2026, summer.
Jin Ling University old campus.
The old stone walls reflected the mottled shadows of the trees, and the cicadas chirping on the sycamore treetops seemed to have been like this since ancient times. In this bustling city, there was a touch of tranquility of books.
However, today was a bit unusual for this old campus.
Scholars in formal clothes walked through the bluestone brick road in front of the door, and foreigners with high noses came and went in front of the old building built during the Republic of China.
Overnight, it was as if this place had returned to decades ago. The antique old school seemed to have traveled through time and space, restoring the glory of the National University in its heyday.
No, to be precise, it should be more dazzling than the glory of its heyday.
At that time, although there were foreigners who came here to give lectures, most of them held their heads high, swung their arms, and strode in with their heads held high. But now, regardless of skin color, age, and gender, most people had a humble expression on their faces.
No one was more noble than anyone else.
Everyone was equal in the face of knowledge.
No one would feel inferior because of their skin color or culture.
Number one in Asia?
Now, that was just a humble way of saying it.
As if to celebrate the rejuvenation of the gloomy academy, even the withered vines on the courtyard walls seemed to have sprouted new buds.
"Professor Qin."
Hearing someone call him, Qin Yue, who was standing under the Chinese parasol tree and looking at the old academy, snapped out of his daze.
He gently pushed the gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose and glanced at the assistant next to him.
"Is it about to start?"
The assistant nodded excitedly and spoke with a tone full of excitement.
"There is still an hour left! The conference organizing committee just called, hoping that you can go backstage to prepare. "
Four years ago, at the International Congress of Mathematicians in St. Petersburg, the leader of the International Mathematical Union announced that the 2026 International Congress of Mathematicians would be held in Jinling.
This news inspired the mood of all mathematicians in China, and it also excited the mathematics departments of all universities in Jinling.
Without much suspense, Jin Ling University took over the organizing rights of this International Congress of Mathematicians and set the venue at the old campus of Jin Ling University.
In order to host this world-renowned event, they had prepared for a full four years!
Now it was finally time to test their results.
"I got it … Call them back, I'll be right there."
Qin Yue looked away from the old school and looked at the foreign scholars taking photos under the old stone wall. He couldn't help but smile.
"Speaking of which, when was the last time so many people gathered at the old campus?"
Hearing this, the assistant standing next to him was slightly stunned, and then said with a smile.
"It's been a while … If I remember correctly, about two or three years ago, when Academician Lu held a report here."
Two or three years ago …
Qin Yue's eyes suddenly dimmed, and his voice carried a hint of sadness and nostalgia.
"It's been two years …"
Time passed so quickly …
Everything here had his shadow, but only he wasn't here anymore …
In the backstage lounge.
The staff helped Qin Yue with some simple grooming and straightened his tie.
Around two years ago, shortly after the news of Lu Zhou's death spread, he quit his job at Princeton and boarded a flight back to China. He came to Jin Ling University, where his most respected supervisor used to work.
In fact, before he resigned, Professor Fefferman had been training him to be his successor. He wanted Qin Yue to take over the position of head of the mathematics department at Princeton University.
However, the position of head of the mathematics department at Princeton did not make him stay. Even when Professor Fefferman tried to persuade him to stay, his decision did not change.
In his memory, Lu Zhou told him more than once that he wanted to make Jin Ling University the world's top mathematics center.
Now that Lu Zhou was gone, Qin Yue still needed time to realize his dream.
Since this was the case, Qin Yue decided to walk this path for Lu Zhou!
Qin Yue still remembered that when he first returned to China, the entire Jin Ling University was in a sad atmosphere. Especially the mathematics department, they were in a state of depression.
In a sense, his return had reinvigorated the morale of the mathematics department at the university.
As one of Academician Lu's favorite students and an internationally renowned number theory scholar, he quickly took over the banner of the Jin Ling University and replaced the retired Dean Qin as the head of the mathematics department at Jin Ling University.
Over the past two years, with his efforts, the mathematics department at Jin Ling University had become a world-class mathematics department. It had left its domestic counterparts far behind.
Now that the International Congress of Mathematicians was held as scheduled, as the new standard-bearer of the Jin Ling University or Lu Zhou school of thought, he would stand on this international stage and represent the China mathematics community to speak out for China scholars!
The opening ceremony of the International Congress of Mathematicians finally began.
Just like the previous conferences, after the Secretary-General of the International Mathematical Union gave a speech, Qin Yue, who represented the China mathematics community, walked to the front of the stage and read the opening speech.
After that, a series of the highest honors and awards in mathematics, such as the Gauss Prize and the Fields Prize, were presented.
After several winners walked to the front of the stage and received the medals from the Secretary-General of the International Mathematical Union, the venue was filled with impassioned folk music.
Amidst the sounds of zither, flute, and drum, a grand artistic performance officially opened the curtains for this grand event that attracted the attention of the world …
"… Out of all the mathematicians conferences I've ever attended, this is the best I've ever felt!" When Professor Witten came out of the venue, he had an excited expression on his face. He said to Professor Deligné next to him, "Although I don't know what it's like, it's much more exciting than the ballet in St. Petersburg and the … primitive jungle show in Rio de Janeiro."
