I was a top student in America.

Li Ao pulled up a chair, sat down, picked up a pencil from the table, and spread out the sheets of printed paper.

The five questions looked significantly more difficult than a school midterm exam; they must have been found somewhere as genuine AMC questions.

He did the first two problems quite well. One was a permutation and combination problem, and the other was a sequence summation problem. These were similar problems that he had practiced in competition books he borrowed from the library.

The third one was a bit of a stumbling block.

The problem gives a quadratic equation in one variable x² + 5x + 3 = 0, with two roots r and s. The task is to calculate r⁴ + s⁴.

He didn't have any good ideas for the time being, so he simply used Vieta's formulas to calculate it by brute force.

After arriving at the conclusion that r² + s² = 19, he paused, realizing that this method of decomposition could be layered on top of it.

Following the same pattern again, we got the answer 343.

Although he managed to solve it somewhat haphazardly, he felt there should be a simpler way to do it, but he had never seen a similar problem before and couldn't think of one for the time being.

As for the remaining two questions, I only understood the conditions for the geometry question and had never learned the probability question, so I simply left them blank.

He put down his pen, pushed the paper back, and honestly said, "I can only do the first three questions; I haven't learned the last two yet."

Mrs. Paterson picked up the papers and glanced at the standard answers beside her.

The first three questions were all correct.

She nodded slightly, clearly quite satisfied.

Brown, however, was staring at the third algebra problem, somewhat surprised.

This question tests Newton's equations, which Li Ao clearly hadn't learned.

However, the fact that he could think of applying Vieta's formulas from the algebra book layer by layer, although the method was a bit clumsy, shows that he had a very solid grasp of the basic knowledge.

Unexpectedly, at the beginning of the month, this kid was still catching up on the first chapter of Algebra II, and now, in just two or three weeks, he's already able to use that knowledge to solve AMC problems.

This pace of progress is truly rapid.

Brown put the paper back on the table, looked at Li Ao, and said:

"You really have a talent for math. It's a pity. If you hadn't wasted the past two years, you might have gotten a good score on the AMC."

"Let's focus on participating for now."

Mrs. Paterson added, "It's alright. If the results aren't great this year, you can still apply for 12th grade. Don't feel too much pressure."

Li Ao listened but didn't say anything.

Taking the exam again in 12th grade would be meaningless for his further education.

You have to pass the exam this time; there won't be a next year.

"Don't worry, both of you. I will definitely bring back good results for the school in this AMC competition."

Mrs. Paterson readily nodded: "Okay, then the school will give you a budget of three hundred dollars. Just make a list of the books you want to buy and give it to Mr. Brown. Make the most of this opportunity."

"Thank you, Mrs. Paterson."

After thanking him, Li Ao didn't say anything more, picked up the practice problems, and took his leave.

Brown watched Li Ao leave the office before turning away and sighing, his expression carrying a hint of regret.

She's a promising talent, but unfortunately there are less than 100 days left until the AMC next February. Starting from scratch to prepare for competition math, even if she's brilliant, she can't compete with those top students who have been preparing for years.

It's too late to think you can get into a good university this way.

Without the opportunity to pursue further education, even the greatest talent is wasted.

Mrs. Paterson wasn't thinking about that much; she was pondering something else entirely.

If this kid can really get into the top 5% in the AMC, Wyndham High School will regain a lot of face, and won't always be inferior to those rival schools in the South District.

In comparison, an expense of a few hundred yuan is not a big deal.

Li Ao had no idea what the two people in the office were thinking. He walked along the corridor toward the gymnasium, already calculating the budget of three hundred yuan in his mind.

In the US, a competition textbook can easily cost forty or fifty dollars. He had looked through it a few times in bookstores before, and each time he put it back after checking the price.

Three hundred yuan is enough to buy five or six books. If you choose well, that should last from now until February next year.

When I was doing the problems just now, I couldn't solve two of them. It wasn't that I couldn't think of them, but that I hadn't seen enough types of problems before.

The term "drawing inferences from one instance" simply means being able to figure out the patterns for similar questions from a single question. However, the prerequisite is that you have seen enough questions beforehand. If you don't have a knowledge base in your mind, no matter how useful the term is, you won't be able to deduce the patterns.

Once this batch of books arrives, this deficiency will truly be filled.

As soon as Li Ao entered the stadium, Jamal ran over from the sidelines, looking curious, and asked in a low voice:

"Leo, what did Mr. Brown want to talk to you about?"

Li Ao glanced at the veteran players who were already running tactics on the field before saying to him:

"The school funded my preparation for a math competition and gave me a budget for buying books."

"A school? You're giving it to me? Paying for my books?" Jamal's eyes widened. "Leo, you're amazing!"

"What are you doing? Stop talking nonsense, are you going to practice or not? If not, get out!"

The sound of Coach Durant cursing could be heard not far away.

