First place
As dawn broke, Chen Chi woke up.
In front of the large French windows, bathed in a yellowish light, a small creature quietly peeked out, crawled under the mahogany table, and lay motionless.
Chen Chi closed his laptop, got up, and walked to the window.
The pale sunlight drifted to his bare upper body, crawling along every inch of his muscles, and then stopped at his bulging V-line.
Chen Chi gazed at Beijing under the morning sun, his eyes lowered, lost in thought. After a while, he went to the shelf, put on his clothes, and left the hotel.
Meanwhile, Chu Sinian, who was supposed to fly to Shanghai to discuss the specifics of the acquisition of Xunguang, appeared at Beijing Airport. He disembarked in the morning light and was greeted by the north wind.
The driver, who had been waiting for a long time, picked up Chu Sinian and drove him to the villa. The sparsely populated streets gave the city, which was bound by steel bars, a somewhat eerie atmosphere.
Chu Sinian sat in the car, rubbing his temples, glancing down at the time, and thinking that he could take a nap when he got back.
He turned to look out the window and saw a tall, aloof man standing at a huge intersection making a phone call. His expressionless face added a touch of solemnity and intimidation to his already unfriendly appearance.
The man seemed to sense something, his gaze drifting towards the Aston Martin on the main road, but the car sped off smoothly and quickly disappeared into the gradually brightening dawn.
Chu Sinian withdrew his gaze and lightly tapped his right wrist with his fingertips.
He postponed his trip to Shanghai to come to Beijing, not just for Ning Zicheng's competition.
Rumors circulated that Yu Shi's boyfriend, who had supposedly reconciled with her, sent him an invitation to his engagement party with his sweet girlfriend.
Almost the instant he received the engagement invitation, Yu Shi called him. Even from a distance, he could clearly sense the panic and helplessness in her voice.
Yu Shi did indeed get back together with her boyfriend. After this reconciliation, she moved to Beijing without hesitation, clinging to the hope that their relationship could continue. She deceived herself, staying by his side every step of the way.
However, due to his studies, Yu Shi returned to Dong'an.
The love that had long been broken was shattered the moment he left, and news came from afar that Liang Jingsi was engaged to his girlfriend in Beijing.
No one knows where Yu Shi is now, what he is doing, or what he is planning to do. He has been out of contact since that phone call.
Chu Sinian did not intend to look for him, because he would naturally appear on the day of the engagement banquet.
—
At noon, preparations for the competition were in full swing, and all participants had entered the venue to await the opening ceremony.
Ning Zicheng stood in the crowd, took a few deep breaths, which attracted Yi Fan's attention. He came over and said, "Don't feel pressured."
Ning Zicheng flashed a smile, revealing a set of white teeth. "I'm fine. I'm just nervous within the normal range."
The speaker began to speak, and the conversation in the room fell silent.
Ning Zicheng glanced at the rows of computers not far away, shook her hands which were numb from nervousness, and said, "You guys really dared to put me in the first question. Aren't you afraid I'll mess it up?"
The competition lasts five hours, during which participants must answer thirteen questions. The participant with the shortest time wins. Given the difficulty of the competition, finishing within the time limit is already quite challenging, let alone finishing early.
Li Liao said, "Don't worry, we'll help you answer the questions. It will only get harder and harder later on."
Ning Zicheng was both amused and exasperated. "So, there's no use for me later on?"
The speeches on stage ended before anyone knew it, and the participants, led by the person in charge, were arranged to their respective positions in an orderly manner.
Ning Zicheng nervously rubbed his hands together, sat down in front of the computer, took a breath, and began to recall the algorithms he had memorized, trying to solve one obscure application scenario problem after another.
Chen Chi's previous training for him had achieved some initial results. The first question was not difficult for him, and he could answer it on his own, but that was only the first question.
As soon as the second question was posed, Ning Zicheng looked at Zhang Xiu and the others.
Zhang Xiu, who had expected this, took the whiteboard from him with a smile. "Li Liao even made a bet with me, saying you could get past the second question." He raised an eyebrow at Li Liao as he wrote, "You lost, didn't you?"
Li Liao shrugged. "Anyway, you guys handle the early stages."
Zhang Xiu and Ning Zicheng had a solid foundation, but their algorithmic thinking for different question types was weak, so Chen Chi divided them into two teams.
One team was dedicated to solving the basic problems that took a lot of time and effort in the early stages, while the other team tackled the complex changes that arose later. This clear and straightforward division of labor saved the team members from friction.
In major competitions, some teams often argue due to differing ideas, wasting a lot of valuable time and energy. When Chen Chi first started training them, he strictly required them to trust each other, as if issuing a royal decree.
