I am expected to encounter heavy clippage ...

And I did. Apparently these clips all extend outwards, and none of them give me any apparent sign for hinges.

So … you need to use some brute force here. The chassis and the back cover are both strong, but the side with the card reader is slightly weaker. Start there ...

And, please, don't use metal tools. Don't make the mistake of scratching the beautiful sids of aluminum sides.