Northern Hemisphere Summer Earth Revolution Non-Inertial Deviation Slightly Higher Than Winter

"Let me see the individual scores for our team's National Preliminary results. Shen Qi got 21 points, Yang Huan 18, Luo Ming 16, Shu Minbo 15, Cheng Le 14, and Qi Jianhong 12. Shen Qi is amazing, a perfect score again, as usual!" Qi Jianhong, after being picked on and scolded by Shen Qi, still felt Shen Qi was the best.

Shen Qi said, "The National Preliminary tests overall team strength. No matter how great I am, it's useless if we don't work together. This time, we narrowly beat the Tianjin Math Olympiad team by 1 point. That's great, and this single point came from everyone's contribution. Qi Jianhong, your deduction skills are average, but your intuition is quite good. Luckily, you guessed the first question based on instinct and got a point or two. Those points were decisive."

"Heh heh, that was pure luck on my part, while Shen Qi, you relied on pure skill." Qi Jianhong felt a little embarrassed when Shen Qi praised him.

"Even the greatest mathematicians sometimes rely on guessing. They'll propose a hypothesis first, and the proof might take years or even centuries. Guessing isn't shameful. From a professional math perspective, it's called sharp innate insight, being born with it." Shen Qi was very satisfied with the team's current atmosphere; the infighting was gone. The good news of narrowly advancing to the National Final by 1 point had united them from fighting individually into a single force.

Admittedly, even though the Math Olympiad team competition calculates total scores for team events, there's no true team tactical coordination. Everyone solves their own problems, and overall strength is simply the sum of individual abilities.

But team atmosphere is important. It might not be a direct factor, but it can have some positive effects.

30 minutes later, the Chinese Mathematical Society's official website announced the final rankings for the National Preliminary.

There were no issues. Shen Qi's team advanced to the National Final with a total score of 96, ranking tenth. This was the official result recognized by the Chinese Mathematical Society.

The system displayed a text message: "New Achievement: Math Whiz! Host led the team to the Math Olympiad National Finals with a perfect individual score, completing an extremely difficult challenge. Reward: 6666 scholar points. Please claim."

"Oh yeah, 6666! Just what I needed!" Shen Qi rejoiced inwardly. Adding this to his remaining 3826 scholar points, he now had 10492 scholar points.

To upgrade Math from Level 4 to Level 5 required 10,000 scholar points.

There was no hesitation. He continued to invest in math, spending 10,000 scholar points to raise his Math Level to 5.

Host: Shen Qi
Age: 17
Math Level 5 (0/50000)
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 Scholar Points: 492

"Level 5 mission complete." He received the system mission in March, and now it was July. Shen Qi had spent four months raising his Math Level to the professional Level 5.

The system required Shen Qi to complete the Level 5 mission before graduating from high school. Over these four months, Shen Qi had invested a great deal of energy in mathematics, progressing step by step from the school team to the provincial team, then to the National Preliminary, and finally to the National Final. He had completed the mission before his final year of high school.

System: "Congratulations, Host, on completing the Level 5 mission. Reward: 8000 scholar points, and the primary talent bonus module is unlocked. After reviewing the instructions for the primary talent bonus, please select your primary talent."

Shen Qi self-searched the operation guide for the primary talent bonus within the system.

Primary Talent Bonus Operation Guide: "Human history is full of versatile scholars and polymaths, outstanding scientists proficient in multiple disciplines. However, they always had one subject they excelled at most."

"The Host can unlock one primary talent subject among the ten disciplines in this system. Upon unlocking, the scholar points accumulated and achievement rewards for the primary talent subject will be multiplied by a factor of 2 on top of the base accumulation or reward value, and the primary talent subject will enjoy subsequent related preferential policies."

"Please note that during the Host's lifetime, only one primary talent subject can be unlocked. Please consider carefully. Countdown: 3 minutes. If no choice is made within 3 minutes, you will never be able to choose for the rest of your life... 2 minutes 59 seconds, 2 minutes 58 seconds..."

"Are you kidding me? Only 3 minutes to choose and consider carefully? Math, I choose math as my primary talent." Shen Qi made a decisive choice, selecting math as his primary talent.

System: "Selection successful! Math will be the Host's primary talent subject for life. Real-world effective actions in this subject will enjoy a 2x point reward and subsequent preferential policies."

"The Host's Math Level has reached the professional Level 5. The system's beginner tutorial phase is now complete. From now on, the system will not forcibly compel the Host to complete any tasks. Everything will depend on the Host's own exploration."

"Friendly reminder: The Host's understanding of this system is merely the tip of the iceberg. This system has many interesting and powerful functions worth exploring. The door to a new world is always open to you, but you haven't even touched the doorknob yet. Good luck!"

