A genius student? Ha, they're nothing but ants at your feet!

Inside the Spectra Works studio.

Cyber ​​Fox just went to the restroom in the hallway outside and washed his face.

But the moment he pushed open the door and his gaze returned to the monitor...

The numbers scrolling on the screen jumped up even higher!

[Current crowdfunding total: $102,414 (Progress: 20.4%) Number of participants: 3,102]

Entropy pointed at the screen, his jaw practically dropping in astonishment.

"Guys...check the backend logs right away!"

Is there a bug in our system? It's only been a few minutes!

"You've already saved up $100,000?!"

Root couldn't hide his excitement and shouted.

"That's not right! I remember clearly, when I checked two hours ago, it had just surpassed 50,000!"

Just as the three of them were descending into a state of extreme frenzy and madness.

Su Hao, with a plastic fork in his mouth and a steaming box of instant noodles in his hand, strolled over leisurely in his slippers.

He merely glanced at the screen, his expression calm.

"Oh, it's going very well."

"Smoothly? This is like riding a rocket!"

Root suddenly turned around, grabbed Su Hao's shoulders tightly, and was so excited that he spat out words.

"Su Hao, you're amazing! Listening to you was definitely the right thing to do!"

At first, we even considered making a tacky promise to players of future profit sharing.

It turns out that the "exclusive privileges" and "limited-edition skins" rewards you proposed were indeed more effective and straightforward at generating revenue!

In fact, the initial plan proposed by these science and engineering students was extremely outdated.

However, when the final crowdfunding plan was drafted, it adopted the strategy proposed by Su Hao in its entirety.

Su Hao slowly swallowed a mouthful of noodle soup.

"Basic operation, don't be silly. In behavioral psychology..."

This phenomenon has a specific name: the hyperbolic discounting effect.

He pointed at the screen with his fork.

Simply put, when people face uncertain and unrealistic long-term returns (such as illusory profit dividends),

The brain often automatically activates defense mechanisms, subjectively diminishing its true value.

But in contrast, if you offer an instant, readily available perk reward,

The allure of readily available, tangible status symbols is far more potent a dopamine rush than long-term financial guarantees.

Root listened in stunned silence, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"You...aren't you a mathematician? You even know about such an obscure branch of psychology?!"

Upon hearing this, Su Hao's eyes glazed over slightly.

Seemingly recalling some distant past, he awkwardly tugged at the corners of his mouth, revealing a complex, bitter smile.

"I guess so. It's just that in the past, I only flipped through a few books because of some unavoidable personal reasons."

Su Hao sighed silently in his heart.

I was forced by the desperation to survive, and I desperately studied psychological self-help knowledge in order to protect myself.

Now, it's surprisingly proving useful in the unexpected, mundane field of game crowdfunding.

He couldn't help but feel that the world was full of absurd irony.

Tick.

Tick.

The crowdfunding amount on the screen showed no signs of stopping; it continued to surge like a runaway horse!

Watching the constantly rolling and jumping green numbers, the people in the studio even experienced a kind of auditory hallucination.

Behind those rows of numbers, it seemed, lay over three thousand enthusiastic players who were practically fighting tooth and nail to get in.

The man knelt on the ground, holding up banknotes, pounding his chest and begging for server expansion in a frantic wail.

A storm sweeping across the virtual and real worlds has taken shape.

.......

Department of Mathematics, Stanford University.

Professor Zhou Mingyuan's spacious and quiet private office.

It was evening.

The intense, orange-red rays of the setting sun slanted through the gaps in the blinds.

Like cascading gold dust, it bathed the entire office, filled with manuscripts and blackboards, in a solemn and dignified golden glow.

Theodore was hailed as the first mathematical genius of the new generation at Stanford University.

At this moment, he is sitting upright in the large guest chair with his hands neatly placed on his knees.

Professor Zhou Mingyuan leaned forward slightly behind his desk.

Through his thick glasses, his gaze was deep and held a strong sense of scrutiny.

He stared intently at his most prized student.

The atmosphere was so oppressive it felt like it could drip water.

"Theodore, answer me."

What is your reason for suddenly insisting on giving up everything here and going to MIT?

Didn't you swear before that you would stay on as a faculty member at Stanford and follow in my footsteps?

Even though Zhou Mingyuan tried his best to maintain the dignity of a professor, his aged tone still carried a hint of...

The heartache and loss were so intense, like losing a priceless treasure, that it was hard to hide.

It's important to understand that this is in today's fast-paced academic era.

Although few experts would scrutinize a mere master's thesis with a magnifying glass.

But this single-minded math student in front of me, in order to polish an article that could truly transcend the times and satisfy himself,

He resolutely turned down all social engagements, overturned countless organizational structures, and spent two whole years working tirelessly in the library.

When I learned that this painstakingly written thesis had finally been completed.

As the mentor, Zhou Mingyuan felt happier and more gratified than anyone else.

This is already widely accepted.

Theodore has long been regarded by the North American academic community as a leading figure among the "new generation of mathematical pioneers".

Although he has been relatively quiet in the past two or three years, there have even been doubts from the outside world about whether he is a good example of a prodigy who failed to live up to his potential.

But Zhou Mingyuan knew better than anyone that once this newly published paper was published, it would be enough to make a significant announcement to the world:

Theodore's talent is not a fleeting shooting star, but a rising sun!

But now, his most prized student is actually leaving!

Thinking about this...

Zhou Mingyuan let out a heavy sigh in his heart, full of regret.

Theodore, from head to toe, exuded the extreme stubbornness, madness, and purity of the older generation of classical mathematicians.

In this era where people are so restless and impatient for funding and professional titles,

This virtue of sacrificing oneself for the truth is even rarer than that of a giant panda.

This is why Zhou Mingyuan had already secretly made up his mind.

Even if it means risking one's reputation, the ultimate reason for keeping him by one's side to inherit the mantle is that he is determined to do so.

A heavy silence lingered in the room for a long time.

Finally, Theodore slowly raised his head and spoke.

"professor."

"Speak. I'm listening."

Theodore let out a long, soft sigh.

"As you know, I was stuck in a bottleneck period for a long time when I was deriving that proposition a while ago."

It was a suffocating feeling, as if you were trapped in an iron box thousands of meters deep in the ocean, with no way out.

But what is most deadly and what terrifies me the most is:

I can't even find the root cause of this bottleneck.