Academic genius: Arcane Invasion of America

Inside the Chevrolet car.

Li Ang withdrew his gaze from the window.

Just now at the Danube Clinic, he and Jet didn't talk for long before Jet pulled him into the car under the pretext of going to visit the school.

Now, as Jeter drove in the front seat, he chatted with a smile, "Junior, Aldrin, let me introduce you to our mathematics department. Besides Professor Nolan, whom you already know, the mathematics department has several other professors with world-renowned reputations. It's a pity that Professor Weil went to the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton the year before last, Professor Shiing-Shen Chern went to Berkeley last year, and Professor Siegel went to MIT a month ago..."

Emmm...

Li Ang was initially quite excited when Jet introduced the math department's big names.

After all, in his previous life he was a mathematics student at a top-tier university in China, and he had a deep longing for these well-known mathematicians in the history of mathematics.

So, according to Jeter, the University of Chicago's mathematics department is now just an empty shell?

Apart from math professors like Kayla Nolan, who hold multiple positions and seem somewhat "unprofessional," have all the mathematicians been poached by their peers?

"Hey." Jet seemed to realize that there was something wrong with his expression, and continued, "Despite so much talent mobility, under Chairman Stone's influence, our mathematics department remains the most important mathematics research center in the United States."

After Jeter's explanation, Li Ang realized that the so-called Chairman Stone was none other than Stone M.H., a mathematician who was hailed as the one who ushered in the Stone era and was also the first president of the International Mathematical Union.

Although Stone is no longer the chair of the mathematics department at the University of Chicago, he still frequently keeps track of everything in the department.

……

With Jet's explanations along the way, Li Ang didn't feel that time was passing too long.

After driving for about ten minutes, the two finally arrived at the Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Mathematical Sciences, University of Chicago.

[You have received a mission: to achieve a brilliant academic career and become one of the University of Chicago's top ten outstanding students this academic year.]

[Reward: Attribute Points +0.3, Learning Coins +300]

Are you doing quests?

And it looks like it's a long-term task.

300 learning coins is pretty good, 0.3 attribute points is so-so.

When will the University of Chicago select its outstanding students? It's April now. If it takes a year and a half to complete, he'll be at a huge loss.

Looking at the tasks that popped up on the system panel, Li Ang had mixed feelings.

The problem is that he searched for a long time but still couldn't find the button to refresh the task.

After getting off the bus, Jet looked at the old man in front of him with gray hair and a very high hairline, completely bewildered.

"Director, why are you here to pick someone up? You didn't even tell me beforehand."

director?

Li Ang decided to temporarily put aside thinking about the system tasks.

He looked at the old white man in front of him. Could he be Stone?

"Haha, I heard Kayla recruited a math genius for the department. She has to go to a meeting with the mayor today and can't come, so I came to check on her. If you knew about this and told Li Ang, then there wouldn't be any surprise, right, Li Ang?"

Jeter quickly introduced, "Junior, Aldrin, this is our head of the mathematics department, Mr. Sanders McLean, whom I just introduced to you."

Oh.

Li Ang suddenly realized.

It was under this old gentleman's leadership that Chen Xingshen and others went to various rival universities.

Of course, thinking back to when I first arrived at the University of Chicago, the department head personally greeted me, which showed me a lot of respect.

Li Ang smiled and nodded, "Thank you for your kind offer, Director."

……

Office of the Head of the Mathematics Department.

Sanders McLean was holding the test paper that Kayla had given to Leon, and he was carefully looking through it.

"Tsk, really good. No wonder Kayla praised it so highly. Looking at the entire mathematics department, there are few students who can do better than Li Ang on this test."

"You flatter me, Director."

As a wizard capable of wielding magic and whose body parts are all progressing towards the extraordinary, Leon certainly doesn't need to be polite to Sanders.

But at this moment, he only saw himself as a humble student seeking knowledge; in the world of mathematics, those who have achieved mastery come first.

"By the way, Director McLean, what are Leon's plans for this time of year? He lives on Adam Street now, which is about a ten-minute drive from the school," Jett asked at the opportune moment.

"It's no big deal. I'll go to the graduate school in a bit and get Li Angteng a single dorm room for his doctoral studies. He can stay at the school whenever he wants, or go back to Adam Street if he doesn't want to."

Sanders then turned to Li Ang and said, "Is this arrangement acceptable? Of course, if you want to spend more time with your roommates, I can also arrange a double room for you."

"A single dormitory room is fine," Li Ang replied.

If it weren't for his ability to travel between worlds, Li Ang might have wanted to relive the friendships he had with his roommates during his student days.

Now he just wants to do his research quietly without being disturbed.

"Okay, then we'll arrange for you to attend classes with first-year students for now. It's April now, and there are still two months until summer vacation in mid-June, so time is a bit tight. Fortunately, you don't need to worry about your math major courses..."

After a moment's hesitation, Li Ang asked, "Director, can I start learning from my junior year?"

In Li Ang's view, his routine studies at the University of Chicago were a complete waste of time...and money.

He thought that if possible, it would be ideal to complete the university course in two months and finish the system tasks at the same time.

"Why do you want to skip your freshman and sophomore years?" Sanders asked with a smile.

"On the way here, I heard Jett say that third-year students at our school can directly follow professors to do research and don't have to worry too much about academic courses. I think this is a great situation and can save time."

Sanders shook his head, saying earnestly, "Li Ang, I understand what you mean. But you need to know that life is more than just studying and research. You'll be spending a memorable period of your life at the University of Chicago. If you plunge headfirst into the ocean of mathematics without any transition, it might actually hinder your growth..."

Li Ang shook his head. "Thank you for your concern, Director. I've thought this through. Besides, doing research won't take up all my time. I can still participate in university life, play sports with my classmates, and join clubs."

Jet, standing to the side, was completely speechless.

Look at my junior, Aldrin. He's only 18 years old, but he already has a strong sense of crisis.

Needless to say, he must know that most mathematicians achieve their results before the age of 30, and that various world-renowned awards also have a threshold of 40 years old.

It seems that Aldrin might achieve great things while still in university.

As Aldrin's senior fellow disciple, he benefits from the honor but also feels a lot of pressure.

Sanders was pondering this at the same time.

Kayla Nolan's special admissions were based on her position on the school's board of trustees.

If this gets out, it might cause a huge uproar among parents of students who want to attend the University of Chicago but are unable to do so.

If the news that Li Ang skipped two grades and went directly to his junior year were to leak out, the outcry would be even louder.

Perhaps the higher-ups will send someone to investigate the situation, and if Li Ang makes a research achievement at this time, such as publishing a paper in a core American mathematics journal, then the University of Chicago's mathematics department will become famous.

When the math department officially started recruiting students the following semester, it became very popular, and Sanders no longer had to be constantly compared to Stone M.H.