MMB Chapter 139 The Decisive Moment: Lin Dong Takes the Stage
Chapter 139 The Decisive Moment: Lin Dong Takes the Stage
Chapter 139 The Decisive Moment: Lin Dong Takes the Stage
Lin Dong turned and walked back to the waiting area.
The waiting area is on the other side of the stadium, separated from the competition area by a door. From here, you can't see the individual booths, only the real-time updates on the large screen.
Time passed by, minute by minute.
Lin Dong leaned against the wall, his hands in his pockets.
On the big screen, in the column for the four king teams in Zone A, the status of position 1 is lit up, showing "In Progress".
The status of the number 1 players from other teams has gradually changed to "complete".
On Zhang Yang's team's side, the point guard's status had already turned green.
Lin Dong glanced at the time. Chen Long had been inside for thirty-five minutes.
Chen Long writes code very steadily, but steady sometimes means slow. This round of questions was more difficult than the first round, so it's normal that it took him a little longer.
But he still felt a little uneasy; it was too slow.
Slower than the Zhangyang team, slower than most teams.
A few minutes later, the status of the number 1 players from the other teams in Zone A on the big screen changed to "complete".
Finally, only the number 1 position of the four Heavenly Kings team in the entire A area was still "in progress".
In the waiting area, the power forwards from other teams started whispering among themselves.
"Hasn't the number one spot for the Four Heavenly Kings been decided yet?"
"Has it been more than forty minutes already?"
"The questions are difficult, that's normal."
"Zhang Yang's point guard position came out in 1 minutes."
In the audience, Zhou Lin stared at the big screen, her brows furrowing deeper and deeper.
"Why hasn't Chen Long come out yet?" Her voice was tense. "The other teams' number 1 players have all come out."
Zhao Yu was also watching: "Forty-two minutes have passed."
"Zhang Yang's point guard came out in 1 minutes." Zhou Lin's voice was anxious. "Seven minutes faster than Chen Long."
People nearby were talking about it.
"That first-team in Group A, their point guard position hasn't been decided yet?"
"Forty-two minutes has passed, that's too slow."
"It seems like I was lucky last round, but this round my true colors have been revealed."
Upon hearing these words, Zhou Lin's expression changed. She wanted to retort, but didn't know what to say.
Waiting area.
On the big screen, the status of position 1 of the four king teams in Zone A finally changed from "in progress" to "completed".
Lin Dong glanced at the time: forty-two minutes.
He breathed a sigh of relief; it was good that he had managed to get it done.
Forty-two minutes, seven minutes slower than Zhang Yang's team.
This means they were behind from the very beginning.
But he couldn't show it.
Xu Zang was waiting to go on stage, and he couldn't put more pressure on him.
He turned to look at Xu Zang.
"Chen Long is out," Lin Dong said.
Xu Zang nodded: "Mm."
"Go upstairs in a bit, don't rush. The questions are difficult, take your time."
Xu Zang glanced at him and nodded: "I know."
"Take it easy. It's okay if you don't finish writing, I'll take care of the rest."
Xu Zang nodded and said nothing more.
At the entrance, staff guided Chen Long out of the competition area.
However, Chen Long did not go through the waiting area. The competition rules stipulate that the contestants who have finished the competition must go directly to the finish area to wait and cannot communicate with the contestants who have not yet competed.
Lin Dong saw Chen Long emerge from the other end of the passage and be guided by staff towards the finish line area.
Chen Long walked a little slower than usual, but he didn't look towards the waiting area.
They were only a dozen meters apart, but they couldn't exchange a word.
Lin Dong withdrew his gaze.
He didn't know how well Chen Long wrote it, what problems he encountered, or why it took him forty-two minutes. He knew nothing.
He could only deduce from the time displayed on the big screen: forty-two minutes. This indicated that the question was indeed difficult, and Chen Long had done his best.
Next up is Xu Zang.
Lin Dong looked at the big screen, and the status of the four kings of Area A team changed to "Position 2 in progress".
Time passed by, second by second.
In the audience, the big screen refreshed.
"Zhang Yang's team's point guard is out too!" Zhou Lin shouted. "Their small forward is already in!"
