ULTIMATE CHOICE SYSTEM: I BECAME THE RICHEST!

[Ding!]

Name: Lucas Heart

Age: 19

Talent Grade: A

Talent: Programmer

Description: With immense potential yet to be unlocked, Lucas can become a world-renowned figure in the field of programming and computers if given the right resources, and training.

Noah’s eyes narrowed as the talent assessment flickered across his vision. So that’s who was hiding under the hoodie.

Lucas Heart.

Grade A.

Someone with genuine potential.

Professor Jensen’s voice cut through his thoughts. “Let’s up the difficulty. What’s the optimal solution for handling concurrency in distributed systems when network partitioning is unavoidable?”

Time to make himself known. Noah straightened slightly.

“It depends on whether you prioritize consistency or availability,” Noah said, his voice carrying easily across the lecture hall. All heads turned toward him. “Imagine you’re running a banking app. When the network hiccups, you have two choices: either make sure everyone sees the exact same account balance but risk the app becoming temporarily unavailable, or keep the app running but risk people seeing different balances for a while.”

Jensen’s eyebrows shot up. “Continue.”

“For banking, you’d choose consistency—better to temporarily shut down than show wrong balances. But for something like Instagram, you’d pick availability—it’s not the end of the world if your friend’s new post takes a few extra seconds to appear on your feed.”

The room fell silent. Jensen studied Noah with newfound interest.

“And how would you implement that in practice?” Jensen challenged.

“I’d use tools that let different computers talk to each other even when they disagree, kind of like how a group chat keeps working even when someone loses signal—they just catch up later. For the critical stuff, I’d use a system where computers vote on decisions, like friends deciding where to eat dinner—majority rules.”

A slight smile played at Jensen’s lips. “Your name?”

“Noah Thompson.”

“Interesting approach, Mr. Thompson. Though I’d argue your method isn’t suitable for all situations.”

Noah nodded. “True. For more complex relationships, it’s like adding dietary restrictions to that dinner decision—you need extra rules to make everyone happy.”

The exchange had the desired effect. Students were whispering, eyes darting between Noah and Jensen like spectators at a tennis match.

Even Lucas had turned slightly to get a better look.

“One last question before we break,” Jensen announced. “What’s the fundamental limitation of current AI when it comes to understanding cause and effect versus mere coincidence?”

Another student raised her hand, a girl with braided hair and curious eyes.

“Current AI is like a child who notices it rains when people carry umbrellas, but doesn’t understand people carry umbrellas because it’s raining,” she answered. “They see patterns but can’t tell what’s causing what—like noticing ice cream sales and drowning rates both increase in summer without realizing they’re both caused by hot weather, not each other.”

[Ding!]

Name: Jasmine Sheath

Age: 19

Talent Grade: B

Talent: Programmer

Description: A natural problem-solver with exceptional analytical abilities. While not quite at the cutting edge of innovation, her unique approach and attention to detail make her invaluable for complex systems implementation.

Jensen nodded appreciatively. “And how might we address this limitation?”

“By teaching AI to think more like scientists—creating experiments that specifically test cause and effect rather than just observing patterns,” Jasmine replied.

“Good. Though incomplete,” Jensen said. “Anyone else want to add to that?”

Noah seized the opportunity. “We could also use mathematical models that specifically map out cause-and-effect relationships. It’s like giving the AI a cheat sheet that says ‘umbrellas don’t cause rain’ instead of letting it figure it out through observation alone.”

Lucas’s hand shot up. “Another approach is teaching AI to imagine ‘what if’ scenarios. Like asking ‘what if people didn’t carry umbrellas when it rained?’ to help it understand the causal relationship.”

Jensen looked between the three of them, not bothering to hide his interest now. “Well, well. Maybe this year’s cohort has some promise after all.”

The class continued for another thirty minutes, but the pattern was clear. Whenever Jensen posed a particularly challenging question, it was Noah, Lucas, or Jasmine who answered. The rest of the students grew increasingly quiet, the gap in knowledge becoming painfully apparent.

When the lecture finally ended, the room emptied quickly. Many students looked shell-shocked, others frantically taking notes even as they packed up.

Noah remained seated, watching as Lucas zipped up his backpack. Jasmine was doing the same a few rows away.

As students filed out, Noah activated his Talent Finder once more, this time focusing on the remaining students. Most registered as C grade or below. Not worth his time.

Time to make contact. Noah stood, casually making his way toward Lucas, who was still packing up.

“That was an impressive answer about teaching AI to imagine alternatives,” Noah said, his voice carefully calibrated to sound casually interested rather than calculating.

Lucas looked up, pushing his hoodie back slightly. Brown eyes, sharp features, perpetual dark circles that spoke of late nights coding. “Thanks. Your explanation of complex systems wasn’t bad either.”

“Noah Thompson.” He extended his hand.

“Lucas Heart.” They shook briefly.

“Have you worked with AI learning systems before?” Noah asked.

Lucas shrugged. “Built a few projects. Nothing major.”

A lie. Noah could tell from the slight hesitation. Lucas had worked on something significant but didn’t want to share.

Jasmine approached them, confidence in her stride. “That was brutal. I’m Jasmine, by the way.”

“Noah.” “Lucas.”

“I think we just survived the academic equivalent of a gladiator match,” she said with a wry smile. “Did anyone else feel like that was more of an audition than a first lecture?”

“Definitely by design,” Noah replied. “Jensen’s separating the stars from the extras early.”

Lucas nodded. “Three spots, hundreds of students. He’s not wasting time.”

Noah studied them both carefully. Lucas: raw talent, almost intuitive understanding of complex systems, but a loner by nature. Jasmine: methodical, thorough, excellent communicator. Both would be valuable.

“We should form a study group,” Noah suggested, the plan forming in his mind. “The three of us clearly have complementary strengths.”

“Why?” Lucas asked bluntly. “We’re competing for the same spots.”

Jasmine frowned. “Not necessarily. He’s taking three students.”

“And there are three of us,” Noah added with a slight smile. “Unless you’d rather compete against us than with us?”

Lucas considered this, eyes narrowing slightly. “What’s in it for you?”

Smart. Already sensing that Noah had an angle.

“Efficiency,” Noah replied smoothly. “I’m also enrolled in the Medicine program. My time is limited. Working together means we all benefit.”

“I’m in,” Jasmine decided. “Lucas?”

Lucas hesitated, then nodded reluctantly. “Fine. But we share everything. No holding back.”

“Agreed,” Noah said, though he had no intention of sharing everything. These two were talented, yes, but they were still just pieces on his board.

“Exchange numbers?”

As they pulled out their phones, Noah noticed Professor Jensen watching them from across the room, a satisfied expression on his face.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!