"Unfortunately, that is incorrect!"
Xiao Yaxun finally fell at the twelfth question.
"Mr. Xiao's answer is wrong—what a pity! But don't worry, you'll still receive half of your previous winnings, which means you're taking home HK$5,000. Let's give Mr. Xiao a big hand!"
Though disappointed, Xiao could only sigh. Luck hadn't been on his side—he had simply chosen the wrong one out of four options.
The host didn't ask him to leave right away. Instead, he handed over HK$5,000 in cash on stage and had Xiao turn toward the camera, showing the audience the money clearly.
All prizes except for the champion's one-million–dollar reward were given out on the spot. Only the grand prize would be distributed the following day. Seeing real Hong Kong dollars exchanged live on television gave the audience a tangible, thrilling sense of reality.
"Wow, they really pay out!"
"HK$5,000—that's nearly a year's salary!"
"This show's legit—they're really giving away money! If only I were that lucky…"
"I'm signing up tomorrow!"
Viewers across Hong Kong watched in awe, wishing they were in Xiao's place, holding a thick stack of cash.
"Next, let's welcome our second contestant!"
After the brief prize handoff, the competition continued. But this contestant didn't fare well—he stumbled at the eighth question, earning only HK$500 as a consolation prize.
According to ATV's own survey, among tonight's ten contestants, three stood out for their broad knowledge base: the first contestant, Xiao Yaxun; the fifth, Lin Yalin; and the final contestant, Chen Nan.
The production team deliberately spaced them out—one near the start, one in the middle, and one at the end—to keep the entire show engaging.
The remaining seven contestants varied—some relied purely on luck, while others knew a bit but couldn't compete with the top three. Naturally, most were eliminated early.
The next two contestants didn't do much better—both failed on the tenth question, each leaving with HK$1,500, about three months' salary for a common laborer.
Then it was time for contestant number five—Lin Yalin.
Lin Baicheng had high hopes for her, along with Xiao and Chen. He wasn't worried about someone walking away with the million-dollar prize—quite the opposite. He wanted a champion to emerge. Nothing would boost the show's popularity more than proving that someone could truly win a million Hong Kong dollars.
However, though he hoped for that moment, Lin Baicheng strictly forbade any kind of rigging or fake victories. To prevent cheating, the final three questions of every final round—thirty questions in total—were always randomly selected by him personally from a large pool. Even when he wasn't in Hong Kong, he'd assign a trusted person to handle it.
Lin Yalin proved to be quite capable. Without using any lifelines, she cleared three rounds in a row and reached the tenth question.
"Contestant Lin Yalin, please listen to Question Ten: As we all know, the four great doctors of ancient China were Bian Que, Hua Tuo, Zhang Zhongjing, and Li Shizhen. Among them, Hua Tuo and Zhang Zhongjing were known as two of the 'Three Divine Doctors of Jian'an.' So, who was the third divine doctor of Jian'an?"
"A: Sun Simiao; B: Qian Yi; C: Song Ci; D: Dong Feng."
"Hmm…"
Yalin frowned. She knew that Sun Simiao was a Tang-dynasty figure known as the "Medicine King," so A could be ruled out. But the other three names gave her pause.
The host reminded her, "Miss Lin, you still have three lifelines: you can eliminate two wrong answers, ask the audience on-site, or make one phone call for help."
"I'll use my 'phone-a-friend' lifeline," she said after a moment's thought.
Her friend came from a family of traditional Chinese doctors—surely they'd know the answer.
Her luck held—her friend was home and knew the correct response.
"I'll go with D, Dong Feng."
"Congratulations! That's correct!"
"Miss Lin, you've now earned HK$5,000! Would you like to stop here or continue?"
"I'll continue!"
Without hesitation—she still had two lifelines left, after all.
"Very well. Question Eleven: The four ancient civilizations of the world are which of the following combinations?"
"A: China, Ancient India, Ancient Greece, Ancient Babylon."
"B: China, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Babylon, Ancient India."
"C: China, Ancient India, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece."
"D: China, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Ancient Babylon."
"I remember that China and Ancient India are among them, so D must be wrong. But between Ancient Egypt, Greece, and Babylon… which two are actually part of the four?"
At that moment, she realized how much she'd taken her knowledge for granted. It was one thing to think you knew—it was another to face the question under pressure.
"I'll use the 'eliminate two wrong answers' lifeline."
She prayed the system wouldn't remove D.
"All right," the host said. "We've eliminated two incorrect options. The remaining ones are B and D."
"B!"
Her face lit up. "I knew D was wrong—perfect!"
"Congratulations, Miss Lin Yalin! You've answered correctly and now have HK$10,000!"
"As per the rules—will you continue or stop here?"
"I'll continue."
As expected.
"Next question—Question Twelve: As of 1976, which of the following ranges best represents Hong Kong's total population?"
"A: 4.50–4.51 million; B: 4.51–4.52 million; C: 4.52–4.53 million; D: 4.53–4.54 million."
The question didn't use 1977 data because that year's official census wasn't yet published.
"Damn…"
Yalin grimaced. She remembered reading that the figure was around 4.52 million—but was it slightly lower or higher? Both B and C were possible.
Seconds ticked by. The host reminded her, "You still have one 'ask the audience' lifeline. Would you like to use it?"
"No, I'll go with C."
She decided to take the gamble—a fifty-fifty chance. If she guessed right, she'd still have one lifeline left for the final, harder questions.
"Congratulations—you are incorrect! You'll receive HK$5,000!"
The sudden twist almost made her choke. The host's cheerful "Congratulations" had given her false hope before delivering the blow.
After Lin Yalin's turn, the competition went on.
That night, no one managed to answer all fifteen questions. One contestant made it to the fourteenth question—a female university student who had gotten remarkably far through sheer luck—but she fell just short of victory.
In a quiz show with four choices per question, luck was undeniably a factor. Each question carried a 25% chance of success, and the deeper one went, the more tempting the odds of hitting the jackpot became.
If someone ever reached the final question—even without knowing the answer—their odds of becoming a millionaire still stood at one in four.
Twenty-five percent—far better than any lottery.
When the taping wrapped up, Lin Baicheng personally escorted Deng Lijun home before taking Lin Qin back to their villa in Repulse Bay.