I control the AI ​​empire thanks to the geniuses in my group.

Soon, a middle-aged man wearing a plaid shirt pushed open the door and walked in.

When Liu Zhi entered the room, he saw two strangers sitting on the sofa. He glanced at Zhang Hengyuan and his heart skipped a beat. He subconsciously straightened up.

"Principal, what do you need me for?"

Ma Jianguo did not answer directly, but asked, "Liu Zhi, there is a student named Su Zhou in your first year (3) class. Tell me, how does this student behave in class?"

Liu Zhi paused for a moment, then recalled: "Su Zhou... this kid, well, it's only been a short time since the start of the semester, I haven't known him for very long, so I haven't fully figured out his level yet."

"However, one thing that impressed me was that this child's mental arithmetic ability was quite strong. When doing example problems in class, while other students were still struggling on their scratch paper, he had already given the answer and he almost never made a mistake."

At this point, Liu Zhi paused, his expression slightly unnatural: "Principal Ma, did Su Zhou... get into some trouble?"

Before Ma Jianguo could speak, Zhao Fang took over, smiling slightly: "Teacher Liu, let me introduce myself first. I am Zhao Fang, the deputy editor-in-chief of the Mathematics Editorial Office of the People's Education Press. This is Hu Kai from our editorial team."

"That's right, Su Zhou sent us an email a few days ago, pointing out an error in the textbook."

People's Education Press.

Liu Zhi blinked.

He suddenly remembered that a few days ago in class, Su Zhou pointed out a logical flaw in that example problem in front of the whole class. At the time, he thought the child was just showing off, and he just said a few words and moved on.

Surprisingly, Su Zhou actually sent an email to the publishing house!

No, are all kids this brave these days?

Little did Liu Zhi know that Su Zhou, in a parallel universe, was a ruthless individual who teamed up with Newton to send counterfeiters to the gallows.

For Su Zhou now, logic is absolute faith.

What's so special about a mere email address from the Humanities Education Press? Others might need to muster up courage to do this, but Su Zhou doesn't.

Liu Zhi's expression instantly became incredibly interesting, his mind racing. Had this kid really gone all the way to the People's Education Press? Mentioning it briefly in class was one thing, but writing a letter directly to the textbook editors? Wasn't that like pointing fingers at a monk and calling him a bald monk?!

Well, now they've come knocking on our door.

Liu Zhi said anxiously, "Teacher Zhao, Teacher Hu, I'm so sorry!"

"Su Zhou is only thirteen years old. He doesn't know how to speak or act properly yet. He absolutely has no ill intentions. He's just young and doesn't understand things. He says whatever comes to mind. Please don't take it personally with a child..."

"Teacher Liu, Teacher Liu," Zhao Fang quickly raised her hand to interrupt him, both amused and exasperated, "You've misunderstood."

"We're not here to interrogate you."

Liu Zhi's apology was stuck in his throat, unable to come out or come down.

Zhao Fang took a printed document out of her briefcase and handed it to Liu Zhi: "On the contrary, we are here to thank him."

"In his email, Su Zhou pointed out a logical flaw in the example problem in our seventh-grade textbook. After internal discussion and review by the editorial team, we unanimously confirmed that he was absolutely right. This was indeed an oversight in our editorial process. This problem has been used nationwide for several years and millions of students have done it, but no one has ever formally raised this issue with us."

Liu Zhi took the document, looked down, and saw that it was a printout of Su Zhou's email.

他的目光落在那段话上：「方程(a−1)x = a−1，教材解法为两边同除以(a−1)，得x=1，此解法的隐含前提是(a−1)≠0……」

Liu Zhi's hand paused slightly.

He continued reading and came across the section on calculus.

"Take the power function rule for indefinite integrals in advanced mathematics as an example: ∫x^n dx = x^(n+1)/(n+1) + C. The absolute logical premise for this formula to hold true is that n≠-1..."

Liu Zhi put down the document, looked up, and his expression changed from shock to bewilderment.

"This...this really was written by Su Zhou?"

"Both the email address and IP address point to your school."

