Study Monster Cultivation System

Chapter 201 - 200 Wang Quan has no eternity

New Year’s Eve, Li Zheng’s home was as silent as usual.

Those who needed to perform surgery did so; those who needed to go on business trips did so; those who needed to study did so.

From an outsider’s perspective, the condition of this family might seem somewhat bleak.

If anyone thought this way, it could only be said that they didn’t understand this family.

This family of three didn’t need to celebrate New Year’s Eve.

In their eyes, even the existence of the "year" itself was considered superfluous.

In the river of time, so-called New Year’s Eve had no special significance—it was no different from the moments before it or the moments after it.

It was only because people had arbitrarily decided to turn the page of the Gregorian calendar at this moment that they placed their hopes for continuing past endeavors and new beginnings on it.

However, this family didn’t need such a holiday to place their hopes on.

Every day, they reflected on themselves.

Every day, they looked forward to the future,

Of course, when the mood struck, firing off a post in the forums was always possible.

[Today, having a rare day off, after you left, Dad went to the market and bought a perch, intending to accompany it with green peppers, cucumbers, tofu, and preserved eggs to make a few specialty dishes and open a bottle of wine usually too precious to drink, to share a drink with you on New Year’s Eve.]

[However, reminiscing about 2019, Dad also couldn’t muster the enthusiasm.]

[No World Cup, no European Championship, nor an Olympic Games.]

[Odd-numbered years, what are they good for? Might as well erase them from the calendar.]

[Just as Dad thought this, right when I was about to prepare the fish.]

[Urgent news arrived——]

[The leader’s leader’s leader’s father’s old leader suddenly fell ill and was hospitalized.]

[Alas!]

[Ben Parker once said: With great power comes great responsibility.]

[There are many Blade Guests but only one Li Yi.]

[Dad must go, you can fend for yourself.]

[Also, now that you are grown, cliches are reborn. From now on, they are all negative energy cliches, to aid you in navigating society.]

[Mark Twain: The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don’t want, drink what you don’t like, and do what you’d rather not.]

[As a doctor, I very much agree with his view.]

[—Li Yi]

[2018.12.31, 16:09]

Li Zheng replied—

[Hey, my dear old Dad.]

[I just want to say, your level of classical Chinese is as embarrassing as a lawyer going to a costume party.]

[What I mean is, if you use classical Chinese or anything similar to annoy me, then sorry, but I will definitely give you a taste of your own medicine.]

[I bet the moment you see this message, you’d wish you could burst into my room and kick my butt.]

[That’s it, I’m begging you, for God’s sake, please stop using that tone from now on.]

[Now let me speak properly…]

[2019 was very fulfilling, with physics competitions, biology competitions, computer science competitions, and math competitions, including IPHO, IBHO…]

[Please don’t send these kinds of "golden sayings" anymore.]

[I know you don’t want the forums to fade away, and you want to comment on anything and everything, but…]

[Wang Quan doesn’t last forever, Comrade Li Yi.]

[—Li Zheng]

[2018.12.31, 17:55]

Indeed, the forums have become somewhat formulaic.

For example, right after Li Zheng finished replying, he sent Old Li a WeChat message.

[Li Zheng: What time are you coming home?]

[Li Yi: Before eight o’clock.]

[Li Zheng: Then I’ll prepare the fish and vegetables for you, and you can cook when you get back.]

[Li Yi: Mua!]

After putting down the phone, Li Zheng took a shower and changed clothes as usual, then sat at his desk, which was rare, and turned on his computer.

It couldn’t be helped, this time the Unparalleled task was a bit more complex than usual, and the Senior Programmer needed to decide which three programming languages to master himself.

This was beyond Li Zheng’s understanding, so he had to look up some information.

Based on popularity, C++, Python, and Java seemed to be the most orthodox choices.

To master these, one must indeed be a Senior Programmer.

But to be on the safe side, Li Zheng decided to consult some experts he knew.

A few minutes later.

"What? What kind of question is that? Are you discussing this in an essay?" Ou Xing Zhuo was very agitated on the phone, "Say that again?"

Li Zheng coughed and said, "If I rubbed a programmer’s magic lamp, and a soul of a Senior Programmer appeared telling me it could instantly teach me three programming languages, how should I choose?"

"…Aren’t you supposed to be preparing for a physics competition?"

