When I Woke Up, Everyone’s IQ Dropped by 1000

Jiangbei City, Lichun Residential Community.Late at night. Scattered lights still flickered in a few windows.In one room, Jiang Chen sat at his desk, once again flipping open the required textbook—High School Mathematics, Volume 3.Sine functions, cosine functions, plane vectors, trigonometric identity transformations...Reading it made him want to die.He knew this was useless. But right now, he had no other options.A week ago, Jiang Chen had been an ordinary—albeit somewhat strong—senior at Zhiyuan High School.Until that day after school, when he saw Zhang Ze, the school board chairman's son, cornering a female classmate he knew in an alley with a group of thugs.He had only planned to talk some sense into them. But the other side, emboldened by their numbers, threw the first punch.So he was forced to beat up those thugs.But then, for the first time, Jiang Chen found this society a bit disgusting.Within a day, the school administration had stepped in to "investigate." The surveillance footage from that alley was mysteriously corrupted.The next day, the school turned the tables, slapping a "premeditated provocation" label on him and expelling both him and that female classmate."After our investigation, it was Jiang Chen's jealousy of Zhang Ze's superior family background and academic performance that led him to deliberately provoke and commit violence. This is the result of the school's investigation."That day, in front of Jiang Chen and his father, Jiang Li, the principal's smile was visibly pleased.For the entire following week, to keep Jiang Chen's education on track, his father called every high school in the city.All of them refused.A friend of Jiang Li's quietly told him that someone had been pulling strings behind the scenes, warning the other schools. Jiang Chen didn't need to guess who that someone was.The only remaining hope was the most elite class in Jiangbei City—Linchuan High's Innovation Class.This class's admissions process was entirely public, so there was little chance of interference.The problem was, the Innovation Class's external admissions interview had no fixed questions. Even past exams couldn't be found.The official scope for the exam was described in a single sentence: *All relevant knowledge that can be learned at the high school level.*There was no way to prepare.But if even this didn't work out, Jiang Chen would have to leave the city.As the night deepened, Jiang Chen's eyelids grew heavy. The symbols in the math book started to blur.He simply closed the book, rolled onto his bed, and lay down.*"It's so hard. How do those geniuses' brains even work..."*Just before losing consciousness, Jiang Chen thought he heard something.*Zzz... zzz... Sim... plified... mode... zzz...*A crackling sound—like electrical interference—came from somewhere unknown, carrying fragmented words. It was gone as quickly as it came.---"The sun goes down, but tomorrow it still rises~""Flowers may wither, but next year they bloom the same~""Pretty little birds fly away without a trace~""My youth, like a bird, won't come back again~""My youth, like a bird, won't come back again~"A cheerful, melodic ringtone pulled Jiang Chen from his sleep.After a quick wash, Jiang Chen headed downstairs, hopped on his bike, and pedaled toward Linchuan High.Before long, he passed his usual breakfast shop. He braked and got off to buy something to eat."Boss, the usual." Jiang Chen said, reaching into his pocket.The owner, counting money, hesitated."Uh... what would you like, student?""Come on, boss, I come here every day. Don't you remember? Two meat buns and a cup of soy milk. That'll be five fifty."Jiang Chen smiled and casually placed his money on the counter.Hearing this, the owner's expression grew even stranger. His hand paused as he reached for the money."Young man, you must be mistaken. That's five yuan total.""No way. I've been buying from you for half a year. Look at the price board—it's always been—"Just then, Jiang Chen began to realize something might be wrong. He looked up at the price board—and froze.The price board now read: Buns—2 yuan each. Soy milk—1 yuan per cup.The owner was right.But just a couple of days ago, the soy milk had been one fifty.Had they changed the prices?No. The price board didn't look new. Even the stains in the corners were identical to before. And the numbers showed no signs of being altered.But how could that be?"Boss, I remember the soy milk was one fifty just yesterday," Jiang Chen said, frowning."Young man, you've got it wrong. Soy milk has always been one yuan. The prices at our shop are always whole numbers—otherwise, it's not convenient for calculating change."The owner explained, his own expression now questioning. "I remember you come here often. You should know that."Jiang Chen stared blankly at the price board, slightly dazed.*I definitely know that. But my 'definitely' and your 'definitely' don't seem to match.**And...**"Not convenient for calculating change"?**What kind of reason is that?*