Chapter 1: Du Zhengyi & Luo Qi

Life is a mystery, and for me, the biggest mystery in this fog is whether or not I am a piece of shit.

——Excerpt from "Chicken Soup of Rocky's Life"

When Du Zhengyi received the bubble, he was in the library rushing to produce his graduation thesis "Nonlinear Cyclic Multidimensional Space Transformation". Across from him sat a sweet-looking girl, a fellow of the archaeology major, who was writing a paper on how the wanderer societies of ancient times compared to human agricultural societies. They had been sitting in the same position for days on end, so he felt that he might have a chance.

He grabbed the bubbles that kept flying in front of him, smiled apologetically at the disturbed girl, who gave him an understanding smile, and then buried his head in the book, skillfully casting a spell to grab the keyword information of the text floating in the air, he admired her professionalism.

He stood up with his bubbles in his hands and walked towards the door. Beneath the library's massive dome, there was only the quiet sound of flipping books and the occasional static of some auxiliary spells streak through the air, and when he reached the hallway outside the reading room, the sound immediately became noisy. He glanced out to see that the playground downstairs was undergoing an exam for the third-grade weather control experiment, and an idiot had somehow created a private cloud that was raining over his head, and the sound of laughter and heckling whistles on the playground reached the second floor of the library.

He took one last look at the boy who was standing desperately under a square meter of rain clouds with great interest, turned to a slightly secluded corner, and crushed the bubble in his hand. It was a message from the teacher informing him to go to the department head's office at two o'clock in the afternoon.

Rocky carefully unfolded a crumpled piece of paper with the theme of the next week's evening lecture written in black and white:

Evaluation of Energy Detection Methods in Uncertain Environments

Tuesday, F1 Lecture Hall, Speaker: Archmage Singh Kamal

Information Extraction Based on Infinite Data

Wednesday, F1 Lecture Hall, Speaker: Archmage Abbott Musk

"Research on Ultralight Porous Metals"

Thursday, F1 Academic Lecture Hall, Speaker: Grand Master Liu Li

Space Compression Techniques Based on Firma's Theorem

Friday, F1 Lecture Hall, Speaker: Venerable Daphne Tate

He swallowed, and the next month's evening lecture would show all the third-graders their future career paths. He was already standing at the crossroads of his life, his anxious eyes were full of gold, but unfortunately he couldn't read any street signs.

He finally made up his mind to put down the torn paper, "To be honest, I know all the Chinese characters in the title of the book. ”

"I suggest you don't have to listen to the first one – Singh Kamara – and it's a ...... It's an Indian, and no one understands the English he speaks anyway. So we've ruled out an option. His roommate and friend Liu Xing said without raising his head that he was using the last bit of time before class to make up for the essay.

"Then Teacher Liu Li should be preferred, at least it is not the language of birds." Rocky said thoughtfully.

"Don't, I've heard she's super strict. Besides, you look at the subject, the study of metals? In the future, I will definitely squat in the laboratory for the rest of my life to study materials. You can think about the fourth one, and although I don't know what Fermat's theorem is, the spatial compression technique is probably the study of how to fit an elephant in a refrigerator. Liu Xing stopped his pen and said in a matter-of-fact manner.

Rocky kept looking at the second, "Information extraction based on infinite data, why bother to learn this thing." I can use my computer, just google it. ”

"Not many mages would trust that thing." Liu Xing touched his nose and said a little vaguely. "You'd better not use that in front of anyone else."

Luo Qi didn't say anything, he was under too much pressure, and he didn't have the leisure to argue with Liu Xing about racial discrimination. He looked at the time, "Fifteen minutes to go, it's two o'clock, I have to go to Teacher Liu Li's office." He thought about it for a while, and couldn't help but express the anxiety in his heart, "I've never taken her class, and she doesn't know me, why is she looking for me?" ”

Liu Xing glanced at him sympathetically, "Don't worry too much, buddy, to be honest, you didn't do anything bad." ”

"I've already failed three classes," Roach said to himself, "and if I fail one more, I won't have to worry about what major to choose in my fourth year." Teacher Liu may have come to me for this matter, and I must have failed the exam in the morning. ”

Liu Xing was also a little worried, but he was quite calm, and said matter-of-factly, "If you delay for a while, you will be late, and Liu Li may use lightning to slash you at that time." I heard from the students at their academy that her nickname was Lei Gong Dianmu. ”

"Aren't Lei Gongdian two people?" Luo Qi asked in disbelief, his buddy has always been frizzy, and he listens to others and listens to others, so he is not very reliable in speaking.