Zhao Yu also became nervous: "Zhang Yang's team is so fast."
The murmurs around them grew louder.
"With Zhang Yang's speed, they're in good shape."
"The second position of the Four Heavenly Kings still hasn't been decided? How long has it been?"
"It looks like Zhang Yang's team is going to win this round."
Waiting area.
On the big screen, the status of position 2 of the four king teams in Zone A changed from "in progress" to "completed".
Lin Dong glanced at the time; Xu Zang had taken nearly twenty minutes.
Chen Long has played for 42 minutes, and Xu Zang for 20 minutes. That's a total of 62 minutes. There are 58 minutes remaining. Li Hu hasn't entered the game yet.
Xu Zang took twenty minutes, faster than Chen Long, but slower than his own first round.
This shows that the core algorithm module is indeed difficult. Xu Zang has done his best.
Next up is Li Hu.
Li Hu stood next to him, constantly fidgeting with his fingers, his expression even more tense.
"It's your turn," Lin Dong said.
Li Hu took a deep breath: "I know."
"Don't rush. The questions are difficult, everyone is slow. You just need to write them down, leave the rest to me."
Li Hu looked at him, paused for a moment, his expression somewhat complicated, then smiled: "Okay. I'll go then."
He turned and walked towards the entrance.
He took two steps, then turned back: "Fourth brother."
"Um?"
"You'd better catch me in the end."
Lin Dong's lips twitched slightly: "Don't worry."
Li Hu grinned and turned to walk into the cubicle.
In the audience, the big screen refreshed again.
Time passed by, second by second.
Zhou Lin kept staring at the big screen. She watched as Zhang Yang's number 3 position changed to "complete", watched their number 4 position enter the game, and watched time tick by.
"Zhang Yang's number 4 player has been on the court for fifteen minutes now," Zhao Yu said in a low voice.
Zhou Lin then looked towards the Four Heavenly Kings, where the status of position 3 was still "in progress".
She bit her lip, her fingers twisting together.
The murmurs around them grew louder and louder.
"Zhang Yang's team has already started at power forward, but the 'Four Heavenly Kings' are still writing at small forward?"
"It seems the Four Heavenly Kings are going to lose this round."
Zhou Lin's eyes reddened when she heard these words.
She turned to look at Chen Lu: "Chen Lu————"
Chen Lu stared at the big screen, her voice steady: "It's not over yet, Lin Dong is still here."
Waiting area.
On the big screen, the status of position 3 of the four king teams in Zone A changed from "in progress" to "completed".
Lin Dong glanced at the clock on the wall.
An hour and a half has passed. Chen Long has taken forty-two minutes, Xu Zang for twenty minutes, and Li Hu for nearly thirty minutes. Together, the three of them have taken almost a hundred minutes.
Twenty minutes left.
He saw Li Hu emerge from the other end of the passage from afar. Li Hu looked unwell, scratching his head several times, as he was guided by staff towards the finish line area.
He glanced towards the waiting area, but the staff urged him to move forward, so he had to look away and walk into the finish line area.
Lin Dong could no longer see his expression.
He took a deep breath.
It's his turn.
He turned and walked towards the entrance.
At the entrance, staff checked his number: "Number 4, Lin Dong, one of the Four Heavenly Kings?"
"right.
"
"Please come in."
Lin Dong walked into the cubicle.
The door closed behind him, cutting off the sounds from outside.
The countdown on the screen shows 19:48.
He sat down and glanced at the question.
The fourth part is the integration interface, which connects the previous three modules and adds some auxiliary functions.
The questions weren't too difficult for him, but time was running out.
He didn't rush to take action.
He first closed his eyes, thinking about what he needed to write in his part, what parts to check when reviewing the code of the three people, and what problems might be encountered during integration.
Five seconds.
He opened his eyes.
Start writing your own part.
Fingers tap rapidly on the keyboard.
My part took about eight minutes.
The countdown on the screen shows 11:42 remaining.
He began to examine Chen Long's code.
Chen Long's basic modules are written very well.
The interface was clear, the functions were well-defined, and the comments were complete. Lin Dong quickly scanned it and found no problems. He noticed that Chen Long's code was more conservative than usual, but this was normal. The problem was difficult, and being conservative was the safest strategy.
