Chapter 1419 Jinling International Mathematicians Conference

In 2026, summer.

The old campus of Jinling University.

The mottled tree shadows are reflected on the old stone walls, and the chirping of the cicadas on the tops of the sycamore trees seems to have been like this since ancient times. In this bustling city, it only guards the tranquility of the book fragrance.

But today is a bit unusual for this old campus.

Scholars in formal attire walked past the bluestone brick road in front of the gate, and foreigners with high nose bridges came and went in front of the old building built during the Republic of China.

Overnight, it seemed as if it had returned to decades ago. The quaint old school seemed to have traveled through time and space and restored the glory of the National University in its heyday.

No, to be precise, it should be even more dazzling than the glory of the most prosperous period.

Because at that time, although there were also foreigners who came here to give lectures, most of them walked with their heads held high, their arms swung, and their toes high. But now here, regardless of skin color, age or gender, most people have humble expressions on their faces.

No one is more noble than anyone else.

Everyone is equal before knowledge.

No one will feel inferior about their skin color or culture.

No. 1 in Asia?

Now, that's just modesty.

As if to celebrate the rejuvenation of the dead school, even the withered and yellow vines on the wall of the courtyard seemed to have sprouted new buds.

"Professor Qin."

Hearing someone calling himself from the side, Qin Yue, who stood under the plane tree and looked at the old school, woke up in a trance.

Gently pushing the gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose, he glanced at the assistant next to him.

"Are you going to start?"

The assistant nodded excitedly and said excitedly.

"There is one hour left! The conference organizing committee just called, and I hope you can go to the backstage to prepare."

Four years ago, at the St. Petersburg International Congress of Mathematicians, the International Union of Mathematicians announced that the 2026 International Congress of Mathematicians will be held in Jinling.

This news has lifted the mood of all mathematicians in Huaguo, and at the same time, it has also excited the mathematics departments of all universities in Jinling.

With little suspense, Jinling University took over the right to organize the International Conference of Mathematicians and set the venue at the old campus of Jinling University.

In order to host this world-renowned event, they have prepared for four years!

Now is the time to test their results.

"I see...call them back, I'll be there right away."

Saying that, Qin Yue looked back from the old school with the style of the Republic of China, and looked at the foreign scholars who were standing under the old stone wall for a group photo, with a smile on his lips.

"Speaking of which, when was the last time so many people gathered in this old campus?"

Hearing this sentence, the assistant standing by was slightly stunned, and then said with a smile.

"It seems to be a while... If I remember correctly, it was about two or three years ago, when Academician Lu gave a report here."

Two or three years ago...

Qin Yue's eyes suddenly dimmed a bit, and his tone also had a hint of sadness and nostalgia.

"It's been two years..."

Time flies so fast...

Everything here has his shadow, but he is the only one who is gone...

In the backstage lounge.

The staff helped Qin Yue to take care of his appearance briefly and straightened his tie.

About two years ago, shortly after the news of Lu Zhou's death spread, he resigned from his job at Princeton, boarded a flight back to China, and came to Jinling University - the place where his most respected mentor used to work .

In fact, before resigning, Professor Fefferman had been intending to train him as his successor, letting him take over the post of dean of the Department of Mathematics at Princeton University.

However, the position of dean of the Princeton Department of Mathematics did not keep him, and his decision remained unchanged in the face of Professor Fefferman's retention.

In his memory, Lu Zhou told him more than once that he wanted to build Jinling University into the world's top mathematics center.

Now that Lu Zhou is gone, his ideal still needs time to be realized.

If that's the case, then it's up to you to walk this path for him!

Qin Yue still remembered that when he just returned to China, Jinling University was in a sad atmosphere, especially the Department of Mathematics, which was even more depressed.

In a sense, his return can be regarded as a boost to the morale of the university's mathematics department.

As one of Academician Lu's favorite students and an internationally renowned number theory scholar, he soon took over the banner of the Jinling School, replacing the retired Dean Qin, as the dean of the School of Mathematical Sciences at Jinda University.

