The Top Student Is Fast and Accurate (Happy New Year)

This was no invitation; it was naked disdain.

Seeing this, the person was just about to snap back at Lin Mo when a classmate who had come with him grabbed his arm.

"Li Tong, don't let your emotions get the better of you."

Li Tong violently shook off the other's hand, his eyes filled with the stubbornness of someone pushed to the brink. "I'll do it! Who isn't a genius among those who made it here!"

He roared out every word, as if to psych himself up, or perhaps to declare war on Lin Mo.

With that, he sat down heavily, grabbed his pen, and stared fixedly at the test paper, trying to reclaim his dignity as a genius from the dense sea of symbols.

Was this a clash between top scholars?

The guy was also quite sly; he didn't even mention what would happen if he lost or won.

Tong Dong also sat down next to Lin Mo, but he tactfully remained silent.

The entire classroom was left with only the rustling sound of pen tips scratching against paper and the occasional heavy sigh.

Everyone here was a chosen child of heaven, yet the atmosphere had inexplicably become stifling.

But Lin Mo acted as if nothing was going on.

He didn't even speed up in the slightest, maintaining his previous unhurried pace. His pen glided evenly across the snow-white exam paper as he wrote down the answers directly.

The only difference was that this time, he couldn't be bothered to show off.

One question, one solution, striking straight at the core without any hesitation.

The four questions on the first two pages were nothing but a warm-up for him.

It took him less than half an hour to finish them all.

The real tough nuts to crack were the major questions on the last two pages, each taking up an entire page.

The solution steps were complicated and the calculations massive. An ordinary person would burn a ton of brain cells just doing the rough work on scratch paper, terrified that one wrong step would ruin everything.

But Lin Mo couldn't even be bothered to touch the scratch paper.

His gaze rested on the question for a few seconds, his brain seemingly completing all the calculations instantly. Then he set his pen to paper, writing out formulas, derivations, and the final answer in one smooth motion.

His movements couldn't even be described as forceful; they were simply steady, so steady it was terrifying.

A boy next to him, who was scratching his head in frustration, caught a glimpse of this from the corner of his eye and dropped his pen on the desk.

He isn't even using scratch paper?

What kind of monster is this!

Others would usually write out the process on scratch paper before transferring it to the exam paper.

This kept the exam paper neat and prevented their train of thought from derailing.

But Lin Mo simply didn't need to, because the scratch paper was in his head.

Another half hour passed.

When Lin Mo wrote down the final answer, it was as if time in the classroom finally started flowing again.

He stood up, his chair scraping against the floor and making a sound that wasn't grating but was clear enough.

Instantly, everyone's pens stopped.

Gazes shot over and converged on him in unison.

He finished?!

Everyone present was a top-tier competitor at the provincial level. No one was stupid enough to think Lin Mo was just grandstanding.

Because in a place like this, scribbling nonsense just to grab attention would only turn you into the biggest joke. The consequences were worse than getting the questions wrong.

Lin Mo ignored all the stares, walked straight over to the side, and placed his exam paper in front of the teacher who had spoken earlier.

"To save time, I didn't write down alternative solutions. Teacher, that shouldn't be a problem, right?"

That single sentence made the minds of several nearby students, who were just about to resume writing, buzz with shock.

Didn't write... alternative solutions?

Those who could only manage one solution had their mindsets completely shatter upon hearing this.

The teacher took Lin Mo's paper, nodded, and began to read it seriously.

He read extremely fast, taking in ten lines at a glance.

A few minutes later, he handed the paper to another teacher beside him, uttering three words: "Take a look."

The second teacher took it, his expression mirroring the first as it shifted from calm to astonished. After reading it, he passed it to a third...

The single exam paper was passed around rapidly among a group of veteran math competition coaches like a hot potato.

Every time it passed through a pair of hands, it caused a low murmur of commotion in the classroom.

Finally, the paper returned to the hands of the first teacher.

He stood up and faced Lin Mo, a solemn look appearing on his face for the first time.

"My surname is Bai, and I am the head instructor of this base. Your answers are all correct. The problem-solving process is practically perfect, without a single place to deduct points."

Teacher Bai paused, a touch of admiration in his tone. "Outstanding calculation skills."

Lin Mo accepted the praise calmly and nodded. "Thank you, Teacher Bai. I think my talent is alright."

This completely unmodest response actually made Teacher Bai laugh.

Geniuses always have their quirks.

Just then, the phone in Lin Mo's pocket vibrated slightly.

He took it out and looked down; it was a text message from an unknown number.

But he recognized the number.

Long Tianqi.

The message was very simple, just three words:

"I've arrived."

Lin Mo's fingertips tapped rapidly on the screen, casually replying.

"Check the room for bombs first."

Who knew how Long Tianqi would react to that reply.

Although Lin Mo had finished his paper and handed it in.

The others were still writing. They didn't have Lin Mo's speed, and quite a few were still working on the first four questions.

As for Li Tong, who had just been arguing with Lin Mo, he had already filled several pages of scratch paper.

He glared resentfully at Lin Mo, then glanced over at Tong Dong.

Realizing that Tong Dong had actually started on the fifth question, he felt a jolt of alarm and immediately buried his head back into his rigorous calculations.

Meanwhile, Lin Mo had walked back.

"Alright, Teacher Bai said there's nothing special to do today, so I'm heading back first. Call me when it's time to eat."

"Okay," Tong Dong replied before returning to his questions.

Many people stared at Lin Mo's back. This guy solved problems fast, and judging by his demeanor and the teachers' expressions...

It seemed he had actually gotten the questions right.

Those teachers were still reviewing Lin Mo's paper and doing some calculations of their own.

At Lin Mo's level of mathematics, everyone's steps and processes were different.

Because a single problem often had many different paths to a solution.

At this point, Bai Ziqiu stood up. Although he was only in his forties, he was already the head instructor of the entire math training base.

He coughed lightly.

"To give you all some pressure: the first person to finish the paper is named Lin Mo, from Yue Province. His paper was completed quickly and excellently, and he got all six questions completely right. I hope to see another person who can get them all correct."

That was indeed a lot of pressure.

Li Tong looked up at Bai Ziqiu, took a deep breath, and lowered his head to continue calculating.

He felt that this Lin Mo would be his lifelong rival.

Of course, Lin Mo himself had no idea about this.

Because he had more important things to do—like seeing what Long Tianqi had to say.