Although the admissions teachers present were usually smooth and eloquent, they had no tricks left to use at this moment. To preserve their schools' dignity, they could only honestly call for outside help.
"Professor Chen, there's a problem I need your help solving."
Professor Chen on the other end of the call probably did not understand the situation. He said, "What's wrong? Are you planning to continue your studies?"
"Didn't you say you'd rather be beaten to death than keep studying?" Professor Chen joked with Teacher Xu.
"Professor Chen, that's not it. I'm discussing enrollment with a promising student here. Sigh, he gave us a problem and said he'll attend whichever school solves it first." Teacher Xu stepped outside the kitchen and lowered his voice.
Professor Chen picked up three pieces of information from Teacher Xu's words.
First, he had found a promising student.
Second, this promising student was apparently no ordinary person. He had actually given an admissions teacher a problem.
Third, besides Teacher Xu, other admissions teachers had also approached this promising student.
Based on those three points, the person Teacher Xu had found was definitely no ordinary prospect.
Professor Chen was intrigued. "What kind of promising student? Explain it clearly."
"Professor Chen, do you know who won first prize in this year's National Math, Physics, and Chemistry Competition?"
When Professor Chen heard Teacher Xu ask that, he quickly guessed the answer. He sucked in a breath and said in surprise, "You mean the student you found won first prize in all three—math, physics, and chemistry?"
"Exactly. Otherwise, why would I come all the way from the capital to this little place? Besides, the kid just turned sixteen!"
"Then hurry up and send me the problem." As he spoke, Professor Chen looked up the names of the first-prize winners in the National Math, Physics, and Chemistry Competition.
Luo Yao.
What a remarkable kid!
He was already this impressive at sixteen. Once he got into university, who knew how extraordinary he would become?
Professor Chen was staring at those two words on the webpage when Teacher Xu sent over a photo of the problem Luo Yao had posed.
Professor Chen narrowed his eyes. No wonder Teacher Xu couldn't solve it. This wasn't something a person like him, who switched to physics right after graduating with a bachelor's degree, would have studied.
How interesting.
The moment he learned of Luo Yao's achievements, Professor Chen had already entertained the idea of taking him on as a student. After seeing the problem, his interest in Luo Yao deepened even further.
A person who had just turned sixteen had actually studied Algebraic Topology. There was no need to say it—he had definitely taught himself.
No tutor would be foolish enough to teach something as brain-racking as Algebraic Topology!
It seemed that first prize in the National Competition was merely the competition's ceiling, not Luo Yao's ceiling!
Professor Chen pulled over some paper and a pen and began calculating.
Meanwhile, the other admissions teachers were in the same situation. One after another, they pulled out their phones and started making calls.
Teacher Ouyang from East University of Technology made several calls, but no one answered. In the end, he contacted Professor Xia from Microelectronics Science and Engineering.
He vaguely remembered that Professor Xia's field involved Algebraic Topology.
"Professor Xia, I have a special situation here that requires your assistance."
"Go ahead." Professor Xia was concise and did not waste words.
"It may sound a little absurd, but I have an Algebraic Topology problem here that I need you to solve."
Professor Xia fell silent for a few seconds before saying, "Send it over."
Teacher Ouyang said no more and immediately took a photo and sent it to her.
Some admissions teachers were not about to fall behind either. They took pictures of the problem and sent them to professors' group chats, then tagged everyone in the groups to solve it.
And so, on that day, a strange phenomenon appeared at those top universities.
Some professors failed to show up even after the class bell rang, telling their students to study on their own first. Others abruptly claimed they had something to do in the middle of class and hurried back to their offices.
At that moment, those professors had only one goal: solve the problem Luo Yao had given them as quickly as possible!
While the outside help summoned by the admissions teachers worked on the problem, the viewers in the livestream were not idle either.
"I've never seen a real academic genius before. Now I have!"
"Oh my god, out of that whole row of words Luo Yao wrote, I only recognize the word 'compact'! I'm sorry, Luo Yao T T"
"Same! I feel like I'm illiterate!"
"I think I kind of understand why Luo Yao gave them a test. If he didn't, he really wouldn't know how capable the teachers at each school were!"
"Yeah! Those admissions teachers were all so certain there wouldn't be a problem, but now they've all run off to make calls!"
"Even Luo Yao's Teacher Li is no exception. She's probably talking to people at Tsinghua University right now!"
"Which school do you think will solve it first?"
"My guess is Tsinghua University. Their science programs are seriously strong!"
"Yan University is definitely no slouch either, okay? I remember lots of science geniuses chose Yan University!"
As everyone in the livestream discussed it, Teacher Ouyang hurried in with his phone. As he walked, he said into it, "Professor Xia, I'm putting you on speaker. Tell him yourself."
Teacher Ouyang then pressed the speakerphone button—
"Student Luo, regarding the problem you posed, let me first state the answer: A is compact under the topology (L, Q, T)."
"To prove that A is compact under the topology (L, Q, T), first consider any open cover of A—that is, a collection of open sets whose union contains A."
"Now, for every subset S in B, since every subnet of S has the Cauchy property, we can conclude that every sequence in S has a point that converges to a point in A."
"This is because if no such point existed, we could construct a sequence in S with no convergent subsequence, contradicting the assumption that every subnet of S has the Cauchy property."
"Next, consider an open cover of A. We need to select finitely many open sets from it to cover A."
"Since every subset S has a point converging to A, we can choose one convergent point from each S, and these points form a finite subcover. Therefore, A is compact under the topology (L, Q, T)."
A flood of "???" swept across the livestream. The viewers all felt that Professor Xia's confident explanation made her seem exactly like their math teacher.
In contrast, after listening to Professor Xia's answer, Luo Yao finally showed a faint smile.
"May I ask who you are...?"
"Professor Xia Qing of Microelectronics Science and Engineering at East University of Technology." Seeing that Luo Yao was interested in Xia Qing, Teacher Ouyang quickly seized the opportunity to introduce her.
Teacher Xu and Li Hong, who had arrived a few steps later, stood inside with their phones in hand, staring blankly at Luo Yao.
They had actually been one step too late?
"Damn, Yan University and Tsinghua University were just a little short of being first!"
"What a pity! Well, there goes my bet!"
"What kind of school is East University of Technology? Is it really that impressive?"
"Of course East University of Technology is impressive! I remember they have a partnership with Huaji!"
"I remember now. Huaji previously had a Genius Program project that specifically recruited top talents from around the world. I think one of them was from East University of Technology!"