The Ceiling of Math Competitions, Qing Chen

"I'm curious, which candidate does Mr. Shadow think is most likely to become the next Shadow?" He Jinqiu asked with a smile.

"Why would Mr. Shadow tell us such a thing?" the young woman replied with a smile. "However, the Shadow Struggle is fair and just. Whoever wins in the end will naturally be the next Shadow."

He Jinqiu glanced at Ji Guanya, then at the young woman, and suddenly said, "You two have probably been Time Walker for less than two months, yet you've gained the trust of the Inner World's conglomerate, who chose you as their representatives in the Outer World. Moreover, you two seem very willing to serve the Inner World's conglomerate. I want to know, are you really humans from the Outer World... To put it more bluntly, has the conglomerate already mastered the true method of reverse time travel?"

In the past, reverse time travel referred to finding someone in the Outer World who corresponded to a powerful figure in a conglomerate and then replacing that person.

But He Jinqiu clearly didn't mean that. He meant that the original inhabitants of the Inner World traveled back to the Outer World!

It's not surprising that he was suspicious, because the two of them didn't seem to be being controlled at all.

As she spoke, the glittering gold coin between He Jinqiu's slender fingers twirled faster and faster, like a dancing flame and light.

Ji Guanya shook his head. "Boss He, you're overthinking it. I am a native of the Outer World. However, in my opinion, although there may be enmity between the two worlds, what can exist eternally is ultimately interests. Moreover, I don't think there's anything wrong with helping the natives of the Inner World. Apart from Kamishiro and Kashima, the other three conglomerates are no different from the ethnicity of my Outer World."

He Jinqiu looked at the young woman from the Qing family. "And you?"

The young woman smiled, "I am also from the Outer World. As far as I know, there is no true method of reverse time travel. Even if someone could use Forbidden Item to bring a human back, the person being brought would die..."

"I know that. The Forbidden Item ACE-038 is a coffin called 'The Secret's End.' The owner can put someone inside and make that person forget one of the owner's secrets. As far as I know, it's in the hands of the Qing family," He Jinqiu said with a smile. "People often say that only the dead can keep secrets, so this Forbidden Item is quite fitting. But has the Qing family actually tried it out?"

"I don't know," the young woman said with a smile.

For example, there are still some container-type Forbidden Item like ACE-038 in the Inner World, which is why Time Walker are able to bring back large equipment from the Inner World at certain times.

However, He Jinqiu did not know before that the Forbidden Item could only be inanimate objects, not living ones.

He hasn't had a chance to try it yet.

"By the way, this young lady hasn't introduced herself yet," He Jinqiu said with a smile. "What's your name? That way I'll know how to address you next time we meet."

"Boss He, you want to investigate my household registration directly, right?" the young woman said with a smile. "It's okay, my name is Si Nianhua."

"Does the Qing family have any deals they'd like to make with our Jiuzhou? We at Jiuzhou welcome all comers," He Jinqiu said with a smile.

"No," Si Nianhua shook his head, "I'll say it again, the Qing family currently has no intention of intervening."

"Alright, then I won't take up any more of your time," He Jinqiu stood up. "If our positions clash in the future, I won't hold back."

"Neither will we," Ji Guanya replied with a smile.

At this point, the three organizations are in a state of equilibrium, and none of them will take action at this time, because dealing with Kamishiro and Kashima is the highest priority.

However, who knows what might happen in the future.

He Jinqiu picked up her deer-head cane and calmly walked out of the Otaru restaurant.

Only after he got into Jiuzhou's business vehicle did he take out two 100-gram gold bars from his pocket.

The Correct Coin is already hissing softly.

The circular wheat ears on the front are constantly intertwining, while the two crossed longswords on the back emit Clash of Metal.

He Jinqiu melted the first gold bar into the Forbidden Item ACE-099 Correct Coin to verify whether Ji Guanya's words were correct.

"My debt has been repaid."

Eventually, the flowing ripples of the gold coin solidified again, transforming into a ring of wheat ears.

He Jinqiu melted down another gold bar, which was also shaped like a wheat ear ring.

This proves that neither of them was lying; the original inhabitants of the Inner World indeed cannot travel back to the Outer World.

Of course, it's also possible that there is a real reverse time travel, but these two people just don't know it.

The Correct Coin can only test lies and truths, but it cannot directly test the truth and rules of this world.

