Chapter Two: Everyone Else Was Wrong

When the bell rang, Gu Yan submitted the official answer. Lin Yan submitted a chain of evidence. The judges argued for forty minutes. The livestream remained active, and hundreds of thousands watched Lin Yan sitting alone in the emptied hall. Gu Tingzhi approached him and lowered his voice. “Withdraw the objection. I can give you special admission to Central Academy and half a million yuan. Your mother still works the night bus, doesn’t she?” The offer was sugar coating. The threat was hidden in the last sentence. “Are you bribing me?” Lin Yan asked. “I’m offering a genius a path forward.” The equation filled Lin Yan’s vision. He solved for the final digits of an account, the names of two judges, and the backup server Gu Tingzhi most feared