Lu Mingfei, why are you slaying dragons if you're not involved!

Chapter 124 Hunter Market, Prince, Old Tang (3.2K)

"The mock exam is tomorrow, but Lu Shen has started looking at physics. Does that mean he doesn't care about the bet at all?"

"It's impossible for him not to care about the bet; there's only one possibility: he has absolute confidence in winning the bet!"

"As expected of the Road God, awesome!"

"I'm just curious, given the odds before the betting closed, even if Zhao Menghua's family is wealthy... does he have that much money to pay out? He probably has to tell his parents first, right?"

Zhao Menghua stared at the comment for a long time with great displeasure, but finally managed to resist the urge to smash his phone against the wall.

He turned off his phone screen and went to his desk in the room, but he couldn't calm down.

He didn't understand why everyone was discussing Lu Mingfei's advanced studies, and why they spoke with such conviction, as if Zhao Menghua's defeat in the bet was already a foregone conclusion.

It's only been nine days!
He desperately wanted to open the class group chat, find the final exam results file, extract the line about Lu Mingfei's score, post it on the school forum, and then add a caption—

Are you guys crazy? Nine days ago, he was a complete academic failure who couldn't even get into a top university, the worst student in his class! And now you believe he can improve by almost 200 points, reaching over 600? Ridiculous!

In Zhao Menghua's view, this is illogical.

Even if Lu Mingfei suddenly became very hardworking... no matter how hard he tried, even if he didn't sleep for nine days, it would only be a little over two hundred hours.

What kind of genius could improve their score by more than 200 points in such a short time?
If he is truly such a genius, why has he never shown it before?

Surely he couldn't have been hiding it all along, so what was he after?

Various questions kept surfacing in Zhao Menghua's mind, leaving him somewhat dazed and confused.

A chilling thought crept out from among these ideas, spreading along the spine and throughout the body.

Zhao Menghua froze, faced with a problem he couldn't avoid—what if?
What if Lu Mingfei actually succeeds?
That last comment is now back in my mind.

There's a saying, "If you throw a brick into a pack of dogs, the one that barks the loudest is bound to get hit"... He didn't bark. But because he was annoyed by that comment, it's pretty much the same.

Lies won't hurt, the truth is the sharpest knife!

As the only child of a wealthy family, he naturally had plenty of pocket money. Enough to allow him to freely treat others to meals and internet access at school.

However, when the bet on whether Lu Mingfei could reach 600 points was first offered, almost no one was optimistic about him. Therefore, the odds of betting on Lu Mingfei were quite high!

Liu Miaomiao, Su Xiaoqiang, Chu Zihang, and even Ling all placed their bets at that time, with each bet amounting to an outrageous sum.

Logically, it's difficult for the bookmaker to lose money, because bookmakers usually control the amount on both sides by adjusting the odds, so that the total amount of bets on both sides after taking the odds into account is as equal as possible. Then they use the losers' money to pay out to the winners and make a "rake" in the middle.

Unlike casinos, this was an extremely "unofficial" opening, with virtually no one betting on whether "Lu Mingfei could not possibly achieve 600 points".

At least, it can't compare to the total betting amount on the "Believe in Lu Mingfei" side... It can't even compare to zero people!
Moreover, when many people subsequently placed bets on "believing in Lu Mingfei," Zhao Menghua simply couldn't bring himself to change the odds.

Now everyone knows he's the "bookmaker" behind it all. Wouldn't changing the odds mean he's feeling guilty and thinks Lu Mingfei might actually win?

Lose the fight but not the battle... No, I can't possibly lose!
Those people are absolutely blind! I'm going to make a fortune this time, and it will be the first pot of gold on my road to wealth!

Comforting himself with this thought, Zhao Menghua felt much lighter. He was even starting to look forward to the moment when the mock exam results would be released in three days—

The total number of students in the grade is not too large. Given the efficiency of the teachers at Shilan Middle School in grading the papers, the total scores can be compiled into a table and posted in the group before the school's Spring Festival Gala begins.

"I will win!"

he said to himself.

But that cold, imaginary thought, describing "what if," clung to him like a bone-deep infection, impossible to shake off, and kept creeping back in.

With such high odds and so many bets, what if... how am I supposed to afford to lose it all?
Tell your parents? No, Zhao Menghua had calculated it; with the odds at the time... it would be several million!
Even with his family's resources, it would be impossible for them to come up with that much money all at once. They would definitely have to sell their assets, which would be a huge financial burden... His parents would never agree to such an absurd thing!

"perhaps……"

Another thought was born amidst this intense anxiety. Like a spark falling into oil, it ignited instantly.

"If it really happens, there's another way..." he thought to himself.

……

Lu Mingfei is concentrating on his studies.

The phrase "ignoring everything else and focusing solely on studying the classics" perfectly describes his current state.

He only snapped out of his focused, oblivious state and breathed a slight sigh of relief when the warning message, "Warning, it's time for [class]..." sounded.

Without calculus, one cannot make a single step in physics, a fact that Lu Mingfei has already clearly realized.

Because the core of physics research is "change"—change in position, change in velocity, change in energy, change in electromagnetic fields, etc.

