northernbook Chapter 2 Initial Test of the Technology Tree
Chapter 2 Initial Test of the Technology Tree
Zuo Cheng barely slept all night.
It wasn't excitement, but rather the sheer clarity of the technology tree floating in my consciousness. I could see it slowly rotating with my eyes closed, its dark gray leaves densely covering the branches, like a star map waiting to be illuminated.
At four in the morning, a new notification finally popped up on the screen.
The first task has been generated.
[Task Name: Fundamentals Breakthrough - Signal Processing]
[Task Description: Independently derive three optimization paths for the Discrete Fourier Transform within 72 hours and write an analysis report of no less than 3000 words.]
[Mission Reward: Unlock the "Basic Signal Processing" blade, +2 points]
[Mission Failure: No penalty, mission disappears]
Zuo Cheng raised an eyebrow as he looked at the mission details.
The Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) is fundamental to signal processing. In his previous life, he only half-understood this subject and barely passed the exam. But now, with over a decade of life experience, his comprehension is on a completely different level compared to when he was in university.
Moreover, the task specifies "independent derivation," not "invention," so the difficulty is manageable.
"Damn it." Zuo Cheng sat up, fumbled for a notebook and pen in the dark, and started writing by the light from his phone screen.
Zhang Lei, who was on the upper bunk, turned over, muttered "In the middle of the night...", and then started snoring again.
At seven in the morning, Zuo Cheng had already developed two optimized paths. The third one was stuck; it lacked a crucial mathematical tool. He closed his notebook, rubbed his sore eyes, and decided to go to the library to look up information.
As he left the dormitory building, the morning light had just begun to bathe the campus. He hurried across the sycamore-lined path and encountered an unexpected person at the library entrance.
Zhao Kai.
They were in the same college but different dormitories. His family owned an electronics factory in Shenzhen. He had above-average grades and was quick-witted. In his previous life, Zuo Cheng didn't have much interaction with him, but he had heard Zuo Cheng make sarcastic remarks about others in the college quite often.
Zhao Kai was leaning against a library pillar, talking on the phone so loudly it could be heard halfway down the street: "...Let me tell you, those guys in room 402 did it too, it's hilarious! Putting patches on their heads for five thousand yuan, what's the difference between that and selling their brains? They're so poor, they have no choice..."
Zuo Cheng paused for a moment.
Zhao Kai had obviously seen him too. After hanging up the phone, he grinned and came over: "Hey, Cheng-ge, so early? Did the X-ray make your brain smarter? Want to come to the library to read a few more books?"
Zuo Cheng glanced at him and said expressionlessly, "Excuse me."
Zhao Kai stepped aside, adding, "Don't push yourself too hard, Cheng-ge. With your foundation, you can't compete with those who got into graduate school through the guaranteed admission program."
Zuo Cheng ignored him and walked straight into the library.
This kind of person isn't worth wasting your emotions on. But hearing "so poor" really hurts. He endured too many such words in his past life, and he won't endure them again in this one—but he also won't win with words.
He found a seat by the window, opened "Advanced Mathematical Analysis," and focused on the matrix factorization method needed for the third path.
Just then, the technological radar lit up in my mind.
[Tech Radar Alert: Scanning technology detected within a 10-meter radius]
[Target: Unknown Person A]
[Mastering Technology: Advanced Numerical Analysis - Fast Matrix Decomposition Method (Proficient Level)]
[Copying costs: 1 points]
Zuo Cheng's pupils contracted slightly, and he raised his head without making a sound.
There were only three people within a ten-meter radius—a boy wearing headphones and scrolling through his phone, a girl sleeping on the table, and a girl sitting diagonally opposite with a pile of academic papers spread out in front of her.
The girl, with her hair in a simple ponytail and wearing a white sweatshirt, was intently highlighting key points on her paper with a highlighter. Among the materials spread out in front of her, Zuo Cheng caught sight of several top journals in the field of numerical analysis.
is her.
But he currently has 0 points, so he can't copy it.
Zuo Cheng withdrew his gaze, quickly calculating in his mind: The system said the first mission would reward 2 points, and only after completing the mission would he have the resources to use the technology radar. His immediate priority was to figure out the third path on his own.
He buried himself in the derivation of matrix factorization, writing for three hours straight. He got stuck twice, but each time he changed his approach and started again. His decades of work experience in his previous life had taught him one thing—most difficult problems aren't truly difficult; it's just that you haven't found the right angle to break them down.
At noon, he finished writing the complete derivation of the third optimization path. Although the process was a bit rougher than the first two, the logical chain was complete and the conclusion was sound.
The light screen flashed in my consciousness.
[Task Progress: 3/3 Optimization path completed. Please complete the analysis report within the remaining time to claim your reward.]
In the afternoon, Zuo Cheng returned to his dorm and started typing a report on Chen Hao's laptop. He wasn't a fast typist, but his thoughts were clear; once the framework was established, the content flowed in like water. Chen Hao leaned over for a look, adjusted his glasses, and asked, "What are you doing? DFT optimization paths? Isn't that something only graduate students deal with?"
"I want my graduation thesis to lean towards this direction," Zuo Cheng replied casually, his hands still busy.