"Probably double the force." Liu Xing said nonchalantly, while looking around hastily, seeing that no one in the classroom was paying attention, his face suddenly became sour, and he frowned and said resolutely to Luo Qi, "Don't think about those who don't have it, if you really get expelled from the mage sequence because you failed four courses, I can introduce you to mess with my cousin." When he graduated, he also got a first-class mage license, but didn't he devote himself to the catering industry after graduation? Now that I have several Michelin stars in my hand, I am still thriving on the other side, so why do I have to be a mage. What's the big deal about being able to rub fireballs? My cousin doesn't have to rub his fingers when stir-frying, he uses an electronic lighter. ”

Luo Qi didn't know what to say for a while, and Bai licked his lips. He longed to be a mage, but then he thought of the unlucky exam in the morning, and suddenly lost his energy. He knew that Liu Xing had good intentions, and he was also a little moved in his heart, patted Liu Xing's shoulder, thanked him vaguely and went out.

The delay was a little late, and Roach hurried through the corridors of the school building, trying to make as many shortcuts as he could. At this time, some classrooms had already started exams, and through a half-open door, he saw that the students inside were taking the second-grade math exam, and some changing numbers were floating in the void, which was very cool. However, most candidates are still reluctant to be in the limelight, preferring to diligently hold a pen and calculate on paper.

Luo Qi no longer cares about envying those who are born with strong brains enough to visualize their thoughts, his ability has been hovering between being like a mage and not quite like a mage, and he has no time to appreciate the lucky ones who are close to the upper realm, and the practical problem he is facing now is whether he can keep the lower limit, at least not to be expelled from school.

It was already two o'clock when he ran into the last hallway, and at the end of the corridor was a nest-shaped, six-sided hall with a statue of a serpentine woman standing in the center of the hall, and five identical offices hidden behind the walls. He glanced up at the office number, and all the five doors were numbers.

Roach calmed down for a moment, and saw that he was already two minutes late, and he calmed down and took another minute to remember what office the teacher was talking about, but to no avail. Three minutes later, he chose 2 as his lucky number and knocked on the door.

The wooden door opened inward on its own, and Roach excitedly thought that this was a good omen, indicating that someone inside was indeed preparing to meet. However, there was no teacher Liu Li in the room, only a young man sitting on the sofa next to the desk, looking at him with a little surprise.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Luo Qi was embarrassed and hurriedly said, "I'm sorry I seem to have gone wrong......"

Before he could finish his sentence, the ensuite door behind his desk was suddenly pushed open. A middle-aged woman with a serious expression walked out quickly with a stack of papers in her hand, glanced at Roach and ordered impatiently, "Stop talking nonsense, Roach, close the door and come in and sit down." ”

Roach was stunned for a moment, came back to his senses, whispered an apology, and walked in.

The man sitting on the sofa was not much older than Roach when he looked closely, but his temperament was much calmer, and he didn't look like a student at first glance. Roach sat down next to him, and the boy also turned his head to look at him, only to glance him up and down with a suspicious face, and the water under his thin eyelids had its own attributes.

Annoying! He was chattering indignantly in his heart, and at first glance he was not a good stubble.

"Teacher Liu." The man opened his mouth first, and his tone sounded as if he was very familiar with Archmage Liu Li, but Luo Qi heard a slight anger in his tone, which was strange, he hadn't done anything!

"What grade is he? It's not a freshman, is it? ”

Newborn, your uncle! Roach unhappily moved his ass on the couch, hiding the exaggerated rip in his ripped jeans. How could he have predicted that he would be called to the office by the teacher today? He has always avoided all the teachers.

