CSGM - Chapter 137
Chapter 137: Complete Concentration
This event required no prior observation?
After hearing Chu Xi's nonchalant words, the entire venue was stunned!
The captain of the Chinese team, his arms crossed, looked down at Chu Xi from the high preparation platform, his brow furrowed deeply.
Setting aside Chu Xi's actual abilities, if she were his team member, he, as the captain, would absolutely not permit her to take such a risky action!
This was a competition, the official arena!
It was a showdown between experts where every second counted, where the slightest gap could be the deciding factor between success and failure!
The two who had just lost two points were even more bewildered, their eyes filled with astonishment at Chu Xi's bold decision.
What was happening?
After hearing the translation, the Japanese contestants also wanted to ask—what was happening???
Did that Chinese actress just say she didn't need to observe?
Was she trying to give Mr. Matsushita Hiroaki a handicap?
Where did she get such confidence?!
The live audience, the online viewers, and those watching on TV were all dumbfounded.
They didn't understand the event and wouldn't dare to critique the games played by professional experts, because they truly had no clue!
However, hearing Chu Xi say she would forgo the observation period was simply unbelievable.
They had been watching this show for so long, and they had never seen anyone voluntarily skip the observation process.
In all past competitions, everyone had dutifully followed the procedures set by the production team.
But now, Chu Xi had taken the initiative to give up her observation time. It was completely unexpected!
This was undoubtedly a sensational moment in the history of the "Brain King" program!
Of course, a contestant voluntarily giving up a right was certainly not against the rules.
Which meant, Chu Xi could indeed skip the observation.
But the Chinese expert panel was getting anxious.
What was this all about?
On the judges' panel, Director Zhang and Professor Wei also frowned as they looked at Chu Xi.
Professor Wei shifted restlessly in his seat, his mouth slightly agape. He frowned before calling out to Chu Xi.
"Chu Xi, this is a competition. Do you need to reconsider your choice?"
Professor Wei had heavily emphasized the word "reconsider," hinting that Chu Xi should take back her words!
But Chu Xi wore a transcendent, unbothered expression, like an old monk in deep meditation, and said flatly,
"This is fine."
Not only was she a person who stood by her word, but did this particular event really require observing the fans in advance?
She didn't think so. It was a waste of time.
If her opponent had also given up the observation, Chu Xi might have thought a little more highly of him.
Unfortunately, his skill was just so-so. Matsushita Hiroaki gave no indication that he would also forgo the observation.
Chu Xi chuckled softly. It was just as she expected.
Frustrated by her stubbornness, Professor Wei questioned her, "Can you explain how you plan to find the fan designated by our international judges if you don't observe?"
Chu Xi adjusted her earpiece and said, "The moment I see the texture of the fan's folds, I will be able to imagine the corresponding fan face."
There was no point in explaining further to others; this was a form of spatial reasoning.
While each fan face seemed very similar, once folded, the texture of the pleats they created—the arrangement of the tiny dots in terms of height, color, shape, and state—was absolutely unique.
Therefore, the unique texture of the folds, using a feature-based method, was sufficient to reverse-engineer the unique corresponding fan face.
And this required prior observation?
Professor Wei stressed sternly, "You need to understand that the fans you will see are in a closed state, completely closed. They will not be opened for you."
He was worried that Chu Xi had misunderstood the rules, which was why she thought it was so simple.
But Chu Xi just said, "I know. The competition can begin."
In front of the international and Japanese judges, Professor Wei couldn't press her further. After exchanging a look with Director Zhang, he pinched the bridge of his nose and sat in silence.
After a long while, the stage was filled with a lively performance as dozens of fair-skinned, beautiful dancers waved their fans.
In a corner, Matsushita Hiroaki's eyes gleamed as he scanned and observed them.
Countless fan patterns and their corresponding features were committed to his memory.
Professor Wei sighed and muttered,
"Fine, fine, Chu Xi. If you want to act tough after we invited you here, that's your choice. But if you lose, I can't help you…"
Had the admiration of ordinary people in the entertainment industry given her the false impression that she had an advantage even against international experts?
Seeing her so arrogant and obstinate, Professor Wei truly regretted agreeing to the expert panel's proposal to let her compete!
The Japanese contestants were discussing with sly smiles.
"Look at Captain Hiroaki. He must have already memorized many of the fans. Oh, Captain Hiroaki is truly amazing. The Chinese contestant must realize by now that she has no chance of winning against him, right?"
"She actually dared to give up the observation. I admit that choice is bold, but it's also incredibly foolish."
"Yes, this gives Teacher Hiroaki an even greater advantage. It will be very difficult for her to win."