"Furthermore, we checked before we came here, and there is no one named Su Zhou among your school's faculty and staff."

Zhang Hengyuan, who had been listening for a while, finally spoke up: "Professor Liu, I have a question. The calculus examples Su Zhou used in that email—did you teach those?"

"Of course not." Liu Zhi shook his head. "We haven't even formally learned the concept of functions in the first year of junior high. Calculus is a subject for advanced mathematics in university."

"That's going to be interesting."

"For a student who has just entered junior high school to be able to accurately use knowledge of advanced mathematics to make analogical arguments with a complete logical chain and standardized use of terminology is not something that can be written by simply flipping through a couple of pages of a book."

He turned to Ma Jianguo and said, "Principal Ma, please call this student over."

Ma Jianguo's mind raced.

Since Zhang Hengyuan has asked to meet with the person, given the provincial team coach's nature, he will definitely give him a test on the spot.

If Su Zhou is called over in a moment, and Zhang Hengyuan throws a question at him, this kid will immediately show his ignorance and be completely clueless...

Then Ma Jianguo's old face has been completely disgraced today!

No, I need to remind them first.

Ma Jianguo began by saying, "To be honest, after listening to what you all have to say, I, as the principal, am also very shocked. This child has indeed shown extremely strong mental arithmetic abilities at school, but calculus... is indeed beyond our teaching syllabus."

"When the experts ask questions later, we have to be gentle with them."

Zhang Hengyuan understood what the other person meant and said, "Don't worry about that, I would never bully a junior high school kid."

Seeing that he had achieved his goal, Ma Jianguo immediately turned to Liu Zhi and said, "Teacher Liu, what are you standing there for? Go to the class and call Su Zhou over! Remember, don't scare the child."

Only then did Liu Zhi realize what was happening, and he quickly nodded, "Okay, okay, Principal, I'll go right now!"

Su Zhou was in the classroom having an English class, halfway through completing a grammar fill-in-the-blank exercise, when Liu Zhi suddenly pushed the door open and said four words in a serious expression: "Su Zhou, come here for a moment."

All forty-odd pairs of eyes in the class turned to look at them, as if they were looking at a living person who was about to be dragged out as a sacrifice.

Lin Xiaoxiao, her deskmate, muttered under her breath, "Wow, what did you do wrong? Is it because you weren't wearing your school uniform?"

"I don't think so," Su Zhou said speechlessly. Forgetting to wear his school uniform shouldn't warrant such a fuss, right?

When a teacher seeks out a student, there are only two possibilities: either you've committed a serious crime, or you've done something serious.

Judging from his recent behavior, the two possibilities are about 50/50.

He took a deep breath and followed Liu Zhi to the principal's office.

As soon as the door opened, four pairs of eyes looked over at the same time.

"You're Su Zhou?"

The speaker was not Zhao Fang, but a lean, middle-aged man at the other end of the sofa.

"I am."

"Sit down," he said, pointing to the chair next to the sofa.

Su Zhou walked over and sat down next to Liu Zhi.

Zhao Fang spoke first, placing the printed email on the coffee table and pushing it in front of Su Zhou: "Su Zhou, did you write this email?"

Su Zhou glanced down at it and nodded: "I wrote it."

"You pointed out the logical flaws in the example problems of our seventh-grade textbook in your email. Your analysis was very accurate, and our editorial team has confirmed it."

"On behalf of the Mathematics Editorial Office of the People's Education Press, I would like to formally express my gratitude to you."

When Liu Zhi heard the words "formal thanks," his lips twitched.

His feelings are very complicated right now.

On the one hand, it's a great honor to have a student in my class who can point out mistakes to the teaching materials publisher. On the other hand, I didn't take the questions this kid raised in class seriously and dismissed him with a few words. If word gets out, I won't look so good.

Su Zhou remained calm: "Of course, textbooks are for students all over the country, so we should give feedback if there are any problems."

These words were simple and sincere, and Zhao Fang couldn't help but exclaim in admiration: "Well said! With such composure and humility, Su Zhou's future achievements are absolutely limitless."

