Chapter 245 - 10: Be Good and Take Your Exam

Gacha games are one of the most sinister inventions in human history.

They perfectly utilize the Snark Box mechanism, flawlessly uniting probability and uncertainty to unknowingly immerse every player until their wallets are drained completely dry.

A lucky player might score a miracle on their first pull, while an unlucky one could sink millions without a single splash. The countless tales of failure are enough to make any gacha veteran’s heart pound with dread.

Noticing Flora breaking out in a cold sweat, the Maid pinched her earlobe and asked, "Miss, have you been playing the gacha again recently?"

"...No..."

"Your earlobe is hot. That’s the temperature of a lie. Tell me the truth, or I’ll pinch your earlobe off and sneak into your bedroom tonight to stick my finger inside."

"You mean my ear canal, right? You’re definitely talking about my ear canal, aren’t you?"

"Now, the countdown begins."

"Answer my question first!"

"Three, two, one."

"That was too fast! Yes, I played the gacha!"

Her mental defenses shattered, Flora cried out, preempting the Maid’s next question with a despairing shout, "I spent 340,000, but I didn’t get anything! The Miss Trashcan I wanted didn’t come home!"

The Maid sighed. "Of course you didn’t get her. The Miss Trashcan banner event doesn’t even start until tomorrow."

"What? How is that possible!"

"Besides, even if you did get her, it would be pointless. You’d gain nothing but a fleeting sense of satisfaction and excitement on the forums, plus the vanity of being called a pro. That would be followed by a prolonged emptiness and the disappointment of getting what you wanted, only for it to fall short of your expectations. Then you’d just delete the game and start searching for your next fix."

"Please, stop talking."

Watching the Maid transform into a queen of verbal abuse, the Dean of Discipline noticed the Energy indicator beginning to rise, a sign that Flora was contributing a significant amount of anxiety.

Looking intently at the Maid, the Dean of Discipline asked, "Miss, would you be interested in teaching me? I can tell you’re a true master when it comes to inducing anxiety."

"Shut up, you filthy pig. Can’t you see I’m educating my mistress?"

"My apologies for being such an eyesore. I’ll take my leave immediately."

After the Maid finished her harsh lesson, a sniffling Flora sat down and began to discuss the next phase of their plan with Duan Fei.

As a veteran gacha addict, Flora had her own insights into how such games worked.

Paired with gold-medal game tester Duan Fei, the two of them quickly drafted an exam reform plan and submitted it to the Dean for review.

Just looking at the plan made the Dean feel anxious, and it hadn’t even been implemented yet.

A ranking system, a point system, a gacha system... all sorts of bizarre mechanics were integrated, promising to make future exams even more brutal.

Lin Daiyu looked over the new plan as well. "Are you two trying to create a few psychopaths?" she asked Duan Fei and Flora.

"Really? I don’t think it’s a big deal," Jinghong said, confused.

"See? We’ve already got one."

The Dean of Discipline rubbed his balding head, thought for a long moment, and finally said with some difficulty, "How about we... run a trial first?"

"Sure! It’s the perfect opportunity for a comparison study," Lin Daiyu said excitedly. "Dean, we’ll use one class as the control group, one as the experimental group, and another as a comparison group. We can even split off two more classes for a reduced-intensity trial. Let’s do it!"

With the Dean’s assistance, the experimental classes were quickly formed, and each of the five players was assigned to lead one.

Twelve students were assigned to them once more, and every single one was a familiar face.

Each classroom was equipped with an anxiety indicator to show how much anxiety the players were generating in their respective classes, allowing them to better adjust their methods.

Sitting at the teacher’s desk, Duan Fei flipped through the students’ past exam papers, shaking his head in dismay.

"You all... this is just not good enough. If you keep this up, you won’t get into a good high school, let alone a good university."

"But sir, don’t we automatically get into the high school?" a student asked, raising his hand.

"Who told you it was automatic? If you can’t get into high school, your only option is to join the workforce. You’ll work from nine in the morning to nine at night, seven days a week, with no overtime pay. You’ll have to cover your own food and housing. Your boss will yell at you whenever he wants and belittle you whenever he pleases. He’ll be completely fickle, and turning on you in an instant will be second nature to him. As long as you’re not dead, he will exploit you to your breaking point."

Duan Fei’s speech made the faces of these pampered young masters and ladies, who knew nothing of the world’s hardships, change color.

But Duan Fei had no intention of letting them off the hook. "However, a few of you are doing all right. Chang Hao, would you please stand up?"

A student stood up and asked nervously, "That’s me. Is something wrong?"

"Your score on the last exam was the highest, so you get an extra reward. Come on up and draw five cards."

Looking at the cards in front of Duan Fei, Chang Hao thought for a moment before drawing five.

"One second-prize card and four third-prize cards. Not bad luck at all."

Even though he didn’t know what "second prize" meant, Chang Hao felt inexplicably happy.

"A second-prize card can be redeemed at the cafeteria for extra snacks. They’re from Ms. Jinghong’s private stash, and believe me, it took a lot of effort to get her to part with them. A first-prize card is even more amazing—you get an announcement over the school’s PA system, and you get to have one wish granted, within certain limits."

As if on cue, the PA system crackled to life, and the Dean’s voice boomed through the speakers: "Congratulations to a student from Class Four for drawing a first-prize card! He wished to spend an hour with White Tiger, and his wish has been granted."

This news sent everyone into a frenzy.

White Tiger was one of the Dean’s primary Protectors, and was extremely popular for his cool, aloof attitude and elegant demeanor.

Getting to interact with White Tiger up close was one of every student’s dreams. They couldn’t believe it could be fulfilled just by drawing a first-prize card.

Taking in the students’ reactions, Duan Fei hoped there would be as many of these zero-cost wishes as possible.

"Alright, second place, come on up."

The second-place student immediately stepped forward. Just as he approached, his anxiety level could be seen rising.

He drew his cards, full of hope, only to sigh in disappointment at getting a second-prize card.

The third-place student took his turn, but after seeing the words "One Fragment" on his card, he asked, confused, "What’s this?"

"That’s the pity mechanic. Collect ten fragments, and you can exchange them for one first-prize card."

In that moment, the third-place student was filled with hope.

As long as he could keep getting chances to draw, he knew that one day, he too would get to hang out with White Tiger.

As the other students craned their necks in eager anticipation, waiting for their turn to draw, Duan Fei told them, "Sorry, that’s it. Only the top three students in the class get rewarded. There’s nothing for the rest of you."

Looking at the utterly devastated students, Duan Fei flashed a demonic smile.

"You want to draw cards? Then you’d better start studying for your exams!"