Chapter 5
On Sunday, Ji Zhixing got up early and went to the playground for a run. After half an hour, he was covered in sweat, had three mosquito bites, and earned a point.
In the second stage, each task is worth two points. The system subdivides the "integration" task into several aspects such as upper limb strength, lower limb strength, and core training. Running belongs to the lower limb strength part and only counts as one point. Ji Zhixing must complete another set of upper limb strength or core training to get the other point. He decided to do it after returning to his dormitory at night.
When Ji Zhixing returned to the dorm, his two roommates were still asleep. He took a shower and then tiptoed out again. From beginning to end, his two roommates were completely asleep, not even turning over.
Lin Lang once declared: "Sleeping until noon is the duty of contemporary college students!"
Xu Dongyang reportedly didn't have a chance to sleep in during the two months of summer vacation at home, so he's making up for it now. These past two days, before school officially started, he's been sleeping until sunset almost every day.
Both of them couldn't understand Ji Zhixing's grueling schedule of waking up at 6 a.m. and going to bed at 10 p.m.
But Ji Zhixing didn't think it was hard. In the past, he lived in poverty and had to work while studying. His daily routine consisted of either explaining problems at a tutoring center until his throat was dry, or handing out flyers under the scorching sun and in the cold wind and being looked down upon by others.
Tutoring pays a bit more per hour, 50-100 yuan per lesson, but the competition is fierce. He can only get two or three lessons a week, and the agency takes a cut. Distributing flyers pays 120 yuan for 8 hours, and his legs are stiff after standing all day, but such opportunities don't come every week.
He knew, of course, that spending a lot of time doing purely manual labor would not help his studies, but life forced him to make a difficult balance between studying and working.
Now, he doesn't even need to leave the school gates. As long as he studies and exercises, and meets his targets, he can easily earn 1,000 yuan a day. How could he not cherish this opportunity and seize the time?
After leaving the dormitory, Ji Zhixing went to the cafeteria for breakfast. He had now achieved "steamed bun freedom," eating two meat buns and one vegetable bun for a balanced and nutritious meal.
When Ji Zhixing arrived at the library, it was just opening. He trailed at the end of the long queue, following the orderly yet slightly hurried flow of people into the library.
Tomorrow marks the official start of the new semester, and postgraduate entrance exam candidates are once again engaged in a fierce battle for library seats.
Guangling University Library does not allow reserving seats. Every day after closing, the librarians clear all items from the seats, so the battle for seats is a daily routine for postgraduate entrance exam takers. As soon as they enter the gate, they hurry in, quickly claiming a spot, slamming their heavy bags on the table to declare that the place is taken and no one else should leave.
Ji Zhixing, trailing at the end of the line, was not in a hurry at all. He calmly went up to the third floor and walked to a window seat, which had almost become his exclusive throne.
Why? Because even during the most intense month of final exams when the competition for positions is fiercest, this position is basically unclaimed, earning it the nickname "Curse of Light"!
The Guangling University Library is shaped like a concave character, and this location is at the very concave point. From sunrise to sunset, sunlight is refracted and reflected through a series of rich layers on the library's glass facade, ultimately focusing on this spot.
Even in the cold winter, this complex series of lights can make people dizzy, and sitting in this position for half an hour will make you feel blue in front of your eyes and your vision blurry.
Not to mention that in the sweltering summer, this "light" is further amplified by the "heat." Some idle students have conducted experiments showing that even with the air conditioning on full blast, the intense heat from this spot can cook a fried egg in a short time.
One brave soul defied the odds and stacked three sun umbrellas on top of each other, enduring the heat for an hour before suffering from heatstroke.
From then on, experienced students would not seek trouble in this position, while those who were unaware of the situation would usually flee in disarray within half an hour even if they accidentally entered the restricted area.
Watching clueless newcomers stumble into restricted areas is one of the few sources of amusement for postgraduate entrance exam takers in the library, but Ji Zhixing broke the curse of this spot.
When he first sat in this position, the people around him smirked with a hint of malice, and then unanimously predicted in their hearts when he would be defeated. Unexpectedly, Ji Zhixing sat firmly in this position for the entire morning.
Ji Zhixing knew the curse of this seat, but that day he was delayed because of signing for a truckload of clothes, and by the time he arrived at the library, it was already packed. The system reminded him that there was an empty seat by the window, but Ji Zhixing said that his mortal body couldn't withstand this curse.
The system said it was a piece of cake; the light could be completely absorbed and stored as system energy. So, when Ji Zhixing sat by the window, although he seemed to be bathed in strong light, most of the light and heat were absorbed by the system, allowing him to sit still and study comfortably.
Deceived by Ji Zhixing's unscathed state, some people tried sitting opposite him that afternoon, but within half an hour they were sweating profusely, dizzy, and hurriedly fled. Afterwards, several unlucky souls who had lost out in the battle for the seat stretched out their feet to try and get the seat, and they all received the "curse of light," their faces flushed and covered in sweat.
From then on, this position became Ji Zhixing's exclusive throne, and everyone in the library held him in high esteem. Regardless of whether he achieved any academic success, his perseverance alone deserved to be included in the contemporary side story of "Twenty-Four Anecdotes of Diligent Study".
After putting his bag on his seat, Ji Zhixing went to the bookshelf to search for books.
After being promoted to level two, the system gave him a reading list, along with textbooks from his junior and senior years, as part of the "comprehension" task.
