63.07-Long black hot dog

Previously on the Smole, the ten contestants had to learn battle, in terms of sumo wrestling, martial arts or Voidcritters. 40/100 points were gathered for the pot to make it 73/200 points. The group once again chose to execute the second lowest scorer as a majority, and Clarabella was the victim of a 6-way tie. She was not the Mole, but who is? And can the group work together to fill the pot fast?

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Jovan: "Can we keep the dog? Please? I know it's a stray but it's so cute! Dogs are my spirit animal. In my next life I want to be a golden retriever."

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Mayumachi seems like a quaint and tranquil town, but danger lurks in every corner. Organised crime in the form of the Yakuza are here to stop the contestants from earning points: 100 to be exact.

Five contestants are scattered across town in search of 20 spots containing 5 points each. 

At each spot they have to answer a trivia question and set off the corresponding firework. Only the right answer results in a dud firework; wrong answers will send an explosion into the sky, alerting the Yakuza of their current location.

Any of them who are shot by the Yakuza (via a dart gun) will be eliminated from the mission, and gone will be their earnings unless they bring it to a collection point at Seikatsu Temple.

The mission ends when all points have been deposited at the Temple, or if all five contestants have been eliminated by the Yakuza.

To help them, four contestants are already at Seikatsu Temple. There can help with 5 of the questions.

Ashley: "Here are the questions and locations of the 20 point spots. We can choose some to set off the wrong fireworks and eliminate a wrong option."

Thelma: "We have 20 lines among us to draw three sketches. We are not allowed to communicate how many lines we used or draw more than one sketch."

Jovan: "We need Ash or Lee."

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Ashley: "The roles were pre-determined based on which row we sat at in the previous execution ceremony. Whoever sat in the same row as Clarabella would be the helpers while the rest had to find the points while avoiding the Yakuza."

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Ashley: "What's going on here?"

Jovan: "Lee! Great timing. Draw with us."

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Cassius: "I see a board over there."

Cassius: "Oh fuck. A Yakuza is over there. But he's walking away. Now is my chance."

Cassius: "Which of the following countries has the highest life expectancy as of 2023 based on UN estimates?

A: Japan

B: Chile

C: India"

Cassius: "We're in Japan so obviously I'm picking A."

Cassius: "Here goes nothing."

Cassius: "That was underwhelming although it's what we want."

Cassius: "It's a dud. Time to collect my points from the holder."

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Kaeleigh: "Tama is a female calico cat who was a railway station master of which train station?

A: Shibuya station

B: Shinjuku station

C: Kishi station"

Kaeleigh: "I have no idea. I'll go with A."

Kaeleigh: "I hope I'm right."

Kaeleigh: "Aah!"

Kaeleigh: "Crap. That was the wrong answer."

Yakuza: "爆発音が聞こえました。"

Yakuza: "駅から来ています！"

Gideon: "Over here."

Gideon: "Which of the following refers to a Japanese hot spring?

A: Tamago

B: Onsen

C: Mori"

Gideon: "I choose B."

Gideon: "Yes! It didn't go off."

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Cassius: "The tarmac is so hot. This is why we should be leaving the grass alone instead of paving over it."

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Octavia: "I'll board the train."

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Ash: "The life expectancy question is one of the hardest. The assassination as well. We only can eliminate five options so we better be wise about it."

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Kaeleigh: "Ooh it looks like a long hike up."

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Andre: "I'm back downtown."

Andre: "Fuck! A Yakuza!"

Andre: "I need to outrun him!"

Yakuza: "おやすみなさい、外国人さん。"

Andre: "Ow! Fuck. I'm eliminated."

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Andre: "That was disappointing. I was ambushed by the yakuza at the main train station. He was waiting outside the moment I stepped out and I got shot. I didn't even get a chance to participate or find points."

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Octavia: "In Japan there are 6 dog breeds that are national monuments. Which of the following is one such dog breed?

A: Labrador

B: Shiba

C: Dachshund"

Octavia: "The obvious answer is B. Is that too obvious? There must be a trap to it. It can't be that simple. A dachshund is German. It's the long black hot dog. So it's between A and B..."

Octavia: "It has to be B. I'm overthinking it."

Octavia: "Yes! I made the right call."

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Kaeleigh: "I'm finally here."

Kaeleigh: "Oh, there's a board there."

Kaeleigh: "Originally published in Japan in 1994 and 1995, 'The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle' is a magical realist novel by what Kyoto-born author?

A: Haruki Murakami

B: Naomi Osaka

C: Sayaka Murata"

Kaeleigh: "I pick C."

Kaeleigh: "Oh no. That wasn't right. It's really pretty though."

Yakuza: "それはあそこから来ました。"

Kaeleigh: "Ah, here is the deposit collection point. Too bad I have nothing to deposit."

