Contestants received free accommodation, and even their accompanying teachers enjoyed a 70% discount.
After checking in, Zheng Hua didn’t pull Li Dong aside to go over any more problems.
The high-intensity training camp at school these past few days had covered everything that needed to be covered. Cramming any more knowledge into him now would likely just cause confusion.
"All right, here’s your room key."
Zheng Hua handed a keycard to Li Dong.
"Get a good night’s rest, get used to the environment, and don’t feel any pressure."
"The exam starts at nine tomorrow morning. I’ll come get you for breakfast at 7:30."
Li Dong took the keycard, nodded, and turned to get into the elevator.
Back in his room, Li Dong tossed his backpack on the bed and sprawled out on it like a starfish.
’Don’t feel any pressure?’
Honestly, it would be a lie to say he felt no pressure at all.
Truth be told, the difficulty of the Huaxuan Cup wasn’t that high for Li Dong. After all, he spent his days lurking in the "Cyan Dragon Study Group" chat.
The titans in there were discussing things like Riemann surfaces, gauge field theory, and high-order aberration correction.
So, the semifinal of a cup competition wasn’t enough to stress him out.
The real pressure didn’t come from the problems.
It came from...
"That’s twenty thousand damn yuan!"
Li Dong’s eyes were practically glowing green.
Twenty thousand! Plus the extra ten thousand the school promised for first place—that’s thirty thousand!
For his family in their current situation, this was a massive sum of money.
"Phew... I can’t think about it. The more I think, the more excited I get."
Li Dong forced himself to calm down.
With nothing better to do, he habitually pulled out his phone and opened WeChat.
’Might as well study some math. That’s an effective way to relieve stress.’
’Let’s see if any new math titans have shown up.’
The group had been rather silent lately.
Gauss’s profile picture was still grayed out. He hadn’t been online since his bizarre "countless worlds" comment.
The great Euler hadn’t shown his face even once.
Even Newton, the most active member, hadn’t said much recently.
’Probably busy jump-starting the second industrial revolution?’ Li Dong mused to himself.
The deeper he delved into his physics studies, the more he felt the importance of mathematical tools.
Especially the importance of number theory.
Gauss once said: Mathematics is the queen of the sciences, and number theory is the queen of mathematics.
Right, and he also seemed to recall Gauss saying that chemistry was the handmaiden of mathematics...
Mendeleev: ...
Right now, Li Dong was actually quite intimidated by number theory.
Don’t be fooled by the fact that it’s all about integers. In reality, it was a bottomless pit of problems, where any given conjecture could stump a whole host of geniuses.
Li Dong shook his head.
’Oh, well. I’ll deal with number theory some other time.’
’Better to solve my algebra problem first.’
’Who should I ask?’
’The great Euler is silent, and I can’t just @ him directly. That would be too presumptuous.’
Li Dong scrolled through the group member list until an ID caught his eye.
[John Charles Fields]
The man who established the Fields Medal.
In the eyes of an ordinary person, he was an absolute god-tier figure in the world of mathematics.
But in this group, he still had a long way to go.
In terms of academic achievements, forget about comparing him to Gauss or Euler; he was leagues below even the likes of Riemann and Cauchy.
You could say that John Charles Fields was more of a great mathematics educator than a transcendent genius who could dominate the ages.
’Still, it seems like he’s the only one who’s been active these past few days...’
Li Dong thought for a moment and decided to test the waters, see if he could squeeze a little something out of him.
He expertly put on his "my nephew" disguise.
[3rd Year Grinding Problems]: @John Charles Fields, good evening, sir.
[3rd Year Grinding Problems]: My rather slow nephew has been pondering a problem regarding the theory of algebraic functions. He’s a bit confused about the application of the Riemann-Roch theorem on specific curves...
This was actually a difficult point Li Dong had encountered while reading "Algebraic Geometry," one he hadn’t fully grasped.
[John Charles Fields]: Oh? Algebraic functions? As it happens, I have done some research on that.
[Fields]: The essence of the Riemann-Roch theorem is actually quite simple. For a smooth algebraic curve on a compact Riemann surface, it establishes an identity between the dimension of the linear space of divisors and the genus of the curve...
As Li Dong frantically took notes, he casually commented to himself.
’He’s explaining it in detail, but it’s a bit mediocre compared to the explanations from the other titans.’
Li Dong was completely unaware of how conceited he’d become; he was actually calling Fields mediocre.
Finally, hoping to fleece him for more, Li Dong deliberately brought something up.
[3rd Year Grinding Problems]: Thank you for your guidance. By the way, I hear you’ve been planning an award...
[3rd Year Grinding Problems]: In my opinion, if the award were to focus on younger mathematicians, say, under the age of 40, it might just invigorate the field of mathematics.
After all, mathematics belongs to the young.
With this statement, Li Dong was basically giving him the answer key.
Historically, the Fields Medal was indeed established this way, intended to encourage young mathematicians.
[John Charles Fields]: !!!
[Fields]: Under 40? What a brilliant suggestion!
[Fields]: Youth truly does mean infinite possibility! Your Excellency ’3rd Year’, your insights are always so unique!
Li Dong stared at the screen, unable to suppress the upward curl of his lips.
According to the usual routine, a red packet should be coming his way now.
However...
A minute passed.
Five minutes passed.
But the group remained silent.
After sending that exclamation, Fields seemed to have gone off to revise the charter for his award.
Li Dong was completely dumbfounded.
’You’ve got to be kidding me?’
’I just helped you establish the core spirit of the Fields Medal, and you’re not even going to give me a red packet?’
Feeling rather depressed, Li Dong tossed his phone aside.
’Don’t tell me I have to actually win a Fields Medal before I get a reward?’
’If that’s really the case...’
Li Dong decided to temporarily block Fields.
"Whatever, I’m going to sleep!"
Li Dong pulled the blanket over his head.
To hell with Fields; the real priority was getting his hands on that twenty thousand yuan!
The night deepened.
Throughout the Huaxuan Hotel, lights were still on in many rooms.
The top students from across the city and even the entire province were hunched over their desks, seizing the last moments to review.
Zhao Ziv was grinding through problems, his brow furrowed in concentration.
Lin Xiao from Tianli had his eyes closed in meditation, muttering to himself as he recited complex physical constants.
Teachers were also in various rooms, giving their students final pep talks.
Everyone wanted to win the championship in one fell swoop. Everyone wanted to enter the legendary National Power Equipment Group and become a chosen "Direct Disciple."
Only in Room 302.
The faint sound of snoring could be heard.
Li Dong was having a dream.
In his dream, he was standing on the awards stage, but he wasn’t holding a trophy.
He was holding a thick wad of cash.
He was grinning like a 200-pound simpleton.
In the middle of the night, he suddenly jolted awake! His pupils contracted, as if he had forgotten something important!!
"I almost forgot, Happy New Year everyone, and may you get rich!"

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