Genius Girlfriend

After speaking, Lin Zhixia grabbed Jiang Yubai's hand and ran forward.

The castle and fortress designated as bases for Group A and Group B were both situated on high ground, while most of the crisscrossing tunnels were located at lower elevations.

Under Nie Tianqing's interference, bubble balls rolled into different tunnels. Nie Tianqing moved freely through the tunnels, kicking balls around without restraint.

Lin Zhixia observed the overall situation and concluded: "If we treat this game as a graph theory problem, each node in the tunnels represents a vertex in the graph. We have thirty-seven vertices in total. This graph is already imprinted in my mind. Some tunnels are transparent while others aren't, which introduces the concept of partially observable Markov decision processes..."

"Lin Zhixia!" Jiang Yubai declared heroically, "You don't need to explain it to me! I believe in you!"

Lin Zhixia pulled him into a tunnel: "Is it because you don't understand that you don't want to listen? Then you'll just have to follow me and obey my commands."

For the sake of the team's victory, Jiang Yubai forgave Lin Zhixia's provocation.

They ran toward the tunnel nodes and quickly collected seven balls.

While running around, Lin Zhixia encountered their teammate Dong Sunqi. Dong Sunqi shouted: "Follow me! There's a shortest path here! Only by taking the shortest route can we return faster!"

"No!" Lin Zhixia countered, "Always choosing the shortest path isn't necessarily the global optimal solution!"

Dong Sunqi was astonished: "Holy crap! What are you talking about!"

Lin Zhixia responded: "Think about the three sides of a triangle! If sides A and B are both shorter than side C, their sum must exceed the length of side C - such a simple principle! Why don't you understand when it's applied to graph theory?"

Dong Sunqi shuddered: "That actually makes sense! You talk a lot, so I'll listen to you!"

Thus, both Dong Sunqi and Jiang Yubai became Lin Zhixia's followers.

Within just a few minutes, they collected twelve bubble balls. However, fortune is unpredictable - three members from the opposing team came charging toward them.

Ding Yan shouted while running: "Gan Shuli, Nie Tianqing! Let's go rob Jiang Yubai! They have so many balls! They're so good at collecting! We don't need to collect balls ourselves - we'll just follow them and specialize in robbing!"

Jiang Yubai remained completely calm. He stood still composedly, looking calmly at Lin Zhixia: "You must have a plan."

Lin Zhixia's eyes shifted, but she unexpectedly said: "I have no plan, let's run! Help, help! Run quickly!"

"What?" Jiang Yubai panicked and hurriedly followed Lin Zhixia in their escape.

Lin Zhixia laughed and jumped, her ponytail coming loose. She, Jiang Yubai, and Dong Sunqi successively slid down slides and rushed into trampolines.

Lin Zhixia, holding four balls, ran at the front, her figure quickly disappearing into the complex tunnel system.

Both Jiang Yubai and Dong Sunqi were bewildered, like the French army that lost the Maginot Line during World War II. Even though they still retained mobile forces, they didn't know how to continue fighting.

"Take the blue tunnel! Then the red tunnel!" Lin Zhixia's voice came from above, "Quickly bring the bubble balls to our team's central area!"

Jiang Yubai immediately asked: "Where are you going?"

Lin Zhixia said: "I'm going to find people from their Group B."

"No!" Jiang Yubai protested, "Lin Zhixia, don't go!"Lin Zhixia bid him farewell: "Once I leave! I don't know if I can ever return!"

Jiang Yubai stepped onto the entrance of the blue tunnel: "Where are you? I'll come save you!"

Lin Zhixia was determined to leave: "No need, I can't be a coward! You stay home and protect the bubble balls well, protect every single bubble ball! That's our last hope for victory!"

Dong Sunqi also spoke with heartfelt pain: "Lin Zhixia, you should go quickly! We'll always remember you!"

"What did you say?" Jiang Yubai began criticizing Dong Sunqi, "We're a team, how can we abandon a companion? Don't you have anything you want to protect in your heart?"

Dong Sunqi answered resolutely: "Yes! I want to protect the bubble balls! Lin Zhixia told us to protect the bubble balls, you should hurry to the central area of our Group A!"

The two of them rushed straight to the central area of Group A's base.

