In other words, simply staying in the library and idling in the most literal sense—even if you complete the task—will only earn you a single lottery chance.

A true top student would never just idle away in the library!

Thinking of this, William Carter swallowed.

But there was still something he didn’t understand: why did the system assign a lower value coefficient to some books by big names in mathematics, while beginner textbooks had an absurdly high value coefficient?

Especially that “Foundations of Modern Analysis” by Dieudonné, which their advanced algebra professor praised to the skies and strongly recommended as a masterpiece by a renowned scholar. However, for them, it was still quite difficult to fully grasp; at the very least, you needed a foundation in real analysis and functional analysis to understand it.

At that moment, he suddenly remembered his own attribute panel—his mathematics level seemed to be LV0—and a look of realization appeared on his face.

So that’s how it is!

Could it be that this so-called value coefficient is determined by your current level of knowledge?

Value is inherently two-sided. Take the Riemann Hypothesis, for example. In the academic world, the Riemann Hypothesis is of profound significance; thousands of mathematical formulas are built on the assumption that it holds true, so its value is naturally immeasurable. However, for William Carter himself, even understanding the Riemann Hypothesis is quite difficult, and it wouldn’t help his studies at all—so for him, its value is zero.

Having figured this out, William Carter no longer hesitated and took “New Lectures on Mathematical Analysis, Zhang Zhusheng Edition” from the shelf.

Coincidentally, the Mathematical Analysis II exam was in two weeks, and there were still some difficult points he only half understood. He might as well use this as a review.

Finding a seat nearby, William Carter sat down with the book and started reading.

To be honest, he wasn’t particularly fond of delving into mathematics, but this book was surprisingly readable.

Maybe it was the effect of the system, but gradually, William Carter felt himself entering a state of deep focus. It was as if he had completely forgotten the outside world—there was only him and the book, and nothing else existed.

Time ticked by, and as the number of people in the library dwindled, William Carter remained completely unaware, still utterly absorbed in the sea of books.

It wasn’t until someone tapped him on the shoulder that he snapped out of his “selfless” state.

“Student, it’s ten o’clock. The library is closing,” said the library attendant.

Coming back to his senses, William Carter hurriedly stood up and slipped a bookmark into the book. “Ah, sorry, I lost track of time. I’ll pack up right away.”

“It’s fine. I’ve worked here for so many years, and this is the first time I’ve seen a student so engrossed in a math book,” the library attendant said with a sigh.

“Can I still borrow books now? I’d like to take this one home.” Still immersed in the earlier reading experience, William Carter felt a lingering sense of enjoyment.

He had never been so fascinated by any math problem before.

It was as if what he’d been reading wasn’t a reference book, but a novel—a novel chronicling the life of a certain number.

Maybe it was because the student was so polite, but the library attendant didn’t mind the trouble and said heartily, “No problem, if you want to read it, just borrow it. The computer’s still on. I’ll help you check it out. Do you have your library card?”

William Carter replied sincerely, “Yes, I have it… Thank you so much!”

“No need to thank me!”

Stuffing the borrowed reference book into his backpack, William Carter quickly left the library.

The moment he passed through the holographic panel, the task timer paused.

But William Carter’s attention wasn’t on that at all. He didn’t want to waste even a second—he just wanted to get back to that magical reading experience as soon as possible.

When he returned to the dorm, his two other roommates were already back, playing League of Legends.

Hearing the door open, Thomas Hill, who was in the middle of a team fight, anxiously mashed his ultimate and shouted without turning his head, “Elbow, wanna play?”

The word “play” was drawn out in an exaggerated way—it was their dorm’s code for summoning everyone to Summoner’s Rift.

“I’ve got something to do, so I’ll skip today. You guys go ahead.”

After finishing a team fight and pushing up to the enemy’s high ground, Eric Grant finally had a moment to spare. He glanced back and saw William Carter taking a reference book out of his backpack and sitting down to read. He immediately shouted, “Damn, Elbow, since when did you become such a study freak?”

Hearing that William Carter was reading, David Foster stopped working on his problems and kept glancing over at William Carter’s desk.

William Carter smiled, thinking it would be too much trouble to explain, so he just made up a reason: “The exams are coming up, and there are a lot of things I don’t know. If I don’t review now, it’ll be too late. After the exams, I’ll play with you guys as much as you want.”

“What’s the point of studying so hard? Just pass and you’re good!” Thomas Hill frantically clicked his mouse, attacking the enemy’s turret at the crystal gate.

He’d said the same thing last semester, but if William Carter remembered correctly, his Advanced Math I score was 89, just one point lower than the dorm’s top student, David Foster.

Everyone works hard where others can’t see.

William Carter smiled again, said nothing, turned to the bookmarked page, and focused on his book.

Ten seconds passed.