"Roach is a third-grader." Liu Li sighed, her eyes looked big behind the lenses, and she glanced at the kid with a little reproach. But Roach saw with sadness that her reproach was like a mother proudly complaining about her capable eldest son.

Liu Li turned his face to look at him again, and his gaze at him was much sharper, Luo Qi became nervous as soon as he touched it, and subconsciously straightened his waist, and no longer dared to sit on the back of the sofa.

Liu Li didn't say anything for a while, just looked at him deeply, as if assessing something. Roach became nervous again, if he was to fire him, he should not tell him the news in front of others.

"You don't have enough credits to get to the fourth grade." Liu Li said succinctly.

Roach's throat was dry, and his heart sank to the bottom.

"So I hope you can make up credits by participating in social practice during the holidays." Liu Li continued.

What? Roach was taken aback, he had never heard of such a remedy, and hope rose suddenly, but his heart was empty, and he was a little overwhelmed. The boy was attracted by his stupidity, and turned his head to look at him, and his expression was cold.

"His name is Du Zhengyi, you should have heard of it." The teacher probably noticed that he was looking at the senior stupidly, so he introduced it.

He was stunned for a moment, he had heard of this name. He couldn't help but look at the man carefully, his complexion was slightly dark, he was very thin, he was very tall, and he was not bad-looking. But it's hard to say about his personality, he is so indebted under the nose of the archmage. But it turned out that this person was Du Zhengyi, Luo Qi had really heard of him, and he was very emotional.

Most people only know that this person is a scholar, but in fact, this person once did something terrible when he was in the fourth grade, and not many people know about it. However, when he was seriously injured and hospitalized, he was admitted to the hospital where Roach's parents were, and his case was told over and over again by Roach's parents at the dinner table as an excellent case, and he was a model of "other people's children". Luo Qi sighed secretly, he was fortunate to sit on the same sofa as his growing shadow, and the pressure was really not ordinary.

However, Luo Qi followed and calculated the time, Du Zhengyi should be in the seventh grade this year, and he will graduate in a month. So what is he messing around here? He's probably either writing a thesis or looking for a job right now. But as soon as he thought about it, he couldn't wait to knock himself on the ruler - now is really not the time to gossip about others, this has already burned his eyebrows, he is still distracted, and the most important thing now is not to ensure that he himself is not expelled? He had never heard that participating in social practice could make up credits. However, due to the influence of the neighbors who are engaged in innovation at every turn, many great masters have also been mentioning innovation and development recently, and it is not clear that they have only started to increase their practice projects this year.

Thinking about it like this, he really felt that he was so lucky, he couldn't help but have his heart pounding, and he looked at the teacher with blank eyes, hoping that she could say more about what he had to do to complete that social practice and keep his credits.

Liu Li motioned for Luo Qi to go over and take a file bag on her desktop, and he hurriedly stood up and took it. Just as he wanted to open it to take a look, Liu Li spoke again, so he had to resist his curiosity, raised his head and waited for the teacher's orders.

"You are in a group with Du Zheng, and what you have to do is social research. The subject of the investigation was non-human beings, and the title was "Analysis of the Authenticity of Human Race Based on Paranormal Sighting Reports". The specific analysis methods, research areas and other relevant information are already in the hands of Du Zhengyi, and your main job is to be his assistant. Liu Li said concisely and clearly, his tone was smooth and without pause, his language was highly concise, and he was completely academic.

She paused at this point and stared at Roach, as if to see if Roach could digest the information. Roach immediately raised her hand in the air, she sighed and nodded at him, "What do you not understand?" ”

"I think," Roach said eloquently, "that the subject of the survey should be reduced to 'Zi Bu Si', which is simple and appropriate." He paused for a moment and added, "It's also freehand." ”

At this time, not only Teacher Liu Li, but even Du Zhengyi next to him turned around and looked at him carefully, he got attention and interested, and continued to speak freely, "I have always felt that Confucius may be an archmage who has hidden his identity, he has not said a word and let us live peacefully on this land for thousands of years, and there has never been such a bad thing as the Salem tragedy on our continent, I think there is a lot of credit for Confucius." ”

Liu Li nodded and looked at him expressionlessly, "So you do understand what you are asked to do." Since you mentioned it, go write a historical essay on Confucius, have your own point of view, and give it to me next month, 40 pages. ”

Luo Qi was stunned for a moment, and began to face up to Liu Lilei's nickname.