Chen Long has done the best he could.
No problem, pass.
The countdown on the screen shows 9:15 remaining.
He began to examine Xu Zang's code.
Xu Zang's core algorithm module surprised Lin Dong.
The idea was unique, the code was minimal, and the logic was convoluted. Lin Dong read it twice before fully understanding it. Xu Zang used an unconventional recursive structure to compress what should have been a very complex algorithm into just a few dozen lines of code.
This line of thinking...
The problem is that the code is too simplistic.
There are no comments, no boundary handling, and even necessary judgments are omitted in several places.
Lin Dong frowned.
He knew Xu Zang's style; he never wrote anything superfluous.
But this brevity might be due to time constraints. Xu Zang finished writing the core algorithm in twenty minutes, which was already his limit. He didn't have time to add comments, add boundary conditions, or optimize.
Lin Dong glanced at the time.
There is 7:30 left.
He hesitated for a moment, wondering whether he should help Xu Zangbu.
If we add the missing checks, it will take at least five minutes. If we don't, these omitted checks may cause problems at runtime.
He decided not to make up for it.
There's no time left.
Xu Zang's core logic is correct; he can escape.
If any problems arise with the omitted parts, he will fix them during the integration process.
He continued reading.
The countdown on the screen shows 6:48 remaining.
Li Hu's code made him frown even more deeply.
The peripheral functional modules were written quickly, but there are quite a few problems.
There are two obvious bugs: one causes boundary condition errors, and the other affects performance.
Lin Dong cursed under his breath.
He knew Li Hu was in a rush to write, but he didn't expect it to be this rushed.
He started fixing the bug.
The first bug was a boundary condition. He glanced at it, located the problem in three seconds, and fixed it in twenty seconds.
The countdown on the screen shows 5:52 remaining.
The second bug is a performance issue.
He glanced at it and realized that fixing it would take at least two minutes. He hesitated for a second, then decided against it. The performance issue wouldn't affect the program's operation; it would just lower the score.
He chose to keep the system running.
The countdown on the screen shows 5:30 remaining.
He began the integration process.
Connect the four modules, adjust the interfaces, and handle dependencies.
Chen Long's interface was fine, so it passed directly. Xu Zang's code was too simple, so he added two crucial lines of checks. He fixed one bug in Li Hu's code, but left the other one untouched.
My fingers were almost constantly on the keyboard.
When the countdown on the screen showed 3:00 remaining, the integration was complete.
He took a deep breath and pressed "Run".
The compilation information on the screen started scrolling.
He stared at the screen, his heart beating a little faster than usual.
one second.
two seconds.
"Running successful."
Four words popped up on the screen.
Lin Dong glanced at the countdown: 01:47.
He leaned back in his chair and let out a long breath.
In the audience, Zhou Lin screamed the moment the status on the big screen changed from "Running" to "Success".
"He did it! He did it!"
Zhao Yu also stood up, clapping her hands, her eyes a little red.
Everyone around was stunned.
"Success? The last three minutes?"
"Written, checked, and integrated in nineteen minutes? Are you crazy?"
Who is number 4 among the Four Heavenly Kings?
"Lin Dong. He's the one who doesn't talk much."
"Holy crap—"
Two lines of text appeared simultaneously on the big screen.
Team A's Four Heavenly Kings: Completed the run with an accuracy rate of 96% in 119 minutes and 48 seconds.
Team D, Zhang Yang: Completed the run with an accuracy rate of 96% and a time of 119 minutes and 48 seconds.
Tied for first place.
Zhou Lin froze for a second, then screamed even louder: "A tie! It's a tie!"
Zhao Yu grabbed Zhou Lin's arm excitedly, speechless.
On the podium, Vice Dean Zhang looked at the data and remained silent for a long time.
"Lin Dong, position 4, completed his part, checked the code of three others, integrated and debugged the code, and got it running in 19 minutes and 48 seconds." He looked up at Principal Wang, "That speed—"
"What's wrong?" Professor Li asked.
Vice Dean Zhang shook his head and carefully considered his words: "This student has excellent mental fortitude and a solid professional foundation."
