell I will"
I retorted with visible frustration and the game carried on.
I tried rebuilding my hand once again but he waited for the perfect moment and tore it all down again. After that, he didn't use his match calls again— well, there was hardly any reason to, even if I try rebuilding my hand, there was no way I'd have more cards than him at the end of the day
Things were looking quite dire. But, as a famous anime manipulator once said
*
"It was all a part of my plan"
*
The moment I'd been waiting for finally arrived, and I clutched my W
"I'm using a Joker call"
"What?"
"You heard me, clown. Oh how the tables turn so quickly—"
"*Scoff— i get that you're desperate, but still"
"—This isn't desperation. You drew a joker on your last round, didn't you?"
I claimed the second round, much to clown butler's surprise.
"Just how.....did you know?"
With a sheepish smile, I indulged the puppet's query
"It was elementary once I figured out your trick for the first round"
He was taken aback by my statement— I guess he never expected me to figure out how exactly he "cheated" in the first round.
I began by confirming my deductions
"Considering your specific set of skills, I found it odd you were aggressive on the first round, how did you even know I had the joker? Answer, you simply marked the joker"
"That's preposterous! You watched me open a new pack of cards"
"True, while the pack was indeed new, the cards definitely weren't. Before meeting up with us, you slit open the pack laterally and replaced the fresh deck inside with one that had the joker marked, then sealed it back up with adhesive or something."
Shrugging a little, I continued
"When pulling out the deck, you subtly covered the point with traces of that adhesive with your hand"
That's why he pulled out the deck before handing to me rather than handing me the pack itself since I was the first to shuffle
Ofcourse, a simple bypass would've been for him to shuffle first, but he couldn't do that because.....
"Your plan also required that you shuffle last. The peculiar things about a hindu shuffle is that you can see the back of the cards as you shuffle and by repeating the shuffling system continuously, you'll have the marked card at the top of the deck. Then, you place a couple of cards on top and I get the 'misfortune' or drawing the joker on my very first turn...."
As for this marked deck, I doubt it's a completely new deck in which he marked the joker, he abides by the rules way too much for that to be the case.
He would have to use one that technically doesn't break the rules, one that can still pass with a decent bit of argument
"This deck is the same one you used to play against Michelle."
" Hmmm.... Let's say for the sake of argument you're right—"
"I am right"
"AHEM"
Taking note of his displeasure from being interrupted, I motioned him to continue
".... Our game is basically just a rematch between I and your group, but your representative player changed from a blonde girl to a blond boy, it makes sense to use the same deck, no?"
Just as I thought. To make matters worse, he didn't explicitly say we were using a new deck, I assumed that on my own when I saw him unseal a deck of cards. Still though—
"You still cheated"
"The marking on the joker is from your blonde"
"But you made markings of your own, didn't you? On that other card"
The card which led to the queen bee's defeat
"Anyway, knowing this, I put my plan into action—Using a hindu shuffle, placed one of the marked cards at a designated point in the deck and used an overhand shuffle to place the other marked card at the top of the deck, I needed to confirm if you could differentiate the marked joker from the other marked card"
Which he could as he used a match call without hesitation at the start. If he couldn't, he would've played it safe or lost right there and then.
"Since you didn't fall for it, I had to execute the second phase of my plan, or my backup plan, if you will— guiding the draws and discards so you'll be the one to draw the joker"
"That's—"
"Absurd? I knew you'd be able to read me like a book and anticipated the best logical situation to use a single call, after all, since you've already used one, you'll be saving the last one for if i drew a joker....."
After all, if drew the joker when he had no calls left, I wouldn't be afraid to use my three match calls to reduce his hand and then it'll be anyone's game.
I pointed at him like a certain ace attorney and said
"That was my strategy to bring you down!"
If only wind will blow him to the wall right now, haha.
Well, I could tell the clown still wasn't convinced
"Still though, if you knew about my trick from the start of the round, why didn't you just accuse me of cheating and take the round?"
"That was my backup-backup plan if my strategy didn't go so smoothly, but you were far too stupid I just couldn't help myself, hahahaha...."
I could feel visible anger from the clown, this time, it didn't fade so fast. He was rattled, good
This is my moment.
"You toyed with our queen bee and made her feel more stupid than she actually is, so it's only fair I give you a taste of your own medicine. Now then, let's begin the final round"
In response to my words, the clown said
"Don't get cocky, scum.... This round, I was able to filter off all unnecessary data, so I can read you perfectly now".