Kaeleigh: "This is so creepy."

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Kaeleigh: "Four Geishas just watching me unblinkingly...it gives me the creepers."

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Ashley: "Ash! Come guess our drawings!"

Ashley: "I need to meditate for exactly 66 minutes so I need absolute concentration."

Thelma: "Great. Now we're deadlocked."

Jovan: "Let's do the other tasks while we wait for him."

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Cassius: "That has already been answered."

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Gideon: "Which of the following can be described as 'Japanese comic style'?

A: Anime

B: Manga

C: Surrealism"

Gideon: "It's B of course."

Gideon: "Crap! Oh fuck. I thought you were a Yakuza member."

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Octavia: "That was cool but the brewery has no points."

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Cassius: "Is that Octavia?"

Cassius: "Octavia!"

Cassius: "Have you already explored this area?"

Octavia: "Yes. There's nothing left here. I'm going to cross the bridge."

Cassius: "I have 15 points. How many do you have?"

Octavia: "5 points."

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Cassius: "I don't know why I felt the need to lie to Octavia but when I heard her say she only had 5 points, that means she only has 1 question right. Did she get the rest wrong or did she just not find the other questions? I was suspicious and started exploring the Suiden area and it's a good thing I did. That dirty liar."

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Jovan: "We can get a good view here."

Thelma: "We need to look for the Geisha with the green umbrella."

Jovan: "I see her. Do you?"

Thelma: "I see her too. Don't let her out of your sights."

Jovan: "They're doing some dance and spinning their umbrellas. It's quite hypnotic."

Thelma: "Snap out of it."

Kaeleigh: "What flowers did Geishas use to colour their lips red?

A: Carnation

B: Rose

C: Safflower"

Kaeleigh: "This is a question for me. I know my flowers and the answer is C."

Jovan: "They're swapping umbrellas!"

Jovan: "What umbrella does she have now? I lost track."

Thelma:  "The blue one."

Jovan: "There's a second blue one running across. A rogue!"

Thelma: "That...I think that's Kaeleigh."

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Thelma: "Jovan and I went up to the tower beside the temple. We had a task to spray paint the umbrella of one particular Geisha who initially had a green umbrella. But Kaeleigh was present at the bottom of the tower at the same time and it was irresistible to observe her instead of the Geishas. It doesn't hurt to fail a little."

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Jovan: "They're done. Which umbrella was it?"

Thelma: "Blue."

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Kaeleigh: "That's 5 points in the bag...basket."

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Jovan: "Blue right? With white swirls?"

Thelma: "You don't trust me?"

Jovan: "Just confirming."

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Cassius: "There's one in the middle of the rice paddy fields. None left my ass."

Cassius: "Traditional Japanese beers like Sapporo and Asahi are unusual in that about a third of their grains come from what crop, added to more typical grains like barley?

A: Corn

B: Rice

C: Wheat"

Cassius: "Wheat isn't that unusual. We're in a rice paddy so I'm going with rice."

Cassius: "Yes! 5 more points."

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Gideon: "20 points in."

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Jovan: "Done. Let's go out now and find out if we're right."

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Jovan: "We said that the Geisha we are looking for now has the blue umbrella. Are we right?"

Jovan: "Oh no! We were wrong! You guys are too good."

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Kaeleigh: "In ancient Japan, what was the name of the hereditary military nobility and officer caste that served the daimyo and played a crucial role in Japanese feudal society?

A: Yakuza

B: Samurai

C: Ikigai"

Kaeleigh: "It's either B or C. I'm going with B."

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Ashley: "Stop sleeping Ash!"

Ashley: "Huh? Shh. Almost...okay done."

Ashley: "Did you do it?"

Ashley: "I did!"

Ashley: "Woo!"

Ashley: "Were you just waiting for me the whole time?"

Ashley: "Duh. We need you to guess the drawings we made. And in case you lost track of time."

Ashley: "You could have done something else in the meantime."

Ashley: "Come on, just look at our art."

Ashley: "Look at mine first! I drew this."

Ashley: "I thought it was a sun or snowflake at first glance but those two lines at the bottom makes me think you drew a flower."

Ashley: "You're right!"

Ashley: "Jovan drew this one."

Ashley: "It's a house."

Ashley: "Right again!"

Ashley: "Thelma drew this."

Ashley: "Is it a horse? No...it's some kind of animal that's for sure. I think it's a giraffe."

Ashley: "Woohoo! You did it!"

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Ashley: "Turns out we used 3 lines too many so we actually failed. Oops."

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Gideon: "This has already been answered."

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Octavia: "Which of the following is not Japanese?

A: Geisha

B: Yakuza

C: Soju"

Octavia: "Aah! It went off!"

