'Competition'?

Uraraka Shige, his first thought was naturally of the riddle of the Sphinx, but he did not directly answer the answer to the Sphinx's riddle.

To be precise, his first thought was indeed that the answer to the riddle of the Sphinx was man, but just as he was about to answer that question, he suddenly sensed a faint sense of unease.

It's like a question with some linguistic traps. You may not know that there are traps, let alone where they are hidden. But when you've thought it through and are about to write down your answer, a very faint, subtle sense of unease will arise in your mind.

It was under this sense of unease that Uraraka Shige subconsciously glanced at the question carved on the stone slab once more.

Even though it was just a quick glance, barely enough to make out the exact words, this subconscious act made Uraraka Shige suddenly stop his thought of directly answering the riddle that the answer was human.

Because he noticed that the riddle contained the word "person"... and although he couldn't remember exactly how the Sphinx's riddle was asked, he knew the answer was "person." Therefore, the fact that the riddle contained the word "person" seemed a bit odd.

So Uraraka Shige began to carefully and slowly review the inscription on the stone slab, word by word.

He then began to feel fortunate for his caution.

Because he discovered that this problem was definitely not the Sphinx's riddle; at most, it was very similar to that riddle, or even derived from it.

Because the answer to this question is not like the riddle of the Sphinx, where the answer is simply the word "person".

However, after that, Uraraka Shige began to struggle with this puzzle again, because after carefully examining it, two answers subconsciously surfaced in his mind.

Firstly, if we answer based on the original solution to the Sphinx's riddle, then the answer should be 'normal person'.

Secondly, if we consider the different types of human genders as a reference, then the answer should be 'men'.

Uraraka Shige struggled with these two answers for a long time, but in the end he did not answer either of them.

Because no matter which answer he wanted to give, or even if he combined the two answers, he would have a very strange feeling. This made him think about the question over and over again, scrutinizing every word and phrase.

This action even delayed him for a full ten minutes!

In the end, it was Gu Yu, this 'simple-minded' big guy, who filled in the answer.

Uraraka Shige was naturally curious about the answer Gu Yu had given, so Uraraka Shige naturally raised this question with him as well.

Gu Yu also told Uraraka Shige his thoughts without any concealment, showing his openness and sincerity.

"The first person I thought of when I saw this question was my little nephew! He was only four years old when I was admitted here. Every morning when he woke up, he would crawl around groggily. By noon, he would try to walk like an adult. In the evening, he would be very tired, but he still wanted to walk on his own, so my sister would go over to help him maintain his balance."

Upon hearing this answer, Uraraka Shige seemed to understand something and pressed him for more information.

So your answer was "child"?

However, Gu Yu shook his head and denied Uraraka Shige's guess, instead telling Uraraka Shige an answer that made him both laugh and cry.

"A child? Why a child? I filled in my nephew."

Uraraka Shige was immediately stunned. Then he finally understood.

The answer to this question is definitely not the words "nephew".

Furthermore, this was only the first question they encountered.

Therefore, the truth of the matter is beyond doubt.

This question is just a template; it's a flawed question designed to illustrate the purpose of this type of question. In reality, any answer will pass... like a tutorial in a game?

However, what Uraraka Shige didn't know was that only half of his guess was correct.

This first level is indeed similar to a tutorial level; you can pass it no matter what answer you fill in. However, this puzzle does indeed have a correct answer.

However, the answer to this puzzle is not limited to just one, or even a single, solution. Rather, different answers will emerge depending on the direction and approach of the solution.

Of these answers, many are undoubtedly correct, while others are merely forced and far-fetched interpretations. The way to judge whether these answers are correct is simply to examine the rationality of their solution process.

However, the nature of this riddle is no longer really relevant to Uraraka Shige.

Uraraka Shige has passed the first 'tutorial' level and has arrived at the second 'official' level.

The second challenge differs from the first challenge, which is simply a question. Although the second challenge also involves a question carved on a stone slab, to answer it, one must physically separate the mixed beans into two different bowls and then determine how many are good beans and how many are bad beans.

It tested patience, eyesight, and incidentally also dexterity, accuracy, and memory.

Of course, if you are quick-witted, you can also pass this level in other ways. You don't need to count each bean one by one like Gu Yu did, then categorize them and remember the number.

The subsequent challenges are all similar, testing more than one aspect of moral, intellectual, physical, and athletic abilities.

Most of the Uraraka Shige can be overcome by one's own strength, but sometimes, it requires Gu Yu, as well as a clear and insightful mind and heart to get through them.

In the end, Uraraka Shige successfully reached the central treasure location and retrieved part of the treasure.

The most noteworthy event was when they arrived at the central treasure location, only to find that the so-called central treasure had already been taken by someone else before them.

And among those so-called maze treasures, the more points a treasure could be converted into, the better its size and the easier it was to carry. On the contrary, the starlight treasures with only one point were each the size of an adult's fist, and even if you used clothes as containers, you couldn't carry much of them at all.

The "official" guys seem to be trying to incite competition among the contestants in this way.