"I’m writing a New Year’s essay titled ’My Wish,’ assuming a scenario where I got a programmer’s magic lamp."

"Uh... stop kidding. If you’re a beginner, start with C++. That’s also what they test in the computing competitions. Master that before you consider anything else."

"I didn’t ask how a beginner should learn; I’m asking how to answer the soul of a senior programmer."

"You’re killing me..."

"Please help, don’t waste the good intentions of a senior programmer."

"... Well, let me think... If I knew nothing and could instantly master three programming languages...

If it were up to me, I’d probably categorize them based on their application direction, difficulty, uniqueness, etc., then make a chart, score each language, and finally calculate the learning cost to make an overall assessment...

Now that I think about it, suddenly this has become interesting.

Wait, let me make a scoring model...

Don’t hang up..."

As time ticked by, Li Zheng started to regret this.

He should have just asked some random senior programmer on Quora. Asking this nitpicker only complicated things.

An hour later...

"I’ve decided!" Ou Xingzhuo was as excited as if he actually had received a programmer’s magic lamp, "C++, Haskell, Scala."

"Wait... slow down, how do you spell those?" Li Zheng panicked.

So Ou Xingzhuo repeated them slowly, and then added, "Don’t ask why."

"Why?"

"Wait... let me try to explain in terms you’ll understand." Ou Xingzhuo pondered for a long time before saying, "C++ is an absolute classic, and it’s actually very hard to master. Once you’ve tackled it, learning something like Python is a piece of cake; Haskell is a different mindset altogether, a pure functional programming language, or rather, let’s just call it a mathematical language. Playing with Haskell feels like solving super hard math problems and it has the highest prestige; finally Scala, which honestly isn’t necessary, it’s purely for complementing the first two and it’s even harder."

"Haskell... sounds fascinating."

"Yeah, it could be said to be the most fascinating, but it’s not widely used because you really need a strong math background, scoring at least 140, to tackle it."

"Got it, thanks. I know how to write my essay now."

"... Damn, what have I been doing for the last hour? Hanging up!"

"Wait, one small request."

"What?"

"Could you send me the latest development manuals for these three languages?"

"Download them yourself."

"Please help..."

"Hanging up, hanging up."

"How about this, I’ll give you three classic jokes, guaranteed to make Wu Shu bend over laughing."

"..."

"Five jokes?"

"Deal!"

...

Twenty minutes later.

Li Zheng had finished studying.

Then he uncertainly raised his hands and looked at them.

Me, a senior programmer?

He had absolutely no confidence in that...

Not to mention creating a program, he didn’t even have a concept of what the program should look like.

He had merely memorized various statements and commands, understood the relationships.

He had all the knowledge, but still didn’t understand how to organize it all.

It was like having memorized and understood countless physics equations, probably providing great insight when solving physics problems.

But if you asked him to build a nuclear bomb, he’d just be baffled.

No worries, even the experts who build nuclear bombs started with simple physics problems.

He’d set up an environment first and tackle a few practical competition problems to get the feel of it...

...

Li Yi got home right at eight o’clock.

As soon as he pushed open the door...

He heard a terrifying noise from inside.

Click-clack, clickety-clack...

The sound was intermittent with occasional bursts of strange laughter.

"Finally... starting to play video games?" Li Yi was delighted, promptly closing the door behind him.

Unlike other parents, he fully supported Li Zheng’s gaming and wasn’t worried at all about addiction.

Because in Li Zheng’s life, there was only one addiction: a learning addiction.

Li Yi carefully changed into slippers and tiptoed up to Li Zheng’s door, a schadenfreude grin on his face.

You too have your days? You also want to relax? You also want to bond with your classmates?

Clickety-clack, click...

The clacking of the keyboard grew more intense.

However, Li Yi suddenly furrowed his brow.

In his mind, there was only one game that required such fast, furious typing—

"Audition Dance Battle"!

This game is still alive?

Lin... Does Lin Yu Jing like this?

Li Yi dared not think further, simply pressing his ear against the door.

Clickety-clack...

"Hahaha, so this is all there is to the coding competition?"

Clickety-clack...

"No good, too boring. Let’s find a couple of final exam questions..."

Clickety-clack...

"Damn..." Li Yi cursed softly.

In the end, still studying?

How do you always know to study?

Can’t you just play for a while?

Thump thump thump!

