Uneasy daily life

[Sister's Power: After reaching 200 squares, Komachi will grant the player 500 wealth for each square and store 200 wealth as savings. After 320 squares, both will double. After 620 squares, no more wealth will be gained, and the savings will decrease by 500 for each square.]

Komachi-! !

Hachiman Hikigaya stared at the chibi Komachi portrait on the card with tears welling up in his eyes. As a self-proclaimed siscon, he swore that it was definitely Komachi's handwriting.

Hachiman Hikigaya was thrilled to have obtained such a thing, but the thought that the minister had secretly contacted Komachi sent alarm bells into high gear, making him feel like he was about to vomit blood.

This game isn't just problematic, it's extremely problematic. It's the kind of game that's absolutely as dark as it gets!

However, there was no escaping it.

"For the first match, it's too long to read out. Uncle, Hayama, Miura, Yuihama, Hikigaya, plus Hiratsuka-sensei—I'll be the professional commentator. Referee Phantom, please begin."

Bai Ying gave Kui Ying a wink.

Phantom cleared his throat and said calmly, "Please welcome our guests. The dissection of the game of life shall begin now."

Angelina subconsciously touched her ear, feeling a static noise, but the others didn't seem to react.

Misheard?

Chapter 101 Snow Father: Inviting Him to Be a Fellow Path

"The rules of the game are actually very simple. Each player calculates their own number of squares and settles the score after reaching 1000. Each player's starting number of squares is different, so they will receive different amounts of money. For example, the uncle starts with 340 squares and will have 340000 starting funds. The other players are the same."

"The question mark grid represents various events. Once triggered, the points are rolled based on the type of card drawn. For example, with the Wealth Card, if the points are between 1 and 6, the player loses some wealth. If the points are between 7 and 12, the player gains wealth. A number of 1 is a big failure, resulting in a greater loss, while a number of 12 is a big success, resulting in a greater gain."

"Choice grids are those that lead to changes in subsequent actions."

"However, rules are irrelevant; a just referee will surely deliver a verdict that everyone can accept—now, let the game begin!"

Place a simple counter and a cute animal piece representing a character in front of each player.

The white figure handed the twelve-sided die to Angelina.

Angelina, fully aware of her role as a white-glove, reached out and tossed the dice.

Phantom: "Too long to read, move up six spaces."

"It's Angelina, not 'too long to say'."

Angelina muttered something, moved the fox piece forward six spaces, and handed the dice to Hayato Hayama on her right.

Hayato Hayama threw a 2, Yumiko Miura threw a 1, Yui Yuigahama threw a 4, and Hachiman Hikigaya, on edge, threw a 10. The group breathed a sigh of relief—they hadn't landed on an exclamation mark or a question mark, and everything was alright.

Hiratsuka Shizuka casually tossed out a 7, moved her tiger chess piece, and stepped on a question mark square.

The public expressed strong interest.

"Players, please draw cards - there are three types of event cards: Wealth Cards, Social Cards, and Chance Cards."

Phantom handed over a stack of cards with question marks on the back, and with a flick of his fingers, the cards scattered like a peacock's tail.

Hiratsuka Shizuka naturally drew a card from the deck, flipped it over, and revealed a drawing of two hands clasped together.

"Player, please place your bet." Phantom put the cards back into the deck and shuffled them with an almost invisible motion.

Kid! Don't mess with me! I'm only doing this to help you!

Hiratsuka Shizuka gave Baiying a look, and Baiying calmly returned the look with a look that said, "Trust me."

Hiratsuka Shizuka calmly threw the dice again.

The bright red 1 is dazzling.

Hiratsuka Shizu: "..."

So, what will happen next? Everyone subconsciously looked at the white figure and the puppet figure acting as the referee.

Phantom made no move.

Bai Ying cleared his throat and read in a narrator's voice: "As a meddlesome teacher, you are happy to listen to students' troubles and wishes and lend a helping hand, but you are not always able to solve problems successfully. When mediating a conflict between a student and his family, your actions indirectly led to the escalation and outbreak of the conflict. In the end, the matter ended in failure. You got drunk in a state of distress and began to doubt yourself. For 10 rounds, you will be unable to actively interact with other players, whether as allies or adversaries."

Hiratsuka Shizuka's eye twitched—this is what you call believing in me? I'll never believe you!

Yukino Yukino's smile froze slightly outside the arena.