He Jinqiu sat quietly in the back of the van, lost in thought.

At Los Angeles Foreign Language School.

Math teacher Tian Hailong is writing math problems on the blackboard.

The homeroom teacher of Class 3, Grade 11, had clearly lost a lot of weight, as if the tragedy of Zhou Xuanying's death had had a significant impact on him.

Fortunately, after returning to Los Angeles, Xu Zimo and several other classmates testified on his behalf, proving that Zhou Xuanying's death was unrelated to him, which eliminated more negative impacts.

At this moment, Nan Gengchen passed a small note to Qing Chen: "Brother Chen, I've thought of a way to expand the Daylight organization. Let Luo Wanyai's group recruit members. For every four loyal members they recruit, they can receive an initiation. In this way, we can quickly establish a pyramid-shaped organizational structure, and Brother Chen, you'll be at the top of the pyramid..."

Qing Chen raised an eyebrow; he hadn't expected Nan Gengchen to have a talent for unorthodox methods.

But if they really did that, their daytime organization would be branded with the stigma of "pyramid scheme" and "Joyful Sect," and would be infamous for eternity.

Qing Chen wrote on the note, "Are you serious?"

Nan Gengchen: "I was just thinking about this when I was bored..."

When school ended in the morning, Qi Duo and Zhang Lanjin walked out, and Wang Jiale was already waiting on the playground. The three of them went to a small restaurant outside the school and each ordered a rice bowl.

Zhang Lanjin looked at Wang Jiale: "By the way, you went to the AMC10 math competition in Xiancheng, right? Did you represent your school? Qi Duo and I went too."

Unlike Luocheng Foreign Language School, Wang Jiale and his group only sent five people, while Luoyi High School chartered four buses and sent more than two hundred people, all of whom had a chance to be shortlisted.

This illustrates the difference in strength between the two schools.

Wang Jiale scooped up a large spoonful of rice and stuffed it into his mouth. "Now it's our school, and you are now students of Luocheng Foreign Language School."

Zhang Lanjin paused for a moment. "I'm a little confused for a moment, but that's not important... I remember after that math competition, you said in our junior high school group chat that there was a particularly amazing Time Walker at your school? Who is it?"

"Have you ever heard of a title?" Wang Jiale looked at Zhang Lanjin: "The most resilient test-taker in history?"

"I've heard of him. He's the student who was sick and in a wheelchair but still went to take the exam," Zhang Lanjin said. "That story even made the news back then."

Wang Jiale tapped his rice bowl with his spoon. "That's him."

"Huh?" Zhang Lanjin and Qi Duo were stunned.

"He's not in a wheelchair because he's sick," Wang Jiale said. "The night before, he was involved in a battle between Time Walker and was shot through the abdomen. The media wanted to interview him, but they couldn't find his contact information. They even reportedly went to his house to wait for him, and I heard he had just moved."

Qi Duo and Zhang Lanjin exchanged a glance. In their minds, the Freemasons at Luoyi High School should be the best among the Time Walker organizations for students nationwide. Although they had heard that Jingcheng No. 4 High School, Renmin University Affiliated High School, and Haicheng No. 1 High School also had very powerful Time Walker organizations, they had never actually seen them.

I imagine everyone is probably about the same. Those Time Walker from top high schools might be a bit stronger, but they are still students after all, so their strength is limited.

Therefore, Freemasons are proud. When they come to Los Angeles Foreign Language School, they also carry a slightly reserved sense of superiority, which is not so obvious, but it is definitely there.

For example, in their view, they are helping other students who are Time Walker.

However, no matter how powerful they are, they have never participated in conflicts involving firearms; those are matters for adults.

Wang Jiale continued, "You know Kunlun, right?"

"I know," Qi Duo nodded.

"Although I don't know exactly what Qing Chen did that night, I do know that Kunlun people were responsible for cleaning up his mess," Wang Jiale said, glancing at the two of them.

On ordinary days, Zhang Lanjin would occasionally share glimpses of life at Luoyi High School in his junior high school classmates' group chat, such as the student council, clubs, and competitions...

Where do schools like Los Angeles Foreign Language School have clubs or associations?

Wang Jiale always felt somewhat resentful at that time.

Now, he suddenly found a new source of enjoyment. He was indeed no match for Zhang Lanjin, but his classmate Qing Chen was.

