After his father said that, he stopped the video and went back to his endless swarm of work.
His father was already seriously ill at that point in time, but he insisted on working. This was how the massive spaceship, 'Earth Age', with technology exceeding the current era was slowly built by those group of workaholics.
Zhang Yuan fell into a daze as he looked at the package.
Even though he was ridiculed by his father, he still could not bear to part with him.
The memories of his father had already become fuzzy in his head, but after that video he saw, his memory of him became clearer as if they had just parted yesterday, and that sort of feeling made him feel quite sad and lonely…
After a minute or two, a sudden thought came to his mind as he looked towards the metal box.
'An intelligence enhancer! Is this real or fake?'
Zhang Yuan gulped, furrowed his brows, and opened the metal box.
He discovered a small blue-colored glass bottle filled to the brim with an unidentifiable liquid and a disposable syringe.
'Increase intelligence? It seems impossible… Could there really be such magical technology in this world? Impossible. Absolutely impossible!'
"If it really existed, geniuses would have been rampant in the world and a doctorate would be another piece of paper in the toilet."
However, it should not be a baseless claim since his father had mentioned it.
He picked up the glass bottle, and it was still ice-cold due to the effect of dry ice. The liquid inside the bottle did not exceed 3ml.
Zhang Yuan hesitated. He wanted to find a lab to test the liquid composition, but he feared that it was only effective for a given amount of time. Once the temperature increased, perhaps it might deteriorate and lose its effect.
In that case, should he use it or not?
He clenched his fists and pondered hard for 3 seconds.
Firstly, the success rate was greater than the failure rate.
Secondly, since it was left behind by his father, it should not be harmful.
Thirdly, he didn't want to remain as an ordinary person.
'I shall use it! I would be a fool not to!'
After he made up his mind, Zhang Yuan no longer dawdled and extracted the blue liquid using the disposable syringe.
'I'll inject it into my vein… calm down… calm down.'
After taking a deep breath, he felt a stabbing pain and the needle went into a vein in his arm.
As an astronaut, he had received some medical training, so he was no beginner at this. In any case, it was only an injection.
Zhang Yuan clenched his teeth and slowly pushed the syringe filled with the blue liquid with his thumb.
Soon, his cheeks turned red and strange drowsiness overcame him. He did not know if it was due to nervousness or the enhancer taking effect.
All of a sudden, the sky spun around him and he lost consciousness.
...
When he finally regained his consciousness, he felt that his mind was in a blur, as if there was a whirlpool rapidly spinning in his head.
After he laid on the ground for another few minutes, the severe throbbing headache finally eased.
"… I can finally think now."
Zhang Yuan climbed up with great difficulty and looked around suspiciously before he packed the glass bottle and syringe inside his refrigerator.
If necessary, perhaps he should find a place to test the composition of the residual liquid.
"Have I turned smarter or did I turn stupid?"
'I'll give it a try!' Zhang Yuan thought excitedly.
The simplest way to test it was through computation.
Zhang Yuan prepared a question for himself: 7812378*7812378=…
???
??
?
Similar to a rusted, jammed machine, the answer did not immediately surface in his mind.
'I'm finished!'
He fell into a wave of panic and his complexion turned red.
'F*ck! I didn't become smarter! Could it be that I have turned stupid instead?'
"I shouldn't be so unlucky, right…? Sigh… I guess I can only resign to my fate."
He got up from the ground and checked the time. It was already 9pm at night and he was famished.
"Perhaps my brain malfunctioned because of low blood sugar concentration…"
He randomly came up with an excuse and tried to calm his chaotic mind. After walking into the kitchen, he prepared a bowl of noodles for himself and gulped it down.
'Humans cannot function properly on an empty stomach. I'll just measure my IQ again after I fill up my stomach,' Zhang Yuan thought.
After he finished his bowl of noodles, Zhang Yuan walked towards the study and pulled out the book,
'I still can't understand a single thing.'
"Oh wait, I am being too anxious. This book is still too advanced for me."
The ability to understand the contents of a book was not only based on IQ, but also the accumulation of knowledge. Anabelian Geometry was a remote branch of algebraic geometry. Therefore, even if his IQ was as high as 250, he would still be unable to understand the contents if he did not have prior knowledge.
'I'll change to another book then. A simpler one.'
It was a very classic book!
In the current generation, programming had become a compulsory course in highschools and universities. Though there were many who hated it, similar to how they hated math and physics.
In accordance with their words: What use is there to learn these things? They could opt not to take up jobs relevant to programming!
However, it was undeniable that software engineering was still a field with the highest employment rate. Be it artificial intelligence, information technology, or various mechanical design fields, all of these fields require the knowledge of programming.
Zhang Yuan majored in Space Mechanical Engineering in his university and they had to learn all sorts of miscellaneous modules. As a result, his programming skills were considered so-so.
Zhang Yuan tried to recall his knowledge on programming and started to flip through the first page.
[Volume 1. Chapter 1: Basic Algorithms]
"Oh well, I'll just treat it as a review. Even though this is a very classic basic book, it still covers the elementary applications of simulation, numerical methods, mathematics, software, and system design. There are still parts where it is difficult."
Gradually, he entered into a state of high concentration and a marvelous feeling surfaced in his mind.
While he was digesting and solving the various questions, it seemed as if he was easily conquering difficult hurdles like he had never done before.
That strong desire for conquest and satisfaction attracted him to continue reading through the entire book.
Minutes and seconds elapsed until he finished reading through the two-hundred-page book. Only then did Zhang Yuan nod in satisfaction, as if he had just consumed an exquisite meal.
It was a pretty good read that was worth the time spent!
He stopped writing his notes and hammered his aching back while he kept revising the knowledge he just learned.
When he looked up to check the time…
It was already 3 am in the morning! He had been reading for six hours!
Time flew past like a rocket and it was already time for him to go to bed.
'Wait a minute! M-my IQ!'
He suddenly thought of something and a surge of joy flooded his mind.
Even though Zhang Yuan was a diligent and self-disciplined student, he was not so diligent that he could read a boring book for six hours. Moreover, he had not taken any breaks and continuously read through the entire book… to the extent he had not realized the passage of time.
There seemed to be some changes right now. Not only did he read through the book in one sitting, he had not met with any roadblocks in the middle too. It was as if everything was smooth sailing.
'Haha! It's real!'
'I've really become smarter!'
Zhang Yuan rolled around the bed excitedly…