The Reincarnated Science Whiz

Chapter 45: The Strong Army’s Battle Hymn

Mud caked all over his pant legs, and sweat soaks through the back of my shirt. I don’t know who you are, but I know who you’re fighting for. For whom? For the autumn harvest, for the return of spring and the homecoming of the wild geese. With a heart full of passion, you sing of a youth without regrets, gazing to the ends of the earth, wondering when my comrades will return? Who are you? For whom? my comrade, when will you return? Who are you, and for whom do you fight? So my brothers and sisters won’t shed a tear! Who is the most beautiful, who is the most weary, my fellow villagers, my comrades-in-arms, my brothers and sisters. After half a month of military training, the students on the same team had long since become close and bonded as one. One morning during a break from training, Qin Yuanqing sang a song for everyone. He chose “For Whom,” a song born out of the 1998 flood relief efforts. As Qin Yuanqing sang this song, his mind was filled with images of the People’s Liberation Army soldiers engaged in earthquake relief efforts during last year’s major earthquake, the faces of the young soldiers who fought the floods in Anhui Province in 2020, and the soldiers who risked their lives to save one civilian after another during the torrential rains in Central Plains Province in 2021. Qin Yuanqing sang with deep emotion, and as he sang, a single tear uncontrollably rolled down the corner of his eye. Although many people today criticize various irregularities within the military, the truth is that this army has never wavered in its commitment. They remain the People’s Liberation Army—the people’s most reliable pillar of support. Wherever they are, safety is assured. The instructors leading the surrounding groups listened to Qin Yuanqing’s song and thought of their own comrades—those who had sacrificed their lives during disaster relief efforts—and silently shed tears. Every year, when the People’s Soldiers participate in disaster relief, isn’t there always someone who is killed or injured? “Brilliant! That was absolutely wonderful!” As soon as Qin Yuanqing finished singing, a burst of enthusiastic applause erupted—not just from his own squad, but from seven or eight military training squads surrounding them, all applauding and cheering for Qin Yuanqing. “Qin Yuanqing, sing another one!” a girl from the female squad next to them called out. “One more!” Instantly, everyone began cheering and urging him on. Qin Yuanqing was at a loss for words, but had no choice but to comply: “Give me a few minutes to think about which song to sing!” Qin Yuanqing then borrowed a piece of scrap paper from the drill instructor and looked deep in thought. Suddenly, a song came to mind, and he immediately wrote down “The March of a Strong Army” on the paper. The song was grand and majestic, stirring the blood of anyone who heard it. In just a few minutes, the lyrics were complete. “Next, I’ll sing ‘The March of a Strong Army’ for you all. I hope our nation’s military will realize the dream of a strong army as soon as possible!” Qin Yuanqing said, and then began to sing: Listen—the bugle call of a new journey sounds The goal of a strong military beckons ahead For our nation to be strong, we must rise to the challenge Our battle flags are inscribed with glory forged in blood and steel Soldiers, obey the Party’s commands Capable of winning battles and upholding fine conduct We fear no powerful foe and dare to face them head-on We will secure victory for our motherland on the battlefield Hear the bugle call for a new journey The goal of a strong military beckons ahead For our nation to be strong, we must rise to the challenge Our battle flags are inscribed with glory forged in blood and steel Soldiers, obey the Party’s commands Capable of winning battles and upholding fine conduct We fear no powerful foe and dare to face them head-on We will secure victory on the battlefield for our motherland The soldiers follow the Party’s commands Capable of winning battles and upholding fine conduct Unafraid of powerful foes, they dare to face them head-on Securing victory on the battlefield for our motherland Victory on the battlefield! Qin Yuanqing has “Advanced Vocal Techniques”—his singing is absolutely flawless, full of vigor and with perfect rhythm and emphasis! “Bravo! A shout of applause rang out, followed immediately by cheers and applause from the students. “Good morning, sir!” The drill instructor, upon seeing the newcomer, immediately stood at attention and saluted him. Qin Yuanqing noticed it too—the middle-aged man walking toward them had a gleaming gold star on his shoulder insignia! A big shot! He never expected such a high-ranking official to appear at this military training session—no wonder the principal was accompanying him in person. “Attention!” After saluting the official, the drill instructor gave the command to the students, who all ended their break. “Young man, I’ve never heard this song before—did you write it yourself?” the official asked gently. “Yes, sir!” Qin Yuanqing, having no other choice, bit the bullet and claimed he’d written it himself. This song didn’t burst onto the scene until 2013—four years ago—so it’s likely the songwriter hadn’t even started writing it yet. “It’s a great song. Could you show me the lyrics?” the leader asked. “Sure!” Qin Yuanqing handed the draft paper in his hand to the principal. “Beautiful handwriting!” The boss noticed that every character on the paper was written in regular script—square, steady, and without any visible strokes sticking out. Qin Yuanqing felt