Chapter 177

[Why are you blaming yourself for breaking the prop?]

[Exactly, if you ask me, Ji Ruochu is just trying to get attention.]

[Did you see how quickly the director agreed? There's definitely something fishy going on!]

[Haha, is this really a CCTV program? The curtain opens on a scandal.]

[The director nodded so quickly because he didn't want to waste time, didn't you notice that time is ticking away?]

[Making a big deal out of nothing, do you buy scandals in your family?]

[What? Do people still doubt my Ruochu's skills? Is solving the Rubik's Cube with one hand in ten seconds not fast enough? Or are her international gold medals not big enough?]

...

Not only was there an uproar online, but the contestants also began to voice their opinions in the waiting area.

"I think it's okay to give her another cube. We have a legend at Peking University who solves the Rubik's Cube every day, even taking notes in class while solving it. So solving the Rubik's Cube is like tapping a finger for him, it's become a subconscious habit, a conditioned reflex."

"I agree that it's okay, even though it was an accident caused by herself, it's not a big deal. At worst, we can just not reset the timer."

"But I think Jing was right, if we give her another cube now, it would be breaking the rules of the game."

However, no one expected that in just a few seconds, the situation on stage would change again.

Just as the staff member was rushing onto the stage with a spare Rubik's Cube and the host picked up the microphone—

"Okay~"

"Okay, then—"

At that moment, two voices spoke simultaneously, using similar words but conveying vastly different meanings.

Everyone turned their heads in confusion, only catching a glimpse of Ji Ruochu's retreating back and the "clack" of the door closing behind her. At that moment, the polite staff member holding the tray with the spare Rubik's Cube, standing three meters from the stage, froze.

At that moment, the poor girl regretted not being nimble enough on her feet.

Now she was stuck, unable to go on stage or retreat, only helplessly looking towards the director.

Director: ...

In the end, the host could only announce regretfully:

"Well, the competition continues."

... The venue fell into a brief silence, then erupted in commotion.

"What does that mean? Did the legend give up?"

"I don't think so, I feel..."

"She's already memorized it!"

"No way!"

"Whoa! Look, the legend is solving the Rubik's Cube again!"

With this exclamation, everyone's gaze turned towards the center of the stage, where the screens showed the six preparation rooms and the 1v1 room.

The six contestants were on the outer screens, while the 1v1 room was in the center.

And at that moment, just as the contestants in the audience had noticed, Ji Ruochu, who had returned to preparation room number one, had started solving the Rubik's Cube with one hand again.

Since the previous clip only showed the audience's perspective, this was the first time the contestants and coaches saw her solving speed.

At that moment, the awe in everyone's eyes could not be concealed.

She didn't even sit down, just lazily leaning against the wall, eyes half-closed, right hand rapidly twisting the Rubik's Cube, left hand resting on a nearby prop.

If observed carefully, one could see her left hand lightly tracing a few motions in the air.

"Is that... a memory palace?"

"I feel like she's reversing the process, even though I didn't observe carefully, but the feel of solving the cube just now should still be there."

"That works?"

"Terrifying!"

"I feel like it's risky, if she makes one mistake, everything after that will be wrong too."

"Indeed difficult, otherwise the legend wouldn't have asked the production team for another prop just now."

Hearing the contestants' comments, the hearts of the online viewers tightened instantly.

...

"Time's up."

Soon, the observation time ended.

"Next, we will adopt a round-robin format. Please listen for your number and take your Rubik's Cube to the 1v1 room for the match when called."

"The first group: Number one versus number two."

Wow—

"It's number one right off the bat? Has the legend solved her Rubik's Cube?"

"It seems like she has, I saw her stop moving before the countdown ended, not sure if she solved it or is stuck."

"So calm, she must have finished solving it."

"But whether it's correct is another matter."

"Speaking of Ji Ruochu's memory skills, since it's an open-book test, can't she just take a peek at her opponent's Rubik's Cube, then solve it?" After all, Chai Jiazi is her fan, right? And it's just a glance, it should be fine.

...

So, under everyone's watchful gaze, Ji Ruochu calmly entered the 1v1 room, followed by the excited Chai Jiazi.

Obviously, having been in the preparation room earlier, Chai Jiazi was unaware of what had happened and her face showed only excitement to face her idol.

"Ruochu, even though I'm a fan, I won't go easy on you. And you don't go easy on me either!"

"Okay." Ji Ruochu stood facing her at their respective tables, giving a slight smile, but her eyes never glanced at the Rubik's Cube in Chai Jiazi's hands.

Comments:

[Ruochu! My Ruochu! Just take a quick peek!]

[Ah... Ji Ruochu didn't even look!]

[She really didn't, I'm crying!]

...

"Please take two minutes to find the area on the screen that matches the colors on your Rubik's Cube and write down the number sequence on your answer board."

As soon as the words were spoken, a wall of 324 small squares appeared on the screen, arranged in an 18x18 grid.

There were six colors in total, corresponding to the six colors of the Rubik's Cube, all scattered randomly, making it a dizzying sight.

In other words, the contestants had to find a 3x3 area on this 324-color wall that matched one of the faces on their Rubik's Cube.

And that wasn't all, the color wall didn't divide the colors into 3x3 sections, only numbering them horizontally and vertically from 1 to 18.

This meant that instead of just 36 possible faces, there were many more combinations, and with the dense, confusing colors, an ordinary person would struggle to last even a minute looking at it, let alone two.

Therefore, the moment the color wall appeared, the contestants in the venue gasped in shock.

"Whoa, this is too brutal! What if someone has trypophobia?"

"Wait, this isn't testing the brain, it's testing eyesight, right?"

"Or maybe it's testing if you're colorblind?"

...

"Two minutes, start!"

Amid the contestants' exclamations of surprise, the first match officially began.

At this point, the comments were already rolling rapidly:

[Wait, they didn't give any prep time at all?]

[Or maybe... they did give time, but it was edited out?]

[No editing, look at the background on stage, there's a world clock there. I've been watching it from the start, I was wondering what that clock was for, but now it seems it's there to prove that during the competition, the flow of time is completely normal. In other words, they really didn't have any prep time.]

[Ah ah ah! My poor Ruochu!]

...