Deep Space Wandering Fleet-Chapter 69 - , 3rd place
Chapter 69: Chapter 69, 3rd place
Five days quickly passed, and the final written exam results were released.
Some were joyful, some were sorrowful.
The two universities together were only recruiting six thousand graduate students, which, for the total of three hundred thousand undergraduates on the spaceship, meant a recruitment ratio of just one in fifty.
With a trace of nervousness, Zhang Yuan clicked to view his own exam score report.
He was now somewhat regretful for sleeping during the exam…
But quickly, the moment he saw his scores, that bit of regret dissipated like mist, his scores for the three professional courses were “149, 148, 147,” arranged in an arithmetic sequence.
...
As for where he lost those few points, he had no idea.
“Maybe it was for the presentation of the paper?”
There was also that last subject “Politics and History,” scored out of 100, which he really hadn’t prepared seriously for, merely flipping through the syllabus hastily before the exam, so he only scored 81.
“Adding up the total, I wonder what rank I could get…”
Continuing down to the next line of small print, he saw, [Space Mechanics Major Ranking: 3].
Zhang Yuan was delighted.
Third place was a better result than expected, he wondered who the top two ranked individuals could be.
With such professional scores, plus the bonus from his paper, in theory, he could now choose a very excellent mentor.
For the upcoming interview, he naturally felt confident.
He immediately made a call to report to Professor Wang Zhong on Earth. Currently, as the spaceship had just taken off, the signal delay was within a few seconds, which was still acceptable.
“Very good, you did well!” In the video, Professor Wang Zhong was unusually happy, even more delighted than if he had won an award himself.
Following that, his expression became grave, “Do you wish to continue specializing in Space Mechanics? Have you made up your mind?”
“Yes,” Zhang Yuan nodded.
Professor Wang nodded back, “Then, you will need to learn more about Physics in the future, including mechanics, information science, and integrated circuits. There are many fine professors aboard the spaceship, but if we are to choose, we should choose the best!”
“I’ll see who is available…” Wang Zhong began looking at a list.
“How about Academician Ding Zhaodong from the Wild Wolf Design Bureau, one of the chief designers of the ‘Earth Era,’ what do you think?”
Zhang Yuan was startled, he had interacted with several professors before, but none of them were on Academician Ding’s level.
Okay, just the title of chief designer of the ‘Earth Era’ could crush someone to death, not to mention his other numerous academic achievements…
Furthermore, Ding Zhaodong was one of the few Academicians aboard the spaceship. Academicians here were not like those on Earth; they truly held status and power.
Zhang Yuan hesitated, “That would be great, but Academician Ding probably isn’t taking on students, right? He’s very busy every day, I’ve never met him in person, nor have I had any interaction with him.”
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“Don’t be afraid.”
Professor Wang saw through his thoughts and waved his hand, “Everyone has been young before, who dares assert that your future achievements will be less than his, Ding Zhaodong’s? So there’s nothing to be overly modest about.”
“I’ll greet him first; as for the specific interview, you’ll have to handle yourself. If someone else outperforms you, you can only blame yourself!”
Zhang Yuan nodded with a smile, “Okay, then I’ll trouble Professor Wang.”
He turned off the video, walked out of the main door, and deeply inhaled the fresh air.
Looking up, he saw the group leader Wang Xin hurrying over.
“How did the test go? Judging by the expressions on everyone else’s faces, it’s unlikely anyone did better than you… so, here’s a little gift for you.”
A 2% acceptance rate meant that it was perfectly normal for all the others to have failed to secure a spot.
Zhang Yuan had thought Wang Xin was just talking casually when he handed over the pen, but on closer inspection, it was gold-plated. He handed it back, “Brother Wang, this gift is too valuable, I can’t accept it.”
“Valuable? Once we’re on a spaceship, do you think gold is still currency? It’s just a small memento,” Wang Xin said with a laugh, “So, what place did you come in? Tell me!”
“Third, with two formidable figures above me.”
“You don’t have to be so downhearted. As long as you hit the cut-off score, you can still make a comeback in the interview,” Wang Xin said, nodding to himself.
“Wait, third?”
After a while, when Wang Xin finally caught on, he sucked in a breath of cold air. Space Mechanics was a major subject with many applicants.
Securing the third place was no easy feat!
He quickly shifted his tone, “Little brother, you’ve got a bright future ahead. I’ve got a secret tome here that, once mastered, can slaughter a multitude of difficult problems—’P-adic Teichmüller Theory,’ authored by Wangyue Xinyi, and it’s a paper copy. Do you want to buy it? Just for five hundred New Coins, I’ll sell it to you.”
A bunch of question marks popped up in Zhang Yuan’s head. Why did Brother Wang have such a book, and why a paperback at that? Everyone was limited in what they could bring, and here he was wasting it.
“It’s for arguing with…” Perceiving his confusion, Wang Xin whispered conspiratorially, “Whenever my wife tries to look down on me with her high education, I just pick up this book and spit out some terms…”
“As long as I mention things like ‘Far Abel Geometry,’ ‘Grothendieck-universe,’ ‘perfectoid spaces,’ she shuts right up.”
Zhang Yuan was momentarily speechless.
So, that was another way to use it.
The 500 New Coin paper book wasn’t expensive since Earth Era no longer produced such items, but his current level in Mathematics might not be up to digesting its content.
“Buy, buy, buy, it’s not about the money! Just 500 bucks.”
The two made their way to the canteen where the other six members of their group were already waiting. When they heard he ranked third, they all looked on with envy.
“Ah, Zhang Yuan, you’ve been accepted for postgraduate study, you can finally escape your life as a janitor. The rest of us are doomed to another year of sweeping floors before going into hibernation,” one of the companions said.
Wang Xin chimed in, “Sweeping is also a job, just as doing research and management is. Is there really any difference in value? Although sweeping isn’t important and can be left to robots, still…”
He trailed off, unable to conclude his thought.
The overall mood wasn’t great. Many of the students had worked hard for a long time, only to find out in the end that their chosen path was a dead-end. Life’s disappointments were many, and switching environments didn’t promise any change.
“Alright, today, I’m treating. Everyone can eat whatever they want!” Zhang Yuan quickly tried to lighten the mood.
“What can we even eat in a place like this?” muttered Wang Xin with a wry smile.
As they spent a long while choosing dishes, nothing particularly appetizing was available. The vegetables were decent, but the meat dishes were all synthetic. Plus, to reduce kitchen pollution, the robots mainly used steaming and boiling as cooking methods, with no frying or sautéing, which meant the dishes lacked flavor and even the usual smells of cooking oil.
“Now that we have 3D organ printing, why don’t we clone some chicken legs to eat?” One of the girls threw care aside regarding her exam performance and tried to crack a smile.
“3D organ printing? A single chicken leg at the cost of one hundred thousand? I could only afford one leg with all my fortune,” Zhang Yuan joked. “Jing Xuan, if you ever sneak into a Biological lab, you could steal a few for us to try.”
“Formaldehyde-soaked ones you want?!” The girl named Jing laughed.
“How could that be? Biological organs are cultivated in sterile rooms, the purest of the pure!”
“Ah, I miss the chicken legs my mother used to cook!”
“Is that why you want to become a Biologist?”
Everyone burst into laughter.