a quiet sense of pride upon hearing this. He had exchanged for the *Yan Zhenqing* calligraphy set, which had granted him 30 percent of Yan Zhenqing’s skill—making him a true calligrapher—so naturally his handwriting was excellent. “Excellent! The handwriting is superb, and the lyrics are even better!” the boss praised, then asked Qin Yuanqing, “May I take this with me?” Qin Yuanqing nodded in agreement. As the leader left, the afternoon’s military training seemed to shift gears. Qin Yuanqing took charge of teaching the drill instructor and his classmates to sing “The Strong Army Battle Hymn,” and the singing competition also centered on that song. CCTV News reporter captured this scene and reported on it, sparking a huge public response. That evening, representatives from the General Political Department and the Publicity Department came to see Qin Yuanqing and purchased the copyright to the song. Qin Yuanqing immediately realized that the military had taken a keen interest in it. That night, Qin Yuanqing holed up in the library, trying to prove Zhou’s Conjecture on Mersenne Primes. If he could successfully prove it, an SCI paper would be a sure thing. It is by no means rare for a freshman in China to publish in an SCI journal. The problem of “watered-down” papers is rampant in domestic mathematics SCI journals; as long as your English is decent and the padding looks plausible, your paper will almost certainly be accepted. This rampant practice of padding papers has even prompted a certain busybody to compile a ranking of several notorious domestic “watered-down” journals. Topping the list is *Applied Mathematics and Computation* (AMC), which is notorious in the field of paper padding. Qin Yuanqing deeply despises this kind of behavior. If they’re so capable, they should try submitting to top-tier international journals—even a top-tier university wouldn’t get more than two papers accepted there in a year. Clearly, proving Zhou’s Conjecture on Mersenne Primes is no simple task. Qin Yuanqing pored over hundreds of mathematics textbooks, pushing his mathematical proficiency to nearly Level 11, yet he still failed to crack Zhou’s Conjecture on Mersenne Primes. Unless he could prove the final conclusion, the hundreds of pages of draft paper he’d written were practically worthless, no different from scrap paper. He pushed open the dorm room door—it was exactly midnight. It was only thanks to Qin Yuanqing’s thick skin and persistent nagging that the dormitory auntie finally let him into the dorm building. Qin Yuanqing didn’t care in the least—after all, with enough nagging, things would eventually fall into place. No matter how late he came back, he wouldn’t have to explain himself; the auntie would open the door for him on her own. Upon entering the dorm, although the power had been cut off, there was still some light inside—the desk lamp, that marvel of a device, was playing a crucial role. The chubby guy was lying on his bed, crossing one leg over the other, munching on snacks while talking on the phone with his girlfriend. The two, deeply in love, not only went on dates at night but also spent two hours on the phone after returning to their dorms, until their phones ran out of battery. Zhang Jie and Liu Feng had their desk lamps on and were reading; both were planning to graduate early and study abroad. After putting his backpack away and hanging it by the bed, Qin Yuanqing went to take a shower first. He showered quickly, finishing in just ten minutes. As soon as Qin Yuanqing stepped out, he saw Zhang Jie looking gloomy. Qin Yuanqing walked over to take a look and saw that Zhang Jie was working on a physics problem—material from the second half of the freshman physics semester. “Big shot, could you take a look at this problem for me?” Zhang Jie asked Qin Yuanqing for help. Qin Yuanqing took a look—it was a problem about energy in mechanical vibrations. In reality, college physics is closely linked to high school physics; the only difference is in how concepts are expressed. For example, high school physics offers a relatively simple introduction to topics like reference frames, whereas college physics is more complex. It begins by establishing that motion is absolute and rest is relative, introduces coordinate systems from the very first chapter, and combines them with mathematics to introduce position vectors, explaining motion and equations of motion from a higher level and perspective. If you have a solid foundation in high school math and physics, the subject will be relatively easy to grasp. If your foundation is weak, however, you’ll be completely lost. Mechanical waves are, in fact, a type of classical wave. Qin Yuanqing directly wrote out the mathematical expression and graph of the wave to solve the problem. “Look, this problem is so simple—and to think you actually won a gold medal in the Physics Olympiad!” Qin Yuanqing said, speechless, inadvertently delivering a 9,999-point critical hit to the chapter. A single blow dealing 9,999 damage—can you believe it! “Dude… can we still be friends?” Zhang Jie felt like crying but had no tears to shed. He silently tucked the solution steps back into his textbook, closed it, climbed into bed, buried his face under the covers, and wept. Qin Yuanqing shook his head. It seemed the Physics Olympiad just couldn’t hold a candle to math—how could someone at this level even win a gold medal? Qin Yuanqing turned on his desk lamp and pondered silently. Occasionally, when he figured something out, he’d jot it down on a scrap of paper, but most of the time he simply thought it through, working out the problems in his head.