"Ding dong!"
The notification sound pulled Xu Sheng out of his daze.
Normally, he kept all notifications turned off during research. But lately, his work had hit a complete wall.
He didn't know what to do next, yet he couldn't simply stop showing up either. So he left the sound on and sat there, spacing out.
For a scientist, inspiration was everything.
But inspiration was like an artist's muse. It didn't arrive just because you wanted it to.
Most of the time, it was pure chance.
Even with notifications enabled, there weren't many messages.
Or rather, not many valuable ones.
As a top-tier mecha designer-someone at the level of a national treasure-Xu Sheng's work was rarely disturbed.
The only message that had truly caught his attention recently was the file from two days ago.
That so-called "genius."
Even now, thinking back on it, Xu Sheng could only describe the person that way.
Assuming the information was real.
"Speaking of which... the test I designed should be in that 'genius's' hands by now."
Xu Sheng frowned slightly.
"Why did I even put in a problem I couldn't solve myself? Good thing I added some easier ones too. What if he couldn't solve a single question? Wouldn't that just crush his confidence?"
"He should be able to solve the simpler ones... if he really has talent."
"And if he can't even do that, I'll see how he performs on the others. If he's a fraud..."
Xu Sheng paused.
"Well, then he's in for a surprise."
"I think I submitted over fifty questions in total. And everyone else added at least one problem they couldn't solve themselves, just like I did."
"It'll probably take him over a month to finish them all."
"...Wait. I only set the time limit for one day."
His thoughts drifted.
Then his gaze returned to the screen.
The notification icon-the small speaker-was flashing.
Xu Sheng clicked it.
A system message popped up.
"Dear Academician Xu Sheng, your test has been completed. Please grade it as soon as possible."
Xu Sheng froze.
Completed?
He had just been wondering how long it would take.
And it was already done?
How much time had passed?
Xu Sheng instinctively glanced at the clock in the bottom right corner of the screen.
For a moment, he wondered if he'd been spacing out for over a month.
But the date and time were perfectly normal.
May 11, 2019. 2:30:30 PM.
"What's going on...?"
It took Xu Sheng a while to process this.
After thinking it through, he finally found a reason that barely made sense.
If that person had finished the first fifty questions in five minutes, then maybe finishing his questions in less than a day wasn't that crazy.
What he didn't understand was whether others had already received notifications.
Could the tests be submitted one by one?
Shouldn't everything be submitted together?
With lingering confusion, Xu Sheng opened the attachment.
A holographic projection appeared beside him.
The questions he designed required holographic modeling. They weren't simple multiple-choice problems.
That was exactly why he believed Morin would need at least a full day.
And that wasn't even counting the "personal" problem.
From the start, that problem had been added purely for fun.
Every mecha designer had done the same.
For people at their level, there was no need to deliberately sabotage someone.
They were already the best in their respective fields.
Then Xu Sheng stopped breathing.
He had created five questions.
The first four were marked green.
Perfect completion.
And in the upper right corner-
Total time used.
Less than two minutes.
Two minutes.
That was the time it took to...
No.
That was the time it took for a reader to finish a chapter.
Did you even read the questions?!
Xu Sheng screamed internally.
Then his eyes snapped to the final question.
White light.
Answered. Awaiting grading.
Gulp.
In the dead-silent office, the sound of Xu Sheng swallowing echoed clearly.
His hand hovered in midair, trembling slightly.
He had a guess.
A terrifying one.
But it felt impossible.
So impossible it threatened to shatter his understanding of reality.
In the end, he clicked it.
The holographic projection shifted.
A model appeared.
It was familiar.
And unfamiliar.
Familiar, because it had tormented Xu Sheng for an entire month.
Yes.
Until just a second ago, this model had still been haunting him.
The only reason it now felt unfamiliar was simple.
It was complete.
Have you ever struggled with a math problem for ages, only to suddenly understand everything the moment you see the answer?
That was what Xu Sheng felt.
It wasn't that he couldn't understand the model.
If that were the case, he wouldn't even be able to comprehend it now.
But if it had been easy...
Would it really have taken him a full month?
Alongside that sudden clarity came shock.
Pure shock.
He never imagined that the problem he had added casually-half-jokingly, half-experimentally-
Would be solved like this.
So casually.
Solved by a twenty-one-year-old.
A young man who wasn't even a mecha designer yet.
Solved in under two minutes.
No.
Less than that.
There were other questions too.
How could someone like this exist?
"...Show me the answering video," Xu Sheng said.
His thoughts were in chaos, but the words still came out.
His own voice startled him.
It was hoarse.
Barely recognizable.
"Playing the answering video," the system replied.
The holographic projection switched.
Morin's entire process played out.
Xu Sheng forced himself to stay calm and watched.
Morin moved without hesitation.
Identifying errors.
Making corrections.
He completed the first four questions in about thirty seconds.
It was like he hadn't even read them.
"F*ck..."
Xu Sheng paused the video.
After a long silence, that single word escaped him.
It was the only reaction he had left.
These problems had never appeared anywhere before.