Octavia: "Was the answer really Soju?"

Octavia: "I better get out of here. My location is now known."

Octavia: "Crap a Yakuza!"

Octavia: "Crap another one! I'm cornered."

Octavia: "Go easy on a lady?"

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Ashley: "Thelma, you're here as well."

Thelma: "I'm analysing the best questions to tackle. The first one is hard."

Ashley: "But I heard a really loud firework. I think the one here at the temple has already been answered."

Ashley: "I was thinking the assassination or the life expectancy."

Thelma: "Anything to do with numbers is hard. I think the height of Mount Fuji will be very hard."

Ashley: "Okay. Let's go with that then. That was #14?"

Thelma: "Yes. At Suiden Fishing Spot."

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Gideon: "There's a question here."

Gideon: "Fuck! What the hell? Why did it go off on its own...oh it's the other four."

Yakuza: "橋の向こうから聞こえました。水田に誰かがいます。"

Gideon: "What kind of fish is koi?

A: Tuna

B: Carp"

Gideon: "I think it's B."

Gideon: "Yes I was right."

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Cassius: "I'm going for 3776m."

Cassius: "Yes!"

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Jovan: "I watch too much anime. This one is from Naruto. Woo! Got all 5 right."

Thelma: "They all look too similar."

Ashley: "I'm going back to scrutinise the kimono again."

Thelma: "I'm coming with you."

Ashley: "6 looks hard. Who is going to know all the train conductors in Japan?"

Jovan: "Okay. I'm going for it."

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Yakuza: "Nani?"

Yakuza: "誰かがダウンタウンにいます。"

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Ashley: "It has a pink backing and the feathers are larger."

Thelma: "I see it now."

Cassius: "15 points bagged."

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Kaeleigh: "2022. C. The assassination of the prime minister happened recently."

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Ashley: "It's a match!"

Thelma: "We can set off one more wrong firework."

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Gideon: "Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck."

Yakuza: "彼はどこへ行きましたか？"

Yakuza: "私は彼を失いました。"

Gideon: "I hope I lost him."

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Thelma: "We have one last chance. We need to make it count."

Ashley: "I'm leaning towards the assassination."

Ashley: "But Ash, what if that was already answered?"

Thelma: "She has a point. We don't know what has already been answered."

Jovan: "How about...one of us waits for someone to come and tell us what they have answered?"

Ashley: "By then it's too late. And they only know what they answered, not what the rest answered. I think we can go for some of the spots that seem more rural. For example this spot over here. Or the farm. I doubt anyone is going to go there."

Thelma: "But they're easy questions."

Ashley: "Guys guys guys! How about we go for #10? Studio Ghibli films must be like, so hard."

Jovan: "I agree with Lee."

Thelma: "Okay. We'll go with 10, which is in a forest area near downtown."

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Kaeleigh: "I am dead beat."

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Cassius: "I'm sure this is a Red Admiral."

Cassius: "I was right. My knowledge of nature won't fail me."

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Gideon: "I can't tell if it's sweat or rain or both."

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Cassius: "So much work for 5 more points."

Cassius: "So...tired..."

Cassius: "Fuck. a Yakuza is camping out there."

Cassius: "Fuck this. Just shoot me. I'm done."

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Cassius: "When you've been running around for the whole day feeling so tired and can't find any more questions to answer but somehow the mission isn't ending yet, you'll want to get shot by a criminal too."

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Kaeleigh: "The cryptocurrency question has been answered. Isn't FireCoin Jovan's?"

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Gideon: "Also known as lean manufacturing, just-in-time manufacturing is a hyperefficient process pioneered by what Japanese automaker in the 1960s?

A: Toyota

B: Honda

C: Nissan

Gideon: "Toyota. The answer is Toyota. Yep I'm right."

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Kaeleigh: "Should I go up to the farmlands? Nah, it's too dark and dangerous."

Kaeleigh: "Where else are the points?"

Kaeleigh: "Ow!"

Kaeleigh: "I didn't see you there."

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Gideon: "Damn it. He's waiting outside for me. I need to alight at Suiden Station and then make my way back here by foot."

Gideon: "I'm here. Now time to get going."

Gideon: "Huff...huff..."

Yakuza: "Nani?"

Gideon: "Shit I think he heard me..."

Gideon: "And 5 points in...ugh. That's still not the end? I must be the only one left."

Yakuza: "降伏せよ。抵抗は無駄だ。"

Gideon: "Fuck me."

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"Contestants, you fought hard against the Yakuza today, with some of you managing to last until the sun went down. Commend yourselves for the effort. The basket contains the fruit of your labour. There are 65 points in the pot, bringing your total up to 138/400 points. A much better performance than before. Keep it up."

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Pot: 138/400