Li Dong’s first thought was of the people at *Mathematical Annals*.
’Did they figure it out? Do they know that the pile of non-trivial zero data isn’t actually supporting data?’
Li Dong thought to himself as he answered the phone.
However, what he didn’t expect was...
The first sentence from the other end was:
"Mr. Li Dong, hello? I’m Peter Sarnak from *Inventiones Mathematicae*."
Li Dong froze for a moment.
’Peter Sarnak?’
Of course he knew the name.
Sarnak was a tenured professor at the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study and one of the core members of the editorial board for *Inventiones Mathematicae*.
In the field of analytic number theory, this giant’s status was at the absolute pinnacle of the pyramid.
Moreover, he and Nicholas Katz from *Mathematical Annals* had been academic partners for many years!
The "Katz-Sarnak Conjecture" they proposed together pushed the connection between random matrix theory and the distribution of L-function zeros to a whole new level.
You could say that in the mathematics world today, if you were to make a list of "people who best understand the distribution of Riemann zeta-function zeros," the names Sarnak and Katz would definitely appear side-by-side at the very top.
And *Inventiones Mathematicae* (*Invent. Math.*) was one of the four top journals, constantly competing with *Annals* (*Mathematical Annals*) for the number one spot in pure mathematics journal rankings.
The rivalry between these two was practically an open secret in academic circles.
"Hello, Professor Sarnak. This is Li Dong."
Li Dong replied.
The person on the other end seemed to be in a hurry.
As soon as Li Dong finished speaking, Sarnak immediately said,
"Mr. Li Dong, I’ll be direct."
"I saw the paper you posted on arXiv about Montgomery’s Conjecture on Association."
"I hope you will seriously consider publishing this paper in our journal, *Inventiones Mathematicae*."
Li Dong raised an eyebrow.
’Are they trying to poach me?’
"We can offer you an expedited review channel."
Sarnak spoke very quickly.
"Myself and two other members of the editorial board will personally serve as reviewers."
"Within one month, I can guarantee the entire peer review process will be complete."
’One month?’
Li Dong mentally gasped at the blatant poaching attempt.
You have to understand, for top-tier academic journals like the big four, the normal review period is six months at a minimum, and can be as long as two or three years.
Some unlucky souls have even had their papers sit in an editor’s inbox for five years only to receive a rejection letter.
Completing the review in a month? What was this? A web novel serialization?
But Sarnak wasn’t finished.
"Mr. Li Dong, what you said at the ICCM—I see absolutely no problem with it."
"To be honest, the style of *Annals* has become more and more conservative in recent years."
"Their attitude toward not disclosing the underlying algorithm is stuck in the last century’s mindset."
"The value of an academic paper should be judged by the rigor of its mathematical logic, not defined by whether a specific verification tool is made public."
"This is a fundamental consensus at our *Inventiones Mathematicae*."
Li Dong could tell that Professor Sarnak was putting down *Annals* to prop up his own journal.
’The meaning was clear: *Annals* isn’t open-minded enough; *Inventiones Mathematicae* is your true home.’
Then, Sarnak twisted the knife.
"And forgive me for being blunt, but while Professor Bombelli is highly respected, he is, after all, over eighty years old."
"His understanding of the nature of that set of non-trivial zero data in your paper is clearly biased."
"In your paper, that data is, at best, a supplementary means of verification, not the core basis of the proof."
"I have fully confirmed this point after reading your paper thoroughly."
Hearing this, Li Dong was dumbfounded.
’Seriously...’
’Are the competitive tactics between foreign journals this... straightforward and unadorned?’
’You’re basically saying Bombelli is getting senile, aren’t you?’
’If this were back home, wouldn’t you be flamed on academic forums for three days straight?’
However, the man on the other end spoke with urgency, and Li Dong didn’t agree right away.
He still had to go back and discuss it with Liu Ruochuan.
After all, he didn’t know if there were any hidden, unwritten rules in the circles of these top journals.
So, Li Dong replied politely.
"Professor Sarnak, thank you very much for your recognition and invitation."
"I need to think about this and will give you a reply later."
Although Sarnak was a little disappointed, he knew he couldn’t push too hard.
"Of course, Mr. Li Dong."
