Chapter 1 The Host

As soon as the host announced these words, the contestants became a little nervous. The most visibly anxious was Xiao Sun. In the first round, his performance was quite impressive, ranking ninth among so many top high school students. If Eleventh High didn't have a Chen Yuan, he would be the strongest, the absolute star. But the tricky thing was, there was a monster in their own camp. And he made a splash in the first battle, taking first place with an exaggerated score of 100. Looking at the small crown above Chen Yuan's head in the ranking, he felt a subtle pressure. Someone so exaggerated must be very strong in Eleventh High, right? Yes, very strong, second only to me. So, what are you? He could only hope that his performance in the next round could maintain its current level. Staying in the top ten would earn some points for Eleventh High. That way, with himself and Chen Yuan in the top ten, it would live up to the name of the twin stars of Eleventh High. He was just a little nervous.

But Wu Wenxin was under immense pressure. She had absolute confidence in Shi Yi, after all, he was her childhood sweetheart. But she had very limited confidence in herself. Although my family has a library of ten thousand books, Shi Yi has read them all! Moreover, this round will be even more difficult! It's a pity. If it weren't for the anti-spy film, my squint-eye technique would have a use!

Everyone in the audience felt a little suffocated. Because the competition organizers had set the bar too high, and the 30 students who scored zero made everyone naturally fearful of the second round. Only Shi Yi was different. He looked at Chen Yuan, filled with fighting spirit. I lost miserably to you in the first round, but I won't lose in the second round.

And so, amidst great anticipation, the second round began. The topic appeared prominently on the screen: King of Logic.

Everyone expected this topic. If it was an intellectual competition, it would definitely involve logic. The first round was the ultimate test of memory, pure rote learning. So, the second round would definitely be more flexible. Otherwise, if the whole test was on memory, some contestants would be too advantageous. But this meant that some liberal arts students on the field were at a slight disadvantage... After all, when it came to memory, liberal arts and science were evenly matched. Some liberal arts students might even be more outrageous.

"Yang Jialan is going to be nerfed..."

"Not necessarily, although she studies liberal arts, it's not because she's bad at science. Before the class division exam, she seemed to have been in the top ten in science."

"You're kidding? If you can get in the top ten in science, why study liberal arts?"

"Because she can get first place in liberal arts."

Many people began to worry about their status as liberal arts students in this segment. But Yang Jialan didn't panic at all. She chose liberal arts because her parents were both lawyers. If she chose to be a lawyer, with her parents paving the way, her life would be smooth sailing. One day, she could become a great lawyer. But that didn't mean that logic was her weakness. On the contrary, because she had explored some relevant knowledge of lawyers in advance, and often exercised her logical thinking ability, such as doing some simple intellectual puzzles like 'lateral thinking puzzles', her logical thinking ability was no weaker than those top science students. So, this round is still within my range.

Looking up at the gold crown above Chen Yuan's head on the leaderboard. And the bronze crowns above her and Shi Yi's heads, she secretly vowed to reclaim her first place. Although no one stipulated that this first place had to be hers, her personality, which strived for the strongest, did not allow her to lose!

"This round will have 10 logical thinking questions. Each question is worth 10 points, for a total of 100 points." While waiting, the host introduced the rules to everyone: "But unlike the first round, the initial score is no longer accumulated according to the submission time. The total time is 30 minutes, with an average of three minutes per question. The competition ends when time runs out. However, if you finish all the questions within the time and get them all correct, the first place can get 5 extra points. The second place gets 4 points, and so on."

"That is to say, the highest score is 105."

"And only a correct submission gets extra points, there is no chance to cheat."

"So, the difference between the top players is distinguished by the extra points for submitting first?"

Just as everyone was discussing this, the host once again revealed that mischievous smile: "Everyone thinks very well, but these extra points may not be something everyone needs to consider."

"Because since this segment began, the number of people who have received extra points..."

"Is zero." The host's words made the students on and off the stage feel the meaning of ridicule. But some people were ignited. Yang Jialan, Chen Yuan, and Shi Yi immediately established a new goal - the person who breaks the record must be me!

"Has no one ever gotten a perfect score before?" The principal of Hengzhong asked curiously. This segment should also be new, and has been tested in other schools for several sessions.

"Yes, the two strongest people only got 90 points." The base leader said.

"That's because it's set up to be very difficult?"