There was a sneer in his ear, it was Du Zhengyi. "Why do I look a little familiar with this bear child?"

Roach glared at him, the age difference between them was only three or four years, who could be more bears than whom? Besides, what is familiar? It's not a cafeteria girl.

Du Zhengyi then said to Liu Li, "I think it's more efficient to find a student majoring in social studies or history to help." I recommend a history student in my class, who is very professional and suitable for this social research. ”

Luo Qi's chest suddenly tightened, regretting that he had just said so much nonsense in a moment's pride, and he messed things up again, why he just couldn't control his broken mouth.

Liu Li really groaned, and Luo Qi's throat tightened. He thought afterwards that this must have been the most important minute of his life, but he was like a stupid seal, completely stuck on the mudflats, unable to even save himself. In the end, it was Grand Master Liu Li who strengthened his belief that he didn't know where the fight came from, and shook his head at Du Zhengyi.

Du Zhengyi sighed, without hesitation that the person concerned was next to him, and asked directly, "Which of his abilities has a higher standard deviation?" ”

Surprisingly, Liu Li didn't answer, Luo Qi looked at her curiously, in fact, he also wanted to know what secret and outstanding advantages he had that allowed him to be chosen by the archmage. But Liu Li pursed her lips tightly, as if she wanted to stop herself, as if what she was about to say would be very contrary to her personal will. He had only seen people look like this at one time, and that was when they were ashamed to say what they had to say. His brain twitched again, could it be because he was so handsome? Already handsome to the point of eating for all ages?

Luo Qi glanced curiously at the pretending party next to him, and found that he was also observing Teacher Liu Li with interest.

Roach turned his head to look at their teacher, and the highly respected archmage who was almost impossible to test for his real age exhaled, and Roach suddenly suspected that her emotions were broken at this moment. Then she uttered something that made him blush and will not be forgotten for many years to come, "According to observations, his L-value is much higher than the average." ”

He looked at the teacher in disbelief, and then looked awkwardly at his next door, and the kid's eyes were about to pop out.

"The L value means the luck value." Liu Li took out the tone of a lecture and said to Du Zhengyi.

"I know," Du Zheng took over indifferently, he was probably too shocked to be polite, "I know that he doesn't mean love when I look at him like that." ”

Roach burst into flames.

Du Zhengyi continued, "Luck is the roll of the dice, everyone has a chance to have a big point, but as long as the repeated toss will eventually be about the same for everyone. There may be some mathmasters who believe that luck is also a research direction, but I don't believe in that theory. Believing in luck is like believing in fatalism, and I was not educated to set up a stall in the square. ”

Liu Li looked at Du Zhengyi silently, he felt the pressure of this silence, and finally closed his mouth.

"I don't believe it either," Liu Li said slowly, "but there are always some people who show relatively good luck within the observable range." Luck is something that no theory can explain, but it can often be measured. As she said this, she glanced deeply at Roach, who averted her gaze in embarrassment.

Du Zheng wanted to speak again and again, and finally said very reluctantly perfunctory, "The more magic develops, the more rigorous it becomes. It's a specious obedience to the teacher.

Roach disagreed, he felt that human science was more rigorous, but this time he kept his mouth shut. Who knew that Du Zhengyi suddenly turned his head again, staring at him inquiringly, and he began to have a little ominous premonition.

Du Zhengyi suddenly realized, "Oh, I remember who you are!" You're the fool who made a storm cloud over your head on the playground in the morning! You didn't pass the weather control lab exam, did you? ”

Depend on! Roach said in his heart that he had never seen anyone more annoying than him.