Mathematics Salon

When Matthew walked into the classroom, he saw the salon announcement Li Mo had written.

He snorted. What a show-off!

Then he quickly remembered his own business, and joy welled up in him.

After dropping fifteen gold pounds, he was destined to return as the Dragon King and win everything back that afternoon!

Although the other party had not revealed the details of the plan, and he did not know what top-tier occult methods they would use, Matthew had complete faith in them.

Would an organization that big really cheat me?

Matthew could not resist going over to show off to Li Mo. "Are you planning to hold a salon on the lawn?"

Li Mo said, "It's written clearly enough on the blackboard."

Matthew smiled. "Ever since calculus was founded, the finest scholars on the entire continent have studied it. You alone... do you think you can shake the achievements of generations at the Royal Society?"

"I'm merely standing on the shoulders of giants."

Matthew said, "All right, thank you for the invitation. I'll be on the lawn on time this afternoon."

Li Mo looked back at him. "Is that necessary? You wouldn't understand it anyway."

Matthew flew into a rage. "I'm coming, I'm coming! What are you going to do about it? Nyah, nyah, nyah!"

Li Mo said, "..."

He did not need to activate Focus to know what Matthew was thinking.

This fool had been sold off and was still counting the money for the seller.

There had been similar organizations on Earth in his previous life.

They took your money and got things done; how they did it was none of your concern.

The organization was called-

Xianyu.

A friend had once seen A4 paper being sold on Xianyu at an extremely low price and asked the seller if he could sell him more.

The seller said no, because he had stolen it all from his company, and if he stole too much, he would be caught.

Another friend had bought a concert ticket on Xianyu. The seller arranged to meet him at the side entrance of the stadium, tossed him a fluorescent security vest, and got him in through the staff entrance...

Strange as Xianyu was, most sellers did get the job done.

Charles was different.

Those people were outright frauds.

Matthew imagined that a high-level occultist would come forward to drum up support for him, but those bastards had taken his money and come to his opponent to split the loot.

They were no longer treating Matthew as a client. They were simply stringing him along like a fool...

Li Mo even felt a little sorry for him and did not dare insult him.

I don't dare call you an idiot, because I'm afraid you really are one.

"Anna, stay here and look after Helen. I'm going back to the observatory first."

"Okay."

"Wayne, at three thirty this afternoon, help me borrow a large mobile blackboard from the logistics office, and bring a few more folding wooden chairs to the lawn west of the fountain while you're at it."

"Got it!"

The observatory, on the top floor of the academy's main building.

Li Mo activated Focus and glanced at the globe. The seven points of light were still glowing.

He now knew that those seven points of light represented seven powerful Mystical Artifacts.

He wondered whether he would ever have a chance to collect them all...

Li Mo picked up his pen, intending to finish the paper first.

"On the principles of the self-excited DC generator"

Li Mo buried himself in his work, neither eating water nor drinking food.

He kept at it until the afternoon.

During that time, Professor Bryce came over to talk to him and asked whether he wanted to take a break.

Li Mo gave perfunctory replies of "Mm-hmm" and "Okay, okay," but it was obvious he had not taken in a word.

That was how he was when he worked: extremely difficult to interrupt.

If you went over to ask him something, you would get an answering bot, responding purely on instinct...

In his previous life, a buddy had deliberately teased him while he was working. "Bro, how about lending me a million?"

Li Mo said, "Sure, sure."

A female researcher had also said, "Li Mo, I like you. Let's date!"

Li Mo said, "Sure, sure."

The researcher said, "Let's get married after work!"

Li Mo said, "Sure, sure."

At last, he finished the paper.

His Focus faded, and he slumped back in his chair, drained, letting out a long breath...

Professor Bryce turned toward him. "All done?"

Li Mo nodded. "Yep, Professor. Would you take a look?"

"Coming!"

Professor Bryce was very curious about his paper.

He came over and read it as he spoke. "But I should say this first: academic research must be rigorous. If I submit a paper that isn't rigorous to the Royal Academy of Sciences, my peers will criticize me."

"I understand. If there's anything that needs improvement, we can revise it."

"All right."

As Professor Bryce read the paper, he naturally hoped to find some problems.

But... as you know, that was difficult.

A long while passed.

