Chapter 147: Instant Kill of Sophie

Unlike the Infinity Team members, who were exceptionally confident in Sophie, and unlike Sophie herself, who still had the leeway of another defeat, the guest team was deeply worried about Zhao Lijing's predicament.

Peng Liang's palms were practically sweating, and he kept wiping them on his clothes while constantly muttering, "Amitabha, Amitabha, Amitabha..." At this moment, he could only pray to the Buddhas to bless Zhao Lijing.

Up on the high platform, the contrast between the two girls after ascending the stage was immediately apparent.

Unlike Zhao Lijing's round, dough-like face, Sophie was an exquisite beauty with a sharp nose and charming, foxy eyes. After applying makeup, her looks were by no means inferior to the female stars in the entertainment industry.

Her facial structure was exceptionally well-suited for the entertainment circle, and a vast horde of men adored that specific type of girl.

Furthermore, as a synchronized swimmer who had also trained in high-diving, Sophie had absolutely no fear of heights.

Standing in the center of the high platform right now, with her chest out and head held high, Sophie looked supremely confident, as if she had stepped onto a familiar podium.

A queen-like, confident smile was embedded in the dimples on both sides of her cheeks, and she could hardly wait to see the arithmetic problem and show off her brilliant mind in front of everyone.

Standing next to her, Zhao Lijing had just climbed onto the platform when an intense sensation of vertigo made every step she took tremble with fright, terrified that she might tumble down.

Her body shivered uncontrollably, and her expression was so tense it looked as though creases were about to form on her dough-like cheeks.

Xiao Qiang and the other staff members watching Zhao Lijing's appearance felt utterly anxious for her!

Just like the guest team, the crew did not want the Infinity Team to win this round. They desperately wanted to please Lord Pao, and they wanted to listen to Lord Pao sing!

"Little Zhao, you must do your best!" Shen Yulin had hidden far away from the production crew, running off to the side to smoke a cigarette out of anxiety, repeatedly praying for Zhao Lijing in his heart.

Seeing that Zhao Lijing was so nervous she could barely stand steadily, Zhang Qiyang raised his voice and shouted, "If you're scared, just sit down! It's fine! Sit down!"

Zhao Lijing's head was spinning violently from standing. Hearing Zhang Qiyang's advice, she sat down without a second thought, completely disregarding her image.

At this critical juncture of life and death, she had better prioritize the competition.

Only after sitting down did Zhao Lijing finally relax a bit. She gave Zhang Qiyang a thumbs-up and offered a miserable, weary smile, signaling that she had successfully received his signal.

"Are you both ready?"

The staff members below asked the two female celebrities on the high platform.

"I'm OK!"

Sophie answered first, her voice brimming with absolute confidence!

"I'm OK too."

Zhao Lijing adjusted her breathing, forced herself to calm down, and made an OK gesture toward the ground.

The referee walked to the bottom of the high platform holding a large placard.

Amidst the expectant gazes of the crowd, the referee shouted "Start!" and tore off the covering cloth on the placard, revealing the full, lengthy problem:

[What is seven plus fifty-four minus thirty plus ninety-eight minus forty-nine minus twenty-one?]

Sophie's lips moved as she diligently and rapidly calculated the math problem, which did not seem particularly difficult to her.

While her mental calculation speed was already quite fast, compared to the "freakish" Zhang Qiyang, her speed was still far behind!

The moment Zhang Qiyang read the problem, he instantly calculated that the answer was fifty-nine!

Amidst the noisy environment where everyone was shouting, cheering, and rooting for Sophie and Zhao Lijing, Zhang Qiyang retreated a few steps, stood behind the guest team members, and pretended to stretch. With his hands raised behind his back, he signaled the correct answer to Zhao Lijing.

When Zhao Lijing saw the problem on the placard, her mind instantly turned into a blank slate, devoid of any calculation ability. She could only pretend to calculate randomly while secretly glancing over at Zhang Qiyang.

Catching sight of Zhang Qiyang retreating behind the crowd, stretching, and flashing the "fifty-nine" gesture, Zhao Lijing's face suddenly blossomed with a surprised, joyful smile. She raised her hand and shouted, "I've calculated it! It's fifty-nine! Fifty-nine!"

Zhao Lijing's shout startled everyone present!

Never before had a contestant calculated the answer so quickly!

At this point, less than ten seconds had passed since the placard was revealed!

Previously, the fastest calculation had come from Wang Aiguo who had blindly guessed, but even then, it had taken him nearly twenty seconds to shout out the correct answer.

Lü Cheng, who followed, was also quite fast, taking about half a minute to figure it out.

Yet now, Zhao Lijing had figured out the answer in less than ten seconds. This speed... was simply heaven-defying!

Sophie hadn't even finished half of her calculation yet. Glancing sideways at the shouting Zhao Lijing, she refused to believe that Zhao Lijing had calculated the correct answer and continued working on her own.

The Infinity Team members were utterly bewildered and turned in unison to look at the referee.

The guest team members also looked toward the referee.

The referee was clearly shocked by Zhao Lijing's god-like calculation speed as well. After freezing for half a second, he blew his whistle: "—Beep! The answer is correct!"

Boom!

The entire scene erupted instantly!

Everyone cast astonished gazes toward Zhao Lijing!

No one could imagine that this sweet-looking, innocent-seeming girl could possess such a brilliant mind!

Several people on the guest team leaped up instantly, cheering excitedly for Zhao Lijing: "Lijing! You are my goddess!... You are too awesome!"

Over on the Infinity Team's side, their jaws practically shattered and hit the floor.

What kind of opponents were they facing today anyway? Why was every single one of them more freakish than the last?

Zhao Lijing had actually obliterated Sophie in seconds; this was terrifying!

The person most stunned at this moment was none other than Sophie, who was still in the middle of calculating.

Hearing the referee's whistle and the announcement that Zhao Lijing's answer was correct, the scalp on the top of Sophie's head nearly blew off!

She would never, ever have imagined that the girl standing beside her who couldn't even stand steadily on the high platform would be so terrifyingly smart!

Was that girl's head even human?! How could she calculate things so fast?! It was almost catching up to a handheld calculator!

Bang!

Just as Sophie was still frozen in shock and hadn't recovered her wits, the high platform gave way!

"Ah!"

Sophie shrieked in absolute terror, plunging off the platform in a thoroughly disheveled state.

While she wasn't all that terrified of the sudden sensation of weightlessness, the sudden fright coupled with the inexplicably crushing defeat by Zhao Lijing left her wanting to cry without any tears.

Lying on the safety net, she still couldn't wrap her head around it: how on earth had Zhao Lijing calculated so fast?

Up on the adjacent platform, Zhao Lijing was startled out of her wits when Sophie vanished with a "swoosh."

Groping her chest with lingering fear and taking several deep breaths with a smile to steady herself, she finally scrambled down the high platform on weak legs amidst the cheers of the guest team and the staff.

"Jingbao! You've been hiding your true capabilities! Did you graduate from Tsinghua? Or maybe Peking University! You're a genius!" Fai Zi squeezed up to Zhao Lijing with a cheeky, ingratiating smile. Only her close acquaintances and most ardent fans called her "Jingbao."

Not fully understanding what had happened, Li Xuan gave Zhao Lijing a thumbs-up: "Little sister, you've really made me look at you in a whole new light. Big sister has to give you a like! You were amazing!"

Zhao Lijing's face flushed red from all the compliments. She secretly glanced at Zhang Qiyang and saw him smiling and applauding for her from behind the crowd, his eyes carrying a hint of secret warmth and care.