Li Yi knocked directly on the door, "It’s already this late and you’re still studying?"

In the room, Li Zheng flinched.

Hearing the force of the knocking, Old Li seemed very angry.

Although Li Zheng was already an adult, hearing that tone made him recall the fear of being forced by Old Li to go out and play during middle school.

Li Zheng didn’t think twice, quickly pressing "WIN+D" to switch back to the desktop.

Casually he opened a browser and typed in the only game website he knew.

4399 Mini Games!

Suddenly, the screen was filled with colorful game icons.

Before he could click on any, Li Yi stormed in furiously, his gaze immediately sweeping to the screen: "How long have you been studying?"

"No... I wasn’t studying..." Li Zheng, with evasive eyes, mumbled as he moved the mouse in confusion, "I was playing games."

"Oh, playing games?" Li Yi snapped forward, grabbing the mouse and scanning the homepage icons while scolding, "Gold miner, Match pairs, is this it? Still playing games? After all these years, always 4399, do you really think I haven’t seen King of Glory?"

"..." Li Zheng had no argument, his head hung in shame.

"Hmph." Li Yi flicked the mouse down and opened the Linux virtual machine Li Zheng had minimized in the background.

In an instant,

a myriad of coding characters splattered across his face.

"Great!" Li Yi was immediately inflamed, "It’s bad enough you’re learning Physical Chemistry, but coding too? You’re just a teenager, and already taking on something for people in their twenties? In such a rush to become a coder?"

Li Zheng stammered, "No... let me explain, it just happened..."

"Don’t give me that, studying isn’t something that just happens, it’s premeditated," Li Yi waved his hand and glared at Li Zheng, scolding, "You always study, but can’t you play just for New Year’s Eve? Go out, hang out, anything’s fine, it’s not like I haven’t given you money. Are you doing this because you think you have too much hair or you want to marry the code?"

"I’ve been playing all day." Li Zheng scratched his head, feeling a bit wronged, "I’ve only been studying for a while."

"Yeah, yeah, I can’t control you," Li Yi waved off and turned away, heading out, "You won’t even help me wash the vegetables and marinate the fish. Just keep studying, study yourself to death."

"Alright, alright." Li Zheng hurriedly closed and followed, "I’ll give you a hand."

"Ha!" Li Yi chuckled, turning back with lifted eyebrows, "Did I act well? Did it bring back the authority I had in middle school?"

"..." Li Zheng responded coldly, "You just brought it back, but now you’ll lose it forever."

...

The father and son bustled about, and it was nearly nine before they had dinner.

Though Li Zheng wouldn’t say it, he was still mentally immersed in programming, muttering "break" "return" "goto" as he ate his fish.

Talking through a disagreement only made things worse; Li Yi drank by himself, finding it more painful than drinking alone.

How did I end up with such a kid?

Thankfully, An Ning’s timely video call stopped Li Zheng’s air-coding.

However, An Ning was also daunting, not calling to offer New Year’s greetings, but to convey news.

It was about another colleague, Old Zhou, who, upon hearing that Li Zheng had applied for the physics competition, recommended a week-long advanced training class organized by Jinghua Physics Department from January 3rd to January 9th.

In the video, An Ning lay on a hotel bed, resting with her eyes closed against the background noise of the New Year’s Eve TV event, her mouth never stopping.

"This is the most famous training class in the country, taught by teachers from the Jinghua Physics Department."

"Old Zhou pulled some strings to get you in there."

"There was just the right amount of money in your dad’s account, so I went ahead and paid the tuition."

At the table, Li Zheng was very resistant to this sudden arrangement.

Li Yi simply picked up his phone, glumly checking his account.

"Didn’t I say I’d sign up for classes myself if I needed to?" Li Zheng fiddled with his chopsticks, "What a waste of money, how many books could that have bought."

An Ning shook her head, laughing, "Hey, Old Zhou didn’t consult me either, just went ahead when he heard you enrolled in the competition. It’s done now, just go and make the most of it."

"A week is too long." Li Zheng was still unhappy, "I’m fine studying on my own in school, all my teachers agree I can do self-study."

An Ning twisted her face toward the camera and advised, "Not everything can be learned on one’s own, right? Experiments always need some guidance, don’t they?"

"The school has a lab," Li Zheng said.

Seeing Li Zheng’s demeanor, An Ning could only sigh, "Well then, if you really resist, I’ll just cancel it."

