Chapter 50: Side Quest Triggered in the Library

After taking a general tour of the main campus, Wang Donglai arrived at the library.

If nothing unexpected happened, this would become the place where Wang Donglai spent most of his time outside of classes.

As a "Double First-Class" university, Tangdu Jiaoda possessed excellent hardware facilities.

There were three libraries on campus, and the one Wang Donglai headed toward was the renowned Qian Xuesen Library.

Upon entering the library, following the signs, Wang Donglai made his way toward the bookshelves for Electronic Information Science and Technology.

The dense rows of bookshelves held a countless number of books.

"How can one not sail through this ocean of knowledge!"

Wang Donglai looked quite excited. With his Reading System, coming to a library was like a mouse falling into a granary of rice.

While scanning the nearby shelves, Wang Donglai casually pulled out a book.

*Fundamentals of Circuit Analysis.*

Opening the table of contents, it was filled with highly specialized terminology.

Logically speaking, as a liberal arts student, Wang Donglai had nothing to do with Electronic Information Science and Technology.

But he was a top scorer, and since Zhao Chengpeng was the Director of the Tangdu Admissions Office and also the Dean of Academic Affairs—an absolute leader—getting this done was not difficult at all.

Tangdu Jiaoda had even shown even greater sincerity by enrolling Wang Donglai in the "Qian Xuesen Class."

Currently, only three universities in the country had established such a "Qian Xuesen Class."

Tangdu Jiaoda was the earliest, establishing the "Qian Xuesen Experimental Class" in 2007.

Tsinghua University opened the "Qian Xuesen Mechanics Class" in 2009.

National University of Defense Technology opened the "Qian Xuesen Innovation and Expansion Class" in 2010.

Setting aside everything else, one could imagine the prestige of the class just from its name.

It was precisely because of this that Wang Donglai believed in the cultivation strength and sincerity of Tangdu Jiaoda.

Although Tsinghua and Peking University offered excellent conditions, Tsinghua would not place him in the "Qian Xuesen Mechanics Class," nor would they grant him other special privileges.

Only Tangdu Jiaoda was the most generous and, overall, the most suitable university for Wang Donglai.

This "Qian Xuesen Experimental Class" was composed of elite science students recommended without exams, self-selected outstanding students, top Gaokao performers, and excellent students from the Tangdu Jiaoda Junior Class.

They were, in every sense of the word, the elite among elites.

Not only that, but the cultivation model and characteristics of this class differed from other professional programs.

They were organized into separate classes with independent instruction.

The focus was on general education, with elective professional foundation and core courses. Emphasis was placed on strengthening students' rational thinking, mathematical modeling, and physical insight.

They implemented a mentorship system, cultivating students through an integrated undergraduate-to-master's program.

Based on the undergraduate requirements set by the Academic Affairs Office and the graduate requirements set by the Graduate School, and referring to the "Qian Xuesen Class" instructional plan, mentors would create personalized learning plans for each student. This individualized approach to talent cultivation was supported by a faculty lineup including 5 national-level master teachers, 19 provincial-level master teachers, 6 national-level teaching teams, and 18 provincial-level teaching teams.

They also heavily supported international cultivation.

Through partnerships with institutions like the National University of Singapore, the University of Manchester, and Leiden University, students were selected annually for overseas exchange programs. Dedicated funding was provided, covering all tuition, living expenses, and round-trip travel during the exchange period.

Finally, there was a small way to show off in public.

Upon successful graduation, both the graduation certificate and the degree certificate would be marked with "Qian Xuesen Experimental Class."

Though it was just six words, the prestige behind them was immense.

Flipping through the book in his hands, Wang Donglai activated his [Photographic Memory] skill, combining it with [Speed Reading] to commit the information to memory.

After a slight increase in his Intelligence attribute, Wang Donglai's memory had surged, and his comprehension ability had improved significantly.

Consequently, the thick professional book did not stay in his hands for long before he had finished it entirely.