Inside the suspended tunnel, Nie Tianqing suddenly said: "There are footsteps, Lin Zhixia is coming."

None of the three members in Nie Tianqing's group ran. They stood still, discussing their strategy.

Ding Yan revealed: "Lin Zhixia's nickname in our class is weirdo. She's really smart, you need to be careful."

"She's only nine years old," Nie Tianqing said, "No matter how smart she is, how smart could she possibly be?"

Ding Yan's expression changed slightly: "She can memorize texts in just three seconds!"

Nie Tianqing didn't believe it.

Ding Yan said angrily: "It's true! If I'm lying, I'm a dog!"

Gan Shuli also said: "It's true, she's really smart."

"Don't build up others' morale while diminishing our own," Nie Tianqing educated them like an older brother, "The opponent isn't that terrifying. There are three of us, if we play rock-paper-scissors with her, how could we not beat her? Each of us has a fifty percent chance of winning!"

"That makes sense!" The person who responded was Lin Zhixia.

Following Nie Tianqing's logic, Lin Zhixia said to them: "Fifty percent to the third power equals 0.125, my probability of winning is only 0.125."

Nie Tianqing asked: "Why 0.125?"

Lin Zhixia tilted her head: "I have to beat every one of you. The probability of winning the first time is 0.5, the second time 0.25, the third time 0.125... Isn't that what you said? You assumed the probability of winning in each one-on-one match is 0.5..."

Nie Tianqing furrowed his brows: "But, Lin Zhixia, when you play rock-paper-scissors with us, if you lose even once, you can't continue. Why are you still calculating the probability using powers of 0.5?"

"Think of it this way," Lin Zhixia patiently explained, "When I play with the three of you, there are four possible outcomes. The first outcome: I lose in the first round, with a probability of 0.5. The second outcome: I lose in the second round, with a probability of 0.25. The third outcome: I lose in the third round, with a probability of 0.125. The fourth outcome: I win in the third round, with a probability of 0.125. The sum of these probability events equals exactly 1, you can calculate it? The prerequisite for me to enter the second and third rounds is that I won the previous round. However, you need to understand that winning the previous round isn't the final state."

Nie Tianqing suddenly understood, forming his right hand into a fist and pounding it into his left palm: "I've figured it out."

He turned to look at his two companions: "Happy now! We have a 0.875 probability of winning!"Ding Yan trembled slightly. "Nie Tianqing, after all she's said, do you still think you can win? She must be tricking you. I don't believe it."

Nie Tianqing stepped around Ding Yan. He approached Lin Zhixia with fighting spirit and declared, "Let's begin, Lin Zhixia. Rock, paper, scissors."

Lin Zhixia cheerfully agreed.

Then, they both made their moves simultaneously—Nie Tianqing showed rock, while Lin Zhixia showed paper.

Nie Tianqing was stunned, freezing in place.

Lin Zhixia clapped her hands and bounced over to Ding Yan.

Ding Yan was terrified inside. Steeling himself, he revealed scissors, but Lin Zhixia had rock. Wearing an "I knew it" expression, Ding Yan began counting down his three-minute freeze time.

Only Gan Shuli remained in Ding Yan's group.

The entire team's hopes now rested on Gan Shuli.

Gan Shuli stammered, "I... rock, paper..."

"Gan Shuli," Lin Zhixia patted her shoulder, "don't be nervous."

The tunnel node was an enclosed space. Glass windows were embedded on both sides, and exhaust vents were open at the top. Looking outside, Gan Shuli could see trampolines, zip lines, and hanging lights. She hardened her resolve and faced Lin Zhixia directly. "Lin Zhixia! Rock, paper, scissors!"

After speaking, she spread her fingers into the shape of "paper."

But Lin Zhixia seemed to have made her move even earlier. Before Gan Shuli could react, she had already formed scissors with her fingers.

Gan Shuli looked astonished. "You... won again."

Lin Zhixia smiled. "Oh, it's all luck!"

What she actually thought was—it was all luck that made her inherently different from everyone else. By observing various details, she could predict each classmate's behavior.

Gan Shuli applauded her. "Such good luck."

"I told you!" Ding Yan warned Nie Tianqing. "I knew it all along! We can't beat her!"

Nie Tianqing brought up old grievances. "If you knew all along, why did you lead us to rob Lin Zhixia's group?"

