"Huh...it's finally over."
After stretching, Gu Qiongsheng sat up from the simulation cabin.
Time was tight, but they finally submitted their answers at the last minute. However, this time, the AI wasn't able to quickly deliver a score. As Gu Qiongsheng and the others waited anxiously, the bell signaling the end of the competition suddenly rang.
[Beep! The competition is over. Please leave the simulation cabin in an orderly manner...]
The light screen dimmed, the link was cut, and they were forcibly ejected from the simulation cabin.
“It’s a pity that I didn’t see the result in the end.”
Gu Qiongsheng sighed, and the team members gathered around him, chattering, "What's going on? Did you get the answer right?"
"I don't know. I didn't see it."
"How come it's over already? We haven't even received our points yet!"
"Will it be a loss due to overtime?"
"No, we submitted it on time. If it's overdue, it's the official scoring timeout. What does it have to do with us?"
The commotion was giving Gu Qiongsheng a headache. She gave a helpless smile and said, "Alright, alright, stop arguing."
"Now that everything is settled, let's take a good rest and wait for the final result."
Normally, the scores for this type of quiz competition would be finalized at the moment the time limit expires, and the ranking results of each team would be announced immediately.
But until now, several minutes have passed, and Gu Qiongsheng has not seen the ranking announcement.
For highly intelligent AI in the interstellar age, this kind of inefficiency is almost impossible.
It only means...
"It seems that the question we answered is difficult to judge."
Gu Qiongsheng winked at his teammates, a sly smile flashing in his eyes.
Now, the pressure is on the organizers.
…
The same doubts appeared in many rooms throughout the building.
Countless teams exhausted themselves completing the competition, finally taking a break to check their final rankings. They turned back to find a large "Calculating..." sign hanging on the leaderboard.
"What?"
In room A012, Lu Yuanji, who had disconnected from the simulation cabin, looked at the ranking information and frowned slightly: "So slow? How long do we have to wait?"
"Strange," Zhao Qingke frowned slightly, "This shouldn't be the case."
Sheng Zhang leaned aside casually, "Why rush? Just wait. I took a quick look before the competition ended, and we're ranked first. The official list shouldn't change much either."
"As for the current situation... I think it might be that some teams answered the extra questions, and the AI is calculating the extra points."
"Bonus question?"
Lu Yuanji also frowned.
Is there really anyone who can answer such a difficult question?
That's impossible.
…
The AI control room on the top floor.
It was like a hurricane, silently appearing in the center of the room, roaring and shaking the sky, and pulling away everyone's minds.
Wei Lan still stood stiffly in front of the light screen.
He stared at the words on the screen slowly and hungrily, wishing he could break each word in half to read. His eyes gleamed like a hungry wolf, and he kept muttering, "Magic, magic..."
Wei Lan was so excited that he slammed the table: "Bang!"
The shaking of the tables and chairs startled Jiang Yuanliang, who was standing nearby and looked extremely tired. He spilled half of the cup of coffee in his hand.
The young man was scalded by the hot coffee and jumped up from his seat with a hiss.
But when he saw that the hem of his professor's high-end hand-made suit was also splashed with coffee spots, he was immediately frightened and shuddered.
Jiang Yuanliang quickly grabbed a tissue to wipe it: "Professor, coffee spilled on my clothes——"
How could Wei Lan care about this?
He waved the young man's hand away, his shoulders trembling as he faced the floor-to-ceiling window, and even his body was shaking.
The surprise of the sudden inspiration made the man so excited that he almost went crazy.
"Where's the paper and pen?"
Wei Lan, covered in coffee, pointed at the screen, completely ignoring the surprised looks of those around him, and shouted, "Xiao Jiang, bring me my pen and paper. I want to calculate this parameter again!"
The teacher who was organizing the competition wanted to ask several times, but was scared away by Wei Lan's fanatical look.
They seemed to be hesitant to speak, at a loss, and finally all looked at Instructor Dong who was standing beside them.
Instructor Dong, though seemingly large and burly, was surprisingly clever. Seeing this, he immediately stepped in to smooth things over. "Um... Professor Wei, if there are any parameters we can calculate slowly back in the lab, should we just start by grading and concluding the competition?"
