Orion adjusted his cufflinks, his grin tighter this time. The tension in the studio was huge as the figures and risk grew.

"Alright, JD… question thirteen — for $500,000. Only 1.2% of contestants in the entire history of this show have reached this far."

The crowd gasped again, then clapped. It was very rare for people to reach this stage, so the fact that someone did was a miracle — and they were witnessing it with their own eyes.

The music kicked in — deep, cinematic, building suspense.

Orion took a breath and read:

"Which of the following composers wrote the classical symphony Echoes of Silence, which was later credited as one of the inspirations for the Neo-Romantic era?"

A) Fredrick Howl

B) Maximilian Dorne

C) Arthur Wells

D) Leon Strauss

Dayo exhaled slowly. He rubbed his temple — this one was tough.

He repeated the options under his breath. "Fredrick Howl… Maximilian Dorne…"

Orion smiled faintly. "Looks like we finally got him thinking."

The audience laughed softly, nervous.

Dayo's mind ran through what he knew. His hand moved through his long dreads. "Echoes of Silence… that piece was composed after the Great Revival War… it was part of the New York Museum's 1940 feature."

He nodded slightly to himself. "Arthur Wells. I'm sure of it."

"Are you sure? Final answer — this is to win $500,000?" Orion asked carefully.

Dayo looked straight at him. "Nice try, Orion. Yes, that's my final answer."

The lights went red. The entire studio froze instantly. The crowd almost screamed in fear.

Then—

DING!

"Correct!" Orion shouted, slamming his card on the table. "Arthur Wells is the answer! JD, you've just won $500,000!"

The audience exploded in cheers.

Sharon, watching backstage, put a hand over her mouth — half shocked, half proud.

Someone in the crowd screamed as it seemed someone had fainted from the scare.

Dayo stood up and raised his fist before sitting and leaning back, chuckling and shaking his head. "This is wild."

Orion laughed. "You're unbelievable, man. Half a million, and you've used just a single lifeline. How does it feel?"

Dayo smiled faintly. "Like I'm halfway to something bigger."

The crowd cheered again, feeding off his calm confidence.

---

Orion grinned and shuffled his next card.

"Alright. Question fourteen. This one's for $750,000. You ready?"

"As always. I was born ready."

The lights dimmed again, the background sound dropping to a faint, rhythmic thump.

Question 14 — $750,000

"Which of the following is the only known metal that is liquid at room temperature?"

A) Gallium

B) Mercury

C) Bromine

D) Cesium

Dayo chuckled. "You finally gave me something easy. It's Mercury — B. Final answer."

"Just like that?" Orion asked, surprised, expecting some hesitation.

"Just like that. I'm a nerd, Orion — you have to keep up."

"Haha, yeah."

DING!

"Correct!" Orion yelled. "$750,000, JD! I'm starting to think you're not human!"

The crowd went wild again. Dayo laughed softly. "Maybe I'm just built different."

Orion raised both hands dramatically. "One more question, ladies and gentlemen! One question stands between Jason Dayo and the million-dollar mark!"

The lights went pitch dark. The heartbeat sound returned, louder than ever.

The camera zoomed in on Dayo's calm face — composed, unreadable, focused.

---

"Dayo, if someone had told me that you would reach this far, I would've disagreed. But here we are. So, I'll ask you one more time — you can choose to leave with $500,000 and walk out of here with that huge money, or play for the mega prize of one million dollars. So, what do you say?"

Dayo smiled, took a deep breath, and said, "Let's ask the fans what they think."

"Do you all think I should take the offer?"

And the crowd answered, "NOOOOOO!!!"

Dayo turned back to Orion with a smirk. "And there's your answer, Orion. I refuse the offer."

Orion's tone lowered. Even he looked nervous.

"Haha, alright, JD… this is it. You get it right and you walk away with a million dollars. You fail… well, you know the consequence. The million-dollar question is..."

He took a deep breath, then read slowly:

"In 1961, during the first successful human space mission, which astronaut famously said the words, 'I see the dawn of our endless sky'?"

A) Yuri Gagarin

B) Alan Shepard

C) Nathan Cole

D) Viktor Hanlen

The audience murmured. It was tough — the quote sounded familiar, but not quite right.

Dayo's eyes narrowed. "Hmm…"

He repeated the words quietly: 'I see the dawn of our endless sky…'

"That's not Gagarin," he muttered. "He said something else. Alan Shepard's phrase was about prayer… Nathan Cole — American test pilot, but never went to space. Viktor Hanlen — the German-Russian cosmonaut who took the backup flight in '61…"

Orion leaned closer. "You sound like you're breaking it down in real time."

Dayo smiled faintly. "Because I am."

"Are you sure you don't want to use your lifeline to ask?"

"Haha, no."

He took a deep breath. "It's D — Viktor Hanlen."

"Final answer to the million-dollar question?"

Dayo nodded. "Final."

The audience held their breath.

Orion looked at the screen, pretending to hesitate.

A heartbeat passed.

Another.

Then—

DING!

"HE'S DONE IT!" Orion shouted, jumping up from his seat. "JASON DAYO — OUR NEW MILLIONAIRE!"

Confetti exploded from above. The audience screamed, rising to their feet.

The music soared, bright and triumphant.

Dayo laughed — genuinely this time — and covered his face for a moment before standing. Orion pulled him into a quick handshake that turned into a hug.

"Man, you are way too smart. If I'd known, I would've said no to this."

Dayo smiled. "Well, too late, I guess."

"Yeah, congratulations, bro."

The audience chanted:

"JD! JD! JD!"

Cameras flashed. Sharon clapped wildly backstage, her eyes watering with pride.

Orion turned to the camera, his voice booming over the cheers.

"Ladies and gentlemen, history has been made! Jason Dayo, the artist who took over the charts, just conquered the hardest stage of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire!"

The studio lights faded to gold, the applause still thunderous.

And Dayo — calm, confident, and smiling faintly — whispered to himself:

"Now let's play chess."

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