Spearhead Match
The game played by the Spearheads will be...
Twenty-Four-Chamber Russian Roulette!
Russian roulette?
Isn't that...
where you put one bullet in a gun
and take turns putting it to your heads and firing?
Correct.
This game will use a special twenty-four-chamber revolver.
Though, of course, no one's life will actually be in danger.
You will get the sound and recoil of a real discharge,
but no bullet will be fired, so there is no need to worry.
However, a discharge symbolizes your death in the game.
The price of death will be 50 million paid to the opposing team.
Now, let us run a trial game.
Will the Spearheads from both teams please come forward?
Excuse me.
If this is just a run-through for the rules, it doesn't have to be me, right?
As you wish.
You take this, then, Nao.
Huh?! Me?!
Impressive, Fukunaga.
Refusing to show your hand just for a run-through...
You're as shrewd as the rumors say.
As the Spearhead match dealer, I'll walk you through the game.
The game will take place in this private study room.
The only people allowed inside are the dealer and the two Spearheads.
Each player will have three bullets to load into the chambers of their choice.
In other words, six of the twenty-four chambers will be loaded.
There's not just one bullet, then?
Chamber Load Sheet
Use this sheet to mark where you'd like your bullets to go.
Chamber Load Sheet
Let me see...
Where should I put them?
Eighteen, twenty, and twenty-three.
But why?
Just do it.
Both teams have chosen their bullets' positions.
The loading will take place in another room.
It's finished.
Once the loading is done, we'll spin the cylinder.
To prevent dealer interference, I'll only lock the cylinder once it stops naturally.
Now, the game begins.
We will decide the first turn like this.
Kanzaki-san will take the first turn.
If you shoot and the chamber is empty,
the turn merely shifts to your opponent.
But if the chamber is loaded and the gun discharges,
you must pay 50 million yen.
In other words, fifty chips.
Please proceed, Kanzaki-san.
D-Do I have to shoot?
If you do not wish to shoot, you may also pass.
But in order to pass, you must place one chip into the pot.
One chip is a small price to pay. I pass!
Hey, it's just practice! Don't be a chicken!
Once you pass, your opponent takes their turn.
If your opponent pulls the trigger and the gun discharges,
BANG
you'll earn both his fifty-chip penalty and the pass chip in the pot.
1 chip In the pot
50 chips Penalty
51 chips
In the pot
If he fires and it's empty,
Click
the chip in the pot goes to him, and the turn reverts to you.
Of course, he may also elect to pass,
Pass
but he must pay double what last went into the pot: two chips.
So if I were to pass again, I'd have to pay in four chips?
That's correct.
The next pass will cost eight chips,
East
West
and the one after that, sixteen.
If five passes are called in a row, the round is forfeit.
Forfeit
The chips in the pot will go to the dealer,
and the dealer will pull the trigger instead.
Now, Nishida-san, what will you do?
I'll shoot.
It's empty!
Congratulations.
Normally, that would earn you one chip—
that is, a million yen.
Right.
Next up, Kanzaki-san.
Nao.
Don't let your guard down.
This run-through could give us the breakthrough we need.
Understand?
Right.
That's right. A hint as to how to win the game...
Um...
I assigned my bullets to chambers eighteen, twenty, and twenty-three.
It's no use. After the spin, I don't know which chamber's which!
But if I look closely, there might be a clue!
No... I don't see anything.
Kanzaki-san, will you shoot?
Y-Yes, I will.
The chance of a discharge is six in twenty-three.
It's far more likely to be empty than loaded... right?
A shame. You took a bullet.
In the game, that would be a loss of fifty chips... 50 million yen.
I have to do something...
I have to find a way to win the game!
Discharges
Western Army
Eastern Army
The run-through is complete.
The game is called by the number of discharges.
The game only ends when all six bullets are discharged.
In other words, even if victory is clinched with a score of 4-0,
the game will continue until the sixth shot is fired.
The real game will now begin.
All players except the Spearheads must clear the room.
I'm sorry, Fukunaga-san.
I couldn't figure out a thing.
Hey, no problem.
I honestly didn't expect anything from you.
I was completely useless back there.
That's not true.
