Free Web NovelChapter 143: Chapter 123: The Essence of the World
2:00 PM.
At the gates of Jinling Third High School.
"I’m back again." Chu Bamboo gazed at the tall school gates, feeling a bit emotional. Unlike the high school he had attended, the gates of Jinling Third High School were towering and majestic, looking like the entrance to an ancient palace—so quaint and elegant!
’As expected of a high school in a major city,’ he thought. ’It really is something else.’
"Hm?" The security guard glanced over, his movements pausing as his gaze sharpened. ’This person... didn’t I see him yesterday? He came yesterday, and now he’s back again today... He seems more and more suspicious!’
Before the guard could even decide whether to step forward and question him, he saw Chu Bamboo pull out his phone.
"Principal Yang, it’s me. I’m at the school gate! What? You’re coming out to get me right now... Isn’t that... a bit much? You’re already on your way? Well... alright. Since you’re already doing it, I won’t refuse!"
「A moment later.」
The security guard, now sweating profusely, watched his own principal jog out of the school gates, grab Chu Bamboo’s hand, and shake it firmly, a warm smile on his face as he greeted him.
He silently wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. ’Seriously, man? You have these kinds of connections, and you didn’t say so yesterday?!’
’Are you just messing with people!’
His panic grew, especially when he recalled what happened yesterday. Although he had mentioned it to Teacher Xu, after he described Chu Bamboo’s appearance, Teacher Xu said she didn’t know him, and he hadn’t passed the phone number on to her...
He felt his panic intensify.
It wasn’t until Chu Bamboo and the principal were walking side by side into the campus, with Chu Bamboo not sparing him a single glance from beginning to end, that the guard finally breathed a sigh of relief. But then, he just shook his head with a wry smile... though even he didn’t know what he was smiling wryly about.
...
In the principal’s office.
"It’s not the best tea, but please, make do." Principal Yang Qi said with a smile, pouring Chu Bamboo a cup of tea before pouring one for himself.
Holding his teacup, Yang Qi stared at the tea leaves floating on the surface, his words tinged with nostalgia. "Teacher Li took great care of me back in the day! Since he called me personally, I can’t afford to be neglectful, no matter what."
"By the way, did Teacher Li ask you to pass on any message to me?"
Yang Qi looked at Chu Bamboo, a hint of anticipation in his eyes.
"Teacher?" Chu Bamboo frowned, realizing something was a bit off.
"You don’t know?" Yang Qi was a little surprised. He paused for a moment, realizing Chu Bamboo probably wasn’t carrying a message, and felt a pang of disappointment. His attitude remained unchanged, however, and his voice took on a reminiscent tone.
"Back when I was in university, Teacher Li... well, if it weren’t for his earnest guidance back then, I never would have made it this far..." Yang Qi sighed with emotion. "In the blink of an eye, so many years have passed."
"..." Chu Bamboo clicked his tongue. ’What a small world!’
However, Chu Bamboo belatedly realized something. When Li Quanyuan had recited the phone number to him earlier, he hadn’t even looked at his phone. ’Right, I should have realized then... Li Quanyuan definitely knows Yang Qi.’
"Since we’re acquaintances, I’ll get straight to the point!" Chu Bamboo took a sip of tea, his gaze intensely fixed on Yang Qi’s eyes. "I came here this time because I’m looking for one of your students, Lu Keke! I believe she’s in Class One of the third year..."
"Wait a minute!" Yang Qi raised a hand to interrupt Chu Bamboo. He frowned in thought for a long moment, then looked Chu Bamboo up and down, his tone a little strange. "Could it be that Teacher Li wants to give Lu Keke a special admission?"
"No, this is... a bit difficult!" Yang Qi pursed his lips. "After all, Huaqing and Yanjing have already extended special admission offers... Jinling University is certainly excellent, but compared to those two..."
"? Special admission?" Chu Bamboo’s eyelid twitched. ’What does this have to do with special admissions?’
At that moment, he felt like the situation was gradually spinning out of his control.
"? Not for a special admission? Then what else could you be looking for her for?" Yang Qi was baffled now too.