"The students are still waiting, and the dean is also urging us..."
Wei Lan didn't hesitate: "What do you know!"
He was completely immersed in the world of science, and his vision was full of parameters that ordinary people could not see. Competitions and scores were all thrown out of his mind.
The mecha model attached to the answer on the light screen appeared before Wei Lan's eyes. At that moment, it seemed transformed into a stunningly beautiful woman, more captivating than any other woman recorded in the almanac. The smooth lines, the clear structure, the neatly arranged rows of wiring harnesses… Wei Lan's fingertips trembled.
In particular, because the answerers were under time pressure, they were vague in many places and even skipped the derivation process and only wrote down the results.
Thus, the "peerless beauty" in front of Wei Lan became a woman with her face half covered while holding the lute. He felt itchy and wanted to hold the model in front of him and study it carefully.
And this answer is filled with spiritual light.
Although much of the writing is still a bit immature and some of the logic is rather crude, what is revealed between the lines is the vigorous inspiration and brilliant ideas that many scientific researchers cannot pursue in their entire lives.
"Miracle, what a miracle..."
Wei Lan muttered in a daze, "Whoever wrote this answer is definitely a genius—Which team's answer is this? Who answered the question?"
"Hurry, I want to see him, now, right now!"
He was in a state of complete confusion. One second he was asking for pen and paper to calculate parameters, and the next second he was about to rush out the door in a trance.
Instructor Dong was a little confused by him and quickly pulled him back: "Calm down, calm down!"
"Professor Wei, this is ultimately the answer given by a student. No matter how well he writes, it's just... that, right?"
How much knowledge can a college student have?
How is it possible that the Federation's top scientists would lose their composure like this?
After a few minutes, Wei Lan finally felt a little relieved from the excitement he felt when he first saw the answer.
He took a deep breath, but still couldn't control his emotions and gestured incoherently.
“This student is so important.”
"Don't forget, he wrote such a brilliant answer without any supporting materials or access to any data from the laboratory. He was only based on the questions I wrote down and a half-finished mecha model."
"What if I could give him more? What if I let him join my lab project?"
"and……"
Wei Lan clenched his right hand tightly. "If we could see this answer sooner, the Federation's development of mind-powered mechas could be increased by at least 30%."
"It's still the same now. If the original project took two, three, or even longer to implement, now, as long as we find the person who wrote the answer, I'm confident that we can have you using the new mecha within a year!"
These words were so powerful and resounding that Instructor Dong was stunned for a moment.
He stroked the stubble on his chin and pondered, "As a rough guy, I don't understand your scientific research... but is it really that amazing?"
"A high school student?"
Wei Lan nodded solemnly.
"...Alright," Instructor Dong shook his head helplessly. "To prevent cheating and leaks, the entire competition process is kept confidential. But we can find the team number from the AI, and then you can find their corresponding member."
"But now, Professor Wei, you should give the grades first, right?"
Wei Lan said without hesitation: "Ten thousand points."
Instructor Dong: “…”
Instructor Dong laughed angrily, turned to Jiang Yuanliang and said, "Is your professor tired and confused?"
Jiang Yuanliang stood there awkwardly, holding half a tissue in his hand, not knowing whether to shake his head or nod.
"You don't understand," Wei Lan said with a blazing gaze, "In scientific research, the value of one genius far exceeds that of thousands of mediocre people."
"If I could, I would give it a score of infinity."
The teacher in charge of organizing the meeting was about to cry: "No, Professor Wei, you can't do this. It's too disruptive."
"Until the very last moment of the exam, the leaderboards are published in real time, and the scores are transparent. Giving too many points to a small team like this would affect the fairness of our competition. What do you think of adding 10 points?"
Wei Lan frowned: "Only 10 points?"
"Sending away beggars?"
The organizing teacher was at a loss for words: "We really can't just add people casually. If this gets out, it won't reflect well on you, Professor Wei."
"Many of the students participating in this competition have strong backgrounds. If they're not convinced and go home and exaggerate the situation, you'll be accused of colluding with the candidates!"
