Academic System: I'm One Month Ahead of the Whole World

With his PhD almost complete, Li Hao finds himself stuck with a "great advisor" who has no funding, offers no guidance, and thinks of him first whenever there's work to be done.

By day, he picks up packages and revises grant proposals for his advisor. At night, he heads back to his dorm to play games and slack off.

Then one early morning, a strange page suddenly pops up on his computer:

[Welcome to the Academic System.]

[Congratulations on obtaining the one-of-a-kind academic talent: I Can See Next Month's Papers.]

While everyone else is still guessing which research field will take off, Li Hao has already read next month's Nature.

While others debate a mechanism for three years, he knows who's right a month in advance.

Others spend two years running experiments, only to discover that they chose the wrong direction. Li Hao takes one look at the future literature and quietly changes course.

At first, all Li Hao wants is to use this ability to graduate smoothly.

Later, he realizes that...

In the world of research, being a little smarter than everyone else isn't that frightening.

What's truly frightening is always knowing the answer a month before the rest of the world.

Years later, a reporter asks Li Hao, now at the pinnacle of academia:

"Professor Li, many people say you have a research vision ahead of your time. What's your secret?"

Li Hao falls silent for a moment.

"Maybe... I read the papers a little earlier than everyone else."