I have a life simulator.

Sakayanagi Arisu reached out towards the covered playing cards, her mind racing with calculations.

Turn over the card in a position that is memorable to you... its orientation, its distance from yourself, its distance from your opponent, and its position on the table. This is generally a neurasthenic method for memorizing cards that are arranged in a chaotic way.

From a memory perspective, playing cards arranged in neat rows and columns are actually easier to remember.

With a total of nine rows and twelve columns of one hundred and eight cards, Sakayanagi Arisu had already mentally constructed the entire table into the shape of a chessboard.

【E5, Three of Hearts】, 【F8, Five of Spades】.

While noting Kitagawa Ryo's turn-over of the cards, he turned over the card he had chosen.

【E8, King of Clubs】, 【A2, Nine of Diamonds】.

Both of them moved very quickly, as if they didn't want to give each other much time to remember, flipping over one deck of cards after another like lightning.

The television screen was divided into three images: one on the left and one on the right showing the facial expressions of Kitagawa Ryo and Sakayanagi Arisu, while the large image in the middle showed a neat array of 108 playing cards.

In no time, thirty cards had been turned over, and it seemed that the first pairing was about to be successful.

"Aside from the cards they flipped last round, I can't remember the positions of the cards before that."

Matsushita Chiaki's mother quite decisively gave up thinking and began to focus on commenting on Kitagawa Ryo's close-up facial features.

"I... I only clearly remember the positions of ten cards, and before that, I only have a vague impression."

Matsushita Chiaki also covered her head and looked distressed. Because she had been looking at them for so long, the 108 identical playing cards had started to spin in her eyes.

Seemingly anticipating that this part might deter some viewers, the production team carefully interspersed the program with exclusive interviews with the guests and short on-site interviews.

“Memory is indeed an important criterion for judging intelligence level, and according to research, children actually have the ability to remember after the age of two.”

Piaget, holding a deck of cards, smiled and said:

"In my research, children in the preoperational stage, which is the age range of two to seven, have already been able to internalize sensory-motor interactions into mental images, gradually establishing symbolic functions and being able to think using mental symbols, thus achieving a qualitative leap in their thinking."

"However, brain development takes time, so I'm very curious to see how far these two kids can go."

As he spoke, he exaggeratedly clutched his head and exclaimed:

"Because this project gets more and more difficult as you go on, oh my god."

Just as Piaget's interspersed interview ended, Kitagawa Ryo's hand happened to flip over a playing card.

【Three of Hearts】

A "ding-ding" sound effect is accompanied by a close-up of a face, while subtitles at the bottom of the screen remind viewers that this card has appeared before.

"Huh? Has it happened before?"

Mr. Matsushita, too lazy to answer his bewildered wife, turned to Matsushita Chiaki and asked:

"Does Qianqiu still remember?"

"It seems to be... in the middle of the fifth row—I can't remember exactly, but it's probably one of these cards."

While struggling to recall, Matsushita Chiaki ran to the television and pointed to a small area of ​​playing cards in the center of the screen.

At this moment, the production team also conveniently circled the previously seen "three of hearts" card in the viewer's perspective.

Can I open it?

Slow motion, flashback to Arisu Sakayanagi's facial expression, then Ryo Kitagawa quite easily flips to another [Three of Hearts].

Atsuomi Ayanokoji immediately stood up and applauded, and his brief interview was quickly interspersed with upbeat background music.

"Liang is the most outstanding student in the White Room, and his memory is naturally exceptional."

In the picture, Atsuomi Ayanokoji smiles kindly:

“We have been intentionally cultivating his talent in this area since a very early age. Whether it is short-term memory and processing ability or long-term memory ability, he is a very good child.”

"So I think Liang will definitely win this game of neurasthenia."

Kitagawa Ryo, who had achieved his first successful pairing, put away the two threes of hearts, and the staff next to him immediately stepped forward to replace them with two blank cards with the same pattern on the back.

Even though the cards had just been drawn, Matsushita Chiaki felt that the two blank cards had almost seamlessly blended into the entire game, and she could hardly remember their exact positions after just a slight distraction.

This is where the project truly becomes more difficult than it originally was.

There are always 108 cards on the table. You need to remember not only the cards that appear, but also the blank cards that have become traps.

Kitagawa Ryo's luck wasn't so good after successfully pairing up for the first time. The first card he flipped over was the King of Hearts, which appeared for the first time, while the second card was the Nine of Diamonds, which had appeared once before.

Without changing his expression, Kitagawa Ryo put the cards back in his hand, showing absolutely no regret.

But before his fingers had completely left the Nine of Diamonds, Arisu Sakayanagi had already touched his fingertips, then casually flipped the Nine of Diamonds back to its original position, and quite effortlessly found the previous one, completing the pairing.

“When Arisu was a child, she was not in good health, so she spent a lot of time alone in the hospital room. At that time, she was very good at playing this kind of game by herself.”

The screen cuts to a short interview with Narumi Sakayanagi, the father wearing a proud smile:

"Furthermore, I think Arisu's mindset is better than that of the children in the white room. She is less affected by external factors and can concentrate more on memorizing."

One to one.

Both sides have simultaneously completed a successful pairing.

"I didn't expect Arisu to still be willing to say those cringeworthy lines."

As the situation on the field gradually became tense, Kitagawa Ryo smiled and struck up a conversation with Sakayanagi Arisu sitting opposite him.

The rules do not prohibit conversation between the two sides. In theory, both sides have the right to interfere with each other's memory through language. However, since neither of them can wear headphones or microphones during the duel, the camera can only capture the scene of the two sides having a conversation, but cannot hear the specific content.

This is also why Kitagawa Ryo dares to speak so frankly.

