When Alexei finished, the chalk dust settling on his shoes, the room was silent. Zhukov leaned forward, examined the third step—the tricky one—and finally nodded.

"Correct," the Professor grunted. "Most students find that shortcut in the old underground manuals. But you... you actually understood why the shortcut works. Well done."

It was Elena, the girl from the third row who always seemed to finish her lab reports before the Bunsen burners had even cooled. She slid a weathered, hand-stitched notebook across the library table. On the cover, in faded ink, it read: Reshebnik (Solution Manual).

A week later, standing before Professor Zhukov himself, Alexei was asked to replicate that very synthesis on the chalkboard. The professor watched through thick spectacles, his face a mask of stern indifference.