That round taught us a lot.
Don't worry. We learned all we needed and more.
We can win this game for sure.
We can?
But there's no way to tell where your bullets are.
Isn't it all about luck?
The first discharge might come down to luck, true.
But there's a clear way to know where your other two shots are, right?
Load your bullets in consecutive chambers...
At eleven, twelve, and thirteen, for instance.
That's true!
Then, once the first shot comes up, you pass the next turn for sure.
If the next chamber is empty,
you'll know that first bullet was loaded by your opponent.
If it's loaded, you'll know that first bullet was one of yours.
Then you can be certain the next one's loaded, too!
Amazing! That's the best strategy, isn't it?
Loading that way guarantees you won't get hit by your own second and third bullets.
It'd give you a sizable advantage.
But...
The other team probably realizes that too, don't they?
It's fine if they do.
In fact, it'd make things easier for us.
There's one more loophole we can use to gain an advantage.
Now, let the Spearhead match,
Twenty-Four-Chamber Russian Roulette, begin!
The loading is complete.
I will now spin the cylinder.
Let us determine the first turn.
Fukunaga-san of the East will go first.
Okay.
Pass.
Nishida-san of the West, if you please.
I-I'll pass.
Fukunaga-san, if you please.
Pass.
This chick didn't even hesitate!
Does she see something I don't?
There's no way.
She didn't play in the run-through. She can't know squat!
But... just in case...
I pass again!
Well, Fukunaga-san, one more pass and the pot will be forfeit.
What will you do?
Obviously, I'll pa—
Nah, I think I'll shoot.
The first chamber is empty.
Fukunaga of the Eastern Army takes a pile of chips to start us off.
That's amazing! Fukunaga-san's so daring!
That's not daring.
I told you. There's one other loophole in this game...
I've lost 10 million already.
You're dancing to my tune.
As it happens, I know exactly where the bullets are.
Get it?
What?!
No way!
That can't be.
I looked all over the revolver during the run-through!
I came to one conclusion...
There's no way to tell where it's loaded from the outside.
She's bluffing. It was dumb luck that the chamber was empty.
She took a big gamble, and it happened to pay off!
Pass.
Round 2
East
West
Pass
Then I'll pass, too.
Round 2
East
West
Pass
What was that laugh about?!
Fukunaga's great with the mind games.
Hang on, does she seriously know where the bullets are?
For now, I'd better just watch...
Pass!
Round 2
East
West
Pass
In that case, I'll also...
No, I think I'll shoot.
Fukunaga of the East unloads a second empty chamber.
Chip Divide
chip
Eastern Army lead
The Eastern Army's lead increases to thirty chips.
But... how?
I told you, didn't I?
I know exactly where the bullets are.
Round 3
Pass.
Round 3
East
West
Pass
Next, Fukunaga-san.
It should be coming up pretty soon.
Round 3
East
West
Pass
I'll pass.
"Pretty soon"?!
So she doesn't know where the bullets are?!
Hey, why not work up the guts to pull the trigger for once?
You might just find it empty.
I'm not falling for that!
I pass!
Round 3
East
West
Pass
I guess I'll shoot, then.
Another empty chamber.
Fukunaga of the Eastern Army takes the pot once more.
Amazing!
So... what's the other loophole?
Before the game, the dealer spins the cylinder in front of the players.
To prevent potential dealer interference,
they let the cylinder stop naturally before locking it.
The dealer also holds the gun so the players can't see inside.
They're doing that to make sure it's fair, right?
But, paradoxically,
this action makes the game distinctly unfair.
You didn't notice the sound the cylinder makes when it's spun?
If you listen closely, its speed isn't uniform.
There's a slight fluctuation.
Why is that?
Not Loaded
Loaded
The presence of six bullets inside affects the center of gravity.
The outcome of the run-through game made that clear.
An illustration of the loaded chambers would look like this.
They're concentrated on the bottom!
Once the run-through was over,
I quietly borrowed the gun and tried spinning the cylinder myself.
Leaving the bullets where they were, of course.
When I did, the spin came to a stop just a chamber off where it had during play.
First Shot
Akiyama Shuffle
Dealer Shuffle
The gun is clearly unbalanced.
