Staying indoors was, of course, impossible.
David intended to follow the lead on Yang Dong and investigate further, aiming to increase Earth's wartime capabilities as much as possible before the Trisolaran fleet arrived.
Zhao Xuan checked her watch and hurried away, while David slowly made his way upstairs.
He plucked a small advertisement stuck in the door crack, locked the rusted security door behind him, and sat at the coffee table in the living room. As the evening news on TV reported on "pilot micro-loan programs in rural cooperatives to address agricultural issues," David opened the box Shen Yufei had given him.
It was exactly as he expected.
The Three-Body model inside, along with a stack of documents dense with mathematical formulas, proved that the research Shen Yufei wanted him to participate in was indeed the mathematical study of the Three-Body Problem.
David picked up the materials and flipped through them. Although his current level of mathematics wasn't enough to fully grasp how far Shen Yufei's research into the problem had progressed, he could see that the researchers had employed several different methods to push the boundaries.
This is a test, David thought, setting the formulas down.
Reaching this conclusion wasn't difficult. The materials Shen Yufei provided utilized three main methods: the "Approximation Method" currently popular among researchers at French metrology institutes; the "Monte Carlo Method" commonly used in computer programming to hit irregular volumes with random particles for precise data; and finally, the "Differential Method" used by the 19th-century French physicist Henri Poincaré.
In reality, the first method was still under research, the second required massive computer assistance beyond human effort alone, and the last had already been proven by Poincaré himself to show that "the Three-Body Problem is unsolvable."
Simply put, using only the three solutions Shen Yufei provided made solving the Three-Body Problem an impossibility.
That left only one possibility.
Shen Yufei already had her own answers regarding these three methods. David's calculations were merely meant to prove his mathematical talent, allowing the ETO to screen for suitable candidates to join the core research.
David put the materials and the model back into the box, closed the lid, and shoved it under his bed to gather dust.
If it weren't for Shi Qiang's reward money, David might have tried to see if his psionic powers could help solve mathematical puzzles. But now, the rewards Shen Yufei offered were like "chicken ribs"—useless to eat, but a pity to throw away. He'd rather spend that time studying his own system panel.
With that thought, David opened the system.
Seeing that the [Remaining Warp Salvage Attempts] had returned to 1, David grew pensive. The emotional fluctuation caused by his act of saving people had been enough to complete one charge. Clearly, if the rewards and news reports increased his fame, his gains would be even greater.
The tattered golden boat looked slightly better than before; at least the holes in the deck were smaller. David suspected this was linked to the growth of his psionic power. Ever since awakening, he felt his power growing every moment—slowly, but progress was better than nothing.
He guessed the "Pity Psionics" from the gacha was meant to accelerate this accumulation.
However, David didn't plan on wasting his precious salvage attempts on the "pity" mechanic just yet. His current psionic level was enough for self-defense; he could use his enhanced attributes and precognition to take down any so-called "martial arts master." With a bit more strength, even small-caliber firearms wouldn't be a problem.
The issue was that David's current enemies were the Trisolarans, masters of interstellar travel, and the almost omnipresent Sophons. Even if he made his psionics incredibly strong, unless he reached a level where he could destroy the Trisolaran home world with a thought or crush their fleet with a wave of his hand, exposure would only invite a "Droplet" strike.
Still, salvage attempts could be stacked. This meant he could convert them all into Warp energy later for a sudden burst in power.
New goal: save up ten attempts and push psionics to Grade 2, David decided.
The golden boat sailed from the port at David's command. He tried to make it go further this time, but as before, the rickety vessel wobbled a few steps before "surrendering" like a useless husband, dropping its net as if it had exhausted all its strength.
Learning from the last time, David didn't bother trying to direct this "Artificial Idiocy" and left everything to fate.
Predictably, three white lights appeared before his eyes. However, a small blue fish swam lazily near the net, poking its head in curiously before being caught at high speed.
Three options appeared, but the middle "Technology" column was highlighted in blue:
[Warp Energy (1/10)]
[Abominable Intelligence (Fragmented)]
[Psionic Ability: Mutation]
.
.
.
.
Abominable Intelligence!
David perked up instantly. This was AI technology from the Dark Age of Technology—the Golden Age of Humanity. While it didn't look "scientific" at all, it was a true Artificial General Intelligence.
In the Warhammer timeline, the humans of the Golden Age were truly formidable. If not for the Warp storms and the Iron Rebellion, human rule over the galaxy would have lasted for tens of thousands of years more. The value of technology left behind by the masters of the galaxy was self-evident.
"I choose Abominable Intelligence," David said, suppressing his excitement.
"Please select an electronic product to light the Machine Spirit," the system prompted.
David froze. He looked around his cramped apartment. The only things that could even remotely be called electronic products, aside from his phone, was the electric rice cooker in the kitchen.
Should he buy a computer? But where would the money come from?
David thought for a moment, stood up, and opened the door. He picked up the dust-covered loan advertisement from the floor. He dialed the number on the paper.
"I want to... take out a loan," David said before the person on the other end could even speak. "We can negotiate the interest."
__________
Ainz Dictorionary :
Droplet - the Droplet is an advanced probe sent by the Trisolarans toward Earth. It appears as a small, perfectly smooth object but is made of an incredibly strong material and possesses overwhelming technological superiority. Despite its simple form, it is capable of destroying entire human space fleets effortlessly, demonstrating the vast gap between human and Trisolaran capabilities.