Back then, they often said in private that Chen Chi was like an emperor, but they only realized how important mutual trust was when they actually stood on the field.
The initial appetizers quickly came to an end, and both Ning Zicheng and Zhang Xiu were covered in sweat. Li Liao, who was providing ideas from time to time, was eager to get started and replaced Ning Zicheng, who was sitting in front of the computer.
On the large scrolling screen, the teams were neck and neck, with the top ten teams all having very similar times, differing by only a few minutes, a few seconds, or even just a few minutes.
Ning Zicheng squatted down next to Li Liao and Yi Fan, took out a tissue to wipe his sweat, and glanced at the computer from time to time to look at the rankings on the screen. "Wenbin is ranked third. Could he really get first place?"
Zhang Xiu slapped him on the head. "Impossible. Their team is fast at solving problems, but only with simple algorithms. You'll see if they can keep up the pace later on."
Ning Zicheng watched as Yi Fan's pen flew across the whiteboard, his words flying everywhere as if he were rushing to catch a rocket, written hastily and perfunctorily.
Even though he was used to it, he couldn't help but chuckle and whispered to Zhang Xiu, "How come you write so fast?"
Zhang Xiu rolled his eyes at him. "His greatest strength is reasoning. His mind works very fast, and it's hard for others to keep up with his pace. Those scribbles on the whiteboard are the results he deduced."
"However, his writing speed couldn't keep up with the speed of his mind, so he always omitted parts of his writing."
Ning Zicheng nodded. "No wonder."
During their conversation, the rankings on the big screen went through another cycle, with the teams that were just in the top three falling to the bottom, while Chen Chi's team was temporarily ranked second.
Yi Fan and Li Liao worked together very well. One wrote the code and the other worked on the algorithm. Their brains, which were in a high-performance state for a long time, inevitably crashed from time to time, just like a computer.
Although it's a very minor throbbing, it's still quite annoying.
Yi Fan and Li Liao exchanged a smile and shook their heads at each other, everything was self-evident.
Ning Zicheng muttered under her breath, "I thought I'd just be the mascot after joining the team."
Ning Zicheng and Zhang Xiu, two robust adults over 1.8 meters tall, squatted down a short distance away, trying to shrink themselves into a ball, but no matter how they shrank, they still looked like a lump.
Zhang Xiu whispered, "How could that be? Even Zhao Jiechao had to undergo grueling training under high pressure. Your arrival will only make it more severe."
"I used to think Zhao Jiechao didn't do anything."
“No, he sometimes does more than us because he doesn’t have the talent. At first, Chen Chi didn’t agree to the mentor’s request to join the team. Being forced by the mentor to become a coach was already the limit.”
Ning Zicheng was startled. "Is there anyone who would dare to force him?"
Zhang Xiu's voice was even softer as he glanced at Chen Chi sitting not far away. "His mentor is the most authoritative computer science professor in Dong'an. The honors he has received could fill an entire wall. Chen Chi listens to him because the professor promised him that if he wins the championship, he will join his team."
What team?
"I heard he specializes in chip research. I only recently found out that the coach is not only doing scientific research but also running a company. He's a genius at doing both," Zhang Xiu sighed.
Ning Zicheng didn't want to listen any longer. He looked at the computer problem and suddenly stepped forward, saying, "This structure doesn't seem right."
Yi Fan frowned, somewhat troubled. "The core issue is still deriving the initial matrix, but this dimension..."
Zhang Xiu also walked over, "Is the array open? Record it using public variables."
"It's open, but it's a bit troublesome." Li Liao was practically swinging his keyboard around like it was flying.
Ning Zicheng chuckled inappropriately, "Don't let your hand cramp up before you even leave the field."
Li Liao didn't even bother to glance at him, focusing entirely on typing code.
This problem was finally solved by the combined efforts of several people.
Before they could even catch their breath, everyone gasped when they saw the next question.
Li Liao sighed and smiled wryly, "This question is a bit similar to the one Chen Chi gave us the other day. I was thinking that the scope of the question wouldn't be this broad, but he ended up criticizing me."
As he spoke, his hands kept moving anxiously.
Yi Fan stepped forward and patted him on the back, "Let me do it, I still have some energy."
Li Liao nodded and stepped aside.
Time was running out, and the participants in the arena were getting anxious. Some teams were scratching their heads, some were sighing, and some were even pacing back and forth.
In the final hour, some teams had already given up and were waiting for the game to end.
Chen Chi's team wasn't in much better shape. Ning Zicheng and Zhang Xiu, unable to solve the problem or help anyone, looked helplessly at the computer, not daring to disturb Li Liao, who was working hard on the code, or Yi Fan, who was concentrating on figuring out the solution.
