An Expert Is actually By My Side

Chapter 7: I’m Really Not an Expert

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Although the school had only started a few days ago, the library was already full of people.
Putting aside those graduating seniors who were preparing for postgraduate entrance examinations or rushing their dissertations, some freshmen also followed suit and came to the library to sightsee, punch in, and take pictures. There were even some with their newly-issued textbooks. They occupied the seats, causing the second and third-year seniors to be annoyed.
Furthermore, there were even people who used the computer in the library’s computer room to play games. The clacking sound of the keyboard resounded in the library, disturbing the readers.
Especially recently, with the popular MMORPG, “The Oracle”, the mic had to be turned on when forming teams to go into instances. Even if one wore headphones and spoke quietly, it would inevitably affect those top students thirsting for knowledge.
Taking the students’ opinions into account, the school threw this troublesome matter to the student union to resolve. The student union, responsible for meddling in others’ business, held several huge meetings and came up with a plan.
That was, students were prohibited from playing games in the computer room.
Of course, although those were the rules, those who understood knew better.
There was a saying that the power of the student union was built on the imagination of the students.
As long as they survived their freshman year, there would not be many people left to join them in entertaining and amusing themselves.
Therefore, this rule was only applicable to the newbies. Most of those responsible for patrolling the computer room were also freshman officers.
Perhaps it was because Cloud Hao looked too much like a freshman, hence when he sat in front of the computer with a brand-new textbook, the student union officer, who happened to pass by, kept glancing at him.
Naturally, Cloud Hao was not bothered by other people’s gazes. After all, he wasn’t here to play games; he was here on serious business.
“I hope this works…”
Looking at the gem in his hand that was only visible to him, Cloud Hao took a deep breath and squeezed it in his palm.
A burst of azure blue light radiated out, and a stream of heat rushed to his brain.
[Programming (LV1) is being strengthened. Host enters an enlightened state. Current level is LV3 and will last for 12 hours.]
Cloud Hao blinked. He didn’t feel any unusual change.
The people next to him didn’t even notice this. They were focused on doing their own things.
Why does it feel like it has no effect…
However, just when Cloud Hao was puzzled if the way he activated the system was wrong, his gaze happened to fall on the open C language textbook.
It was also at this moment that he felt like he was possessed by something, and his aura instantly underwent a change.
These things…
Why do they seem so simple?
And familiar.
It’s as if I’ve learned it before from somewhere…
His Adam’s apple bobbed slightly. Cloud Hao stretched out his index finger and touched the edge of the book.
As the pages flipped, the lines of text and codes seemed to be drawn to some kind of black hole. They were stripped from the book and transformed into a formless data stream. Afterward, they gushed straight into his eyes and were analyzed in his brain.
So fast!
Cloud Hao’s eyes widened involuntarily, and his pupils gradually became tinged with excitement.
It was not just his reading speed that was reaching its limit.
There was also the speed of knowledge acquisition.
As well as…
The speed of flipping through the book!
He was thoroughly done with the programming book in less than ten minutes, and all the knowledge was deeply imprinted in his mind. However, Cloud Hao felt that his learning speed was far from its limit.
Unsatisfied, he stood up without hesitation and headed to the bookshelf. He then brought back a whole set of books to his seat.
Hehe.
I used to hear people complain that XX language is difficult to handle and that you’ll turn bald from studying too much. Looking at it now, it’s just so-so.
It’s so darn simple now!
As if floating in the air, Cloud Hao opened the second book and dived into it like he did before.
Although he just borrowed some introductory programming books, they couldn’t be more suitable for a novice like him.
At the same time, he also tried to get his hands on some advanced specialized books.
However, he could clearly see that with the gradual deepening of his knowledge, the speed at which he was reading the books also slowly decreased.
Cloud Hao speculated that this might be related to his programming attribute stats.
After all, an enlightenment gem only let him enter a state of enlightenment. It was probably equivalent to adding an experience bonus buff, allowing a person to accumulate the skill proficiency more quickly. However, it would not change the skill level itself.
Just like that, time passed, and the mountain of finished books next to him grew taller and taller.
In Cloud Hao’s eyes, he felt as if the current him was being possessed by a top student.
Of course, this was in his eyes only. It was different in the eyes of others.
All they saw was the thick textbook in this guy’s hand being flipped through non-stop like a windmill. It would then be thrown aside like trash after a short while
Are you fanning or studying?
“Schoolmate, can you even read while flipping through the book like this?”
Cloud Hao just so happened to have finished scanning through an advanced book. He turned his head and saw a senior with square-frame glasses looking at him.
He looks like he has been staring at me for a long time.
Cloud Hao vaguely remembered that before he sat down, the programming software opened on this guy’s screen was blank. Now, after he had read several books, his screen was still blank.
[Talent: Computer Repair]
[Hidden Potential Stat: 5]
Only 5.
That’s a bit weak…
Plus, it’s a rather useless talent.
At this moment, a certain someone had completely forgotten that his hidden potential stat was an unprecedented 0 and that his talent was even more useless…
“I can read them. What’s wrong?”
Hearing his calm words, the senior’s face was filled with an expression of disbelief.
