Just like the mathematics community was in an uproar because of Riemann's hypothesis, the Corinthia Hotel where the ICM conference was held was like a microcosm of the entire mathematics community. People were talking about this matter everywhere.
Originally, this year's ICM conference was a little gloomy because of the sudden change. However, in the face of Riemann's hypothesis, no matter how gloomy it was, it didn't matter …
"Did you hear? The Riemann's conjecture was proven! "
"Are you serious? It's not like last time, right? How many people have claimed to have proven the Riemann's conjecture? "
"I can only tell you that it's probably in the double digits, maybe in the triple digits … But this time is different! The author of the thesis is Professor Lu! Apparently, he was inspired by Vera Pulyuy's 45-minute report, and he finally completed the last step of the proof! He posted the thesis on arXiv yesterday … Jesus, the entire mathematics community is talking about this, you didn't hear about it? "
"I can't believe it! The Riemann's conjecture … If he proves it, do you think the International Mathematical Union will give him two Fields Awards? "
"There's no doubt that the Riemann's conjecture is worthy of this honor … But what's the point? If he really proves the Riemann's conjecture, why don't we just set up a separate award in his name? "
"I heard his 60-minute report is in the afternoon … I see, no wonder he arranged his report at the end of the ICM conference."
"Do you think he'll change the content of the report?"
"I don't know! But I'm sure that if I miss this report, it will be a lifelong loss! "
There was a lot of discussion in the hotel.
Whether it was a cafe, a restaurant, or an executive lounge, there was a lot of discussion about this matter.
So far, no one in the academic community had expressed their opinion on the content of the thesis. Most people hadn't even finished reading the thesis yet.
Therefore, for those who paid attention to the progress of this matter but didn't have the ability to read the thesis, the sixty-minute report in the afternoon was particularly important.
Regardless of whether or not Lu Zhou would change the content of the report, one thing was for sure. Since he chose to release the thesis at this time, he definitely wouldn't hide anything about the thesis …
On the other side, in the hotel cafe.
Academician Wang Shicheng finally contacted Lu Zhou's student, Qin Yue, who taught at Princeton. He asked Academician Wang Shicheng to meet him in a cafe.
"Have you seen Professor Lu? I couldn't find him even after searching for a long time. I couldn't find his room number either. Do you know where he is now? "
If it weren't for such an accident, Wang Shicheng wouldn't be willing to see that annoying guy.
However, not for himself, but for the future of China's mathematics community, he had to see that person.
Qin Yue looked at Academician Wang Shicheng and hesitated for a second before speaking.
"No … But I think he's at the hospital."
Wang Shicheng paused for a second. He obviously didn't expect this answer.
"Hospital?"
Qin Yue nodded and said, "Yeah, Vera Pulyuy is his favorite student."
"He's at the hospital at such an important time …" Wang Shicheng walked back and forth. He stomped his feet and sighed. He shook his head and said, "Ah! Forget about it, it's too late to go now. The report is about to begin in the afternoon. "
Qin Yue looked at the old man with a confused look and adjusted his glasses.
He pushed his glasses and asked, "Why are you looking for him?"
Academician Wang Shicheng's eyes widened as he said, "This is related to the future of China's mathematics community, how can he not be looking for me? The entire world is paying attention to this matter, so we should at least ask him how confident he is. "
Qin Yue thought for a second and said, "If that's what you're worried about … I don't think it's necessary."
Wang Shicheng paused for a second and said, "What do you mean?"
Qin Yue said in a serious tone, "If the professor isn't 100% confident, he wouldn't release an obviously controversial academic result.
"Therefore, there's no need to ask him how confident he is.
"For him, he must be 100% confident to put the preprint on arXiv."
…
The hotel wasn't the only place talking about this.
The entrance of the Corinthia Hotel was crowded with vehicles from all the major media outlets.
Even though mathematics was a very distant topic for the public, the Riemann's conjecture was different.
Over time, the legends surrounding it, and the huge US $1 billion prize money had given it a completely different meaning than other mathematics problems.
Just like Professor Wiles who was on the cover of Time Magazine.
If someone really succeeded in proving the Riemann's conjecture, there was no doubt that their photo would not only be on the cover of Time Magazine, but they would also be known as the most outstanding mathematician of the century.
Even though the 21st century was only one-fifth over.
The reporters with their cameras wanted to rush into the hotel, but unfortunately, they were blocked by a burly man standing at the entrance.
"We are reporters from BBC, this is our reporter ID, please let us in!"
"This is the Federal Security Service. We received orders that no one other than scholars invited by the conference can enter. If you would like to enter, please contact the organizing committee of the conference and obtain the admission permit.
"We will contact the conference organizing committee later. In fact, my assistant is already doing this. Please let us in, the world is waiting for the results of the Riemann's conjecture."
These words obviously didn't move the security guard standing at the door. The burly Russian just threw out an unreasonable rejection.
"This has nothing to do with us."
In addition to the reporters, there were also scholars who flew thousands of miles to the hotel.
In fact, the ICM conference was about to end. After tomorrow's closing ceremony, scholars from all over the world would go home. It was too late for them to attend the ICM conference.
However, these scholars weren't here for the ICM conference anyway.
Compared to tomorrow's insignificant closing ceremony, they were more concerned about the upcoming 60-minute report …
Professor Tao Zhexuan dragged his suitcase to the entrance of the hotel and finally squeezed through the crowd. He quickly passed the security check and walked into the hotel while adjusting his collar.
