Chapter 172 Unable to Snatch Any Question, Am I to Be Eliminated?
“Correst. Next.”
The host continued.
Over here, more sweat appeared on Fang Qiu’s forehead out of pain.
He took medicine this morning, which caused this more severe stomach ache.
Fang Qiu knew it was from the medicine. He had to weather the storm.
Zhu Benzheng and Sun Hao and Zhou Xiaotian under the stage frequently looked at Fang Qiu, appearing very concerned.
So did Jiang Mengjie.
Besides listening to and answering questions, she gazed at Fang Qiu whenever she could, very anxious and worried beyond words.
Fang Qiu continued to fight.
One question after another, the colicky pain in his lower stomach didn’t settle at all over time. On the contrary, it became more and more intense.
10 minutes later.
10 people had been eliminated, leaving 10 empty chairs on the stage.
The remaining 71 students continued with the quiz.
Under the stage.
Students from Jiangjing University of Chinese Medicine locked their eyes on Fang Qiu. They noticed something was not right.
Fang Qiu’s face, momentum, and movement were all unusual that day.
Especially the painful expression on his face. The crowd was confused and worried, afraid that Fang Qiu might black out on the stage before the end of the contest.
Although confused and worried,
No one said anything. They quietly watched the contest continue.
The otherwise boisterous individual contest became quite and odd because of Fang Qiu.
The heat today was much lower than yesterday.
15 minutes later.
30 people were eliminated one by one after 30 questions.
Fang Qiu struggled to answer these 30 questions. He couldn’t barely write down his answer when the pain struck.
The audiance watched with their heart startling and gallbladder trembling.
Fortunately.
He made it through.
“Okay. One last elimination to be made.”
The host read ou the next question.
Coincidentally,
Only one student gave a wrong answer.
The first round of quiz elimination was over.
Some staff members cleared the 41 empty chairs off the stage and placed one small desk with a tiny quiz buzzer in front of each remaining contestant.
“The next is the second round of the individual contest.”
“In this round, contestants are to compete for questions by pressing the buzzer. Answer two questions correstly to advance directly to the next round. Any wrong answer will result in direct elimination. A total of 20 contestants will be eliminated in this round. When 20 contestants are qualified to advance, the rest will all be eliminated.”
After briefing the rules, the host asked, “Does anyone have any question?”
Apparently,
This question was for those who had questioned Fang Qiu the day before, in particular Wang Zhixing from Huizhou University of Chinese Medicine.
The quiz buzzer was like a BUG for everyone. Fang Qiu would get it all.
If they objected, some other method would have to be adopted.
To everyone’s surprise,
This time Wang Zhixing didn’t rise. No one raised any question.
The audiance calmly responded with a no.
They had done enough the day before.
Fang Qiu was still very weak. If they stood up then to make trouble against him, it would be too mean.
They saw Fang Qiu’s performance earlier.
They knew he was struggling to give answers and felt pity for him.
The awe-inspiring figure the day before was almost lingering on with his last breath of life. Sigh!
The host cast a surprised glance at Wang Zhixing and continued,
“Since we have no objections from the audiance, the second round will begin.”
He finished reading the first question.
“Start!”
Following the host’s command,
“Beep!”
A buzzer sounded.
Everyone turned to Fang Qiu out of habit.
And then,
They found Fang Qiu’s buzzer was not flashing and the name on the big screen was not his.
Not Fang Qiu?
All the people present were stunned.
An immediate uproar broke out.
“What’s going on? It’s not Fang Qiu.”
“No way. How could Fang Qiu miss it?”
“Is there something wrong with the program? How could Fang Qiu miss it? He got 26 in a row yesterday.”
“Is Fang Qiu really sick?”
...
Students from Jiangjing University of Chinese Medicine discussed passionately.
Looking at the buzzer in his hand, Fang Qiu put on a wry smile.
He wanted to press the buzzer but the intense pain in his stomach struke his nerves, distracting him from the contest.
Those in the know suddenly realized that Fang Qiu was poisoned.
His reaction speed was slowed down. He was thus unable to get the chance to answer the question.
The following questions confirmed their speculation.
The first question was snatched by Wang Zhixing and he answered it correctly.
The second question was taken by Wang Zhixing again.
Two correct answers got Wang Zhixing the first place for the next round.
There were 19 positions left.
The contestants were getting anxious.
They did their best to press the buzzer.
Over here.
Seeing one after another rivals advance, Fang Qiu still couldn’t press his buzzer fast enough to answer any question.
Again and again he missed his opportunity.
The colicky pain in his lower abdomen was getting worse.
He had to divert part of this focus to control his internal Qi to fight against the toxin inside his body.
Little by little, he pushed the toxin out of his body.
The second round went on.
Han Yuxuan from Jingbei University of Chinese Medicine was the second one to advance.
Followed by Su Zimo and Ruan Sijing from Zhongzhou University of Chinese Medicine and Tao Yiran from Huizhou University of Chinese Medicine.
Four more contestants took their spots for the next round.
Still, Fang Qiu couldn’t get any opportunity to answer questions.
There were 15 seats left.
