Chapter 16

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Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 16

Chapter Title: The PC Bang from Back in the Day (2)

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The arXiv site from Cornell University in the US.

It's the place where the most papers in the world are uploaded and collected.

From what I heard back in my twenties, there were well over 500,000 papers posted by then.

Of course, it's not an official publishing site.

Papers go through automated review on the site and get pre-published by the authors themselves before formal publication.

So yeah, there are plenty of really solid papers.

But on the flip side, it's also packed with utterly bizarre, nonsensical ones.

"Stuff like how human perception quantum-mechanically influences reality and changes natural phenomena... or papers ranting about academy cities and firing railguns."

Still, no other place reflected the cutting-edge trends in academia quite like arXiv.

"First things first, I need to get a read on where research stands in 2008."

I had a rough idea of how things were progressing.

But for me, who'd regressed at 37, 2008 felt like ancient history—over 20 years back.

Now that I'd actually come back, it was smart to get a proper grasp on it all.

"Hmm, uh-huh... So single-photon entanglement experiments are just barely starting to emerge... It'll be a few more years before quantum teleportation experiments hit the scene... Huh? What's this? Never seen it before."

I caught up on papers I'd missed before.

It'd soften up my brain a bit, maybe even iron out some wrinkles.

And who knows—low odds, but bumping up my Intelligence stat wouldn't hurt.

As I skimmed abstracts from various papers, piecing together the trends...

"Oh."

One paper suddenly caught my eye.

It wasn't because it was some brand-new find I hadn't seen before.

"This one's from around now, huh?"

No, it was all too familiar.

Choi Yun-ho.

Currently a professor in the Physics Department at POSTECH.

In the future, PhD grads from his lab would go on to become professors at Korea University, KAIST, and tons of other ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠top physics departments in Korea.

One of them was my advisor during my KAIST grad school days.

My first master's paper had built directly on research from that lab.

"What was the title again? Something about weak measurements for Bell's non-locality tests..."

I vaguely remembered the gist.

But only the core ideas stuck.

The nitty-gritty calculations, experiment control codes? Those were spotty at best.

It had been 20 years, after all. Humans do forget.

"If only I could bring back all my old future files..."

Decades of research notes and study materials backed up across clouds and drives from my first life.

God, I craved them right now.

But even if I'd defied causality to come back...

I couldn't drag other future stuff with me.

"What can you do? I'm a middle schooler with time to kill. I'll just redo it all myself."

Reconstructing the future in the present might be...

The very first thing I needed to tackle as a regressed kid.

"And do all the stuff I couldn't back then."

Properly restudy math, snag at least a bronze at KMO.

Those were big regrets from adulthood—and I'd actually followed through after regressing.

But they were just the tip of the iceberg.

"This life, I'm definitely going to science high school. Seoul Science High."

Seoul Science High School.

The public science gifted school in Myeongnyun-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Rumor had it 70% of grads went to Seoul National University.

Korea's top prestige high school.

Tap tap tap.

I typed in "Googol" and the school's sacred name.

Click.

Hit enter.

Then mouse-clicked in.

There on the PC bang monitor: the path to the pinnacle.

In my first life, I'd toed the very start of that path once.

"If you're gonna pass me on the first round, at least let me through the second—or just smash me right out the gate."

Saying that, I still thought flunking was inevitable.

Compared to those geniuses there? I was nothing.

My Intelligence stat at 16 now?

Bronze at KMO middle school division?

Absolutely zilch.

Those kids didn't just dominate Korean Math Olympiad.

They scooped up bronzes, silvers, golds at International Math Olympiad like buffet plates.

Their Intelligence stats? Probably my square, not just double.

Sure, I had more knowledge.

But it was just dead memory.

No matter how stuffed the hard drive or SSD...

If the CPU's ancient, it's all for naught.

If my home PC was top-tier consumer-grade...

Theirs were supercomputers run by corps and countries.

"To them, some Korean uni prof is probably peanuts."

The KAIST professor spot I'd poured my life into?

Their reaction: "Oh, you worked hard."

They wouldn't touch anything short of Ivy League—MIT, Caltech, Harvard, Stanford, Yale.

No nine-figure salaries from Google or IBM? Ignored.

Hell, they'd just start their own companies.

Most came from rich families too—plenty inherited dad's business.

Of course, top-youngest passers of civil service exams, law school—you name it.

Seoul Med? They owned the top ranks, inherited hospitals.

Dig into hospital heirs? Mostly from there.

They lived in a different world.

From watching them sidelong at KAIST: "High school? Already AP'd all the college basics. Freshman year? Topping junior/senior majors. Sophomore on? Grad courses, still number one. Absolute monsters."

Graduated in three years flat.

Then military, study abroad.

Or special researcher service instead, then PhD/postdoc abroad on the golden road only the top 0.01% ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tread.

And the kicker:

These maniacs were the "bottom rung" at Seoul Sci High.

Grudgingly headed to KAIST.

Then vented by massacring the other lower science/gifted high kids who'd "studied hard" to get in—and the regular high school top dogs strutting as class valedictorians.

The slaughter didn't last.

1-2 years in, they were prepping to graduate.

By our grad prep? They were gone overseas.

We never even shared their ring.

I just deluded myself we were on the same level.

Truth? Not even comparable.

"Fine, I admit it. Never planned to compete with you anyway."

Status Window powers.

Regressed first-life knowledge.

No way I'd waste this massive cheat on "beating these geniuses."

"I'll give you all the stage you need to shine your genius."

Yeah.

I never aimed for Seoul Sci High to compete or win against them.

"You'll use those brilliant brains working for me."

With top treatment, of course.

Just as my "employees."

"Huh?"

"???"

I couldn't help but be baffled.

Classic PC bang quirk from back then.

Sometimes folks sneak onto weird English sites for porn.

And the counter can see what games or programs you're running.

I get it.

I totally get it, but...

Me? Tagged for that?

"Look, it's not that kind of site."

I ended up going to the counter myself, pulling up the site to clear it up.

"Oh, for real?"

Never worked PC bang, so I didn't know.

They could only see the program running.

Not the actual game screen—easy mix-up.

"Haha, my bad, sis didn't realize. Happens a lot."

"...Yeah, sure."

But still.

This looks like a porn site?

What kinda brain does it take to mistake a wholesome archive for smut?

I asked if she knew what "archive" meant.

"Sis thought it was some global porn collection hub."

Surprisingly, she knew English and got the word.

That's why the mix-up.

"...Kinda makes sense."

"Right?"

Awkward silence.

Well, just for me.

The counter sis was giggling like it was hilarious.

Ugh, uncomfortable.

She's definitely an in-crowder.

Girls playing Sudden Attack at PC bangs? Usually party girls.

Her aim was trash too—confirms it.

"Don't tell me you're tricking sis with fake sites?"

I just nodded vaguely and headed back.

No point dragging it out; I'd just get tired.

Back at my seat...

Flick!

Should show no time since it's pay-after, but suddenly charged up.

Counter message hit right then too.

My instincts were spot on.

This sis was top-tier super in-crowder.

Even considered a kid like me might be too embarrassed to return—hence the thoughtful bonus.

Made her even more infuriating.

Free time's free time—politely thanked her.

Then, thanks to her, that old-school site popped into my head. Sent it over.

Eh.

Who knows.