People bring their own maids to the training camp

Each of the two players has five 500ml bottles of mineral water on the table in front of them. The person who drinks the most water in one minute wins.

On the surface, Albert seems to have a better chance of winning, but some things can't be judged solely on size; perhaps Kito is also a formidable opponent.

However, most people still believe that Albert has a better chance of winning.

What was supposed to be a clash of titans turned into a water-drinking contest, which is a bit of a shame. But now, anyone with a bit of sense has already figured it out—if these two drink so much water, won't they be at a huge disadvantage in any upcoming sporting events? They were already unlikely to beat Chihaya, and with a belly full of water, their chances of winning are even slimmer.

However, the water-drinking contest was quite a lot of fun.

In the first bottle, Gui Tou was even leading the black student by tens of milliliters, but by the third bottle, Albert had overtaken him, and by the fifth bottle, he was leading by a full half bottle.

Seeing that Albert had already finished five bottles, Gui Tou, who had only finished four, simply gave up on drinking the fifth one, leaving some room for his stomach.

At the end of the sixth round, only the Horikita and Shiina teams had 2 HP left, while the remaining Sakayanagi, Ryuen, and Himegami teams all had only 1 HP left.

At the start of the seventh round, Sakayanagi raised his hand without hesitation, initiating a forced duel, with the target being the Horikita team, who had just skipped a round of duels.

Suzune clicked her tongue, surprised that even at this point, Sakayanagi was still so bold.

137. When two armies meet on a narrow path, the brave one wins.

While bold enough, it wasn't the boldest choice, since Sakayanagi had chosen the Horikita group, which was currently the weakest on paper.

Thus, Ayanokouji, who had just released the sea, lost to Kito.

The Longyuan team is progressing normally.

The Shiina group launched a forced duel against the Horikita group.

Lingyin sighed, thinking to herself that she was doomed.

"Are you thinking, 'This is it, we're doomed'?" Ayanokouji's voice came through the headset.

"Otherwise what? Are you planning to fight tooth and nail?" Lingyin said irritably. "If you could, you wouldn't have lost the last match."

"It's okay, I'll keep things in check," Ayanokouji said calmly.

The randomly assigned duel game was Gomoku (Five in a Row).

"..." Rinne fell silent.

"..." Shiina, who initiated the forced duel, was speechless.

"Ahem, this competition was submitted by the Go club, but because Go is too slow, it was changed to Gomoku." Horikita Manabu even added an explanation, "So the initiator of the duel goes first."

Just moments ago, Suzune was worried about Ayanokouji, but now she was completely different. If it were just Gomoku, there was no need to hide her strength; no one would care if she won anyway.

Off the field, the Horikita Group has been dubbed the "Group of Strongest Luck" by the students of Class D. It's truly remarkable that they've survived this long in a competition teeming with top players.

Unfortunately, the Ichinose group only managed to operate once, spending most of their time "standing as punishment" at the starting point.

After Ayanokouji defeated Albert, the remaining five groups were all on the same starting line in terms of "hp".

Furthermore, the mandatory duels for the Shiina group are currently on cooldown. If betting were open, the odds for the Shiina group would be fluctuating wildly. Meanwhile, the Himegami group is expected to gain momentum and rise steadily in the later stages.

"Now that the shortcut has been activated, you will inevitably encounter other groups at the end of the shortcut. Please choose your route carefully."

After the seventh round, Horikita Manabu suddenly announced...

Immediately afterwards, staff members laid out the squares representing shortcuts on the playground. All the squares were one square in front of the square where the chess piece was located. The five shortcuts eventually intersected, with a square with a crown pattern in the center.

“If you take the shortcut, you have to defeat everyone on the shortcut,” Horikita Manabu explained. “But if you don’t take the shortcut, you’ll probably need to move two or more squares.”

After the explanation was completed, it was the Sakayanagi group's turn to move.

After rolling the dice, Sakayanagi decisively chose to take the shortcut, and subsequently, both the Ryuen and Shiina groups chose the shortcut.

Instead, Lingyin hesitated for a moment before giving up on the shortcut.

In the end, Chihaya also chose the shortcut.

As the saying goes, when two sides meet on a narrow path, the brave will prevail. Four groups took the shortcut, two of which were from Class C, which made the last remaining Class A group, Sakayanagi, somewhat precarious.

The final battle is about to begin.

......

For Rinne, things were much more peaceful. After all, there was no room for error for anyone now, so the two groups with mandatory duels didn't dare to mess with the Horikita group, which gave her a sense of tranquility. As long as she didn't step on any annoying grid effects, she could finish the match smoothly.

Lingyin, who hesitated in front of the shortcut, suddenly remembered that this competition was a game of Ludo, and fighting was not the original purpose. As long as she could complete a lap around the field, she would receive a reward.

The other four groups, "fighting tooth and nail," all squeezed through the shortcut, so unsurprisingly, she will be second in the competition. This is the best solution for her, since if she really squeezed through to just watch Ayanokouji perform, she might be the first to be eliminated. Therefore, Suzune's duel is not about leaving her life or death to Ayanokouji, but about leaving it to herself.

This is the most efficient way when you know you can't get first place.

What actually made Suzune make up her mind was the point that Chihaya had given her before.

