"Detected: The host was humiliated by a simple academic question. One demerit!"
"Detected: The host was humiliated by a simple academic question. One demerit!"
"Detected: The host was humiliated by a simple academic question. One demerit!"
The system suddenly sent three messages in a row, seeming extremely anxious.
"What do you want me to do about it? Get revenge and prove them wrong?" Shen Qi glanced at his balance of over 4,000 Academic Prodigy Points. If he spent them recklessly, he could immediately raise his History Level to Level 3.
At Level 3, he should be able to hold forth with the history teacher. But Shen Qi wouldn't do that—not yet, at least.
System: "A powerful academic prodigy knows everything, can do anything, excels at everything, and is capable of anything. Remember, this is the host's ultimate goal."
Shen Qi: "Then give me 100 million Academic Prodigy Points, and I'll be invincible in every field in no time."
System: "This system will not give the host 100 million Academic Prodigy Points for free. You must work hard to earn them. If the host receives three demerits in a row within one month, the remaining Academic Prodigy Points will be cleared."
"Damn, you're ruthless. You're setting me up with challenges at every turn."
Shen Qi checked his information in the system:
Math Level 3 (0/5000) Physics Level 1 (0/1000) Chemistry Level 1 (0/1000) Biology Level 1 (0/1000) Chinese Level 1 (0/1000) English Level 1 (0/1000) Sports Level 1 (0/1000) History Level 0 (0/100) Geography Level 0 (0/100) Politics Level 0 (0/100) Remaining Academic Prodigy Points: 4578
The system required him to become a specialist by raising one subject to Level 5 before the others. Otherwise, his punishment would be to sit in a wheelchair.
At the same time, it required him to be well-rounded. He couldn't receive several demerits in a short period, or his Academic Prodigy Points would be wiped out.
It was hard!
Shen Qi's immediate goal was clear: he had to prioritize raising his Math Level to Level 5.
But he couldn't afford to have any weak subjects, either.
To be safe, Shen Qi spent 300 Academic Prodigy Points to raise History, Geography, and Politics to Level 1.
Math Level 3 (0/5000) Physics Level 1 (0/1000) Chemistry Level 1 (0/1000) Biology Level 1 (0/1000) Chinese Level 1 (0/1000) English Level 1 (0/1000) Sports Level 1 (0/1000) History Level 1 (0/1000) Geography Level 1 (0/1000) Politics Level 1 (0/1000) Remaining Academic Prodigy Points: 4278
Shen Qi needed to earn 722 Academic Prodigy Points as quickly as possible through normal accumulation, so he could raise his Math Level to Level 4.
The system had said, "If the host receives three demerits in a row within one month, the remaining Academic Prodigy Points will be cleared." I'll clear out my points first. Then even if you give me three demerits in a row, you won't have anything left to clear. Hahaha! System, do you really think you can beat me, Shen Qi?
Over the next few days, Shen Qi felt as if each day lasted a year.
In Chinese class, the Chinese teacher called on Shen Qi to answer a question. "This is a classic tourist route. It lets you feast your eyes on nature's breathtaking scenery and experience the colorful customs of a foreign land. Shen Qi, point out the inappropriate word choice in this sentence and explain why."
Shen Qi answered nervously, " 'Breathtaking' isn't appropriate... The idiom refers to the exquisite skill of human artisans and shouldn't be used to describe nature."
"Correct. Sit down."
Shen Qi was troubled. Had the Chinese teacher set her sights on him, too?
In Geography class, the geography teacher called on Shen Qi. "What's the main reason the alluvial fans at the foot of the Helan Mountains are concentrated in connected stretches? Shen Qi, tell me."
"Concentrated rainfall?"
"Wrong! I'll give you one more chance."
"Um, let me think... Numerous rivers?"
"I'll count that as correct. Sit down."
Shen Qi was troubled. Had the geography teacher set her sights on him, too?
In English class, the English teacher called on Shen Qi. "Shenqi, please tell me: when a solar still works, the cup from what?"
"Just a minute, I need to think, Miss Gao."
Miss Gao: "Right now! And speak English, please!"
Shenqi: "Beneath the sheet?"
Miss Gao: "So-so. Sit down."
Shen Qi was troubled. Had the English teacher set her sights on him, too?
Shen Qi was about to break down. Chinese, Geography, English, Politics, Physics, Chemistry... Every teacher called on him, as if they'd all planned it together.
If he answered incorrectly, the system might give him a demerit.
At long last, school let out. Shen Qi poured out his troubles to Zhang Wanbang. "Teacher Zhang, they've gone crazy—every last one of them! For the past few days, every teacher has been calling on me. I have nightmares every night. I'm so depressed I want to die!"
"I never call on you. In my math class, you can do whatever you like, as long as you don't disturb the other students," Zhang Wanbang said casually.
"My life is so hard," Shen Qi sighed.
"If one day you can do as well in your other subjects as you do in math, they'll never call on you to answer questions again. At least, not in class." Zhang Wanbang handed Shen Qi a notebook and said, "It looks like the other teachers have been putting you through the wringer lately. You've gone astray in your deeper understanding of Fourier transforms and Taylor series. Take this and work through it yourself."
Shen Qi took the notebook home and studied it carefully until eleven that night, when everything suddenly clicked.
"The host received expert guidance in mathematics and grasped a new professional technique. Reward: 100 Academic Prodigy Points. Remaining Academic Prodigy Points: 4801."
After a long, exhausting day, Shen Qi had finally gained something. He was just 199 Academic Prodigy Points short of raising his Math Level to Level 4.
The next day was Sunday, so there was no school.
It was an important day for Shen Qi: he was taking the second round of the Provincial High School Mathematics League.
The second-round exam was held at the Provincial Mathematics Society headquarters. Of the more than 1,200 students from across the province who had taken the First Test, only 12 had made it to the Society's headquarters.
Before the exam began, the 12 contestants were told to wait in a lounge.
All 12 contestants were boys. There wasn't a single girl.
That wasn't to say women weren't good at math. There had been famous female mathematicians throughout history, but compared with men, female mathematicians were still few and far between.
Shen Qi looked over his 11 opponents. He didn't recognize any of them.
"Hey, man, what school are you from?" Shen Qi asked the boy on his left.
"Does it matter?" The boy on his left looked cool and aloof.
"Nangang City Foreign Language School. Nice, that's a prestigious school." Shen Qi had found the answer on the logo on the boy's uniform.
"You already know, so why ask?" the boy said arrogantly.
"What grade are you in?" Shen Qi asked again.
"Does it matter?" The boy from the Foreign Language School answered with a question of his own, refusing to give him a straight answer.
"Come on, man, don't make things so tense. We've never had a grudge, so what's the point? My name's Shen Qi, and I'm a sophomore at Nangang Second High School. Nice to meet you." Shen Qi introduced himself politely.
The boy from the Foreign Language School: "Does it matter?"
Shen Qi: "Then what do you think matters?"
The boy from the Foreign Language School: "Winning the championship and making the provincial team. That's my only goal here. Who you are and where you come from don't matter to me at all."
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