Yes, I became a god just by exercising.

Chapter 187 Xia Fa, whose IQ was lowered, still managed to solve the problem!
"This question..."

Xia Fa frowned and pondered, finding the situation increasingly complicated, his brain almost working to its limit.

Logically speaking, he should be able to understand the secret texts and combinations of texts that are far more difficult than mathematics, having become an extraordinary being, and even signed two overlord-level secret contracts. This kind of math problem should be so easy for him to solve.

But the problem just won't be solved.

“已知1+1=2，那么1+2到底该等于多少？”

"1+2..."

"1+2..."

Xia Fa pondered deeply, even picking up chalk and starting to do calculations on the blackboard.

The group of beings resembling college students didn't stop him; they simply watched his tall figure with anticipation, as if waiting for him to actually solve the mathematical problem.

“1+2……可以拆解为1+1+1，已知1+1=2，那1+1+1该等于……”

When Xia Fa got to this point in the calculation, he suddenly realized that he was stuck and could not make any further progress.

Without a single spark of inspiration or a single idea, he felt as if he had returned to the time when he was taking the exam on topological functions of circular surfaces in college.

"Guest, hurry up! If you haven't finished by the time we return, we'll get scolded by the professor, and you'll have to compensate us!"

One of the university students' voices suddenly rang out, this time carrying a hint of threat.

It feels like a food critic shoving a menu in someone's face, or a storyteller counting down the days.

Xia Fa shuddered suddenly, not from fright, but from a sudden flash of inspiration in his mind.

He seized that glimmer of inspiration and began writing on the blackboard.

“已知1+1=2，那么2=1+1也成立，那1+2就可以等同于2+1，这么一来，1+2当然就该等于……”

Xia Fa's eyes lit up as he wrote down that sacred number on the blackboard, the number that could save his life.

【3】

The moment the number was written down, Xia Fa clearly heard the sound of a chair being overturned and footsteps behind him. It seemed that the figures that looked like college students excitedly stood up and ran towards the blackboard.

At the same time, he felt a jolt, and a sense of dazedness washed over him.

It was like a consciousness that had been shrouded in dark clouds suddenly regaining its clarity.

"What... was I just struggling with?"

Xia Fa looked at the math problem on the blackboard and found it unbelievable.

1+1=2，那1+2当然就该等于3啊！
Why did I struggle with this for so long? Why did I even feel like I was stuck?

Just now, I almost thought this was the most difficult problem in the world, so difficult that it was impossible to solve.

Xia Fa suddenly realized something. It seemed that from the moment he saw the math problem on the blackboard being written, his brain had been enveloped in a daze, and his IQ had been reduced by a hundred, or even a thousand or ten thousand times.

After all, how much does 1+2 equal? ​​That's a question that even elementary school students can answer. If your IQ hadn't been reduced a thousand or ten thousand times, how could you not be able to do it?

Xia Fa couldn't help but glance at the steel ship's cabin and the group of college students who were excitedly gathered in front of the blackboard, and a chill ran down his spine.

These entities, and this place... are just too bizarre, eerily unsettling.

This was the first time he had ever heard of an entity that could lower a person's IQ.

The key issue is that they lowered the IQ of an average person and then made them do math problems...

That's so bad...

Xia Fa stood still, waiting quietly, while listening intently to any sounds that might come from the cabins above, below, left, and right.

Sure enough, not long after, he faintly heard the wails of a collapsing pirate.

"I don't know how! What is 2 + 3? What is it exactly? I can't do this problem, I really can't, it's too hard!"

This time, however, there was no sound of the pirate's body exploding.

But Xia Fa also guessed that once the tourist ship from which there was no escape returned, everyone who couldn't solve these ridiculously simple math problems would face the moment of complete disappearance.

"Didn't these entities just say that they would agree to any request I made as long as I could solve this problem?"

Xia Fa suddenly remembered this and fell into deep thought.

He certainly couldn't actually ask these entities to do anything for him, or give him anything in return.
After all, these entities were truly bizarre, both in their unique way of appearing in groups and in the terrifying rule of drastically lowering people's IQ before forcing them to do math problems.

Therefore, the only thing he could ask for was for these entities to let him leave.

At this moment, the group of people who looked like college students became quite excited and started discussing intensely around the blackboard.

"It seems that's actually the answer!"

"That's right, 1+2 should equal 3. I just checked it, and I guarantee it with my GPA being the highest in the entire grade!"

“现在想起来，如果倒推的话，好像1+2就是等于3哎，因为3不就等于2+1吗？2+1倒过来不就是1+2了？”

"Holy crap! It really seems so! This guest is a genius!"

"A genius? He's definitely a future Fields Medal winner! A true mathematician!"

"Sir, would you be interested in studying at our university? With your talent, professors would definitely write you letters of recommendation, and might even take you on as their assistant!"

