"The discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation is the greatest achievement in astronomy in recent years, and it is also strong evidence for the Big Bang theory. The current mainstream academic view is that this is the ashes and afterglow left over from the Big Bang era."
"This microwave radiation is uniformly distributed throughout space, like the background curtain of the entire universe."
"It's like on Earth, every space is filled with air."
On the podium.
Ye Zhetai's voice was mellow and gentle, very infectious.
More than thirty students sitting below were listening attentively.
Only Yang Xuebin's eyes were blank.
He quickly glanced around the classroom; the dilapidated doors and windows seemed to be old, and the walls were covered with various propaganda slogans characteristic of the era:
'Study hard, devote yourself to construction.'
'The proletariat can only liberate itself by liberating all mankind.'
'Raise vigilance, defend the motherland.'
'All imperialists are paper tigers.'… In Yang Xuebin's mind, countless memory images suddenly emerged.
These were all the memories of this life.
He wasn't simply a consciousness possessing a body, but rather had undergone reincarnation, yet encountered the mystery of the fetal Tibetan (womb concealment), and only now had he awakened his memories of the real world.
Although the memories of the real world had only just awakened, fortunately, the talent of 'Hard work pays off' was innate.
With this talent, he was admitted to the Physics Department of Qinghua University at the age of sixteen with excellent grades.
He was now a senior.
On the podium, Ye Zhetai did not notice Yang Xuebin daydreaming; he continued to lecture loudly: "Regarding the discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation, there's an interesting anecdote."
"The year before last, in 1964, American scientists Penzias and R. W. Wilson used a highly sensitive horn-shaped receiving antenna system to measure the radio intensity of galactic halo gas.
To reduce noise, they even cleaned bird droppings off the antenna.
But there was still an unavoidable centimeter-wave background noise.
After continuous testing, they discovered that this centimeter-wave background noise was ubiquitous throughout space.
At a wavelength of 7.35 cm, there was always an isotropic signal present.
This signal had neither diurnal nor seasonal variations, so it could be determined to be unrelated to the Earth's revolution and rotation.
After research, they finally determined that this was a microwave radiation distributed throughout the entire universe, and it was also very likely the residual heat from the Big Bang."
After a long while, Yang Xuebin finally integrated the memories of this life, and his eyes regained their brightness.
He looked at Ye Zhetai on the podium, sighing in his heart.
Who could have imagined that Ye Zhetai, a professor in the Physics Department of Qinghua University and highly respected in the global physics community, would suffer that calamity and be beaten to death with a belt?
Ye Wenjie also witnessed her father's tragic death, which ultimately planted the seeds of hatred and despair in her heart.
This led her to secretly contact the Trisolaran Civilization at Red Coast Base, exposing Earth's location.
She had despaired of human society, and therefore hoped that a higher civilization with higher morals could transform humanity.
It can be said that Ye Zhetai was the catalyst for The Three-Body Problem's plot.
Although his appearance was brief, his impact was immense, setting the tragic tone for the entire Earth's Past and even The Three-Body Problem trilogy.
"Ding!"
A cold, mechanical voice sounded in his mind:
"System panel update complete."
"Now releasing system missions:
Main mission: Survive until the universe restarts
Side mission 1: Save Ye Zhetai.
Side mission 2: Become a Wallfacer.
Side mission 3: Save Earth.
Please see the system panel for details. This system will then enter a dormant state. Have a pleasant journey!"
"Thank your whole family, System!"
Yang Xuebin cursed silently.
It actually sent him to this ghost place, the Trisolaris.
The Trisolaris was too dangerous.
First, it was conquered by the Trisolaran Civilization, and all global inhabitants became 'planet slaves,' with countless people dying tragically; then, it was subjected to a dimensionality reduction attack by the Singer Civilization using a two-dimensional foil, turning the sun along with it into a painting.
However, since he was here, he could only make the best of it.
Anyway, the worst outcome would just be like having a dream, and there was no punishment.
He decided to first see what the so-called system panel update looked like.
Name: Yang Xuebin.
Talent: Hard work pays off.
