The Reincarnated Science Whiz

Chapter 42: Freshman Orientation

Shuimu University, founded in 1911, was formerly known as Tsinghua Academy. It took its name from the phrase “Shuimu Qinghua” (Water and Wood, Tsinghua). In 1912, it was renamed Shuimu School, and in 1928, it became Shuimu University. It has now been nearly a century since its founding. Currently, the Shuimu University campus covers an area of 442. 12 hectares, with a total building area of 2. 8764 million square meters. It comprises 21 colleges and 59 academic departments, offering 82 undergraduate programs. The university has 50 postdoctoral research stations, 22 national key disciplines at the first-level subject level, and 60 first-level subject doctoral and master’s degree authorization programs. It employs 15,000 faculty and staff members and has 53,000 students enrolled. Qin Yuanqing had gathered all this information while researching Shuimu University in recent days. He also discovered that the university’s emblem consists of three concentric circles. The outer ring features the university’s name in English at the top and bottom, while the middle ring displays the phrases “Self-improvement without ceasing” and “Virtue bears all things” side by side—phrases first proposed by Mr. Liang Qichao in 1914 when he delivered a speech at Shuimu University to encourage its students. The official flowers of Shuimu University are the redbud and the lilac, and the university flag is purple and white, with purple as the dominant color. As for the school motto, it is also widely renowned: “Self-improvement without ceasing; Virtue bears all things.” As Qin Yuanqing dragged her luggage toward the campus entrance, someone recognized her—a very pretty sophomore, who was actually her senior. This senior immediately left her boyfriend behind and enthusiastically led Qin Yuanqing to the registration desk, leaving her boyfriend stomping his feet in frustration. Qin Yuanqing also noticed quite a few timid-looking guys who, as soon as they saw a good-looking girl carrying luggage, would rush over to fawn on her. Those despicable upperclassmen! Qin Yuanqing never imagined that even the prestigious Shuimu University would harbor such a quintessentially evil phenomenon as upperclassmen; she was itching to give them a good dressing-down. No wonder the saying goes: “Beware of fire, theft, and upperclassmen! “Junior, you’re in the Department of Physics—I’ll take you there.” The senior was very helpful and even offered to carry Qin Yuanqing’s luggage. But Qin Yuanqing declined. Are you kidding me? With his incredible physical strength, a little luggage like that was no challenge at all. “You won gold medals in the CMO and IMO for math—why didn’t you choose the Department of Mathematics?” the senior asked, clearly puzzled. “Don’t you know how twisted those department of mathematics freaks are? They’re like human computers…” The senior went on and on, seemingly praising the students of the Department of Mathematics, but it didn’t sound like anything good at all. “Beasts”! What weirdos! What “freaks”! What’s going on? Are you saying not a single student in the Department of Mathematics is a normal person? Qin Yuanqing smiled nonchalantly: “Math is too easy—it’s just not challenging enough. Life, after all, needs a little excitement. As the saying goes, true heroes dare to face a life full of challenges!” The senior was speechless. “Math is too easy”? Is that something a person should say? She’d scored 140 on the math section of the college entrance exam back in the day, but once she got to college, she found calculus and algebra classes utterly mind-boggling, and her exam scores were a pitiful sixty-something. She felt it was necessary to make Qin Yuanqing realize that high school math and college math were two completely different things—they simply couldn’t be compared. In the Department of Mathematics, there was no shortage of CMO and IMO gold medalists—there were even students who had won three consecutive IMO gold medals. Qin Yuanqing had no idea what the senior was thinking; he just smiled faintly and said, “Even though I’m majoring in physics, who says I can’t major in math too?” Come on—how could you possibly excel in physics without mastering math? At that moment, the senior felt as if she’d been dealt another crushing blow. What on earth? Physics and math are both among the most difficult subjects—it’s hard enough to master just one, let alone both? When he arrived at the Department of Physics to register, Qin Yuanqing discovered he was actually the first one to sign up. He couldn’t help but smile wryly—it seemed those guys were different from him. After completing the registration process, a senior in charge of enrollment took Qin Yuanqing to his dorm. The dorm was on the third floor; each room housed four people and was equipped with air conditioning and a private bathroom—a far better environment than the university he’d attended in his previous life. Sure enough, this was Shuimu University—they really had deep pockets! Qin Yuanqing could tell the dorm room hadn’t been occupied for quite some time—it had a musty odor—so he opened the windows on both sides. Then he went downstairs to buy a bucket, a washbasin, cleaning supplies, a mop, and a broom. He gave the dorm a thorough cleaning, wiped down all the beds, and sprayed some air freshener. Instantly, the place felt much more comfortable. Qin