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Solution: Kth Smallest Number in M Sorted Lists

Solution: Kth Smallest Number in M Sorted Lists

Let's solve the Kth Smallest Number in M Sorted Lists problem using the K-Way Merge pattern.

Statement

Given mm sorted lists in ascending order and an integer kk, find the kthk^{th} smallest element among all the lists.

Even if some values appear multiple times across the lists, each occurrence is treated as a unique element when determining the kthk^{th} smallest number.

If kk exceeds the total number of elements across all lists, return the largest element among them. If the lists are empty, return 00.

Constraints:

  • 11\leq m 50\leq50
  • 00\leq list[i].length 50\leq 50
  • 109-10^9\leq
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