"I don't care." Wei Lan was also a little annoyed, "This answer is worth it!"
The two argued endlessly, and finally Instructor Dong reluctantly stepped in to smooth things over: "Alright, alright, this is really bad luck. How come you scientific researchers are even more unreasonable than us soldiers when you argue?"
"I'll check the team's current score. You can give it a suitable score and put it in the top 10, right?"
Wei Lan still frowned: "Only in the top 10?"
Instructor Dong said casually, "That's pretty good. They can participate in subsequent competitions without appearing too conspicuous. The students in this team should be satisfied."
His rough voice carried through the room, and the other teachers listened, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded in silent agreement.
Compared to the "first" that Wei Lan requested, 10th does sound more feasible.
The only one who was dissatisfied was Wei Lan.
The man stood there in silence, his expression grim. His deep pupils beneath his black glasses seemed to be surging with dark currents. After a moment, he suddenly raised his hand and pulled a silver, gilded plaque from his pocket.
The heavy sign, made of rare metal, shone with a colorful luster under the sun, and its edges seemed to be covered with a layer of gold.
That is the examiner's badge.
It symbolizes Wei Lan's identity as the chief examiner.
“Bang!”
Facing everyone's horrified gazes, Wei Lan slammed the sign on the table, causing the table legs to tremble, and frightening Jiang Yuanliang next to him to shudder again.
"I can't accept this result."
"Even if I could answer thousands or even tens of thousands of other mediocre questions, they wouldn't be worth even a fraction of the value of this additional question."
Wei Lan looked around and said slowly, word by word, "There's a saying in ancient books, 'Talents are recruited regardless of their background.' I think the Federation has reached a point where it must do just that."
“But now, even those who can answer this question won’t be able to get the ranking they deserve.”
"Why am I still the examiner?"
…
Restaurant on the 39th floor of the building.
The students who left the simulation cabin and did not need treatment from medical staff gradually gathered here.
The organizers have invested heavily in this inter-school league. The restaurant is now brightly lit and beautifully decorated. Both sides of the long table are filled with various delicious snacks for students to choose from.
"Wow, these look great—"
As soon as they entered the restaurant, Zhou Qing and Han Tianming were attracted by the tea breaks neatly arranged on the dining table.
Yogurt cups, mousse cakes, fresh fruit jelly, popcorn balls... There are various styles, stacked into small towers, delicate and compact. Just walk closer and you can smell the tempting aroma of baking.
In an interstellar world where nutritional supplements are ubiquitous, these pastries are considered a luxury. Some of the students in Class F come from families so poor they barely make ends meet, relying on the cheapest nutritional supplements for three meals a day. How could they possibly have tasted these things?
Zhou Qing's stomach growled as she sniffed the food. She clutched her belly and said sheepishly, "Sister Qiongsheng, I'm hungry."
"Me too!" Han Tianming stared at the cakes eagerly, drooling, his eyelashes fluttering. "That one is delicious, that one, and that one... oh, I want to eat them all!"
Gu Qiongsheng smiled and said, "Go quickly."
Weng Wei couldn't hold back any longer and rushed to the table to start wolfing down his food, but he didn't forget to pick up two cupcakes and pass them over: "Captain, Brother Tan, you guys come too!"
Tan Yao was a little absent-minded.
His mind was still full of the question he had just answered. He was anxiously wondering why the answer had not come out yet, and at the same time he couldn't help but review it in his mind, wondering where he could simplify it more, where he could give a more accurate explanation... He thought about it over and over again, and his face turned pale with anxiety.
Weng Wei handed the cake to him, but he just raised his hand with a grim expression and tried to push it away: "Sweets only slow down my thinking speed..."
Gu Qiongsheng beside him took the cake and said with a smile, "Thank you."
"I've had this before, it's delicious. Tan Yao, stop looking so sullen, come and try it with me."
Tan Yao: “…”
He was mesmerized by the girl's gentle voice and the sweet aroma of the cake. His movement to push the cup away faltered slightly, and his hand subconsciously made a detour to take the paper cup. "...But it's okay to eat it occasionally."
Just then, another team walked in from the door.
It was Lu Yuanji's team.
