A few days later, episode three of 'Kaiji' aired.
Li Ziping had been waiting in front of the screen for an hour before the streaming link went live.
Some people only started to see the brilliance of this show from Episode two, but for Li Ziping, it had hooked him right from Episode one. Episode two? He was completely obsessed.
Sometimes it just comes down to personal taste — this drama just hit the exact spot for him.
It's like the show next door, 'Clannad' — many complain it's not up to par with Jing Yu's past romance dramas, but you can't deny that the earlier episodes — scenes like Sunohara getting beaten up by Tomoyo, or Kyou beating him down, or the male lead constantly pulling pranks on Fuko — also had their fair share of loyal fans.
Plenty of people just want to unwind after work and don't need tearjerkers or mind games. Lighthearted and "meaningless" is exactly what they want. To each their own.
In the fan chat:
"So what's Kaiji going to do next? The three of them only have three stars left, and he's holding dozens of rock cards…"
"I don't get it. He's all rock, everyone else is paper. Sure, he could use the rocks to burn cards among teammates, but they need nine stars total to get off the ship. If the game ends and they can't disembark, not only do their previous debts remain, but the interest from loans taken onboard gets tacked on. Based on what was mentioned in the show, some people who lost too much were taken underground to mine — and straight-up died down there."
"That Teiai Group is evil! Why doesn't the government in the show do anything?"
"Don't overthink it. If you really want to be logical, most evil organizations in dramas would never have gotten that far to begin with. Just accept the setting as it is."
"Yeah, exactly. And if we're being real — Kaiji's supposed to be this genius, but he still ended up on that gambling ship. Like, even if he figured out the balance theory with the four scissors, and even pulled off the buyout-rocks strategy… If that other group hadn't screwed them over, they'd be swimming in stars by now."
The group chat buzzed with debate, dissecting last week's plot developments.
And right in that atmosphere, 'Kaiji' episode three went live.
Kaiji prepared for a final face-off with the group that had monopolized the paper cards in the last episode.
Their leader, Kitami (Li Jian), made a bold proposal:
"This will be our last match. After that, we'll head to the second floor and wait for the game to end — sell off our stars."
He looked smug as he faced Kaiji.
Now, Kaiji, Furuhata, and Ando each had just one star left. Whoever lost this match… would be sent to the underground labor pit to repay their debts.
So Kaiji made his move:
"Let's bet three stars in one match. If we lose, all three of us will go into solitary confinement. But if we win, not only do we take three stars, I'll also give you the ¥600,000 I have left from my loan."
This was Kaiji's final gamble.
Most players outside were holding scissors. Though Kaiji also had a couple of scissors and paper cards, most of his hand was still rock.
If he followed normal play, winning six more stars with his current cards to get all three of them off the ship? Pure fantasy.
Do or die.
This one round of restricted rock-paper-scissors… was the endgame.
If they won, they'd have six stars — giving them a buffer. One loss wouldn't doom anyone.
But if they lost… it was game over. They'd be sent to the black room, the underground labor pit, for at least ten years, assuming they even survived that long.
Not technically gambling with their lives, but practically no different.
Conflict broke out in the group. Furuhata and Ando both refused to accept Kaiji's proposal to use their precious stars as the wager.
"Furuhata, Ando, this is our only shot! We've only got thirty minutes left. No time to make a new strategy — no time to cheat. If we don't bet now, we'll never win six more stars with our rock cards. Everyone else out there is holding paper. Retreating now is the same as giving up!"
The three couldn't agree and started arguing. Kitami shrugged and turned to leave — he wouldn't risk such a high-stakes match.
So Kaiji made one last move.
"Give me five minutes! If I can't convince them in five minutes, the ¥600,000 is yours. But if I do convince them, you must accept this three-star showdown!"
Kaiji's expression was fierce. The fire in his eyes burned with frustration at his two idiot teammates — but he knew if Kitami left now, they'd be finished.
At that moment, in front of his screen, Li Ziping felt his brain surge with adrenaline.
This was peak drama.
