Chapter 32: Terrifying Effect

Inside the classroom, the chemistry teacher was on the podium, speaking with great passion.

"Dry ice is not ice, soda ash is not alkali—who else knows similar examples!"

"Teacher, hot dogs are not dogs!"

"Wu Yue, go stand outside. Don't ask why!"

Meanwhile, Zhai Da sat at his desk, holding that exquisite, vintage fountain pen in both hands.

On its system information, the two statuses—"Owned (Temporary)" and "Activated (Temporary)"—were exceptionally eye-catching.

He had originally just wanted to test if "borrowing" could activate equipment, and to his surprise, it really worked.

Zhai Da suddenly thought of [Equipment Synthesis], which he had never successfully performed. He closed his eyes, opened the system, and tentatively dragged [Literary Girl's Pen] from the list into the synthesis interface.

"Operation failed. Items for which permanent, full ownership has not been obtained cannot participate in synthesis."

Hmm... not unexpected. There aren't that many loopholes to exploit.

Let's get to the main point then.

He wanted to test the effects of this [Literary Girl's Pen]!

After a moment of thought, he opened his English textbook.

If there was any subject that purely tested memory, it was English.

If one could memorize the 3,500 words within the designated scope, the score would basically not be lower than 90 (out of 120). If one could memorize another 500 or so phrases and idioms, and master the grammar, one could even aim for higher levels.

Zhai Da flipped to a random lesson with about 30 required words. Ignoring the teacher on the podium, he took out the "blue-black ink" given by Lu Siwen—this stuff wasn't easy to buy anymore.

Then, he began to copy them down earnestly.

"Equipment Effect: 1. If the written content is original to the author, emotion will be infused into it. 2. If the written content is not original to the author, memory will be deepened."

30 words weren't many; Zhai Da finished copying them quickly. To prevent the foolish mistake of "remembering the English but not the corresponding Chinese," he copied the Chinese definitions as well.

Afterward, he pondered for a moment, recalling...

He actually remembered seven or eight of them...

On any other day, this would clearly have been impossible.

Before copying, he had only recognized one, and that was just recognizing it; spelling it out with his eyes closed would have been a pipe dream.

But now, he could spell out seven or eight words he had encountered for the first time.

This... is a bit overpowered!

He had just copied them once without even using his brain!

Zhai Da pressed on, immediately copying them again.

By the second time, half of them were already memorized.

By the fourth time, he remembered 28 out of the 30 words; he still misspelled the two particularly long ones.

Zhai Da stared at his notebook, lost in thought.

Holy crap! This is so OP?!

Is this long-term memory or short-term memory?

No, even if it's short-term memory, repeated reinforcement can turn it into long-term memory. Just copy it a few more times and it's done.

He didn't know any geniuses, and there were certainly people in this world with superior memory, even stronger than someone using a cheat.

But he still felt that the effect provided by this [Literary Girl's Pen] could probably benefit him for a lifetime...

Provided he could keep owning it...

With the three pillars of Chinese, Math, and English, and simultaneously possessing his past-life accumulation, the Old Man's TV, and the Literary Girl's Pen, it seemed the dawn of victory was already visible for Chinese and English!

Math... progress was a bit slow...

But he had external help! He would find an opportunity to talk to Lu Wei about tutoring later; he could give that girl an extra egg!

Two extra eggs!

Zhai Da no longer hesitated and immediately began his great copying undertaking.

The incorrect study method of mindlessly copying English words had a huge effect under the blessing of the [Equipment]. Knowledge flowed into his mind like a stream, and was efficiently retained.

It was as if his brain was operating in sync with the tip of the pen; even his level of focus had increased.

For three consecutive major classes, he couldn't stop at all. He even had Wu Yue bring him a piece of bread for lunch to solve the meal.

His behavior naturally caught the attention of his desk mate, Yang Fan, after all, he looked like he was possessed.

However, Yang Fan scoffed inwardly, thinking, "Acting like that... copying words is useless."

It wasn't until the afternoon Chinese class that Ding Rong, holding yesterday's test papers, interrupted Zhai Da's frantic behavior.

Because she practically burst through the door, the wooden door hitting the wall with a "bang."

This head teacher walked in with an unprovoked air of authority, her face stern and quite serious.

It's hard to imagine a woman possessing both a "face that complains about heaven and earth" and a "husband worth tens of millions," but if she is also a senior year head teacher, everything becomes reasonable.

Ding Rong walked to the podium and said in a deep voice, "Yesterday's quiz, the overall results were very unsatisfactory!"

"I see many students still haven't grasped the situation! Look at the numbers behind you! How many days are left until the college entrance exam?"

"Wu Yue, stand outside! Don't ask me why!"

After killing a chicken to scare the monkeys, Ding Rong softened her mood slightly and said:

"The usual rule: I won't say who got the lowest score; they're already standing outside. I'll praise a few students who have made good progress in the first quiz after the second mock exam."

"Lin Shuyao, Chu Siqi, Shen You, Chu Xiang—especially Chu Xiang, who has made great progress."

The study committee member, Chu Xiang, was beaming, just short of standing up to give an acceptance speech.

Every teacher has their own management style, and the situation in every class is different.

Some schools don't do this in the senior year; teachers never publicly talk about who is good or bad, who has improved or regressed.

But Mao Fang Middle School can't do that, because if you don't stimulate them, these guys really won't study at all.

And everyone actually knows it clearly; those who don't study will never be stimulated.

Like the one standing outside the door.

Speaking of this, Ding Rong scrutinized the expression on Zhai Da's face below, wanting to see a hint of nervousness.

To this day, she still held some doubts about whether that essay was written by Zhai Da.

However, Zhai Da was very calm.

Ding Rong said, "Additionally, the highest score in this quiz was 130. I won't emphasize again how important Chinese is. If you could all reach this level, wouldn't you be at ease for the college entrance exam?"

Many people pricked up their ears.

130... that's very ordinary in a key class, but in Senior Class 8, where they do everything except study...

This is a terrestrial immortal!

Yet they heard Ding Rong say, "Zhai Da, you made great progress this time."

Zhai Da didn't humble himself either, nodding with satisfaction. 130... his recent efforts had paid off.

That was all.

But the class exploded.

"Did I hear that wrong?"

"What the hell? Zhai Da?"

"For real? Did Grandma Ding's eyes go blurry while grading?"

Even Wu Yue, who was being punished by standing outside, couldn't help but open the door and say, "Holy crap! For real?!"

"Wu Yue! Who allowed you to come in!"

Zhai Da endured the stares, thinking, "It's not that I'm awesome, it's that you guys are too trash!"

It's just 130 points, everyone. It's purely a basic operation! Your expressions are as exaggerated as if you'd seen the Nine Dragons pulling a coffin.

Perhaps what they were shocked by wasn't the 130 points, but that this score belonged to Zhai Da.

Seeing the commotion continue, Ding Rong shouted, "Quiet! Let me see who talks again!"

After the crowd calmed down, Ding Rong said:

"Zhai Da's essay was written very well. I and several other teachers reached a consensus and gave it 68 points. Some teachers even felt it could be given a perfect score. This is a very good model for everyone to learn from."

"Zhai Da, when we go over the essay later, come up and tell everyone your writing train of thought and the central theme."

Zhai Da: ...

What the hell?