[Ernest Henry Shackleton]: Where is this? The whaling station on South Georgia Island? Or... heaven?
With the new member’s arrival, some of the group’s veterans also piped up.
[Isaac Newton]: Who’s this?
[Albert Einstein]: Shackleton? I think I’ve seen that name in the papers.
Just then, another heavyweight popped up.
His ID was [John von Neumann].
This was a true titan. Although he was a more recent addition to the group, his status was perhaps not much lower than Newton’s.
[John von Neumann]: Ernest Henry Shackleton? Since the captain of the "Endurance" is here, it’s highly likely that the big-bearded Mendeleev can be saved.
[James Prescott Joule]: Forgive my ignorance, but I’m not familiar with this gentleman either.
Seeing these titans idly chatting about this and that, Li Dong was getting incredibly anxious.
’The human periodic table is about to die of thirst, you guys!’
So he got straight to the point.
[Cramming for Senior Year]: Mr. Shackleton! Whether or not this is heaven isn’t important.
[Cramming for Senior Year]: There’s a member in this group, Mr. Mendeleev, who’s stranded on a deserted tropical island after a shipwreck. He’s severely dehydrated! He needs your expert guidance!
[Shackleton]: Mendeleev? The Russian who created the periodic table of elements?
[Shackleton]: God bless him! His chemical reagents and materials science have saved my expedition team countless times.
[Shackleton]: @Mendeleev, sir, please tell me, can you still move? Can you still bend your fingers?
[Mendeleev]: I can... but I feel terrible...
[Shackleton]: Being able to move is enough! Listen to me. I glanced at the document from our Senior Year friend. The principle is correct, but you don’t have the energy for distillation right now.
[Shackleton]: So, what you need to do now is crawl into the shade of the reef! Look for cone-shaped shellfish attached to the rocks. Take only the flesh, don’t touch the shells! Then, chew it up, hold it in your mouth, and let your saliva break it down completely before swallowing. Don’t waste a single bit of energy!
[Shackleton]: Also, don’t gulp. First, lick the unevaporated moisture from the shaded crevices in the rocks. After sunset, use cloth or grass to soak up the dew. That’s the only clean freshwater you can get.
What Shackleton said sounded simple, but it was knowledge he had gained through countless desperate situations.
For the next half hour, the only activity in the group was Shackleton’s occasional questions and Mendeleev’s intermittent replies.
[Mendeleev]: Damn it... this shellfish meat is worse than rubber... This is so unhygienic. It must contain a large amount of pathogenic bacteria...
[Shackleton]: Do you want to live, or do you want to be hygienic?
[Mendeleev]: ...I’ve swallowed it.
Slowly, in the group member list, Mendeleev’s avatar began to regain its color.
Li Dong let out a long sigh of relief.
’He should be saved!’
[Mendeleev]: Although my stomach still feels awful, I have indeed survived.
[Mendeleev]: @Ernest Henry Shackleton, thank you. Your voice is more beautiful than the Tsar’s decree of pardon.
[Shackleton]: Haha, you’re welcome, Mr. Mendeleev. I should be thanking you. I don’t know how many times I would have died without your chemical theories.
The two masters from different eras exchanging pleasantries in the group made Li Dong feel he was doing a decent job as the Group Leader.
So much so that he completely forgot how Mendeleev had gotten into danger in the first place.
Just as he was feeling smug...
[Mendeleev]: @Cramming for Senior Year, I must thank you as well. I will remember this life-saving favor.
As this message appeared, a red packet suddenly materialized on the screen.
[Mendeleev has sent an exclusive red packet]
Li Dong stared at the red packet, feeling a little conflicted.
’Sigh, I really don’t want this red packet...’
’I did it to save a life, not to cash in.’
’It’s a shame this damn system doesn’t have a decline function. It would be great if I could return it...’
Though he said this, his hand didn’t hesitate for a second as it tapped the screen.
[You have claimed Mendeleev’s gift]
[Acquired Passive Skill: Chemical Intuition (Basic Edition)]
[Description: This is a thank-you gift from the father of the periodic table.]
[From now on, you will be able to see the essence behind the phenomenon. Just as Mendeleev arranged the elements in his dream, you will instinctively perceive the flow of electron clouds and the breaking and reforming of chemical bonds—the architectural beauty of the microscopic world.]
