Chapter 265: No Need to Take Another Look?
While the others were still trying to figure out what the question even meant, Xu Zhi had already produced a clean, decisive answer. For the students present, this was nothing short of a dimensional strike.
Especially since the one who had done it was the transfer student they had all been speculating about. They had expected her to be a genius—someone who surpassed everyone in class—but this… wasn’t this a bit too much?!
“Where did this monster even come from?!”
The classmate beside the red-haired girl excitedly grabbed her arm and whispered, “She has to be Enlightenment attribute, right?!”
“No way you saw that wrong!”
The red-haired girl still looked stunned. In a low voice, she asked, “Why didn’t she go up earlier?”
“Who knows? Geniuses are always strange, aren’t they?”
The student in front turned around. “Are you talking about yourself?”
After all, the one who said that was also famously odd-tempered in class.
Her friend shook her head. “Compared to this transfer student, I’m not a genius at all. None of us are.”
As she spoke, she lifted her chin slightly, gesturing toward Xu Zhi. “So, want to guess how many she’ll solve?”
“…Hard to say. But she solved the second one so easily. Maybe the third won’t be that hard for her either. The key is the last one. From the looks of it, the teacher probably prepared these specifically to test her. The final question’s difficulty definitely won’t be low.”
“We just need to guess whether she can solve the last one.”
“I say she can’t.” The student in front thought for a moment. “The teacher will definitely make the final question extremely difficult. Solving the second one already makes her a genius. If she solves the third, she’s surpassed even third-years—maybe even some fourth-years who aren’t good at circuits wouldn’t manage it.”
“So I bet the last one is graduation-exam level! She won’t solve it!”
If she could solve that, why even be a first-year student?!
“Good point…” The red-haired girl’s slightly frizzy hair seemed to droop for some reason, even looking a bit tamer.
“Then I’ll guess she can solve it,” her friend said confidently.
“Huh?” She looked at her friend in confusion.
Her friend grinned slyly. “If we’re going to guess, might as well go bold!”
Whether they guessed right or wrong, the scene was already thrilling enough. The transfer student had proven her extraordinary ability. Now it was simply a matter of seeing how far beyond her classmates she truly stood.
No matter what, the one on the podium had already won.
“The teacher changed to the third question. Let’s see.”
Their gazes shifted to the projection. But as soon as their eyes touched it, many students frowned.
This circuit was too complex for them. At first glance, they didn’t even know where to begin.
It was like recognizing every word in a sentence, yet not understanding them when strung together.
For Xu Zhi, however, the third question was not as “simple” as the first two—but it wasn’t difficult either.
For the first two, a single glance had been enough for the answer to naturally surface in her mind. This one required a slightly closer look, then a few seconds of thought combined with the knowledge she had learned in recent days before the answer emerged.
That was only regarding identifying the circuit types. As for dismantling them, she still knew how at a glance.
For Xu Zhi, determining the specific function of a circuit was actually a bit harder than breaking it.
Breaking them could rely entirely on instinct. But articulating their precise function required actual thinking. She was well aware now that her approach was an unconventional, wild path. After confirming the types of the three patterns, she turned to look at the teacher standing to the side, who seemed slightly tense.
Xu Zhi didn’t know what the teacher was nervous about. She simply said softly, “From left to right: Tracking, Protection, Guidance. Is that correct, Teacher?”
“…Correct.”
The young-looking teacher forced herself to remain calm as she spoke, while inwardly asking herself: how long had that taken? Ten seconds? Eleven?
Something around that.
The difficulty of this question hadn’t risen gradually from the second one. If someone could quickly solve these three, then up until fifth year, they probably wouldn’t need circuit classes at all.
But the more Xu Zhi could solve, the better it was for her as a teacher. It meant the student she was about to teach had extraordinary talent. At the very least, first place in the grade was practically guaranteed.
Future competitions wouldn’t be a problem either. She could almost see prize money and teaching performance points waving at her!
What was the difference between suddenly gaining a student of unmatched talent and having pie fall from the sky?
Under the teacher’s tense, expectant, faintly affectionate gaze, Xu Zhi blinked and repeated the same action as before—placing one finger on the circuit.
“Eh? So fast? Don’t you need to take another look?”
After identifying the type, circuits of this complexity usually required more time to locate the core position.
She didn’t know Xu Zhi’s personality and worried that she might be rushing to show off. Xu Zhi had already done perfectly; slowing down now wouldn’t matter. There was no need to hurry—
Before she could finish speaking, Xu Zhi turned to look at her with a faintly puzzled expression.
A familiar cracking sound came from the circuit.
The confusion on her face—could it be that she was wondering, “Why would a circuit of this level require another look?”
“…Never mind. Heh. Go ahead.”
The transfer student nodded politely. “Alright, Teacher.”
Then, like an emotionless problem-solving machine, she resolved the remaining two circuits in under half a minute.
People were different, yes—but wasn’t this a bit too different?!
The teacher ranted inwardly. Back in her day, she had been considered quite talented herself. But compared to this student… it really wasn’t enough.
The transfer student seemed unaware of her inner turmoil. She simply looked at her with the same calm gaze and asked, “Teacher, are there more?”
“…Yes. There are three final questions.”
These three were the ultimate big problems—questions used in the graduation examination. Anyone who could solve them would almost certainly not need to continue studying standard circuit coursework.
The teacher wasn’t entirely sure whether Xu Zhi could solve them. Ostensibly, these questions were meant to test her, but in truth… they had been added casually as final challenges. It would be normal if Xu Zhi couldn’t solve them. Solving the third question had already exceeded expectations—she had struck gold. But if she could even solve these…
Then the teacher would have to teach her knowledge beyond the standard curriculum, because she would no longer need what was taught in class.
In reality, the teacher didn’t realize that Xu Zhi still needed classroom knowledge. She lacked too much foundational theory. The only reason she could solve the problems was experience and instinct. Some knowledge she might have encountered before, but she couldn’t yet consciously understand it—only subconsciously apply it through intuition.
She still needed time to properly grasp and comprehend these foundations.