"The difficulty is okay, but the time is too short. On average, each question only has three minutes. If you delay anywhere, it's difficult to get a perfect score." The base leader said confidently.

"Have you ever come to our kind of school before?" The principal of Changjun's words made the base leader briefly silent. Our kind of school... I almost forgot, the three strongest schools in the country are here. But this competition doesn't test pure problem-solving! Just wait and see. Although he hasn't been to such top schools, many famous schools have fallen in this segment...

After the rules were explained, the countdown began. After counting down ten numbers, the game started. An electronic test paper popped up on everyone's screen. On the right side of the screen was the draft page. So that's what the stylus was for. But why not just get an iPad, this touch feels really rough...

After a brief mental complaint, Chen Yuan began to look at the questions. The first one: There are ten bottles of medicine, each with 10 pills, one of which is deteriorated. Normal pills are 1g each, and deteriorated pills are 1.1g each. How can you find the deteriorated pill with one weighing?

Ten seconds had already passed after reading the question. Moreover, this was not a multiple-choice or fill-in-the-blank question. This was a short answer question that required typing. Typing would take more than half a minute. So, he only had two minutes to think. But thinking for two minutes was definitely a bit slow. Because he had to do this kind of question 10 times. He had to reserve at least four or five seconds of breathing time for each question to ensure completion. No wonder no one could get extra points. It's so urgent.

Biting his lip lightly, Chen Yuan began to think. In ten bottles of medicine, nine bottles were normal, and in the deteriorated bottle, each pill was overweight. In Chen Yuan's mind, ten bottles of white medicine appeared, all containing blue capsules, and only one bottle had capsules glowing red. And that bottle's overall weight would exceed the other bottles by 1g. Okay, I got it. Use the *xieyan* method (squint-eye method).

But writing this method would probably not get any points. First, according to normal mathematical thinking, set that bottle of medicine as the xth bottle. Why does each bottle of medicine have ten pills? This number corresponds exactly to the ten bottles... Oh, I see. 0.1g is the key. If you take one pill from each of the ten bottles and weigh them all together, the weight should be 10.1g, because at least one pill is 1.1g. But if there are 2 deteriorated pills, that's more than 0.2g, if there are 3, that's more than 0.3g, if there are 10, that's more than 1g. In that case, it's clear.

After spending about a minute and a half thinking, Chen Yuan finished writing the lengthy answer, and then suddenly found that three minutes had passed. The time spent on one question just reached the set time, with no surplus. Damn it, it's killing me!

"Ah, it's so difficult." Zhou Fu, who had been working on the first question for almost five minutes, couldn't think of a solution: "If you asked me to find the medicine, without limiting the number of weighings, I would."

"...Got it." Tang Siwen, who was next to her, finally figured it out after thinking for three minutes and writing down many formulas. So, this is what logical examination is. If that's the case, then both liberal arts and science students can do it. But mathematical thinking is also very important here.

"How do you do it?" Zhou Fu asked curiously.

"Wait, I'll write it down for you to see." Tang Siwen typed the answer on her phone: "Write the numbers 1 to 10 on the ten bottles of medicine, take 1 pill from the first bottle, 2 pills from the second bottle, and so on, until you take 10 pills from the 10th bottle, weigh them all together, the original weight should be x5 equals 55g, and the extra weight is the xth bottle that contains deteriorated medicine."

Even with fast typing, Tang Siwen had already reached six minutes after thinking and writing. That is to say, with her strength, she could only get a maximum of 50 points on this type of question. And this was based on the premise that she could complete the following questions at this speed. It's difficult.

"Baby, can you explain it to me..." Zhou Fu didn't quite understand.

Tang Siwen's cheeks, who was called baby, blushed slightly, but because she was still thinking about how far she was from those top students, she apologized and whispered: "Wait a minute, baby, I'll tell you later."

This baby also made Zhou Fu feel a little comfortable... Is this the feeling of being in love? She hasn't tasted the bitterness of love, but she has tasted Tang Siwen's sweetness, sob.

"Oh, I understand." When spring was overflowing, Zhou Fu suddenly understood Tang Siwen's solution, and then immediately showed an admiring expression: "Oh my god, aren't you a genius?" This little head!

"Doing more competition questions is very helpful." To this, Tang Siwen modestly said, "But my competition results are only a provincial third..."

