Greedy Contestant (Including Family Thread)

The contestant passed five rounds in a row, accumulating a prize of 80,000 Japanese yen.

"Bite""

With a crisp sound effect, the host announced loudly, "Congratulations, Mr. Tanaka! You've passed the first safety line! Now, the 80,000 Japanese yen is entirely yours! Even if you answer all the remaining questions incorrectly, you can still take this prize money home!"

The studio erupted in enthusiastic applause.

"Look," Nakayama Takuya pointed at the television, "His mindset is different now. Before, he was barefoot; now he's wearing shoes worth 80,000 Japanese yen. From this moment on, he's not winning money, he's protecting it."

Eri watched with great interest, completely absorbed in the story, and thought along with the contestants.

Question 6: Who is the Italy painter who created the famous painting "Mona Lisa"? A. Michelangelo. B. Raphael. C. Leonardo da Vinci. D. Titian.

"I know that! It's Leonardo da Vinci!" Eri shouted without hesitation.

The contestant answered correctly, and the prize money climbed to 120,000 Japanese yen.

Eri wore a smug and proud expression, as if she had answered correctly.

Question 7: Who was the daimyo known as the "Tiger of Kai" during Japan's Sengoku period? A. Uesugi Kenshin. B. Oda Nobunaga. C. Takeda Shingen. D. Tokugawa Ieyasu.

"Hmm... this..." Eri frowned. "Uesugi Kenshin is the Dragon of Echigo," then "the Tiger of Kai"—shouldn't that be Takeda Shingen? Yes, that's him!

She looked at Takuya with unwavering conviction, seeking his approval.

Takuya just smiled and didn't say anything.

The contestant on TV also chose C, successfully passed the test, and won a prize of 200,000.

Eri clapped her hands happily. "See! I told you so!"

Nakayama Takuya finally couldn't hold back any longer and said quietly, "You're a top student in Multimedia Engineering at Osaka University, and this is all the historical knowledge you have? I thought you'd hesitate a bit."

"What do you mean?" Eri rolled her eyes at him, annoyed. "I got it right."

"Yes, you got it right," Nakayama Takuya a mischievous grin, "But the expression on your face just now practically screamed that I was just guessing."

"You!" Eri's cheeks flushed slightly, and she reached out and pinched his arm. "You talk too much!"

On television, after easily passing the first seven questions, the contestants' tension had largely faded, replaced by an irrepressible excitement.

Meanwhile, Eri, sitting in front of the television, was completely engrossed in the show, her hands clenching unconsciously, her heart pounding in her chest.

She knew very well that the real challenge was just beginning.

The appearance of the eighth question instantly froze the relaxed atmosphere in the studio.

"In the Heian Period literary work *The Tale of the Tale of Genji *, the woman whom the protagonist Hikaru Genji, loved throughout his life, and who was later referred to as 'Murasaki no Ue ' by readers, 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. Although she was a top student, she was unsure about this kind of obscure literary research. "It seems to be—a daughter?"

The middle-aged office worker on TV was clearly stunned, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead again.

After hesitating for a long time, he finally spoke, "I—I'm using 'on-site help'."

The studio lights dimmed, and the voting devices in the audience's hands glowed faintly. A few seconds later, the results appeared on the big screen:

Option A: 15%, Option B: 30%, Option C: 40%, Option D: 15%.

The results were very scattered and did not provide him with a clear answer.

"Damn it, the audience can't be trusted either," Eri couldn't help but complain.

"That's the real point," Nakayama Takuya, picking up his barley tea. "What's the point if every question is a freebie?"

The contestant's facial muscles twitched, clearly indicating increased tension. He gritted his teeth. "I'll use another trick to eliminate two more wrong answers!"

A "ding--" sound effect rang out, and options A and D on the screen turned gray. Only options B ("Aunt") and C ("Daughter") remained.

It's a choice between two options, with a 50% probability.

The contestant's Adam's apple bobbed as he stared intently at the remaining two options, as if trying to see through the screen. Time ticked by, and the studio was so quiet you could hear your own heartbeat.

Finally, as if gambling everything, he shouted in a hoarse voice, "I choose C! Daughter!"

Eri's heart leaped into her throat, and she instinctively gripped her husband's arm tightly.

The host paused for a full three seconds before suddenly raising his voice. "Congratulations! Correct answer!"

Thunderous applause erupted in the studio. The contestant slumped into his chair, panting heavily.

Eri breathed a sigh of relief and let go of his hand, "That scared me to death, I thought he was going to fall."

The following questions, number nine and ten, were slightly easier than number eight and were within the contestant's knowledge range. The contestant passed them without any major problems, and the prize money accumulated to 600,000 Japanese yen.

"Six hundred thousand Japanese yen!" the host said in a tempting voice. "Mr. Tanaka, that's enough for you to buy a brand new car! Now, you can choose to leave with this money, or take on the next question and try to reach the one million Japanese yen mark!"

The camera gave the contestant a close-up, the sweat on his face and the greedy gleam in his eyes intertwined, making it look exceptionally real.

"Let's go! Hurry up! Six hundred thousand is a lot!" Eri waved her little fist at the TV, even more anxious than the contestant himself.

Nakayama Takuya leaned back on the sofa and chuckled softly, "He won't leave."

"Why? That's a huge sum of money!"

"Because he's become obsessed with gambling. In a country like Japan, where pachinko players make up more than 20% of the population, this kind of gambler's mentality is all too common." Nakayama Takuya pointed to the television. "Besides, going from 600,000 to 1 million sounds like just a step away. He'll think he can do it."

As expected, after much deliberation, the contestant chose to continue.

The eleventh question appeared, asking about the life of a little-known sculptor from the Europe Renaissance. The contestant was completely dumbfounded; this was entirely beyond his knowledge.

He used his last trick. "Phone call for help." He called a friend, but during the one-minute call, his friend couldn't give a definite answer, only managing to say hastily in the last few seconds, "I guess it's A."

Well, I'm not sure!

Time was up, the phone call ended. The studio fell silent.

The contestant's face showed struggle, hesitation, and inner turmoil.

In the end, he made a tough decision and chose the answer his friend had guessed.