NOVEL WEB Chapter 22 - 22: Return with Full Load
Chapter 22: Chapter 22: Return with Full Load
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Remember 50 patterns in a minute?
The crowd beneath the stage suddenly fell quiet.
Without exaggeration, remembering 30 patterns in a minute already made one superhuman, but 50? That would require an actual superhero.
“Oh?” Ma Tianxiao’s pupil’s contracted as he stared at Huang Xiaolong, searching for any hint of falter.
Huang Xiaolong, however, maintained an innocent expression, completely unruffled. His badly patched shirt reflected the stage light, making him look incredibly out of place.
‘Damn it, the Asian Memory Championship record is only 47 patterns remembered in a minute, and that record was expected to remain unbeaten for a long time… Is this country boy trying to bluff me? What a crafty little peasant.’
From childhood, Ma Tianxiao was recognized as a genius, a self-made man who built an empire from scratch. He had witnessed many grand occasions and had strong mental fortitude. Shortly after his initial astonishment, he regained his usual composure and playfully smiled. “OK, if you want to play, I’ll play along. Let’s do it- remember 50 patterns in a minute.”
“Well, let’s hurry then!” Huang Xiaolong responded cheerfully, his eyes glancing at the prizes left on the stage, a hint of ‘greed’ that he couldn’t quite hide.
Underneath the stage, Cui Feiyan wrinkled her eyebrows, unsure of the outcome.
Despite her dislike for Huang Xiaolong, she disliked Ma Tianxiao’s arrogance even more. She secretly hoped that Huang Xiaolong would win their competition.
But Ma Tianxiao’s memory was exceptional, comparable to royalty. Huang Xiaolong, despite having some talent, might find it difficult to challenge Ma Tianxiao…
‘Well, it’s not embarrassing to lose to Ma Tianxiao. His courage to face a powerful opponent is admirable.’ Slowly, Cui Feiyan’s impression of Huang Xiaolong was improving.
On the stage.
The male host had already prepared the machine and nodded at Ma Tianxiao.
Ma Tianxiao took the marker and board from the staff and indicated that he was ready.
“OK, ladies and gentlemen, the fourth round of the memory challenge is about to begin… In this round, our founder of the Golden Charm Memory Training Institute, President Ma, will demonstrate his extraordinary memory for you all!” The host not-so-subtly flattered his boss with a confident expression.
It was clear that he did not believe Huang Xiaolong had the capacity to challenge Ma Tianxiao.
At that moment, both Huang Xiaolong and Ma Tianxiao were standing in front of the LED screen, ready to begin.
Ma Tianxiao’s face had never looked more focused, a defiant aura radiating from him.
Huang Xiaolong, however, seemed as nonchalant as ever, appearing distracted.
When Huang Xiaolong was in his early teens, he collected herbs in the mountains and brewed them into pills and decoctions according to long-lost prescriptions, refining his physique. As a result, his physical fitness, neural response, movement ability, memory, immunity, and resilience far surpassed those of an ordinary person.
He had practically a photographic memory. Remembering 50 patterns in a minute was nothing; he could even remember hundreds without breaking a
sweat!
On the LED screen, exactly 50 patterns filled every corner!
The 60-second countdown began!
Huang Xiaolong’s demeanor subtly changed as he intently scanned the patterns on the LED screen.
Ma Tianxiao’s brows furrowed, his expression grave. Particularly in the last few seconds, he appeared to be in pain, his face pale, as though he had exhausted his brainpower.
Ma Tianxiao’s limit was remembering 45 patterns in a minute. He tried to break his own limit today but failed, overstraining his brain cells instead.
The 60-second countdown ended!
Ma Tianxiao let out a sigh of relief, dropping his glasses and handing his board to a staff member before massaging his temples.
After gathering his thoughts, he picked up his board and began writing on it with his marker.
A few minutes later—
“Reveal the boards!” The host announced loudly.
Ma Tianxiao went first.
The host carefully took Ma Tianxiao’s fully-written board and quickly reviewed it, gasping in amazement. “President Ma remembered 45 patterns! The sequence is flawless! All correct!”
The audience below the stage erupted in rounds of applause and disbelief.
Though he couldn’t remember all 50 patterns, Ma Tianxiao’s performance was impressive. His memory was monstrous.
“Amazing! I’m set, I’m going to attend the Golden Charm Memory Training
Institute. I hope President Ma can teach me personally!”
“President Ma is really extraordinary! Respect! Highly respect!”
“Today is truly eye-opening. Human memory can actually reach this level, almost like having superpowers…”
Ma Tianxiao savored the feeling of being surrounded by praise and admiration. He cast a sidelong glance at Cui Feiyan in the audience, then looked mockingly at Huang Xiaolong.
To everyone’s surprise, Huang Xiaolong’s board was completely blank. Not a single character had been written.
“Can’t stand a single blow…” Ma Tianxiao murmured to himself.
