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Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Is This the World in a Top Student’s Eyes?

RRRRRING.

The class bell rang. Old Yang stood at the podium, frowning at the test papers in his hand.

”Our class did very poorly on this month’s exam!”

His voice was tinged with exhaustion.

”The highest score in our class was only a 109! I honestly can’t believe that not a single person managed to break 110!”

Most of the students below lowered their heads in shame.

”Especially the final bonus question, which involved derivatives and proving inequalities. Out of fifty students in the class, not a single person got it right!”

Old Yang sighed, then waved his hand in resignation.

”Alright, take out your papers. Let’s start with the first multiple-choice question.”

Given set A = {x | x² - 2x - 3

Normally, when Li Dong saw a problem like this, combining sets and function domains, his brain would just short-circuit.

His logical reasoning had always been weak, making these kinds of questions his worst nightmare.

But things were different now. He had Concentration +1.

The moment he saw the question, the world around him seemed to freeze. All background noise vanished.

All he could hear was Old Yang’s voice, as if it were in slow motion.

”This question tests your understanding of set operations and the domain of logarithmic functions...”

As soon as he heard this, long-forgotten knowledge points in his mind flew toward him like iron filings drawn to a magnet.

He could even clearly recall that this topic was on page 12 of the Compulsory 1 textbook from the first semester of his first year. He had even accidentally left a ballpoint pen mark on the bottom-left corner of that page.

He also remembered a similar variation on page 24 of the *Five-Year Gaokao, Three-Year Simulation* workbook he’d done last month. He had gotten it wrong back then because he forgot that ’a’ could be inclusive.

All the knowledge points arranged themselves in his mind. The process wasn’t fast, but he genuinely understood the problem now!

x²−2x−3

Set B is x > a.

Since A ⊆ B, the interval (−1, 3) must fall completely within (a, +∞) on the number line.

Therefore, a ≤ −1.

While Old Yang was still at the blackboard drawing a number line to explain, Li Dong had already moved on to the next question.

It was a question about graphical transformations of trigonometric functions.

Li Dong had no idea how to solve this one. The knowledge points in his memory weren’t enough to tackle it.

Normally, he would have gotten frustrated and skipped it, but not now.

Because he could quickly pinpoint the exact, crucial piece of knowledge he was missing.

He wasn’t sure what ”symmetrical about the origin” meant for the analytical expression of a sine function.

’Does it become an odd function, −sin(x)? Or does the phase simply become kπ?’

He quickly jotted it down in his error correction notebook.

Li Dong had never experienced a feeling like this before. Even for problems he couldn’t solve, he could find a direction for his efforts.

’Is this how top students see the world?’

Before he knew it, the bell to end class rang.

”Alright, that’s all for this class.”

Old Yang never dragged out his lessons, which was one of the things his students liked most about him.

But Li Dong was wailing internally.

’Don’t go!’

For the first time ever, he hated the sound of the bell.

He hadn’t had enough. If only Old Yang would teach for another ten minutes... no, even five minutes would be great! He had just started to get a handle on an analytical geometry problem about deriving the eccentricity of an ellipse, but he hadn’t fully grasped it yet.

He really wanted to rush up and stop Old Yang.

’Teacher, please, just give us a little more!’

But reason stopped him. If he dared to do that, he would be instantly ostracized by his classmates.

So, Li Dong just glanced at the countdown timer in the upper-right corner.

Fifteen minutes left!

’Can’t waste it!’

He frantically started rummaging around for the blind spots he had marked in his correction notebook during class.

”Found it! Elective 2-2, page 34!”

Li Dong exclaimed in a low, excited voice.

Normally, his mind would wander after just a glance at such a tedious mathematical derivation. But now, every symbol seemed to be dancing for him, and every line of the formula showcased the beauty of logic.

’I have to figure this out! I have to master this topic right now!’

Just as he was completely engrossed in working through the formula, a large, chubby hand patted his shoulder.

”Dongzi! Stop pretending. Come on, I’ve got something cool to show you, a movie I just downloaded...”

Li Dong whipped his head around. A chubby-faced guy was holding up a phone, smiling slyly.

”Liu Liang!”

”Go watch it by yourself! I need to study!”

The air fell silent for two seconds.

Liu Liang stared at Li Dong as if he were an alien.

”No way, Dongzi. You’re done for. You’ve caught the study bug!”

Li Dong ignored his teasing.