After confirming that the answer was correct, many of the figures, who looked like college students, turned around and surrounded Xia Fa, their faces filled with excitement and admiration.

Xia Fa even wondered if they too had been affected by this aura that lowered their IQ.

In this situation, Xia Fa could only smile modestly and say:
"That's nothing. I was just lucky to be able to solve a world-class mathematical problem like 1+2. Maybe I'm just a little bit smarter than average."

At this point, he changed the subject:
"By the way, do you still stand by what you just said?"

One of the college students, with short red hair, immediately asked curiously:

"What?"

Another college student, dressed in sportswear, pondered:
"Hmm... it seems to mean that once this guest can solve this math problem for us, we'll grant him any request?"

Upon hearing this, all the entities resembling college students seemed to remember.

"Yes, although I just said it casually, since the guest did it, we must keep our promise!"

"Sir, tell me, what do you want? As for money, the dozen or so of us have about a hundred gold pounds if we pool our money together. As for other things like pocket watches and canes, if you insist on having them, that's fine too."

"Guests, please don't be so polite with us. You have no idea how much you've helped us! We'll never be punished by the professor again!"

Looking at the sincere appearance of this group of college students, Xia Fa became even more surprised.

He even began to suspect that his lower IQ was not due to rules being "imposed" by these entities, but rather that their IQs were inherently low and "affected" him.

Seeing their sincerity, and their seemingly open and willing-to-do attitude, Xia Fa thought for a moment and tentatively said:
"Then... could you... um... send us all back?"

He had originally intended for these university student-like entities to release him, all the pirates who had boarded this inescapable tourist ship, as well as Prince Justinian and Avalon.

But considering that they seemed to genuinely believe they were a group of college students, Xia Fa changed his story.

"No problem, no problem, we'll definitely meet your request!"

One of the college students clearly had the demeanor of a student council president, and the group of college students seemed to subtly follow his lead. With a wave of his hand, the student council president readily agreed.

The other individuals who appeared to be college students naturally had no objections and all expressed their agreement.

"Is that all you ask for? You're too kind, sir, to not even ask for money."

"Then we'll take our guests home right away!"

"Remember to visit our university next time, dear guest! Our professor would love to meet you!"

The more normal these college student-looking entities acted, the more unsettling it became for Xia Fa, and his scalp began to tingle.

Especially considering the previous incidents where the pirates' bodies inexplicably exploded, the food critics and storytellers seemed surprisingly normal compared to these college student-looking individuals.

One of the figures, who looked like a college student, walked to the hatch of the steel ship, turned the handle, and opened the hatch.

The blinding sunlight streamed in, and Xia Fa suddenly felt as if he was about to regain his freedom.

Immediately afterwards, he heard a series of hatches opening and the shouts of many pirates crying with joy.

"Why did the door suddenly open?"

"We...we can leave now?!"

"Never mind that, let's run!"

Xia Fa didn't linger. Under the watchful eyes of the group of university students, he walked out of the steel ship's cabin.

It was still that same sightseeing boat. He stepped onto the steel deck, basking in the sunlight, letting the fresh, salty sea breeze envelop him. For the first time, he felt so safe.

Immediately afterward, Xia Fa saw that many pirates also rushed out. Some were full of relief, some were overjoyed at escaping death, some were on the verge of collapse, and some were completely trapped in the math problems they needed to solve, as if they couldn't get out.

Xiafa glanced around and spotted two familiar figures among the pirates: Prince Justinian and Avalon.

These two angelic overlords, both with their heads bowed, seemed to be deep in thought, and were entirely pushed out by the university student entities inside the steel ship's hold.

Xia Fa breathed a sigh of relief. At this moment, the sightseeing ship, which had no way to escape, extended a steel gangplank again and boarded the Red Porcupine not far away.

Many pirates rushed aboard, running frantically towards the Red Porcupine as if fleeing for their lives.

Xia Fa didn't rush to leave, because he was almost certain that he was safe.

The moment he solved the math problem, it was like eating a gourmet's meal or answering a storyteller's question correctly. Because he had fulfilled the entities' "rules," he no longer needed to fear that these entities would attack him.

Therefore, Shafa walked over to Prince Justinian and Avalon and began to observe these two angelic overlords.

Prince Justinian was frowning in thought, muttering to himself:

“5+6到底等于多少？5+6……5+6……”

Avalon's gaze was blank, clearly in a state of high-speed thinking, his fingers moving in the air on his thigh as if performing some kind of calculation.

After a while, Xia Fa recognized that He was writing the numbers and symbols “10”, “X”, and “21”.

Why are the questions posed to Avalon so difficult?

Xia Fa was somewhat surprised. Although 10x21 was nothing, it was terrifying when one's intelligence was significantly reduced.

In that situation, I couldn't even figure out what 1+2 equals. It felt like climbing to the sky, let alone a math problem like 10+21.