In two years, thanks to his efforts, the Department of Mathematics of Jinling University has become a world-class mathematics department, leaving its domestic counterparts far behind.

Now that the International Conference of Mathematicians is being held as scheduled, as the new standard-bearer of the Jinling School—or Lu Zhou School, he will stand on this international stage and represent the Huaguo mathematics community as the voice of Huaguo scholars!

With much anticipation, the opening ceremony of the International Congress of Mathematicians finally started.

As in previous conferences, after the Secretary-General of the International Union of Mathematicians delivered a speech, Qin Yue, who represented the Huaguo mathematics community, came to the stage and read the opening speech.

Immediately afterwards, a series of highest honors and awards in the field of mathematics, such as the Gauss Award and the Fields Medal, were awarded.

When several winners came to the stage and received the medals from the Secretary-General of the International Union of Mathematicians, an impassioned national music sounded in the venue.

Amidst the sound of zithers, zithers and drums, a grand theatrical performance officially kicked off the curtain for this grand event that attracted worldwide attention...

"...This is the one that gave me the best senses among all the conferences of mathematicians I have attended!" When he came out of the venue, Professor Weiteng had an excited expression on his face, and he talked happily with the people next to him. Professor Deligne said, "Although I don't know what kind of feeling it is, it is much more shocking than the ballet in St. Petersburg and the... primeval jungle show in Rio de Janeiro."

In fact, objectively speaking, the ballet performance at the St. Petersburg Congress was not bad, but the funds may be lacking. As for the latter performance, although it looked very lively, I always felt that the lively performance was a bit too vigorous. In addition, due to the serious security problems in Rio de Janeiro, if it weren't for Lu Zhou's wonderful report, the Mathematicians Conference could only be described in words.

"Compared with the performances at the opening ceremony, I'm more interested in whether I can see anything interesting at this conference..." The expressionless De Professor Ligne suddenly had an expression of surprise in his eyes.

Sensitively capturing the change in the expression on the old friend's face, Wei Teng raised his eyebrows with interest, "It seems that you have discovered something."

"Yes."

Nodding his head, Professor Deligne, who dropped the sentence, walked straight towards the poster display area without any explanation.

Out of curiosity, Wei Teng followed behind his old friend, followed him through the dense crowd, and stopped in front of a whiteboard that no one cared about.

Looking at the line-by-line calculations on the whiteboard, Professor Deligne frowned slightly.

"...the Cauchy-Riemann equation?"

Hearing this sentence, the boy standing in front of the whiteboard suddenly showed a surprised expression on his face.

"That's right...it's unbelievable, are you also studying in this direction?"

Obviously, the teenager didn't recognize who he was.

Professor Deligne smiled lightly, and said, "I'm not researching this direction, I just think the mathematical method you use is familiar... If you read correctly, the third part of your equation should be an L-manifold A form of generalization, and the subject of your research is a corollary of the Hodge conjecture."

There was a shocked expression on the boy's face, as if he was looking at a monster, looking at the old man in front of him.

"...Who the hell are you?"

"It doesn't matter who I am, I'm just a little curious," Professor Deligne continued, looking at the poster hanging next to the whiteboard, "Since you are studying the Hodge conjecture, why don't you take it honestly?" Write it on the poster."

Hearing this sentence, the boy showed a shameful expression on his face, and scratched the back of his head embarrassingly.

"I want to do the same, but I always feel that...it's a little bad to write directly."

It would be fine if he was a little older, but with his current youthful appearance, even if he is serious about studying this difficult problem of the century, it will probably be taken as a joke by others.

Seeing through his inner thoughts at a glance, Professor Deligne smiled and said calmly.

"The things you worry about are not important at all. Academics are never judged by age. If you are young, you are far behind my previous student. At your age, he is already a little famous in the mathematics world. Big bull."

"This, is it so powerful..." The boy's face was full of shock, and he opened his mouth wide in surprise.

