The moment the first question of the final round appeared on the screen, the entire auditorium fell silent.
Even the audience could tell it was different.
The problem was long.
Much longer than the others.
Lines of conditions, patterns, and statements filled the screen.
I stared at it for a moment.
Then I whispered,
"…Clara was right."
Ethan didn't answer immediately.
He was reading the question carefully.
Every word.
Every condition.
Finally, he said quietly,
"Don't solve it yet."
I looked at him.
"What?"
"It's a trap."
Reading Carefully
The timer started counting down.
14:12
Across the stage, I could see other teams already writing quickly.
Daniel's team especially.
They were moving fast.
Very fast.
But Ethan hadn't even picked up the pen yet.
"Aren't we supposed to start?" I asked.
"Not yet."
He pointed at the second paragraph of the question.
"Read that line again."
I looked.
Then read it again.
Then a third time.
And suddenly…
"Oh."
The condition contradicted the first statement.
Meaning the entire first section of the problem was misleading.
Anyone who started solving immediately would waste time.
Or worse…
Get the wrong answer.
Ethan finally picked up the pen.
"Now we start."
Working Together
We began solving the problem step by step.
Slowly.
Carefully.
The logic chain was complicated, but it made sense once we ignored the misleading parts.
Every few seconds, Ethan checked the steps.
"Pause."
"Why?"
"You skipped a condition."
"Oh."
I corrected it.
The timer continued.
9:48
Half the teams around us were already stuck.
Some competitors were whispering frantically to their partners.
Across the stage, Daniel looked slightly frustrated.
He erased something quickly.
Ethan noticed.
"Looks like they fell into the trap."
I tried not to smile.
Another Problem Appears
Just as we finished the first question, the second one appeared on the screen.
And this one looked even worse.
I stared at it.
"…They're evil."
Ethan almost laughed.
"Probably."
The problem involved multiple scenarios and probability chains.
It looked like three different questions combined into one.
"Where do we even start?" I asked.
Ethan studied the structure carefully.
Then pointed to a small line near the end.
"There."
"That tiny condition?"
"Yes."
"That's the key?"
"Yes."
I shook my head.
"You're terrifying sometimes."
"Focus."
The Pressure Builds
The timer dropped below five minutes.
4:59
The audience was completely silent again.
No one wanted to miss what happened next.
The judges were watching closely.
Even the teachers looked tense.
I finished calculating the final value.
Then looked at Ethan.
"Does this look right?"
He reviewed the steps.
For a few seconds, he didn't say anything.
Then he nodded.
"Yes."
Relief washed over me.
We had solved both questions.
But there was still time left.
And that usually meant one thing.
A final challenge.
The Last Question
The screen changed again.
A final problem appeared.
This one was short.
Too short.
I frowned.
"That's suspicious."
Ethan nodded slowly.
"Yes."
Because in competitions like this…
The shortest questions were usually the hardest.
And this one had only one line.
One single sentence.
But the moment I read it…
I realized something.
This wasn't just a logic question.
It was a combined strategy problem.
And solving it would decide the entire competition.
I looked at Ethan.
He was already staring at the screen with intense focus.
Then he said quietly,
"This decides everything."
And for the first time during the competition…
I felt nervous.
Because this final question…
Was unlike anything we had practiced before.