Upon hearing this, Ma Jianguo, who was holding a teacup nearby, started making plans in his mind.

As a seasoned and shrewd principal, how could he possibly let go of such a golden opportunity to climb the ladder?

"Haha, Professor Zhao, you flatter me." Ma Jianguo laughed heartily. "To be honest with you experts, our middle school's educational philosophy is to encourage students to dare to question and challenge authority!"

"Su Zhou is a very diligent student at school, and his studious spirit is a result of our school's consistent efforts to cultivate him!"

"Um, Principal, Su Zhou has only been at the school for a few days, hasn't he?" Hu Kai was a straightforward person, and he spoke up as soon as he sensed something was wrong.

Ma Jianguo, who was holding a teacup and striking an educator pose, suddenly froze with a smile, and the corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.

Holy crap?

Why is this young editor not following the usual script?!

We're all working professionals, isn't it basic practice to support each other and boast a little?

Zhao Fang realized what was going on and tried to smooth things over: "Oh, Xiao Hu, you don't understand! This is called a two-way pursuit between good students and good schools!"

"Principal Ma, although Su has only been here a few days, she has already been influenced by the free and inclusive environment of our school!"

"Yes, yes, yes! Teacher Zhao's summary is spot on!" Ma Jianguo seized the opportunity and quickly used tea to cover up his embarrassment.

Su Zhou was puzzled.

How come he doesn't know their school's educational philosophy?

Zhang Hengyuan ignored them and went straight to the point: "Su Zhou, I have a question for you. In your email, you used calculus as an example, which involved the power function rule for indefinite integrals. Where did you learn this concept?"

"I learned it on my own," Su Zhou said.

"Self-taught?" Zhang Hengyuan raised an eyebrow. "What textbooks?"

"Tongji University edition of 'Advanced Mathematics'"

Ever since accepting the red envelope from Newton, Su Zhou couldn't help but want to learn more about mathematics.

Every day when he gets home, he searches for free textbooks on his computer to read.

He has read Tongji University's editions of "Advanced Mathematics" and "Elementary Number Theory," but Tongji University's edition of "Advanced Mathematics" is currently his favorite.

Liu Zhi opened his mouth, then closed it again.

"Why are you looking at that?" Zhang Hengyuan asked curiously.

"I thought it was interesting, so I watched it," Su Zhou said naturally, revealing his true feelings.

Now it was Zhang Hengyuan's turn to be unsettled.

interesting?

Listen to this! Is this even human language?!

That's the Tongji University edition of "Advanced Mathematics"!

That book had a famous nickname on the university campus: the legend terminator of never failing a course!

Every September, how many ambitious freshmen in science and engineering open that book, only to suffer terribly under the torment of limits, derivatives, L'Hôpital's rule, and multiple integrals, even shedding tears and hair in bed late at night?

How many heroes hang themselves on that tree called Advanced Mathematics every year?

As a math coach who has trained countless top provincial team students, Zhang Hengyuan has seen far too many so-called geniuses.

He knew very well that some precocious children liked to memorize a few sophisticated mathematical formulas online, such as Taylor series expansion and L'Hôpital's rule, and then go to their classmates and teachers to show off.

In this situation, the only way to verify it is through testing.

Remember, friends may leave you, brothers may betray you, but math will not.

Because if you don't know math, you simply don't know it.

In the field of mathematics, there are always barriers to showing off.

Zhang Hengyuan didn't press further about calculus, but instead changed the subject: "Su Zhou, do you know what the Mathematical Olympiad is?"

"Know."

Have you participated?

"no."

"Would you like to give it a try?"

Su Zhou glanced at him but did not answer immediately.

Liu Zhi stepped forward at this moment.

"Coach Zhang, please wait a moment."

Liu Zhi walked over to Su Zhou, his tone clearly protective: "I understand your eagerness to select talent, but I have to be honest, Su Zhou is indeed smart, but Olympiad math and classroom math are two different things."

"Olympiad math training requires a systematic knowledge base, including combinatorics, number theory, geometric transformations, inequalities... He hadn't learned any of these things."