The old professor scratched his head and asked in confusion:

"Li Mo, this paper of yours... where did it come from?"

"I just wrote it in front of you. What's wrong, Professor?"

"Uh... nothing, nothing."

The professor's voice suddenly sounded a little dry.

He said, "All right, I didn't see any obvious problems. I'll study it more carefully over the next couple of days. If there's nothing wrong, I'll help you submit it to the Royal Academy of Sciences."

The level of technology in this era was roughly comparable to Earth on the eve of the Second Industrial Revolution.

The telegraph already existed and could be used for long-distance communication.

Special Mystical Rituals could also transmit documents over long distances, much like a fax machine.

So there was no need for a paper to cross the sea to reach the capital, taking more than half a month for the round trip.

The professor changed the subject.

"I heard you're holding a salon on the lawn this afternoon?"

"Yes, on a rigorous definition of limits in calculus."

"The younger generation is formidable... where does a sixteen-year-old get so much inspiration? Sometimes I really wonder whether you're human."

"I sure am, Professor."

Three forty-five in the afternoon.

The lawn west of Fountain Square, Puxiu Academy.

Though Wayne sometimes sounded unreliable, he was actually highly efficient, precise and elegant, just like his family's clocks and watches.

The blackboard was in place, along with more than thirty folding chairs, arranged in a slight arc to ensure everyone could see clearly.

By now, a large crowd had gathered around the lawn.

Most had come to watch the spectacle.

They had all heard that Li Mo, a third-year student, was planning something big.

Everyone was discussing it.

Had the town's former occult genius found a second wind in mathematics, or had he gone a little mad?

Besides the onlookers, quite a few teachers were seated in the chairs.

That was thanks to Mr. Harrison.

One of the teachers asked in a low voice:

"Harrison, are you sure this isn't a prank?"

Mr. Harrison said seriously, "If it were any other student, I would have chased him out of the classroom with my cane long ago. But Li Mo is different. You've seen his talent for mathematics too. He surpasses everyone I've ever met. I believe that since he dared write those words on the blackboard, he must have a reason."

"All right, you have a point."

Before he had finished speaking, someone on the edge of the crowd called out, "He's here, it's Li Mo!"

Wearing his academy uniform, Li Mo walked through the crowd with a calm expression.

Anna followed obediently half a step behind him, holding a box of chalk.

"Li Mo, you're here!"

Harrison was the first to get up and greet him.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Harrison."

"I saw the introduction you left on the blackboard, so I took the liberty of inviting a few other teachers to come and watch. You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not. Thank you for your trust."

"Then could you give me a hint in advance? You said you wanted to bring limits back to logic and let arithmetic rule continuity. What method have you found?"

"Sir, please take your seat first. Everything will become clear shortly."

Mr. Harrison nodded. He was unbearably curious, so he hurried back to his seat in the first row and took out his notebook, ready to take notes at any moment.

As Li Mo stepped up, he glanced over the audience.

He spotted Matthew.

Matthew was shameless enough: the other students were all standing, but he alone was sitting in a chair with the teachers.

His eyes flickered, as though he were waiting for some signal, looking forward to the underground organization he had paid fifteen gold pounds to appear and cause chaos!

Anticipation really is a subtle form of violence.

Not far from him, under the shade of a tree, Charles Bowen had also arrived, but he had come to tell Matthew that they were not taking the job, damn it, and would give his money back!

Li Mo is too terrifying. Who would dare cross him?

Apart from Matthew and Charles,

students from every department in the academy had come to watch, excitedly chattering among themselves:

"I heard Professor Bryce made an exception and took him on as an academic collaborator. It's gone so far to his head he doesn't know who he is anymore."

"He's far too arrogant. Even a senior fellow of the Royal Society in the capital wouldn't dare publicly claim he could lay a rigorous foundation for calculus."

"I think he just wants to use this stunt to become famous throughout the academy."

"If he can't produce anything substantial, Mr. Harrison will tear him to shreds on the spot."

The loudest voices were those of doubt.

It could not be helped. No one believed a student from the small town of Mondel could solve a problem that had troubled the entire continent.

Dong-

The bell of the academy's main building rang.

Right on time, Li Mo took out a piece of chalk and said:

"Thank you all for coming today. I won't waste time on pleasantries. Let's begin."