The massive screen lit up with the rankings. Letty’s name sat at the very top, then came three contestants from Apex, four from Veridia, and a mix of others from different countries. Everyone on the list had gotten perfect scores, so the order came down to who finished the fastest. The less time you took, the higher you placed.
As people scrolled down the ranks, they all paused at the name in fifteenth place.
Charlotte, 100 percent accuracy.
She was the last person to make it into the second round. Everyone from sixteenth to twentieth had gone over the time limit and barely answered anything right, so they were out.
Letty’s smile faded as soon as she saw the results. She stared at Charlotte, completely stunned.
Charlotte had only just started university. She hadn’t even learned most of the theory yet. And she spent almost the whole round just sitting there, not even looking like she was working. It was only when time was almost up that she picked up her pen and scribbled down her answers, barely pausing to think.
Was she really solving everything in her head?
These medical questions were loaded with technical terms and way harder than usual. Even some of the best students in the field couldn’t finish them in time. How on earth did Charlotte manage it?
Letty bit her lip, her glare getting sharper and colder as she watched Charlotte.
Maybe she had connections in the International Medical Alliance and got the answers ahead of time. Or maybe it was just some weird luck.
No, that had to be it.
She refused to believe someone could be that much of a genius.
Backstage, the judges watched Charlotte’s performance on the monitor. Instead of being impressed, they just looked more and more concerned.
“I’ve judged this competition for years,” one judge from Veridia said, frowning, “but I’ve never seen anyone solve questions this tough without even jotting down any calculations.”
Another judge, a woman from abroad, glanced at Lydia and smiled. “Maybe this girl’s the dark horse this year. Eldoria’s putting up a good fight.”
A dark horse?
Lydia folded her arms, her eyes chilly. If Charlotte didn’t have the answers in advance, her performance was almost superhuman. Lydia remembered the last exchange competition at The Cabinda University, the way Charlotte had handled the scalpel so confidently. The memory made her uneasy.
Charlotte looked at her, eyes cold, saying nothing.
The chill in Charlotte’s gaze made Letty’s heart race. She lowered her voice, trying not to sound nervous. “If you knew how to solve everything, why did you wait until the last minute to write your answers?”
Charlotte’s lips curled in a faint, cool smile. “Because I felt like it,” she said.
Because she felt like it?
Letty couldn’t help but laugh. She made it sound like acing the test was just a matter of choice.
“Alright, if you’re so confident, why don’t you try getting first place?”
Charlotte’s cool eyes met hers. “Sure,” she replied, as if it was nothing.
Letty was left speechless.

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