Top Student: Wasteland Technology Invasion

Lin Chuan spent the entire morning buried in his computer project.

The harvest was also good; the number of learning coins increased by more than ten, and the experience points in the Informatics subject also increased by three.

Stretching, Lin Chuan prepared to see what to have for lunch.

He had to attend a math class in the afternoon and rush to the wasteland world, so he needed to allow plenty of time.

Seeing Lin Chuan about to leave, Senior Brother Jiao quickly came over and greeted him, "Junior Brother Lin, are you going to have lunch?"

"Hmm," Lin Chuan replied subconsciously.

"Today is your first day on set. Your senior colleague is treating you to stir-fries at a lakeside restaurant. Let's go."

Lin Chuan was a little confused.

If I remember correctly, this is the first time he has met Senior Brother Jiao, right?

Last time, when I was with Professor Lu, Senior Brother Song was the same. He brought me water and asked me how I was doing. Are all doctoral students like this?

That can't be, right?

"Senior, how about we split the bill?"

"What did you say?" Senior Brother Jiao waved his hand dismissively. "This meal is on me, let's go."

Jiao Bolun had figured it out by the end of the morning.

Who is Professor Du, my mentor? He's willing to spend money, so what's wrong with him treating me to a meal?

Jiao Bolun wanted to make Lin feel the warmth of his senior brother today, so that it would be easier for Lin to do academic assignments with his mentor, Professor Du, in the future.

"In that case, I'll trouble you, senior brother."

"No trouble at all, no trouble at all!"

The two's actions left Zeng Na and her two companions in the lab completely dumbfounded.

Senior Brother Jiao is blatantly displaying unfairness, but what can they say?

When they first joined the group, they didn't have any high-end computers to use, nor did they have any senior doctoral students treat them to meals.

Zeng Na, in particular, has been working very hard to find information about Lin Chuan.

This includes his academic honors, awards, and even whether he has a girlfriend.

They found nothing.

……

After having lunch with Senior Brother Jiao, Lin Chuan returned to the wasteland world.

Study time flew by, and five hours of wasteland timer passed. Looking at the draft paper filled with code, Lin Chuan was quite satisfied.

Passing the laptop around is too much of a hassle, and he's currently short on funds, so he can't afford to equip the safe house with a generator, electrical circuits, and a desktop computer. The laptop's battery life is also a problem.

Therefore, he can only do paper code.

However, with scientific intuition skills, the code will definitely not be bad.

Lin Chuan believed that as long as he took the contents of the draft paper back to the computer, the School of Information Science and Technology project should achieve good results.

"Once the new computer arrives, I can run it and see if there's any room for optimization."

"Huh, here..."

Lin Chuan was suddenly drawn to the code symbols on the corner of the draft paper.

"If we delve deeper into this area, it seems like we could write a research paper."

"Should I write it? I'm so poor I can barely afford to eat, and I haven't even considered whether publishing a computer science paper will result in a loss..."

"Hmm... I still have to write!"

Lin Chuan didn't want to give up on this sudden feeling, so he picked up his pen and started writing and drawing on the draft paper again.

Before long, much more content appeared on the manuscript: "An Implementation of Urban Transportation Network Based on Sparse Multi-Source Floating Data".

Lin Chuan vaguely felt that his research in this article was quite interesting.

"Knock knock knock".

As Lin Chuan was fully focused, a familiar knocking sound suddenly rang out.

Lin Chuan quickly turned off his scientific intuition skill, pushed back his chair, quietly got up, and crept to the door. He then looked out through the peephole.

It was indeed the woman in the white windproof jacket, followed by a girl who looked only twelve or thirteen years old.

The woman did not appear to be lying.

She does have a younger sister, and in the wasteland world, the fact that she dares to bring an elderly person or a child along shows that she retains some kind of bottom line.

Furthermore, her willingness to exchange guns and ammunition for medicine reveals a great deal about the situation.

"I don't know if you're inside. My sister and I have come three times already. We're running low on food, and if you don't respond this time, we'll leave this neighborhood and try our luck elsewhere. My sister's fever has subsided, and we wanted to let you know and express our gratitude."

As he spoke, Tao Luo solemnly bowed towards the door.

The time flow rate in the wasteland is four times that of the real world. It seems that the woman has been coming over quite often these past few days, but Lin Chuan is not here.

"I'm here, what do you want to do?"

Upon hearing the voice, Tao Luo raised an eyebrow, a hint of joy appearing on his face. "I wanted to ask if there's anything you need us to do? We took advantage of you too much in the last transaction, and my sister and I would feel bad if we couldn't help you with something."

Lin Chuan shook his head and looked at the woman opposite the cat's eye.

To be honest, this woman is quite capable, being able to take care of her younger sister and fight zombies in the wasteland.

But what she said sounded really silly.

What does it mean to take advantage of someone? It means you feel guilty.

Could someone with such a thought process really survive in the wasteland?

However, since the other party was offering help, Lin Chuan wouldn't refuse, so he said, "I need books and information on nearby safe locations."

"Book?"

Tao Luo frowned; the man's request was really strange.

"Sure, but many paper and e-books were destroyed during the nuclear winter, so they'll be harder to find now, but I'll do my best. I have some information here, but it's not very detailed. I can go to the 'Old Garage' in the north and exchange some for it," Tao Luo replied earnestly.

Lin Chuan stared at the two people outside the door and said, "Okay."

"Then it's settled. If we find the book or get any useful information, we'll leave it in front of the door. You can take it whenever it's convenient for you."

After saying that, Tao Luo took his sister's hand and slowly left.

Lin Chuan: "Wait a minute."

Tao Luo turned around. "Is there anything else?"

"I can give you some food as payment for the books and information. Of course, you can eat it yourselves or trade it for supplies. Now, retreat to the same spot as last time, and we'll begin the transaction."

Lin Chuan did this simply to show some goodwill, as a response to the woman's initiative to "make up for the loss".

As for what this goodwill will bring, Lin Chuan couldn't say.

It's possible that the woman, along with her sister, used this food to help him successfully retrieve the wasteland book or information sufficient to open a second anchor point.

It's also possible that the woman coveted his supplies and gathered a group of people to attack the safe house.

After two encounters, Lin Chuan felt that the second possibility was unlikely, but if he did encounter it, he would have no choice but to go back and open up a new anchor point.

The reason Lin Chuan made this decision was simply because he thought it would be very difficult to find another survivor duo consisting of a woman and her younger sister.

He was willing to take some risks to increase his efficiency in exploring the wasteland.

He didn't want to go out and fight zombies in real combat unless absolutely necessary, as that would be too risky.

Thank you.

Tao Luo grabbed her sister's hand and quickly retreated towards the stairwell.

Just like last time, Lin Chuan put on his bomb suit, grabbed his weapon, opened the door to the safe house, and threw out two cans with their labels torn off and the stamps filed off.

"Click."

The door closed again.