Rebirth: Controlled Nuclear Fusion

Part 52：A Post

Late summer, early autumn, and the sunlight softened, no longer as harsh as the peak of summer.
A gentle autumn breeze blew against the skin, bringing with it an unmistakable sense of comfort.
In the clear blue sky, a flock of wild geese flew south, their honking calls filling the air. They formed the shapes of "人" and "一" as they soared.
The geese flew overhead, casting shadows that fell upon the blackboard where Jiang Fan was writing his answers.
In the entire competition arena, Jiang Fan was the only one left, diligently working on the answers in Zone 7.
The other freshmen had long since ceased signing up for the challenge, their attention now fixed on the giant screen, all eyes on Jiang Fan.
The freshman who seemed almost godlike had made it through to the seventh question, clearing obstacle after obstacle.
He had already broken the record of Longke University, surpassing even the legendary student once hailed as a genius by Long Lao, who had only managed to solve five questions.
Everyone in the arena was immersed in awe and admiration for Jiang Fan.
Not only were his answers correct, but his speed was astounding.
Fifth question: 6 minutes and 8 seconds!
Sixth question: 5 minutes and 36 seconds!
Some attentive students in the stands calculated the total time it took Jiang Fan to complete the first six questions—an astonishing 22 minutes and 42 seconds!
Such timing would have been the equivalent of an average freshman just finishing the first question!
As the crowd speculated how long Jiang Fan would take on the seventh question, Jiang Fan set down his chalk.
Before he could speak, the cameraman focused the lens on the timer: 4 minutes and 22 seconds.
"Wow!"
A stunned silence swept over the crowd before a round of enthusiastic applause erupted.
Professor Xiao, who had not returned to the shade to continue reading since the fourth question, stood behind Jiang Fan, intently observing his every move.
At this moment, he was utterly dumbfounded. The freshman before him was not just a genius, but something even more extraordinary.
Taking a glance at the question, Jiang Fan immediately picked up his chalk and started solving it without hesitation or pause.
Even Professor Xiao, a math specialist, needed time to think and calculate when confronted with unfamiliar questions.
If the questions hadn't been crafted by him and another professor, he might have suspected that Jiang Fan had known the answers in advance!
After verifying Jiang Fan's steps, Professor Xiao confirmed they were flawless.
Jiang Fan then moved on to the eighth question.
At this point, Professor Xiao was no longer calm. He began formulating plans in his mind to convince Jiang Fan to change his major and become his student.
A talent of this caliber was wasted in the field of space science.
He decided that after the competition, he would speak with the dean to recommend that Jiang Fan be transferred to the mathematics department.
With Jiang Fan's innate talent, Professor Xiao believed that under his guidance, Jiang Fan would soon surpass even his own achievements in the field of mathematics.
Perhaps a great mathematician was about to emerge.
The more he thought about it, the more excited he became, his heart racing faster than it ever had before.
The students in the stands were now in an uproar, especially the freshmen. They understood that the upperclassmen had come to watch them fail, to see them embarrass themselves.
But Jiang Fan had brought honor to them all, advancing to the eighth question, breaking a record that had never been broken in the history of Longke University.
Even though they weren't the ones solving the problems, they now considered Jiang Fan one of their own, united as freshmen.
Meanwhile, on the school's forum, a post about a freshman challenging all seven questions of Longke University's traditional competition quickly shot to the top of the page.
As the school year hadn't yet begun, many bored students browsed the forum to keep up with the latest happenings.
When they saw the post, they initially assumed it was just an attention-grabbing headline.
The traditional challenge of Longke University, solving all seven questions—was this some kind of joke?
The poster was probably just trying to deceive the freshmen. They, after all, were seasoned veterans!
They knew better than anyone how difficult the challenge was, especially the infamous third question, the "death question," which few had ever solved!
And beyond that, each subsequent question grew progressively harder.
They too had once been full of ambition, thinking a simple challenge was no big deal.
But once they had experienced it, they understood it wasn't just a competition—it was Longke University's first lesson to them in humility.
Only after going through it did they realize how small they were, and how infinite the world of knowledge was.
When the seniors clicked on the post, ready to criticize the clickbait title, they saw the first screenshot.
The answer to the first question and the time:
"Time: 53 seconds—no way! This is such a lie! Who are they trying to fool with this 53 seconds nonsense?"
They were sure that no one could finish the first question in less than ten minutes!
The next screenshot was similar—Jiang Fan's back, his answer on the board, and the time he took:
"Is the poster an idiot? 1 minute and 3 seconds for the second question? Do they really think we haven't solved this before?"
At this point, they were convinced the poster had doctored the images to create a fake impression.
The third screenshot, like the others, showed Jiang Fan's time on the "death question":
"Haha... this is hilarious. The third death question, 5 minutes and 21 seconds? The poster must be a fool. Even for clickbait, it should at least look believable!"
The time for solving the third question listed on the Longke University official website was 53 minutes and 22 seconds for one student and 51 minutes and 18 seconds for another.
But the post claimed a mere 5 minutes and 21 seconds—no one believed it!
They continued to scroll through the screenshots, none of which took more than ten minutes.
By the time they reached the seventh screenshot, they were preparing a rant of over 500 words to attack the poster.
But when they read the comments, they were left stunned.
Comment 1: "At first I didn't believe it, but when I went to the competition venue, it was exactly as the poster said. This freshman is truly amazing!"
They immediately suspected the poster was a plant, so they moved on to comment 2.
Comment 2: "I was there, and I was absolutely blown away!"
Comment 3: "This freshman not only has talent, but he's also incredibly handsome. I think I might have a crush on him!"
Comment 4: "Don't even think about it, he's mine!"
Comment 5: "I saw the post and immediately took the subway to school to verify. It was exactly as the poster said!"
And so on...
As the students read the comments, they started to question their own disbelief. How could those times really be so short?
Determined to uncover the truth, they rushed to the Longke University competition venue, flooding the area to witness Jiang Fan in action.

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