"May I have your name?"

"... Zimmer."

Professor Deligne nodded.

"Zimmer... is an interesting name. You should be more confident in your research results. If you can study to this extent, you have already defeated more than 90% of people your age in Princeton."

Looking at the half-understanding young man, Professor Deligne continued to ask.

"By the way, who is your professor? I want to have a chat with him."

Hearing this sentence, a touch of pride immediately appeared on Ji Mo's face.

However, that proud expression didn't stay on his face for long, and was soon replaced by a touch of sadness and loneliness.

"...You may not be able to communicate with him."

Professor Deligne frowned.

"Is there any inconvenience?"

"No, it's not about Fang's inconvenience," Ji Mo shook his head and smiled apologetically, "My mentor...is Lu Zhou."

Lu Zhou...

The moment he heard the name, Professor Deligne's pupils shrank slightly.

It was as if a closed door had been opened, and the memories gushing out from the bottom of his heart made a trace of sadness appear in his eyes.

For the past two years, he has been trying not to think of that name, but the box of memory was still opened.

"You are actually a student of Lu Zhou." Looking at the young man, Wei Teng had a look of surprise in his eyes, and joked with a smile, "I have a hunch that it may not be too long before the Fields Medal See you on the podium."

Ji Mo smiled embarrassedly and scratched the back of his head.

"I will work hard... My mentor told me before that he told me to take a long-term view, don't pay too much attention to the results of the IMO competition, and take the Fields Award as the goal."

"Hahahaha, isn't it? That's really exciting."

Looking at the overjoyed Witten, Deligne said bluntly.

"Are you sure you can live to that time?"

Wei Teng coughed dryly: "You can have more confidence in me. I still have more than ten years left. What's more, a magnificent era has just begun. If it collapses before the opening, Isn't it... too pity?"

Just when the two old men were about to quarrel about their age, there was an incredible exclamation in the No. 1 lecture hall not far away.

On the podium, Han Mengqi wrote the last line of calculations on the whiteboard, and gently put down the marker pen in her hand.

Transcendence of the Riemann zeta function at odd positive integer points.

This was the subject Lu Zhou left for her when she insisted on switching to the study of pure mathematics.

She still remembers what Master said at that time, he didn't ask her to prove the whole proposition, but only asked her to make a small breakthrough in this direction, even if she found a transcendent number that had not been discovered, it would be considered her graduation up.

And now, she has clearly exceeded Lu Zhou's expectations for her at the time.

She not only found the transcendental numbers on the zeta function that have not yet been discovered by the mathematical community, but also proved the establishment of the entire proposition——

That is, for any n≥1, ζ(2n+1) is also a transcendental number!

Although it took a long time...

But she finally did it with her own strength!

"It's unbelievable... Her proficiency in the application of mathematical tools is amazing. Especially the part of the unified theory of algebraic geometry is simply the finishing touch... It's not like a new mathematician can do it at all."

Looking at the line-by-line calculations on the stage, Schultz's face was full of unexpected expressions.

What was proved by the little girl on the podium at the moment was the quasi-Riemann conjecture, which is well-known in the mathematics world. Although he has never studied this topic, it is not difficult to feel the difficulty just by looking at the time this topic has existed.

Sitting next to Schultz, Professor Faltings gave him a sideways glance.

"Are you kidding me? A newcomer who just started studying mathematics will use this level of problem as a research topic."

As he spoke, the old man cast his eyes on the stage, and narrowed his cloudy eyes slightly.

"...But this face does seem quite strange."

"It seems to be Lu Zhou's student," Schultz said after squinting his eyes for a long time, "I remember... I seem to have seen this person in his office."

"It turned out to be his student..."

It seemed that there was nothing strange about it for a moment, Professor Faltins leaned back on the chair, after pondering for a while, he spoke in an affirmative tone.

"It's too late this year... But the next Fields Medal will definitely have her name."

He glanced at Professor Faltings in surprise, but Schultz didn't say anything.