"Hey!" Li Yi waved his hands to orchestrate peace, "Li Zheng, enrolling in a training class to enhance experiments was Teacher Tao’s idea too. She doesn’t have Yu Hong’s resources to find a teacher for private tutoring, and the school’s experimental environment is lacking. You have to practice somehow."

This time, Li Zheng didn’t say anything.

It couldn’t be helped, Old Li’s words were too reasonable.

Experiments were undoubtedly his weak point, but the school’s conditions could not provide adequate training. Given the opportunity of the Jinghua Physics Department’s camp, it was right for him to attend.

Only, having just comfortably returned to school, the thought of having to spend a week at some camp was emotionally unacceptable to Li Zheng.

"Heh, you know experiments are your weak point?" Seeing his expression, Li Yi immediately felt reassured and chuckled, "I know, you’ve got a bit of ’camp phobia’, don’t you? Afraid of being cooped up with a bunch of people solving problems, you prefer staying at school, right?"

"Is that so..."

"Well then, that settles it." Li Yi clapped his hands and raised his eyebrows, "Why don’t you go to the camp with your peers from the Physics Competition?"

"!" Li Zheng’s eyes widened, "Brilliant!"

Going with classmates!

With that thought, he felt much better.

Even if it was a camp environment, it would be bearable with companions.

Seeing his excited son, Li Yi also got excited.

Isn’t it just that simple?

Still, your old man thinks of everything, doesn’t he?

On the screen, An Ning hastily asked, "Should I ask Old Zhou to pass on the word now?"

"Don’t rush, let him ask his classmates first. Oh, and be clear about the expenses..." Li Yi then said, "How much did you swipe from my card?"

"8000."

"..." Li Yi was no longer excited.

Li Zheng, unable to sit still for dinner, quickly pulled out his phone and added a small Physics Competition group.

[Li Zheng: Jinghua Physics Department’s advanced training camp, one week, starts January 3, don’t miss this opportunity, shall we go together?]

[Lin Yujing: No.]

[Li Zheng: Who asked you? @Jiang QinghuaSpring is comming.]

[Li Zheng: Your ID...]

[Jiang Qinghua: Hey, isn’t it almost Spring?]

[Jiang Qinghua: Uh... Li Zheng, isn’t this an advanced camp? It also involves experiments, I remember only the top few before the finals qualify for experiments, right? I’m way off... Also, how much is it?]

[Li Zheng: 8000]

[Jiang Qinghua: Disturbing.]

[Jiang Qinghua left the group chat]

[Li Zheng: ...@Lin Yujing, listen to me, you need to brush up on your experiments, Teacher Tao’s influence won’t cover us.]

[Lin Yujing: My mom’s university has a lab, I’ll go there.]

[Li Zheng: Hogging it all for yourself? After all I’ve considered for you!]

[Lin Yujing: ~~~~ I’m participating in the Aerospace New Year’s, see you next year ~~~]

[Li Zheng: See you next year...]

Li Zheng slammed down his phone.

Thinking too much, purely thinking too much.

Such a great opportunity, and here I was considering you, and you had already started cooking your own little meal.

Women, all sneaky tricks.

No good...

Just mugging up in school like this, experiments will indeed be left behind.

If you’re unkind then I won’t be righteous either.

"The 3rd, is it? I’ll go by myself," Li Zheng spoke as he ate his rice vigorously, "I’ll start preparing for the experiment theory from tomorrow."

Li Yi just asked foolishly, "Did... did you have a fight?"

"No."

"Listen to Dad, when dealing with girls, let them have their way a bit. Boys are born strong, not to bully others, but to protect them. Just like Ben Parker..."

"Enough, enough," An Ning waved her hand impatiently, "Stop passing down that nonsense, the only thing it’s good for is getting trampled by your wife."

"Ah? Really?"

"No, no, everything’s fine, all good," An Ning laughed, then spoke to Li Zheng, "Don’t listen to your dad, deal with your classmates as you should, nobody owes anyone, nobody’s less than anyone. Keep it up son, if you need the training class just say so, your dad’s got plenty of money, bye."

"Bye."

The video call ended.

Li Yi went back to drinking alone.

The liquor tasted even bitterer than before.

What does it mean by the sole purpose being to get trampled by your wife...

First, you’d need a wife for that.