He glanced at Su Zhou and continued, "Besides, he's only thirteen years old, just started junior high. He's too young. I've seen too many children who are pampered end up being crushed. Not everyone can walk the path of math olympiads. Forcing a child to take it will be a devastating blow to their self-confidence if they can't keep up."

These words were spoken sincerely, and everyone present could tell that Liu Zhi was genuinely concerned for Su Zhou.

Ma Jianguo nodded in agreement: "Teacher Liu is right. Coach Zhang, how about we observe further?"

Zhang Hengyuan leaned back on the sofa, his hands crossed in front of his chest, and remained silent for a few seconds after listening to Liu Zhi's words.

Then he laughed.

"Teacher Liu, I agree with every word you said. Trying to help seedlings grow faster than they can help them is indeed very harmful. I have seen far more tragedies like the story of Zhong Yong in recent years than you have."

His tone suddenly changed: "But I believe you when you say he hasn't learned the systematic knowledge of Olympiad mathematics, and I also believe you when you say he's young and needs protection."

"But Teacher Liu, I've been in this line of work for fifteen years. My standard for judging someone isn't what they've studied, but what they can see."

Zhang Hengyuan took an exam paper from the briefcase next to him and placed it on the coffee table.

"I came to Chongming High School today to select people. I brought a selection test paper with me. There are six questions in total, and the time limit is two hours. This is the entrance test for the provincial team's preparatory camp."

He looked at Su Zhou with intense eyes: "Give it a try. It's okay if you can't do it. I just want to see your thought process."

Before Liu Zhi could say anything more, Su Zhou's voice rang out first.

"Can."

Next to the principal's office is a small conference room, which is usually used for administrative meetings.

This meeting room has been temporarily requisitioned as an examination room.

Zhang Hengyuan also called over four promising students from the high school section to take the exam together.

The four students were all stunned when they saw Su Zhou.

The math competition circle at Chongming High School is not large; there are only a handful of top students qualified to compete for the provincial team.

Whether it's attending training sessions, on-campus training camps, or going to other places to compete, we see each other all the time, so we know each other's strengths and weaknesses very well.

Therefore, when these four high school students who had been called in at the last minute entered the meeting room and saw Su Zhou sitting steadily at the table, a big question mark popped into their minds at the same time.

Who is this person who isn't wearing a school uniform?

Chen Feng, a top student in the second year of high school who was walking at the front, frowned slightly and sized up Su Zhou without making a sound.

He was certain he had never seen that face in any of the high school math Olympiad training classes.

"Could it be the junior high school section?" A guess suddenly popped into Chen Feng's mind, but he immediately thought it was absurd.

This is the provincial team's preparatory camp entry pass, personally brought by Zhang Hengyuan!

Six questions in two hours – a small number of questions often means an extremely high level of calculation and depth of thinking. This is the standard level of the second round of the National Higher Education Institutional Qualifiers (NHI) or even higher.

Let alone junior high school students, even seasoned veterans who have been struggling in the sea of ​​high school competition questions for two or three years would feel their scalp tingle when they saw the kind of test paper in Zhang Hengyuan's hand.

Judging from the looks of it, it's probably someone from another school taking the exam here temporarily.

Thinking of this, Chen Feng's competitive spirit was ignited.

Su Zhou had no idea what the others were thinking. After handing over his phone, he sat down. Behind him, Zhao Fang, Hu Kai, Zhang Hengyuan, Liu Zhi, and Ma Jianguo stood at the back of the conference room like a row of lottery players waiting for the draw, each with a different expression.

Zhang Hengyuan glanced at his watch: "10:15, two hours, ending at 12:15."

Su Zhou opened the exam paper.

Six questions.

He started looking at the first one.

Given that a positive integer n satisfies the condition that n² + 3n + 1 is divisible by 49, find all possible values ​​of the remainder when n is divided by 49.

In the past, he would have been completely clueless when faced with this kind of problem, since his meager knowledge of number theory was definitely not enough.

But things are different now; he has acquired Newton's absolute logical reasoning ability that spans hundreds of years!

