The Reincarnated Science Whiz

Chapter 1: Rebirth

“Classmates, today marks the first day of your senior year, which also means the countdown to the college entrance exam has begun!” “The college entrance exam is a crucial milestone in life—it’s like a thousand soldiers crossing a narrow plank bridge. Just one extra point puts you ahead of a thousand people; you could almost say this single exam determines the rest of your life!” “I hope that in this final year, all of you will study even harder, strive to achieve excellent scores on the college entrance exam, gain admission to the university of your choice, and begin a new chapter in your lives....” Qin Yuanqing stared blankly at the scene before him—the blackboard, desks and chairs, electric fan, the chirping of cicadas… the youthful faces around him, both familiar and unfamiliar, and the middle-aged teacher standing at the front of the classroom, earnestly urging the students to study hard. This setting—so unfamiliar, yet so familiar! He recognized the middle-aged teacher on the stage—wasn’t that Chen Zhifa, his senior year homeroom teacher and Chinese teacher? Brother Fa’s Mandarin had a thick Southern Fujian accent; it wasn’t standard, but it was very warm and friendly. Then he looked at his deskmate sitting next to him—the sleepy, skinny kid Lin Ping. This was the only classmate he’d been in the same class with for all three years of high school—and one could almost say they’d been deskmates for all three years as well—and the only one whose wedding he’d attended after graduation. Had he been reborn? Qin Yuanqing felt as if he’d lost his bearings. As a longtime bookworm, Qin Yuanqing was no stranger to the concept of time travel and rebirth—in fact, he was very familiar with it. For over a decade, online fiction had practically been synonymous with these themes; stories of time travel and rebirth were endlessly produced, playing out one after another. Every year brings a reincarnation story—and this year, it’s happened to me! Qin Yuanqing couldn’t figure it out. He was clearly just an engineer—after quitting his job, he’d worked overtime until 3:30 a. m. , taken a shower, and gone to bed. How on earth had he been reborn? Immediately, Qin Yuanqing became excited. What a great reincarnation! What a brilliant reincarnation! It’s absolutely fantastic! Everything could be torn down and started over! He wouldn’t have to buy a place outside Lushi Island for over 30,000 yuan per square meter—a so-called “fully renovated” unit that was such a rip-off it made you want to cry. He wouldn’t have to worry about making a fixed monthly mortgage payment of 10,000 yuan either. He could buy sooner—just as the real estate saying goes: the earlier you jump on the bandwagon, the better; buying is a surefire profit. Having experienced it firsthand, Qin Yuanqing knew all too well just how mind-boggling the rise in housing prices would be—especially in 2017, when prices doubled in a single year, trapping countless latecomers into buying at the peak and becoming the ones left holding the bag. Yes, for the rest of his life, he would never be a “sucker” again! He no longer wanted his dream to be buying a house and becoming a “mortgage slave”! He didn’t want to reach a point where the pressure was so overwhelming that he could only hide under the covers, moaning in agony. Being reborn into this era—the best of times—meant he could start all over again. Everything he already knew would give him a huge head start. In this era, he was still a high school student brimming with idealism. His dream was to get into a military academy and become a general; his dream was to major in archaeology and become an archaeologist... Yes, in this era, he was a student with little money in his pocket, but he could proudly hold onto his ideals. Later on, even after working for eight years and earning a stable monthly income of over ten thousand, he wouldn’t dare to have such ideals—ideals were a luxury he couldn’t afford back then. Back then, he hadn’t yet read Tang Jia San Shao’s *The Emperor of the Zither* or Fan Qie’s *The Coiling Dragon*; he hadn’t yet fallen into the deep rabbit hole of online literature. He remembered that it was in that very year that he read *The Emperor of the Zither* and then *The Coiling Dragon*, after which he spent more than a decade immersed in online novels, neglecting his studies entirely. He’d wake up in the morning and walk around with his eyes closed—bumping into people was a regular occurrence. Once he fell into this “black hole,” his grades plummeted. He could only get into a second-tier university to study engineering, and after graduation, he became just another engineer. Even in college, studying for him perfectly embodied that famous saying: “It’s impossible to study; I’ll never be able to study in this lifetime.” As a result, he read novels on his phone while walking, in class, and even in the dorm—he was constantly reading novels, to the point where his classmates marveled that it was a miracle he’d even survived his college years. Reality was also very cruel: over the course of four years, he barely ever opened a textbook, failed seven or eight courses, and had to retake exams year after year, becoming the student with the most failed courses in his entire class. After graduating from college and starting his career, he still had to read novels every day. He’d read for half an hour before work; otherwise, he couldn’t get into the right mindset. After work in the evenings, he’d hide under the covers to read novels. Fortunately, he wasn’t completely beyond hope, so he was still able to support himself—though he was far behind many of his high school classmates. Yes! At this very moment, Qin Yuanqing wholeheartedly agreed with what Teacher Chen had said: the college entrance exam is like a thousand soldiers and ten thousand horsemen rushing across a single log bridge—a single point can put you ahead of a thousand people, and one exam determines your entire future. Having gone through it himself, he knew all too well the importance of education. College entrance exam scores directly determine which university you can attend—a top-tier “985” institution is different