Chen Hao said "Oh" and walked away thoughtfully.
At 6 PM, the 3,200-word analysis report was completed. Zuo Cheng mentally clicked submit.
The light screen suddenly lit up.
[Mission Complete!]
[Rewards are being distributed]
【Unlocking the Blades: Basic Signal Processing✓】
[Points +2 (Current Points: 2)]
The bottommost leaf of the technology tree suddenly turned from dark gray to emerald green, and a small ball of light spread from its surface, extending a few centimeters upward along the branch before dissipating. At the same time, a warm flow of information surged into Zuo Cheng's brain—the fundamental theories of signal processing were seamlessly integrated into his knowledge system like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, not through rote memorization, but through genuine "understanding."
He closed his eyes and felt it for a few seconds, then let out a long breath.
Two points earned.
He glanced at the "Points Redemption" panel. Two points could be exchanged for 20,000 Chinese Yuan, but the exchange was irreversible—once spent, it was gone. He currently had over 5,000 Yuan in his account, enough to keep him from starving in the short term. Keeping those two points was far more valuable than 20,000 Yuan in cash.
The next morning, Zuo Cheng went to the library again.
The technology radar lit up again—the girl with the ponytail was in the same spot again.
[Target: Unknown Person A]
[Mastering Technology: Advanced Numerical Analysis - Fast Matrix Decomposition Method (Proficient Level)]
[Copying costs: 1 points]
Zuo Cheng hesitated for three seconds, then mentally clicked "copy".
As one integral disappeared, a new stream of information flooded his mind. The entire essence of the matrix decomposition method—its various variations, applicable scenarios, and optimization techniques—instantly became his own. It was as if he had spent two or three years specifically researching this area.
[Copy successful! Tech Radar enters 72-hour cooling phase.]
Current points: 1
Zuo Cheng took a minute to digest this new knowledge, his fingers unconsciously tapping lightly on the table.
Impressive. If this matrix factorization method were used in his third optimization path yesterday, it could simplify the derivation process by one-third and make the conclusion more rigorous.
He opened his notebook and began rewriting the third path using his newly acquired method. His pen flew across the paper, his thoughts flowing incredibly smoothly.
Halfway through writing, a clear voice came from across the table: "Hey, are you also studying matrix factorization?"
Zuo Cheng looked up. The girl with the ponytail was watching his derivation process spread out on the table, her eyes filled with obvious curiosity and a hint of surprise.
Up close, this girl is indeed strikingly beautiful—her features are delicate but not ostentatious, her eyes are bright, and she's the kind of girl who looks good at first glance and even better at second glance.
"Yes, I'm doing DFT optimization related analysis." Zuo Cheng turned the laptop to a different angle so she could see it more clearly.
The girl glanced at it a few times, her eyebrows slightly raised: "Your approach to the third path is quite unique... Using homogeneous decomposition to simplify the processing of asymmetric matrices, I've never seen anyone write it like this before."
"Experimental approaches are not necessarily correct."
"No, it makes logical sense," she said seriously. "And if it were true, the computational workload could be reduced by at least forty percent. Which research group are you in?"
"I haven't joined a research group yet; I'm a senior undergraduate."
She was visibly taken aback. "A senior undergraduate?"
Zuo Cheng smiled but didn't say anything.
"My name is Yu Ying, a first-year graduate student in the School of Telecommunications Engineering, in Professor Lin Zhiyuan's research group." She extended her hand. "Your idea is very interesting. Could we exchange contact information? I'd like to discuss it in detail sometime."
Yu Ying.
The name stirred a ripple in Zuo Cheng's mind. In his previous life, Yu Ying was the undisputed campus belle of Huaxia University and an academic star in the School of Telecommunications. Later, she apparently went abroad to pursue her doctorate. He and she had no connection in his previous life.
"Zuo Cheng, a senior majoring in Electronic Engineering." He reached out and shook her hand, then took out his phone to add her as a contact.
Zuo Cheng was in a good mood when he came out of the library.
It wasn't just because he had struck up a conversation with Yu Ying—although that was indeed an unexpected bonus—but more importantly, he now possessed two things: a highly complete DFT optimization analysis and a newly acquired matrix factorization capability.
These two things combined were enough to make his graduation thesis stand out from all his peers by a large margin.
He was planning his next move when his phone rang. Zhang Lei had sent a message:
"Brother Cheng! Someone posted a help request on the campus forum. They said a signal processing dataset in their research project isn't running, and they're offering a 2,000 yuan reward for help! Aren't you working on something like this lately? Want to take it on?"
Zuo Cheng clicked on the link and glanced at the post details, a slight smile playing on his lips.
Two thousand yuan is a small amount of money, but it's a start.
He replied to Zhang Lei with three words: "I'll answer, let's talk."
The light screen flickered silently in my consciousness.
[Host detected attempting to establish monetization channels for technology; new task being generated...]
Zuo Cheng quickened his pace as he looked at the words.
In his previous life, it took him ten years to understand a principle: having skills is not valuable; what is valuable is being able to turn skills into money.
He doesn't plan to wait another ten years in this lifetime.