“In that case, why don’t you create a simple scientific calculator according to my requirements and let me take a look?”
Scientific calculator?
Just that?
Cloud Hao, who was bursting with confidence, smiled faintly and pressed the power button with his right hand. Then, he placed both his hands on the keyboard.
Just nice. I was getting a bit tired from reading books. I might as well take this opportunity to put my new knowledge to practice.
A scientific calculator, is it?
That’s not a challenge at all.
Glancing at the draft papers on that guy’s desk, the corners of Cloud Hao’s lips curled up into a smile.
A clear structure had already formed in his mind by now.
“Ten minutes.”
The senior’s eyes widened. “Ten… Ten minutes?!”
Is that enough?
Without waiting for him to finish being surprised, Cloud Hao’s fingers had already begun to move.
The 104-key keyboard was like a black and white harpsichord, forming a melodious tune under his nimble fingers.
Line after line of codes leaped onto the screen like jumping lightning.
[#include “Analytic.h”
#include
#include
…
]
Looking at Cloud Hao’s fingers moving like the wind, the guy sitting next to him was dumbfounded. His eyes widened as round as marbles.
So fast!
He couldn’t even capture the afterimage of his fingers, not to mention the code on the screen.
At the same time, a star student seated nearby furiously slammed down the pen in his hand onto his draft paper.
F*ck!
Who is playing games in the computer room again?
Can’t they go to an Internet cafe?
Turning towards the direction of the clacking sound, he was just about to walk over to remind that schoolmate to control himself. However, he was astonished by the incredible scene before his eyes.
“…What the f*ck?”
Is he f*cking programming?!
But his coding speed is so darn fast!
He’s so focused. It doesn’t seem like he’s just messing around, though…
The guy didn’t notice that he had not held back his “what the f*ck” in his mouth and had actually shouted it out loud.
Because his volume was overly loud, many pairs of resentful eyes instantly glared at him from the seats farther away.
The top student realized his slip of the tongue and blushed, hurriedly sitting back down.
However, his pounding heart did not settle down for a long time.
As expected of River Town University!
Such an amazing guru was actually hidden in a small computer room in the school!
Needless to say, it wasn’t just the star student with similar thoughts.
Seated next to Cloud Hao, Chen Wenchao’s eyes were almost as wide as copper bells.
When Cloud Hao typed the last character, the densely-packed code had already shrunk the scroll bar on the right side of the screen to the thickness of a fingernail.
He looked at the time again; exactly 10 minutes had passed!
Both his hands left the keyboard. Cloud Hao then looked at Chen Wenchao and said calmly, “Done! In addition to the basic functions of a scientific calculator, it also supports 10 basic functions, the Ans processor register… as well as the few lines of functions scribbled on your draft paper.
“The code should be relatively extensible. The idea is to simplify the complex function names and name constants first. After that, convert the expression into a prefix notation, then directly process the prefix notation.”
Chen Wenchao nodded in shock at first. When Cloud Hao said that he had helped him include those few lines of functions on his draft paper, he jumped up like he had been electrocuted. Feeling touched, he grabbed Cloud Hao’s arm.
“Exp-expert! Thank you so much! Can I make a copy to study it?”
Cloud Hao’s eyebrows furrowed.
“That’s not really a problem…”
Before he could finish his sentence, the guy in front of him had already taken out his USB flash drive and inserted it into the computer. He skillfully began operating it.
Erm…
Why do I feel like I’ve been used for free?
“My name is Chen Wenchao! A graduate student under Professor Li Guoping from the School of Software Engineering! Pal, who’s your advisor? Let’s communicate with each other more in the future! Hah… To be honest, I really don’t understand programming. I studied Applied Mathematics for my undergraduate studies. At that time, I had a brain fart and applied to be a graduate student in Software Engineering. Take a look at my hair. It hasn’t been a year, but it’s getting lesser and lesser!”
Cloud Hao coughed lightly.
“Reading introductory textbooks… is naturally useful. Isn’t there a saying that ‘More often than not, the truth is hidden in those things that are easy to understand’? If you lay a solid foundation, learning anything else will be easy. You can take this “Data Structure” to study it. Remember to return it to me after you’re done reading it.”
Chen Wenchao nodded fervently.
“Okay! By the way, Expert, you still haven’t told me your advisor’s name?”
“I… I’m really not an expert.”
“You’re too modest! I’ve been stuck on this subject for a week, but you got it done in ten minutes!”
What the f*ck?
I guessed correctly. This thing really is his homework.
But damn you, you didn’t touch this at all, did you?
“I’m actually not.” Looking at the pestering Chen Wenchao, Cloud Hao sighed and told him the truth, “To be honest, I just finished the college entrance examinations a little more than two months ago. It hasn’t been a week since I came to this school.”
When he heard this, the expression on Chen Wenchao’s face instantly froze.
After a while, he squeezed out a forced smile and coughed twice.
“Expert, don’t kid with me—”
“It’s true.” Cloud Hao looked at him in all seriousness and handed him the card in his hand. “This is my student card.”
The front of the card was the gate of River Town University.
On the back, it wrote,
[Soft Engineering Class 1801: Cloud Hao]
The heck?
He’s really a freshman?!
Chen Wenchao was stupefied.