Chen Zhao thought it over. Did he have any outstanding contributions or qualities?
His exceptionally high IQ was a given. Thanks to the system, he could maintain an IQ of 400. Once the High IQ Experience Period ended, it might get even higher, or it might drop a little, but it wouldn't fall by much. In short, he was smart.
But clearly, no school would admit a student just for having a high IQ.
Aside from that, he was good at Winner Winner Chicken Dinner. When he was in good form, he could practically land a headshot with every shot.
But... would any university really recruit students for being good at video games?
Some universities offered esports programs, but they were very small and had extremely strict requirements.
Lop Nur University didn't seem to have an esports program. Even if it did, Chen Zhao wasn't particularly interested in joining one.
Studying this subject wasn't as easy as playing games in class and coasting to a diploma. It required an in-depth study of the gaming and esports industries, along with memorizing piles of dull material.
And when it came time to actually play games, students went through hellish training, much like professional esports players. They played for more than fourteen hours a day until they were dizzy and bleary-eyed, their fingers aching. After one semester, the sight of a game would make them want to throw up, and they'd tremble just sitting in front of a computer.
Besides gaming, Chen Zhao thought he could make a name for himself in the literary world, too.
After all, he'd memorized plenty of great works in his previous life, and they didn't exist in this world. If he published them all, he was sure to become famous in literary circles.
But... as the saying went, there was no first place in literature, while martial arts had a clear winner. Even if he published all those famous works now, it would probably take a long time for the public to recognize their true value. By then, he'd already be past the age for university admission.
So at the moment, he didn't seem to have any way to meet the admission requirements.
Chen Zhao figured there was no point in mulling it over on his own. He might as well ask a teacher.
He opened his phone and found the principal's QQ account.
The principal's QQ account was public, and any student could add him and send him opinions or suggestions. When Chen Zhao had first started school, he'd worried about running into bullies, so he'd promptly added the principal on QQ, planning to use the principal's authority to deal with them. Three years had passed without a single incident of bullying, but now that contact was finally coming in handy.
After thinking for a moment, he sent a message:
"Hello, Principal. I'm Chen Zhao from Class 1, Senior Year. You should remember me. Recently, I've been looking at various universities and found that Lop Nur University's admission standards are very vague. I'm quite interested in the school, though, and wanted to ask what I could do to get admitted."
Chen Zhao thought it would take a long time to get a reply. For one thing, it was already late. Looking out the window, he could see that most of the residents in the neighborhood had turned off their lights and gone to bed. For another, the principal was in charge of a school with thousands of students and must be very busy. He might not see the message for a while.
Chen Zhao turned on his computer, planning to play Winner Winner Chicken Dinner online.
But before the computer had even finished booting up, the principal replied!
"None of our students have ever gotten into Lop Nur University. No one from our entire city has ever been admitted, either. The university follows a small-and-selective admissions policy, accepting fewer than a thousand students each year from all over the world. So I don't have any experience with it."
Chen Zhao's heart sank. Even the principal didn't know how to get into Lop Nur University?
He was really at a loss.
But then the principal sent another message, and Chen Zhao's eyes lit up:
"However, when I visited a school in a neighboring province last year, its principal told me that if a student won enough national or international awards, had a few other talents, and got good grades, the leaders at Lop Nur University would probably take notice."
Chen Zhao thought it over.
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National awards? International awards?
How was he supposed to get those?
A few other talents... did being good at video games count?
The principal sent another message:
"Next week, there'll be a national middle school subject competition, with contests in math, Chinese, English, physics, chemistry, and biology. First there'll be city-level preliminaries, then provincial selection rounds, and finally the national competition, with a handful of first-, second-, and third-place awards. Zhang Fan and Zhao Xiaobai are both planning to take part. If you're interested, you can give it a try. I'll sign you up."
Chen Zhao's eyes lit up. This was perfect!
"Sure, Principal. Please sign me up! Thanks!" Chen Zhao typed back.
Principal: "Which subjects do you want to enter?"
Chen Zhao was taken aback. "What subjects can I enter? Are there any requirements?"
Principal: "In theory, you can enter any subject, but the problems in these competitions are incredibly difficult. The full score is 100, and a score of 30 is enough to advance. It's best to focus on one subject. Since you get good grades, you could try taking on two."
The principal immediately sent him a link to a webpage with details about the national middle school subject competition.
Chen Zhao read the details very carefully, then made up his mind:
If he was going to do it, he'd go all out!
"Principal, I want to enter the Chinese, math, physics, chemistry, and biology competitions," Chen Zhao typed.
He'd enter every subject he studied, except English. It was still a weak subject, and he didn't want to embarrass himself at the competition. But he was confident in his other subjects. He might not get first place, but surely he could scrape together a second- or third-place award or two, right?
The principal replied: "This isn't an ordinary exam. The problems are all Olympiad-level, and they're extremely difficult! Seventy percent of students score under five points, and ninety percent score under thirty! If you try to take on everything and don't have enough time to prepare, you might end up with no awards at all! Think it over carefully!"
Chen Zhao replied at once: "No need, Principal. I'm not an ordinary student. I'm confident in my abilities. Please sign me up for Chinese, math, physics, chemistry, and biology."
The principal hesitated, then sent another message: "Based on past experience, a student can win awards in at most two subjects, and some don't win anything at all. But I respect your decision. I was just making a suggestion. I hope you won't regret it. Give me a moment to sign you up."
The principal went quiet.
Chen Zhao waited a few minutes. Then the principal suddenly sent him five pictures.
"Chinese competition admission ticket, exam number 202013986"
"Math competition admission ticket, exam number 202013986"
"Physics admission ticket..."
"Chemistry..."
"Biology..."
He had five admission tickets in all.
"Print these out and bring them to the exam. If you have any questions, you can ask me, Zhao Xiaobai, or Zhang Fan," the principal said.
Chen Zhao thanked the principal profusely. He didn't feel like streaming anymore, so he posted a leave notice in his livestream room, then went downstairs to the neighborhood print shop and printed three copies of each admission ticket.
He'd do his best to win an award in every competition! Chen Zhao made up his mind.
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