The two of them stared at each other, wide-eyed and speechless. Yang Qi finally realized that their conversation seemed to have been on completely different tracks from the very beginning...
Then, Chu Bamboo broke the silence. "Principal Yang, could you please tell me about this Student Lu!"
Chu Bamboo had originally thought that this Lu Keke had only skyrocketed to fame after entering Huaqing University.
But now it seemed she had already started to distinguish herself in high school?
"Ever since her first year of high school, Lu Keke has been a genius in mathematics! She won a gold medal in the National Mathematical Olympiad for High School Students!" Yang Qi didn’t hide anything, since there was nothing to hide. It was all information you could find with a quick online search.
He ticked off on his fingers as he explained, "Because she ranked in the top sixty in the national Olympiad, she joined the Divine Continent’s special math training camp! She eventually went on to the International Mathematical Olympiad and won a gold medal there as well."
A gold medal in the Olympiad doesn’t necessarily mean you’re the champion!
However, it does prove that the gold medalists are among the young generation’s most exceptionally talented individuals in mathematics.
And mathematics is the ultimate test of intelligence!
"Moreover, in her second year, she participated in the International Olympiad again! Except, her results didn’t show any major breakthrough compared to the last time! She just won another gold medal, that’s all." Yang Qi sighed. "So in her third year, she decided not to go to the International Olympiad again."
"But even so, both Huaqing and Yanjing want to give her a special admission! I’m not sure which school she’s leaning towards at the moment... ahem, don’t look at me like that, that’s a problem for her homeroom teacher to worry about!" Yang Qi shrugged, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "That’s why I said..."
After a brief silence, Chu Bamboo took a strategic sip of his tea. ’So she’s a math genius. That explains it!’
In that moment, Chu Bamboo understood.
Mathematics is an extremely versatile discipline! It might not seem to have great job prospects on the surface, but if you truly master it, mathematics can have a hand in almost any field!
From physics to artificial intelligence, it applies to everything!
In a sense, mathematics is the very essence of the world.
No wonder.
Lu Keke was born in ’08. Considering she becomes an academician of both academies in the ’40s... does that mean she becomes an academician in her thirties?
At the time, Chu Bamboo hadn’t processed it, but thinking about it now... although her achievements were indeed impeccable, becoming an academician at that age was still terrifyingly young...
Although, based on the intel he had so far, she had also ridden the coattails of Chu Bamboo’s *Star Sea Detailed Explanation*? But regardless, for a talent with such intelligence, it was only natural to display such terrifying gifts in their youth—it just goes to show you can’t judge a genius by normal standards!
"I hope to be able to meet with Student Lu!" Chu Bamboo stared earnestly into Yang Qi’s eyes. Seeing the principal’s brow furrow, he quickly added, "Currently, I’m working for a company that deals with artificial intelligence... I was doing some consulting before, and someone recommended this Student Lu, saying she might be able to give us some help!"
"I know it sounds pretty absurd, but we’ve been stuck on this problem for too long! It’s a last-ditch effort, so I came over. You don’t need to overthink it!" Chu Bamboo said with utmost sincerity. ’The acting skills I honed in the Dream World might not be perfect,’ he thought, ’but they should be more than enough to fool a principal!’
"..." Yang Qi looked like he wanted to say something but held back. ’It sounds quite rea... No, this doesn’t sound reasonable at all! Do you think I’m that easy to fool?’
But then again... because the matter Chu Bamboo described was so unreasonable, when paired with his current expression and gestures... Yang Qi actually felt that it sounded like it might be true?
’Hmm, then again, since Principal Li introduced him, he can’t be a scammer, right?’
Yang Qi’s expression contorted. After careful consideration, he asked in a low voice, "Should I make another call and discuss this with Teacher Li?"
"Be my guest." Chu Bamboo wasn’t angry at all and made a welcoming gesture.
Yang Qi took out his phone, and the call connected quickly.
"If you have something to say, say it quick!" Li Quanyuan’s voice was rushed, and the sound of clanking machinery could be heard intermittently. He was clearly busy working on something...