Looking back, Suzune realized that Chihaya's point was most likely obtained through a special exam. The student council only announced the points earned by the top three students, so she reasonably suspected that there might be other rewards. Otherwise, organizing an exam for a mere tens of thousands of points would be too much of a fuss.

This was also a test for Lingyin; she wanted to see if she would receive an extra special reward if she came in second place.

If it weren't for verifying this point, she would have definitely charged into the shortcut zone without hesitation, and died knowing exactly what had happened.

Meanwhile, the four groups on the other side started fighting each other. Since the two C-class groups couldn't kill each other, it became Sakayanagi Group versus Shiina Group, and Ryuen Group versus Himegami Group.

Starting with the shortcut, the duel format changed to a three-choice format, but each player banned one item, and the last item left was the PK item between the two groups.

Chihaya and Ryuen both opted for a substitute player to play for them.

Three options soon appeared on the big screen.

1. A big eater (rice ball)

2 Archery

3 draws of the Joker

Chihaya banned the competitive eating contest, while Ryuen banned archery.

Chihaya has a large appetite, but participating in a competitive eating contest without regard for his image would have a huge impact on his future, so even if he has a chance of winning, he shouldn't compete.

The fact that Longyuan bans archery is easier to understand. How could an amateur dare to compete in archery with the ace of the archery club?

Therefore, drawing the ghost card became the duel between the two.

This left both Ibuki and Kanzaki speechless, as they both used substitute players to play, resulting in a game of drawing jokers instead. It was quite absurd.

Horikita Manabu took out an unopened deck of cards, opened it on the spot, and then took out 11 cards, including five pairs of the same suit and a Joker.

He then took on the role of dealer, shuffling the cards and distributing them to the two players.

"I didn't expect the competition to be decided in this way," Ryuen said to Chihaya, picking up five cards. "But this is also the first time we've sat down and chatted face-to-face like this, isn't it?"

“Yes, after all, we haven’t had much contact before.” Chihaya also took out the six cards in her hand and handed them to Ryuen so he could draw a card.

"Not necessarily? We should have had quite a bit of contact." Ryuen grinned, then took a card from Chihaya's side and threw out two Aces.

"I don't recall us ever meeting. If it's Shiina-san, we're actually quite close." Chihaya took one card from Ryuen's hand and then placed two 5s down.

"It's okay if you don't want to admit it. Today's performance is enough to make the other classes more wary of you."

"I don't mind a fair and square challenge, okay?" Chihaya said with a smile.

"Hehe." Ryuen naturally understood the hidden meaning in Chihaya's words, but he didn't care.

If you have thick skin, you won't feel ashamed.

138.joker

After several draws, Chihaya currently has two cards left, including Joker, while Ryuen has only one card left.

It was Longyuan's turn to draw a card.

“This draw will end the competition,” Long Yuan said.

"Is that so? I don't think so," Chihaya said with a smile. "Since Ryuen-kun is so confident, why not give it a try?"

"Stop bluffing, I've seen through everything." Ryuen said, suddenly stretching out his hand. After noticing Chihaya's slight change in expression, Ryuen revealed a confident look and then took another card.

"..."

What came into view was a red Joker, as if mocking his previous statement.

"It seems that Ryuen-kun was a bit too confident just now. Confidence is a good thing, but blind confidence can be counterproductive, you know?" Chihaya maintained her elegant smile. "It's always better to leave yourself some room for maneuver before you speak."

After saying that, Chihaya reached out and took a card from Ryuen's hand.

“This is the Joker, right?” Chihaya flipped the card over, and sure enough, it was the red Joker. “Although it’s a game of luck, it’s not a 50/50 game when it’s played by real people.”

“…” Long Yuan fell silent. He was clearly shuffling the cards behind the scenes. Logically speaking, even with his exceptional memory and keen observation skills, he shouldn’t have been exposed.

Just as Ryuen turned his gaze to Horikita Manabu, the latter spoke up at the opportune moment.

“Chihaya Himegami did not cheat at all. This room has 360-degree surveillance cameras with no blind spots.”

Chihaya quickly shuffled the cards, laid the two cards out on the table, and gestured for them to be placed.

Ryuen tried to find a flaw in Chihaya's expression, but his defeat in the previous round made him suspect that the flaw he found was actually a trick Chihaya deliberately gave him to lure him into a trap.

Longyuan hesitated.

Seeing this, Chihaya added fuel to the fire by saying, "Hesitation will lead to defeat, Ryuen-kun."

“…” Ryuen paused for a few seconds, then reached out and flipped over a card: the red Joker.

"What a pity, it's the Joker again."

Long Yuan shuffled the cards without saying a word, then placed them on the table with his hands behind his back.

"Hmph, you really win this time," Long Yuan said. "I underestimated you. As expected, ordinary young ladies have no need to come to this school."

Chihaya smiled but said nothing, reaching out to touch a certain card.

Long Yuan got up and left immediately.

Horikita Manabu wanted to stop him, but first glanced at the card Chihaya had turned over.

Sure enough, it was a 4.

In other words, the card left in Longyuan's hand was the Joker. He knew that his defeat was inevitable, so he left cleanly and decisively.

Horikita Manabu ignored Ryuen, who had voluntarily left the room, and declared Chihaya the winner.

On the other side, the Sakayanagi group also won and will face Chihaya in a decisive battle at the Forbidden City.