Yukinoshita's mother glanced at Hiratsuka Shizuka, her expression remaining gentle and calm.

The emotional changes of the few people did not affect the continuation of the game. Hiratsuka Shizuka handed the dice to Yukinoshita's father.

Yukinoshita's father held the dice, feeling how hot they were, and even had a vague guess in his mind—could this be the teacher who played in the band with Nakagami back then?!

He was somewhat bewildered; too many things had happened in such a short time that were beyond his comprehension.

Why am I suddenly being asked to play a game? Oh, it seems the goddess and the young man arranged it, so I have no choice but to play. Thinking about it carefully, I vaguely feel that starting with the goddess, as long as she gives the order, my whole family has to participate in the game, and then there are other people who get involved...

Calm down, it's just a game, don't panic!

Yukinoshita's father threw out the dice, manipulating his turtle chess piece to move eight squares.

It is an exclamation mark.

It is an exclamation mark, which is even rarer and more unsettling than a question mark!

Phantom: "Would you like to activate your identity ability?"

Yukinoshita's father suddenly remembered his ability to move forward or backward two spaces each turn, and at the same time, he discovered that the two spaces in front of him were a fish piece lying on its side, with an eerie light reflecting from its eyes.

Hey! Isn't that Hachiman Hikigaya?!

Upon calming down and thinking it over carefully, the young man said it combines the gameplay of Monopoly, but lacks the actions of buying land, building houses, and collecting tolls. There is a lack of competition between players, and at first glance it seems like everyone is going their own way. However, the unfortunate teacher's experience just now shows that players can indeed interact...

So the most likely way to trigger interaction is if there are two players in one square, right?!

I want to move forward two spaces!

Yukinoshita's father placed the chess pieces alongside the fish pieces and kindly greeted Hachiman Hikigaya, saying, "Young man, we are truly destined to meet."

Hachiman Hikigaya vaguely thought of this as well, but it's just a game, old man, don't—from behind the old man, he saw a furious-faced Shura who seemed to be opening his eyes.

Is it because it's a game that the old man is going to launch an even more unrestrained attack?!

"Wow, I didn't expect the interaction mechanism to be triggered so quickly!"

Bai Ying exclaimed in surprise, “There are three types of interaction: companion, enemy, and stranger. Companion means that you can be family, close friends, confidants, allies, lovers or spouses. It is equivalent to the two parties being bound to each other, regarded as one, and acting together. No matter which one moves forward, the other will move in sync, and wealth will be shared. In addition, when encountering event grids and choice grids, an extra companion judgment will be added.”

"Uncle, Hachiman, what interaction options did you choose—"

Yukinoshita's father and Hachiman Hikigaya exchanged glances.

“Young man, let’s take a walk together,” Yukino’s father said with a smile. “In life, having more friends means having more paths to take.”

Hachiman Hikigaya said sincerely, "Uncle, can't we just pretend we never met?"

Yukinoshita's father's smile vanished: "I want to go with Hikigaya-kun."

Winning or losing doesn't matter; I just want to take the other person down with me.

Phantom asked, "Does this player agree to travel together?"

Yukino's father was taken aback: "Huh? We need his permission to work in the same industry?"

Bai Ying shook his head and said, "Of course, the other party's consent is required. Apart from the effects of some identity cards and choices, cooperation is a friendly interaction that requires the consent of both parties, while hostility is an interaction that can be established unilaterally."

“Then I’ll play against him,” Yukino’s father said decisively. “I was a master at Monopoly when I was young, and this game is bound to be my victory!”

Hikigaya Hachiman: "..."

Uncle, you don't want to win, you want me dead!

Hmm? But if I go bankrupt, I can get out of this dark game early and escape it? That doesn't seem so bad!

"OK! Let's begin the battle explanation—both sides first roll the dice once. A 1 means giving up 10% of your wealth, a 10 means giving up 100% of your wealth, and 11 and 12 can create wealth out of thin air and give up the corresponding proportion! This is the betting phase!"

"Then both sides roll the dice again. Rolling a 1 results in an immediate loss, and the bet goes to the other side. Rolling a 12 results in an immediate win, and the winner receives the other side's bet!"

"If both sides have numbers between 2 and 11, then the final strength is calculated by multiplying the points thrown by the total amount wagered. The side with the greater strength wins and takes all of the opponent's bets! It's a very simple and easy-to-understand rule."

