Chapter 85: How Is It You Again

"How is that possible? Not a single one correct! You must be saying that deliberately to win the bet, it must be!" Yang Wei glared at Zu An. He prided himself on getting at least ten answers right; how could he have gotten none?

"Exactly, how could Teacher Yang get all of them wrong?""He's a math teacher, for goodness sake. Zu An is going too far.""Lying to win a bet, that's truly despicable."...

Hearing the students' whispers, Zu An remained unfazed. He pulled out the test paper he had prepared and said, "Very well, I'll let you lose clearly. Look at the first question. The correct numbers are 2 and 2, but you wrote 10 and 15. It looks like you just guessed, didn't you?"

Yang Wei's old face flushed. He had indeed guessed randomly on that question, as the more he thought about it, the more confused he became, so he simply picked some numbers. However, he refused to admit defeat. "This question was clearly designed to trick people! How could anyone deduce that answer from such convoluted conditions?"

"Oh, really?" Zu An chuckled disdainfully. "If you don't understand, I'll explain it to you..."

"Person A knows the sum of the two numbers but doesn't know what the numbers are. If the sum were 3, wouldn't you know it's 1+2=3? If it were 40, wouldn't you know 20+20=40? Or 19+20=39? So there's a hidden range here: the sum must be between 4 and 38."

"Let's start by reasoning from a sum of 4. Since 4 can be 1+3 or 2+2, Person A couldn't determine the specific pair."

"Now, let's consider Person B. If Person B had a product that was a special number like 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19... they would immediately deduce the numbers were 1 and the product itself, as there's only one way to factor such numbers. But Person B said they didn't know, which proves the number they held wasn't one of these."

"Returning to Person A: if Person A's sum was 4, based on Person B not knowing, the 1+3 possibility is ruled out. That leaves only 2 and 2, which satisfies the conditions."

"Any other sum would still have multiple possibilities, so Person A couldn't deduce the numbers so quickly, nor could Person B follow suit and determine them."

Zu An couldn't help but sigh. "See? As long as you use the right method, you find the answer with the very first number you test. Isn't it simple? That's why I put it as the first question. Who knew you wouldn't be able to solve something so straightforward? Oh dear."

The people around them immediately began to whisper:"Hmm, now that he explains it, it does seem quite simple.""Pfft, then why couldn't you solve it earlier?""I just didn't think of it, that's all. Look, even Teacher Yang didn't think of it."...

Hearing Zu An's condescending tone, Yang Wei's face turned crimson. "Even if I made a mistake on that question due to a moment of carelessness, what about the next one? The probability of choosing any door is the same, so how could I be wrong?"This was the first question he had attempted, and the one he felt most confident about.

The surrounding crowd echoed him. "Yes, isn't the probability for each door the same? Changing your choice shouldn't make a difference, right?"Yang Wei's statement indeed represented common knowledge for most people.

Zu An sighed. "It's one thing for students to make this mistake, but for you, a math teacher, to make the same error, it's truly... Ugh..."

Seeing Zu An's hesitating yet pointed remarks, Yang Wei felt his lungs might explode. "Stop trying to win with words! Tell me where I went wrong!"

Zu An then explained, "The probability of winning the treasure with the door you initially chose is one-third, isn't it? So the remaining two doors collectively have a two-thirds chance of winning. Now, with one incorrect option eliminated for you, isn't the probability of the remaining closed door two-thirds? Of course, you should switch doors; that way, your chances of winning are greater."

"Nonsense," Yang Wei retorted. "The winning probability for each door is independent; it should always be one-third. How could it suddenly become two-thirds?"

Zu An shook his head. "It seems your intelligence truly struggles with such complex concepts. Let me explain it another way. If you had ten thousand doors in front of you, with treasure behind only one, and you randomly chose one door, isn't your chance of winning only one in ten thousand? Such a tiny probability, it's practically impossible to win, right? And nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine out of ten thousand chances are in those remaining doors."

"Now, what if I open nine thousand nine hundred ninety-eight of the remaining nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine doors, showing they're empty, and then ask you the same question? Wouldn't you switch then?"

"Of course I'd switch," Yang Wei said instinctively, but as soon as the words left his mouth, his expression changed. Could he really have been wrong?

"You are indeed worthy of being a math teacher, grasping it so quickly. You are teachable," Zu An nodded with satisfaction.

Yang Wei's head was practically smoking. On the surface, this guy was praising him, but why did it sound so grating?

Zu An continued, "Next is the problem of the pirates dividing the primeval stones. Pirate A's optimal distribution plan is (97, 0, 1, 2, 0) or (97, 0, 1, 0, 2). Check if your answer is correct."

Yang Wei immediately jumped up. "Nonsense! Such a distribution practically gives everything to one person. How could the other pirates possibly agree?"

Zu An shook his head. "I already said these pirates are extremely intelligent and can rationally analyze pros and cons. It seems if you were the one distributing, you'd most likely be dead."

This time, he didn't prolong the suspense and went on. "We use backward induction. First, let's discuss Pirate 5, as he is the safest, with no risk of being thrown overboard. Therefore, his strategy is the simplest: he prefers everyone else to die, so he can keep all 100 primeval stones."