The competition became more intense.
10 minutes later.
Jiang Miaoyu and Zhao Yancheng advanced, followed by Jiang Mengjie.
Some students unknown to fame began to shine.
In a flash.
Only 3 seats were left.
Till then,
Fang Qiu hadn’t got any question.
Under the stage,
Students from Jiangjing University of Chinese Medicine on site could no longer sit still.
Missing one or two questions was no big deal. But why couldn’t he get any question when 17 people had already advanced?
“What’s going on? Who can tell me what is happening? What’s wrong with Fang Qiu today?”
“Something is not right about Fang Qiu. Otherwise he wouldn’t miss all these questions.”
“Fang Qiu, come on! Get some or you’ll be eliminated!”
“Only three seats are left. And many contestants already got one question right. They only need one more question to advance. If this situation continues, Fang Qiu will be out.”
“Damn! Can our school still take the first place without Fang Qiu?”
“Please get some quetions. Please advance!”
...
There were many discussions taking place in the crowd. They couldn’t figure out what was causing Fang Qiu’s poor performance.
In the front, Chen Yansheng and Qi Kaiwen sitting in the VIP area had their brows knotted.
So far, two students from Juangjing University of Chinese Medicine had advanced, namely Jiang Miaoyu and Zhao Yancheng. They were both capable but not strong enough to secure the championship.
Their hope was put on Fang Qiu.
Seeing his performance, they were unsure if Fang Qiu could hang on there much longer.
They could only pray.
The contest continued despite all the noises.
Fang Qiu missed another question.
The student who got this question had already answered one question correctly before. After giving the correct answer, he advanced to the next round.
Only two seats were left.
All the contestants that had advanced looked at Fang Qiu with pity filled in their eyes.
Fang Qiu might have to stop there.
Gazed by many, Fang Qiu frowned tightly.
He could hardly hear the questions. He had been controling his internal Qi and put all his effort on pushing the toxin out of his body.
After one day and one night’s hard work, assisted by the medicine, the toxin inside Fang Qiu had loosened up. He couldn’t recover fully at once but he was getting better.
“Almost there... Almost...”
He clenched his teeth and closed his eyes, completely focusing on pushing out the toxin.
And then,
Another student advanced while Fang Qiu was working hard on pushing the toxin.
The crowd panicked.
So did Chen Yinsheng and Qi Kaiwen.
There was one last seat left.
Would Fang Qiu be eliminated like that?
All eyes were on Fang Qiu, with different gazes, different thoughts, and more.
Fang Qiu’s eyes were still shut, paying no attention to the questions.
“Only one last seat!”
Under the stage, Zhou Xiaotian said nervously.
“Besides Fang Qiu, there are 10 students left on the stage. 5 of them have already got one question right. If one of the five gets the next question, the youngest will be out.”
Said Sun Hao with a frown.
Looking at Fang Qiu who still kept his eyes shut, they could only pray.
“We have one last seat left. Students on the stage, fight on!”
The host glanced at Fang Qiu casually as he reminded them.
The left students held their breath with fixed attention.
The host read the question.
“Beep!”
A buzzer sounded.
It was not Fang Qiu!
The audiance burst into an uproar.
At that moment, Fang Qiu’s eyes were still shut.
The crowd was speechless.
They began to accept that Fang Qiu would be eliminated.
At that time.
“Hmm? This student hasn’t got any question before. This is his first one.”
“Yeah, so?”
“So Fang Qiu still has a chance.”
“Forget about it. Look at Fang Qiu. He’s not paying any attention to the questions. His eyes have been shut this whole time. And he hasn’t got a single one. What chance are you talking about?”
“We can only pray for Jiang Miaoyu and Zhao Yancheng’s good performance!”
“Sigh... What the heck is going on? Can anyone explain this to me?”
The crowd shook their head.
Although there was still hope, they kind of gave up. Could Fang Qiu get two questions in a row?
Absolutely yes the day before but almost impossible that day.
The contest carried on.
The student answered it correctly and the contest moved on to the next question.
At that time, there were six students on the stage with one question in their pocket. If any of them snatched the next one and got it right, this round would finish.
The host continued reading the question.
After,
“Start.”
The host glanced at Fang Qiu subconsciously. Seeing him keep his eyes closed, he shook his head slightly.
At the next moment.
“Beep!”
A buzzer rang.
The audiance looked around, trying to find out who got this one.
They realized the six students who had answered one question correctly didn’t get it. Neither did the four students who hadn’t got any question yet.
In other words...
Fang Qiu!
Whisk...
Everyone turned to look at Fang Qiu.
They saw Fang Qiu’s eyes open, his face still ghostly pale but much better than earlier. Most importantly, the buzzer in his hand was flashing red.
Fang Qiu got it!
Finally! Is it his show time now?
Fang Qiu, come on!
Everyone from Jingjiang University of Chinese Medicine was thrilled, clenching their fists.
They hoped it was not the last radiance of the setting sun. They hoped it was the start and continuation of a legend.
Fang Qiu heaved a sigh slowly.
Fortunately, he was not out yet. He still had an opportunity.