"Apparently not. I heard it’s a team called PT, very formidable—they scored ten tis higher than the second place in the problem-solving round."
Cui Xing felt even more awkward. It seed Mr. Ren had deliberately looked into this. Well, of course, why else would soone co all the way to watch an offline competition?
"So even the best computer science departnt at Qingzhou University is just so-so." The man chuckled and ascended the steps.
Cui Xing broke out in a cold sweat, not daring to say anything, and obediently followed behind.
The venue for the competition was on the first floor in the main hall. On the east side of the hall stood a massive electronic screen, which displayed the real-ti scores during the match. In front of the screen, there was an open area with ten tables arranged.
The top ten teams from the problem-solving round would advance to the attack-and-defense round. Naplates with the team nas were placed on the tables, and after entering, the contestants would be led by staff to their assigned seats marked by their naplate.
On the tables were a couple of bottles of water, nothing else.
The only thing each contestant was allowed to bring into the venue was a laptop. There were no specific requirents for its specs; any laptop would do.
On the left and right sides of the open area, spectator zones were roped off. Unlike the elevated bleachers in stadiums, the audience could only catch glimpses of heads in front of them. Only those in the front row had a slightly better view.
CTF competitions were inherently boring. In the virtual world, outsiders couldn’t visually experience the back-and-forth battle. Matches lasted dozens of hours—why not go ho and sleep? Wake up and you’d already know the results.
Thus, spectators were rare, mostly students from computer science departnts who aspired to a future in this field.
CTF matches couldn’t be broadcast live either. Without visual elents for viewership, the best they could do was take so pictures of contestants during the event.
The only real-ti indicator was the score displayed on the electronic screen.
At 8:50, the contestants had taken their seats.
Zhang Qiang fixated on the table with PT’s naplate. Then, he saw a young man in black sit down, take out a laptop from his backpack.
The boy was dressed entirely in black—black clothes, black hat, black mask—silent and enigmatic, like the mysterious realm of hackers itself.
Zhang Qiang stared in the direction the boy ca from, puzzled, and asked, "Why is it just him? Where are the others?"
Everyone’s attention in the venue was drawn toward the boy in black. PT had been the dark horse in the problem-solving round, garnering more interest than Team 01, despite the latter winning multiple CTF championship titles before.
At this mont, the crowd’s minds echoed Zhang Qiang’s doubts—why was he alone? Where was his team?
In the first row of the spectator area, Ren Mingze gazed at the figure in black standing out on the stage. All the other teams had three to five mbers, each specializing in a particular area and working in seamless coordination.
By contrast, this person appeared lonely, even sowhat desolate.
"PT, so it’s just him?"
The man’s lips curved into a faint smile. "Interesting."
Assistant Wen glanced over at Cheng Fan on the opposite side. "Looks like Cheng Fan has his sights set on him as well."
"Top talents are always in high demand."
"We need to act fast, to avoid others snatching him up first."
The man smiled and nodded. "Exactly."
As the clock ticked closer to 9:00, PT’s table remained occupied by just one person. So people began piecing things together.
"Could PT really be a one-person team? That’s impossible, isn’t it?"
Zhang Qiang was the first to reject the idea. "No way. His teammates must’ve been delayed by sothing..."
Qian Chao frowned deeply, eyes fixed on the figure dressed in black. "How could it be possible?"
Xu Xin, who had been silent, pressed his lips together and said hoarsely, "PT is indeed one person. As soon as the problem-solving round ended, I heard it directly from Professor Li."
Qian Chao and Zhang Qiang’s ntal fortitude utterly crumbled.
One person, claiming every single First Blood in the problem-solving round—mastering all domains, showing no weaknesses—requiring brilliance in intellect, mory, and reflexes at an unimaginable level.
This guy was practically a hexagonal warrior.
How could anyone possibly pull that off?
Oh, right, Cheng Fan had also competed solo in the past and even won a championship. But his victory had a bit of luck to it, nothing as terrifying or monstrously overwhelming as scoring ten tis the runner-up’s points.
Could this be an even more gifted freak than Cheng Fan?
Qian Chao and Zhang Qiang were crushed, looking as lifeless as frostbitten eggplants. How were they supposed to compete?
Xu Xin pondered for a mont and said, "The attack-and-defense round differs from problem-solving. It tests cooperative team dynamics in offense and defense. No matter how extraordinary soone is, one person can’t replace three. This is our chance."
Qian Chao and Zhang Qiang mulled it over and finally regained a sliver of confidence.
"Let’s take him down—no way us three bros combined are losing to so punk kid. He’s so scrawny. If nothing else, we’ll outlast him just by dragging the match out."
The later stages of attack-and-defense matches also boil down to physical stamina.
As the competition drew nearer, one of the tables stayed empty; no one had shown up.
"Could the Snow team have forfeited?"
Zhang Qiang rembered this team scored third in the problem-solving round, almost overtaking them—a formidable opponent indeed.
"Sorry, I’m late." A lazy voice suddenly rang out.
The crowd turned toward the source of the voice, spotting a boy with a backpack slung over one shoulder, strolling in leisurely.
Zhang Qiang examined him repeatedly, confirming he was alone, his voice almost twisting in disbelief.
"Another one? What is it with all these solo players? Are they trying to make this impossible for us?"
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