What he didn't say was that he checked three people's code, integrated and debugged it, and it still ran successfully in 19 minutes. This wasn't just about speed. It was about composure, and even more so, a solid foundation of professional skills, which allowed him to get every step right at the last minute.
He glanced at the scores of the Four Heavenly Kings team on the monitor screen, and then at the scores of Zhang Yang's team.
119 minutes and 48 seconds to 119 minutes and 48 seconds. Tie.
The fact that the game ended in a tie was entirely due to that power forward, who made the most of every second in the last 19 minutes.
Principal Wang picked up his teacup, took a sip, and his lips twitched slightly.
Finished section.
Chen Long, Xu Zang, and Li Hu had been waiting here for a long time.
The three sat in a row, none of them speaking. There was no big screen in the finish line area, so they didn't know the results outside or the situation of the other teams.
Li Hu couldn't sit still; he would stand up one moment and sit down the next.
"Stop shaking," Chen Long said.
"I'm nervous," Li Hu said.
Xu Zang kept his eyes closed and didn't speak.
Lin Dong walked in at the entrance.
Li Hu was the first to stand up: "Fourth brother! How's it going?"
The staff member glanced at him and said, "Please sit down and don't make a sound."
Li Hu sat down awkwardly, but his eyes remained fixed on Lin Dong.
Lin Dong walked over and sat down next to them.
"How is it?" Li Hu asked in a low voice.
Lin Dong glanced at him: "It's working."
Li Hu let out a long sigh and leaned back in his chair: "That's good, that's good—"
The four people sat there, waiting for the result.
They didn't know the outside rankings, the situation of Zhang Yang's team, or whether they had won or lost.
All they knew was that they had finished writing it and it had worked.
That's enough. You can advance now.
When the results were announced, the big screen in the finish line area finally lit up.
"The first place in Group A, the Four Heavenly Kings Team - ran the course with an accuracy rate of 96% and a time of 119 minutes and 48 seconds."
"First place in Group D, Zhang Yang Team - Completed the run with an accuracy rate of 96% and a time of 119 minutes and 48 seconds."
Overall ranking: Tied for first place.
Li Hu paused for a second, then grabbed Chen Long's arm: "A tie? We're tied with Zhang Yang's team?"
Chen Long felt a sharp pain from his grip, but didn't break free: "——————Hmm."
"A tie!" Li Hu released him and patted Xu Zang's shoulder. "Second brother! A tie!"
Li Hu was so excited he couldn't sit still; he kept standing up and sitting down, then sitting down and standing up again.
Lin Dong leaned back in his chair, looking at the two lines of text on the big screen.
119 minutes and 48 seconds. He calculated that if he hadn't fixed Li Hu's bug, the accuracy would have been even lower. If he had fixed another bug, the time would have been even longer. He chose a middle value, which resulted in a tie with Zhang Yang's team.
The main problem was that there wasn't enough time; this was all he could do.
The sun was shining brightly as the four of them walked out of the stadium.
Li Hu walked at the front, taking long strides: "A draw is good too! We'll win it back in the final!"
Lin Dong walked in the middle, looking at the three of them.
The code I just saw in the cubicle.
Chen Long had 42 minutes to answer a difficult question, so he chose the safest approach to ensure that the basic modules would not have any errors.
Xu Zang's twenty minutes involved a complex core algorithm, yet he implemented the core logic with minimal code.
Li Hu had 30 minutes to write the code, which included many peripheral functions. He finished writing it within the time limit, and although there were bugs, the framework was correct.
The questions were too difficult this time; they had already done their best within their capabilities.
And he was the one who would be there as a safety net.
They were using their own methods to allow him to turn the tide in the final nineteen minutes.
Lin Dong didn't know if they were nervous, or if they had ever considered the possibility of losing.
But he knew they believed him.
Lin Dong withdrew his gaze.
"Let's go," he said, "let's eat."
On the podium, Principal Wang said to Professor Li, "On the day of the finals, please reserve a few more seats."
Professor Li paused for a moment, then asked, "For whom?"
Principal Wang didn't answer immediately, but picked up his teacup and took a sip.
You'll find out then.
.