The essence of the derivative is the instantaneous rate of change. Without the derivative, it is impossible to accurately describe concepts such as velocity, acceleration, current, and induced electromotive force.

The derivative is only a local term; to move from the local to the global, we need integration. Because the essence of integration is the summation of continuously distributed quantities, how can we calculate this kind of motion without integration?

Furthermore, all core physical laws are expressed directly in the form of differential or integral equations. For example, Newton's second law, which is most commonly found in high school physics, is transformed into F = dp/dt = m * dv/dt.

Both in terms of depth of thought and scope of application, it has been greatly improved.

"At this point, I can finally say that I've truly begun to have some initial contact with real physics, right?"

Lu Mingfei glanced at his physics proficiency, which had now reached 114/200, then looked back at the blackboard when the electric shock warning sounded, listening to the teacher's lecture while continuing to "daydream." He had essentially mastered all the subjects in high school. Therefore, he could easily manage to "concentrate" on the lecture while simultaneously thinking about other things.

Unfortunately, he can probably only enjoy this relaxation today, because it's the last day of classes. After the exams in two days, it will be time for tutoring from zero.

Even though the tutoring has never actually started, and Lu Mingfei has only asked a few questions occasionally, he can still draw a conclusion from the icy beauty's fluent and effortless answers—

She was incredibly knowledgeable, just like her unfathomable eyes that never wavered!
By then, tutoring will naturally not be as easy as it is now... but the rate at which proficiency is gained will be higher, which is acceptable.

"The proficiency required for upgrading is currently 100-200-400, with each level requiring double the proficiency."

Lu Mingfei pondered to himself.

"At first, I was a little worried. What about the skill level requirements for higher levels, like 800, 1600 or even higher? Where would we get them?"

But now it seems there's no need to worry at all.

Without studying mathematics, physics, and macrophysics, one's view of science is like that of a frog at the bottom of a well. But with studying mathematics, physics, and macrophysics, one's view of science is like a mayfly seeing the world... I have a long road ahead of me!

……

"Boss, two bowls of tofu pudding, one sweet and one savory. And two multigrain pancakes, topped with toppings!"

"it is good!"

The owner was a middle-aged man in his forties, busy behind his breakfast stall. A line of people stood neatly in front of the stall, mostly office workers, many of whom hadn't had enough sleep, their voices sounding weak.

Upon suddenly hearing that powerful voice, the boss instinctively glanced through the rising white mist.

Through the shadows, he noticed that the person was a man with a square face, looking younger than him, but his beard was already mottled and gray, making it impossible to tell his age. So he casually asked, "Want me to pack something?"

"No need, I'll eat here."

Zhang Shanfeng took two steps closer and watched with great interest as the owner began to make the pancakes. He exclaimed, "There aren't many places selling savory tofu pudding around here. I've finally found one!"

"Right? I call this... differentiated competition!"

The owner was a little smug. "At first I was worried that not many people would eat here, but then I realized it's just a difference in taste. Everyone can eat it. One is a dish and the other is a dessert... You have quite an appetite, are you from the north?"

"I've been all over the country, so I can eat anywhere."

Zhang Shanfeng chuckled and sat down at a stall close to the car. "I exercise a lot, so I eat a lot."

"No wonder, you look so different with your energy and spirit."

As they chatted, steaming hot tofu pudding and pancakes were quickly served. Zhang Shanfeng had just scooped up a spoonful and put it in his mouth when the phone in his pocket rang.

He took it out to check and found that it was Ye Sheng calling, so he answered.

"Teacher, where are you now?" Ye Sheng's voice came.

"Having breakfast outside? What's wrong? Is something the matter?" Zhang Shanfeng paused.

"It's a big deal, but not urgent."

Ye Sheng said slowly, "The main campus of Kassel College contacted us urgently. Do you know a website called 'Hunter Market'?"

"I know, it's similar to the mercenary market."

Since they were outside, Zhang Shanfeng spoke concisely.

“On the ‘Hunter Market,’ the main campus of Kassel College discovered a newly uploaded mission. I’ve sent the mission details to your phone; you can take a look later,” Ye Sheng said.

"A mission that requires urgent contact...is it related to the mountains?"

Zhang Shanfeng raised an eyebrow. "But this is a domestic matter. Why is the academy so concerned? They have no reason to get involved, do they?"

"They want to get involved, and are even willing to pay a huge price for it. According to headquarters, they're willing to 'make any demands'."

Ye Sheng said.

"They don't care about the details of the mission; they care about the person who commissioned it. Their ID on the Hunter Market is..."

……

"Prince?"

Inside a poor neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA.

A man with Chinese-style black hair, a cheerful face, and a pair of signature droopy eyebrows slumped in a sofa chair, wiped his hands, which he had just finished eating fries, haphazardly on his clothes, and picked up the mouse to check.

"What an arrogant client ID... Holy crap, what a high mission reward!"

His droopy eyebrows suddenly shot up, and the man visibly became animated.

"Drip!"

A pop-up window appeared in front of me; it was a QQ pop-up message sent by a friend from the "Interstellar Communication Group".

"Old Tang! Want to play a round?"

(End of this chapter)