Seeing the F class team eating voraciously at the table from a distance, he instinctively frowned: "Why am I so unlucky that I see them everywhere?"
"Look at them eating like country bumpkins. You can tell they haven't seen the world. Tsk tsk, I really don't want to admit that they are also students of Yuancheng High School. It's so embarrassing."
Lu Yuanji did not deliberately lower his voice, and his words floated into the ears of Gu Qiongsheng and others who were very close to the door.
Han Tianming and others who were swallowing mouthfuls of cake froze for a moment, holding their mouths full of cake, and were a little afraid to continue eating.
Those who come from poor backgrounds hate and fear being called "country bumpkins" the most.
Gu Qiongsheng turned around and glared at Lu Yuanji, his voice slightly cold: “It’s okay, don’t worry about them.”
"Some people simply rely on their family's influence to look down on others. They look down on others. This is actually a manifestation of lack of self-confidence. Even though this guy is yelling and shouting, I'm afraid he has low self-esteem inside."
Although her words were unintentional, they happened to hit Lu Yuanji's sore spot. Lu Yuanji's face changed drastically, and his voice rose eight tones: "Gu Qiongsheng, who the hell are you talking about?"
Gu Qiongsheng didn't even turn around, but just smiled gently at his teammates: "See, raising your voice is also a sign. Because you don't have confidence in yourself and don't have the confidence in what you say, so you subconsciously speak out loudly..."
The veins on Lu Yuanji’s forehead tightened: “You!”
A cold gaze swept over from the side and behind.
The curse on Lu Yuanji's lips suddenly stopped. He glanced over cautiously and saw Ling Kaixuan with a "so noisy" and arrogant expression, and put his fingers together and made a throat-slitting gesture at him.
The aura is very strong, as if saying "I will chop you down if you keep talking."
Lu Yuanji: “…”
Although he was very unwilling in his heart, Lu Yuanji still backed down.
He walked to the side angrily, muttering, "Humph, a rubbish team that only lost in the first round, what's so great about it?"
Zhao Qingke stood beside him obediently, comforting him, "It's okay, Brother Lu. We don't pursue the same things as them. They signed up for the inter-school league, maybe just for this tea break?"
"After all, for those poor girls, this meal is enough for them to brag about for a long time."
"But we're different. We want to win first place. Don't argue with them. It's just dragging our team down."
“…Humph.” Lu Yuanji’s expression improved a little, “You’re right.”
——I am the same. I can’t control my temper. Why should I bother with a few F-class people?
Lu Yuanji pulled out a chair and sat down, crossed his legs, and thought leisurely: Anyway, the list will be announced soon, and by then, Gu Qiongsheng and her team of country bumpkins will have to go back to Class F in disgrace.
And your team will advance to the next round as the first place.
They will never cross paths again.
Just at this moment, clear electronic music filled the restaurant——
[The final rankings for the first round of competition have been released. Please check your personal terminals or the notice board in the lobby.]
"Oh, it's finally out?"
Lu Yuanji raised his eyebrows.
He quickly put down the pastry in his hand and opened his personal terminal.
A blue light curtain popped up.
On the competition leaderboard, the first row was clearly marked with large characters: [NO.1 Team A012]
Seeing that his team won first place, Lu Yuanji finally felt relieved.
Sure enough, there was no suspense.
He turned his eyes away contentedly, and was about to share his joy of easily winning the first round with his teammates when a slightly piercing cry suddenly rang out from his ears: "Ah!"
"W-What's going on?"
Lu Yuanji was startled by the scream.
He turned his head impatiently and met Zhao Qingke's eyes with slightly shrunken pupils and an expression of disbelief.
Her face turned pale, her eyes flickered, and she clutched her personal terminal tightly in her hand. She hesitated and said, "Lu, Brother Lu, look up."
Lu Yuanji's heart skipped a beat, and a bad feeling immediately came over him.
He hurriedly flipped the screen, his eyes falling on the top of the leaderboard, his expression gradually froze.
It was clearly marked there:
Special quota: Team A1056
Independent of all teams, yet above all rankings, even the team name is shining gold.
——It’s Gu Qiongsheng’s team.
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