louisehourcade Chapter 40 The Light of Humanity
Chapter 40 The Light of Humanity
Su Hao turned around and saw that, wow, it was a group of American players going on a scoring spree.
A well-dressed British student at the next table, who had been observing them coldly, suddenly turned sullen, stood up abruptly, and retaliated:
"British food is bad, that's an objective reality of our Great British Empire, and we know it ourselves!"
But can you please shut up and eat your food?
At least our food still carries hundreds of years of history and tradition!
"What do you Americans have besides hamburgers?!"
Lucas, as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world, spread his hands wide:
"Bro, at least the burgers are tasty, right?"
At this moment, Hans, the German guy who had just greeted Su Hao, slowly and methodically cut the fish on his plate, and nonchalantly stabbed the American team's table:
"To correct a common misconception, hamburgers actually originated in the city of Hamburg in Germany."
So strictly speaking, that shouldn't be considered American food, right?
A curly-haired guy at a nearby French table clicked his tongue twice, stood up elegantly, shook his long, slender index finger, and looked utterly arrogant.
"Guys... don't argue over such vulgar things."
We French people understand your pain.
After all, mastering the complex art of cooking isn't a genetic talent every country possesses.
The Italians, watching this scene, clicked their tongues in astonishment and uttered a cold laugh:
"Come on, everything you eat outside of Italy is pretty much garbage."
You should have been mentally prepared to die before coming, just like us!
At this point, Pan Xun, not to be outdone, also joined in:
"We don't mind, because there are Chinese restaurants in every country in the world!"
That joke, tinged with paranoia, unwittingly evolved into a chaotic battle of self-praise and mutual mockery among the major culinary powers.
The tense academic atmosphere was instantly torn apart by this lively and down-to-earth debate.
Even those bookworms who were originally introverted and as reserved as quails couldn't help but giggle and show their teeth.
Ding--
A British gentleman, who appeared to be in charge of the event, gently tapped a stemmed glass with a silver fork, and the crisp, resonant sound instantly drew everyone's attention.
"I'm sorry. Preparing lunch for such a large number of people is indeed a daunting task, and I regret that I couldn't meet everyone's expectations. However..."
The gentleman gave a slight bow, his tone carrying a hint of helpless British humor.
"You're all actually quite lucky. At least, what's served today isn't our famous 'Stargazing' style, is it?"
"Hahaha!"
"Hahaha! We really did escape with our lives!"
This seemingly serious British gentleman, with an extremely earnest tone, delivered a self-deprecating joke that instantly tickled everyone's funny bone, causing them to burst into laughter.
"Today, we have formed a strong united front amidst the painful torment of taste."
The old gentleman winked mischievously.
"Don't worry, I'll tell the kitchen to put more effort into the dishes tomorrow. At the very least, they need to fry the potatoes until they're cooked through."
Su Hao's tense nerves finally relaxed completely, and he laughed out loud.
Despite the appalling food, amidst the laughter, the students from various countries, who had initially been somewhat distant and wary of each other, were now chatting away happily.
The chilling aura that belonged to geniuses dissipated briefly.
.......
After the meal, the delegates from various countries dispersed in small groups, clutching their still hungry stomachs.
Even though no one from the Xia Guo team made a suggestion, everyone seemed to be drawn together by some kind of gravitational pull, habitually gathering in Su Hao's room 201.
"Alright, let's do one last review before the exam."
Zhang Wei unzipped his bag and took out a thick stack of documents he had been working on late into the night.
Since the winter camp, the six of them have maintained this regular meeting without fail.
Su Hao nodded and stood up from the chair very naturally.
He picked up a marker and walked to the whiteboard in the room.
This seemingly ordinary action caused the air in the room to freeze slightly.
"Everyone must always remember this."
When faced with the extremely complex geometry problems we are discussing now, do not be blinded by the apparent conditions.
The key to breaking the deadlock lies half in finding hidden symmetry...
brush--
He turned around and drew an auxiliary line on the whiteboard.
Logic flows like a mighty river, while thoughts are as clean and efficient as an old knife chopping wood.
There are no obscure or difficult-to-understand fancy techniques, only the most simple and straightforward disassembly.
That understated auxiliary line was like a curtain suddenly drawn back in a dimly lit room, instantly bringing all the complicated and rigid conditions to life.
Zhang Wei, Xu Lan, Lin Shuwan...
These math geniuses, who are so influential in the country, all stared wide-eyed at this moment, like a group of the most obedient primary school students, not daring to even breathe loudly!
They stared intently at the whiteboard, their eyes filled with unbelievable shock.
So insightful!
A single sentence reveals the secret!
This problem-solving approach, which is "quite absurd but extremely hardcore upon closer inspection," impressed everyone.
Zhang Wei looked at the twelve-year-old figure and a bitter smile appeared on his lips.
He recalled the countless nights he had spent staying up late, his eyes bloodshot, and pulling out clumps of hair, trying to understand these graphics.
In the hands of this young man, those geometric traps that could drive anyone to despair seemed as simple as they should be.
That unpretentious, almost Taoist-like intuition for solving problems overwhelmed these so-called "geniuses," making them unable to lift their heads.
Fortunately, after training with Su Hao, this absolute monster, for several months...
While everyone was tortured to the point of questioning their existence, they were also forcibly elevated to a dimension they never dared to imagine before.
They felt incredibly powerful, capable of calculating even the Big Bang using formulas!
At this momentous time when everyone seemed to be ascending collectively, touching the very essence of mathematics...
Gurgle.
In the quiet room, someone's stomach, quite uncooperatively, let out a protest.
Before I knew it, after such intense mental exertion, it was already dinnertime.
But everyone looked at each other blankly, their feet firmly planted on the ground.
Recalling that deadly fish and chips at noon, no one wants to go downstairs to the restaurant and experience that taste bud torture again.
Zhang Wei was silent for two seconds, then quietly leaned close to Pan Xun's ear:
"Did you bring any instant noodles?"
"I heard that Professor Hu brought a lot of them, saying that he was worried that we might not be able to adapt to the local environment."
"Let's go get some."
This scene not only occurred in 201, but is also a true reflection of the situation in the rooms of most national teams at this moment.
In their eyes, instant noodles are the fucking light of humanity, compared to British food!
......
Two days later.
The Royal Albert Hall, London.
The day after the opening ceremony.
The air was filled with the suffocating smell of pine resin mixed with paper.
Above the dome, classic chandeliers cast a cold light.
Three daunting questions, like mountains blocking the way for all geniuses, followed by four and a half hours of extreme brain-burning challenges.
A competition without gunfire, a contest that stakes national honor and represents the highest level of intelligence among human high school students, has officially begun!