Watching Yamauchi Haruki's arrogant appearance, the surrounding onlookers also erupted in waves of discussion.
"Is this guy's luck a bit too good? Four out of five times... isn't that probability way too high?"
"Wow, can a fool like him really have such good luck? Last time I spent twenty coins and didn't catch a single one."
"Two hundred thousand points... that's going to be a huge hemorrhage. Are they first-years?"
Hearing the comments from the people around him, Yamauchi Haruki cleared his throat, puffed out his chest, and announced loudly, "What do you people know! This isn't luck! This is skill—skill, understand? It's powerful skill that can perfectly display my personal charm!"
"Exactly, exactly! Oh my, I really didn't expect you to be so good at catching dolls, Haruki!" Ike Kanji hugged four Shiba Inu plushies, grinning from ear to ear, looking exactly like a lackey.
"I didn't expect that you, of all people... would actually be this amazing." Sudou Ken also looked at Yamauchi Haruki with a face full of emotion. This guy who was always bragging actually had something to brag about after all.
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka stood expressionlessly at the edge of the crowd. He simply felt that this was just Yamauchi Haruki's luck. If it were truly skill, he wouldn't have shown such a surprised expression at the very beginning.
However, luck was ultimately luck, and sometimes luck was also a part of one's strength. Could Shikime Natsu win?
Mei-Yu Wang looked at Shikime Natsu with worry. Her purple eyes were filled with concern, and her small hands tightly gripped the hem of her clothes. Two hundred thousand points... that wasn't a small amount for any student. What would Shikime-san do for living expenses next month?
She silently calculated in her heart that if Shikime Natsu really lost all his points later, she would lend him some of hers.
"Yamauchi-kun, everyone is a classmate. It's just a game, there's no need to bet so big, right? I think... how about we stick to the six thousand points mentioned at the start? That's already quite a lot," Kushida Kikyou stepped forward again, a smile as pure and innocent as an angel's on her face, attempting to play the role of peacemaker.
Of course, her mind held a completely different set of thoughts. Lose! Shikime Natsu, you poser, you'd better lose quickly! It would be best if you lost in an even more humiliating way!
Kushida Kikyou had already begun to look forward to the look of defeat on Shikime Natsu's face after losing the bet—that expression he wouldn't want anyone to see. If he was driven to a corner and had to ask her to borrow points, then maybe... she could grasp a handle on him. In that case, her safety in this school would be guaranteed.
"No way, no way!" Yamauchi Haruki rejected Kushida Kikyou without even thinking. "It's written in black and white on this contract; no one can go back on it! Besides, I said six thousand points at the start, but he was the one who thought it was too little and wanted to raise it to fifty thousand, and then agreed to one hundred thousand! Hahaha, want to regret it now? Too late!"
"Exactly, exactly!" Ike Kanji chimed in frantically from the side. He had also bet one hundred thousand; this absolutely couldn't go down the drain.
Yamauchi Haruki's dog-shit luck was simply too good—catching four in five tries.
Kushida Kikyou cast an apologetic look toward Shikime Natsu, appearing as if she were terribly sorry for not being able to help.
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's gaze moved back and forth between Shikime Natsu and the claw machine. He was extremely curious. A game like catching dolls didn't seem to involve much technical content; it relied more on the tightness of the machine's claw and unpredictable luck. This wasn't like tennis, where there were clear gaps in technique and physical ability allowing Shikime Natsu's strength to form a dimensionality-reduction strike against Yamauchi Haruki.
For Yamauchi Haruki, today's luck was good to the extreme, succeeding four times. Conversely, for Shikime Natsu, this luck was terrible. Unless... Shikime Natsu could catch a doll all five times.
But, to succeed five times in a row relying purely on luck... the probability of that should be about the same as winning the jackpot in a lottery right now, shouldn't it? Yet... Shikime Natsu was still so calm? Was he really that confident?
Kushida Kikyou watched Shikime Natsu's expression, a trace of disdain flashing through her heart. Wait until you lose, then you'll know how to cry.
Shikime Natsu unhurriedly walked up to the claw machine, slowly fished a game token from his pocket, and inserted it into the machine.Throughout the entire process, not a hint of nervousness could be seen; on the contrary, the onlookers were overly tense. The stake was two hundred thousand, yet this guy could still handle it so relaxedly?
If Shikime Natsu really won, then this demeanor could be considered a bonus point. But if Shikime Natsu lost, then he would become a clown.
