I was a top student in America.

Li Ao glanced at the Intelligence attribute, then focused his attention on the description of the newly acquired [Abstract Thinking] effect.

A surge of joy welled up inside me.

"A significantly enhanced understanding of abstract concepts means I'll learn things much faster in the future!"

He now possesses the ability to apply knowledge to new situations, and can draw inferences from one instance to another. After accumulating basic knowledge, he can easily find the methods he has learned for more complex problems.

The current "abstract thinking" has clearly taken another step forward. It can not only distill all knowledge into an abstract conceptual framework, but also quickly understand complex abstract concepts, making it easier to absorb new knowledge.

He looked down at the draft paper beside him.

The recently completed proof of the weighted HH two-sided extension took up a thick stack of papers, especially the final few derivations.

This is the result after he omitted a large number of fundamental calculations.

If we had obtained this term earlier, we could have directly used a more abstract symbol system for axiomatic derivation, which would have greatly simplified the proof process.

Save time and effort.

To verify his idea, he took out the original copy of "Calculus" that Brown had given him from his bag and flipped directly to the chapter where he had gotten stuck.

A wonderful thing happened: theorems that were once so obscure that they had to be chewed over several times suddenly became as clear as the lines on the palm of one's hand with just a glance.

Those complex symbols no longer need to be "translated" by the brain; they are directly mapped into intuitive mathematical concepts.

"Use the squeeze theorem to close the boundary..."

"Just construct a helper function."

"This reduces to the standard form."

……

As the initial excitement subsided, Li Ao glanced at the other data on the panel:

【Strength: 107.3】

[Agility: 108.7]

[Stamina: 108.2]

"At this rate, the next keyword to unlock should be Agility. I'm kind of looking forward to it."

Li Ao closed the book, felt a little thirsty, and took a big gulp of water.

After breaking the 110 mark in intelligence, the attribute points that can be extracted by simply studying mathematics will definitely decrease, and sooner or later you will have to extend your reach to other subjects.

However, with abstract thinking as a foundation, expanding the boundaries of other disciplines becomes a natural progression.

Thinking about the infinite possibilities of the future, Li Ao's heart was filled with anticipation.

But you still have to eat one bite at a time.

With AMC12 just around the corner, followed by AIME and USAMO, the main battleground for the next few months will still be mathematics.

Although he has deep sleep and studies for much longer than the average person, his energy is not limitless.

Subjects like physics and chemistry can only be put aside for now, and will be gradually introduced after the major exams.

Anyway, he's only in 11th grade now, he has a long way to go.

Just then, my stomach rumbled in protest.

I glanced at my watch and realized it was almost eight o'clock.

He had just pulled out a dry, cold sandwich from his bag to eat when he heard a burst of cheers coming from the dance floor.

Li Ao immediately put down his sandwich, put on a professional smile, stood up, and waved to the crowd:

"Over here!"

The school basketball team swarmed in, brimming with the excitement of having just won a game.

A small, thin figure pushed through the crowd to the front; it was Jamal.

He spotted Li Ao at a glance, as if he had discovered a new continent:

"Wow! Has the sun risen in the west? You actually arrived before us today!"

Before Li Ao could reply, Maya, dressed provocatively, leaned close behind Jamal, her voice slightly trembling:

"Jamaal, that...that's your friend?"

Her eyes darted away, clearly still reeling from the eerie shock of the "ghostly scribbles." She never imagined that her boyfriend was so familiar with that "cult pervert."

Li Ao noticed something was off about the little girl's expression, but assumed she was just shy around strangers.

Knowing that this was the "Southern Casanova's" new girlfriend, he politely nodded and greeted her without waiting for Jamal to introduce her.

"Hello, I'm Jamal's teammate and neighbor, Leo."

No sooner had she finished speaking than Maya's eyes lit up, and her panic vanished instantly.

"You're the Leo who scored 16 points in three minutes in the second half against our Morgan Park High School?" Maya bombarded her with questions, all traces of her earlier horror vanished. "So many girls at our school are talking about you! They say you're a great basketball player and you got the highest score in the state in math!"