Ding Yan was left speechless. He just couldn't stand seeing Jiang Yubai happily collecting balls with Lin Zhixia so effortlessly. In just a few minutes, they had gathered a pile of balls! Why? Why didn't Jiang Yubai have to use his brain? He didn't want to use his brain either!

Pitifully, all three members of their group were frozen in place.

Lin Zhixia had long since run far away.

On her way back to base, Lin Zhixia continued collecting balls. She was so happy that her loose hair cascaded over her shoulders like a little madwoman. But she didn't care at all. After picking up four balls, she dashed into a tunnel and collided squarely with Jiang Yubai.

Lin Zhixia fell to the ground instantly.

Jiang Yubai knelt down and helped her up with both hands.

She sighed regretfully, "All four bubble balls rolled away. Quick, go get them..."

Jiang Yubai only asked, "I'm sorry, did I hurt you? My family has a doctor."

Lin Zhixia shook her head. "No." Then she asked, "Why are you apologizing to me? I bumped into you too. It wasn't intentional. The action of force is mutual."

A red hair tie dangled from the end of Lin Zhixia's hair. Jiang Yubai gently removed it. "Tie your hair up. In the tunnel, your hair shouldn't block your eyes. You need to see the path clearly."

Lin Zhixia had already picked up three bubble balls. Sitting on the ground with her back to Jiang Yubai, she said, "You tie my hair for me! Hurry up!"

Jiang Yubai froze. "I... I don't know how to tie hair."Lin Zhixia immediately tossed the bubble ball into his arms and snatched the red hair tie from his hand. As she tied up her long hair, she muttered, "Tying hair is really simple."

Jiang Yubai said, "I never learned how."

Lin Zhixia told him, "There are many things so simple you don't need to learn them. You can master them just by taking one look."

From a distance, Dong Sunqi let out an earth-shaking roar: "Jiang Yubai! Lin Zhixia! Where are you?"

"Let's go!" Lin Zhixia grabbed Jiang Yubai's hand. "Let's keep collecting balls!"

Jiang Yubai asked her, "Are you still using the shortest path algorithm?"

Lin Zhixia glanced back at him, pulling him along as they sprinted forward: "Of course! I have a Floyd algorithm matrix in my head! All the tunnel nodes are vertices in the graph. When the matrix doesn't work, I build a Dijkstra tree—that tree also grows in my mind. Actually, to put it simply, it's a fusion of greedy, exhaustive, and pruning algorithms. It's as easy as tying hair—no need to think, you can do it after one look! I'll take you the fastest way! Let's go home together!"

Jiang Yubai couldn't help but admire her. Hearing her say, "I'll take you the fastest way, let's go home together," made him incredibly happy. This time, their Team A was sure to win!

The tunnel path was rugged, and Jiang Yubai and Lin Zhixia each carried four balls. Peering at the enemy's movements, Jiang Yubai wondered, "They're not chasing us anymore."

Lin Zhixia laughed heartily: "They're about to head to Team A's base center to ambush Dong Sunqi. We need to rush back to Team A's base central area before they launch their sneak attack!"

"What!" Jiang Yubai accused, "They're so sneaky!"

Lin Zhixia comforted him: "Don't worry! I'll protect you!"

She jumped onto a pipe.

Jiang Yubai placed all four balls from his arms into the pipe. Then, gripping a hanging ring with one hand, he stood on the zip line track, turned his head, and said to Lin Zhixia, "You go back to the base first! I see two balls on the trampoline!"

Lin Zhixia urged him, "Be careful, hurry back quickly!"

Jiang Yubai flew toward the ground like a gust of wind. He leaped and landed on the trampoline with steady footwork. His landing posture was also skillful—he reduced the impact with a roll on the spot, and the trampoline didn't even sway up and down.

He picked up the precious bubble balls and looked up at Lin Zhixia on the castle.

Lin Zhixia stood by the castle window, extending a hand and waving at him.

Jiang Yubai recalled the fairy tales he had read—princesses always stood atop castles, waiting for princes to slay demons and rescue them.

But the princess before his eyes was different.

The princess before him resembled a prince cutting through thorns more than he did.

The stories in the fairy tales were wrong. From what he had witnessed with his own eyes, princesses could also be invincible and ride the winds and waves.