from a “211” institution, which in turn is completely different from an ordinary first-tier university; an ordinary first-tier university is far better than a second-tier one, and a second-tier university is far better than a third-tier one! The hierarchy among universities is clear-cut and rigid! It’s almost impossible to overcome! Which university you attend determines your starting point after graduation. Many job postings explicitly state that applicants must be graduates of a 985 university—such barriers are everywhere. Many people might think this is unfair, but consider this: while you were eating, drinking, and having fun, others were studying hard and acquiring knowledge. Isn’t that a manifestation of fairness? “Since I’ve been given a second chance at life, I’m going to work my hardest and get into a 985 university!” Qin Yuanqing clenched his fists tightly, his heart roaring with determination. To hell with novels, to hell with online games—academic excellence was his true passion. As he scrolled through Douyin, seeing all those top scorers on the college entrance exam and academic superstars, he could only look up in awe at their scores. Deep down, he, too, harbored a dream of becoming a top scorer! In academics, there is no “first place”; in martial arts, there is no “second place.” Why the hell couldn’t he become an academic superstar!? “Congratulations, Host. You have activated the ‘Black Technology Academic Genius System.’ This system was developed by the National Research Institute of the Wu Qian Universe and is designed to cultivate academic geniuses. Earn study coins and points through learning to become an academic genius.” A cold voice echoed in Qin Yuanqing’s mind. Then Qin Yuanqing saw a screen appear in his mind: Host: Qin Yuanqing Age: 18 IQ: 115 Emotional Intelligence: 100 Subjects: Chinese: Level 1 (0/100) Math: Level 1 (0/100) English: Level 1 (0/100) Physics: Level 1 (0/100) Chemistry: Level 1 (0/100) Biology: Level 1 (0/100) Physical Fitness: Level 1 (0/100) Looking at his stats on the screen, Qin Yuanqing was speechless. He really was as steady as a rock. He remembered that back in high school, his biggest weakness was that he didn’t excel in any single subject, while his greatest strength was that he was well-rounded in every subject and never neglected any of them. “System, what’s the deal with this ‘Basic’ system? Could there actually be Intermediate and Advanced levels as well?” Qin Yuanqing wondered. This “golden finger” of his seemed really strange—weird, even. And what was this “Wuqian Cosmic Nation” anyway? Who knows what that was. “The Host is currently at a low level, so only the Basic version is activated. Once the Host meets the requirements, the Intermediate version can be activated.” The System’s voice echoed in Qin Yuanqing’s mind, and at the same time, a wealth of information about the System flooded his thoughts. In addition to the Host Attributes list, there was also the System Store. This store contained various abilities and skills that could be exchanged—for example, IQ and EQ could be purchased and added to oneself, and one could also exchange for various skills... Without exception, everything in the System Store had to be exchanged using Learning Coins. In addition, there was a task bar. “Congratulations, Host. You have activated the Black Technology Scholar System and the Basic Quest.” “Quest 1: Rank in the top 50 of your grade in the midterm exams. Reward: 10 Study Coins.” “Quest 2: Rank in the top 10 of your grade on the final exam. Reward: 20 Study Coins.” “Task 3: Rank first in the city on the college entrance exam; reward: 500 Study Coins.” Looking at the system tasks one by one, Qin Yuanqing rubbed his nose. Last semester, his best result was 49th in his grade on the final exam, but this wasn’t consistent—his grades were highly volatile. On midterms, he typically ranked between 150th and 250th, and while he did slightly better on finals, he still fell within the 75th to 120th range. Ranking 49th in his grade on last semester’s final exams was already an exceptional performance for Qin Yuanqing; even if given another chance, he wasn’t confident he could achieve it again. Then there were the college entrance exam scores. He recalled that in his graduating class, the top science student in Fujian Province scored 702 points, while the top science student in Shuixian City scored 683 points. The task he had to accomplish was incredibly difficult. “Today, we’d like to commend Qin Yuanqing. On last semester’s final exam, he scored 632 points, ranking first in the class and 49th in the grade.” As soon as the homeroom teacher began the class, he started by praising him. Everyone looked somewhat surprised at Qin Yuanqing, who was sitting in the back row. Ever since the experimental classes were formed in their sophomore year, the top fifty spots had been virtually monopolized by those classes—and now Qin Yuanqing had actually broken into the top fifty. Qin Yuanqing calmly met his classmates’ gazes. The Qin Yuanqing of the past would naturally have been too shy to look up, pretending not to notice before burying his face in his desk. But the Qin Yuanqing of today, having been tempered by eight years in the future, had a face as thick as a city wall—he certainly wasn’t about to feel embarrassed. He stood up confidently and even waved at his classmates, which surprised them all—it was as if they were seeing a completely different Qin Yuanqing. Teacher Chen also looked on in surprise at the somewhat flamboyant Qin Yuanqing. After all, the Qin Yuanqing of the past had been a quiet, introverted boy—aloof and aloof—who sat unwaveringly in the back row, either by the window or by the door, and would even fall asleep during class. His grades were actually quite good—he was almost always in the top five in the class. When classmates asked him for help, he’d explain things patiently to the boys. But if a girl asked him a question, he’d tell her, “You’re so dumb you don’t even know that?” and grow impatient. As a result, many girls were afraid of Qin Yuanqing; in fact, over the past year, 70 to 80 percent of the girls in the class hadn’t exchanged a single word with him.