"Um... I actually quite like math, but I failed it last semester. Could you tutor me if you have time?"

Jamal had finally brought his new girlfriend out to impress everyone, but when he saw her turn around and swooning over his brother, his face turned a deep shade of liver.

"Hey, that's enough! With your skill level, you dare to ask Leo to teach you?"

Li Ao himself was somewhat surprised.

That was his first game, and he only had a few minutes of brilliance, but unexpectedly, his reputation spread far and wide.

Despite the surprise, Li Ao still replied politely, "You flatter me."

His gaze swept over their sweaty foreheads, guessing they'd already had their fill of dancing on the dance floor, so he casually pushed two glasses of ice water over from the table:

"Just finished dancing? Sit down and catch your breath."

As he spoke, he rummaged through the space on the sofa, moving his backpack, which was taking up most of the sofa, to a corner to make room.

"Thanks, Leo. I was so hot just now."

Maya sweetly agreed, grabbed the cup, took a big gulp, and crunched on the ice cubes.

She casually pulled off her cumbersome jacket and tossed it aside, revealing a low-cut tank top clinging to her skin and her honey-colored shoulders typical of Latin women. Then, she squeezed herself next to Li Ao, her arm brushing against his arm almost imperceptibly.

Li Ao got goosebumps from this sudden, overly familiar attitude, but decisively and calmly stood up:

"Um, you guys rest first, I'm going to the restroom."

He had barely left when Jamal hurriedly followed, shouting, "Leo, I'm going too!"

"bring it on."

The two walked one after the other across the deafening dance floor.

After holding it in for a long time, Jamal finally blurted out in the bathroom hallway, looking extremely embarrassed:

"Brother Leo, I'm sorry... Maya is a bit slow on the uptake, please don't mind her."

The way his girlfriend pounced on him just now was only possible because Leo is straightforward and doesn't have any ulterior motives. If it were anyone else, he would be green with envy.

Li Ao, of course, didn't take it seriously.

A girl whose mind is always filled with alcohol and parties will only slow down his formula derivation speed.

Seeing Jamal still standing there awkwardly, he casually punched the other man on the shoulder and teased him:

"Don't worry, Latinos aren't my type."

Back at their booth, TySean, Malik, and their group of nightclub veterans quickly brought the atmosphere to a fever pitch. The group drank beer, belted out unknown raps, and partied wildly.

Maya hadn't given up halfway through, and openly and secretly flirted with Li Ao. When she heard that he was working part-time at "Iron Box," she immediately shouted that she wanted to get a membership and learn to work out.

If Jamal hadn't dragged her onto the dance floor with a dark expression, Li Ao probably would never want to come to this lousy bar again.

However, for Li Ao, the farce that night was just a small spice to add to the tense exam preparation period.

After the revelry, life went on as usual.

He didn't miss a single practice problem, and he continued to lift weights as usual, sticking to his unwavering schedule.

Time flies, and the highly anticipated AMC12 has finally reached its decisive moment.

On the Saturday before the exam, the workshop classroom was filled with the smell of gunpowder.

Old Green stood on the podium, lecturing incessantly on exam techniques. Although the students below were all engrossed in their studies, the oppressive atmosphere was undeniable.

Several of the usually boisterous and troublesome students now had dark circles under their eyes, clearly suffering from pre-exam anxiety.

Among a group of "zombies" who were almost drained of their life force, Li Ao, with his rosy complexion, was an anomaly.

He was too lazy to even look at the past exam questions anymore, and was still slowly and methodically deriving university calculus.

nervous?

nonexistent.

He had already practiced similar high-intensity simulation tests with a stopwatch until they became muscle memory.

For him, tomorrow's so-called national competition is at best just a workshop quiz in a slightly larger classroom.

In the afternoon, he went to the "Iron Box" to work as usual, showing no awareness of the need to scout out the exam venue in advance.

He was lucky; the test center he was assigned to was coincidentally at the University of Chicago, not far from his home. It was only a ten-minute ride on his old, secondhand bicycle.

For the thrifty Li Ao, the best news was that he could save money on subway fares again.

……