Ayano: "I ruined everything..."
Tadashi slowly stood up.
Referee: "End of the first round."
In a state of fear and panic, Ayano screamed his name.
Ayano: "Taaaaaadashiiii!"
Upon hearing his name, both opponents froze in shock.
The Girl: "Tadashi? The famous one?"
Ayano: "You know him?"
TheGirl: "Who doesn't? But it's strange seeing him with a partner."
Ayano: "What do you mean?"
TheGirl: "Nothing at all."
Ayano: "..."
Referee: "Now let's begin the second round."
The bullet positions appeared again for Ayano and the girl.
Ayano: "I completely messed up last time... I can't fail again..."
Referee: "Now reveal your results."
Ayano's guesses: First bullet fake, second fake, fifth fake.
The girl's guesses: First bullet real, second fake, fourth real.
Tadashi took the shotgun and paused to think.
TheGuy: "What's he thinking? His partner failed in the first round, and they lost quickly. The problem is we don't know if they can see each other's guesses. This could affect the results."
Finally, Tadashi fired at himself—a blank.
TheGuy: "He chose to trust his partner?"
Tadashi decided to shoot himself again—another blank.
TheGuy: "Has he lost his mind? He can't keep shooting himself forever. His partner might have revealed the truth about the first two bullets but left no hints about the next. What will he do now?"
On the third shot, Tadashi aimed at his opponent and fired—a blank.
Referee: "You lost your turn."
Tadashi placed the shotgun on the table and pushed it toward his opponent.
TheGuy: "My turn... The only guess from my partner says the first is real, but she might be lying to trick Tadashi. The first bullet was supposedly real but was actually fake. Should I trust her?"
After long consideration, the guy decided to shoot himself—a real bullet.
Behind the glass, his partner exploded in anger.
TheGirl: "You damn idiot!"
Ayano stared at her intently.
Referee: "Let's begin the third round. For your information, this is the last round, containing only one real bullet."
The bullet positions appeared for both Ayano and the girl, and both began considering their next move.
When the results appeared:
Ayano's guesses: Fourth bullet fake, fifth real, sixth fake.
The girl's guesses: Fourth real, fifth real, sixth fake.
Tadashi: "Huh?!"
TheGuy: "Contradiction? Both say the last is fake, so it must be fake. The first three bullets weren't marked at all. In a game like this, no one would leave a real bullet unmarked, so I can be certain the first three are fake."
The guy decided to shoot himself—a blank. He shot himself again—another blank. Third shot—still blank.
TheGuy: "It worked! I survived, but that's not enough. The real bullet is either fourth or fifth. I have to make my decision..."
For the fourth shot, the guy aimed at Tadashi—a blank.
TheGirl: "That's it... we're finished."
Referee: "You lost your turn."
Tadashi took the shotgun but instead of firing immediately, he began thinking.
Minutes passed with no action from Tadashi.
TheGuy: "What's wrong with him? Doesn't he realize the fifth must be real? Or maybe it's a trick and the sixth is real?"
Referee: "Several minutes have passed. You must play. If you don't act within another minute, you'll lose."
Tadashi: "I know that."
Ayano: "He still hasn't decided... Is he waiting for my signal? Could it be that he...?"
Here, Ayano drew everyone's attention. She knocked on the glass using the same pattern Tadashi had taught her before—two long knocks followed immediately by two quick ones.
Hearing this, Tadashi looked down with a smile. His hands trembled as they held the shotgun.
TheGuy: "Wait, isn't this cheating?"
Referee: "No. There's no rule against knocking on glass."
Finally, Tadashi made his move—he aimed at himself and fired.
Everyone watched anxiously—a real bullet.
Tadashi collapsed heavily to the ground, coughing up blood.
Referee: "..."