However, he did not mention what happened on the way back to Luocheng, because Tian Hailong had reminded everyone that it was best not to spread the matter, otherwise Zhou Xuanying's parents might cause trouble for Qing Chen.

Zhang Lanjin asked, "If he was injured, why did he still participate in the AMC10 math competition?"

Wang Jiale said, "Do you understand the spirit of never giving up? That's what academic geniuses at our school understand; it's something normal people can't comprehend!"

"No," Qi Duo said, "I had a classmate who was in the same exam room as him. He said that the candidate in the wheelchair even left his scratch paper blank, and didn't answer the questions seriously at all."

Wang Jiale's breath hitched, then he said, "To be injured to that extent, it's already a miracle that he can even take the exam."

However, at that moment, Zhang Lanjin suddenly said, "The AMC10 results will be announced today."

Generally, AMC 10 results are released about 10-16 days after the exam.

Zhang Lanjin said, "Ask the teacher in charge of the group what score Qing Chen got on the test."

Wang Jiale was a little unhappy. "Didn't we already say he was injured at the time? How many points can you expect him to get?"

"Why don't you ask?" Zhang Lanjin looked at Wang Jiale expectantly.

"Alright then," Wang Jiale sighed.

At this moment, the rice bowls in front of Qi Duo and Zhang Lanjin had gone cold, but they had no appetite at all.

Then Wang Jiale took out his phone and called Tian Hailong to inquire about Qing Chen's AMC10 competition results.

However, just two seconds later, his expression completely froze. "Okay, teacher, I understand..."

Tian Hailong's voice could be faintly heard on the phone. "You don't need to compare yourself to him, after all, his situation is rather special... Your results this time are also very good, you've made it to the finals..."

After hanging up the phone, Wang Jiale stared silently at the rice bowl in front of him, suddenly feeling like he couldn't eat anymore.

"How many points did he get?" Zhang Lanjin pressed.

Wang Jiale slowly raised his head and looked at the two of them. "Full marks."

Despite being severely injured, Qing Chen scored a perfect 150 points on the AMC 10 entirely through mental arithmetic!

Generally speaking, the AMC10 is not very valuable and cannot be used as a deciding factor in admissions or applications to study abroad; at most, it is a bonus.

But if it's a perfect score, it's a completely different story.

A perfect score and being shortlisted are two completely different concepts!

I'm afraid that admissions offices from major universities across the country are already calling Qing Chen.

Even if they can't admit him on the spot, they'll make promises about independent enrollment or extra points on the college entrance exam in private, just to at least get on Qing Chen's good side first.

He, Wang Jiale, was able to score 127 points because that's all he could score.

Qing Chen was able to score 150 points because the test paper only had 150 points.

At this moment, Wang Jiale recalled the legends about Qing Chen's precise score control at school and finally believed it.

He sent a message in the competition's small group. "Xiao Ran, Zi Mo, do you know the AMC10 scores? Guess how many points Qing Chen got?"

However, no one in the group replied to him, which meant they all knew what was going on.

In the small restaurant, Qi Duo and Zhang Lanjin looked at each other in bewilderment. They also checked their scores: one was 121 and the other was 129, a huge gap between them and a perfect score.

Qing Chen spent the entire noon on the phone.

Unknown number. "Hello, is this Qing Chen?"

Qing Chen: "Yes, that's right."

"This is the admissions office of Fudan University. We'd like to ask if you're interested in participating in our spring independent admissions program? Yes, yes, because you got a perfect score in the AMC10 math competition, we can give you some extra points at our discretion."

The phone kept ringing all afternoon.

Finally, when the unknown number called again, "Hello, is this Qing Chen?"

Qing Chen: "No."

The person on the other end of the phone was visibly surprised. "Isn't this Qing Chen's phone number? May I ask who this is?"

Qing Chen: "I am Ultraman."

Opposite. "..."

Qing Chen has no plans to go to university early, or more accurately, he has no plans to leave Luo City at the moment.

He is the foundation of the daytime; if he goes elsewhere, everyone else will probably have to leave with him, which would be too much of a hassle.

Classes will be held in the afternoon.

Qing Chen suddenly frowned.

During the class, Qi Duo turned to look at him more than forty times, and Zhang Lanjin looked at him more than fifty times. He wondered what was wrong with these two. Had someone leaked some information?

