The contestant cleared five consecutive rounds, accumulating a prize pool of 80,000 yen.
Ding!
Accompanied by a crisp sound effect, the host announced loudly, "Congratulations, Mr. Tanaka! You've broken through the first safety net! This 80,000 yen now belongs entirely to you! Even if you answer all the remaining questions incorrectly, you can take this prize home!"
The studio erupted in enthusiastic applause.
"See?" Takuya Nakayama pointed at the TV. "His mindset has completely changed now. Before, he had nothing to lose, but now he's wearing shoes worth 80,000 yen. From this moment on, he's not just winning money—he's protecting what he's earned."
Eri watched intently, fully immersed in the contestant's perspective, thinking alongside him.
"Question six: Which Italian artist painted the famous painting Mona Lisa? A, Michelangelo. B, Raphael. C, Da Vinci. D, Titian."
"I know this one! It's Da Vinci!" Eri blurted out without hesitation.
The contestant answered correctly, and the prize money climbed to 120,000 yen.
Eri's face lit up with vicarious pride, as if she had answered the question herself.
"Question seven: During the Japanese Warring States period, who was known as the 'Tiger of Kai'? A, Uesugi Kenshin. B, Oda Nobunaga. C, Takeda Shingen. D, Tokugawa Ieyasu."
"Hmm... this..." Eri frowned, thinking. "Uesugi Kenshin was the 'Dragon of Echigo,' so the 'Tiger of Kai'... it must be Takeda Shingen! Yes, that's him!"
She looked at Takuya with conviction, seeking his approval.
Takuya just smiled, remaining silent.
On the TV, the contestant also chose C, passed the question, and the prize money increased to 200,000 yen.
Eri clapped her hands in delight. "See! I told you so!"
Takuya Nakayama finally couldn't hold back. "As a high-achieving student of Multimedia Engineering at Osaka University, is that all the historical knowledge you have? I expected you to hesitate at least a little."
"What do you mean?" Eri rolled her eyes at him irritably. "I got it right, didn't I?"
"Sure, you got it right," Takuya Nakayama said with a mischievous grin. "But that look on your face practically spelled out that you were just guessing."
"You!" Eri's cheeks flushed slightly as she pinched his arm. "You're such a chatterbox!"
On the TV, after easily clearing the first seven questions, the contestant's nervousness had largely faded, replaced by barely contained excitement.
Meanwhile, Eri, seated before the screen, was completely absorbed in the drama. Her hands had unconsciously clenched into fists, and her heart had risen to her throat.
She knew very well that the real challenge had only just begun.
The appearance of the eighth question instantly froze the relaxed atmosphere in the studio.
"Question eight: In the Heian-period literary work The Tale of Genji, the woman whom Prince Genji cherished above all others—known to later readers as Lady Murasaki—is believed to be based on which relative of the author, Murasaki Shikibu? A) Mother. B) Aunt. C) Daughter. D) Sister."
"Wow, this—" Eri frowned. Though she was a high-achieving student, even she was uncertain about this obscure literary reference. "It seems like... 'daughter'?"
The middle-aged office worker on TV was clearly flustered, sweat beading on his forehead again.
After hesitating, he finally spoke: "I—I'm using 'Audience Help'."
The studio lights dimmed, and the audience's voting devices lit up with a soft glow. A few seconds later, the results appeared on the big screen:
A: 15%, B: 30%, C: 40%, D: 15%.
The results were widely scattered, offering no clear answer.
"Damn it, even the audience can't be relied on," Eri couldn't help but grumble.
"That's the point," Takuya Nakayama said, lifting his mug of barley tea. "If every question were a freebie, what's the fun in that?"
The contestant's face twitched, his nerves clearly frayed. He gritted his teeth. "I'll use another Wildcard to eliminate two wrong answers!"
Ding— The sound effect chimed as options A and D on the screen grayed out, leaving only B: "Aunt" and C: "Daughter".
Two choices remained, each with a fifty-fifty chance.
The contestant's Adam's apple bobbed as he stared intently at the remaining options, as if trying to pierce through the screen. Time ticked by, the studio so quiet you could hear a heartbeat.
Finally, as if betting everything, he shouted hoarsely, "I choose C! Daughter!"
Eri's heart leaped into her throat, and she instinctively gripped her husband's arm.
The host paused for a full three seconds before suddenly raising his voice. "Congratulations! You're correct!"
The studio erupted in thunderous applause. The contestant slumped back in his chair, gasping for breath.
Eri let out a long sigh and released her grip. "That was terrifying! I thought he was going to collapse."
The ninth and tenth questions proved slightly easier than the eighth, falling within the contestant's knowledge base. He narrowly passed both, accumulating a total prize of 600,000 yen.
"Six hundred thousand yen!" the host declared in a seductive tone. "Mr. Tanaka, this sum is enough to buy your family a brand-new car! Now, you can choose to leave with this prize or risk it all by answering one more question to win the grand prize of one million yen!"
The camera zoomed in on the contestant, capturing the sweat on his face mingling with the greedy fire in his eyes—a raw, visceral image.
"Go! Just go! Six hundred thousand isn't bad!" Eri pounded her tiny fists at the TV, more anxious than the contestant himself.
Takuya Nakayama leaned back on the sofa and chuckled softly. "He won't leave."
"Why not? That's a huge sum of money!"
"Because he's gambling blind. In Japan, where more than 20% of the population plays pachinko, this gambler's mentality is all too common." He pointed at the screen. "Besides, going from six hundred thousand to a million sounds like just one step away. He'll convince himself he can do it."
Sure enough, after agonizing deliberation, the contestant chose to continue.
The eleventh question appeared, asking about the life of an obscure sculptor from the European Renaissance. The contestant was utterly stumped; this was far beyond his knowledge.
He used his last Wildcard: "Phone a Friend." He called a friend, but during the one-minute call, the friend couldn't provide a definitive answer either, hastily blurting out in the final seconds, "I'd guess A, but I'm not sure!"
Time's up. The call ended. The studio fell deathly silent.
The contestant's face showed a struggle, hesitation, a battle between reason and impulse.
Finally, he steeled himself and chose the answer his friend had randomly guessed.
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