Logically speaking, it should be so.

Number theory itself is the most complicated field in pure mathematics, and if a major breakthrough can be made in this field, a Fels Award-level honor can still be matched.

In addition, she is a student of Lu Zhou, so no one should object.

"Don't just talk about others," Professor Faltings continued, glancing at Schultz, "I've always wanted to find an opportunity to ask you, how is your research going?"

"You mean that?" Slightly stunned, a sunny smile soon appeared on Schultz's face, "Of course, that subject is coming to an end. Or to put it another way, it's just about to be published in a paper."

Faltings: "Are there any journals willing to accept your research?"

"I haven't found it yet... After all, this subject is really not easy to classify," Schultz looked away a little subtly, smiled awkwardly but politely, and continued, "If it really doesn't work, we plan to find it randomly. A journal will publish this result...Anyway, I don't particularly care about things like impact factors."

Hearing Schultz's words, Professor Faltings didn't say much, but looked up at the podium, and slowly said a meaningful sentence.

"The golden age of a scholar is only a dozen years. It took two years, but only for such a result... Is it worth it?"

For this sentence, Schultz was silent for a while.

After a long time, looking at the little girl on the stage who bowed to thank him, and the report venue that had begun to end, he shrugged his shoulders lightly.

"For me, this means an end, a close to that expedition two years ago."

"I don't think it's a matter of gain or loss..."

"Therefore, it should be worth it."

...

Perhaps because of Lu Zhou's favor, this year's International Conference of Mathematicians was extremely lively.

The quasi-Riemann conjecture was proved by Lu Zhou's students!

The first report meeting on the first day had just ended, and the atmosphere of the entire meeting was pushed to a climax.

However, for Han Mengqi herself, there were not many disturbances in her heart.

She is very clear that the work she has completed is just some small achievements on the basis of Master, and it is far from a breakthrough.

After throwing away those who tried to catch up with her, Han Mengqi came to the backstage lounge and was about to change out of her formal attire, but at this moment the door of the lounge opened suddenly, and an acquaintance opened the door and walked in.

"...Doctor Yan?"

Stopping her hand to untangle the button, Han Mengqi looked at her puzzled, not quite understanding why she appeared here.

Without much nonsense, Yan Yan walked up to Han Mengqi and said with a serious face.

"Can I ask you something?"

"...What's the matter?" Although she didn't think she could help her, Han Mengqi 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 disappeared from everyone's sight as if she had evaporated from the world.

The only clue showed that before she disappeared, she had visited 301 Hospital once and visited several doctors funded by Xingkong Technology.

After that, no one knew where she went.

In fact, this matter did not attract anyone's attention at the beginning, including her resignation from Xingkong Technology, most people just expressed regret, thinking that she was too sad and needed to rest for a while.

She never appeared again until later, and many people around her realized the seriousness of the problem.

Since it didn't look like a criminal case, and it didn't look like it was done by foreign forces, the matter was finally handed over to the Intelligence Section of the General Staff for general investigation.

Yan Yan, who has just been transferred to the intelligence department, has very limited resources at her disposal, so she can only use the most stupid method of interviewing and investigating, and start from the people around her bit by bit.

After hearing Yan Yan's question, Han Mengqi shook her head blankly.

"have no idea."

Seeing that Han Mengqi didn't know anything, Yan Yan became anxious and said.

"You're her sister, don't you have any clues? Has she ever said where she wants to go?"

"Where do I really want to go..." Han Mengqi opened her mouth, a memory suddenly appeared in her mind, and a look of surprise appeared in her eyes.

Sensitively noticing the change in the expression on her face, Yan Yan asked immediately.

"What did you think of?"

"There is a place I really want to go... there is, but it's impossible."

While speaking, a strange expression appeared on Han Mengqi's face.

Can such a distant place really be reached?

After all, with the current technology on Earth, let alone a certain star system outside the solar system, even the Kuiper belt may not be able to fly out...