"So, the plot will now enter an open-ended phase. Great, I like this setup. System, I give you a thumbs up. You're not some brain-dead system. I misjudged you." Shen Qi snapped his fingers, in a good mood.

Today was a good day. Shen Qi leveled up, and his team advanced to the National Final.

Before the National Preliminary, Teacher Tian and the team members were very nervous.

After advancing, everyone was relaxed and at ease.

Although the National Final would be held tomorrow, everyone had completely let go. They didn't expect to win the National Final team championship; they just hoped to do their best, perform at their personal peak, or even surpass themselves, leaving a mark of their youth on their high school careers and even their lives. Decades later, with gray beards, grandchildren kneeling, sipping tea and drinking wine, boasting, they wouldn't regret wasting their youth.

The National Preliminary did not have individual awards. The National Final, in addition to team championships, runner-up, and third place awards, would also offer individual gold, silver, and bronze medals. The Math Olympiad is somewhat similar to competitive sports; one minute on stage is ten years of practice off stage. Not winning a medal would be a wasted trip.

Teams with overall strength like E Province, Xiang Province, and Zhe Province were naturally aiming for the National Final team championship.

Shen Qi dared not covet the National Final team championship. His team's advancement to the National Final actually had an element of luck.

However, for the individual gold medal, Shen Qi was determined to win.

There was a big dinner that evening, hosted by Teacher Tian.

There were still a few hours of rest in the afternoon. Shen Qi greeted Teacher Tian and wandered alone in the Shuimu campus, stopping to admire the scenery.

Having stayed at Shuimu University for three days, Shen Qi hadn't really taken the time to explore this top institution.

Since he was here, why not take a look? Shen Qi didn't need to prepare specifically for the National Final. What could he prepare in half a day? He had learned everything he needed to learn, spent all the scholar points he needed to spend. Relaxing now was the best preparation.

In early July, there weren't many university students on the Shuimu campus, but there were some coming and going.

Shen Qi walked and walked until he arrived at a lake on campus.

As soon as he reached the lakeside, a peculiar scene not far away caught Shen Qi's attention.

A young man, who looked nearly 2 meters tall, was sitting on a stone bench by the lake. His hair was messy, he was thin, his legs were exceptionally long, and his gaze shifted between profound and vacant.

The 2-meter-tall man gazed aimlessly at the sky and the lake, as if contemplating some academic problem or simply spacing out.

At that moment, a female student running around the lake passed by the 2-meter-tall man. She seemed accustomed to the various academic guys on the Shuimu campus who contemplated life or the vast universe, so she wasn't surprised.

"Hey," the 2-meter-tall man called out to the running girl, "Your ponytail's come undone. Give me five strands of your hair." He said it matter-of-factly, with utter confidence.

If this were anywhere else, the girl would have surely thought the guy was crazy.

But this was Shuimu campus, where nothing could be judged by ordinary standards.

Without a word, the girl untied her hair tie, let down her ponytail, and plucked five strands of hair, handing them to the 2-meter-tall man.

"Thanks," the 2-meter-tall man said.

"You're welcome," the girl replied calmly, clearly not knowing the 2-meter-tall man.

"Hair length approximately 70 to 72 centimeters, relatively high tensile strength and flexibility, possessing both resistance to pulling and rigidity, suitable for use as a pendulum rope," the 2-meter-tall man concluded after straightening the girl's hair.

"In the Northern Hemisphere's summer, the slight increase in Earth's orbital non-inertial deviation compared to winter means I personally wouldn't recommend a pendulum rope experiment. Of course, handsome, if it makes you happy." The girl tied up her ponytail and continued her run around the lake.

The 2-meter-tall man twisted the five strands of the girl's hair into a rope. He casually picked up a small twig from the ground, tied the twig with the hair rope, and swung his right arm overhead, making the twig move in a circular motion.

The blue sky, the clear lake water, the green lawn, and a 2-meter-tall man on it. He borrowed hair from a girl to make a rope, swung it in circles, and it was all so natural, like a painting. The heavens, the earth, the lake water, this academic man, the pendulum rope and body derived from life itself – it was all so perfectly integrated it could be a masterpiece.

"Only after coming to Shuimu campus did I realize what 'technical chick-charming' and 'academic pickup' meant. These university students really know how to play," Shen Qi marveled. The way he showed off in front of Chen Xiaoting, his deskmate in high school, was just low-level showing off. These young men and women at Shuimu University were the ones who truly mastered the high-end, academic kind.

Unable to contain his curiosity, Shen Qi cautiously approached the 2-meter-tall man. He would only be staying at Shuimu University for a few more days before heading home, and he wanted to use this brief time to learn more knowledge and skills.