“This is insane!”
“The two of them are so good.”
“This is going to take the entire day.”
“I wonder how I even got accepted into this program. I can’t solve shit.”
The professors had been discussing the next question, and amused smiles filled their faces.
“The stakes had become higher,” one of the professors said. “Because of this, we would like to raise the prize money to a million won to whoever answers the question first!”
The crowd murmured in amazement.
“If I could solve as well as them, I want to join too.”
“A million won? That’s enough allowance until the next month!”
Eli froze. A million won was hard to earn in his part-time job. He could pay his rent with that money and send some to his family!
Zeno felt it right away. Eli wanted the money.
So, without any hesitation, he raised his hand and loudly exclaimed, “Can we join?”
Eli’s eyes widened as he turned to Zeno beside him. Then, the others naturally turned toward them, too.
Zeno was covered from head to toe, so they became suspicious.
“Who is that guy?”
“Someone wants to challenge both Byungho and Taek?”
Byungho frowned when he noticed who the man was.
The professor was about to disclaim it since there were only two tables, but Byungho quickly agreed to let them join.
“It’s fine,” he smirked. “They could stand on the side instead.”
Eli felt like a fish out of water. He felt shy with all of the attention, and he hid behind Zeno’s frame.
The professors narrowed their eyes as Zeno and Eli arrived at the stage.
“Which department are you from?” the host asked.
“Medicine,” Zeno answered without any hesitation.
The people began to murmur once more.
“Medicine in a math competition?”
“I think he might just be desperate for the money.”
“I see,” the host chuckled. “Well, you are a brave soul for wanting to compete with this bunch today.”
“Here is your whiteboard. Encircle the final answer and merely raise your hand the moment you are done,” he continued.
Byungho smirked. “I highly doubt he could even write a single number,” he muttered.
Byungho remembered him saying that he was only there to pay for his nephew’s tuition. An oldie who didn’t even go to their school couldn’t compete with him at all.
It was time to show him who Byungho really was.
Meanwhile, Taek glanced at Eli and found his hands trembling. A small chuckle escaped his lips.
“Who even is this guy?” he asked his friend.
His friend shrugged. “I’ve never seen him.”
Taek nodded. “Don’t let him distract you. Let’s focus on beating Byungho.”
Zeno looked around. The students around them had increased dramatically.
Some of Eli’s classmates looked at him with wide eyes.
“What is he doing there?”
“Is Eli good at math?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Who is he with?”
“Whatever, let’s just support them in support of our program!”
However, even with the arrival of the Medicine students, they were still outnumbered by those in Engineering and Physics.
“Zeno, let’s go down before something bad happens,” Eli whispered.
Zeno merely shook his head and focused his attention on the small whiteboard in the front.
Then, the professor wrote the equation.
lim 𝑥→∞[8 𝑥√𝑥+1(𝑥−1)!√𝑥−8𝑥2−4𝑥ln𝑥−ln2𝑥−(4𝑥+2ln𝑥)ln2𝜋]1
Their brows furrowed immediately. They couldn’t use their whiteboards until the timer started, but Byungho and Taek already started computing mentally.
However, it was nearly impossible as it was a very long limit problem.
Those in the audience had already given up, only watching the contestants.
Eli’s throat became dry, still trying to convince Zeno that they should just give up.
However, as he glanced at Zeno, Eli frowned. How could he smile at this situation?
On the other hand, Zeno found the question amusing. No wonder the prize money had been doubled.
This equation was something even an intelligent student wouldn’t be able to answer within the given time limit of a minute.
Fortunately, he wasn’t an intelligent student.
He was a genius!
Well, at least in this field, he was.
Mathematics was still an evolving subject during his first mission. He had witnessed the evolution of the subject through time, and naturally, he came to know its rules.
He didn’t even have to write the question down.
Byungho got to writing right away, feeling frustrated by the long question. Meanwhile, his teammates glanced at the other two.
Taek was in a similar situation, writing furiously. However, the third team appeared frozen, making him smirk.
“Take your time,” he said to Byungho. “We’re ahead of the two of them.”
The audience, too, began to pity the duo of Medicine students.
“They’re too shocked,” one said. “This is why our department is still different. These equations cannot be solved by anyone but us.”
The timer had hit the 30-second mark, and Byungho cursed under his breath. He was close to the answer, but he needed more time.
Taek glanced at Byungho for a moment, his brows furrowing. He was determined to beat him this time! No one was going to stop him!
The two battled it out. However, as it hit the 45-second mark, someone interrupted their battle.
“Done.”
Byungho and Taek turned to each other, wondering who had spoken. However, they quickly realized that the two of them didn’t speak at all, and the only other option was the Medicine team.
Eli turned to Zeno with wide eyes, looking at his whiteboard, which merely contained the answer.
Even the host was shocked. “Let’s stop for now,” he said to the microphone.
Byungho smirked. This guy hasn’t even solved it yet, but he already had an answer? It was obviously a guess!
The professors also chuckled among themselves. They could only solve it by the end of the minute mark. It was impossible for a student from Medicine to answer it that fast.
“Show us your answer,” the host exclaimed.
Zeno smiled and turned his whiteboard toward the crowd and the judges.
The other competitors also craned their necks to see his answer.
ln^2 2𝜋+2/3
The professors turned to each other with wide eyes. Taek, who was on the verge of answering the question, computed the rest of it silently on a scratch paper.
Then, he felt his heart stop.
What the hell was this?
It was right.
may be inaccurate