He was outscored after scoring 520 points, but his status as a prodigy can't be hidden.

Chapter 35 Appeals Regarding Blind Testing

"This is a low-level compression algorithm based on high-dimensional topological manifold folding."

Xia Zijing pushed up her non-existent glasses and said in an extremely objective tone, "The core logic and framework have been successfully implemented. A 500GB microscopic particle data package was losslessly compressed to 4.8GB in ten seconds."

Wang Lei's eyes suddenly widened as he stared at the screen.

He turned his stiff neck and looked at Xia Zijing: "You... how much did you say?"

"100x compression ratio. Zero distortion."

Lin Yu pulled over a folding chair and sat down. "But this is just pure code in the lab. I need to participate in the National Challenge Cup this weekend and package it into a commercial demo that can compress high-definition video streams in real time."

"A hundred times? Impossible!"

Wang Lei jumped up as if his tail had been stepped on. "The best H.265 encoding currently on the market only manages a few times compression. The law of information entropy is there for all to see. Are you telling science fiction?"

Lin Yu didn't waste any words, raising his chin slightly: "There's some core code on the USB drive. Take a look for yourself."

Wang Lei, half-believing and half-doubting, unplugged his mouse and plugged the black USB drive into the computer.

Open the folder.

A few seconds later, a collective gasp filled the computer room.

Wang Lei's face was almost pressed against the screen. His fingers were frantically scrolling the mouse wheel, and beads of sweat began to appear on his forehead.

"What the hell is this data structure? It doesn't use a traditional Huffman tree? It just treats data blocks as high-dimensional nodes and performs spatial folding?"

Wang Lei's voice trembled, as if he had seen a ghost. "Incredible! This logic is incredible! As long as the hardware can keep up, this algorithm can even cut bandwidth costs in half!"

Wang Lei is a savvy investor. He understands better than anyone what this code means. If this is true, the entire internet streaming media industry will be reshaped.

How long does it take to develop a UI for video stream transcoding?

Lin Yu asked.

Wang Lei suddenly turned around, grabbed Lin Yu's hand, and a fanatical light gleamed behind his thick-rimmed glasses: "I'll do it! I'll take the job! As long as I get access to the complete code, I'll whip up a Challenge Cup demo for you in three days!"

"Can."

Lin Yu withdrew his hand. "Consider your contribution of technical expertise to the Challenge Cup project."

Wang Lei was so excited he was trembling. He swept the instant noodle containers on the table into the trash can. "Sit down! Boss, please sit down! I'll start setting up the environment right away!"

Xia Zijing looked at Wang Lei, who had instantly gone into a frenzied state, and turned to Lin Yu, saying, "The laborers are done."

Lin Yu nodded. "Let's go, let's register."

Sequoia Capital Asia Pacific Headquarters Building, Beijing's CBD.

In the senior partner's office on the 36th floor, Gu Feiyang leaned back in his leather chair, toying with a limited-edition Montblanc pen in his hand. He was dressed in a suit and tie, and his eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses revealed shrewdness and coldness.

Gu Feiyu sat on the sofa opposite him, his face gloomy.

"Brother, you have to help me kill him."

Gu Feiyu gritted his teeth and recounted what had happened during his final thesis defense: "Old Zhang won't even see me now, I can't stay in the physics department anymore. And that kid Lin Yu is going to use his compression algorithm to participate in the Challenge Cup!"

Gu Feiyang stopped twirling the pen.

He did not fly into a rage because his brother was humiliated; instead, he grasped the core message in the words.

"Lossless compression? Hundredfold efficiency?"

Gu Feiyang narrowed his eyes. "Are you sure the data isn't fabricated?"

"Old Zhang personally verified the hash value, so it can't be wrong." Gu Feiyu felt somewhat aggrieved.

Gu Feiyang put down his pen and sat up straight.

As a top venture capital manager, he possessed an extremely keen business acumen. He knew very well that if this algorithm were real, its commercial value would be immeasurable.

If Lin Yu steals the spotlight at the Challenge Cup, the bandwidth optimization projects that Sequoia Capital recently invested heavily in will become worthless.

"I see."

Gu Feiyang straightened his cuffs. "A naive freshman, waving a golden rice bowl around on the street. Does he really think the rules of the ivory tower can protect him?"

"Brother, what are you planning to do?" Gu Feiyu's eyes lit up.

"Three of the preliminary judges for the Challenge Cup were from our Sequoia Group."

Gu Feiyang spoke casually, as if discussing what to have for lunch, "In my territory, he wouldn't even get close to the semi-finals."

Two days later. At Jinghua University, in front of the Challenge Cup project bulletin board.

Crowded.

Wang Lei, sporting two enormous dark circles under his eyes, squeezed through the crowd, holding a crumpled preliminary review result sheet in his hand, his face deathly pale.

"Lin Shen...something has happened."

Wang Lei walked to the tree-lined path and handed the form to Lin Yu, saying, "We've been eliminated."

Lin Yu glanced at the list.

Project title: "Ultra-fast data compression algorithm based on high-dimensional topological manifold".

Score: 42 points. Failing grade.

The judges' comments section contained a line of glaring red text: "[The theory is too advanced, lacking practical applicability, and the business logic is unclear. We recommend a complete overhaul.]"

Xia Zijing frowned: "The engineering demo has already run successfully, and the performance data is all in the report. Don't these judges have eyes?"

"It's not just that they don't have eyes."

Wang Lei scratched his head anxiously, "The computer science department next door at Beijing North University developed an adaptive bandwidth adjustment plugin that's technically inferior to ours, yet it got 98 points in the initial review! I heard it's a star project that Sequoia Capital has designated."

Sequoia Capital.

Lin Yu ran the name through his mind.

"Gu Feiyang works as an investment manager at Sequoia Capital."

Xia Zijing accurately added the information, "Gu Feiyu's older brother."

Case solved.

Wang Lei deflated like a punctured balloon: "It's over. The connections in the venture capital world are beyond what students can manage. The preliminary review results are final; we don't even have the qualification to defend our dissertations."

"Who said it's a one-shot deal?"

Lin Yu stood with one hand in his pocket, his tone calm and utterly unwavering. He showed no anger, nor did he even glance at the preliminary review form.

"Let's go." Lin Yu turned and walked towards the office building.

"Where to?" Wang Lei was stunned.

"Go to the Academic Affairs Office."

Lin Yu continued walking, “Article 7 of Chapter 3 of the Challenge Cup Rules. If a participating project involves disruptive underlying technological innovation and the preliminary score deviates significantly from the actual engineering data, the participating team has the right to appeal a blind test on-site.”

Xia Zijin immediately followed.

Wang Lei's mouth dropped open: "You've even memorized the Challenge Cup rules?"

"Common sense," Xia Zijin replied.

School-level preliminary review office.

The three judges were sitting at the table, drinking tea and chatting. Suddenly, the door was pushed open with a bang.

Lin Yu walked in and placed a laptop with a heavy heatsink directly on the desk.

Ten minutes later.

The office was filled with the sound of a judge coughing violently and the clatter of a teacup being overturned.