The book list contains more than twenty books, most of which are mathematics books such as "Complex Analysis", "Ordinary Differential Equations", "A Course in Mathematical Analysis", and "Real Analysis".
Ji Zhixing is a physics major. Although he inevitably has to deal with mathematics, the lower limit is calculus and linear algebra. In his second year, he mainly deals with Fourier transform, Cauchy's theorem, Laplace transform, and residue theorem.
However, the system clearly hopes that he will delve deeper into mathematics, which Ji Zhixing understands, since mathematics is an important tool for studying other disciplines, including physics.
He hesitated for a moment between Complex Analysis and Computational Physics, then picked up Complex Analysis, which would be his task for the day.
As his learning abilities continued to improve, Ji Zhixing felt that his reading and comprehension speed was getting faster and faster. Before, it took him a month to read just the dozen or so books he needed for his sophomore year, and he found it quite difficult. Now, he can finish reading one book a day and achieve a certain level of understanding.
Therefore, although the reading task in the second stage was quite heavy, with more than fifty books on the reading list and textbooks combined, Ji Zhixing gradually began to feel the joy of reading, which was also accompanied by the joy of making money.
At the library, Ji Zhixing completed the reading task for "comprehension" and the problem-solving task for "creativity".
In the first stage, the problems given by the system are mostly counterintuitive mathematical problems such as "proving that the infinite repeating decimal 0.999... = 1", "Montihull problem", "harmonic series diverging to infinity", and "Bertrand box paradox", which have a certain game-like nature.
In the second stage, the questions presented by the system will further test your creative thinking.
Sometimes, Ji Zhixing would spend most of the day calculating a problem, piling up a table full of draft paper before finally figuring it out. But when he looked at the answer, he found that the brilliant solution only took three lines.
Ji Zhixing was amazed when he coughed up blood, and he felt even more strongly that there is no end to learning, there are always people better than you, there are always mountains beyond mountains, there are always problems beyond problems, and there are always solutions beyond solutions.
Fortunately, today's question wasn't too difficult. Ji Zhixing spent an hour pulling his hair to deduce it, and the solution was only four or five lines longer than the reference answer provided by the system.
He finished his work with satisfaction, leaving behind a few strands of hair, and taking away a wealth of knowledge.
After dinner, back in the dormitory, Xu Dongyang was looking at his computer, while Lin Lang was playing on his phone.
Upon seeing Ji Zhixing, Lin Lang exclaimed, "Zhixing! People are placing bets on the forum, all betting on who will win between you and Fan Yongjie!" He then pulled Ji Zhixing close by the neck to show him his phone, "I'm betting on you!"
Xu Dongyang then declared, "I'll bet on you too!" and then continued to busy himself with researching information.
Ji Zhixing glanced at his phone; nine out of ten times he was betting on Fan Yongjie to win.
The betting on the forum only uses forum points, and winning only gives you a few more points. But with such a big commotion right at the start of the semester, everyone is having a blast.
"Fan Yongjie has won the first-class scholarship for two consecutive semesters, his status as a top student is unshakeable!"
"If Ji Zhixing can withstand even the 'Curse of Light,' he might just surpass me."
"It's not enough to just study by rote. In the second year of the Physics Department, physics experiments and electronic technology experiments make up a large part of the final exams."
"Ji Zhixing is doomed to lose the experiment. Fan Yongjie is Professor Fan Chuanshuo's son, and he will have plenty of opportunities to practice in Professor Fan's laboratory."
"I think the only way for Ji Zhixing to beat Fan Yongjie is through 'physical' means."
...
In short, the majority of people favor Fan Yongjie, while Xu Dongyang and Lin Lang are the only two who support Ji Zhixing. The majority of the others are regular library residents, and there are also some people who are just stirring up trouble.
Ji Zhixing wasn't bothered by the overwhelming victory at the forum. Ultimately, studying was his own responsibility, and the competition with Fan Yongjie was just a side issue. He quickly put the matter aside and decided to go buy a pair of dumbbells.
He had just checked the school supermarket on his way there, and the owner clearly knew the habits of college students, as there were no exercise equipment such as dumbbells on the shelves. He planned to take a look at the supermarket outside the school.
"Where are you going?" Lin Lang asked casually.
"I'll buy dumbbells." Ji Zhixing put down his backpack and was about to leave.
Lin Lang grabbed him and yelled, "Big brother! Don't be impulsive!" Did he suddenly buy dumbbells to physically deal with that bastard Fan Yongjie?
Ji Zhixing was both amused and exasperated: "What are you thinking? I just wanted to get some exercise."
"Oh, oh." Lin Lang knew, of course, that Ji Zhixing wasn't an impulsive person, but he had spent too much time on the forum today, and his thoughts had been led astray by the people there, causing him to momentarily lose his way.
Lin Lang released Ji Zhixing's hand, then suddenly remembered something: "I think...did I buy a pair of dumbbells?"
"Really?" Ji Zhixing thought for a moment. "I don't recall ever seeing you use it."
Lin Lang clutched his head as his memories gradually became clearer: "I remember now! I did buy it. Don't buy it anymore, I'll find it for you."
Then they started rummaging through drawers and cabinets, searching for a long time. After more than ten minutes, they finally found a pair of dusty dumbbells hidden deep in a pile of messy boxes and bags in a crack in the corner next to the table.
"Achoo!" Lin Lang sneezed violently, grabbed the dumbbells and rinsed them thoroughly in the pool, then shook them off and handed them to Ji Zhixing.
"Look! It's brand new. The last time I used it was the day I bought it."
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