"Next, consider Pirate 4. His survival depends entirely on someone else being alive before him. Because if Pirates 1 through 3 are all fed to the sharks, and only Pirate 4 and Pirate 5 remain, no matter what distribution Pirate 4 proposes, Pirate 5 will always vote against it to have Pirate 4 fed to the sharks, thereby monopolizing all the primeval stones. Even if Pirate 4 tries to appease Pirate 5 to save his life, proposing a plan like (0, 100) where Pirate 5 gets all the stones, Pirate 5 might still perceive Pirate 4 as a threat and vote against him to have him fed to the sharks. Therefore, a rational Pirate 4 should not take such a risk, entrusting his survival to Pirate 5's random choice. His only way to absolutely ensure his life is to support Pirate 3."

"Now, Pirate 3. After the above logical deduction, he would propose a distribution like (100, 0, 0). He knows that Pirate 4, even if he gets nothing, will still unconditionally support him and vote in favor. With his own vote, he can secure all 100 primeval stones."

"However, Pirate 2 also deduced Pirate 3's distribution plan. So, he would propose a plan of (98, 0, 1, 1). This plan, compared to Pirate 3's, allows Pirate 4 and Pirate 5 to each receive at least one primeval stone. Rational Pirates 4 and 5 will naturally find this plan more beneficial and support Pirate 2, not wishing for Pirate 2 to be out of the picture and Pirate 3 to take over the distribution. Thus, Pirate 2 can successfully take 98 primeval stones."

"Unfortunately, Pirate 1 is no fool either. After some reasoning, he also understood Pirate 2's distribution plan. He will adopt a strategy of abandoning Pirate 2 and instead giving Pirate 3 one primeval stone, while giving Pirate 4 or Pirate 5 two primeval stones. That is, he proposes either (97, 0, 1, 2, 0) or (97, 0, 1, 0, 2) as the distribution plan. Since Pirate 1's distribution plan offers more benefits to Pirate 3 and Pirate 4/5 compared to Pirate 2's plan, they will vote to support Pirate 1. Adding Pirate 1's own vote, 97 primeval stones will easily fall into Pirate 1's pocket."

The people around gasped. "These pirates are far too clever, aren't they?""If there were such intelligent pirates in reality, how terrifying that would be.""Don't worry, it's just a hypothesis. How could someone so brilliant in real life become a pirate?""That's true."...

By this point, Yang Wei's eyes were vacant; he stood there dumbfounded, unable to hear anything.

Zu An was a little annoyed. He'd been broken so quickly. Don't stop now, he still needed to contribute rage points! So, he continued to explain the correct answers to the remaining questions. As expected, after going through all of them, none of Yang Wei's answers were correct. Unfortunately, Yang Wei only contributed a few hundred rage points intermittently, clearly having completely broken down.

"Oh my god, not a single one correct! Teacher Yang is absolutely terrible, isn't he?""Yeah, he usually acts so arrogant, like he's the best, but it turns out his math skills are so bad.""Hmph, someone like that is still teaching at the academy. Isn't he ashamed?"...

The students' gazes and harsh words pierced Yang Wei's heart like knives. He let out a roar, covered his ears, and frantically ran out of the classroom. No matter how much the people nearby called out to him, he didn't stop for a moment. He just wanted to leave that place quickly; it was too humiliating. He had thought he could easily step on a common student, but instead, he had been crushed by one. He knew that after this incident, he would never have the face to remain at the academy.

As a teacher, failing to solve even one problem given by a student would not only make him a laughingstock in Brightmoon City but also in all the surrounding counties.

"Boss, you're amazing!" Wei Suo, who was nearby, rushed over flatteringly to massage Zu An's shoulders and back. Other classmates also came forward, offering tea and water. With Zu An's mathematical ability, even if he had no cultivation, his future was bound to be bright. Who would be foolish enough not to seize this opportunity to curry favor?

Chu Chuyan had originally wanted to go talk to her brother-in-law, but there was such a crowd around him that she couldn't get through. She couldn't help but huff indignantly, "A bunch of bootlickers."

Ji Xiaoxi's small face was flushed with excitement, but she also secretly worried for him. Would offending a academy teacher like this have negative consequences?

Pei Mianman flashed a charming smile that made the men around her dizzy. "I had regretted making that deal with this guy earlier, but now it seems I might actually get a return from him."

From a distance, Zheng Dan observed the expressions of the various girls and was secretly astonished. She had thought those were just rumors, but it now seemed Zu An had deep relationships with these women. What kind of charm did this guy possess to not only marry the eldest Miss Chu but also attract such excellent women?

Just then, a booming shout rang out: "Why are you all gathered here instead of attending class properly? Are you trying to rebel?"

Hearing that voice, many people shuddered. Clearly, that voice had cast too many shadows over them. Sporting a conspicuous bald spot and holding a disciplinary rod, who else could it be but Dean Lu De?

Seeing him arrive, the crowd automatically parted, forming a path. He walked in and noticed Zu An casually sitting in his seat, getting his shoulders and back massaged by classmates. His brow instinctively furrowed.

However, when he saw the graceful Shang Liuyu nearby, his tightly knit brows instantly relaxed. "Oh, Teacher Shang is here too. What exactly happened here? I saw Yang Wei run out covering his face; he didn't stop no matter how much I called him."

"Perhaps he felt a little embarrassed," Shang Liuyu replied with a faint smile, briefly explaining what had happened. Her voice was soft and enchanting; simply listening to her speak was a supreme pleasure.

"Are you causing trouble again?" Lu De's expression was gentle when he looked at Shang Liuyu, but it instantly turned stern when he turned to Zu An.