Yuanqing pinned his class schedule to the wall, arranged his new textbooks on his desk, and immersed his consciousness in the system space. “Congratulations, Host. The system upgrade is complete—you’ve upgraded from the Basic System to the Intermediate System!” The System’s mechanical, cold voice rang out in Qin Yuanqing’s mind, and he noticed that the System had indeed evolved from Basic to Intermediate: Math: Level 10 (1/100) Physical: Level 10 (1/100) Biology: Level 10 (1/100) Chemistry: Level 10 (1/100) Qin Yuanqing noticed a difference between this intermediate system and the basic one: the subjects were now limited to just four—math, physics, biology, and chemistry—while all others had become optional add-ons. To add these, one had to spend the corresponding amount of study coins. Meanwhile, emotional intelligence, IQ, and physical fitness are classified as basic attributes: Host: Qin Yuanqing Age: 19 IQ: 165 Emotional Intelligence: 110 Physical Fitness: Level 10 (1/100) Skills: “Advanced Vocal Techniques,” “Yan Zhenqing Calligraphy,” “Guitar Mastery” Achievements: Top Scorer on the National College Entrance Exam, CMO Gold Medalist, IMO Gold Medalist Now, looking at the Learning Coins in the upper-right corner of the system: 8,500 Qin Yuanqing opened the system store and saw that the items available for exchange had changed significantly. In addition to various skills, there were now all kinds of technologies—many of which could even be called “cutting-edge technology.” However, the more difficult the skill or technology, the more Learning Coins it required. Qin Yuanqing realized that the Intermediate System’s functionality had improved by leaps and bounds compared to the Basic System—it was more than ten times as powerful. “I never expected that IQ points would actually become more expensive once I reached the Intermediate System,” Qin Yuanqing lamented. He deeply regretted not having maxed out his IQ long ago; as a result, the price he was now paying was much higher. He let out a deep sigh. No matter how much he regretted it, he had to invest in IQ points now. With the system upgrade complete, he already knew that improving his abilities in various subjects would be far more difficult than it had been in high school. Level 10 in subject knowledge was equivalent to that of an outstanding graduate student—still a long way from becoming a math genius. Level 11 is the level of a doctoral candidate in the subject, while Level 12 is the level of a subject expert—a level that would qualify one to be an associate professor at a university. Level 13 is the level of a professor, representing a subject authority with a pivotal role in the field. Level 14 is the level of a true subject master! Qin Yuanqing’s heart ached as he spent 6,000 study coins to exchange for 30 IQ points, bringing his IQ to 195—a score that placed him among the top ranks in the entire world. “Master! I never expected it to be you! Please accept this humble disciple’s deepest reverence!” A scruffy, chubby young man entered the dormitory. Upon seeing Qin Yuanqing sitting cross-legged on the bed, he became so excited he could barely form coherent sentences. Qin Yuanqing opened his eyes and saw that the chubby guy was actually about to kneel on both knees to worship him. Startled, Qin Yuanqing jumped off the bed and helped the young man to his feet. “Classmate, we’re going to be roommates from now on. If you act like this, how are we ever going to get along?” Qin Yuanqing rolled his eyes. “You’re right, boss, you’re right!” The chubby guy quickly scrambled to his feet and pulled out bag after bag of snacks from his backpack—dried meat strips, spicy jerky, potato chips… Over a dozen bags of snacks. The chubby guy said enthusiastically, “Boss, my name is Chen Lixian. My classmates all call me ‘Chubby Guy’…” Qin Yuanqing was speechless. No wonder this chubby kid was so fat—with all these snacks, he’d have enough to last a whole year. However, after the chubby kid introduced himself, Qin Yuanqing realized you really can’t judge a book by its cover. This chubby kid was actually the second-place finisher in the science section of the college entrance exam in the Magic City, and he’d won a gold medal in the National Physics Olympiad last year—he’d only missed the International Physics Olympiad because he’d fallen ill afterward. What a genius! Definitely a top student! One by one, the other two roommates arrived. One was Liu Feng, who ranked second in the science track of the college entrance exam in Guangdong Province, with a score of 698. The other was Zhang Jie, the top scorer in the science track of the college entrance exam in Central Plains Province, with a score of 692. What’s more, all three roommates had actually been inspired by him to choose the Department of Physics at Shuimu University over Yan Da University—and, by a remarkable coincidence, they all ended up in the same dorm. With nearly a hundred freshmen in the Department of Physics, living in the same dorm was truly a stroke of fate. However, Qin Yuanqing felt a bit awkward—all three roommates looked at him with admiration, as if he’d become some kind of idol. How was he supposed to hang out with them comfortably like this? While his three roommates went out to buy daily necessities, Qin Yuanqing pondered: this situation needs to change soon, or things could get really awkward. A Turbulent College Life