System Upgrade

Life passed by in a tightly packed, busy routine. No one came looking for him until the end of the first academic year, which let Link relax. It seemed the hotel incident was behind him.

Many clues lost their relevance as time passed. Nearly a year had gone by without anyone noticing, so he could basically consider himself safe.

Of course, Link had not relaxed his standards for himself. Even though he had figured out that killing enemies was probably the way to obtain Evolution Points, and that it was remarkably effective, he had not reduced his daily training in the slightest.

After all, obtaining Evolution Points by killing enemies was still far too risky for Link at this point.

Maybe nothing would happen once or twice, but if he did it too often, someone would definitely uncover traces of it. Was he supposed to become a fugitive then?

That kind of life looked cool in movies, but Link did not even want to imagine living every day with one eye open while he slept.

Besides, he had no urgent need for it. In the new academic year, he continued improving his attributes step by step through training. Not long ago, after his agility reached 15 points, the system underwent a new change and had displayed "Upgrading" ever since.

"Link, what do you think of this bracelet? Do you think my sister will like it?" a voice asked beside him.

"Not bad. It's very pretty," Link said to Peggy. "Your sister should like it."

"Then I'll get this one." Peggy nodded. "I'll have the clerk wrap it up."

The two of them were currently in a boutique near the school. Before they knew it, they had completed three terms at the California Institute of Technology—one full academic year. It was now nearly June of their second year, just in time for summer break.

Under Caltech's academic system, summer vacation lasted three whole months. Many students chose to work summer jobs during that time, while those without financial pressures traveled around the country. Link had his own plans, but first, he needed to return to Texas.

Spurred by what had happened on the way there last year, Link chose to fly back with Peggy, even though driving would have been cheaper.

Their plane tickets had already been booked, and their flight would leave tomorrow. They were currently picking out gifts for family and friends back home. Link quickly chose his gifts, while Peggy took far longer.

As they left the boutique, Peggy said, "Link, are you sure we're choosing research on Fermat's Last Theorem as the topic for our graduation thesis?"

"That's right." Link nodded. "I have quite a few ideas about Fermat's Last Theorem."

Over the course of that academic year, Link's steadily increasing intelligence had allowed his studies to progress at an astonishing pace. By now, he had completed all the required courses that ordinary students needed to finish.

At this point, it was time to prepare for their graduation thesis. After discussing it with Peggy, the two of them decided to make research on Fermat's Last Theorem the core of their thesis.

Fermat's Last Theorem, also known as "Fermat's Last Theorem," was proposed by the mathematician from seventeenth-century France, Pierre de Fermat. He asserted that when the integer n was greater than 2, the equation x^n + y^n = z^n had no positive integer solutions.

In his previous life, Link had encountered this theorem before. It had been solved by a British mathematician in 1995.

This world of The Big Bang Theory was highly similar to his previous life, and it was still 1992. Therefore, the theorem had yet to be solved.

Link did not remember the specific proof, but he retained a vague impression of that mathematician's line of thought. With his current intelligence, he managed to recall the approach he had once seen.

Scientific research sometimes depended on a flash of inspiration. Sometimes, it was not a lack of intelligence or knowledge, but a lack of sufficient inspiration.

Yet inspiration was something one could only stumble upon by chance. Once Link recalled that line of thought, it was effectively the same as possessing the inspiration needed to solve the theorem.

All Link needed to do next was follow that approach and solve the theorem bit by bit.

Compared to when he had first entered college a year ago, Link's intelligence had now reached 16.4 points, and his IQ had exceeded 150. More importantly, he had Peggy's help, so he was quite confident they could solve Fermat's Last Theorem within two years.

With Peggy's extraordinary intelligence, her academic progress was even ahead of Link's.

Her progress in mathematics courses and her accumulated knowledge had always surpassed Link's. Over the past year, Link's improved IQ had continuously accelerated his learning pace.

Even so, Link could not accurately estimate Peggy's level, because she had reached the same level long ago and had deliberately kept her pace of study aligned with his ever since.

Peggy did not know that Link had already formed an idea about solving Fermat's Last Theorem. "Fermat's Last Theorem has remained unsolved for more than three hundred years. So many famous mathematicians failed to solve it, and we've only just begun studying it. You don't need to rush. Besides, this is only an undergraduate thesis. We don't actually need to solve it."

"I've just had a few ideas recently, but I still feel like I can't quite grasp them. It's nothing," Link said. He did not immediately reveal that he already had a lead. Right now, he was more concerned about the system upgrade. "Let's keep picking out gifts."

"Okay."

Fortunately, the system upgrade did not keep Link waiting for long. After getting off the plane and setting foot on Texas soil, he received a notification that the upgrade had been completed.

After finally returning home and exchanging greetings with his family, Link went back to his room and eagerly opened the system panel.

Link Bennett

Biological Level: 1 Star

Attributes: The average attributes of a normal adult man are 10 points.

Strength: 15.6 (Muscle 15.5, Physical Robustness 15.7)

Agility: 15.25 (Hand-Eye Coordination 16, Dexterity 15, Reaction 15, Balance 15)

Constitution: 15.4 (Health 15.1, Endurance 15.7)

Intelligence: 16.4 (Learning Ability 16.8, Mental Activity 16)

Perception: 12.5 (Willpower 12.5, Common Sense Judgment 13.5, Perceptiveness 12.5, Intuition 11.5)

Charisma: 12.7 (Courage 13, Persuasion 11, Personal Appeal 15, Leadership 12, Physical Attractiveness 12.5)

Skills: Baseball (Some Accomplishment), Mixed Martial Arts (Well-Versed), Basic Science (Some Accomplishment), Basic Firearms Proficiency (Some Accomplishment), Violin Performance (Some Accomplishment), Piano Performance (Beginner).

Special Abilities: None

Evolution Points: 0

Possessions: None

Space-Time Functions:
Mandatory Assessment Mission—Space-Time Mission Function: Mandatory Assessment Mission—At the end of the nineteenth century, the British aristocrat Lord Joestar took in an adopted son named Dio. However, Dio, who had grown up in the slums, had a soul filled with desire and evil. He relentlessly tormented Lord Joestar's biological son, Jonathan, and even poisoned his adoptive father, Lord Joestar.

By chance, Dio acquired the Mexican Antique Stone Mask kept by the Joestar family and evolved into an immortal vampire who feared sunlight, yet could absorb the life energy of living beings and create undead servants.

Please help Jonathan eliminate the evil vampire Dio.