Forty-six minutes later, Chu Xi was idly picking at her fingers in her seat when the dance music finally stopped.
The dancers holding the fans left the stage, and the host announced,
"The observation time is over! Will the contestants please return to their challenge seats."
Matsushita Hiroaki gave a slight bow to the judges' panel and said in Japanese,
"Thank you, I have completed my observation."
He then sat in the challenge chair opposite Chu Xi, his back to the stage.
Hearing the island nation's Speed Memory Emperor announce that he had finished observing, Professor Wei and Director Zhang were so stressed they could barely breathe.
The camera captured Matsushita Hiroaki's expression as he waited in his chair—a look of smug delight and self-satisfaction.
The Chinese audience gnashed their teeth in frustration at the islander's expression!
But there was nothing they could do but watch the competition continue.
The international judges selected three fans. After the crew placed three completely folded fans on the table, they opened the three hundred fans from the dance performance and hung them across two large walls.
"The challenge begins!"
At the host's command, the two contestants had to find the matching fans on the wall of three hundred for the three folded fans, of which they could only see the pleats.
Chu Xi and Matsushita Hiroaki walked to the table to look at the folded fans at the same time.
Matsushita Hiroaki shot Chu Xi a superfluous glance.
A smirk, disdain, and the certainty of victory—all these emotions were written plainly on the islander's face.
Just now, he had already mastered most of these fans, while Chu Xi still knew nothing. It was her own fault for giving up the observation time.
But Chu Xi didn't even look at him. Ugly man, not as good-looking as her Baby.
Her attention was entirely on the three folded fans. Her earlier flippant and lazy demeanor was gone, replaced by complete concentration.
Her dark, deep eyes stared intently at the fan folds.
Her brain worked like a printer, imprinting the patterns of the pleats into her mind.
The audience saw Matsushita Hiroaki already heading towards the wall of fans while Chu Xi was still observing at the table, and they couldn't help but break into a cold sweat!
Although they disliked this amateur who had been parachuted in at the last minute, disliked her unprofessional attitude of sleeping before the match, and disliked her arrogant decision to skip the observation—what a letdown!
But when the real competition started, they desperately hoped that Chu Xi would get lucky or suddenly receive divine assistance, that her brain would light up and she would defeat the island nation!
Defeat the island nation, please defeat the island nation…
The audience chanted silently in their hearts.
But the difference in speed was just too great!
What was going on? Matsushita Hiroaki was already at the wall of fans and had started searching, but Chu Xi was still here looking at the folded fans!
Was this the source of her confidence in skipping the observation?
Seeing this, the audience gritted their teeth again, their hearts burning with anger, wanting to curse her out!
Chu Xi memorized the three sets of folds, did a quick mental projection of their outlines, and then swiftly ran to the wall of fans.
Her gaze swept across the fan faces like a web crawler, while her mind performed a "free-folding fan" exercise.
For every fan that matched the general outline, she began to search for features on its face, then reverse-engineered the characteristics of the side dots that would appear when the pattern was folded.
—As she'd said, this event was all about spatial reasoning; there was no need for prior memorization at all.
The reasoning process, from surface to point, played out repeatedly in her brain…
Seeing her standing motionless in front of the wall of fans, Professor Wei sighed and covered his forehead, assuming she was stumped and couldn't figure out a single one.
After looking through one wall of fans, Matsushita Hiroaki suddenly stopped, his eyes lit up, and he quickly ran towards the answer podium.
A gasp went through the audience, and someone sucked in a sharp breath!
So fast!
But Chu Xi wasn't flustered at all, because Matsushita Hiroaki hadn't even finished looking at both walls, which meant he was searching for the fans one by one.
At that speed, he posed no threat to her.
Sure enough, after filling in his first answer, Matsushita Hiroaki went back to the table to look at the second set of folds.
Chu Xi finished scanning both walls of fans. She rested her chin on her hand, supported by her elbow, and tilted her head, her eyes deep in thought.
She was contemplating one thing—
It's only been 5 minutes. Is it a bit inappropriate to press the answer button now?
It wasn't that being fast was inappropriate, but the timing itself was.
While thinking, she slowly walked to the answer podium and unhurriedly wrote down her answers.
In one go, she answered the coordinates for all three fans.
Then she flipped her answer board face down, stood motionless at the podium, and watched Matsushita Hiroaki's movements.
The audience and judges looked at her, stunned and bewildered, not understanding what this meant.
Had she answered or not?
Was this an extraordinary performance, or had she given up?
Why was she just standing there?
What on earth was Chu Xi thinking?