Xu Sheng was certain of that.
Even he would need several hours.
Possibly a full day.
And Morin?
Thirty seconds.
Even copying answers wouldn't be that fast.
You'd still have to read the questions and match them.
It took Xu Sheng a long time to calm himself.
When he resumed the video, his thoughts shifted.
Surely, he thought, he has to read the last question.
He can't just start answering it.
He spent a minute and a half on it.
He must have spent at least one second reading.
The video continued.
Xu Sheng watched as Morin's long fingers moved without hesitation.
No pause.
No doubt.
He went straight into the model.
Adding.
Deleting.
Modifying.
After a minute and a half, the completed model appeared.
Exactly the same.
Then he stopped.
The entire process felt like a lecture delivered across hundreds, even thousands of miles.
Xu Sheng was the student.
Morin was the teacher.
The video ended.
Xu Sheng stood there, staring at the frozen image.
For a moment, it looked like he wanted to crack open Morin's skull to see if a supercomputer was hidden inside.
After a long while, Xu Sheng slowly crouched.
Hands behind him.
Legs straightened.
He sank onto the floor.
His eyes were empty.
At the same time, across countless offices, other mecha designers experienced different emotions.
Excitement.
Doubt.
Jealousy.
Admiration.
Fondness.
Anger.
But in the end, every single one of them said the same thing.
"F*ck..."
"Wei Ge! Wei Ge!"
The shout snapped Zhao Wei out of his focus.
He looked up in surprise.
He recognized both the voice and the nickname.
That was exactly why he was shocked.
He hadn't heard that person call him "Wei Ge" in a very, very long time.
Every time Zhao Wei told him to use it, he'd refuse.
"A position demands respect. I wouldn't dare overstep."
Eventually, Zhao Wei gave up.
But today?
What could make him that excited?
"Wei Ge!" The secretary rushed in, face flushed.
"What happened?" Zhao Wei gestured for him to close the door first.
He knew his secretary well.
Very few things could shake him like this.
And when they did, it was always serious.
The last time Zhao Wei heard that tone was when he'd been critically injured.
Even when the monsters first appeared, his secretary had reported it calmly, to the point Zhao Wei hadn't believed him.
"It's big," the secretary said, closing the door. "Very big."
"That person passed."
"Which-oh. You mean Morin?" Zhao Wei replied automatically. "So he passed. I thought-wait."
He paused.
"How many did he get right?"
Just passing wasn't enough to cause this reaction.
"...You should brace yourself," the secretary said.
"Don't be dramatic," Zhao Wei said. "It's not like he got everything right, did he? That was over fifty questions from all the mecha designers. You told me some were problems even they couldn't solve."
"There's no way Morin solved them all."
As he spoke, unease crept in.
The secretary just stared at him.
Silent.
Zhao Wei's heart sank.
"He... he really got everything right?" Zhao Wei asked.
The secretary nodded.
"...Including the unsolved problems?"
The secretary nodded again.
"...Wait," Zhao Wei said, suddenly dizzy. "They only just finished creating the questions. What time is it now?"
He fumbled for his phone, breathing shallow.
"No need," the secretary said quietly. "It's May 11, 2019."
"It's been less than a day."
Zhao Wei went silent.
"That's why I told you to brace yourself," the secretary sighed. "There's more."
"Hold on," Zhao Wei said suddenly.
He rushed aside, poured a glass of water, spilling some with his shaking hands.
He didn't care.
He downed it in one go.
Then took deep breaths.
Still not enough.
He dropped to the floor and did push-ups.
The secretary watched without comment.
He understood.
He'd needed time too.
"Alright," Zhao Wei said after dozens of push-ups.
He stood, breathing hard.
"How long did it take him?"
"...Are you really ready?" the secretary asked.
"Are you trying to kill me?" Zhao Wei cursed, gripping the desk. "My hand's on it. Even if you tell me-"
"Half an hour."
"...What?"
Zhao Wei's mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
It took several seconds for his brain to catch up.
"Half. An. Hour," the secretary repeated.
Zhao Wei sagged.
His straight posture collapsed.
He squatted down slowly and sat against the desk.
The secretary joined him.
"Holy sh*t," Zhao Wei said after a long silence.
"All the mecha designers said the same thing," the secretary laughed.
"If anyone didn't," Zhao Wei said, "I'd drag them to take the tests themselves. See if they can finish all the questions-including the personal ones-in half an hour."
"And get a hundred percent," the secretary added.
Silence returned.
"A-guang," Zhao Wei said quietly, "do geniuses really exist?"
"I don't know," the secretary replied. "But it seems we've just met one."
"Yeah," Zhao Wei said. "With monsters around, it makes sense heaven would send us one."
"...Did we send someone to pick him up?"
"Yes. Highest level security."
"Good. What about resistance?"
"It's fine. Best treatment, full cooperation. When you meet him, you'll have a direct line to talk."
"Mmm."
"Mmm."
...
"Holy sh*t."
"Holy sh*t."
They looked at each other.
And smiled.
The future suddenly felt a little brighter.
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