Chapter 62: Chapter 59 The Real Easter Egg! (2nd update!!)
"Excuse me, could you repeat what you just said... something triangle?"
Hearing this, the two girls, who were already a bit surprised by the fallen books, were momentarily stunned and then looked up at Xu Yun.
The tall girl gave him a peculiar look and said:
"It’s just Yang Hui’s Triangle, what’s up with that, fellow student?"
The other girl, named Yueyue, was a bit more observant, and her gaze lingered for a moment on the student card Xu Yun was idly twirling in his hand – the graduate student card and undergraduate student card are different colors. Although it wasn’t clear if the guy in front of them was a master’s or a doctoral student, alumni at that academic level theoretically shouldn’t be unaware of Yang Hui’s Triangle.
So, subconsciously, the girl felt that this guy in front of her was probably just looking for an excuse to strike up a conversation.
This sort of situation is quite common in the library. Some shy ones might pass notes or use homework as an excuse to get close, while others might directly hit up for WeChat.
There are also some top-performing students who are pretty cool. These people are mostly grad students who secretly note the other’s reading materials and then apply to become a teaching assistant for that grade to get close.
Xu Yun actually knew such a top-tier person who published two Zone Two papers in his first-year doctorate and then went to become a teaching assistant for freshmen just to chase a junior female student.
However, tragically, on his first day as a teaching assistant, just as he stepped into the classroom, he saw the junior girl smiling brightly at him – sitting on her boyfriend’s lap, that is.
What a sad story...
However, since Ke Da has always been rigorous in its academics, none of the boys or girls have ever done anything too over-the-top, which could be considered a normal teenage crush.
Only if someone is really harassed too much would they contact a teaching assistant or counselor to intervene.
Therefore, the girl named Yueyue just gently tugged her companion’s clothing, suggesting not to engage too much; any science student who uses Yang Hui’s Triangle as an excuse is probably a bit off somewhere.
But Xu Yun didn’t care about any of this; his mind was entirely drawn to what the other said:
"Are you saying... internationally, it’s also called Yang Hui’s Triangle?"
"Yeah."
"What about Pascal?"
Hearing the word Pascal, the tall girl’s brow couldn’t help but furrow slightly – anyone who can mention Pascal shouldn’t be unfamiliar with Yang Hui’s Triangle, right?
However, out of basic respect for her fellow student, she patiently explained:
"Pascal’s Triangle is Yang Hui’s Triangle, but he published it much later, so now internationally, Yang Hui’s Triangle is the name that’s commonly used."
The girl’s voice was soft, with long, slender eyebrows that moved a bit as she spoke, like willow leaves swaying in the summer breeze.
But Xu Yun’s attention remained unwaveringly fixed on the content of what she said, and the more he listened, the wider his eyes grew.
Several seconds later, he snapped back to his senses and quickly thanked the two girls.
Then he turned and left.
The two girls looked at Xu Yun’s figure running faster than a Western journalist, exchanging a bewildered glance:
"?"
After a while, the shorter girl said with a strange expression:
"Ningning, there’s a saying that Ke Da has always had many odd people, today we might have actually seen one?"
The tall girl shrugged and took her companion’s hand:
"Relax, relax, let’s quickly find our books, it’ll be closing time soon."
The story continues on separate threads.
Just as the two girls continued searching for the books they needed, Xu Yun quickly reached a quiet table, pulled out his phone, and swiftly typed in the words ’Yang Hui’s Triangle’.
Soon, the webpage displayed the encyclopedia entry:
"Yang Hui’s Triangle, a geometric arrangement of binomial coefficients in a triangle, appeared in the book ’Detailed Explanations of the Nine Chapters on Mathematical Art’ by Southern Song mathematician Yang Hui in 1261. Later introduced to Europe in the mid-17th century by silk merchants and discovered by Newton at the Cambridge University History Museum in 1665, leading to multiple mathematical achievements."
"Pascal also discovered this pattern in 1654, but his discovery was officially published posthumously in 1666 by the Gaul Academy of Sciences in related papers. In his only autobiography, Newton explicitly mentioned that the appearance of Yang Hui’s Triangle predated Pascal’s Triangle, and after becoming president of the Royal Society of Great Britain, granted Yang Hui’s Triangle its official and sole name."
"At the 1992 Geneva International Mathematics Conference, this geometric arrangement was officially named Yang Hui’s Triangle, making it the only internationally recognized, locally exclusive theorem associated with a local personal name."
"As of now, only a few ancient-school mathematicians in Gaul still insist on calling it Pascal’s Triangle, but in international meetings and paper reports, Yang Hui’s Triangle is used as the formal term."
Next, Xu Yun searched for the set of keywords ’Yang Hui’s Triangle#Silk Merchant’ and found no detailed content mentioning this person, just referencing the term ’silk merchant.’
Staring at the search results displayed on his phone, Xu Yun’s shoulders suddenly relaxed, and he exhaled a complex breath.
According to the search results, the appearance of Yang Hui’s Triangle did not significantly affect established theorems or results; it simply replaced Pascal’s Triangle’s original role in European mathematics history.
It’s like changing 1 + 2 = 3 to 1 + two = 3, which is just a simple substitution that doesn’t alter the outcome.
Additionally, Xu Yun’s traces of existence were also erased, replaced by a mysterious silk merchant from the East, with Yang Hui’s Triangle’s discovery location changed from Woolsop to the Cambridge University History Museum.
No mention of Li Feiyu, no word of Han Li, and no one spoke of Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Sect.
Everything seemed so natural, history remained unchanged, but the theorem’s name was switched to Yang Hui’s Triangle.
An acknowledged Chinese name that didn’t require sharing with others.
Clearly.
Compared to the sneakers in Newton’s portrait, Yang Hui’s Triangle was the real reward easter egg!
Originally, Xu Yun’s intention was merely to hope that the light of wisdom from the Huaxia ancestors would not remain obscured in the timeline of the 1665 dungeon, but who could have thought that his action would affect the present?
Even if Xu Yun’s ’achievement’ remained unknown, he didn’t feel any regret.
This glory was rightfully earned by the ancestors, and he just did a tiny bit of work.
Xu Yun sat quietly for a long time, contemplating, while determination gradually filled his gaze.
He didn’t know if he would have another chance to change the past, nor did he know if he could again stumble upon such reward easter eggs, but there was one thing he was very clear about:
He now had the opportunity to push the wheel of the future.
Though that task system seemed a bit mysterious, its capabilities were beyond doubt.
Traversing time and space and changing history is no longer something that cutting-edge technology alone can achieve.
The reward for a so-called novice task was so tempting, let alone formal tasks or possible difficult tasks.
Of course.
The reward from completing the tasks needs to be realized through Xu Yun’s own effort, without sufficient knowledge reserves, no matter how good the rewards are, they’re like two-dimensional paper figures, visible but untouchable.
Xu Yun then took a deep breath, calming his mood, and stood up again.
Although the prospects of the mysterious halo were extraordinarily appealing, his immediate focus was not to fantasize about those impractical futures, but to do what he should be doing, which is...
To deduce the receptor binding mode of the sodium ion channel.
....