Chapter 115 Upping the Stakes
Chapter 115 Upping the Stakes
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Just as the livestream comments were exploding with praise for Sloane and the atmosphere in the auditorium
hadn't yet settled, a stir broke out near the doors.
A tall young man wearing black-rimmed glasses stepped inside. His stride was steady, his expression cold, and
his gaze locked straight onto Sloane.
“It’s Leroy! Leroy from the computer science department!”
“Leroy? Didn't he get a guaranteed spot in grad school? | heard he won gold at an international programming
competition. He's one of our department's living legends!”
“Oh my god, even Leroy showed up-this is gonna be good!”
The comment stream lit up again.
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“Leroy just entered the arena! Sloane might actually be in trouble this time!”
“He’s a world-class programmer. No way Sloane can beat someone like him, right?”
“Go, Leroy! Show Sloane what real skill looks like!”
Leroy walked up to Sloane, his gaze calm and piercing. “Sloane, I'm challenging you.”
Sloane looked up at him and gave a faint smile. “Sure. What do you want to compete on?”
Leroy adjusted his glasses, voice even. “Algorithm optimization. We'll each write code to solve the sproblem
and see whose is more efficient.”
Once they agreed on the terms, the challenge was officially on.
Professor Molly stepped forward and announced, “The task is to sift through e-commerce transaction data from
tens of millions of users, identify the top 1% of spenders in the past year, and calculate their average purchase
frequency. You have 120 minutes. You may not use any existing optimization libraries-everything must be coded
from scratch.”
The room erupted in gasps.
This wasn’t just about handling massive data-it was a real test of deep understanding and low-level algorithmic
skill.
Leroy and Sloane both locked in, fully focused on their screens.
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Chapter 115 Upping the Stakes
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The audience held its breath, eyes glued to the monitors. No one dared to even exhale too loudly.
The comment stream was going wild again.
“Leroy’s speed is insane. He's got this in the bag!”
“Sloane might really be outmatched this time.”
“| still believe in Sloane. She's pulled off miracles before!”
Minutes ticked by. The only sounds in the entire hall were the clacking of keyboards and tense, shallow breaths.
At the 100-minute mark, Leroy and Sloane both submitted their code at almost the stime.
The air in the auditorium was so tight with anticipation it could've snapped. Everyone waited for the judges’
verdict.
After what felt like forever-twenty minutes of nerve-wracking silence-Professor Molly finally looked up, cleared
her throat, and announced, “The winner is Sloane!”
“Whoa!” The exclamation that tore through the room wasn’t just surprise-it was genuine admiration.
She had just started her freshman year and already managed to beat a graduate student. There was no doubt-
given time, she was destined to be a leader in the world of computer science.
The comment feed exploded.
“Sloane is a goddess! She did it again-how is this even possible?!”
“I'm completely blown away. She's the queen of coding!”
With the memory of David's match still fresh, Mr. Jamal took the initiative to ask, “Do you accept the result,
Leroy? Want a live runtcomparison?”
“No need.” Leroy was surprisingly gracious. “I trust the professors’ judgment. | accept the loss.”
He glanced toward the edge of the stage, where Baylon stood, and smiled. “I knew you’d show up. In that case, |
won't take up any more of everyone's time.”
The second he said that, all eyes snapped to Baylon.
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Chapter 116 The Ultimate Showdown