"Didn't Liang say that too?"

Lazily propping her cheek up, Sakayanagi Arisu answered without looking up. Although she was already feeling a bit tired, seeing Kitagawa Ryo looking so relaxed and still having time to talk to her, Sakayanagi Arisu couldn't show weakness.

Kitagawa Ryo turned over two more playing cards that hadn't appeared before, looking relaxed:

"In this game, there's actually a chance that you can win in one fell swoop later on."

"It only takes the right timing and a little bit of luck."

Sakayanagi Arisu rubbed her temples. Neither of the two cards she flipped over were ones that had appeared before. The four extra cards in this round had already caused her some memory confusion.

"Does Liang think he can do it?"

"of course."

Kitagawa Ryo suddenly smiled, and even at this moment, his smile inevitably made Sakayanagi Arisu's heart skip a beat.

"Actually, I've always felt that this project would have a hard time showcasing Arisu's excellence, but it's passable as a down-to-earth start."

"So I hope that Arisu can demonstrate his abilities in the next project."

"...Although the script previously suggested that today's two projects should end in a 1-1 tie, I'm sorry."

Kitagawa Ryo lowered his eyes, concealing his dark, deep-set eyes:

"I really don't want to lose today."

His fingers flipped over a card, which was the [King of Clubs] that had appeared before. Almost without hesitation or thought, Kitagawa Ryo easily flipped over another card.

Then, as if by magic, Kitagawa Ryo completed eight pairings in one go amidst the gasps of the audience.

The allure of neurasthenia lies in the fact that the more information that appears as the condition progresses, the more likely such a miracle is to occur.

There are a total of 54 pairs in the game. That means that as long as you complete more than 27 pairings, you will win.

The current score is nine to one.

After flipping over a new card, Kitagawa Ryo unceremoniously flipped over an old card that had already been flipped over.

“When I saw this, I felt that Liang would win the game. He knew exactly what he should do at every step and made no mistakes. Just from this point of view, he has already reached the level of a genius.”

Mr. Koenji's brief interview consisted of only this short sentence.

Because the situation on the field has suddenly changed rapidly.

Sakayanagi Arisu's luck seemed to be bad. The first card she flipped over was a new card. To be on the safe side, she also chose to flip over an old card that she could barely remember as her second card. This was partly to avoid giving her opponent any useful information, and partly to try to remember it again.

With fewer and fewer new cards available, after several rounds, Kitagawa Ryo drew an old card again, and then made nine successful pairings in a flash.

The score is now 18 to 1.

The scales of victory appear to be tipping in Kitagawa Ryo's favor.

However, Sakayanagi Arisu still has a chance to turn things around, because there are very few new cards left.

Sure enough, during her turn, she flipped over a [Ten of Hearts] that had appeared before.

The Ten of Hearts should be around here...

Recalling past memories, Sakayanagi Arisu's hand suddenly paused, because Kitagawa Ryo, sitting opposite her, seemed to have a slight upturn at the corner of his mouth.

Is it wrong?

A moment of hesitation turned into anxiety, and the desperate attempt to recall things to confirm this only fueled more anxiety.

But then I remembered, this is the place.

Even Rin Sakayanagi Arisu herself didn't notice that her fingertips were trembling slightly.

It is a red heart ten.

Sakayanagi Arisu breathed a sigh of relief, regained her fighting spirit, and with this momentum, turned the situation around in one fell swoop.

But when I came to my senses, my mind suddenly went blank.

There were still 108 cards neatly arranged, but 20 pairs had been taken away, meaning 40 blank cards had been mixed in.

The images that were once clear in my memory suddenly became blurry.

The momentary anxiety followed by joy and relaxation caused the palace of memories to collapse slightly, and then began to crumble little by little.

In the final moments of the countdown, Arisu Sakayanagi flipped over an old card from her memories, hoping to use this corner as a starting point to repair her memories.

It's a blank card.

A commotion of noise.

Then, under the watchful gaze of Sakayanagi Arisu, Kitagawa Ryo successfully paired up eight more times.

A blank card skips one turn.

Kitagawa Ryo continued to pair up, and he was getting more and more successful.

In fact, the competition was already over when he completed his twenty-seventh successful pairing.

However, the cruelty of neurasthenia lies in the fact that the side that gains control of the game in the later stages will snowball infinitely.

The final score was 48 to 6.

Kitagawa Ryo stood up and greeted the audience in the audience and in front of the television, and Ayanokoji Atsuomi also gave him a warm round of applause.

"Amazing……"

When Kitagawa Ryo started endless pairings, Matsushita Chiaki had already lost his ability to use language and rhetoric, and could only dryly repeat the name of Sukuniichi one sentence after another.

"I'm a member of the White House faction now."

Mr. Matsushita took a sip of the now-cold tea and sighed.

"I've been one for a long time."

Mrs. Matsushita rolled her eyes at her husband, then continued knitting while watching television.

"Oh dear, I wonder if the production team can help receive the gifts. Liang is dressed too thinly; he looks cold."

Matsushita Chiaki's lips twitched; she felt she was about to fall out of favor because of a stranger.

"Alright! The first round of the competition is over. Congratulations to Ryo for defeating Sakayanagi Arisu."

The host entered the stage with a microphone:

"But Arisu shouldn't be discouraged, because there's still a second round in today's match, which means there's still a chance to win back."

"Ah."

Sakayanagi Arisu took a deep breath, composed herself, and smiled at the camera.

Only she noticed that at the moment the duel ended, Kitagawa Ryo didn't greet the audience below the stage, but instead looked clearly in one direction.

It's like showing off to only that one person, like winning only for that one person.

Xue clapped her hands, raising them high above her head.