At the Stalls.
As the prompt appeared, Xu Yun suddenly realized that everything around him had come to a standstill:
For example, at a stall seven or eight meters away, a vendor had been arguing furiously with a customer, and it looked as though they were about to come to blows. But their expressions had abruptly frozen, making them look like lifelike inflatable dolls.
Or take the fruit seller not far away, who had been sitting with one leg crossed over the other and tossing an apple in one hand. The apple had suddenly stopped in midair. If Newton had seen it, he probably would've—wait, Newton was there too.
Xu Yun turned around and saw Little Ox grinning broadly. He could even make out the strips of lentils stuck to the back teeth in his mouth.
Utterly motionless, as though frozen.
Grantham—or rather, the entire timeline of 1665.
Had come to a halt without warning.
In the whole world, only Xu Yun's life continued ticking down, one second at a time.
Then a halo silently appeared beneath his feet and slowly enveloped him.
Xu Yun was quite familiar with this halo—it was obvious that, just as the prompt had said, he had completed his Novice Mission and was about to return to reality.
And in the final moment before he disappeared, one thought drifted through his mind.
What the hell kind of drinking buddy are you?!
So after all the effort I put into helping you solve a pile of academic problems, that still wasn't worth a few guineas?
Old Master Newton, you really were something!
Then came the same dizzying sensation he'd experienced on his way in. When Xu Yun came to, he had already returned to that enclosed space.
The Three Doors were still floating before him, but the leftmost one, representing the 1665 timeline, had turned a dark gray. The "100/100" displayed on it had also changed to "0/100."
Xu Yun had seen this plenty of times over the past ten years—it meant that to open the door again, he would need to get his Knowledge Points back to at least 100.
As for whether Knowledge Points were tied only to degrees or one's store of knowledge, that would require further study.
But besides the entire door turning gray, Xu Yun also noticed a small dark-gold box sitting on the ground in front of it.
Xu Yun thought for a few seconds, then decisively stepped forward and picked up the box.
Although this space looked pretty shady, if it really wanted to do something to him, it could have turned him into a corpse—or Awei—ten years ago.
The moment the box touched his hands, it suddenly transformed into another glowing screen:
[Detection complete. The 'Wall-facer' Novice Mission has been completed. Would you like to proceed with the evaluation?] FBI Warning: Because the 'Wall-facer' has selected a multi-node mode instance, the results of this deduction will be used for scoring only. Time inside the instance has been locked. The next time the 'Wall-facer' enters, the scene will automatically resume from the moment of return. Continue? The two options below were: [Yes][o戟把k]
Xu Yun: "..."
So this thing really did have a problem, didn't it?
But all jokes aside, the dialogue box had revealed quite a bit of information:
According to its contents, the halo would run a simulation based on Xu Yun's previous actions, much like a sandbox, and use it to determine some kind of score.
Time inside Little Ox's door was locked. That meant the next time Xu Yun went in, he'd still be looking at Little Ox's back teeth.
Xu Yun sighed ruefully, then pressed "Yes" on the left.
The dialogue box quickly changed.
[Evaluation system activating. Authorization verified. Timeline deduction beginning!] [Theoretical Timeline Deduction]: The 'Wall-facer' met the main character, Newton, in the '1665' instance and disclosed the following theories within the rules: 1. Dispersion of light phenomenon. 2. Product of refractive angles (Yang Hui's Triangle). 3. Taylor Expansion. (Partial) 4. Infinitesimal series approximation formula. 5. Saint-Venant's Theorem. (Partial) 6. Stress balance theory (concept). [Associated Characters]: 1. Isaac Newton 2. William Askew family 3. Robert Hooke 4. Isaac Barrow 5. Yarlin Dilat 6. Tiffany Boli 7. Several bystanders. ['Dream Butterfly' simulating] [Results generated]. [Academic Achievements]: Due to the Wall-facer's permissions, the current number of available academic weightings is [4]. The weighted items are arranged in chronological order:
Because of the 'Wall-facer's' intervention, Isaac Newton proposed the Light dispersion equation in late December 1665, formally introduced the Infinitesimal series concept in March 1666, and put forward Newton's Binomial Theorem.
He also combined the binomial expression (to the m/n power) with the Circular Logarithm, and proposed the Discrete algebraic equation model: (1-X2)=(1-X2)1/2·(1-X2)1/2 = X＋X2＋X3＋...＋Xn(1-η2)=η＋η2＋η3＋...＋ηn.
[Mathematical formula weighting: 9]
In April 1666, Isaac Newton derived the third-order 'Han Li Expansion,' consolidating his own fluxion model for the first time. Combining it with Kepler's Third Law, he successfully derived the Law of Universal Gravitation. The Principia Mathematica, originally scheduled for publication in 1687, was released early, in 1679.
[Core theory weighting: 17]
In the field of elasticity, Newton proposed in 1674 that "the stress in a material is linearly proportional to the strain when a solid is subjected to force." The expression was F=k, and it became known as Newton's laws of mechanics. Later scholars further derived the three-part expression of the Generalized Newton's laws of mechanics, raising the material covered on the national college entrance exam to 31 points.
[Mechanics variation weighting: 13]
Influenced by the Wall-facer's Product of refractive angles, Newton became even more convinced than he had been historically of the particle nature of light. The equations derived from the product perfectly explained most optical problems of the time, giving him an overwhelming advantage in his debate with Huygens.
[Historical status coefficient weighting for the Corpuscular theory school: 6] Academic weighting: 9+17+13+6=45 [Modern impact]: No permissions to access yet. [Associated character changes] (in ascending order):
Ruben Holland:
Tiffany Boli's husband and former head tailor at Bolee Estate in Grantham. After tasting ketchup in early December 1665, he astutely anticipated the demand for tomatoes as food. In early 1666, he mortgaged his property and founded a tomato plantation estate, eventually becoming the largest fruit supplier in Lincolnshire and the surrounding areas.
Yarlin Dilat:
The pastor of St. Titus Didymus Church in the town of Grantham and the seventh administrator of Lincolnshire Diocese. The ketchup promotion brought great benefits to the diocese, and in July 1666 he was promoted to acting chief administrator of Nottingham Diocese. While the Bill of Rights was being drafted, he proposed expanding civil rights legislation. He was later honored as Saint Dilat.
Lilani Askew:
William Askew's youngest daughter. After the Wall-facer's accidental disappearance, she gradually became withdrawn. She left school at fifteen and went to work. At nineteen, she traveled to Leiden University in the Netherlands in hopes of finding the Wall-facer, but sadly perished in a shipwreck.
(To be continued)
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