The person who had come up with the question must know the answer.
Five people had obviously been brought along to escort Yun Zhonghe and Viper to Taoran Bookstore, but in reality, another dozen people had followed along secretly behind them. They had only one task, which was to take note of the number of women they encountered. They noted how many of those women had single eyelids and how many had double eyelids.
This test was designed to evaluate the basic quality of a secret agent, but the difficulty level was insane.
Viper was even more incredible. Without saying a word, he immediately wrote his answers on the paper, then submitted it.
He was very confident and, obviously, well prepared.
Xu Anting took the paper that Viper had submitted.
He passed by 1953 people on their way, and there were 327 women among them.
One hundred and twenty-three of them had single eyelids.
One hundred and ninety-nine women had double eyelids, seven of which had inner double eyelids.
Furthermore, five women had both single and double eyelids. Three of those had a crease on their right eyelid and none on their left eyelid, while the other two women were the other way around.
Xu Anting silently took out the answer key that his subordinates had created.
He discovered that… there were a few discrepancies in their answers.
However… Viper's answer was more accurate because he even recorded the number of women who had inner double eyelids and the number of women who had both single and double eyelids.
He was indeed the best of the best. He was beyond human.
Viper reacted like he had done something so trivial that it was hardly worth mentioning. He was very calm as he continued to quickly browse through the book, reading ten lines at a glance.
On the other hand, Yun Zhonghe hadn't started writing. He had closed his eyes.
"Patient Twenty-Three, Da Vinci, possess me, possess me."
All of a sudden, Yun Zhonghe's body jerked vigorously, and a shiver ran down his spine.
Then, he entered a very strange spiritual state. He glanced instinctively at his lower abdomen.
"Uh? Feels like there's something more down there than I used to have?"
Then, he looked at sister Xu Antiing, and there was a twinkle in his eyes.
"What a beautiful body with toned muscles! I wish I could cut it open and sketch out every single detail of it."
Then, his gaze shifted to the fat Xu Anting. He was picturing in his mind the fatty layer under the skin. If he could cut the man open, the factice-like material would look very interesting on a paper.
Uh, uh, uh! Yun Zhonghe quickly shook off those distracting thoughts and closed his eyes to recall how many women he had encountered on his way from Anting Tavern to Taoran Bookstore. How many had double eyelids, and how many had single eyelids?
At that instant, it felt like a movie playing back in his mind, and every single frame was crystal clear.
It was way too awesome.
So this was Da Vinci's field of vision.
This wasn't just a perfect memory, was it?
He was practically a human video camera.
That was why the man had become a legendary painter and easily sketched out the detailed internal structures of the pineal gland and pituitary glands. In his mind, they were clear images.
Soon, Yun Zhonghe wrote his answer down on the paper.
He encountered 1959 people, 329 of them were women.
One hundred and twenty-four of them had single eyelids. Two hundred women had double eyelids, and seven of them had inner double eyelids.
Furthermore, five women had both single and double eyelids, three of them had a crease on their right eyelid and none on their left eyelid, while the other two women were the other way around.
After he finished writing, a guard of the Order of the Black Dragon took his answer sheet and gave it to Xu Anting.
Xu Anting took the paper, and he was completely dumbfounded at that instant. He looked at Yun Zhonghe, his eyes wide open.
Yun Zhonghe's answers varied slightly from Viper's, but they were both correct because there was some difference in time, after all.
It was very creepy, wasn't it?
There was no doubt that Viper could complete this challenge because he was a very talented secret agent who had an astonishing memory. He had been through countless training sessions.
But Yun Zhonghe, who had never been trained before?
He had answered this insanely difficult question accurately.
It was unimaginably queer.
Maybe Sir Feng Xingmie wasn't crazy, but had a sharp eye for discovering capable people after all?
However, Xu Anting still had to choose one of the two people to execute the mission in the City of Torn Gust.
He suppressed his consternation and carried on with the competition.