In fact, objectively speaking, the ballet performance at the St. Petersburg conference was quite good. It was just that the budget was a bit lacking. As for the latter's performance, although it looked very lively, he felt that the liveliness was a little too much. Also, because of the serious security problems in Rio de Janeiro, if it weren't for Lu Zhou's wonderful report, that conference would have been indescribable.
"Compared to the performance at the opening ceremony, I'm more interested in whether I can see anything interesting at this conference …" Professor Deligné, who was expressionless, suddenly had a look of surprise in his eyes.
Witten keenly noticed the change in the expression on his old friend's face. He raised his eyebrows with interest. "It seems that you found something."
"Yeah."
Professor Deligné nodded and didn't explain anything. He walked straight toward the direction of the poster display area.
Out of curiosity, Witten followed his old friend through the dense crowd and stopped in front of a whiteboard that no one was interested in.
Professor Deligné looked at the lines of calculations on the whiteboard and frowned slightly.
"… Cauchy – Riemann equations?"
The young man standing in front of the whiteboard suddenly showed a surprised expression on his face.
"That's right … I can't believe it, are you also researching in this area?"
Obviously, the young man didn't recognize who he was.
Professor Deligné smiled faintly and said, "I'm not researching in this area, I just think the mathematical method you used is a bit familiar … If I'm not mistaken, the third part of your equation should be a generalized form of the L Manifold, and your research topic is a corollary of the Hodge conjecture."
There was a shocked expression on the young man's face. He looked at the old man in front of him like he was looking at a monster.
"… Who are you?"
"It doesn't matter who I am, I'm just a little curious." Professor Deligné looked at the poster hanging next to the whiteboard and said, "Since you're researching the Hodge conjecture, why don't you write it on the poster?"
The young man had a look of shame on his face, and he scratched the back of his head.
"I want to do that, but I feel like … It's not a good idea to write it on the poster."
If he were a little older, it would be fine. However, with his young appearance, even if he was seriously researching this century's conjecture, others would think he was joking.
Professor Deligné saw through the young man's inner thoughts at a glance. He smiled faintly and spoke calmly.
"The things you're worried about are not important at all. Academics are never judged by age. In terms of age, you're far younger than my former student. When he was your age, he was already a famous big name in the mathematics world. "
"That … That powerful …" The young man's face was full of shock. His mouth was wide open in surprise.
"What's your name?"
"… Ji Mo."
Professor Deligné nodded.
"Ji Mo … What an interesting name. You should be more confident in your research results. To be able to research to this extent, you've already beaten more than 90% of people your age in Princeton. "
Professor Deligné looked at the confused young man and continued to ask.
"By the way, who is your professor? I want to talk to him. "
Hearing this, Li Mo's face immediately showed a hint of pride.
However, the proud expression did not stay on his face for long. It was quickly replaced by a touch of sadness and loneliness.
"… You might not be able to communicate with him."
Professor Deligne furrowed his brows.
"Is there a problem?"
"No, it's not a problem of inconvenience." Ji Mo shook his head and smiled apologetically. "My supervisor … is Lu Zhou."
Lu Zhou …
The moment Professor Deligné heard this name, his pupils shrank slightly.
It was like opening a closed door. The memories that came from the bottom of his heart made a trace of sadness appear in his eyes.
For the past two years, he had been deliberately trying not to think of that name, but the box of memories still opened.
"I can't believe you're Lu Zhou's student." There was a touch of surprise in Witten's eyes. He smiled and joked, "I have a feeling that it won't be long before I see you on stage at the Fields Prize."
Ji Mo smiled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head.
"I will work hard … My supervisor told me before that he told me to set my sights further. Don't focus too much on the IMO results. Set the Fields Prize as my goal."
"Hahaha, really? I'm looking forward to it. "
Deligne looked at the overjoyed Witten and said bluntly.
"Are you sure you can live until then?"
Witten coughed and said, "You can have more confidence in me. I still have a dozen years left. Not to mention that a magnificent era has just begun. If I collapse before it begins, wouldn't that be … a shame? "
Just when the two old men were about to quarrel about age, there was an incredible exclamation in the No. 1 lecture hall not far away.
Han Mengqi wrote down the last line of calculations on the whiteboard and gently put down the marker in her hand.
The transcendence of the Riemann zeta function at odd positive integer points.
This was the topic that Lu Zhou left for her when she insisted on moving into pure mathematics research.
She still remembered what her master said at the time. He didn't ask her to prove the entire proposition. He only asked her to make a small breakthrough in this direction. Even if she found a transcendental number that hadn't been discovered, she would be considered to have graduated.
But now, she had obviously exceeded Lu Zhou's expectations at the time.
Not only did she find the transcendental numbers on the zeta function that hadn't been discovered by the mathematics community, but she also proved the entire proposition …
Which was, for any n ≥ 1, ζ (2n + 1) was also a transcendental number!