Although it only added 10 points, that represents Newton's logical reasoning ability!

Their logical reasoning ability is on a completely different level from that of ordinary people!

With unwavering focus and relying solely on her innate logical instincts, Su Zhou directly grasped the essence of the question.

n²+3n+1能被49整除，那作为49的因数，它必然得先能被7整除。

This is similar to how you can't win an Oscar for Best Actor if you haven't even passed the initial audition for a movie.

Following this line of reasoning, Su Zhou mentally went through the entire proof process from beginning to end, confirming that the logical chain was complete and without any omissions.

But he did not put pen to paper.

He immediately turned his attention to the second question.

At the back of the conference room, five adults stood in a row.

Zhang Hengyuan was the first to notice something was wrong.

He stared at Su Zhou's back for nearly three minutes, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

From the moment Su Zhou opened the test paper until now, the child has maintained the same posture: his left hand pressing down on the edge of the paper, his right hand holding a pencil, but the pencil has never touched the paper.

Not a single word was written.

Zhang Hengyuan's heart sank slightly.

To be honest, he had very high expectations for Su Zhou before entering this conference room.

Being able to spot logical flaws in the People's Education Press textbook, being able to self-study the Tongji University version of advanced mathematics, and being able to use calculus for analogical reasoning—these three qualities alone, when combined in a thirteen-year-old, are enough to make any competition coach's heart race.

But expectations are expectations, and reality is reality.

Given the difficulty of this test paper, top students in the first year of high school would average between 30 and 40 points on this test.

He originally thought that even if Su Zhou hadn't systematically studied competitions, with his logical ability and mathematical intuition, he should be able to solve at least one problem.

But now this child won't even touch a pen.

Zhang Hengyuan couldn't help but feel somewhat disappointed.

He thought that if Su Zhou encountered a problem he couldn't solve, he would at least try to write down a few formulas on scratch paper to find a direction. Even if he couldn't solve it, writing down a framework of thought would be good.

Unexpectedly, he wouldn't even pick up a pen.

It's like a martial arts master going to a duel. You at least clasp your hands in greeting, but your opponent just stands there without even raising his hand.

Are you hiding your true abilities, or do you simply not know anything at all?

As he was thinking, he caught a glimpse of Su Zhou flipping through the test paper and shifting his gaze to the second question.

We've jumped to the next topic.

Zhang Hengyuan sighed inwardly.

The first question is the easiest of the six. If you give up on the first question, you probably won't stand a chance on the next five.

He couldn't help but make a pessimistic prediction in his mind: the exam might not even take two hours.

Liu Zhi, who was standing next to him, was also watching.

Although he wasn't a competition coach, he had been a math teacher for so many years that he could tell at a glance how his students were behaving in the exam room.

Su Zhou looks like the kind of person who would be completely bewildered the moment they open a test paper, having no idea where to even begin.

He knew this would happen.

These questions are designed for high school students. What's the difference between having a junior high student who hasn't even learned about functions yet doing them and having an elementary school student take the TOEFL?

He glanced back at Ma Jianguo, who was also looking at him. Their eyes met, and Ma Jianguo shook his head slightly, raising his chin towards the door.

The group of people quietly left the meeting room, closing the door behind them and leaving just a crack so that they could see Su Zhou's profile.

As soon as the door closed, Ma Jianguo was the first to speak, his voice very low.

"Coach Zhang, I think this difficulty level is still too high for Su Zhou."

He peeked through the crack in the door and continued, "You all saw it just now. He's been in there for so long and hasn't written a single word. He skipped the first question and went straight to the second... What does that mean? It means he already didn't know how to do the first question."

Ma Jianguo said it directly.

"These questions are designed to test high school students. No matter how smart Su Zhou is, he is only a first-year junior high school student. His basic knowledge is several levels below the requirements of the competition. Forcing him to take the test would be a waste of time."

He looked at Zhao Fang and Hu Kai, then at Zhang Hengyuan: "How about... we just let this exam go? Let the child go back to school, so as not to disrupt their normal studies."