The First Premiere Ends (Including the Family Thread)

A heavy, grating "buzz—" sounded through the studio, signaling a wrong answer.

The color drained from the contestant's face in an instant, and his whole body froze in his seat.

Eri cried out, "Ah," and covered her mouth.

In a regretful tone, the host announced that Mr. Tanaka's challenge had failed. According to the rules, he would lose all accumulated prize money and could only leave with the commemorative gifts provided by the sponsor, Kirin Beer.

Under the camera, the middle-aged man walked off the stage like he had lost his soul, unable even to say a word of farewell.

That enormous sense of a fall from grace rushed through the screen and hit them head-on.

"That's too cruel..." Eri murmured, her eyes even a little red. "He was—he was clearly just a little bit away from one million, and in the end he got nothing."

"No, he didn't get nothing." Nakayama Takuya's voice sounded in the quiet living room.

Eri looked at him in confusion.

"He became the most famous man in all Japan tonight." A nearly cold precision flickered in Nakayama Takuya's eyes. "Tomorrow, everyone who watched the show will be talking about him, talking about that unlucky fool who lost six hundred thousand yen because of greed. This kind of drama, falling from heaven into hell, leaves an impression a hundred times deeper than simply walking away with the prize money. This is the guarantee of ratings."

The program cut to a Game Gear segment.

After Game Gear returned, the second contestant appeared.

He was a young man wearing glasses, looking refined and scholarly. He had clearly been frightened by the previous contestant's disastrous ending, and every step he took was cautious and careful.

When he stumbled his way to the eighth question and scraped through by