When the last question appeared, Li Liao and Yi Fan were both stunned, while Ning Zicheng and Zhang Xiu, who were squatting on the ground, stared wide-eyed and couldn't help but exclaim "Damn!"
"What the hell is game theory?"
The question involved a field far beyond their comprehension. Li Liao tried to solve it despite his reluctance to give up, but was still dealt a blow by the feeling of utter helplessness, like an egg trying to break a rock.
Yi Fan was sweating profusely, his brows furrowed. "Wait a minute, perhaps we can put aside those complicated assumptions for now and try to reason using basic logic?"
Before anyone could answer, he had already started writing.
Li Liao reluctantly tried to help him, but it was no use.
The solutions they came up with over and over again were all easily rejected; this problem was simply beyond their ability to solve.
Li Liao shook his head. "Let's try again."
Yi Fan's forehead was covered in sweat. "Remember the Prisoner's Dilemma?"
"When actors face a dilemma, they tend to consider a way that is relatively self-interested but not in the best interests of the collective. If both a and b in the question are like prisoners and choose to confess together, then the question will have its optimal solution."
After Yi Fan finished speaking, he ignored the reactions of others and picked up a pen to write one obscure symbol after another on the whiteboard.
Ning Zicheng stood beside him and gently patted his shoulder. Zhang Xiu noticed that his hand holding the pen was trembling slightly, so he took it and put it in his own hand. "What do you want to write? Tell me."
Yi Fan was a little stunned. Looking into the other person's eyes, he pursed his lips and began to describe his thoughts.
The last half hour has arrived.
Yi Fan looked at Li Liao, who was deducing the problem based on his thinking, and Ning Zicheng and Zhang Xiu, who were silently encouraging him. He couldn't help but turn his gaze to Chen Chi, who had been silent all along.
He sat in a chair to the side with a stern expression, but his gaze was not as cold as usual, and it was less indifferent.
Yi Fan withdrew his gaze, the trembling in his hands stopped, and a warm current flowed from the hand on his shoulder into his limbs, calming his anxiety and excitement.
He smiled and said, "We were all fooled by its impressive breadth. It was a trap set by the test creators. Stripped of all the complicated and trivial assumptions, it tells us something very simple."
"The answer lies in every number."
He typed out lines of code with determination, but with only fifteen minutes left, the contestants who had already stopped answering questions stood up and watched the team answering the last question.
Their gazes were fixed on their opponent, who was surrounded by his teammates, with only his upright, sweaty profile visible.
With only five minutes left, Yi Fan submitted his answer. He breathed a sigh of relief and was then picked up by Ning Zicheng, who was full of brute strength.
"You're amazing, Yi Fan! You actually solved it!"
The supervisor stepped forward to stop him, saying, "Don't make a lot of noise! The game isn't over yet."
Ning Zicheng had no choice but to put him down, while Yi Fan widened his eyes, covered his face, and laughed, "You're too excited."
Zhang Xiu and Li Liao, who were standing next to him, laughed and said, "You're amazing! I never thought we could solve an entire match on our own."
Yi Fan glanced at Chen Chi and said, "Coach, we did it."
Chen Chi nodded, "Yes, you did it."
This recognition almost brought Ning Zicheng to tears of joy. She hugged Zhang Xiu and cried, "Damn, I never thought this moment would come."
Zhang Xiu quickly patted his back, "Stop hugging me and get away, the rankings are about to be announced."
The competition ended before they knew it, and the most exciting moment of the competition, the announcement of the rankings, arrived.
The rankings were slowly appearing on the big screen.
Li Liao, Yi Fan, Zhang Xiuning, and Zi Cheng held hands tightly as they watched the team names flood the screen, their hearts tightening involuntarily.
Although they answered the last question, it doesn't mean they are the champions.
The competition is full of talented people, with heroes emerging like carp crossing a river. In this gathering of heroes, no one is useless, and everyone is a genius.
The rankings continued to fluctuate, and the teams that made it into the top ten cheered quietly. Some teams were so excited that they hugged each other and burst into tears.
When the fourth-place ranking was revealed, the room fell silent again.
Slowly, the names of the third, second, and even first teams were finally revealed, and the atmosphere at the scene erupted into an unprecedented intensity.
"Aaaaaah! We're number one, number one! Aaaaaah! Yi Fan, aaaaaah!" Ning Zicheng, in a daze, tossed Yi Fan into the air, and Zhang Xiu hurriedly caught him. "Are you trying to kill him?!"
Li Liao, who had been excited, burst into laughter. Yi Fan, who had been tossed around in the air, was also disoriented, yelling, "Put me down! Help me, help me!"
Chen Chi looked at the scene, lowered his eyes, and quietly left the competition hall.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
