Are we weaklings?

July 2nd, the Nanyue Province Math Olympiad team, consisting of nine people, arrived in the capital and were arranged to stay at Shuimu University.

Tomorrow, this year's High School Mathematics League National Final is about to begin, and the competition venue is at Shuimu University.

The organizer is the Chinese Mathematical Society, the most authoritative mathematical association in China.

Regarding the arrangement of the competition venue for this year's National Final at Shuimu University, only one institution in all of China dared to voice an objection – Yanjing University.

Yanjing University believed it was unfair. Why were both the National Preliminary and the National Final being held at Shuimu? If your Mathematical Society arranged the competition at a neutral venue, Yanjing University would accept it.

The Chinese Mathematical Society explained, "We are always fair. Weren't the National Preliminary and National Final held at Yanjing University last year? It's Shuimu University's turn this year."

Yanjing University retorted, "The National Preliminary and National Final were held at Shuimu the year before last and the year before that. This is extremely unfair. Your Chinese Mathematical Society is very biased."

The president of the Chinese Mathematical Society said, "I just took office last year. The matters from the year before last and the year before that are not my responsibility."

Yanjing University: "Hmph, just you wait. You'll regret this."

And then, there was no "then."

The fierce competition for students between China's top two universities is notorious. With this year's National Preliminary and National Final being held at Shuimu University, over a hundred math prodigies from all over the country will be staying at Shuimu for about a week. They will be touring the Shuimu campus daily, and it's likely to leave them with a favorable impression of Shuimu University.

For instance, Shen Qi discovered that there were quite a few attractive young ladies on the Shuimu campus, which was completely different from the female academic powerhouses he had envisioned.

This was Shen Qi's first time in the capital, and there were many places he wanted to visit. Unfortunately, with the big competition looming, time was limited. After a brief stroll along the street outside the campus gate, Shen Qi returned to Shuimu University's temporary dormitory.

In one of the dorm rooms for the Nanyue Province Math Olympiad team, the team leader, deputy team leader, and six team members gathered.

"I will go over the competition rules for the National Preliminary and National Final. Although I've said it many times, I will repeat it," said the team leader, Teacher Tian, his expression looking grim. "The National Preliminary exam will have a total of three questions, each worth 7 points, for a total of 21 points. The time limit is 3 hours. This is exactly the same as our provincial semifinals format. Our Nanyue Province semifinals were modeled after the National Preliminary format."

"The National Preliminary will start tomorrow, July 3rd, at 9 AM. Teams from all 32 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions will compete simultaneously. Each team will consist of six members, all taking the same National Preliminary exam paper."

"The advancement mechanism is 32 teams down to 10. This means 10 out of the 32 teams will advance to the National Final. The qualification rule is based on the total team score. 22 teams will be eliminated based on their total score ranking, leaving 10 teams for the National Final."

"Alright, you all understand the National Preliminary format. Go in with a light heart, don't carry any burdens. Get some good sleep tonight, and we'll meet on the first floor at 7 AM tomorrow." Teacher Tian said this and prepared to leave for his own room.

Shen Qi asked, "By the way, Teacher Tian, you only mentioned the National Final briefly. What are the specific rules for this year's National Final? I found some information online; I don't know if it's accurate. You should have the official competition rules issued by the organizing committee, right?"

"Let's worry about getting into the National Final first. I sincerely wish you all good luck, boys. Go for it," Teacher Tian replied.

"Teacher Tian, you don't seem to have confidence in our team?" Shen Qi noticed that ever since they arrived in the capital, Teacher Tian had changed. A tremendous pressure seemed to envelop him, making him unsmiling and causing him to smoke two packs of cigarettes a day.

"The Chinese Mathematical Society is very assertive in its operations. The National Final has always been 32 teams advancing to 16. They unilaterally changed this year's rule to 32 teams advancing to 10 without consulting the provincial mathematical branches," Teacher Tian protested, but his protest was in vain.

"With a 32-to-10 advancement rate, our team has no hope?" Shen Qi, being young and fearless, refused to believe this.

"There is hope, but the difficulty is extremely high. The teams from E, Xiang, and Zhe provinces are the top contenders. They have been the strongest provinces in Chinese mathematics for a long time. Even if you, Shen Qi, were on their teams, you might not be able to be a main player," Teacher Tian said, looking at Shen Qi.

"The teams from Beijing and Shanghai are considered second-tier. One is the capital, the other is the 'magic city.' They have strong economies and abundant resources, attracting talented individuals from all over. If you, Shen Qi, were on the Beijing or Shanghai teams, you could barely be a main player."

"Our country's second-tier provinces and cities in mathematics are four: Sichuan, Chongqing, Liaoning, and Jiangsu. Adding the five top-tier provinces I mentioned earlier, that makes nine teams already. So, a 32-to-10 advancement rate makes it very difficult for our team. However, we should still hold onto hope. Shen Qi, your optimistic attitude is correct, and I was wrong. I shouldn't be so pessimistic," Teacher Tian said.

"Then, where does our Nanyue Province rank in China's mathematics landscape?" Shen Qi had initially thought Nanyue Province could rank among the second-tier, but now it seemed like it might be third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, or even eighth-tier?

Teacher Tian ran his few remaining strands of sparse hair through his fingers, saying with a hint of helplessness, "Excluding the five top-tier provinces and the four second-tier 'little dragons,' the remaining 24 provinces are defined by the Chinese Mathematical Society, Shuimu, and Yanjing as 'general math Olympiad provinces.' Our province belongs to the third-tier in China's mathematics landscape. The objective situation is also roughly the same. In terms of overall strength, we truly cannot compete with the five top-tier provinces and the four second-tier 'little dragons.' This is not self-deprecation; our province's overall strength in math Olympiad is indeed at the third-tier level."

Shen Qi nodded, "I understand. We are a weak math Olympiad team, a weak chicken team."

The rule for the National Preliminary is to calculate the total score of the six team members. Even if Shen Qi's individual ability is outstanding, he cannot defeat six opponents by himself. The total score for the exam paper is 21 points. Achieving a perfect score would only be 21 points. The team's overall strength is the foundation for advancing to the National Final.

"Don't overthink it, young men. Coming out to see the world is always rewarding. At least you've stayed in Shuimu's student dormitories. Alright, you guys get some rest early. See you tomorrow." Teacher Tian and the deputy team leader left the student dormitory.

"Luo Ming, Shu Minbo, Yang Huan, Cheng Le, Qi Jianhong, remember, we are a team. Everyone needs to give their all! Our goal is to advance to the National Final. I spoke at the provincial award ceremony as a representative of our team and bragged to the provincial leaders and all the provincial math experts. You can't let me down!" Shen Qi was full of passion. He yearned for his team to go further and didn't want to return home dejectedly after just the National Preliminary.

"I'm trembling, big shot Shen Qi. I only scored 30 points in the provincial final, half of your score..." Qi Jianhong, the youngest, lacked confidence. He had just turned 16 not long ago.

"Qi Jianhong, don't force me to get angry, I'm telling you. You need to score at least 12 points on tomorrow's National Preliminary paper, otherwise, you'll be a pig teammate, forever!" Shen Qi looked out the window. It was late, and there were no stars. Even so, tomorrow's National Preliminary could only be left to fate. All he could do was achieve the highest score possible. The rest depended on luck