"Hey! Shiki! For the sake of us being classmates, I'll relax the conditions for you. You don't need to catch five; as long as you can catch four, same as me, I'll count it as your win. How about it? I'm generous enough, right!" Yamauchi Haruki crossed his arms and laughed with the pitying tone of a victor speaking to a loser, acting extremely arrogant.
He was going to claim back all the humiliation from the Tennis Club today, with interest! He wanted to let everyone see who the man with more charm really was!
However, Shikime Natsu couldn't even be bothered to cast a glance at him, ignoring him completely.
He simply gripped the joystick, wiggled it casually, and then, before anyone could react, pressed the button. The three-pronged iron claw, which looked loose and wobbly, landed right on the doll's tag as it descended—it was the legendary Hooking the Tag Technique!
The claw slowly rose, bringing up five dolls with it. Even though it was carrying five dolls, the claw showed no signs of weakness, and not a single doll fell off until it moved all the way to the exit.
Thud!
The dolls fell from the exit. A full five dolls tumbled out.
He had used only one chance, yet he managed to get five dolls directly? If Yamauchi Haruki getting one doll at a time was luck, then what about Shikime Natsu? Catching five dolls at once—was this really luck?
Some people couldn't do this even if they used up a lifetime of luck, right? Was this really a claw machine designed to scam money? If everyone could do what Shikime Natsu did—no, even if they were like Yamauchi Haruki—this claw machine wouldn't need to make money anymore. Was there something wrong with the machine? Otherwise, how could the current situation be explained?
The arrogant smile on Yamauchi Haruki's face that said 'I've definitely won' froze directly, and soon his face was filled with disbelief.
"Hey, you guy definitely cheated, right?" Yamauchi Haruki raised a doubt directly. How could anyone do something like this and overshadow him? He definitely cheated!
"Yamauchi, you say I cheated. Then... I'll give you a chance. Find the evidence of my cheating." Shikime Natsu unhurriedly stepped aside from his position.
Yamauchi Haruki hurriedly walked over, inserted a few more coins, and tried catching a few times. All failed. It seemed the earlier runs really were just luck.
"This... Haha, we were just joking, right?" Yamauchi Haruki scratched his head in embarrassment.
"That's right, one hundred thousand points is really too much. Let's make it six thousand points!" Ike Kanji chimed in from the side. The speed at which these two changed their faces could be said to be quite fast. As for being looked down upon? Was being looked down upon more important than money?
"That won't do. It's written in black and white. If this month's points aren't enough, then use next month's to pay it back. It's just one hundred thousand points; it's not much for you guys either." Shikime Natsu chuckled lightly.
"Damn it, my luck is just too bad! You're just having dog-shit luck too!" Yamauchi Haruki was extremely remorseful. He had thought his luck was already good enough, but he never expected Shikime Natsu's luck to be even better.
"Luck? Alright then, let me show you the difference in strength between us again."
Saying that, Shikime Natsu inserted another coin, then maneuvered the claw to grab at a certain spot. The piled-up dolls were actually all lifted up. The claw had only hooked onto a tag, so how could it carry so many?
Newton's coffin lid couldn't be held down anymore! This was fundamentally unrealistic! Illogical!
Reality? Logic! He was already using cheats, so why bother discussing that? He directly emptied the entire claw machine!
The atmosphere at the scene fell into a strange silence, followed by cheers.
"God of Claw Machines!"
"Heavens, if I had this kind of technique, I would have found a girlfriend long ago!"
"Envious. So there really are techniques for catching dolls?"
"Am I the only one who loses money catching dolls?"
...
"Kikyou, Wang-san, are there any dolls you want?" Shikime Natsu walked up to the two of them and smiled casually. "If you like them, it doesn't matter if you take them all."
"How can we do that? These were caught by Shikime-san," Mei-Yu Wang refused subconsciously.
"It doesn't matter. I don't need so many anyway. If Wang-san and Kikyou can like them, that's enough."
"Then I won't be polite. Thanks, Natsu." Kushida Kikyou accepted them very generously. This guy... is even this kind of thing a strong point for him?
Shikime Natsu arrived in front of Yamauchi Haruki and Ike Kanji.
"Now then... hand over all the points."
____
New Story: Starting from Their Seventeen Years Old
🔥We're handing out that '30% bonus' that makes your wallet smile. 😄
✅ Get immediate access to 40 early chapters for all stories.
✅ Enjoy exclusive material and special announcements!
Help us unlock these community rewards:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone
🚀 140 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters across ALL STORIES!
👻 P - Walnutchan