"I will send my email and phone number to your inbox shortly. Feel free to contact me at any time."
After hanging up, just as Li Dong was about to call Liu Ruochuan to ask about the situation,
his phone vibrated again.
It was another unknown international number.
Li Dong looked at the unfamiliar number on the screen, his mouth twitching slightly, and then answered it.
"Mr. Li Dong, hello? I’m Henryk Iwaniec... I’m representing *Acta Mathematica*..."
’Henryk Iwaniec!’
If Sarnak’s call had been a surprise, this name left him utterly shocked.
Iwaniec was another giant in the international field of analytic number theory, arguably the world’s foremost authority on sieve theory and automorphic forms.
He had won the Cole Prize and the Ostrowski Prize, and his academic resume was long enough to stretch from Princeton to Moscow.
And *Acta Mathematica* was the most historic journal among the big four.
If *Annals* was the holy grail of pure mathematics, then *Acta* was the foundation stone it rested upon.
In terms of paper quality alone, the prestige of *Acta* was absolutely the highest among the four top journals.
This was because it published only a dozen or so papers a year on average, and its selection process was so strict it was almost perverse.
Professor Iwaniec didn’t disparage *Annals* as blatantly as Sarnak had.
He stated his purpose in just a few words.
*Acta Mathematica* was also willing to accept Li Dong’s paper and could also provide an expedited review channel.
Furthermore, Professor Iwaniec also mentioned that if the paper passed peer review,
*Acta Mathematica* could organize a special symposium, inviting the world’s top analytic number theorists to attend and give Li Dong’s paper the highest level of academic endorsement.
This offer was actually more substantial than the one Sarnak had made.
Because a special symposium signified collective recognition from the academic community, adding a layer of "canonization" beyond mere journal publication.
But Li Dong still politely ended the call, using the excuse that he "needed to think about it."
Putting down his phone, Li Dong stared at the ceiling in a daze for a long while.
Then he couldn’t help but curse inwardly.
’I’m so fucking brilliant.’
’Of the four top journals, three have called me.’
What Li Dong didn’t know was...
For the last one, *JAMS* (*Journal of the American Mathematical Society*), a core member of their editorial board, Professor Carlos Kenig, had also been keeping a close eye on Li Dong’s paper on arXiv.
He also wanted to make that call.
But the problem was, *JAMS*, like *Annals*, was one of the American Mathematical Community’s own top journals.
One was the flagship journal of the American Mathematical Society, and the other was a century-old journal jointly run by Princeton and the Institute for Advanced Study.
Many of their editorial board members overlapped, and they constantly saw each other at academic conferences.
To openly poach a paper currently under review at *Annals*?
Wouldn’t that be a slap in the face to Princeton?
So Kenig held back.
But he wasn’t just sitting idle.
He had his postdoc closely monitor all of Li Dong’s activity on arXiv, including whether Li Dong updated the paper’s version or revealed his submission intentions in any public setting...
As soon as Li Dong explicitly rejected *Annals*, *JAMS* would make its move immediately.
After Li Dong hung up, Li Yang, who was sitting opposite him, saw his nephew take several calls, frowning one moment and smiling the next, speaking entirely in English. Although he couldn’t understand a single word, he could tell it must be something important.
"Xiaodong, you should go take care of your business,"
Li Yang said, putting down his chopsticks.
"Okay."
Li Dong didn’t stand on ceremony.
"Uncle, you go ahead and eat. I have to go."
Li Yang waved his hand.
"Go, go, go, hurry up and take care of your real work!"
Li Dong turned and took two steps, then suddenly looked back.
"Uncle."
"Hm?"
"Remember to tell my mom I’ve gained weight."
Li Yang was taken aback for a second, then laughed and cursed good-naturedly.
"Alright, I got it. Now go on, get to your work!"
Watching his nephew’s back disappear through the diner’s door, Li Yang shook his head.
Although he didn’t really understand what kind of academic research Xiaodong was doing, judging from the tone of those phone calls...
...his nephew had probably become truly successful.
Li Yang took out his phone and scrolled to the contact entry for "Sis."
He hesitated for a moment, then put his phone away again.
’I’ll call after I leave Huaxuan Technology.’
’It’s better to deliver all the good news at once.’

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