45.11-Undo the burn

Previously on the Smole, the contestants had to sing karaoke and finish the lyrics. Only 20/120 points were earned from that mission, leading to 246/670 points in the pot. Apollo could not survive the execution nor accept that he was executed next. It is a hard pill for anyone to swallow, especially an ex-finalist, but only the Mole can avoid that pill for sure. Who is the Mole?

***

Max: "I hope I won't be executed next. I'm the only one left sleeping on the top floor. Okay, James and Brianna decided to move to occupy the new beds, but they just moved in to their new rooms. I don't know how they can be so bold as to move into the rooms of fallen contestants."

***

Kelly: "How's your new room?"

Brianna: "I've disinfected the room to get rid of all Apollo-ness and bad luck but it's not bad. Got a nice view of the room and a dominoes table too. But I don't think I'll have the time to play."

Kelly: "Me neither."

Guillermo: "For me it's great that James packed his bags and moved upstairs. He's been quite vocal about my snoring. At least he gets some rest now."

Brianna: "Shit!"

Brianna: "Do I cover the pot?"

Kelly: "No, you can't undo the burn. Just dump it away."

Brianna: "I was so distracted by talking to you guys."

Kelly: "Where can I get one of those self-cleaning stoves?"

Brianna: "It's piping hot."

Kelly: "Did you really not realise it was burning?"

Kelly: "And you're just gonna leave that thing there? It's disgusting!"

Brianna: "I admit I'm not a good cook, okay?"

Kelly: "I said dump it, as in throw it into the sink or the garbage bin. Not leave it on the table."

Kelly: "Yucks."

Kelly: "One day remind me to teach you about self-sufficiency."

Guillermo: "I can help too."

Kelly: "Guys, can you believe it? We're in the final five already."

James: "Yes I can."

Brianna: "I can't wait for final three."

Guillermo: "Did any of you see my journal by the way? I just remembered that I was supposed to go looking for it."

***

Guillermo: "I'm very forgetful. I'm used to working as a team. In a team, there are others to watch your back and cover your blind spots. At home my lovely wife helps me make sure I don't forget or lose anything. I've been getting better at not losing things for a long time but somehow today I misplaced my journal...it better not be sabotage."

***

Contestants will be playing a game of very very quick trivia for the next mission. Each of them would stand at a table where their lights will randomly light up. If so, the contestant there must answer the question, with each correct answer earning 5 points. There are 70 questions in total, making this mission worth 350 points. Contestants could spend 10 points to avoid being asked a question, or to deflect a question to another contestant. They could transfer their points to an adjacent contestant as well. Why would they do this? 

Because in the middle is a firework that would go off at an unknown time. When that happens, the contestant whose light is on will be "bombed", nullifying any points he or she may have. Only those unharmed will earn points.

Guillermo: "Are you good at trivia?"

James: "There's only one way to find out."

Brianna: "I will wreck you all."

Max: "I will score the most points. This is like school again."

Kelly: "Weren't you from a sports school?"

The contestants have arrived.

"The mission begins now."

James: "Oh, I'm first."

"James, what is the digit in the 3rd decimal place of 22/7?"

James: "4."

"Incorrect. The answer was 2."

James: "I don't have time to slowly work it out."

"Guillermo, who was the first President of the United States?"

Guillermo: "George Washington."

"That is correct."

"Kelly, what is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world?"

Kelly: "I don't know this one."

Max: "Just give an answer."

Kelly: "Eh, Mexico."

"Incorrect. The answer was Damascus."

"Guillermo, what is the Spanish word for 'woman'?"

Guillermo: "Me again?"

Guillermo: "Mujer, right?"

"That is correct."

Guillermo: "I don't understand how you are getting it wrong. It's a piece of cake."

"James, how many seconds are there in 4 hours?"

Max: "The three of them are getting all the questions."

Brianna: "We should just go home then."

James: "14400 seconds."

"That is correct."

*

*

*

Brianna: "Finally it's my turn."

"Brianna, what do the initials 'J.K.' in J.K. Rowling stand for?"

Brianna: "Joanne Kathleen. You forget I work in a bookstore."

"That is correct."

"Guillermo, what is the last Chinese imperial dynasty?"

Guillermo: "I don't know...I'll spend 10 points to deflect the question to Max."

"Max, what is the last Chinese imperial dynasty?"