“Please reveal your board.” The host approached Huang Xiaolong, a challenge in his voice.
“Oh.” Huang Xiaolong handed the blank answer board to the male host.
“Pfft—–You couldn’t remember even one pattern? Hahahaha—-Young man, weren’t you very brash? Claiming to remember 50 patterns in one minute? Does your face hurt now?” The host teased mercilessly.
The audience below the stage was in an uproar.
Cui Feiyan felt a pang of regret in her heart, ‘I didn’t expect him to underperform. Maybe it’s due to the extreme pressure.’
“Sorry, you won’t be able to claim the prize for the fourth round.” Ma Tianxiao taunted.
“No… I remember all 50 patterns. It just seemed too troublesome to write them down. How about this, I’ll say the answers one by one. You can flip each pattern to see whether or not I remembered them wrongly.”‘ Huang Xiaolong suggested with a smile.
“Impossible!” Ma Tianxiao roared angrily, his mouth crooked in a smirk, “You’re still in denial, fine, go ahead.”
“The first pattern on the left of the top row, it’s a verse of a poem, ‘Just like we were at the very beginning, Why should autumn wind pity a painted fan’…” Once Huang Xiaolong finished talking, the corresponding pattern was flipped and his statement was accurate down to the last word!
The entire room went silent!
Next, Huang Xiaolong spouted out the content of each pattern one by one.
Every time a pattern was flipped, a gasp of surprise would rise from the crowd.
In the end
All 50 patterns were correct!
The applause roared!
“Clap–Clap clap–Clap clap clap- ” Cui Feiyan couldn’t help but applaud too.
Victory!
Huang Xiaolong single-handedly defeated Ma Tianxiao, ending in his victory!
What’s more, Huang Xiaolong appeared to have won effortlessly.
“You…you…how…how is this possible…this…” Ma Tianxiao’s cheeks burned with humiliation as if he had been fiercely slapped several times, his heart filled with shock, humiliation, and malice!
His loss was not only humiliating but also endangered his prestigious reputation as the head of the Charm Memory Training institution. It was bound to impact his career prospects!
“Hmph!” Ma Tianxiao couldn’t bear to stay on the stage any longer. He felt like a clown, and every extra second he remained only added to his humiliation.
“Boy, you… you’re gutsy! But I, Ma Tianxiao, won’t let this be! I’ll return this humiliation a hundred-fold, a thousand-fold! You just wait!” Ma Tianxiao glared at Huang Xiaolong with murderous eyes. If looks could kill, Huang Xiaolong would have been hacked to pieces!
He gritted his teeth cursing Huang Xiaolong under his breath, then walked off the stage in defeat.
“Oh, so you’re planning to take revenge? You city folks really can’t take a loss…” Huang Xiaolong shook his head slightly. “Oh right, Mr. Ma, better not drive tonight. I see that your cheekbones have a gray tint, you know the saying, dark cheekbones can lead to car accidents. By the looks of your cheekbones, a car accident could result in at least concussion or fractures… be careful.”
Boom—–
Seething with rage, Ma Tianxiao stumbled and fell when he heard what Huang Xiaolong had said.
“Pfft- Cui Feiyan couldn’t help but laugh at Ma Tianxiao’s embarrassing escapade. She shook her head silently, ‘This country bumpkin is truly malicious, seriously cursing for a car accident…’
Even though Ma Tianxiao had left, the prizes still needed to be handed out.
The prize for the fourth round of the Memory Challenge was rather substantial—
A LeEco 4K television!
A Sony LCD color television!
A GREE floor-standing air conditioner!
A Siemens double door refrigerator!
A Haier 8kg drum washing machine!
At this moment, Huang Xiaolong felt ecstatically happy!
He ran down to the audience and shared his happiness with Cui Feiyan.
“Feiyan, I won all the prizes! It’s awesome! If there are events like this every day, I wouldn’t even need to find work at all!” Huang Xiaolong said, his face full of contentment like a typical city dweller.
“You were amazing.” Cui Feiyan gave Huang Xiaolong high praise in an objective manner. “However, you cursing people about car accidents, that was quite despicable.”
“I didn’t curse anyone.” Huang Xiaolong replied innocently, “He was indeed likely to get into an accident today.”
“Forget it, I’m not going to argue with you.” Cui Feiyan flicked her hair in a very feminine manner, “I’ve already called for a van to come over and help bring all the prizes home.”
“Oh, Feiyan, thanks a lot, you’re really thoughtful.” Huang Xiaolong said while he was counting his prizes, then he gave all the ladies’ perfumes and LV bags to Cui Feiyan. “Feiyan, I don’t need these things, I’ll give all of them to you. Oh, and I’m not going to choose any more prizes today, I’ve got all the required furnishing for my house, feels great.”
Cui Feiyan took the perfume and bags gifted by Huang Xiaolong a little lost, her mind trying to process, ‘Gifting turned into receiving… this is not the script!’