This involves multiplication!
Seeing the pirates return to the Red Porcupine one by one via the steel gangplank, Shafa also pulled Prince Justinian and Avalon, who were lost in thought, onto the steel gangplank and returned to the ship.

As soon as they boarded the ship, a strange scene unfolded.

As soon as he turned around, he immediately discovered that the sightseeing boat, which he couldn't escape from, had mysteriously vanished!

Even the steel springboard has disappeared!

Immediately afterwards, pirates kept returning to the deck of the Red Porcupine, seemingly from an unseen "bridge".

It's as if, as long as you're on the Red Porcupinefish, you can't see that inescapable sightseeing boat at all.

"Xia Fa, you...you escaped? What happened? That sightseeing boat just sank to the bottom of the sea!"

When the captain of the Red Pufferfish saw Xia Fa, he immediately ran towards him, asking questions with a look of relief and eagerness.

Xia Fa answered truthfully:
"As soon as I boarded the ship, I was invited into a steel cabin. There were lots of snacks in the cabin, including chocolate cake, preserved plums, candied fruit, chicken feet, chicken wings, and so on."

“Those guys who looked like college students forced me to eat their snacks, and I did as they asked.”

"Then, they made me do a math problem. It was incredibly difficult, unbelievably difficult. I tried and tried, but I couldn't figure it out."

"Fortunately, I had a flash of inspiration and finally solved the problem, and they let me out."

"but……"

He changed the subject, looking at Captain Red Pufferfish and Dagney and the others who had just arrived.

"Can you guess what that math problem is?"

Daigney seemed to know a bit about this, and hesitated before saying:
"Could it be one of the world's top ten mathematical problems related to the equations of motion in machinery?"

Xia Fa shook his head:

"No, that question is... what is 1 + 2?"

Dagney was startled:
"So simple?"

The captain of the red porcupine boat was also surprised:
"Then... then why did you find it difficult just now?"

No sooner had the two finished speaking than the last pirate who had boarded the sightseeing ship from which there was no escape returned to the Red Porcupine via the invisible bridge.

At that moment, Prince Justinian, Avalon, and everyone else trembled.

Xia Fa clearly saw that the mist that had been faintly covering their eyes seemed to disappear rapidly.

Then, everyone regained consciousness.

However, the pirates seemed to recall their experience in the steel ship's hold, and many of them froze in place, while others looked on incredulously, as if they were surprised that they couldn't even solve such a simple math problem.

Prince Justinian was the first to react:
"Wait, I just..."

Avalon realized something as well, and this mechanical genius, the greatest in the Kingdom of Augu in a century, actually showed a wry smile on his face:
"10x21, such a simple problem, and I actually..."

He shook his head, but then, as if suddenly realizing something, turned to look at the crowd:
"Since we couldn't solve this math problem, why did these entities that look like college students let us out?"

As Avalon spoke, his gaze seemed to sense something, and he hesitated before looking at Shafa.

Because He remembered the scene when He was still on that sightseeing ship from which there was no escape, when Shaphat pulled Him and Prince Justinian, who was also deep in thought, onto the steel gangplank and back onto the Red Porcupine.

Clearly, of everyone present, only Xia Fa was conscious at the time.

A look of surprise suddenly appeared in Avalonna's clear, blue eyes:
"Xia Fa, you didn't solve the math problem and then ask those entities to let us go, did you?"

Xia Fa had to admit that Avalon truly deserved to be called a genius; his logical reasoning ability was simply perfect!
"Yeah, more or less. They promised that as long as I solved that math problem and helped them deal with the professor, they would grant me any request. So, I went along with it and asked them to release everyone."

After saying that, Xia Fa sighed:
"Unfortunately, several of our brothers still died on that ship."

The captain of the red pufferfish patted him on the shoulder and comforted him:

"It's alright, you've already saved enough people. Originally, none of us would have been able to escape."

Prince Justinian also exclaimed:

“Yes, Xia Fa, if it weren’t for you, we would probably have disappeared completely on that sightseeing ship from which we couldn’t escape, just like those people before us.”

Avalon opened his mouth silently, as if about to say something.

But just then, the shadow of a colossal super-ship, comparable to a floating city at sea, loomed over them.

Everyone involuntarily looked up and saw only the towering ship, reaching tens of thousands of meters in height, and its hull stretching to the left and right.

On the hull of the ship, however, there is an ancient relief.

It was a scene of a masked girl, barefoot, standing on a group of sharks, swimming leisurely in the ocean.

In that instant, everyone, including the captain of the Red Pufferfish, was completely stunned.

"The... Princess Shark Swarm?"

Xia Fa was also stunned.

One of the five pirate emperors of the sea, the most mysterious in legend, whose true face has never been seen by anyone, the Shark Princess.
How did she suddenly appear in the Father of Ten Thousand Stars' territory?
(End of this chapter)