Chapter 51: Lucky One

Soon, everyone's focus moved toward the speaker who continued, "But the more interesting part here is that every participant has to clear the round within a given time."

"As for the time, it will already be written on the folded paper."

"But before explaining, let's have the competitors withdraw their folded paper from the glass jar, with each participant eligible to withdraw one folded paper."

As the speaker said, all the participants withdrew their folded paper from the glass jar.

A sound resounded with hand clapping, "Nice," and continued, "Please move your eyes toward the screen."

With this, everyone's gaze fell on the screen where the numbers were displayed:

Geeta [0], Ravi [1], Aakash [2], Ajay [3], Lakshmi [4], Harsh [5], Sankar [6], Ramesh [7], Pallavi [8], and Rakesh [9].

"Oh! Geeta withdrew the paper with the digit 0."

"As expected from the girl's party."

With a cough, everyone's attention turned toward the speaker who added, "Since the result is already known to everyone, let me explain the details of Stage 1 and why it's called the lucky run."

"The participant, Geeta, who got the folded paper with [0], will have to complete 0 rounds in 0 minutes, which means she passes by default."

Hearing this, everyone on the competition field was left dumbstruck.

"Whaaat! Doesn't that mean everyone will pass?"

"Yeah, even I could pass."

And likewise, there were whispers, "Oh! Doesn't that mean this is too easy to pass?"

"Yeah, but Rakesh has deep shit luck."

"You're right. He has to complete these in multiples."

Among the influential families, everyone was deeply curious and excited, wondering what would unfold later.

Seeing the commotion, the speaker spoke with a wide grin, "Yeah, that's the rule, but..." He took a long pause to attract attention.

Seeing that he had managed to get their attention, he added in a mischievous tone, "Every participant has to pass Stage 1."

Glancing toward the participants, he continued, "As for who passes and fails, and who gets the reward and punishment, we'll decide later after every participant completes Stage 1."

"Everyone, please clap your hands for these participants." A round of applause rang out.

"Okay, now every participant except Geeta, please take your position."

cough

"Before getting into position, I would like to clear up some doubts about the track rule."

While moving toward their track positions, their gazes also fell on the speaker, but they did not stop moving.

"Everyone, you guys have misunderstood my point. Since squaring zero will always be zero," he gazed at the audience and the participants with a teasing smile.

"What! Do they mean that every digit will be the square of something?"

"Yeah, I was thinking the same. If that's real, then it's really bad."

The participants soon took their positions, glancing at Geeta with envious eyes and cursing themselves silently, but they didn't object. Some also looked at Rakesh with pity. "Poor boy."

"Don't pity me! I will successfully win this stage," Rakesh retorted, feeling his pride hurt.

But among the participants, Ramesh couldn't take it, so he asked loudly, "Sir, sorry to ask, but doesn't that mean winning is next to impossible?"

The other participants also nodded, "Yeah, only [0], [1], and [2] have the possibility to win."

The speaker, sensing their uneasiness and concerns about the competition, spoke in a sharp tone, his face turning serious, "I won't answer any of your questions. If you have any issues, you can quit."

After pausing for a moment, he continued, "But if you have patience, you can wait for the final, and I will satisfy all your curiosity," then glancing toward the audience, he added with a smile, "You guys too."

"Any objections?"

Seeing the surroundings, Ramesh just shook his head and took his position, while the audience was still buzzing.

"Now, even we can clear up any confusion."

"Yeah, this is the first time in competition history."

"We don't have to wait for an official announcement."

"Silence, Stage 1 is about to start."

Shoot!

A sniper gun was fired into the sky, and the participants ran as if their lives depended on it.

Some were cheering for their idols, while others cursed the speaker, "Shit! They've made this competition hell for the participants."

"I suddenly feel pity for them," someone remarked.

"It's better to feel pity for those."

"According to this difficulty, I think their challenge will be a nightmarish hell."

"Hey, bro! Why are you thinking so deeply? It's better to enjoy. Hahaha!" someone chuckled.

"Yeah. It's like they say, 'Enjoy others' misery,' and that sure fits this situation."

The results of Stage 1 were announced, and the audience soon understood why it was called the lucky run.

"Okay, okay, Stage 1 is completed," the speaker announced. Glancing toward the participants, he added with a smile, "Nice job, everyone, for successfully failing Stage 1 except Geeta, Ravi, and Aakash."

"I again congratulate everyone for successfully disappointing their fans."

"Hahaha! The speaker sure knows how to make fun," someone in the audience remarked.

"Yeah, rubbing salt on the wound," another agreed.

Meanwhile, all the participants were feeling internal damage.

"Successfully passed my ass!"

"Look! Rakesh is still panting," another observed.

"Poor guy, again," someone sympathized.

"But there's also a blessing in disguise," another remarked, laughing.

The points of the participants in Stage 1 were already shown on multiple 3D screens. Here's the rundown:

Participant - Points [P.P + R.P]

Geeta [0] - 100

Ravi [1] - 100 + 1

Aakash [2] - 100 + 4

Ajay [3] - 0 + 9

Lakshmi [4] - 0 + 16

Harsh [5] - 0 + 25

Sankar [6] - 0 + 36

Ramesh [7] - 0 + 49

Pallavi [8] - 0 + 64

Rakesh [9] - 0 + 81

"Sir, you sure know how to make this competition more interesting," one of the influential family heads spoke, to which everyone agreed.

"Yeah, the results were unexpected."

The federation head smiled, "Haha! This is nothing, and we also enjoyed coming up with those ideas."

"Sure, they got points as per their effort."

"Yeah, except the lucky one."

"Hahaha," laughter resounded among the family heads.

Author's Notes:

[P.P = Passing Points]

[R.P = Running Points]