Even though it took a long time …
She finally did it with her own strength!
"Unbelievable … Her application of mathematical tools is so proficient that it's surprising. Especially the unified theory of algebraic geometry, it's the finishing touch … This doesn't seem like something a new mathematician can do. "
Schulz looked at the lines of calculations on the podium and had a surprised expression on his face.
The little girl on the podium proved the famous quasi Riemann conjecture in mathematics. Although he hadn't researched this topic before, it wasn't hard to tell how difficult it was just by looking at how long this topic had existed.
Professor Faltings, who was sitting next to Schulz, squinted at him.
"Are you kidding me? What kind of new mathematician would use a problem of this level as a research topic? "
With that, the old man turned his gaze to the stage, and his murky eyes narrowed slightly.
"… But this face does look quite unfamiliar."
"I think it's Lu Zhou's student." Schulz squinted his eyes for a long time before he said, "I remember … I saw this person in his office."
"So it's his student …"
Professor Faltings leaned back in his chair and thought for a while. He then spoke in a confident tone.
"It's too late for this year … But the next Fields Prize will definitely have her name on it."
Schulz looked at Professor Faltings with surprise, but he didn't say anything.
Logically speaking, this was the case.
Number theory itself was one of the most complicated fields in pure mathematics. To be able to make a major breakthrough in this field, a Fields Medal level honor was worthy of it.
Plus, she was Lu Zhou's student, so no one would object.
"Don't just talk about other people." Professor Faltings glanced at Schulz and continued, "I've been looking for an opportunity to ask you, how is your research going?"
"Are you talking about that?" Schultz paused for a second, and a bright smile quickly appeared on his face. "Of course, that research project is about to end. Or, in other words, it's almost published in a thesis. "
Faltings: "Are there any journals willing to accept your research?"
"Not yet … After all, this research project is really difficult to classify." Schulz smiled awkwardly and said, "If it doesn't work, we plan on finding a journal to publish this result … I don't particularly care about impact factors anyway."
When Professor Faltings heard Schultz's words, he didn't say much. He looked at the podium and slowly said something meaningful.
"A scholar's golden age is only a decade or so. Spending two years just for this result … Is it worth it?"
Schulz went silent for a while.
After a long time, he looked at the girl bowing and thanking him. He then shrugged his shoulders.
"For me, this means an end. It can be considered as putting a full stop to the expedition two years ago."
"I think this has nothing to do with gains or losses …
"Therefore, it should be worth it."
…
Perhaps because of Lu Zhou, this year's International Congress of Mathematicians was particularly lively.
The quasi Riemann conjecture was proved by Lu Zhou's student!
The first report of the first day had just ended, and the atmosphere of the conference was already at its peak.
However, for Han Mengqi, she didn't feel much emotion.
She was very clear that the work she had completed was only a small achievement based on her master's foundation. It was far from a breakthrough.
After shaking off those who tried to catch up to her, Han Mengqi went to the backstage lounge and was about to change out of her formal attire. However, at this moment, the lounge door suddenly opened, and an acquaintance walked in.
"… Doctor Yan?"
Han Mengqi looked at her with a puzzled expression. She didn't quite understand why she was here.
Without wasting any time, Yan Yan walked up to Han Mengqi and spoke with a serious face.
"Can I ask you something?"
"… What?" Although Han Mengqi didn't think she could help her, she still replied politely.
Yan Yan: "Your sister is missing, I want to know where she went! Do you have any clues? "
After going to Shangjing that day, Chen Yushan seemed to have evaporated from the face of the earth and disappeared from everyone's sight.
The only clue was that before she disappeared, she went to 301 Hospital and visited several doctors funded by Star Sky Technology.
After that, no one knew where she went.
In fact, this matter did not attract anyone's attention at the beginning. Most people just expressed their regret when she resigned from Star Sky Technology, thinking that she was too sad and needed to rest for a while.
It wasn't until she disappeared that many people around her realized the seriousness of the problem.
Since it didn't seem like a criminal case, nor did it seem like it was done by foreign forces, this matter was eventually handed over to the General Staff Intelligence Division for general investigation.
Yan Yan, who had just been transferred to the intelligence division, had limited resources at her disposal. She could only use the stupidest method to investigate the people around her bit by bit.
After hearing Yan Yan's question, Han Mengqi shook her head blankly.
"I don't know."
Seeing that Han Mengqi didn't know anything, Yan Yan suddenly became anxious.
"You are her sister, don't you have any clues at all? Did she say where she wanted to go in particular? "
"Where she wanted to go in particular …" Han Mengqi opened her mouth. A memory suddenly emerged in her mind, and there was a touch of surprise in her eyes.
Yan Yan keenly noticed the change in the expression on her face, and she immediately asked.
"What did you think of?"
"A place she wanted to go in particular … Yes, but that's impossible."
As she spoke, a strange expression appeared on Han Mengqi's face.
Can we really go to such a faraway place?
After all, with the current technology on Earth, forget about a galaxy outside the solar system, even the Kuiper belt might not be able to fly out …
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