"Let's proceed to the second task. Each of you has bought a book, 'Butterfly's Dream' and 'The Li Clan's Family Tree,' respectively. The second question is, what is the 9527th word of your book?"
What… What kind of psycho question was that?
That question wasn't meant for humans.
"It's fine if you ask the participants to recite the paragraphs from the book. Although normal people couldn't memorize that much in a half-hour, a person with perfect memory could memorize a lot in that time," Yun Zhonghe thought.
"But now you are asking about the 9527th word? Are you a monster?"
"Are you insane? Or am I the insane one?"
"Who the f*ck would remember that?"
"It was already very intense to memorize the book and answer the first question at the same time, okay?"
However, thankfully for Yun Zhonghe, Patient Twenty-Three wasn't normal. He figured out the answer easily.
"I will count down from nine," Xu Anting said. "You have to answer before I finish counting down, or you lose this round."
"Nine, eight, seven, six, five…"
Yun Zhonghe answered, "Four."
Viper answered, "Kindness."
Xu Anting said, "Mr. Yun, I did not ask you to count down for me."
Yun Zhonghe said, "The 9527th word in 'Butterfly's Dream' is 'four.'"
No sh*t! That was coincidental...
Xu Anting didn't know the answers, so he took the books out. There was an annotation stating the number of words on each page.
Soon, he found out the 9527th word in each book.
The answer from "The Li Clan's Family Tree" was indeed "kindness." Viper's answer was accurate.
When he then flipped through "Butterfly's Dream" to look for the 9527th word, he found that it really was "four."
"What is wrong with this world?" Xu Anting thought in consternation. "Are you guys humans? Psychopaths? Maniacs?"
"You can answer a question as difficult as that one accurately?"
"What kind of world is this? What kind of families were you raised in?"
The people in the basement felt that their worlds were again overturned.
The geniuses in this world could do whatever they wanted, it seemed.
But the competition had to go on.
***
The first two rounds had led the competition to a draw, so winning the third round would be the key to victory.
Whoever won the competition would stay in the City of Torn Gust to execute the mission.
If Yun Zhonghe lost, he would be arrested immediately and imprisoned.
However, Xu Anting would submit a report stating that Yun Zhonghe was a very talented man. He shouldn't go to waste in a prison cell.
The third round wouldn't decide Viper's fate, but for Yun Zhonghe, it was of crucial importance.
The third round was indeed a rivalry between the best.
What would be the question? Everyone in the basement was looking forward to it.
Xu Anting was quiet for a moment, then he tore the paper with the third question written on it into pieces.
"The two of you are way more excellent than I imagined, so I think the third question can be canceled because it would still end in a draw," Xu Anting said. "But the two of you
have to battle it out today, so I'm afraid I'll have to change the question."
"Like Shennong from ancient times, I am an expert poisoner who has tasted hundreds of herbs to test their toxicity. Since I know a lot about poisons, I, Xu Anting, became an excellent chef and opened Anting Tavern. The dishes in this tavern are very delicious, which is why business has been good all these years."
An expert in poison became a topnotch chef?
Were there any connections between the two fields?
There were. Lots of poisonous things could be prepared as the finest delicacies.
For example, pufferfish and poisonous snakes.
And women… Ahem, that probably wasn't what Xu Anting was thinking.
"So, I will apply my expertise in the third round and ensure that there will be a winner. Excuse me for a moment."
***
Xu Anting left for half an hour.
Half an hour later, there were five bottles on the table in front of Yun Zhonghe.
The bottles were identical, and so were the liquids in them.
They even tasted the same because they were all colorless and odorless.
"Four out of the five bottles contain poisonous liquids, and only one of the bottles has a non-poisonous liquid," Xu Anting said. "Among the four poisonous liquids, two are lethal. You will die if you drink those. Two are moderate, but you will be in a lot of pain if you drink one of them."
"Mr. Viper, Mr. Yun, please come forward to the table."
Yun Zhonghe and Viper stepped forward and stood in front of the table, staring at the five bottles.