After finishing this one, Wang Donglai stood up, returned it to the shelf, and pulled another book from a nearby shelf.

*Electromagnetic Fields and Electromagnetic Wave Technology.*

It was another thick professional tome, yet Wang Donglai did not hesitate for a moment.

Holding the book, he sat back down and began reading again.

Not far away, a beautiful girl with a cold expression noticed Wang Donglai's actions and frowned slightly.

Time passed.

With the system's notification sound

"Ding-dong! Player has read the book *Electromagnetic Fields and Electromagnetic Wave Technology*, gained Experience Points +163."

Wang Donglai closed the book. After fully integrating with the system, he only needed to read a book once.

Although reading it again would yield some experience, once he used the [Photographic Memory] skill to record it, he would gain experience points simply by recalling the information frequently or by connecting and applying the knowledge.

In this way, Wang Donglai naturally embarked on a path of "grinding" books.

By finishing all the necessary books and memorizing them with [Photographic Memory], his reading efficiency would increase, and his leveling speed would accelerate.

He stood up again and swapped the book for *Digital Circuit Logic Design*.

Two hours later.

Wang Donglai stretched, his body making cracking sounds like roasting soybeans.

Standing up, Wang Donglai prepared to return the book *Wireless Sensor Networks* to the shelf.

Coincidentally, the cold beauty also stood up to return a book.

They were not far apart, and Wang Donglai did not pay it much mind.

Unexpectedly, the cold beauty spoke to him: "Student, I noticed the books you were reading just now. Are you a freshman in Electronic Information Science and Technology this year?"

"Huh?"

Wang Donglai hadn't expected someone to initiate a conversation, so he froze for a moment. Once he reacted, he said, "I am a freshman, but not in Electronic Information Science and Technology. I'm just interested in this field, so I came to take a look."

The cold beauty's expression remained unchanged as she continued, "These books are quite difficult. If you are interested, you can wait until after classes start and audit them with the professors. For now, I recommend you start with foundational books like *Fundamentals of Circuits*, *Computer Structure and Logic Design*, or *Introduction to Electronic Science and Technology*."

After she finished speaking, Wang Donglai finally understood her meaning.

She likely thought he couldn't understand the material because he was flipping through them so quickly, and she was kindly offering advice.

Without making a point of explaining himself, Wang Donglai offered a slight smile and said, "Thank you for the guidance, Senior."

"Mm, you're welcome. However, I am not a senior; I am also a freshman this year."

The cold beauty nodded slightly, returned her book to its place, and turned to leave.

Seeing this, Wang Donglai shook his head, finding it quite interesting.

Suddenly, he felt a sense of anticipation for university life.

However, just as Wang Donglai was about to step out of the library...

"Ding-dong!"

"A new side quest has appeared. Does the player wish to accept?"

Hearing the system prompt, Wang Donglai paused in his tracks.

"What side quest?"

He didn't rush to decide, but instead asked back.

[Side Quest: The Advancing Scholar!]

[Advancing Scholar: Knowledge is the ladder to human progress, and books are the carriers of knowledge. For every one hundred books the player reads, they will receive 1 point.]

[Note: Points can be exchanged in the System Store for knowledge and technology, attribute points, skills, and abilities.]

After reading the system's introduction to the side quest, Wang Donglai did not hesitate for a second.

"Confirm acceptance!"

As he thought it, a new piece of information appeared on the system interface.

[Progress: 3] [Points: 0]

"One point for every hundred books. Based on my current speed reading, if I read one book per hour and ten books a day, it would take about ten days to get one point."

"However, I won't be able to dedicate ten hours every day just to reading. By that calculation, I can finish a hundred books in a month at most."

"Since the side quest has no time limit, it means it can continue indefinitely. One point a month... that'll do."

Calculating silently, Wang Donglai walked out of the library. He checked the time and prepared to meet his classmates.

He was quite curious about the other students in the "Qian Xuesen Experimental Class."

Just what kind of geniuses were selected to be in it?