As Li Dong claimed the red packet, he felt as if a thin membrane in his brain had been gently pierced.
He subconsciously glanced at the chemistry test on his desk, the one he’d scored an 88 on.
The organic chemistry deduction problems that had been giving him a headache now looked completely different.
Before, it was:
Eyes: "C8H10"
Brain: "Memorized formula—aromatic hydrocarbon."
But now, the carbon and hydrogen atoms automatically arranged themselves before his eyes. The large conjugated pi bond of the benzene ring spun, and the methyl groups on the side chain danced.
Why was a substitution reaction likely to occur at this position?
Because the electron cloud density was highest there.
"This... Is this Chemical Intuition?"
Li Dong muttered to himself.
Although he could get high scores through rote memorization, he only knew *what* worked, not *why*. A slight change in the problem type would leave him completely clueless.
But now, this commanding, top-down perspective made him feel it was time to take on university-level High Tier chemistry.
’This was a huge score!’
「After school that afternoon」
Since the semi-finals of the Huaxuan Cup were the next day, Li Dong needed to go to Rongcheng to compete. He asked Old Yang for a day off, packed his things, and went straight home.
Just as he reached his front door, Li Dong smelled the aroma of braised pork.
’Do we have guests?’
He took out his key and opened the door.
"Mom, I’m home."
In the living room, his mother, Li Qin, was coming out of the kitchen with a dish, and a middle-aged man was sitting on the sofa.
The man was wearing a leather jacket and puffing on a cigarette. On the floor by his feet were two woven bags filled with machine parts.
Hearing the door open, both of them paused in surprise.
"Xiaodong? Why are you back today? Aren’t you supposed to be at school?" Li Qin asked in surprise.
The man on the sofa also stubbed out his cigarette and stood up.
"Xiaodong’s back."
Li Dong looked at the man, his expression a bit complicated, but he still greeted him.
"Uncle."
This was his maternal uncle, Li Yang.
In the past, Li Dong hadn’t been very fond of this uncle.
Because in his childhood memories, his uncle was an impractical dreamer. He didn’t have much education but was always talking about striking it rich. One day he’d be peddling fruit, the next he’d be trying his hand at transportation, but nothing ever panned out. His mom often gave him money behind his dad’s back.
Until...
The year Li Dong’s father died in a bus accident, his family’s world collapsed.
Not only had they lost their pillar of support, but they also had to pay a huge sum in compensation to the other passengers on the bus.
Back then, their relatives and friends all avoided them.
Only this uncle, who usually seemed so unreliable, pulled out all the working capital from his small hardware factory, which was just starting to see some success, without a second thought.
He shoved a bank card into Li Qin’s hands.
"Sis, pay off the debts first. Don’t let people talk behind your back. If the money’s gone, I’ll just earn more!"
Because of this, his factory’s capital chain broke, his wife divorced him, and he went back to just drifting and getting by day to day.
"Hey, Xiaodong, you’ve gotten taller. You must be 1.8 meters now, huh?"
Li Yang smiled and patted Li Dong’s shoulder.
"Uncle, how’s your factory doing now?"
Li Dong asked as he changed his shoes.
Although the funding had been cut off, his uncle had scraped together enough money over the past two years to get the small factory running again, specializing in rough processing for larger factories.
At the mention of the factory, Li Yang sighed.
"It’s just a lot of fruitless work."
"We get orders, but the management is a mess."
"You know I only have a middle school education. There are thousands of different specifications for these parts, and I have to rely on my memory for all the inventory in and out. If I ship the wrong order, I have to pay for it."
"Just today, another shipment got returned. I’m worried sick."
Just then, Li Qin brought the food to the table and called out.
"Alright, let’s eat first. Don’t talk about such unhappy things."
"By the way, Xiaodong, you still haven’t said. Why did you come home instead of staying at the dorm today?"
Li Dong put down his schoolbag and said.
"I’m going to Rongcheng tomorrow."
"To Rongcheng? What for?"
"To participate in a physics competition."
"A physics competition?"
Li Qin asked, a little confused.
"That thing... does it give you bonus points on the college entrance exams?"
Li Dong: "..."

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