Rebirth: Controlled Nuclear Fusion

Part 85：State of Flow

After finishing his meal, Jiang Fan offered to wash the dishes, but Aunt Li stopped him.

"Xiao Fan, let me do it!" she said.

"Aunt Li, let me give you some money. I've been eating your food for free these past few days," Jiang Fan said, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Aiyo, Xiao Fan, if you say that, it will make me feel like an outsider. If that's the case, I might get angry!" Aunt Li pretended to scold him.

Jiang Fan didn't know how to respond. After a few more words of casual conversation, he grabbed his books and headed back to his room.

Upon returning, he poured himself a glass of water, placed the books on the desk, and made up his mind to study through the night. He took a deep breath to calm his mind and then picked up one of the books, quickly entering his focused study mode.

Every time Jiang Fan entered this state of concentration, it felt as though time itself slowed down, his mind fully absorbed in the task at hand.

Before long, it was already midnight when the system's voice suddenly rang in his mind:

【System】: Congratulations to the host for entering the flow state for 10 hours today. You have successfully earned a 10-hour, hundred-fold learning card!

Jiang Fan was puzzled when he heard this. Flow state? This was the first time he had encountered such a term. He immediately asked the system.

"System, what is a flow state?"

【System】: "The flow state is a mental condition where one is completely absorbed in an activity. It's like when some people are writing articles, programmers are coding, or designers are creating – all these moments lead to a state of flow, where time seems to disappear."

Jiang Fan now understood. When he was reading, he had indeed entered such a state!

He then mentally accessed the description of the hundred-fold learning card and clicked to use it.

【System】: "Activating the hundred-fold learning card..."

A countdown appeared in Jiang Fan's mind:
09:59:58

Quickly, he grabbed The Encyclopedia of Astronomy and began reading. He discovered that as his eyes skimmed the pages, the knowledge from the book directly entered his mind. Difficult and obscure information became clear and simple, instantly comprehensible.

He tested it for a few minutes and was amazed at how powerful the hundred-fold learning card was. Not only did his reading speed increase by a hundred times, but his understanding, memory, and ability to integrate the information also improved exponentially.

Jiang Fan couldn't help but feel overjoyed. To make the most of every second, he concentrated solely on his reading.

Time flew by, and in just an hour and a half, he finished the Encyclopedia of Astronomy. When he closed the book, he could clearly recall every detail from the pages.

He checked the remaining time on the learning card: 8.5 hours left.

Without hesitation, he picked up Basic Space Technology and continued reading. Within another hour, he had finished that as well. By 6 AM, he had completed all the books, and the information was deeply ingrained in his memory.

He felt that he had now reached the beginner level in space science.

Jiang Fan deactivated the learning card, leaving 4 hours remaining. He realized how valuable this card was and didn't want to waste it.

It was still only six in the morning, so he decided to rest for a bit. These past few days, he hadn't slept at all, and the bed felt incredibly comfortable. Lying down, he let out a contented sigh.

"Oh~~"

In less than a minute, he was sound asleep.

When his alarm rang at eight, he woke up promptly. Though he had finished reading the books Professor Ma recommended, there was still an important task at hand—writing his SCI paper on space science. Only by publishing the paper would he complete his mission.

After a simple breakfast, he contacted Professor Ma.

Upon hearing that Jiang Fan had finished the books, Professor Ma's opinion of him soured. It was clear that Jiang Fan had merely skimmed the books instead of truly studying them.

In such a short time, there was no way he could have absorbed all the content properly. Professor Ma was reluctant to waste time with such a student but was bound by Elder Long's instructions.

With a sigh, Professor Ma asked Jiang Fan to come to his office.

He had already made up his mind to quiz Jiang Fan. If he couldn't answer the questions, he would send him away—helping a student who pretended to know something was a waste of time. He could be spending that time studying instead.

Jiang Fan quickly arrived at Professor Ma's office.

"Professor Ma," Jiang Fan greeted.

"Mm," Professor Ma nodded.

"I've finished the books you recommended. Should I read some other ones, or should I start writing the SCI paper?" Jiang Fan asked.

"Space science is still in its early stages. If you've mastered these books and added some of your own insights, writing a successful SCI paper shouldn't be a problem. But I fear you haven't even grasped the basics of the books," Professor Ma replied, his tone clearly doubtful.

"I really have finished the books. If you don't believe me, you can test me," Jiang Fan said seriously.

Professor Ma, sensing the opportunity, picked up one of the books and asked, "What is astronomy?"

"Astronomy is the study of celestial bodies, the structure and evolution of the universe. It covers the construction, properties, and laws of motion of celestial bodies..."

Jiang Fan answered perfectly, word for word from the book.

Professor Ma, now intrigued, asked more questions.

"What is the most powerful energy activity in the universe?"

"Gamma-ray bursts release the most powerful electromagnetic radiation in the universe... Supermassive stars, when they explode, also release large amounts of gamma rays in a short time. This is what we call a gamma-ray burst."

"What is a black hole?"

"A celestial object with such a strong curvature of spacetime that even light cannot escape."

...

Professor Ma continued with several questions, and Jiang Fan answered them all without hesitation, and perfectly.

By the time he answered the last question, Professor Ma was left speechless, his mouth agape in disbelief.

These books had only been introduced to Jiang Fan yesterday, and yet he had read and memorized them all in just one day?

"Jiang... Jiang Fan, how did you do that?" Professor Ma stammered.

Jiang Fan, seeing Professor Ma's stunned expression, smiled playfully and said, "I have a photographic memory! Hehe..."