Python All Night

After dinner, Madam Yang drove Lu Zhou and Chen Yushan back to school.

Before leaving, Han Mengqi reluctantly said goodbye.

Starting tomorrow, her summer vacation would begin.

According to Madam Yang, she would be spending the summer in Shanghai with her father until the end of the month. Naturally, tutoring would be impossible during that time.

Their next tutoring session would have to wait until September.

Walking down the tree-lined path toward the dorms, Chen Yushan turned her head and asked, "I'm planning to go back to my dorm and memorize vocabulary for a while. What about you?"

Lu Zhou thought for a moment. "I'll go sit in the library for a bit longer."

Chen Yushan sighed. "Junior, you're only a freshman, yet you work this hard. You're putting a really, really huge amount of pressure on your senior."

Lu Zhou smiled modestly. "I wouldn't say I'm working especially hard. And I'm not the only one staying on campus. There's another person in my dorm."

Chen Yushan looked up at the sky and sighed. "Are all freshmen this insane nowadays?"

They parted ways near the dorm buildings. Lu Zhou first went to the library to pack up the things on his desk, then headed to an empty classroom in Building A.

After turning on the lights and finding a seat, Lu Zhou emptied his backpack onto the desk and looked at the clock hanging at the front of the classroom. It was exactly eight o'clock.

"Taking the Focus Capsule now gives me five hours of guaranteed effectiveness. The effects will wear off at exactly one in the morning."

"Based on the results of the previous tests, the limit state can probably last until around five in the morning."

"I'll wake up around noon, just in time to get lunch at the cafeteria... then head over to the school computer lab."

He unscrewed his bottle of mineral water, took a deep breath, tapped a capsule out of the medicine bottle into his palm, tossed it into his mouth, and swallowed it with a gulp of water.

That ant-crawling sensation once again crept from the back of his head toward the space between his brows. Everything within his field of vision became clearer than ever before.

It was like activating a cheat code...

No, he already had a cheat code.

Unwilling to waste even a second, Lu Zhou quickly pulled out Introduction to Python from the desk, skipped past the table of contents, opened to the first page, and swept his eyes line by line over the text.

There was a joke that went like this: the best way to make a group of frail programmers start brawling was to shout in front of them, "Which programming language is the most badass?"

They would probably split into all sorts of factions like "C++," "Java," and "Python," then start fighting until someone was dead before they stopped.

So there was no point in arguing over which language was superior. There were only languages that suited a situation best; there was no such thing as the best language.

An outstanding programmer could not possibly master only one language. Just like a general, knowing only how to command infantry was far from enough. He also needed to know how to command highly mobile cavalry and long-range archers...

As for things like tanks, artillery, and airplanes, they might be stored in the system's database, but he could not access them yet.

Functionally speaking, C++ was more like a Swiss Army knife. It offered strong control and was practically universal. You could use it for precise work, but when dealing with massive projects, it was not quite so effortless.

For example, if you wanted to build a car, you might have to start by building the wheels.

By comparison, Python and Java were similar. They were interpreted languages, and each was already a wheel in itself.

If you wanted to build a car quickly, Python was undoubtedly the best choice because it was simple and direct. It was the cavalry of the coding world! Since the code itself was highly readable, users did not need to spend too much time on syntax. In the shortest possible time, it could turn a user's "ideas" into reality. For example, if you wanted to make a webpage, using Python would be much easier than using C++, and it would look cleaner as well.

For Lu Zhou, who had already mastered the basics of C++, conquering Python was not particularly difficult. All he needed was time to commit that foundational knowledge to memory.

As for hands-on practice and method summaries, he could leave those for tomorrow. Even without the Focus Capsule's help, he believed he could do them well.

The next day, Lu Zhou lay slumped over the desk and groggily opened his eyes, red marks still imprinted on one side of his face.

Just like the previous times, once his brain's overload reached the critical point, he had passed out on his own, skipping even the process of falling asleep.

The feeling was truly incredible, even more exhilarating than drinking until he blacked out. On one side, his brain was being filled with knowledge at a visibly rapid pace. On the other, his mind was excited to the absolute limit, as though he had cultivated to the late stages of tribulation transcendence and stood only one step away from crossing the heavenly tribulation...

