Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 313 After all, we've all left.

After leaving the branch base, Zhai Da called his professor's wife to inquire about the medical examination. If everything went smoothly, he would return to Beijing over the weekend to continue his research with his professor.

However, the teacher's wife's feedback was mixed.

"Your teacher's indicators are all quite good. The doctor said he's even healthier than expected, and asked him if he's had any happy events recently."

"The only sign is some signs of lung infection, so I need to rest for another two days."

On the way back to Harbin Institute of Technology, Zhai Da frowned slightly and asked, "Indications of lung infection? What caused it?"

The teacher's wife sighed and said, "Xiao Zhai, many of your ailments are unpredictable due to your age. The doctor said it might be caused by seasonal changes, so don't worry. But you don't need to come over this weekend."

Zhai Da hung up the phone, lost in thought.

Over the next two days, Zhai Da traveled between several locations while trying to maintain his class time as much as possible.

I had to handle the registration of the "Mechanical Core Research Institute," discuss the development of the operating system with Cheng Mo, and also make sure to go to Industrial Park No. 9 to feed Lao Yu without fail.

Although the experiment has not yet yielded any results, after referring to the unfathomable absorption capacity of the old elm, Zhai Da quietly increased the dosage, adding 10 kg of "earthworm" and 50 kg of "aloe" daily, and also changing the latter from dried aloe to fresh aloe.

[The execution of Old Elm] is like a bottomless pit, silent and only indulging in eating and drinking. The roots in the Root Pool have become denser and are converging towards the bottom of the pool.

Standing on the edge, Zhai Da felt a sense of urgency regarding cultivating new abilities in Lao Yu.

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Friday night, Shenzhou VIP Residence.

Inside the cozy little house, the heating had been completely turned off, and the room was slightly cool.

Lu Wei, dressed in a fitted long-sleeved shirt, leaned back on the sofa, flipping through a math book in her hands.

The harmonica music that came from the side from time to time was barely pleasant to listen to.

The little black bird, which had been brought back to stay for two days, squatted in its cage, looking listless, its head tucked into its chest as much as possible.

Because it cannot cover the ears.

Zhai Da held his harmonica in both hands and practiced against the balcony wall. Just separated from him by a glass door was the "Memory Phonograph" he had obtained from Mr. Qian. The old phonograph could not produce any sound, but the highly oxidized vinyl record on it was still spinning, making a slight buzzing sound, providing a basic effect of "+50% memory".

Lu Wei is able to concentrate on her studies, and this product has its own benefits, making her study very efficient.

It's been almost a week since Zhai Da returned from Beijing. He's been working diligently every day, and whenever he has free time, he plays the harmonica, which is the only instrument he knows how to play.

Thanks to his tireless efforts, the progress of his unsealing mission has reached (0/10).

In plain terms: It was all for naught.

After what felt like the umpteenth performance, Zhai Da checked the system, but there was still no response.

The task to unlock the phonograph is to "perfectly play the music". Zhai Da initially tried to play a cheesy version of "Ode to Joy", but no matter how skilled he became, he could not make any progress. He could only suspect that the part he knew was just an excerpt, while the original version was ten minutes long and was only a chapter of a symphony.

Ultimately, imperfection is because it is incomplete!

What else? You can't doubt that you have no musical talent and can't even play "Ode to Joy" properly, can you?
So Zhai Da found another song, "A Lifetime of Love" from A Chinese Odyssey.

Due to the timbre and playing style of harmonica music, it is suitable for slower-paced pieces. Once the music becomes more complex, his little mouth is as busy as a hamster eating corn. This is a piece he carefully selected.

If the [Memory Phonograph] can be unlocked, it will have a super powerful special effect.

Echoes of Memory: "Within a valid time and scope, if a piece of music can be played, the performer's thoughts will flow as smoothly as the music, and even the smallest ripples in the depths of memory will be captured."

Literally, Zhai Da felt that this was the ability that allowed him to recall all the details of his past life, like someone with "hyperthymesia" who could remember a few wrinkles on the face of a passerby many years ago.

You should have dreams, what if they come true? If it really works that well, and you can find every single fragment of your past life's memories, it will be of great help to both your research with your teacher and your own technical path. Maybe a short video you just casually scrolled through contains information that is very important to you.

She even recalled the cause and time of her teacher's death in the original timeline.

He didn't remember, but he always felt it was very close.

Unexpectedly, I got stuck on something as elusive as musical talent.

Half an hour later, Zhai Da returned to the house with a score of (0/10) and a numb mouth.

Lu Wei looked up: "Not blowing anymore?"

"I can't blow anymore. Blowing too much will hurt my health."

Lu Wei comforted her, saying, "Use it or lose it; just practice more."

Although she didn't know why Zhai Da suddenly started practicing the harmonica so diligently, she was willing to support every idea he had.

No matter how outrageous it is.

Zhai Da lay back on the sofa, his head resting on the bouncy thigh of the Harbin Institute of Technology math genius girl. He stopped thinking about such vague things as musical talent. After working efficiently for several days, both the research institute and the implementation of the technology were progressing smoothly. Today was a rare moment of leisure.

Can't I play with your legs?
Lu Wei put down her book, her calm and pretty face turning to look at Zhai Da, who was deep in thought. She lowered her head, wanting to kiss him.

After a long while, he raised his head in confusion.

The angle was wrong; what touched Zhai Da was somewhere else.

Zhai Da blinked and said, "Not bad, you've improved a little bit more."

Lu Wei asked疑惑地问道：“In what aspect?”

"Regarding the distance from me."

On television, an interesting news report was being broadcast. On a local TV station, the host said:
"Recently, at the Asian Boxing Championship held in Malaysia, our fighters Zhang Lei and Fan Junwei successfully met in the finals. In the end, the Olympic silver medalist won the championship, becoming the first Chinese heavyweight Asian boxing champion since the event was established."

Zhai Da turned around, sighed, and said, "What a pity. Fan Junwei was just one step away; he fought all twelve rounds but lost on points."

He didn't watch the game because he was in Beijing at the time, but the Utopia group chat was buzzing all night, so he could at least watch a text-based live broadcast.

Chu Xiang and Xiang You went there specifically for the fight, and it's said that the audience cried because Fan Junwei's face was covered in blood towards the end.

However, since it was an internal battle between Chinese athletes, and it took place overseas, the conclusion should be fair. That's how direct competitive sports are, especially professional boxing, which is both unpopular and brutal. There isn't even a concept of "gold, silver, and bronze," only "boxing champion" and "others."

Most of the spotlight in this match was taken by "Zhang Lei," whom Zhai Da remembered. The young man who had fought his way through the competition became a supporting character, which is probably why he didn't see the news about "the story that boxing newcomer and writer Zhai Da had to tell."

Zhai Da looked on helplessly. There was only one still image of Fan Junwei on the news, the rest were all images of Zhang Lei. So he muted the screen and turned around.

"It's only a matter of time before Fan Junwei wins a boxing championship. The media will still pay attention to him then, and they probably already have. With so many outstanding people coming out of Dongyang, isn't it time for us to take off?"

"He's a writer, an athlete, and a math genius all at once."

It was just a casual remark, but I didn't expect Little Wood to think about it so seriously.

Then he calmly said, "Nothing should change, since we've all left."

Zhai Da paused, then fell silent.

For a moment, the only sound in the living room was the buzzing of the unrepairable gramophone.

(End of this chapter)