Yang Qi realized Principal Li was very busy.
"It’s about... the person you introduced! He isn’t some kind of..." Yang Qi glanced cautiously at Chu Bamboo. Since the man was right in front of him, his words were naturally more discreet.
"Who I introduced? Oh, Mr. Chu! Hmm, although he looks a bit unreliable, the kid is actually somewhat reliable!" Li Quanyuan mused for a moment before giving an evaluation that Yang Qi found to be completely unhelpful nonsense.
"As long as the kid doesn’t do anything that crosses your bottom line! Hmm, if you’re in a position to help him, just give him a little help..." Li Quanyuan paused slightly, then continued, "Alright, give the phone to the kid! I have something to say to him."
"Principal Li, is the battery finished?" Chu Bamboo asked calmly after taking the phone.
"What do you think this is, making furniture? You think you can just rub it together and it’ll pop out?" Li Quanyuan almost lost his composure. "No, but... you wrote the paper! Shouldn’t you have a sample? Why don’t you let me take a look at the sample and verify it directly?"
"Even if I gave it to you, weren’t you going to try and make a Reproduction anyway?" Chu Bamboo was not flustered in the slightest and retorted, "Rather than do that, it’s better to just give you the paper directly! Everything that needs to be written is in there. It saves me the trouble!"
"You, you always have an excuse for everything." Li Quanyuan was left speechless for a moment. "The battery is still in progress, but a few professors have indeed read the paper!"
After a slight pause, a complex tone entered Li Quanyuan’s voice. He let out the same sigh his own school’s gym teacher had when he saw Chu Bamboo break a national record.
"You’re really something else, hiding your light under a bushel! I don’t get it. If you had this kind of ability... why wait until you’re a junior in college to finally bring it up with me?"
"We’re still not sure about the battery! But even if you got that part wrong... this mathematical model is truly useful." As he spoke, Li Quanyuan’s mind was in turmoil.
Unlike materials, a mathematical model doesn’t need to be built to be tested—
He had specifically sought out a professor from the math department to verify the mathematical model!
And the result? After reading it, the math professor was absolutely astounded. Li Quanyuan only half-understood the specifics of what was said.
But there was one thing he did understand...
Namely, that this mathematical model was already incredibly mature and complete!
Even someone at the level of a math professor couldn’t simplify it any further... Moreover, the professor did some on-the-spot calculations and confirmed that it would be extremely useful for battery optimization!
And even though it seemed to be a mathematical model designed specifically for battery optimization, the model still had a lot of untapped potential—meaning, it could be applied in many other areas!
The professor finally summarized it in a sentence that Li Quanyuan could understand.
"Given Chu Bamboo’s status as a current university student, and the powerful practicality of this mathematical model! As long as nothing goes wrong... in the end, this is probably something that would get a ten-second report on CCTV—of course, all of this is on the premise that Chu Bamboo really is the one who came up with it!"
Heaven knows what Li Quanyuan was feeling when he heard those words.
Even now, he was still in a bit of a daze, even suspecting that he might be dreaming.
After all, he had just been complaining to Dean Sun, lamenting how all of Chu Bamboo’s talent points were spent on unorthodox pursuits like music and sports, rather than scientific research—
And yet, not even a full day had passed, and the boomerang had already come back to hit him on the head?
It happened so fast... If Li Quanyuan hadn’t been certain that Chu Bamboo didn’t know about his conversation with Dean Sun, he would have suspected Chu Bamboo had done it on purpose.
"Of course! And didn’t you already confirm it before? I wouldn’t lie to you about this!" Chu Bamboo rolled his eyes.
"But I thought," Li Quanyuan rubbed his cheeks, his voice faint, "that it would be padded out with at least a little bit of filler!"
"Alright, alright! Then you guys just keep running your tests! We’ll talk later." Chu Bamboo noticed that as his conversation with the principal went on, the expression on Yang Qi’s face was changing. He immediately stopped wasting time with Li Quanyuan, said his goodbyes, and hung up the phone.