Jamal chuckled twice and didn't ask any more questions. The two of them followed each other back onto the field to train with the team.

Durant's games were always extremely intense. After several rounds of half-court offense and defense, Li Ao was exhausted by the seasoned veterans on the other side, and his stamina was almost depleted.

In the second half of the race, he found every step difficult and could only barely keep up with the tactical positioning.

As training ended, he bent over, resting his head on his knees, panting, when the panel in front of him flashed.

[Continued high-intensity training... Stamina +0.1]

……

Time flies faster than I imagined; a week has passed in the blink of an eye.

During the last math class in the afternoon, Li Ao opened the book "The Contest Problem Book VII" on his desk and continued working on the material he had learned yesterday.

This book was the first one he received from the list of books he made after the school budget was received; the cover was almost curled up from being flipped around so much.

With less than three months until the AMC exam next February, he wants to use this time to go through as many practice questions as possible from the book.

After practicing for a while, my problem-solving efficiency and feel have become significantly smoother.

When encountering new question types again, you won't be completely clueless.

With the ability to apply knowledge to new situations, more and more similar questions can be thought of in one's mind.

He doesn't skip over particularly difficult questions; he tackles them relentlessly until the very end.

Once solved, the Intelligence attribute on the panel can occasionally jump up by 0.1.

Although it's incredibly difficult to increase intelligence after it reaches 100, it's been progressing slowly but steadily.

He spent the whole afternoon doing practice problems, and by the time he looked up, school was over.

He put down his pen and habitually glanced at the stamina section on the panel.

[Stamina: 99.4]

It's only 0.6 away from 100.

I'll go to the "Iron Box" gym to work and work out again later, and I should be able to get the new entry in the next couple of days.

He muttered something to himself, closed the book, and began packing his schoolbag.

It started snowing in Chicago in November.

Since it was still early, Li Ao planned to go to the gymnasium to practice for a while before going to work.

When he reached the classroom door, it was just after school let out, and the corridor was packed with people.

DeMarcus squeezed in from behind, his backpack undone, and patted Li Ao on the shoulder: "I have something to do, I'm off, bro, see you later."

After saying that, he plunged into the crowd and walked faster than anyone else.

Li Ao watched his retreating figure and recalled that DeMarcus had been leaving school in a particularly hurry lately, and he didn't know where he was rushing to.

I was just about to ask a question when the person had already turned the corner and disappeared.

Without thinking much about it, he turned and walked towards the stadium.

When he got to the locker room to change his sneakers, he took the old pair out of the locker and found that the soles were almost completely worn away.

No wonder I slipped twice while running the turnaround yesterday; it was because of this.

He tightened his shoelaces, rubbed them hard on the ground, and barely managed to put them on.

However, this won't last long. A pair of basketball shoes that can be worn on the court costs at least thirty or forty yuan, which is another expense.

By the time he finished practicing and walked out of the gymnasium, it was already getting dark outside.

The wind was particularly strong in Chicago in early winter. The walk from the stadium to the gym was unprotected, and the cold wind blew straight in through my collar.

……

When Li Ao arrived at the iron box, Ty Shawn and his two henchmen were already in the equipment area.

Malik was doing cable pulldowns, Ricky was squatting next to him texting, and TySean was doing dumbbell curls in front of the mirror.

Li Ao didn't say anything, changed into his work clothes, and started working.

It was the same routine as usual: wiping down the equipment, settling the weight plates, and replenishing the water bucket.

As he bent down to wipe the guide rails of the Smith machine, Ty Shorn's voice came from behind him.

"Leo, come here for a second."

Li Ao straightened up and walked over.

Ty Shawn put down the dumbbells, took out a few folded banknotes from his pocket, and handed them over.

"I passed the first round of applications."

Li Ao took it; one hundred yuan.

Adding the previous forty, this order brought in one hundred and forty.

Taishoon picked up a bottle of mineral water, took a sip, and instead of continuing his practice, glanced at Li Ao and said:

"Your application materials were prepared very neatly, and the review process approved them on the first try without rejecting them."

"Thanks, brother."

It's quite rare to hear such words come out of TySean's mouth.

His tone remained indifferent, but the fact that he managed to say thank you was probably the limit.

Malik, the chubby henchman beside him, even stopped pulling his back: "What did you just say? You passed the first round?"

Ricky, the skinny henchman, jumped up from the ground, staring at Li Ao as if he were a monster. After a long while, he finally managed to stammer, "Damn, you've got some skills."

TySean ignored the two guys, put down the water bottle, and picked up the dumbbells again.

"I still need to prepare materials for a few more schools. Could you take a look at them for me when you have time?"

Although he probably won't admit it, his wording and tone clearly indicate that he's asking for help.

Li Ao nodded: "Okay, just send me the materials."

Taisean nodded:

"By the way, Daryl will be here later; he'd like to talk to you too."

……