Basic Sciences:
Informatics: LV5 (12000 / 15000).
Mathematics: LV4 (9600 / 10000)
Physics: LV4 (9850 / 10000)
Chemistry: LV3 (1990 / 5000)
Biology: LV3 (1980 / 5000)
Skills:
Fishing: LV3 (3600 / 5000)
Billiards: LV1 (89 / 100)
...System Missions: 1 (omitted), 2 (omitted), 3 (omitted), 4 (omitted).
"Oh, my real-world skills are also displayed!"
According to the system's classification, the levels of each subject were: elementary school knowledge LV1, high school LV2, undergraduate LV3, master's LV4, doctorate LV5, elite scientist LV6, academician LV7.
Each subject had a progress bar, which was set up in conjunction with 'Hard work pays off.'
As long as he was diligent, he could continuously gain experience and level up.
In the real world, he had earned a computer science doctorate, and computer science belonged to informatics, so his level was LV5.
Although LV5, in terms of actual computer proficiency.
He considered himself second, and no one dared to claim first.
There was no other way; computers in this world had only recently started to develop.
What he had learned was sixty years ahead of this world.
Logically speaking, he was currently a senior, so his mathematics and physics should both be LV3, but in reality, due to his 'Hard work pays off' talent, he was extremely diligent, usually spending most of his time in the library, reading various books.
Therefore, his true level was already close to a graduate student's completion.
This was reflected in his grades, as he consistently ranked first in his year, making him an absolute academic ace at Qinghua University.
As for skill levels, they were: beginner LV1, proficient LV2, professional LV3, master LV4, grandmaster LV5.
Currently, Grandmaster LV5 was the highest, reaching the limit in a certain field.
His real-world self really liked billiards and thought his skills were pretty good; he even won third place in a departmental billiards competition during university, but he didn't expect it to only be at the beginner level.
As for fishing, that was something from this life.
In his memories, there were too many siblings in his family, a total of eight.
If he didn't have this fishing skill, bringing in some catch every day, his family would probably have starved to death.
As for skills, LV3 was already very good, belonging to the professional level.
After reviewing the subject and skill levels, Yang Xuebin began to consider how to complete the system missions.
Although The Trisolaris was dangerous, he couldn't just give up.
He had to give his all no matter what.
Among the four system missions, one was the main mission, which had to be completed no matter what.
As for the side missions, it would be best if they could also be completed.
The main mission was still too far away, so he could temporarily not consider it.
As for the three side missions,
Mission 2 and Mission 3 were also too far away, so he could temporarily not consider them.
He knew the 'dark forest' cosmic law anyway; as long as he showed even a slight possibility of being able to deduce this law, the Trisolarans would help him become a Wallfacer.
What lay before him, and was most urgent, was how to save Ye Zhetai.
According to the plotline, Ye Zhetai would be implicated first in August this year, and it was already June now. Holidays would start in mid-July, and he would also begin his work.
Once he left school, he would be powerless.
"Yang Xuebin, Yang Xuebin!"
Just as Yang Xuebin was racking his brains on how to save Ye Zhetai, he felt someone push his shoulder a few times and immediately came back to his senses, only to realize that everyone in the classroom was looking at him.
Including Ye Zhetai.
"The teacher asked you a question!"
The classmate next to him whispered a reminder.
A look of embarrassment flashed across Yang Xuebin's face. He stood up and said, "I'm sorry, Professor, I was so absorbed in a problem that I didn't hear your question. Could you please repeat it?"
Ye Zhetai was a man of great demeanor and scholarly air; he was not angry that Yang Xuebin had zoned out, but rather asked with interest, "My question isn't urgent. Could you tell me what problem you were thinking about?"
In a moment of urgency, Yang Xuebin blurted out, "The navigation problem for interstellar travel."
"The navigation problem for interstellar travel?"
Not only the entire class, but even Ye Zhetai was a bit confused.
This question seemed a bit too far-fetched.
One must know that ten years ago, the Soviet Union had only launched its first artificial satellite, and our country hadn't even launched a satellite. To be thinking about the navigation problem for interstellar travel now, wasn't that too far ahead of its time?
**