Rebirth: Controlled Nuclear Fusion

Part 53：Too Many People

Qiao Yifei watched as so many students suddenly gathered, unable to resist curling her lips in annoyance.
"Xiaoyu, your school's students really love to cause a scene, don't they?"
Xiaoyu, grinning mischievously, teased, "Are you worried that the girls of Longke University might try to steal Jiang Fan away from you?"
Before this, under the persistent questioning of the girls, Qiao Yifei had let slip Jiang Fan's name.
"Hmph, after wandering the world for over twenty years, I'm afraid of a bunch of little girls? Ridiculous!"
"Hee hee..." Qiao Yifei's friends giggled, their laughter light and playful.
"What are you laughing at? Don't doubt the strength of your sister!"
With that, Qiao Yifei puffed her chest proudly, exuding confidence.
Any man she set her eyes on was sure to fall into her grasp.
"Yi Fei, weren't you just denying that you were interested in Jiang Fan? Looks like you slipped up!"
Qiao Yifei had spoken without realizing, but now, reflecting on it, her heart skipped a beat. Could it be that she actually liked this troublesome younger man?
Her face turned slightly pink, but she quickly regained her composure. In the eyes of her friends, she was already a 'sea king,' so it didn't matter if they knew she was interested in Jiang Fan. Putting on a devil-may-care attitude, she declared,
"Hmph, yes, I like him. What's it to you?"
"Yi Fei's got a crush! Hee hee..."
"You guys..."
Just as Qiao Yifei lunged playfully toward her friends, a voice shouted towards the big screen.
"Woah! He solved the eighth question!"
Everyone's attention snapped to the screen, where Jiang Fan, calm and composed, set down his chalk and waited for Professor Xiao to grade his answer.
"Do you think he really got it right? This is the eighth question, after all!"
"With that confident expression, I think he's got it!"
"My goodness! This is Longke University's freshman challenge, and this student makes it look like a game!"
"Yes, it's as if he's here to make a mockery of the event!"
As the crowd held their breath, Jiang Fan moved on to the ninth question.
"Unbelievable! The eighth question is really correct!"
"Amazing!"
"Goodness gracious!"
"That's unbelievable!"
"Eight questions solved! Is he even human?"
"Now I understand why that student was crying earlier—he was mentally crushed by this newcomer's performance!"
"..."

The chatter grew louder as the crowd buzzed with excitement. The challenge arena was packed to the brim, with latecomers unable to enter the square, only able to peek in from the edges to catch a glimpse of the action. Some students, with roommates already inside, resorted to video calls to follow along.

In the Principal's Office,
Principal Lu and Dean Li were seated across from each other, sipping tea leisurely.
"This time, Jiang Fan coming to our school is all thanks to Old Long. If it weren't for his personal involvement, he might have been snapped up by Huqing University," Principal Lu remarked.
"Here, Dean Li, let's have a toast with tea instead of wine. Ha ha..."
The principal was overjoyed to have a student like Jiang Fan, who was clearly destined for greatness.
Just yesterday, he received orders from higher authorities to give Jiang Fan absolute freedom in his research—he could pursue whatever direction he preferred!
The school was even allocating 200 million yuan in research funding, with 100 million earmarked specifically for Jiang Fan's personal research.
And that wasn't all; the government was planning to build a research institute in the northern part of Longke University, exclusively for scientific research and student development.
With this, Longke University's overall strength had received a significant boost, now rivaling the prestigious Longguo Peking University and Huqing University.
Of course, all of this had been made possible by Jiang Fan's acceptance into the school.
"Dean Li, everything is in place for Jiang Fan, right?"
"Yes, everything's set. As for accommodation, we originally planned to reward Jiang Fan with a villa in the East, but Old Long disagreed. He said Jiang Fan is still young, and such an extravagant lifestyle wouldn't be conducive to his focus on research. So, he's staying in the faculty dormitory."
The principal nodded thoughtfully. Old Long had made the right call.
"It seems that student from ten years ago really left quite an impact on him."
"Yes. Old Long poured so much effort into training that student, involving him in numerous top-secret national projects. In the end, that student went abroad, never to return, becoming a traitor to the country..."
"Let's hope Jiang Fan doesn't let Old Long down."
"I believe Jiang Fan has good character, and he's very humble in his approach..."
Just as Dean Li was praising Jiang Fan, an urgent knock echoed at the door.
"Come in!" Principal Lu said.
The head of security for Longke University burst in, announcing breathlessly,
"Principal, something's wrong! The new student challenge has gathered a huge crowd, and more students are heading that way!"
The principal remained calm.
"Heh, Captain Niu, you've just returned from the military, so you might not know. Every year, many new students participate in the challenge, and there's always a large crowd watching. This is nothing new."
"Principal, this time it's different—there are really a lot of people!"
"How many people are we talking about?"
"About 10,000!"
"The entire university has around 15,000 students and faculty. Are you saying two-thirds of the entire campus is there?"
Captain Niu, seeing the principal and dean's disbelief, became more urgent.
"Principal, I'm serious! The challenge arena only holds 2,000 people, and I'm worried about a stampede! You need to check it out and start evacuating the students!"
Seeing the seriousness in Captain Niu's face, Principal Lu and Dean Li began to feel a twinge of concern.
If there were indeed that many people, the challenge arena could easily become a dangerous situation. These students were the country's future, and they couldn't afford any accidents.
"Let's go and see for ourselves!"
The principal stood up and motioned for them to follow.
As they made their way to the challenge square, they encountered more students rushing in. The noise from the direction of the arena was deafening.
Principal Lu quickened his pace.
When they finally arrived, the scene before them stunned them—thousands of students had gathered in the square, creating a tumultuous scene.
He grabbed a student at random and asked,
"What's going on here?"
The student, recognizing the principal, quickly greeted him.
"Hello, Principal!"
"Hello, hello. Now, tell me, how could there be so many people?"
The student, excited, replied,
"Principal, a new student has already solved eight questions, and now he's working on the ninth!"
"A new student has solved eight questions?"
Principal Lu was in disbelief. He knew how difficult the challenge was, especially after the third question. Most students struggled to solve it, let alone complete eight questions.
At that moment, Dean Li came running up, gasping for breath.
"Principal... It's... It's Jiang Fan!"

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