Maybe, This Was Talent?

"Zhouzi, Liu Rui, we're leaving. You two take care."

"See you in two months."

Dragging their suitcases behind them, Shi Shang and Huang Guangming waved, leaving behind dashing silhouettes. In the now-empty dorm room, only Lu Zhou and Liu Rui remained.

Summer vacation had begun.

In less than a week, the entire campus would grow quiet. It would not be until the end of August that people gradually began returning. By then, the school would become lively again—not only with returning students, but also with fresh-faced new underclassmen joining them.

After finishing his application to remain on campus, Lu Zhou greeted Liu Rui and left the dorm with his laptop bag. He first went to the dorm manager to submit the form, then headed to the library.

Jinling University's academic atmosphere was still beyond reproach. Although most people had left campus, the library was still packed with graduate school exam candidates. Even some empty seats had towering stacks of books piled on them to reserve the spots.

Sometimes, Lu Zhou could not help wondering what these people were even after. Some of their books had gathered such thick layers of dust, yet he never saw anyone come by.

Seeing a book placed on his usual seat, Lu Zhou was about to find another spot when Chen Yushan, seated beside it, quietly removed the book and waved at him.

Lu Zhou understood at once. So she had saved the seat for him.

He did not stand on ceremony and walked straight over.

After placing his laptop on the desk, Lu Zhou did not sit down immediately. Instead, he went to the nearby bookshelves.

Recalling the items on the reading list, he hesitated for a moment before finally taking down Linear Algebra (Defense Industry Press Edition).

Although the system had given him a reading list suited to him and had even marked the location of every book on the shelves through holographic images only he could see, regrettably, it had not marked the value coefficient of each book this time. He could only rely on his own judgment to choose the reading order.

The order of reading was not something to underestimate. There was a certain continuity between different kinds of knowledge, and even different disciplines could influence one another.

Without taking foundational courses like Semiconductor Physics and Fundamentals of Circuit Design, it would be difficult to understand the concepts in Microelectronics. Without a foundation in Microelectronics, reading Introduction to IC Design directly would be even more bewildering, like trying to decipher a heavenly tome.

Starting with mathematics-related subjects was undoubtedly the safer choice.

Under normal circumstances, mathematical foundations affected one's understanding of concepts in other science and engineering disciplines. It was rare for other science and engineering subjects to influence mathematics in return. Besides, mathematics happened to be Lu Zhou's strength. Though some of it was still new knowledge, at least he would not feel completely lost.

As it happened, there were still major gaps in his mathematical knowledge. Much of it was scattered and piecemeal.

For example, because of the paper he had exchanged for first, he had gained a fairly deep understanding of certain concepts in complex analysis, Real Analysis, and Functional Analysis. But for the parts not covered by the paper, he was completely in the dark.

Luckily, no one was bored enough to quiz him from a textbook. Otherwise, he would definitely be exposed.

A person who had not even finished studying a Functional Analysis textbook was publishing grand discussions of "Linear Functional Optimal Inversion Theory" in a core journal. No one would believe it even as a joke.

"If only there were some water." Taking out the pure-white pill bottle from his pocket, Lu Zhou stood behind the bookshelves and glanced at the water cup on Chen Yushan's desk. After hesitating, he ultimately gave up on that bold idea.

Taking out a capsule, Lu Zhou closed his eyes, tossed it into his mouth, held back a mouthful of saliva, and forced it down.

After waiting for a while, just as he was wondering why nothing had changed, a faint prickling sensation suddenly spread from the back of his head. It eventually swept across his eyes and gathered between his brows.

It was difficult to describe the feeling. It was as though invisible ants were crawling over his head.

Nanobots?

Or some kind of special chemical hormone?

Lu Zhou did not know. The black technology provided by the system had already exceeded the scope of knowledge available in this world. His only impression was that his mind felt incomparably clear and his thoughts incredibly meticulous, as though Newton, Einstein, and Heimerdinger had possessed him.

And the feeling was like chewing gum—it simply would not stop.

Lu Zhou realized that the medicine had taken effect.

Without any hesitation, he took the book back to his seat and sat down, meticulously opening to the first page.

The effects of the Focus Capsule differed from the immersive reading experience he had had while completing the previous task.

That immersive reading experience had been more like total devotion, like a great whale swallowing water.

But the Focus Capsule felt more as though it had activated his brain cells, allowing him to add a layer of his own thinking while absorbing knowledge.

Second by second, time passed. Before long, noon had become six in the evening, and the sky outside had taken on a dusky yellow hue.

