I was a top student in America.

Li Ao sat in his usual spot in the Granger Engineering Library, with Rudin's classic "Principles of Mathematical Analysis" open in front of him and several pages of draft paper filled with inequality derivations beside him.

The reading progress has reached the Riemann integral.

Around me, some people were wearing headphones and typing on their keyboards to run MATLAB models, while others were huddled together in front of the drawings, discussing in hushed tones.

UIUC truly lives up to its reputation as a top engineering school, with a very strong academic atmosphere.

With a solid foundation in AP Calculus, Li Ao found university-level mathematics relatively easy to tackle, and was also able to complete his analytical approach to proving inequalities.

He has a habit of finding examples to prove a theorem as soon as he understands it, and using the "Apply What You've Learned" and "Abstract Thinking" features on the system panel to deepen his understanding.

With the boost of [Endurance], he was full of energy during the day and no longer needed to use [Deep Sleep].

He devoted all the time he saved to "Mathematical Analysis," planning to first go through the theoretical framework of the textbook before focusing on practicing problems.

[Under intense study conditions... Intelligence +0.1]

The panel values ​​fluctuated slightly in my field of vision.

Li Ao closed the book, ending his study of this chapter.

He tilted his head back, rubbed his aching neck, let out a long sigh, and habitually summoned the control panel to check:

【Intelligence: 114.0】

"Finally 114, 6 points to go."

Looking at the final number, he muttered to himself, feeling quite pleased.

I casually pulled out my flip phone to check the time; the diagnostic test should be over by now.

After studying at such a high intensity for so long, even if my energy and physical strength can keep up, my stomach can't take it anymore.

He was just about to go back to his dorm to find someone to eat with when Kevin sent him a text message saying that they had finished their exams and were walking towards the library.

Li Ao simply sat and waited for them.

Granger Library doesn't have many specialized math books, so when summer campers come, they usually head straight to the north study area on the second floor.

Taylor and his group found their way there without any trouble.

It was lunchtime, and there were plenty of empty seats around. The three of them pulled out chairs and sat down opposite Li Ao. No one said a word; they just stared straight at him.

Taylor's hair was a little messy, Ethan was still unconsciously clutching the temporary card in his hand, and Kevin's expression was also somewhat solemn.

"No... I have writing on my face?"

Feeling bewildered by the stare, Li Ao touched his chin.

"When you handed in your paper...did you really finish writing everything?"

Taylor finally couldn't hold back and asked the question that everyone was most concerned about.

Before Li Ao could answer, he quickly added, "Also, did you really complete all those IMO practice questions you brought before coming here?"

Li Ao understood immediately and casually replied, "It's just that I made some preparations in advance."

"You finished the exam in just over an hour? You were so well-prepared! I didn't even finish the last two big questions." Taylor sighed dramatically and shook his head vigorously.

Ethan chimed in quietly, "After you handed in your paper, everyone in the exam hall was talking about how you were even better than the veteran students."

Kevin remained silent.

As he listened to the group's idle chatter, his gaze inadvertently swept over the book beside Li Ao's hand, and his eyes suddenly stopped.

"Leo," Kevin pointed to the thick book, "you've gotten this far in Mathematical Analysis?"

He remembered clearly that yesterday Li Ao was still flipping through the first few dozen pages, but today the bookmark was already sandwiched in the middle.

There's a consensus in high school math competition circles: students preparing for competitions don't need to delve into university-level math too early.

Many coaches even explicitly forbid students from learning advanced mathematics before they have a solid foundation in elementary mathematics.

Because these two ways of thinking are completely different, once they are confused, the competition results can easily decline.

For example, if you are used to the abstract language of limits and differentials, you will easily get stuck on the details when solving high school inequalities and sequences.

Applying vector spaces from linear algebra to combinatorial number theory can easily lead to completely wrong conclusions.

The fact that Li Ao dared to delve into mathematical analysis at this critical juncture only shows that his foundation in high school competitions was so solid that he could ignore these distractions.