Of course, the side effects were obvious too. His sleeping posture had been especially bad this time, with half his butt hanging off the seat. When he stood up, his right thigh was nearly numb, and he almost fell to the floor.

"Looks like I need to apply to the school to install a bed in the classroom... Uh, that doesn't seem very realistic." Supporting himself against the desk, Lu Zhou shook his groggy head.

[Mission Progress 11/30]

In just one day yesterday, he had finished chewing through the entire Introduction to Python. While he could not be called proficient in Python as a whole, basic use was more than manageable.

Come to think of it, what time was it now?

He raised his head to look at the clock, and his expression changed.

Damn it, it was already two in the afternoon. The cafeteria had definitely closed by now!

If he tried to go eat outside the school, he would probably starve to death on the way.

His expression shifted several times before Lu Zhou finally sighed.

Forget it. He would just make do with a bowl of instant noodles for lunch.

He had eaten a feast of delicacies yesterday, so eating simply today was fine.

He went to the supermarket and bought a cup of instant noodles, then wandered back to the teaching building.

Every teaching building had a hot water dispenser. You could use it by swiping your card, and it was free. The only annoying part was that the water flow alternated between fast and slow, making it easy to scald your hands.

Holding his prepared instant noodles, Lu Zhou casually found a classroom on the first floor, sat down in the front row, and began slurping away without any concern for his image.

After finishing the noodles, there was finally something in his stomach.

Lu Zhou wiped his mouth and was about to get up and take the trash outside when he heard a heavy cough from the back row.

Huh?

There was actually someone in the classroom?

Lu Zhou looked a little embarrassed because he had not noticed anyone when he came in.

He turned around to look.

What a coincidence!

It was Wang Xiaodong!

Lu Zhou walked over to greet him with a smile. "You didn't go home either?"

Wang Xiaodong said nothing, wearing an expression that plainly said, Isn't that obvious?

And just like that, the conversation naturally came to an end.

Feeling the awkwardness in the air, Lu Zhou was about to say goodbye and slip away when Wang Xiaodong sharply noticed that the side of the book sticking out of his shoulder bag was one he had read before.

His eyebrows rose slightly as Wang Xiaodong asked, "You're reading programming books?"

Huh?

Did this guy not use Weibo or check Moments?

Lu Zhou stared at the top student with a strange expression.

When the Hua Nation Youth Daily had come to Jin University for an interview last time, he and those nine computer science papers should have flooded everyone's feeds. Yet someone was actually surprised that he knew how to program?

Still, strange as it was, Lu Zhou did not think there was anything wrong with it.

He had always been a relatively low-key person, so he merely smiled and replied modestly.

"Yeah, I've been interested in it lately, so I've just been reading a little."

"Python? It is indeed an excellent language, especially suitable for programming beginners. Since you're a freshman, you should have already finished learning C++. If you want a deeper understanding of programming, starting with Python is certainly a good choice. What's your reading list? Have you made a study plan?" Once the topic turned to something he excelled at, Wang Xiaodong became unusually talkative.

"Uh, I'm just reading casually. I don't really have a plan yet..."

Lu Zhou suddenly felt that this guy's excessive enthusiasm was rather difficult to handle too.

"That won't do. Language is profound knowledge. Only systematic learning with a plan can lay a solid foundation. I'll recommend a few books. You can borrow all of them from the library, and you can take a look if you're interested." As he spoke, without caring whether Lu Zhou agreed, he picked up a pen and effortlessly wrote out a long list of books from memory on a sheet of scratch paper.

Looking at the reading list on the scratch paper, Lu Zhou felt his scalp tingle. He could not help wondering whether this was what Wang Xiaodong was like whenever he spent time with Lin Yuxiang.

It was impressive that she could put up with him...

Of course, he was still grateful for the reading list the top student had provided, though it was hard to say whether he would ever have a chance to use it.

"If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me." Pushing up his glasses, Wang Xiaodong spoke expressionlessly.

"Definitely..."

After awkwardly chatting for a few more lines, Lu Zhou grabbed his empty instant noodle cup and slipped away.