The sun and moon flowed on, dusk giving way to dawn.
Soon, the day the results were released arrived.
At noon, many people waited excitedly beside their computers so they could check their scores the moment they became available.
Jiang Fan was just as excited. Although he was very confident, there was always the chance that a grader might have made a mistake.
Time ticked by, second by second. Jiang Fan sat at the computer, his parents standing behind him, one on either side.
They, too, glanced nervously at the clock from time to time, hoping their son would achieve his ideal scores.
Jiang Fan's father, Jiang Jingguo, held a cup of goji berry tea, taking a sip now and then. Jiang Fan had been his pride and joy since childhood. Although his son's grades had become very poor over the past year for reasons he did not understand, Jiang Jingguo believed his son could definitely do it!
Li Guiqin tugged at his arm, praying constantly in her heart that her son would achieve his ideal scores!
His sudden fit of madness last time still left her somewhat frightened!
Soon, it was 11:59. In just one more minute, they could check his college entrance examination scores. Yet those sixty seconds felt so long, every second making them anxious!
Jiang Fan and his parents all stared at the clock's second hand, counting down in their hearts.
3
2
1
"Beep!"
The clock chimed the hour!
Jiang Fan took a deep breath and clicked to refresh the page. Fields for his examination admission number and ID number appeared!
His slender fingers moved like dancing sprites as he swiftly entered the two strings of numbers.
Then he moved the mouse pointer over the query button.
"Click!"
Jiang Fan pressed the left mouse button with his right index finger.
At the sound of the click, Jiang Jingguo's and Li Guiqin's hearts began pounding.
The page changed, but Jiang Fan's scores did not appear immediately. Instead, a little circle appeared in the middle of the page, spinning endlessly!
"Fuck! What kind of lousy connection is this?" Jiang Jingguo cursed, no longer caring about appearances!
Li Guiqin could not help shooting her husband a reproachful look, but she quickly fixed her eyes back on the computer screen, afraid of missing the first glimpse of her son's scores!
The little circle spun for a full ten seconds before disappearing. Then Jiang Fan's scores appeared on the screen!
Chinese: 60 Mathematics: 60 English: 60 Combined sciences: 120 Total score: 300
Jiang Jingguo and Li Guiqin were instantly dumbfounded at the results, their hearts turning ice-cold. It seemed their son had failed to escape this curse even in the college entrance examination!
Just then, a system notification sounded in Jiang Fan's mind.
Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully passing the Technology System's test. System binding and activation in progress...
Jiang Fan trembled all over with excitement, shouting over and over in his heart: I finally did it! I finally did it!
His efforts over the past year had not been in vain after all.
As long as the Technology System successfully bound to him, he believed he would definitely become Dragon Country's most formidable scientific researcher!
Just as Jiang Fan began savoring visions of the future, Jiang Jingguo could not help sighing!
"Ah!"
Li Guiqin quickly tugged at his arm, signaling for him not to let their son hear. It had taken so much for Jiang Fan to recover from what happened last time!
Jiang Jingguo understood what his wife meant. He placed a hand on Jiang Fan's shoulder and spoke earnestly.
"Son, it's all right. At worst, we'll start over!"
But Jiang Fan said nothing, because another voice sounded in his mind!
Ding: System binding successful! One beginner gift package obtained!
Jiang Fan was immensely pleased!
Haha... it's finally here!
"Open the beginner gift package!"
Ding: Beginner gift package opened. Congratulations to the host for obtaining the formulas and principles of controlled nuclear fusion!
At the system's words, Jiang Fan was completely stunned!
He had never expected the system to be so powerful, rewarding him with the formulas and principles of controlled nuclear fusion right away!
He did know a little about controlled nuclear fusion.
So-called controlled nuclear fusion released energy through the splitting of atomic nuclei. During fusion, lighter atomic nuclei combined into heavier nuclei, releasing energy.
For example, the hydrogen bomb was a form of nuclear fusion. A hydrogen bomb's explosion produced tremendous destructive power and enormous amounts of energy, but that energy was uncontrollable!
The controlled nuclear fusion rewarded by the system, however, allowed this nuclear fusion to be sustained at a certain temperature, producing enormous amounts of energy!
As everyone knew, the main energy sources humanity currently used were oil and coal. However, these energy sources were nonrenewable, and humanity would eventually exhaust them.
The advantages of controlled nuclear fusion were very clear: 1. It released more energy than nuclear fission. 2. Its fuel supply was abundant and inexhaustible. 3. It produced no pollution.
Thus, controlled nuclear fusion would be the perfect replacement for conventional energy sources.
Moreover, throughout history, every improvement in energy had brought major technological breakthroughs.
Jiang Fan believed that once controlled nuclear fusion became a reality, developing spaceships and flying saucers would no longer be a dream.
Looking at the formulas and principles of controlled nuclear fusion in his mind, Jiang Fan clenched his fists, thrilled and excited!
"This is amazing! Haha..."
Seeing Jiang Fan's excited expression, Jiang Jingguo and Li Guiqin were dumbstruck. Had their son gone mad again?
At that thought, Li Guiqin's tears streamed down uncontrollably!
"Son, from now on, we won't go to school anymore. As long as our family is safe and sound, that's all that matters!"
Looking at his mother's tear-streaked face, Jiang Fan immediately realized she must have gotten the wrong idea and thought he had gone mad. He quickly put away his happy smile and spoke!
"Mom! Don't worry. I'm fine."
Seeing that her son was speaking normally, Li Guiqin asked seriously, "Son, are you really all right?"
"Yes! I'm a little hungry. Mom, could you make me something to eat?"
"Of course, of course. I'll make you something right now!"
Li Guiqin hurried happily into the kitchen. As long as her son was mentally sound, whether he went to university was secondary to her!
"As long as you're all right!"
Jiang Jingguo patted his son's shoulder.
Jiang Fan could also see the disappointment in his father's eyes, but he had had no choice if he wanted to activate the system!
Thinking back over the past year, his parents had sacrificed far, far too much for him, and they had endured plenty of ridicule from others.
Just as Jiang Fan was feeling that he had let his parents down, the system's voice sounded in his mind again.
Ding: Mission issued: gain admission to Dragon University of Science and Technology! Mission reward: Introduction to Blue Star Super Mathematics! No penalty for mission failure!
Jiang Fan was instantly dumbfounded.
The system wants me to gain admission to Dragon University of Science and Technology?
But he had scored only 300 on the college entrance examination. Forget Dragon University of Science and Technology, Dragon Country's best scientific research university-even an ordinary vocational college would probably not want him!
What am I supposed to do?
In fact, Jiang Fan also understood that, as a scientific researcher, only by entering a first-rate research university could he obtain more resources for his research in the future!
Although Jiang Fan now had the system, he still needed a good research environment. Take the controlled nuclear fusion the system had rewarded him with: it was an enormous undertaking. Although he had the formulas for controlled nuclear fusion, developing it would require vast supporting resources to complete.