Chen Yushan stretched and glanced toward Lu Zhou. Seeing that he was still in the exact same posture as an hour ago, she could not help secretly admiring him.

What a monster!

So this was how top students were forged!

But if he sat like that all the time, would his neck not get sore?

"Hey, junior, are you going to the cafeteria?" Chen Yushan poked Lu Zhou's arm and asked quietly.

"You go ahead. I'm not that hungry yet." Lu Zhou shook his head.

Five hours had already passed. The medicine's effects were slowly declining, but a trace of the feeling remained.

He wanted to see just how long this feeling could last at most.

"Then I'll go first..." Chen Yushan suddenly remembered something and continued in a low voice, "Oh, right. Do you remember the part-time job I told you about?"

Lu Zhou asked, "Of course. When does it start?"

Chen Yushan suggested quietly, "Tomorrow is Saturday. How about we arrange a time to meet in the morning? I'll take you to meet my aunt."

Lu Zhou thought about it and nodded. "Sure."

He happened to have nothing to do tomorrow anyway. If he wanted to take another pill and read, he would have to wait twenty-four hours.

At two hundred yuan an hour, after working a few times, he would have next year's tuition covered.

The two agreed to meet at the school gate at nine the next morning. Chen Yushan then tidied up the things on her desk and got up to head for the cafeteria.

After Chen Yushan left, Lu Zhou turned his attention back to the book.

As time passed, he could clearly feel his concentration gradually declining and returning to its usual state.

Concepts he had once understood at a glance now required him to read them back and forth several times.

Most noticeably, without the medicine holding him in check, he found himself getting distracted badly—far more seriously than usual.

Looking at the densely packed notes in his notebook and his laptop, which had already shut down automatically, Lu Zhou sighed and took out his phone to check the time.

It was already seven-thirty.

Having held out until now, he was starving.

"The effects last five hours. After that, they gradually weaken over the course of a little more than an hour until they disappear."

"I can't let myself become completely unable to read without taking pills..."

After thinking for a moment, Lu Zhou took the book to the librarian, pulled out his library card to register the loan, then packed up and left the library.

On the way back to the dorm, he stopped by the cafeteria and casually ate a bowl of noodles for dinner.

Back in the dorm, Lu Zhou sat at his desk and continued reading.

No matter how efficient he was at absorbing knowledge, reading even a little was better than nothing.

Although his pace of absorbing knowledge was slow in his normal state, that did not prevent him from reinforcing what he had already learned and extending it to a certain degree.

More importantly, he did not want to become overly dependent on the Focus Capsule.

After all, there were only forty capsules in a bottle. Once they were gone, they were gone. With those terrible drop rates, who knew when he would draw this thing again?

At around nine o'clock, Liu Rui returned to the dorm after attending the Mathematical Modeling Competition training mobilization meeting, carrying a large bag of reference books on his back.

With his sharp eyes, he noticed Lu Zhou studying. After setting down his shoulder bag, he immediately came over.

"Zhouzi, the exams are over. You're still reading?"

"Being idle is still being idle. I haven't had much to do lately." Lu Zhou smiled.

Liu Rui looked at the contents of the book Lu Zhou was reading but said nothing.

Once he accepted this reality, he found his state of mind much calmer.

If the gap had been only one or two points, he might still have had hope of catching up. But a gap of ninety points versus a perfect score left him without even the courage to try.

Thinking about it made him feel awful.

For the month before the exam, he had started studying the moment he opened his eyes and was still solving problems when he closed them. Yet Zhouzi had still been working part-time two weeks before the exam, then had suddenly "come to his senses" before the test, moved around a little, and completely crushed both him and Luo Rundong.

Liu Rui still could not understand what had happened to Lu Zhou to cause such an astonishing change.

Finally, unable to hold it in any longer, he voiced the confusion in his heart.

"Zhouzi, when you study mathematics, do you have some kind of trick? Can you teach me?"

As he said this, Liu Rui's face reddened slightly.

After all, whenever his roommates had previously asked him questions or borrowed his notes, he had always been quite unwilling.

Lu Zhou put down his pen and thought seriously for a while.

"I don't know either... Maybe it was talent?"

"..."

Hearing those words, Liu Rui nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.

Did he have to show off like that? Even lousy students had dignity, okay?!

Watching Liu Rui's woodenly retreating back as he returned to his seat, Lu Zhou silently sighed. This little boat of friendship had probably capsized again.

But what could he do?

He was desperate too.

It was not as if he could tell anyone that there was a system installed in his brain, could he?