Max: "Qing Dynasty."

"That is correct."

Guillermo: "How did he know that?"

*

*

*

"Guillermo, who is the subject of the film 127 Hours?"

Guillermo: "Never even heard of it. Skip."

"The correct answer was Aron Ralston."

Kelly: "I want to spend 10 points to not get asked a question."

"James, who was the dwarf planet Pluto named after?"

James: "Caesar? I don't know. I don't believe in mythology."

"Incorrect. It was Hades."

"Guillermo, who was the richest man in the world in 2018?"

Guillermo: "I don't know."

Guillermo: "I pass my question on to Max."

Max: "Me again?"

"Max, who was the richest man in the world in 2018?"

Max: "Jack Ma."

"Incorrect. The correct answer was Jeff Bezos."

"Brianna, what does the word LASER stand for?"

Brianna: "It stands for something?"

Brianna: "Light...and...sound...I don't know. I'm smoking it right now. Pass."

"The correct answer was Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation."

Brianna: "That's a mouthful. I call bullshit. It should be called LABSEOR then."

*

*

*

"Guillermo, what is the angle of one corner of an equilateral triangle?"

Guillermo: "It was 60 degrees right?"

"That is correct."

Guillermo: "I keep getting called so frequently. I want to transfer my points. It's free anyway."

"Your points have been transferred to Brianna."

Brianna: "Thanks Guillermo."

***

Brianna: "Guillermo's light kept going on while mine hardly did. It happened that I was next to him so his points got transferred to me. I'm betting there's a hidden exemption for the one with the most points. Maybe another bronze exemption, or a new exemption we haven't seen yet."

***

"Kelly, where can the gleteus maximus be found?"

Kelly: "Oh, it's worn off."

Kelly: "Eh, the arse."

"That is correct."

"James, how many stomachs does a cow have?"

James: "This feels like a trick question. I want to give it to Brianna."

"Brianna, how many stomachs does a cow have?"

Brianna: "One, duh."

"That is incorrect. A cow has four stomachs."

Brianna: "What? Why do they need so many?"

James: "Me again?"

"James, how many NBA teams were there in the 2017-2018 season?"

James: "20."

"Incorrect. The correct answer was 30."

"Brianna, to date, which airport has held the title of World's Best Airport for 7 consecutive years?"

Brianna: "The one in Singapore. I believe it was called...Changi Airport."

"That is correct."

"Guillermo, which Pokemon is #251 in the Pokedex?"

Max: "Don't pass it to me again."

Guillermo: "Er..."

Guillermo: "Pikachu?"

"Incorrect. It was Celebi."

"James, who wrote Jane Eyre?"

James: "I know this one."

James: "Emily Bronte."

"Incorrect. It was Charlotte Bronte."

James: "It was? I must have gotten them mixed up."

*

*

*

"James, in what country is the automaker BMW located?"

James: "Germany."

"Correct."

"Brianna, which U.S. state borders exactly one other U.S. state?"

Brianna: "Easy. Utah."

"Incorrect. It is Maine."

Brianna: "Oh yeah."

Max: "I'm surprised the fireworks hasn't gone off yet. It's been a while."

Brianna: "It's my turn again."

"Brianna, in which country is game company Rovio based?"

Brianna: "That's the makers of Angry Birds, right? I should know this."

Max: "Woah!"

Brianna: "Aah!"

Kelly: "It's so loud and bright!"

James: "What time is it?"

Max: "Approximately 7 minutes."

Brianna: "Darn it."

"The mission has ended. Brianna loses all her points. Brianna had 60 points."

"Max, you have answered 9 questions correctly in total, so you earn 45 points."

"Kelly, you have answered 6 questions correctly. However, you spent 10 points to not be asked a question so you earn only 20 points."

"James, you answered 6 questions correctly. However, you spent 10 points to deflect a question to another contestant, so you too earn 20 points."

"Guillermo, you are the last one to earn points. You answered 16 questions correctly. However, you passed 20 of those points to Brianna and so they are now lost. Furthermore, you spent another 20 points to deflect questions away from you, so in total you earn 40 points."

***

Guillermo: "Had I known I wouldn't have passed my points to Brianna. Fortunately I only did it once."

***

In total the mission brought in 125/350 points. Are the finalists losing the battle against the Mole? Who is this Mole that is catching up?