Meanwhile, the fans were boiling over:
"Ugh, I can't with these two losers — Furuhata and Ando are garbage. They panicked and lost a star each. If not for them, Kaiji would still have his two buffer stars. He won two stars from balance-type players and gave them away — and they just tried to escape on their own, screwing over the team."
"So disgusting! Furuhata was the reason Kaiji got on the ship in the first place — he vouched for his loan! And now he's whining? Letting Kaiji throw ¥600,000 down just to bait Kitami back to the table? I wanna stab this pig teammate myself!"
"I'm so mad! Being stuck in a corner isn't what's pathetic — what's pathetic is not having the guts to fight back. Kaiji may have been a loser in episode one, but at least he has the balls to go all-in now. What are these two even doing?!"
The comments were full of rage-induced aneurysms.
"Idiots! We're already out of options. In thirty minutes, we won't even find anyone to challenge! But now? With Kitami, we've at least got a one-third shot at a comeback. If we let him walk, we're not getting off this ship."
Kaiji, face twisted in fury, shouted at his teammates:
"For the sake of all three of us — so we can get off this ship together — show some courage!!"
Li Ziping was pissed too, but watching the actor's powerful performance brought tears to his eyes.
Even after all this, Kaiji still didn't regret not abandoning his teammates in the last episode to go solo.
Pig teammates are infuriating — but Kaiji's resilience in this desperate moment was moving.
After ten long minutes of buildup, the match finally began.
"This guy… there's no way his luck's that good. I just need to use this last card — then I can head to the second floor."
Kitami placed his card down with a smirk.
But then —
A jolt.
Something in his brain screamed danger.
What is this unease...?
My last card… It's my LAST card…
Before he could think, Kitami's body reacted. His pupils shrank. He instinctively reached out to take the card back.
"Referee! He already played it, right?! The match is valid, he can't back out now!" Kaiji shouted.
Li Ziping was stunned.
This reaction — it had to mean something. Kaiji wasn't just gambling on luck.
Though he looked like a cornered gambler betting it all, his reaction just now?
This was a man who had a winning hand.
No doubt.
Kitami's dread started creeping through the screen and into the viewers' hearts.
Li Ziping swallowed hard.
Could it be… Kaiji had another trap set?
This man could still find ways to turn the tables in such desperate straits —
How did he even end up here in the first place?!
"There's got to be… some critical flaw in this gamble I didn't notice…"
Kitami's internal monologue all but confirmed the audience's suspicions.
Kaiji wasn't relying on luck.
"Nice intuition, Kitami."
As the referee confirmed the match was valid and Kitami couldn't change his play —
Kaiji smiled.
"Remember what you said before the match? 'This is the showdown.' That was your first mistake."
"Your second mistake was how quickly you laid down that last card. No way you didn't talk it over with your teammates. That just proves — you already agreed on what card to use. Which means — your card is the odd one out. Because, like me, you were also using the card-buyout strategy!"
Li Ziping was puzzled. Was Kaiji speaking in riddles again?
Even if that's true… how could he know what Kitami's final card was?
"Your team wanted to burn cards with ties. Rock vs. rock, paper vs. paper — that's enough. You didn't need me. The only reason you'd need someone else is if your cards were an odd number — making a tie impossible."
"And since you're a buyout strategist, you wouldn't buy rock or scissors unless they made up even numbers. You started by buying out paper to counter us."
Li Ziping was struck like lightning.
Last episode — the two stars Furuhata and Ando lost? Both to Kitami's teammates.
And what did they use?
Paper.
They'd been targeted.
Kitami's group had just waited, paper in hand, to crush Kaiji's rock strategy.
After that, they needed to burn their extra cards in ties — hence the even rock and scissors, and the odd card was… paper.
Kitami's team never played against anyone else. Only Kaiji's team. And every play was paper.
Kaiji's logic was airtight.
Their even-numbered cards: rock and scissors.
Their odd card? Paper.
"You accounted for all of this, Kaiji?!"
Li Ziping was stunned.