Chapter 518 - 532: Clapping Back

"We’re hungry." Those simple, unadorned words appeared at the competition venue.

Amidst the fierce competition, those words were somewhat out of place, but what followed was even more startling.

"Oh? You’re hungry? Then you should hurry back and eat."

"Does this hotel have Chinese food?"

"Doesn’t seem like it."

"Then what should we do? The service here is so inconsiderate."

The once-arrogant judges changed their tune faster than a rocket launch, and began to put themselves in the shoes of An Ning and the others.

They fretted over their food, drink, lodging, and travel, attending to every detail. An outsider would have thought the judges were the Huaxia Team’s long-lost, doting relatives from abroad.

An Ning and the others had a profound realization: when you conquer everyone with sheer skill, the way you’re treated changes completely.

Their rooms were upgraded without reason, and their meal allowance was increased several-fold.

It was only then that the Huaxia Team learned that the organizers had been covering all the food, drink, lodging, and travel expenses for the other teams all along.

After a few seconds of deep thought, Yu the Elder produced the various receipts he had been saving and presented them to the organizers. The implication was clear: it was up to them to handle it.

As for whether it was right to fleece the organizers, Yu the Elder figured it was better than fleecing their own.

That night, the Huaxia Team had their best rest yet. The other teams, however, barely slept a wink.

There were those who believed it, those who were obsessed with problem-solving, and those who refused to believe it—every cell in their bodies screaming in protest at the idea that Huaxia was stronger than them. They were genetically predisposed to reject anyone being better than them. In short, they spent the entire night feeling as uncomfortable as if they were infested with lice.

The next morning, the Huaxia Team arrived at the restaurant together. It was the first time they realized the breakfast buffet was free.

The breakfast was served buffet-style, offering a variety of breads, milk, juice, oatmeal, fruits, and vegetables.

Although there were no Chinese-style buns or congee, it was still a massive improvement over what they had before.

Many of the students hadn’t been able to stomach the previous nights’ pasta or cheese-baked-everything, so they took a little extra at breakfast.

As one of the students was carrying several pieces of bread back to his seat, an opponent—one of those who had felt "infested with lice" all night—sneered loud enough for everyone to hear, "Some people are just born to be freeloaders."

The student, who had taken three pieces of bread, stopped in his tracks and turned to face the speaker with a cool gaze.

"We have a saying in Huaxia: ’You need a full stomach to have the strength to work.’ Otherwise, when it’s time for us to win later, what am I supposed to do if I don’t have the energy to celebrate? Besides, I’m just eating a normal portion for a man. Or do you not know what a normal man looks like?"

"Then again, you’re not very tall, so I guess you don’t need as much energy. Don’t be jealous. Our genes are just superior."

After unleashing that barrage, the student gave a very polite nod and a picture-perfect smile, showing a full eight teeth.

An Ning had told them: if someone insults you, insult them right back. If someone gets passive-aggressive, give it right back to them. She would have their backs no matter what.

The student who dished the sarcasm right back felt a refreshing wave of energy rush to the crown of his head. ’Awesome!’

The guy who had been taunting the Huaxia Team was so angry his chest heaved violently, his glare murderous. He wanted to slam the table and shoot to his feet, but the other student’s height—not to mention the crowd of people staring him down from behind—made his attempted table-slam hesitant and robbed it of all its intended force.

"Hmph! You just got lucky. What’s there to be so smug about?"

The student, who had already walked a few steps away, calmly turned back and said with conviction, "You’re right, we were lucky. It’s a shame some people got so worked up over our ’luck’ that they couldn’t even sleep. But that’s fine. Keep telling yourselves that. We’ll most likely get lucky again today."

When the student returned to the Huaxia Team’s table, he was met with a round of applause.

"It was nothing, nothing at all. Just a little warm-up."

One person feigned humility while a whole group applauded. Their swagger was on full display.

The breakfast battle of words: Huaxia wins.

It was only then that the other teams realized the Huaxia Team’s entire demeanor had changed completely.

On the first day, they had been like a row of wilted eggplants. Today, they were like a flock of victorious roosters, strutting with pride.

After breakfast, the competition resumed.

Today was the final round. Six teams would compete live on stage, while the others were allowed to watch.

The teams filed in one by one, right on time. The Huaxia Team was the last to enter.

The host took the stage again to announce the day’s proceedings.

"Hello, everyone. Today’s event will once again be problem-solving, which will be divided into two parts. In the first part, you’ll solve problems provided by the organizers. In the second, each team will present a problem for the others to solve in turn. The winner will be the team that solves the most problems or provides the most thorough solutions."

The host droned on for a while. Representatives from the organizing committee came up to give speeches, as did several well-known scholars.

What should have been a buzzing, energetic scene was met with scattered applause. Few people even bothered to look up at the stage.

The invited guests, looking displeased, were escorted off the stage by the organizers to their reserved seats. They were determined to see just what was so special about this competition.

A bunch of merely talented students, putting on airs for them? ’The nerve!’ It was too ridiculous for words.

And so, the finals began with a rather awkward opening.

When the competition began, the organizers had to repeatedly plead with several of the judges from yesterday to come and present the problems.

When one of the judges appeared, sporting dark circles so deep they looked like smoky eye makeup, everyone was stunned for a moment. ’Have professors’ styles gotten this trendy?’ they wondered.

But when they saw the next few, equally well-known professors appear with the same look, their confusion only grew.

’Is this the latest trend?’

But smoky eyes aside, what was with the professors’ sour expressions?

"Here’s the problem. Get on with the competition; we have other things to do."

"That’s right, hurry up."

"Don’t be in such a rush. They’ll be here for a few more days. Who knows, we might get another surprise!"

"Ohhh—how did I not think of that."

"Hey, you-know-who! No need to rush off now."

The host, who had been tasked with revealing the question, gave an awkward but polite smile. He opened the sealed envelope in front of everyone and had someone copy the problem onto the whiteboard. The round began.

The moment the clock started, all the judges tilted their heads in unison, like a flock of sparrows watching a street show. Except these sparrows had dark-ringed, crazed eyes, giving off the distinct impression they were suffering from some kind of avian madness.

The guests in the audience followed the judges’ gazes to the Huaxia Team, but they couldn’t understand. What was so interesting to look at over there?

While the guests and the media were still trying to figure it out, Jiang Xia of the Huaxia Team stood up, holding several sheets of paper.

DING! With a sharp ring, the Huaxia Team submitted their answer.

The judges, like chickens that hadn’t been fed in a fortnight, craned their necks forward, shouting, "Give it here! Give it here! Give it here!"

Just from the sound of their shouts, an unknowing bystander might have mistaken the scene for a large-scale disaster relief effort!