I Get Stronger When Called Up - Chapter 1

Parallel world.
Jiang City, Second Middle School, Class 10 of the third year.
99 days until the college entrance exam.
The bell had just rung.
“Teacher, once again Fang Qimai hasn’t handed in his homework.
[Ding dong! Due to the extraordinary presence of the host, who is often called upon, the system activates!]
[Ding! You’ve been summoned by the maths class representative, Li Hongzhe. Reward: Quick Calculation Technique skill!]
…In front of the podium, the teacher with a receding hairline put down the stack of exercise books in his hands with a heavy expression.

“Fang Qimai, stand up for me!”

[Ding! You’ve been summoned by Mathematics Teacher Xue Baogai, reward: Advanced Mathematics Skill!]

System?

What was that sound just now?

Why are those strange, mechanical notification sounds constantly appearing in my mind?

Fang Qimai felt a bit confused.

At that moment, even though many of his classmates were whispering and waiting to watch the drama unfold, he was sure that those few words were not spoken by any of them.

So where were those voices coming from?

Temporarily unable to make sense of it, Fang Qimai stood up calmly. He was 1.86 metres tall, with a slightly handsome appearance and a calm yet mischievous gaze.

The maths teacher, Xue Baogai, was always strict with the students. This time, it was unclear how he would reprimand Fang Qimai.

“Fang Qimai, what’s wrong with you? You’re the only one in the class who hasn’t handed in his homework!”

“Teacher, there’s a reason why I didn’t hand in my homework.”

“Oh? I’d like to hear what your reason is.”

Fang Qimai paused for a moment and then replied, “We have daily assignments in three subjects: Chinese, Maths and English – an average of one page of practice a day – and we have to prepare before class and review after class. Then there’s the maths workbook, which is written on the blackboard. For Chinese, we have to recite full texts, copy sentences and write essays. For English, we have to memorise vocabulary, recite texts, do two reading comprehension exercises and write essays, and then there’s the punitive copying homework you assigned, the periodic exams, the monthly tests, and combined with the workload from the other three subjects, if we double it, plus the numerous “Five-Year Simulation, Three-Year College Entrance Exam” and Wang Houxiong, Xue Jinxing’s numerous practice tests, I have to write an average of 39,681,254 characters a year.

The average writing speed for a normal person is about 0.42 characters per second, which means it takes me 94,479,176 seconds to do it all!

That’s an average of 71.91 hours of writing per day, but we only have 24 hours in a day.

If I want to do all my homework, I need to master the Armstrong Spiral Acceleration Technique and use a time-space wormhole every three days to travel back two days!

Or I need to invent a warp engine and install it on a pen so that I can quickly jump back and forth across the paper, cutting two-thirds of the writing distance before I can finish!

Xue Baogai: …

Whole class: …

“Wow! He could actually calculate that…”

“So this guy is a real hidden powerhouse…”

“Is that his reason for not doing his homework? It’s so logical and well thought out, it’s practically irrefutable…”

“This is like a cow taking off in an aeroplane – absolutely stunning!”

…

Even Fang Qimai himself was amazed.

Is this the power of the Quick Calculation Technique?

The whole Quick Calculation process was so clear and accurate that even he found it incredible.

Part of it was due to the effect of Advanced Math Mastery.

Since hearing those sounds earlier, Fang Qimai felt that his logical thinking had improved.

Before, his maths grades were not impressive, but now that he had mastered Advanced Math Mastery, he could easily get a perfect maths score on the college entrance exam!

…

…”From Xue Baogai’s confusion value, +5.”

At this moment, Xue Baogai was completely stunned.

“Uh… ah, well…”

Xue Baogai adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat awkwardly.

“All right, Fang Qimai, since you’re so good at arithmetic, why don’t you solve the problem I gave everyone in the last class?”

He tapped the blackboard and continued, “If you can’t solve it without doing your homework, then you’ll have to stand for the rest of the class!”