The white figure gestured, "Please place your bet."

The rules are indeed very simple and easy to understand... but does that mean you could go bankrupt at any time?!

What kind of Russian roulette is this?!

"Based on general rationality, with my initial wealth being more than twice that of yours, my probability of winning must be over 50%..."

The father murmured calculations beneath the snow.

Hachiman Hikigaya was at his wit's end—this old man had clearly stepped into the abyss of the Dark Game. This battle mechanism, where you could go up to heaven or down to earth at any moment, was so irrational that he would still fight even after understanding it!

Get ready, Hachiman! I'm your fish killer!

Yukinoshita's father resolutely threw out the dice—2!

It's ok!

Even if I only have 20% of my 340,000 wealth, that's still 68,000! This is the leisure of a working professional, a leisure that young people who spend money on gacha games and then eat steamed buns don't have!

Hachiman Hikigaya casually tossed out a 5! He bet 80,000.

The white figure cheered, "Oh! Oh! Oh! In this close-quarters battle, who will emerge victorious?!"

It's ok!

As long as my points are higher than his, I can defeat the enemy!

The father roared inwardly, "Die!"

"...What if Hachiman also throws out a 1?" Yukinoshita's father turned and asked.

Bai Ying replied, "Then let's throw it again."

Hachiman Hikigaya lost a 3.

My father, fallen beneath the snow.

Uncle... dark games don't bring happiness, why aren't you awake yet?

Hachiman Hikigaya sighed.

Yukino Yukinoshita said subtly, "Pfft, Father's luck isn't very good."

Yukino Yukinoshita glanced at her furtively—why was Hachiman targeted by Father? Wasn't it all because of your methods, sister? Mother wasn't affected, but Father was sinking deeper and deeper…

After their previous private conversation, Yukino Yukinoshita finally understood why her father was so easily startled. He was treating Hikigaya as his daughter's boyfriend, not her friend. Although she understood a little, she still felt that his sudden and inexplicable reactions were strange.

I hope Hikigaya-kun is alright.

And then there's Bai Jun's game... wow, I really can't imagine what he's up to.

Yukino Yukinoshita glanced at her ID card and felt a bit of a headache.

"Battle over - here you go."

The white figure placed two blood-red marks next to Hachiman Hikigaya and his father, Yukinoshita, who had turned to stone.

Hachiman Hikigaya had a bad feeling: "...Captain, what is this?"

"A mark of enmity."

Bai Ying said matter-of-factly, "After each battle, the two sides will form a grudge against each other. The range for triggering battles between players who have a grudge will be expanded in the next game. For example, if you have a grudge now, you can fight each other in the next round as long as you are within 1 square of each other."

"Wait a minute!" Hachiman Hikigaya's eye twitched. "If that's the case, the more battles there are, the more grudges there will be, the wider the scope of battles will be, and the easier it will be to trigger battles?"

Bai Ying praised, "You have great comprehension."

What kind of insane mechanism is this?!

When Hachiman Hikigaya saw the withered old man come back to life, it was as if a stronger flame of revenge was rising within him.

Once hatred starts to spread, nothing can stop it.

Chapter 102 Hiratsuka Shizuka: Takeoff from Wuhu!

Yukinoshita's father invited her to join his cause, but she refused. He then turned on her and attacked her, only to be killed in the process, turning her into a clown.

He was already deeply entangled in demonic possession, transforming into a vengeful figure. He cared nothing for other players or winning the game, vowing to hunt Hachiman Hikigaya to the ends of the earth. However, his luck with the dice was bad. Even with his grudges and the ability to move freely, he still couldn't catch up with Hachiman Hikigaya, who had widened the distance between them.

The others progressed smoothly, occasionally stepping on event tiles without anything bad happening. The wealth card simply meant gaining or losing some wealth, the social card meant receiving some buffs or debuffs, and the chance card was simply good or bad luck. From the narration, it was at most being hit by a car, bitten by a dog, or getting a ride. In the game, this usually manifested as advancing a certain number of tiles or skipping a turn.

Even if they happen to be in the same space, they will basically choose to be strangers. After all, the rules of the battle are too dark. If one is unlucky, one side will be ruined. Even if one wins, they will be enemies. There is a feeling that there will be no peace afterward, just like the chase between Hachiman Hikigaya and Yukinoshita's father.