During the first break, Qing Chen sat in his seat waiting for the two to come find him, but they didn't.

During the second class, Qi Duo looked back at him more than fifty times, and Zhang Lanjin looked at him more than sixty times. Even someone as composed as Qing Chen was a little bewildered by their stares.

The other party finally arrived after school ended in the afternoon when Qing Chen and the others were packing up to leave.

Qi Duo looked at Qing Chen sincerely and said, "Qing Chen, we would like to invite you..."

Qing Chen: "Okay, I'll join."

Qi Duo and Zhang Lanjin were both stunned; they hadn't even finished speaking yet!

Qing Chen said straightforwardly, "I'm willing to join your Freemasons, but I have something to do now and I'll leave first. We can talk about other things tomorrow. Oh, and remember to add me to your Freemason group chat."

After saying that, he led Nan Gengchen and the others away.

As Qi Duo and Zhang Lanjin watched the group's departing figures, they suddenly realized that Qing Chen seemed to have joined in, but not completely...

Although Qing Chen said he would join, Qi Duo and Zhang Lanjin felt that the distance between them had not been shortened.

What they didn't know was that Qing Chen had joined all sorts of organizations, including Kunlun and Jiuzhou.

In Qing Chen's view, why not simply agree to obtain some information?

Anyway, these people didn't stipulate any obligations he had to fulfill. If someone later asks him to fulfill the obligations of an organization member, then he'll withdraw...

Moreover, Qing Chen happens to be going to Forbidden Zone No. 002 soon, as he has a very important matter to attend to.

Just an hour after Bai Zhou and the others left the school, Lu Yuan called Xiao Ying: "Has Qing Chen returned to Bai Zhou's villa?"

Xiao Ying sat listlessly in the car, the seat reclined, his feet propped up on the steering wheel. "No, they're high school students, they have to attend evening self-study sessions."

Lu Yuan said, "The informant said they left the school an hour ago!"

"Huh?" Xiao Ying sat up straight. "But they didn't go back to the villa."

Lu Yuan frowned on the other end of the phone.

The time before last, when the entire population disappeared during the day, four Time Walker from the Kamishiro Family were captured.

The last time they disappeared during the day, they set a trap for the Kamishiro Family in the Borui Building.

What will happen this time when daylight collectively disappears?

The next second, "Bing Tang's" voice came from the side. "Team Leader Lu, the boss wants us to head towards the border of the F6 and F7 areas. He requires us to arrive within an hour and form a pincer movement with another special operations team to prevent them from entering Los Angeles territory."

"Okay, got it," Lu Yuan nodded. "What about Ni Ergou?"

"They're still trailing behind that group," Bing Tang replied.

"What about Jiuzhou?" Lu Yuan asked.

"We're heading north, they're heading south. We're blocking Kamishiro in the north, and they're blocking Kashima in the south. This must be something the two bosses agreed upon," Bing Tang replied.

By this time, all the Kunlun members had changed into khaki-colored windbreakers and, taking advantage of the darkness, abandoned the main road and headed north into the mountains.

Kunlun has marked the target area with tactical numbers, dividing the vast mountainous area into 150 areas for precise positioning.

At the same time.

In the mountains and fields of the south.

"Check the firearms," Yu Cheng of Jiuzhou said in a low voice.

In the mountains and fields, the sound of gun bolts being pulled back rang out as everyone carefully removed and reloaded their magazines.

Several hundred people marched rapidly northward in assault formation.

However, at that moment, Yu Cheng suddenly noticed something was amiss. He looked up and saw that someone was quietly watching them from the hillside at the 11 o'clock position under the moonlight.

He took out his binoculars and looked, but the figure on the hillside had disappeared in the next moment.

Yu Cheng felt a chill run down his spine as a palpable sense of oppression washed over him.

It's the feeling of prey being targeted by a hunter.

However, he remained calm and said, "Continue on."

The chapter is 5,000 words long. Today's update is 12,000 words long, making up for yesterday's update. It doesn't count as an extra chapter.

This month's number one spot in monthly votes is practically guaranteed.

Also, please vote for me in September. There should be a chapter summarizing August later (you can read it or not). In addition, if I get the first place in the monthly ranking in any month, I will add three extra chapters to repay the debt. I will add them in the first three days of the month to express my gratitude to my readers and bosses. Thank you for your subscriptions and monthly votes!