Now that the rules were clear, everyone prepared to choose a room and begin the game.
But just as they were about to move, Valerius stopped Bennett.
"Mr. Valerius… is there something else?"
Bennett's face was full of misery.
Why did it have to be him?
In a luck-based game like this, getting eliminated was basically guaranteed.
Was he here to play…
Or just to suffer punishment?
"The first round allows forfeiting," Valerius said calmly.
"If you quit now, it won't count as elimination. Do you want to give up?"
"I quit! I quit!"
Without a second's hesitation, Bennett shouted.
For a moment, he even suspected Valerius was giving him special treatment.
No punishment?
Was this a hidden backdoor?
"Wait… you didn't even hesitate?"
Valerius didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
This kid was way too pitiful.
"Alright. You may leave. No punishment."
"Yay!"
Bennett cheered, clicked the forfeit option, and vanished from the space.
[Lisa: ...]
[Kaeya: ...]
[Albedo: Hmm… a wise choice.]
What else could they say?
No one ever expected Bennett to win anyway.
Avoiding punishment was already a victory.
"Alright, everyone else, go choose a room."
"And don't bother memorizing positions. The rooms will be shuffled."
Seeing everyone secretly scanning around, Valerius kindly reminded them.
If it's luck, then rely on luck.
Stop trying to cheat the system.
"Tch. Boring."
Yae Miko pouted and walked toward the nearest room.
Once inside, all doors shut automatically.
No windows.
No gaps.
Each person was sealed inside a narrow space.
"I'm Number 3!"
Inside, there was only a chair and a display screen.
The screen showed nothing but a single digit: 3.
Yae Miko immediately understood the mechanics.
She sat down and waited.
"Rumble—"
As everyone got ready, the rooms began to move.
Left.
Right.
Up.
Down.
"This is the shuffle, huh…"
When the movement stopped, no one knew where they were anymore.
They could only stare at their numbers.
[All players ready. Game start.]
The system announced.
"Dong— dong— dong!"
The drumbeats echoed.
Obviously, Valerius was playing.
"Dong— dong— dong-dong— dong-dong-dong!"
At first, Aventurine tried to analyze the rhythm.
Then he gave up.
There was no pattern.
Pure randomness.
His number lit up and went dark again and again.
Even he started doubting himself.
Was his luck really that good?
"Dong-dong-dong-dong!"
The drum sped up.
Then—
Stopped.
Aventurine looked at his screen.
5 was glowing.
That meant the "flower" had landed on him.
"This…"
Was this good luck or bad luck?
It was only the first round.
What useful question could he even ask?
But being chosen was still something.
"You may ask your question."
Valerius's voice echoed.
"Give me a second."
Aventurine frowned.
No voting had happened yet.
He couldn't ask about room numbers.
Information was limited.
After thinking for a while, his eyes lit up.
He couldn't ask who was in a room…
But he could ask about traits.
In his mind, he reviewed all the players.
Finally, he focused on Yae Miko.
If he could locate that cunning fox, voting would be much easier.
Way better than random guesses.
"My question is…"
"What color is the hair of the person in Room 6?"
"Heh, clever."
Valerius chuckled, then answered,
"White."
White.
Not the answer Aventurine wanted.
But it told him something important.
That person wasn't from his universe.
So who was it?
No. 11?
Billy?
Shenhe?
Some adeptus disciple?
[First round of voting begins.]
The system didn't give him time to think.
"Well, whatever. Not from our side anyway."
Aventurine directly voted for Room 6.
Livestream
[Qingyi: Oh? First time playing and already in danger?]
[Nicole: Hey! What's that gold guy doing? Bullying us?!]
[Anby: This is protagonist pacing. Suppressed first, rise later. Billy is the main character.]
[Jane: Relax. Only the top vote drops. One vote means nothing.]
[Rina: This really is about luck.]
The other players also cast their votes randomly.
No one knew who was who.
So they just guessed.
Final result:
Room 1 received three votes.
Highest.
"Boom!"
A loud rumble echoed.
Robin felt her room sinking.
"…Me?!"
Her heart dropped.
First round—and it was already her.
She had thought she could last at least a little while.
Why was she in danger immediately?
[Second round begins.]
The drums started again.
Still chaotic.
"Dong!"
Room 5 lit up again.
"Again?!"
This time, Aventurine was delighted.
Now things were different.
With voting data, he could target the weakest player.
Not a nice strategy.
But effective.
"My question is: Which room is currently the lowest?"
"Room 1."
Valerius answered.
"Room 1…"
Aventurine narrowed his eyes.
Last time, Room 1 got many votes.
Was it coincidence?
Or no one voted 6?
With so many players, even with his vote, 6 didn't drop.
"Fine. Room 1 it is."
Better to finish them quickly.
[Second round of voting begins.]
This time, he voted for Room 1.
Livestream
[Sunday: You'd better stay in this game forever and never come out.]
[Sampo: Hahaha, this is getting good.]
[Silver Wolf: See? I told you. IPC people are unreliable.]
[Topaz: Hey, it's not Aventurine's fault. He doesn't know it's Robin.]
[Sunday: Silver Wolf, wanna team up and crush the IPC later?]
[Silver Wolf: Deal.]
[Kafka: Heh… if you're ready to die, I can kill one right now.]
[Topaz: Don't say my name, say his!]
[Boothill: Damn, call Jade instead.]
[Fu Xuan: We are allies. Do not quarrel.]
[Sunday: He started it.]
[Gepard: Calm down, it's just a game.]
[Sunday: It's not your sister, of course you don't care.]
[Jade: Bad luck is your own problem.]
Jade wasn't bothered at all.
She even found it funny.
You didn't want Penacony back then.
Now you see how it feels, huh?
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