Even though he didn't sign up for this year's ICM conference, a knowledgeable and popular scholar like him could easily get an empty room from the conference organizing committee.
However, fortunately, he acted early. When he sent the email to Professor Holden, he heard that there were only two empty rooms left.
The day before the thesis was published on arXiv, the number of empty rooms was still in the double digits …
Professor Fefferman passed by the hotel lobby and saw Professor Tao walking in. He had a look of surprise on his face.
"You're here?"
St. Petersburg was a long way from Los Angeles to Los Angeles.
Tao Zhexuan smiled and said, "Of course, I wouldn't miss out on something like this."
Professor Fefferman looked at the computer bag in Tao Zhexuan's hand and said, "I'm guessing you read the thesis on the plane. You probably know more about number theory than me. I'm curious … What did you think of the thesis?"
Tao Zhexuan shook his head and said, "There are a few questions. I don't quite understand the core part of the argument. The time is too short, and the flight is only a dozen hours away. Plus, I have to adjust to the time difference … This damn time difference is making me want to doze off. I hope I won't fall asleep later."
Professor Fefferman smiled and said, "Professor Lu's speech can make you fall asleep?"
Slightly stunned, Tao Zhexuan smiled and touched the back of his head.
"You're right."
If he could fall asleep at a crucial moment like this …
Tao Zhexuan didn't need anyone to tell him that. He admired himself.
After chatting with Professor Fefferman for a bit, Professor Tao was about to go to the front desk to check in when he suddenly saw a figure in the corner of the lobby.
A middle-aged man with a beard and sparse hair that was comically draped behind him was explaining something to the hotel staff. Perhaps it was because his maverick appearance didn't fit in with the atmosphere here, but the security guards constantly looked at him.
Professor Fefferman noticed the surprised expression on Professor Tao's face and asked curiously.
"What?"
"Nothing, just a little surprised."
Tao Zhexuan looked at Professor Fefferman and spoke with a smile.
"As expected, Professor Lu is the most charming.
"I didn't expect that person to come."
…
The report would begin in an hour.
Lu Zhou came back from the hospital and locked himself in his room.
The entire Corinthia Hotel was shrouded in a powerful aura.
Almost all of the world's top scholars had their eyes on the ICM conference in St. Petersburg. They were either at the venue or on their way …
And it wasn't just industry insiders that were paying attention.
Discussions about the thesis had spread from academic forums like Mathoverflow to social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Weibo.
Whether it was a serious discussion or an entertaining one, there was no doubt that the entire world was paying attention to this matter. They were paying attention to whether or not this proposition of the century had been answered.
If it was an ordinary person, it would not be easy for them to maintain a normal breathing and heart rate in the face of such immense pressure, and adjust their state of mind when they went on stage.
However, for Lu Zhou, who was used to big events, this wasn't a big deal.
Perhaps for the mathematics community, there was still controversy over whether or not the Riemann conjecture was proven. It would take time for the entire mathematics community to accept his thesis.
But for Lu Zhou himself …
Since even the system from the future or an advanced civilization had determined that his proof was logical and self-consistent, he did not care whether others could understand his process or not.
Not to mention, there was one more important thing he had to do.
Lu Zhou stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window and looked down at the media vans in front of the hotel. He took out his phone and called Chen Yushan, who was in China.
"Hello? What's up, you suddenly called me? "
Lu Zhou thought for a bit and said, "How much do I have in my bank account?"
Chen Yushan paused for a second and said, "How much do I have in my bank account?"
Chen Yushan paused for a second and said, "… How would I know? But if you're asking about the company's funds, I can ask the accountant to make a copy — "
"Do you have a hundred million?"
"… I think you're kidding me." Chen Yushan was speechless. She said, "It might be a bit troublesome if you have a billion in liquidity, but if you can't even have a hundred million … You can just fire me."
Lu Zhou subconsciously said, "How can I do that?"
He didn't know how to run a company.
Without a trustworthy person to help him, a lot of things would become troublesome.
Chen Yushan heard Lu Zhou's reaction and smirked. She leaned back in her office chair and spoke in a good mood.
"Go ahead, I'm guessing you need my help with something. I'm quite curious, why would you need so much money? "
"… It's not that I need to spend that much money. But it's quite troublesome. "
Lu Zhou spent around five minutes explaining his thoughts.
Chen Yushan listened to Lu Zhou on the phone and took a while to digest the huge amount of information.
"I understand what you mean … That student is very important to you, right?"
Lu Zhou: "Yeah, this method might sound a bit crazy, but it might be the only way to save her."
Chen Yushan went silent for a while and sighed.
"I understand, I'll do what you say. As for whether or not it will work … "
Lu Zhou: "Don't worry, I'll handle the technical stuff."
After this phone call, Lu Zhou made a few more calls. Some were to his acquaintances at the 301 Hospital, and some were to the Institute for Advanced Study.
Lu Zhou tried to explain the situation as concisely as possible. He was about to hang up the last call when he heard a knock on the door.
He walked up and opened the door. He saw the guy who took him to lecture hall 7 a few days ago. He looked at him and spoke respectfully.
"Dear Professor Lu Zhou, Professor Holden asked me to inform you that your report will begin in 30 minutes. If you are ready, I suggest you go at least 15 minutes earlier."
Lu Zhou looked at the time and thought that it was about time to go, so he nodded.
"I understand.
"Since it's about to begin, I should go now."
The sooner I solve this problem, the sooner I can go.
A 60-minute report.
That should be enough.
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