"I will count down from nine to zero," Xu Anting instructed. "Within this timeframe, you are allowed to observe these five bottles, but you may not touch them. After I finish counting down, you need to choose a bottle and drink the liquid in the shortest time possible. If you choose the non-poisonous one, you are considered the winner."
After hearing what he said, the twinkle in Yun Zhonghe's eyes vanished.
The third round was very inhumane. This was definitely something the Order of the Black Dragon would do.
Only one of the five bottles contained non-poisonous liquid, which meant this test wouldn't end up in a tie.
"I know that the third task was very unfair," Xu Anting said, "but nothing is easy in our line of work. We dance with the devil every day, and any moment could bring us to the edge of a cliff. Once you go undercover in the residence of the castellan, you may lose your life anytime. Dangers will be everywhere, and there will only be a slim chance of survival. You will encounter situations that are ten times more dangerous than the one you are facing now, so you can consider this as a rehearsal."
"I'm going to start counting down, and you may observe the five bottles of liquid. Only one of them is harmless; the others are poisonous."
"Once you choose the one that isn't poisonous and drink it, you will be the winner."
"Nine, eight, seven…"
Xu Anting began counting down, which meant that Yun Zhonghe had only nine seconds.
The five bottles of liquid looked exactly the same. They even smelled exactly the same.
Choosing the bottle without poison was purely a matter of luck.
Viper glanced at the five bottles, and his eyes were calm.
Yun Zhonghe's eyes were wide open, and he had almost pressed his face to the bottles.
"Three, two, one, time's up!"
Yun Zhonghe and Viper stretched their hands out at the same time, trying to grab the bottle with harmless liquid in the shortest time possible.
However, Viper's kung fu made him a thousand times better than Yun Zhonghe.
He was as fast as lightning, and he grabbed the fourth bottle and chugged it.
Yun Zhonghe was already moving as fast as he could, but he was 0.1 seconds slower and only managed to grab the air.
Then, he looked at Xu Anting.
Everyone's eyes were on Xu Anting, waiting for him to unveil the answer.
Which of the five bottles contained the non-poisonous liquid?
"Mr. Yun, you have lost. Mr. Viper has already taken the only harmless liquid," Xu Anting said. "I know this isn't fair, but… Nothing in this world is fair."
"Mr. Yun, to maintain the secrecy of this mission, we will need to arrest you immediately and escort you to the prison that the Order of the Black Dragon keeps in the empire's territory. However, I will tell my superiors that you are a very talented man, and you can be assigned to another mission after you have been trained."
"Take Mr. Yun away," Xu Anting ordered. As he spoke, his sister stepped forward with a special pair of handcuffs and a rope.
"I am sorry," said Xu Antiing.
"Wait!" Yun Zhonghe said. "Give me some more time! I just need the amount of time it would take to burn a joss stick."
"Mr. Yun," Xu Anting said, "I know you are dissatisfied, but you have lost. There is no way you can turn the tables."
What Xu Anting said appeared to be true. The only bottle with harmless liquid had already been consumed by Viper. There were four bottles left, and all of them contained poisonous liquids. No matter which liquid Yun Zhonghe drank, he would lose; if he didn't drink anything, he would lose too.
No matter what Yun Zhonghe did, it would be in vain.
He had lost.
He had lost his opportunity to execute the mission in the City of Torn Gust.
However, he didn't want to accept that. He believed that there must be a way out of this impasse.
There must be, there must be.
He wouldn't accept his defeat just like that.
But where was the way out? Where?
All four bottles contained poisonous liquid. Two of them were lethal, and he would die if he drank one of them. Although the other two liquids were moderately poisonous, they would put him in so much pain that he would rather die.
The joss stick would soon burn to an end.
Yun Zhonghe hadn't figured out a solution. He hadn't found the way out.
His eyes remained closed, and he didn't move at all.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Yun, I need to send you back to the empire," Xu Anting repeated.
Yun Zhonghe opened his eyes out of the blue, his face beaming with excitement. He laughed and said, "I have found the only way out. I'm going to win the competition."