13:10

’Time is ticking away. Every second of this Concentration is priceless!’

”Don’t bother me, I’m deriving a formula.”

Li Dong once again immersed himself in the world of mathematics.

Seeing that he was actually studying, Liu Liang didn’t pester him further. Besides, this wasn’t the first time Li Dong had claimed he was going to study; he’d revert to his old self in three days, tops.

The surrounding noise was blocked out once more.

Li Dong seized the last ten-plus minutes. Facing one knowledge point after another, he took them down one by one, scoring a triple kill.

The geometric meaning of a derivative, the chain rule for composite functions, the method for identifying extreme points—all mastered!

At that moment, the blue countdown timer finally hit zero.

The math formulas that had seemed so friendly and lovely just a moment ago suddenly became hideous.

”It’s... over already?”

He looked at the sunlight outside the window, feeling as if a lifetime had passed.

The efficiency of that short hour of studying was higher than his past week... no, his past month combined!

A never-before-seen light glinted in Li Dong’s eyes.

’If I could maintain this state of Concentration... forget just a regular Tier 1 university, I’d even have a shot at Qingbei!’

Unfortunately, it was a one-time thing.

However...

He subconsciously pulled out his phone and looked at the WeChat group named ”Cyan Dragon Study Group.”

This was his only chance to change his fate!

The following English class was excruciating for Li Dong.

Li Dong’s foundation in English was actually much better than his math; he could usually score around 110. But after experiencing that truth-piercing Concentration, his current learning efficiency made him feel like he was wasting his life.

He would memorize vocabulary only to forget it, then memorize it again. He could understand the grammar, but he’d still get the questions wrong.

This way of studying made him desperately miss the red packet sent by that guy named ”Isaac Newton.”

He finally managed to endure until school let out in the afternoon.

There were two hours until the evening self-study session, time for the day students to go home for dinner.

Li Dong was a boarding student, so he didn’t need to go home. He hastily ate some rice in the cafeteria and returned to the classroom to ponder a serious question: how could he swindle... oh, no, get another red packet from those legendary scientists?

He even tried playing red packet games with the group members.

But the chat group prompted him: [This activity has been detected as unrelated to ”academic discussion.” Please adopt a proper attitude toward learning.]

Just as he was staring blankly at the screen, feeling at a complete loss, his phone suddenly vibrated.

A new message popped up.

Li Dong quickly tapped it open.

[Isaac Newton]: Following the line of reasoning you suggested, Your Excellency, I just conducted an experiment in my laboratory.

I found a discarded bronze cannon barrel, bored into it forcefully with a dull drill bit, and immersed the entire apparatus in water.

If heat were a substance, then the amount of bronze shavings produced would be finite, and the heat released should also be finite.

But! Guess what happened, Your Excellency?

Li Dong could feel Newton’s excitement.

[Isaac Newton]: The water boiled! As long as I keep drilling, the water keeps boiling!

Heat is generated ceaselessly! This proves that heat is not some kind of fluid substance at all, but a form of motion! The vigorous motion of molecules!

Thank you for your guidance, Your Excellency. The fog that has puzzled me for years has finally lifted today!

Reading this series of messages, the corner of Li Dong’s mouth twitched.

’Isn’t this the experiment that the Earl of Lennford or Joule did?’

’Newton, are you stealing the thunder from your successors?’

However, the instant Newton sent that last message, lines of semi-transparent text appeared above his phone screen:

[System Announcement: Inspired by you, group member ”Isaac Newton” has developed the embryonic form of the ”kinetic theory of heat” 150 years ahead of schedule.]

[The technology tree of Parallel Universe #1666 is deviating...]

[Congratulations. As the ”mentor” who triggered this butterfly effect, your Group Leader authority has been unlocked.]

[Attribute Panel opened.]

Before Li Dong could react, a transparent panel appeared before his eyes:

Host: Li Dong

Identity: Cyan Dragon Study Group Leader (Probationary)

[Core Attributes]

Concentration: 0 (The average level for a normal person. The slightest disturbance will break your focus.)

Logic: 0 (Your cerebral convolutions might be a bit smooth. A slightly roundabout problem can easily throw you off.)

Memory: 0.1 (Your only praiseworthy attribute. You can probably remember the name of the prettiest girl in the class next door, but that’s about it.)

[Special Reward]

For altering the course of history, you have received a feedback reward: Concentration +0.1