I see...
The best strategy in this game is to load three bullets in a row.
So let's assume both teams did the same thing.
Unless they coincidentally positioned their bullets exactly opposed,
it would inevitably change the center of gravity,
with the heavier side ending up at the bottom.
And because there's a cylinder stop to prevent it from rolling back,
inertia will tend to carry it a little bit further than that.
First Shot
Which means the chance of there being a bullet in the first six chambers
is exceptionally low.
But that's only if her opponent loaded three bullets in a row, right?
He did, though. I'm sure of that.
Because...
I told him to.
After the run-through, I muttered loud enough for their team to hear...
Oh?
Shouldn't you just load all three bullets in a row?
Ah, whoops.
What I said clearly got a reaction from them.
Amazing...
You were that prepared, Akiyama-san?
This is the Liar Game.
That's the level you have to play at.
Akiyama-san's powers of observation and thinking ahead paid dividends,
Round 5
and Fukunaga-san continued to dominate.
Round 6
Six empty chambers in a row!
The difference in earnings widens to 70 million.
Fukunaga-san's amazing!
The problem starts now, though.
From the seventh shot onward, the chance of a loaded chamber skyrockets.
She can't keep going like this.
"Don't pull the trigger on yourself, but convince the opponent to do so."
Fukunaga's skill will carry the rounds to come.
Round 9
I'll shoot.
The Western Army takes the first bullet.
You completely fell for it.
Time-out, please!
The Western Army quickly calls their time-out.
You will now have three minutes of planning time.
Did you see that, Nao?
I made him eat the first bullet!
He fell right into my trap!
How did you do that?
Since you're such a dunce, I'll explain the whole thing.
Before the game, Akiyama told me how the cylinder was off-balance.
Plus, he'd tricked the enemy
into loading three in a row to help with our plan.
Either way, since there was such a low chance
of a bullet being in the first six chambers,
I could fire them all with total confidence.
Obviously, I was rattling my opponent while raking in the pot chips.
But the real challenge was yet to come.
Starting with that seventh shot, the odds of a bullet have risen dramatically.
Round 7
East
West
Pass
P-Pass.
Pass
I think I'll shoot.
I'm impressed you took that shot on the seventh round...
I'd determined from the sound of the spin that the balance was very off.
But that was my last chance.
Even I didn't have the courage to pull the trigger on the eighth round.
I was thinking she was pretty damn gutsy.
But at the same time, it occurred to me...
that she might really know where the bullets are!
And when I looked at the gun again...
I realized something incredible!
What are these black smudges?
There are actually two places where there's three in a row...
I loaded my bullets consecutively.
So if the other team did the same thing...
Maybe these smudges match where the bullets are?
Of course! It's gunpowder!
When the bullets were loaded,
some leaked out onto the back of the cylinder!
So the bullets are laid out like this!
I get it now!
She was so confident about firing because she saw these smudges!
Which means the first bullet won't come until round fourteen!
Current Shot
Hey, I've got six shots to go!
I'm firing.
The Western Army unloads an empty chamber.
They strike a blow back.
I can do this.
There are nine shots left I can take!
I can definitely turn this around!
Round 9
East
West
Pass
Then, on the ninth round...
I'll shoot.
So what were the smudges?
This.
Just some eyeliner shavings.
See?
It looks like gunpowder!
If he'd been thinking straight, he would've seen right through it.
But he was already out of his mind.
He felt his back against the wall.
And in that state of mind, he saw those three smudges in a row...
He convinced himself there had to be a causal link.
Your three minutes are up. The game will resume.
Spearheads, please return to the game room.
At any rate, I'd say...
this Spearhead match is in the bag.
Chip Divide
chip
Eastern Army lead
The discharge score is 1-0.
The Eastern Army has a healthy lead in chips, as well.
This will be the tenth round.
Fukunaga-san of the East, if you please.
Pass.
Next, Nishida-san.
I'll pass.
Fukunaga-san.
Pass.
Gosh, what a relief.
It looks like we'll win the Spearhead—
What is it?
I just realized something terrible.
There's...
a terrible trap that's been set for us!
Next Time
Trap