Watching her just stand there was driving everyone crazy!
It wasn't until 8 minutes and 50 seconds had passed that Chu Xi turned her head to look at the real-time timer below the podium.
08:58:26.
08:59:40.
09:01:33.
…
Suddenly, Chu Xi reached out and, in a flash, slammed the answer button.
"Ding—"
With that sound, her podium lit up, and the constantly running timer stopped in an instant.
09:02:12.
It stopped at that moment.
Sigh, what a pity. My hands aren't that nimble. No wonder Baby complains that my hands are clumsy…
Chu Xi clicked her tongue at the time, lost in her own thoughts.
Milliseconds were hard to control. It would have been nice if the time had stopped with "09" at the end.
But, this was fine too.
The date was precise enough.
And with that, she now just had to wait for the other little islander to find all three answers.
So slow.
And he was supposed to be the Speed Memory Emperor?
Chu Xi silently mouthed—
Speed Memory Underling.
Hearing the sound of her answer buzzer, Matsushita Hiroaki turned his head and shot a look of disbelief in her direction.
At 13 minutes and 26 seconds, Matsushita Hiroaki finished his last answer and also pressed his button.
The most thrilling and anticipated moment for the audience was the reveal of the answers!
No one had expected that Chu Xi's time would actually be faster than Matsushita Hiroaki's!
And faster by a considerable margin. This was completely beyond everyone's expectations.
Amid their surprise, the Chinese expert judges and audience felt a twinge of worry. What had Chu Xi written on her answer board?
Were they the correct answers?
With that speed… it was hard to imagine if she had even been answering seriously!
A science assistant brought both contestants' answer boards to the center of the stage. Before revealing the answers, the host asked,
"Are you two confident in your answers?"
Matsushita Hiroaki's eyes were bright, and he held his head high with confidence.
In Japanese: "I am confident in my choices."
Chu Xi didn't understand, but she smiled and said, "Perhaps the island nation's team still has time to be confident now, but later, the only flag that will be planted on the champion's podium will be ours."
Regardless of anything else, the audience gave her a round of applause for that statement!
Then, the host revealed the answers!
"First question, let's look at the answer from Mr. Matsushita Hiroaki, who took longer—Side B, 067."
"Chu Xi's answer is—Side B, 067! The same!"
"Now, let's have our science assistant open the folded fan selected by the international judges… It's a perfect match!"
The host shouted excitedly, "Congratulations to both contestants, you are correct!"
"Holy crap!" Shouting was not allowed in the venue, so the Chinese audience members could only let out hushed roars.
They might not have been surprised that Matsushita Hiroaki was correct, but what was unexpected was that Chu Xi's answer was also correct!
And she was so much faster than him!
The audience, who previously had no confidence in her accuracy, felt a jolt of excitement run through them after this first dose of reassurance!
For the second question, the result was the same. Both of their answers were correct again!
Even the host swallowed in surprise.
"We have now reached our match point. If Chu Xi's answer to the third question is also correct, she will win this event."
At this point, Matsushita Hiroaki's smile had vanished, and his expression was somewhat stiff.
Yes, he hadn't expected this.
For the third fan, the host had the science assistant first open the one chosen by the international judges.
The moment he saw the fan open, Matsushita Hiroaki breathed a sigh of relief.
He knew his choice was correct.
But he glanced at Chu Xi's expression—he couldn't read anything.
He didn't know what she was thinking. Was her answer right or wrong?
If Chu Xi was wrong, then he would be the victor.
But if Chu Xi's answer was also correct, it meant that, with her shorter time, she would win!
Matsushita Hiroaki silently chanted in his heart: Her answer is wrong… wrong…
Chu Xi felt there was no need to speak now, but the host kept talking beside her.
"Contestant Matsushita Hiroaki has answered all questions correctly. If contestant Chu Xi's third answer is also correct, then according to the rule that the one with the shorter time wins, Chu Xi will be the victor. Conversely, if her answer is incorrect, then unfortunately, accuracy takes precedence, and contestant Matsushita Hiroaki will win. So, what will the result be? Let's wait and see."
"Science assistant, please reveal contestant Chu Xi's third answer."
The board covering the third answer was slowly pulled away by the science assistant—
The host's voice rose slowly along with it.
"Contestant Chu Xi, your third answer is… Side A…"
As the entire venue watched in near-silent, breathless anticipation, and as online viewers held their breath, even the live stream's bullet comments stopped. Everyone stared nervously at that answer.
Amidst this stunned, silent wait, the sound suddenly erupted.
"Side A, 124, the answer is correct!!!"
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