After she said this, Zhou Fu realized that there were quite a few big shots sitting on this stage. The most terrifying of them must be Shi Yi, who was narrowly defeated by Chen Yuan by two points in the previous round. This time Bai Mingze didn't come, so let's see if the strongest combat power in Haidong Province can win against Jingnan and Jibei.

Shi Yi made a plan, that is, to do the simple questions first, put aside the tricky ones, and then come back to write them at the end. But when writing, he did not implement this plan. Instead, he solved them in order. That is, so far, there were no questions that could trap him. But the time saved for each question was not much. In this way, he also wrote the 7th question.

Seventh question, 8 balls, one of which is heavier than the other balls, there is a balance, at least how many times can you find the heavy ball.

After spending five seconds reading the question, Shi Yi didn't even think about it and started writing the question directly. Twice. This should be the easiest of all the questions, and can be solved in seconds. Compared with the first weighing question, this is indeed super simple, a free point question that everyone can do. The thinking is also more straightforward. 3, 3, 2 is fine.

So, Shi Yi's main time for this question was spent on writing the answer. In fact, these weighing questions all have skills. Normal people think of dividing equally. Weighing four to four. Then weighing two to two. Finally, one-on-one. That is, three times. According to normal thinking, it is three times, so as the answer to the question, it must deviate from normal. But it is impossible to weigh it out once. So, the answer 'two' can be written directly based on experience. It's a pity that it's not fill-in-the-blank and multiple choice, otherwise it would be even faster. But it should also be expected that many people will rely on experience to answer, so it is required to write the solution process in it. That is to say, the time actually fixed for thinking is very limited. Even Shi Yi doesn't think the thirty minutes is sufficient. He believes that a large part of the people here should not be stumped. But definitely, they will lose to time.

When he reached the sixth question, Zhang Jianjun frowned. His expression seemed a little painful. So, he supported his waist and slowly straightened his body, which made him feel a little more comfortable... The lumbar disc herniation was even more serious. If he had a desktop, it wouldn't be so painful. To make my body so stiff for a mere competition with students, I'm really working hard.

It has been almost thirty minutes, and he has only written five questions. In the last ten minutes, it seems that he can only write two questions at most. Even two questions may not be finished, because each question has to type more than a hundred words. Memory can still be used as an excuse when I am old, but in this round, I really seem to be unable to strive for the top and dare to be the first. However, he did not delay any time in thinking all the way. Even if there are many students who are faster than him, they can only lead by about two questions at most. Well, 90 points is the top. It is impossible to get 100 points for this kind of question. Unless it's Superman. Damn it, it's so frustrating. Can't you just write a solvable one?!

While burying his head in writing the questions, Chen Yuan already wanted to scold people. The time given is too damn short! Did the question writer's mother abandon him? You come over and try it yourself, can you finish writing these questions in thirty minutes. If you can write it out, I will eat this tablet!

But I, seem to be able to write it out. After writing the penultimate question non-stop, Chen Yuan found that there were still two minutes left. That is to say, as long as the last question is super-performed and submitted before the deadline, he can not only finish writing, but even have the opportunity to touch the extra points. In fact, a perfect score means extra points. Because as long as you submit before the end, you are the first one to finish and get a perfect score. But so far, there is no extra point, which means that no one has finished so far! In fact, according to the current progress, Chen Yuan can't finish it either. Two minutes is too short! Reading the question and writing the question will take half, and then you have to conceive the correct method within one minute. Damn it, is there any process score? No way, let's do it! Even if he can't finish the last question, he can tie the record. But if he finishes it, he will directly create history!

In this way, before reading the question, Chen Yuan raised his head and prepared to take the last deep breath. At this time, he saw Shi Yi in front of him stop his hand. And raised his head. There are still two minutes left, what is he...

Just as Chen Yuan thought this, the audience on the field cheered loudly. Just like cheering for himself in the first round. And the object is not himself.

"Holy shit! He submitted the questions with two minutes left?"

"I have only written the fifth question!"

"That is to say, he has finished ten questions?"

"Damn it, three minutes for such a hanging question that requires a detailed solution process, is he human?"

"It's Shi Yi again, Shi Yi who was second fastest last time!"

"But the questions seem to be still being changed, if they are all correct, it is 105 points."

"If one question is wrong, there will be no extra points, which is 90."

"I think there is so much time left, it's okay to check it..."

Check what. Chen Yuan didn't even need to think about it to know what the final result would be. Because he, is Shi Yi.