Chapter 129: A Matter of Probability

"No wonder he was chosen by the Great Being of Imaginary Numbers; he is indeed quite extraordinary." On the highest floor of the Upper District, at the main podium, Li Jing'ao could not hide his smile.

"Grandstanding! A mere clown!" snorted General Lao Leifa, clad in full military uniform.

He believed in strength above all else and loathed such opportunism; even if the boy were a disciple of the Great Being of Imaginary Numbers, he would show no respect.

"Ah, what? Such a loud noise? Has a monster attacked the city?" Chief Elder Fang Nian woke with a start, looking around in bewilderment.

At that moment, the jeers from the audience were loud enough to disturb the main podium. Even the pets looked confused; this was not what they had expected.

"Who does this kid think he is, giving us a lecture at a time like this?"

"Get off! Get off! Zero points! Zero points!"

"Hey, don't you think what he's saying is actually kind of interesting?"

"Interesting? What's interesting about it? So what if he got a perfect score with such cheap tricks? Can he run a hundred meters with a jack? Can he throw a javelin with that thing? Can he actually survive on the battlefield?"

"Opportunistic! It won't last!" The dissenter curled his lip and tossed a handful of B-cup-sized grapes at Ye Chao, one after another.

None of them succeeded; the referee swatted them away with a frying pan. Examinees could be disrupted, intimidated, or even threatened, but direct humiliation was forbidden—unlike the treatment of female streamers, who could be hit in the face at any time.

Ye Chao ignored the audience's reaction, neither seeing nor hearing them. He steadily seized the opportunity to finish his lecture and say what he wanted to say.

"You know, this isn't really having much effect, right?" Alpha Ji scanned the audience, reading their micro-expressions to judge their reactions. The vast majority were protesting; only a handful were touched.

It was like a diving champion explaining the physics of parabolas on a ten-meter platform, or Cristiano Ronaldo giving a lecture on the Magnus effect during a free kick... it was just as out of place as Li Ronghao! She knew Ye Chao intended to pass the weighted squat test with a jack, but she never expected him to turn it into a science class.

"Even if you want to teach a class, you have to consider the time, place, and audience!" she thought. Selling high-end fashion to programmers, travel spots to writers, or luxury cars and jets to micro-merchants—it was a complete waste of time and life!

"But, the advertisement for the holographic helmet was pretty good!" Alpha Ji gave Ye Chao a hundred likes.

Ye Chao: "..."

"Even if only one in a thousand people is influenced, in a city of over two hundred thousand like Jiang City, that's more than two hundred people!" he replied nonchalantly.

Thinking about it, that was true... Apart from this moment, what other stage could be wider or larger, capable of attracting so many viewers while allowing him to convey his philosophy without fear of being struck down? And it was far more than one in a thousand. Judging by the scene, surely two or three out of every hundred were listening? That meant several thousand people...

Alpha Ji felt complicated. Shouldn't mathematical and probabilistic matters be the forte of a calculator like her? Why was Ye Chao better at it? It was a world turned upside down!

Regardless, the weighted squat was over, and the referee began to fill out the form.

"Is this really allowed in your Jiang City?" the proctor asked quietly from the side.

"Only used a fire-seed weapon for assistance, held steady on the shoulders for over three seconds, and didn't even use a rack..." The referee pretended to flip through the exam rules. "There are no violations."

Despite his internal conflict, as part of the arrangement, he was clearly favoring Ye Chao, even as the crowd chanted "Rigged! Rigged!" and "Zero points!"

The proctor said no more. He couldn't. Passing this way was common; every family did it, every year, and it was certainly not Ye Chao's invention. It was just that students who usually did this never made it to the big screen, and star students who did make it to the big screen usually didn't need such tricks—and certainly wouldn't take the opportunity to lecture the entire city.

Since this test was over, so be it. It was only one item.

Physical testing appeared to consist of six categories: strength, agility, endurance, spirit, and close/ranged combat. In reality, each had three to five sub-items, much like a set of eight minor exams with multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, and essay questions, each with different focal points. Depending on the registration method, the total number of items ranged from 22 to 25. The weighted squat was mandatory, but even with a perfect score, it was only worth 25 points after conversion—less than the weight of an essay.

The proctor was more concerned with how Ye Chao produced the jack. He had seen it clearly: it hadn't been pulled out; it had been conjured... it was almost as if he had performed a "Shattered Void" of the Five-Star Indestructible level... Ha, how was that possible!

If he were truly Five-Star Indestructible, why would he be taking an exam? Why go to school? And why would the higher-ups assign him such an impossible task?

However, seeing the referee remain indifferent and the audience focused only on the "rigged" nature of the stunt, he decided not to press the issue.

Let it be for now; there were still plenty of tests to go! Under the inverse expectations of the entire city, Ye Chao continued his exam at a steady, unhurried pace.

Among all the major categories, endurance had only three items, the fewest of any, but each was grueling, requiring at least a full day and an extra day of rest. Thus, one could only sign up for one item per day for those, so on other days, it was best to complete four to five.

"Start with a spirit test when fresh in the morning; then pick one or two agility or shooting tests that are safe to complete; finally, end with strength, which is more prone to trouble..." This was the most efficient routine summarized by years of trial and error.

People like Fang Ju and Xu Tiange did exactly this. Fang Ju tested his mental concentration—essentially his spirit's endurance and anti-interference ability. He scored 74 out of 100. That was definitely low for a Three-Star, but since he wasn't yet a Three-Star, it was a very high score for a Two-Star.

Xu Tiange tested "Fantasy Realization," a test purely for spatial imagination. It had nothing to do with the strength or level of one's spirit. Those with high scores weren't necessarily strong in combat, but their efficiency in repairing items or engraving fire-seed weapons was far superior to the average person. It was one of the few major subjects that could earn a perfect score before Ye Chao met Alpha Ji. Unsurprisingly, Xu Tiange earned a perfect score.

Since everyone did this, Ye Chao, of course... chose to do something completely different! The "most suitable" routine was not the most efficient because it required waiting in line!

After the weighted squat, he went to the high-jump area on the same floor. Once he finished and the crowd there began to swell, he moved to the now-cleared spirit test area and knocked out both the spirit index and fantasy realization in one go. By the end of the morning, he had completed four tests, leaving only one of the five he had signed up for: firearm shooting.

The key was that by utilizing the gaps in others' exams, he ensured the camera remained on him, and by participating in enough subjects, he ensured his score remained in the lead, safe from being overtaken by others who took more tests.