At 10 PM, when the library closed, Lu Zhou had just finished going through two books: Advanced Algebra by Tu Boyun and Detailed Explanation of the C Programming Language, 5th Edition. Perfectly on schedule.

As he left the library, he glanced at his task bar and noticed that only nine hours remained on the countdown timer. He couldn’t help but sigh softly.

Fifteen hours had passed without him realizing it. It was the first time he felt time fly so quickly while reading reference books.

After an entire day of studying, he made an interesting discovery: when he finished reading a book, not only would that book’s “value coefficient” drop to a single digit, but other reference books with similar content would also experience varying degrees of decline. Conversely, books that originally had negligible value—some even marked at zero—now showed noticeable increases in their value coefficients.

For instance, Foundations of Modern Analysis by Dieudonné had initially only had a value coefficient of 10, but now it had risen to 30—tripled.

Walking back to his dorm, Lu Zhou couldn’t help but wonder: If his system’s math level went from LV0 to LV1, what sort of changes would happen to him?

Omniscience? Instantly solving any problem as soon as he sees it? Or would it be like having knowledge—even things he’d never heard of—force-fed into his brain, transforming him into a math prodigy on the level of Chen Jingrun?

Oddly enough, instead of excitement, Lu Zhou felt a bit of anxiety.

After all, the human brain has its limits. It’s like trying to stuff 2TB of data into a 1TB hard drive—something’s going to break. If the system forcibly tried to cram knowledge into his head, he was genuinely worried his brain might be the first thing to explode.

Of course, Lu Zhou also knew worrying about this was pointless.

Whatever happened next would be up to the system.

The results would be revealed tomorrow anyway. For now, all he wanted was a good night’s sleep—to cool down his overheated brain.

⸻

[Task complete. First-time task reward: 1 bonus lottery chance.]

[Task completion summary: During idle mode, the following books were read: – New Lectures on Mathematical Analysis by Zhang Zhusheng – Value: 100 – Advanced Mathematics by Tu Boyun – Value: 100 – Detailed Explanation of the C Programming Language, 5th Edition – Value: 100 – Nikolskii’s Mathematical Analysis (translated edition) – Value: 57 – CET-4 English Exam Real Questions and Explanations – Value: 0 Total value discovered: 357 | Rating: B+]

[Task reward: 500 math EXP, 100 informatics EXP, 100 points, 1 lottery chance (90% trash, 9% sample, 1% blueprint)]

After another hard day of grinding through books, Lu Zhou finally completed the idle-reading task.

Congratulations were in order.

Holding back his excitement, he left the library, found a blind spot near the unlit outdoor basketball court where no surveillance cameras reached, and sat down. Making sure no one was around, he took a deep breath and opened his stats screen.

⸻

[Black Technology System] Host: Lu Zhou Core Sciences: • A. Mathematics – LV0 (500/1000) • B. Physics – LV0 (0/1000) • C. Biochemistry – LV0 (0/1000) • D. Engineering – LV0 (0/1000) • E. Materials Science – LV0 (0/1000) • F. Energy Science – LV0 (0/1000) • G. Informatics – LV0 (100/1000) Subdisciplines: None Blueprints: None Points: 100 (2 lottery chances) Current Task: None

⸻

Although slightly disappointed he hadn’t leveled up, the sight of two lottery chances made any complaints vanish.

What kinds of cool things could the Black Technology System give him?

He was eager to find out.

The two lottery chances had different drop rates. The one from the first-time task reward was labeled: 75% Trash, 19% Sample, 5% Blueprint.

As for what a “sample” meant? Lu Zhou didn’t know. But given the nature of the system, it definitely wouldn’t be something like a toy car or a water gun. It had to be at least somewhat high-tech to distinguish it from “trash.”

Of course, he hoped the system wouldn’t go too wild—he’d rather not draw something insane like a Death Star. Even if he got one, where would he park it? And what would he even do with it? Swat mosquitoes?

Anyway, enough speculation. Time to draw.

He decided to start with the reward lottery—the one with the lowest blueprint probability.

“Draw!”

A roulette wheel materialized in front of him, spinning rapidly. He couldn’t read the labels—just blurry colors.

Holding his breath, he locked his eyes on the pointer, trying to follow its motion.

Then, feeling an inexplicable gut instinct, he shouted:

“Stop!”

The pointer spun a few more times from inertia, then slowly came to a halt.

[Congratulations, you drew trash.] [You received a can of cola. Don’t be discouraged. Keep it up!]

What the—!

Cursing the system was pointless. Time to focus on the important stuff.

He looked at his points total, which now displayed: Cola (Trash).

Frustrated, Lu Zhou quickly exited the system space. After checking again to make sure he was alone, he stared at his hand and muttered like he was trying to poop:

Cola, cola, cola, cola…

Duang—!

With no warning, Lu Zhou’s vision blurred. A can of cola appeared in his hand.

His expression turned… indescribably weird.

What the hell?

His worldview took a direct hit. The Law of Conservation of Mass had just been nuked.

How could current science possibly explain the existence of this cola?

He had no idea.

Maybe only black tech beyond LV10 could explain it.

But for now, one thing was certain: this system wasn’t just a figment of his imagination—it was real. It could physically interfere with the material world from deep within his consciousness.

He decided not to dwell on it for now.

Cracking open the can, Lu Zhou took a big gulp and exhaled deeply.

“Ahh—!”

Despite being labeled “trash” by the system, the cola tasted amazing. Even Lu Zhou, who normally wasn’t fond of carbonated drinks, couldn’t help licking his lips.

“Future? Is that a real brand of cola? Whatever, not important.”

Shaking his head, he tossed the empty can into the nearby trash bin.

He’d inspected it several times. It was a totally ordinary aluminum can, with no obvious black tech features. Other than the feel-good effect, it was just a nostalgic, vintage-style drink.

Its only future now was the recycling plant.

Lu Zhou walked over to the basketball court’s water faucet, washed his face, and returned to the shadows. He entered the system space once more.

Facing the final lottery chance, he took a deep breath like a gambler on the brink, then slammed the button without hesitation.

“Draw!”

“Stop!”

The pointer slowed. Lu Zhou’s heartbeat reached his throat.

It stopped.

And so did his heart—for just a second.

[Congratulations! You drew a Blueprint!]

Lu Zhou’s eyes lit up. Washing your face really does work!

A 5% chance—he actually hit it! From unlucky to blessed!

[You received Blueprint: Exact Formula and Proof Method for the Distribution of Mersenne Primes.]

Lu Zhou froze.

WTF???