On the day of December 18th.

The auditorium of the old campus of Jinling University welcomed a group of special guests. This group of people has a variety of skin colors, ranging in age from their twenties to their seventies and eighties.

The gathering of so many foreign friends is really unusual for this old campus, which no one has visited several times, so it has also attracted the attention of countless students.

In order to maintain order and ensure the safety of the speakers and participants, the Jinling city authorities mobilized almost half of the city's police force, and even dispatched armed police officers and soldiers to escort the entire report meeting.

It is quite rare for an academic to receive such a level of attention.

But when you think about it, it's not that surprising.

More than 2,000 internationally renowned scholars attended the seminar, and even thousands of PHDs and even master's students who did not get the qualifications to attend the conference and went to Jinling at their own expense or with their supervisors to participate in this industry event, just to know the results of the report for the first time.

With such a huge lineup, even if it is a top meeting like ICM and ICPAM, I am afraid it will be difficult to compete with one of them.

Standing at the gate of the old campus, with bilingual volunteer armbands on their arms, two master's students who didn't know which teacher's office had been fooled by the sentence "Take you to see the world" looked at the grand scene in the distance with a look of emotion.

"This pomp can be called the Huashan sword in the mathematics world!"

"Where is Huashan Sword, the protagonists of this report meeting are only two people, and it is clearly a decisive battle against the top of the Forbidden City......"

One is the youngest Fields Medal winner, the undisputed king among young scholars, and the other is one of the founders of modern algebraic geometry and the first person under the Pope in algebraic geometry.

In such a comparison, it is really a bit of Ye Gucheng and Ximen blowing snow.

Looking at the door of the crowded auditorium, the two little newcomers who had just stepped into the mathematics world with half a foot in the silence couldn't help but be fascinated.

A thousand words come together into one sentence......

The strong man of the Philippine Award is terrifying!

I happened to pass by the door and heard the conversation between the two little mengxin, Xu Chenyang, who came from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to participate in this grand event, almost didn't laugh out loud.

Decisive battle at the top of the Forbidden City?

That's an interesting statement.

At this moment, he suddenly saw a familiar face not far away. Surprised, he said hello from afar and walked over quickly.

"Brother Zhang! Haha, long time no see! ”

Hearing the greeting, Zhang Shouwu, who was walking towards the auditorium, stopped, and when he saw Xu Chenyang walking towards him, a surprised expression suddenly appeared on his face.

"Brother Xu? What a coincidence, you're here too? ”

"It happened that the two bigwigs had a decisive battle at the top of Jinling, so I had to come," Xu Chenyang joked and continued, "What's more, the Riemann conjecture has been standing on the edifice of analytic number theory for so many years, and even the old Mr. Grothendieck has hesitated in front of this difficulty, and now it is said that Academician Lu has opened a hole in the fortress of this Riemann conjecture, and I believe that anyone who understands how terrifying this problem is, will not miss this grand event." ”

As a leader among young scholars in China and even the world, he naturally received an invitation from Jinling University. But then again, even if he doesn't receive an invitation, he will probably sign up for this presentation at his own expense.

After all, the opportunity to witness history is only once in a lifetime.

Missing any of them is a loss.

Obviously amused by this statement of the decisive battle at the top of Jinling, Zhang Shouwu smiled: "Haha, that's right." It's just that this situation seems to be a bit grim. ”

Xu Chenyang asked with a smile: "Why, Brother Zhang is not optimistic about Academician Lu?" ”

"It's not a matter of whether you look at it or not, it's just that Faltins is not easy to deal with." Sighing softly, as if recalling a distant past, Professor Zhang slowly spoke, "When I went to study at Princeton, the first thing I did when I visited Mr. Faltins was to ask him if he could give me a topic. The old man had only said one word to me at the time. ”

Xu Chenyang: "What did he say?" ”

“…… I did all the easy questions, and the rest were very difficult. For example, Riemann conjecture," squinting at the auditorium hall not far away, looking at the mathematicians from all over the world who were entering one after another, Zhang Shouwu, who was holding a thermos cup, sighed in a nostalgic voice, "I have been away from Princeton for so many years, and I have not understood the humor of the Germanic people until now." One thing is certain, however, that his understanding of the Riemann conjecture is probably the best in the world today......"

"If even he thinks that Professor Lu's proof is wrong and appears at this report meeting."

"Then I'm afraid, he's ready to teach him a lesson."

Professor Zhang's view is one of the more pessimistic.

In fact, before the start of this report, not everyone in the domestic mathematics community was optimistic about Lu Zhou's success. As he put it, someone who understands the Riemann hypothesis better than Faltins may have taken the results of his research to the grave.

If Faltins thinks that there is a problem with Lu Zhou's proof, and that there is something wrong with the core part of the argument......

Then more than eighty percent can't be wrong.

However, after hearing Professor Zhang's words, Xu Chenyang just smiled gently and said in a casual tone

"I met Professor Lu at the Brazilian Congress of Mathematicians and had a brief chat with him. Although it was only about the NS equation and some problems in the field of partial differential equations, the impression he left on me is still fresh in my memory to this day. ”

Zhang Shouwu frowned, looked at him curiously and asked.

"What's the impression?"

"He's a miracle guy."

After a pause, Professor Xu Chenyang continued.

"No matter how mundane the method, he can dig up clues from it that everyone has overlooked...... No matter how small the clue is. ”

"I'm sure he'll do it again."

"And that's why I traveled thousands of miles from the east coast of North America to get here."

……

Inside the auditorium, it was crowded.

If there are practitioners in related fields standing here, they will definitely be able to exclaim.

Almost half of the big names in mathematics sit here, and the research fields cover almost all research directions in various branches of mathematics.

As a joke, if someone dropped a bomb, the entire mathematical community would have to go back at least half a century......

Standing next to the podium, Lu Zhou, who was dressed in a suit and leather shoes, took a deep breath and let his heartbeat gradually stabilize himself.

Although it had been a while since a briefing had been held, the feeling of blood was not unfamiliar to him.

It was as if there was an unknown force flowing in his veins, making him mentally concentrated and active like never before.

Clenched his fists slightly, and just as he was about to review what he had prepared again, an old man in a black high-necked trench coat walked over to him.

With dry fingers on crutches, like candles that could be extinguished by a gust of wind, the old man stopped tremblingly beside the steps, staring at Lu Zhou motionlessly.

After a long time, a rare smile without sarcasm or mockery suddenly cracked on the ravine's face, and he spoke.

"Are you ready?"

Knowing what he was waiting for, Lu Zhou nodded.

"Ready."

Professor Faltins grinned.

However, the eagle-like eyes flashed with sharp edges, and there was no smile in them.

"I hope you're really ready, and I'm not going to show mercy on this kind of question that concerns the future of the entire mathematical community."

"Please do this," making a gesture of please, Lu Zhou said in a calm tone, "Defending the rigor of the mathematical community is up to you." ”

"Huh."

Reaching out and pressing the brim of his hat, the old man threw down a word and turned away.

"Even if you don't say it, I'll do it."

。 m.