Li Ao's answer also confirmed Kevin's guess:

"I've basically finished all the IMO practice questions, and I've also covered most of the difficult questions I could find. I've got nothing else to do, so I'll just take a look at this."

He paused, then said sincerely, "Just consider it a way to clear your head."

Kevin smiled bitterly to himself upon hearing this.

When he first arrived, he thought he had some advantage because of his "veteran student" title, but as soon as the newcomer made his move, he was completely crushed in every way.

Moreover, he doesn't believe that he can master all the past IMO exam questions simply by working 15 or 16 hours a day.

Those are four or five hundred super difficult problems. Diligence alone is not enough. Li Ao's mathematical talent is probably even more outrageous.

Otherwise, even if you are very familiar with the question types, it is impossible to finish the diagnostic test in an hour and a half.

With this in mind, Kevin silently began to plan ahead. He knew he had to take Li Ao as his role model and work hard to improve his skills.

"Leo, your progress is insane." Taylor jokingly put his arm around his shoulder. "Looks like I'll have to rely on you every day to avoid being dragged into extra practice sessions by the assistant coach."

"No problem, feel free to ask anytime," Li Ao readily agreed.

Ethan, who was standing nearby, lit up when he heard this.

Instead of staying idly in the library, the group packed up their things and strolled together to nearby Green Street.

There are many fast food restaurants there, and you can pay with the student card issued by the summer camp.

On the way to dinner, Taylor kept talking, circling back to the baseline test:

"Leo, you handed in your paper so early, you must have had a good idea of ​​what you'd get, right? Can you estimate your score?"

Li Ao briefly recalled the number of questions and casually said, "If nothing unexpected happens, it'll probably be around 60 points."

Ethan and Taylor didn't quite grasp the significance of the score, but Kevin stopped in his tracks and his expression changed upon hearing it.

"Don't you two have any idea?" Kevin lowered his voice. "Every year during the summer camp placement test, a perfect score is almost impossible. Last year, Benjamin was so outstanding, but he only got fifty-three or fifty-four on his first placement test."

"If Leo really gets a perfect score... he will definitely be under the coaching staff's close attention."

At this point, he slapped his forehead and added, "By the way, although David said the placement test scores won't be publicly ranked, the standard answers will probably be posted in the summer camp's email group and on the whiteboard in the public discussion room in the next couple of days."

"You'll know when you pair them up."

……

Probably provoked by Li Ao's words, after finishing their meal, the group surprisingly didn't return to their dorm and instead headed back to the library.

Even Taylor, who had been constantly talking about pursuing girls, gave up on the idea and obediently found a seat in the study area with her practice test book.

The next day.

Teaching assistant David stayed up all night grading the diagnostic tests and then knocked on Rachel Miller's office with the report cards in hand.

His doctoral advisor, Professor Jensen, who is also the black belt coach this year, happened to be there as well.

"The average score for this year's black belt group is about the same as last year," David reported. "Benjamin, who won the IMO gold medal last year, solved all six problems. He basically got full marks in the preliminary assessment."

Professor Jensen sat behind his desk, holding a cup of black coffee.

After listening, he nodded: "I mentored Benjamin last year, and he is indeed talented. He was one of the promising students we were going to keep a close eye on this year. It was expected that he would get a perfect score."

David responded with a nod, then changed the subject, bringing up another incident from yesterday's exam:

"However, there's another point: Professor Miller and Professor Jason might be interested."

"Oh? Tell me about it." Rachel Miller put down her cup and looked up.

"A new camper named Leo finished his paper in less than an hour and a half. Except for the last question, the weighted Jensen inequality, where his solution was a bit convoluted and required manual review by the coaching team, his solutions to the other five major questions were very clean and efficient."

David remarked, "The other students in the exam room were all dumbfounded."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Miller was taken aback.

She remembered seeing Li Ao's application materials before, and now she couldn't sit still any longer.

She put down her pen and waved to David:

"Is that so? Submitting papers in an hour and a half? I've never encountered this in all my years of leading summer camps."

"Quick, where's the test paper? Bring it here for me and Professor Jensen to see."

……