…

“That’s bad, that guy definitely can’t do it, he’s only good for talking.”

“Oh no, this problem is so difficult, even I can’t do it, he’s definitely finished!”

“Yes, this is an advanced maths problem, how can someone who’s not good at studying solve it?”

The classmates started whispering to each other.

It was at this point that Li Hongzhe, the class president and maths representative, saw his chance to shine.

Imitating the teacher, he said loudly, “Fang Qimai, hurry up! If everyone wasted a minute like you, this class would be over!”

Fang Qimai replied, “If each of us studies for one minute, won’t this class be over for us?

Li Hongzhe: …

“From Li Hongzhe’s confusion value, +2.”

Xue Baogai tapped the blackboard, “Fang Qimai, hurry up! Stop running your mouth!”

Fang Qimai looked at the problem on the blackboard.

Being in maths class was like playing a game.

The maths teacher throws us basic equipment, teaches us basic skills, and then sends us off to fight a boss.

If we can’t win, he’ll show us how to do it with his max-level equipment, then ask if we’ve understood.

The point is, have we really invested in this kind of game environment for 12 years?

Fortunately, Fang Qimai had already mastered Advanced Math Mastery.

This problem was a piece of cake.

In a flash, Fang Qimai wrote a series of complicated and long formulas on the blackboard, leaving most of the class confused.

After seeing Fang Qimai’s final answer, top student Li Hongzhe laughed.

“Hehe, even though I don’t understand what strange method he used, I bet the result is wrong!”

…

After completing the solution, Fang Qimai didn’t return to his seat immediately, but turned around and began to explain the problem meticulously and thoroughly. Starting from reading the question, he pointed out the small traps that needed attention. He then moved on to finding the entry point, began to solve the problem, chose the formulas and derived each step in the process. He presented the whole thought process and finally arrived at the answer. Not only that, he also broadened the scope, making everyone aware of additional points of knowledge.

Xue Baogai was stunned.

Fang Qimai’s solution was completely correct. All the points of knowledge and important considerations – everything Xue Baogai wanted to explain – had been covered. Fang Qimai’s solution even surpassed the level expected from a teacher. Although Fang Qimai had a mischievous side, his correct problem solving was worthy of praise.

“Very good, this problem was an Olympiad-level question, quite difficult indeed. You weren’t necessarily expected to solve it, I just wanted to challenge your thinking. However, Fang Qimai solved it and the answer is correct!

…

“Correct?”

The top student, Li Hongzhe, looked at his own answer, which was different from Fang Qimai’s. But since the teacher confirmed that Fang Qimai was right, did that mean that he was wrong?

Li Hongzhe hadn’t listened to Fang Qimai’s explanation at all. He assumed that Fang Qimai must have made a mistake in his calculations, and that he would simply follow the teacher’s method. But the real result was… he made a mistake?

He skimmed through it and realised… he had indeed made a mistake from the second step. It turned out that he had fallen into the trap Fang Qimai had mentioned.

“Damn!”

“From Li Hongzhe’s confusion value, +3.” Xue Baogai adjusted his glasses and said, “All right, those who have solved it, please raise your hands.”

Li Hongzhe, as the class representative, quickly changed his final answer to match Fang Qimai’s. At the same time, he silently raised his hand.

“Okay, you can all put your hands down. This question isn’t easy, so it’s normal that not many students got it right. However, for those who didn’t, I hope you will try to understand the thought process and apply it skilfully in the exams.”

Fang Qimai said, “Teacher, do you want me to solve it in a different way?”

Li Hongzhe was surprised, “For such a difficult problem, Fang Qimai even knows a second method?”

After a pause, Xue Baogai replied, “Um… No need. The other method would be hard for most students to understand. Just remember the method we just went over.”

“Alright, teacher, then I’ll return to my seat.”

“Yes, um… Fang Qimai, try to… finish your homework, please…”

“Alright, teacher, I’ll see how I feel.”

Xue Baogai: …