Chapter 54
Shermaine smiled faintly as she glanced at the notification that she had received three million dollars in her account. She realized that the buyers of her data must have been working nonstop on offline experiments, and the results might be in by now.
Feeling a headache coming on, Trevor...
Robert replied, “I’m afraid you won’t find her?”
“Can't I ask her after the game’s over? Once she leaves the live stream, where on earth am I supposed to…”
Trevor didn’t respond.
Though the viewers couldn’t see his face, they could easily imagine his exasperated and helpless expression just from the tone of his voice.
[Oh my god, this is killing me. Mr. Williams is definitely trying to get Trevor to recruit Shermaine!]
[Shermaine is incredibly impressive; it’s no surprise Mr. Williams wants her as his student.]
[Let’s help Mr. Williams out–Shermaine, do you want to be Mr. Williams’s student?]
The comment section was flooded with people asking Shermaine if she wanted to be Robert’s student.
Left with no choice, Trevor braced himself and sent a message: [Shermaine, would you be interested in joining the Republic of Wallington Chess Association?]
Shermaine saw the message, thought for a moment, and typed her reply in the chat: [Not really. I’m super busy and don’t have the time.]
Robert saw her response and couldn’t help but feel deeply disappointed.
The viewers all expressed their regret.
Trevor wasn’t too disappointed, though. He knew that while skilled amateurs enjoyed playing chess, they may not necessarily want to become professional players. It wasn’t a lack of passion–they might just have other goals.
Without Robert’s distraction, Trevor could finally focus on the game again. He had thought for a minute just now and had come up with a strategy.
Without further consideration, he clicked his mouse, placing the white piece where he wanted. But no matter how he analyzed it, the game seemed to be heading straight for a draw.
Meanwhile, at the Basterel University Engineering Lab, cheers erupted throughout the room as the results came in. The issue that had been plaguing them for the past six months was finally resolved.
Sheldon was beaming with satisfaction as he thought, ‘The three million dollars were well spent. It’s all thanks to the investor decisively pouring the money into getting an external tech expert’s help, and now, the credit still belongs to our lab.’
Sipping his chamomile tea, Sheldon said, “Jaden, give Mr. York a call later and let him know our project is a success. Also, do you have the contact info for that tech expert you found? What country are they from?”
Calling Joshua was no problem, but Jaden didn’t have the tech expert’s contact information. Scratching his head, he admitted, “I don’t, Professor. The expert messaged me directly on the tech forum.” He then proudly added, “The expert is also from Wallington.”
“From Wallington? That’s great! Our country is truly full of talent,” Sheldon thought. He said, “Then hurry up and ask for their contact info. Just think about it–in just ten days, they solved what took us six months. They must be very skilled at this. Honestly, I’ve already taught you everything I know. If we could get this expert to give a lecture here at Basterel University, you would surely learn a lot.”
Sheldon couldn’t help but wish he had the means to do more to help.
Jaden knew Sheldon was speaking the truth. Initially, he thought the expert wouldn’t get anywhere in just ten days, but they’d solved the problem, proving to be a true legend in the field. This taught Jaden a lesson: never underestimate someone just because their points were low, or one might end up being caught off guard and embarrassed.
Jaden logged into the International Tech Forum, and when he checked his friend list, he found the expert’s avatar was grayed out. The last time the expert had been online was when they last submitted the task.
Jaden quickly typed: [Hey there, master. You’re just too awesome! Did you receive the payment from our lab? If you see this message, please reply!]
After sending the message, he marked the task as completed. This action meant that anyone who had taken on the task but hadn’t finished it would be automatically marked as failed, ensuring no one else wasted time on it. The system wouldn’t deduct points, but it would send a notification instead.
However, once an SSS–level task was completed, the entire forum would get a public announcement.
So, right at that moment, tech professionals online saw a large, bold notification at the top of their screens: [Congratulations to Boa Hanks for completing the SSS–level task and earning 100,000 points, instantly becoming a platinum–level expert.]
Less than a minute later, a post appeared: [Boa Hanks completed the task. It was a real slap in the face for Dolcie Chapman’s fans. Today is truly satisfying!]
As soon as the post went up, a flood of replies came pouring in.
[It’s hilarious. Remember how they mocked Boa Hanks before? So dumb. What, only big shots can take on SSS–level tasks? Boa hasn’t done anything to you, so why look down on them?]
[I was mad when that post came out. Low points don’t mean low skill. Tearing one person down to hype another is just nasty.]
[I’ve got a new idol now–another amazing expert. Their instant success is so impressive and exciting!]
[LMAO. You’ve got it wrong. Boa Hanks’s always been god–tier. She just doesn’t flaunt it–she’s low–key.]
Dolcie’s fans chimed in: [Give Dolcie a month, and she’ll finish that task, too.]
[Boa Hanks is impressive, but I’ll always cheer for Dolcie. I mean, she’s a girl–that alone is inspiring.]
[We were wrong to underestimate Boya Hanks. We’re sorry.]
[Yeah, that’s on us. Leave our beloved Dolcie out of this–don’t make her a target for hate.]
Those people went crazy over Dolcie because there were few women on the tech forum, where most users were men, and Dolcie was not only talented but also stunning.
In a far–off land, when Dolcie received the notification from the tech forum, she narrowed her beautiful eyes, seemingly surprised that someone had finished the task before she could.
Just as Trevor had predicted, the game ended in a draw. There was no point in continuing–they had reached a deadlock known as a “triple ko,” where the game could go on endlessly. As expected, the system displayed a prompt: It was a draw.
The viewers couldn’t help but be impressed by how remarkable Shermaine was–she had managed to draw against the world champion.
Trevor wanted to play again, but Shermaine declined.
She was a bit unsatisfied herself, but she noticed that it was time to give her classmates a lecture on live stream. So she replied: [Let’s play again next time. I’ve got other things to take care of.] She was determined to win next time.
Trevor continued: [How about adding me on WhatsApp?]
Shermaine answered: [I’ll add you later.] She then logged off from the World Chess website and left the live stream.
Before Trevor could ask how she’d manage it without knowing his phone number, a notification pinged on his phone. Someone had added him on WhatsApp. The profile picture was blank, and the name was SpringSlumber.
Trevor stared at the screen, speechless. “If Shermaine ever decided to rob a bank, she’d probably pull it off effortlessly,” he thought, half–joking.