Terrifying

"Shh~" Shen Qi put his index finger to his lips.

"What's wrong, Master Shen? You dare to make a prediction but not take responsibility?" Zhou Yu'an asked.

"This matter is of great importance, and you must not spread it around. You must keep it to yourself," Shen Qi warned Zhou Yu'an.

Zhou Yu'an retorted, "Your earthquake paper has been on arVix for a month now! The whole world knows what you, Shen Qi, are up to!"

"That paper is theoretical; I didn't make any specific predictions in it. You can take another look." Shen Qi used the mouse to access arVix on the computer and showed Zhou Yu'an his paper, "Research on a New Earthquake Model."

"But you sent an early warning email to the New Zealand Seismological Network. The evidence is irrefutable, Professor Shen," Zhou Yu'an said.

"In short, Zhou Yu'an, just do what you need to do. Treat it like watching a movie; when the movie ends and the audience disperses, a simple and peaceful life is the best."

"Hey, that earthquake paper you posted was a censored version. Can I read the full version?"

"No."

"Mathematical models and computational procedures?"

"Deleted."

"Shen Qi, are we still brothers? You're modeling based on a lot of Differential Equation, I can help you."

"Because we are brothers, I will bear all the hardships alone. I will face the storms alone. Forget about this dangerous idea, Zhou Yu'an, and focus on writing your Doctoral Thesis in mathematics." Shen Qi escorted Zhou Yu'an to the office door.

After seeing Zhou Yu'an off, Shen Qi fell into deep thought. He spread out his palms, stared at his hands, and thought, "Terrible, truly terrifying."

Our teachers taught us that we must have reverence for nature.

Our teachers have also taught us a lot of knowledge, and we use this knowledge to continuously transform nature.

"What's terrifying isn't nature, but humanity itself."

Shen Qi drank a cup of coffee to calm his nerves.

The mathematical model for predicting earthquakes still needs further improvement. It provides four coordinates simultaneously, and currently it has been accurate for one area, but there are deviations in local geographical locations.

A 1-degree deviation in latitude and longitude is roughly equivalent to the distance between New York and Philadelphia.

This distance is insignificant on the vast Pacific Ocean, but in a densely populated urban area on the mainland, it concerns the lives and property of millions of people.

Time is just as important as location.

As for earthquake intensity, micro-earthquakes below magnitude 2.5 occur every day worldwide. Humans cannot perceive micro-earthquakes, they do not cause any damage, they are only valuable to seismologists, and ordinary people can ignore micro-earthquakes.

Only by providing precise geographical coordinates, time, and earthquake intensity can a prediction be truly valuable.

"There is still so much work to be done..."

Shen Qi went to the Flint Library and borrowed a large number of documents related to seismology, geology, and Fluid Mechanics.

The undersea earthquake that occurred in the waters south of Campbell Island, New Zealand, did not cause global panic.

Seismologists have discovered through extensive data that only earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.5 or higher on the Richter scale and a focal depth of less than 20-50 kilometers are likely to produce destructive tsunamis.

The 10 fishermen on Campbell Island went about their business as usual, fishing and sunbathing at sea.

The public remained unusually calm, but the New Zealand Seismological Network was stunned.

A month ago, Shen Qi sent an early warning email to the New Zealand Seismological Network: "Earthquake! Earthquake! Earthquake!"

The New Zealand Seismological Network website didn't believe Shen Qi at all, and said that their cat had also made similar earthquake predictions.

The male cat owned by the New Zealand Seismological Network Center ran away from home a few days ago and has not returned. It may not want to take the blame, so it simply left.

The head of the New Zealand Seismological Network personally wrote a new email and sent it to Shen Qi:

"Professor Shen, I am very sorry for my previous rudeness."

"Without a doubt, you are the world's greatest mathematician, and also a brilliant prophet."

"You accurately predicted the earthquake in the waters south of Campbell Island; a 1-degree deviation in latitude and longitude is within an acceptable margin of error."

"It is worth noting that the other coordinates you provided are located in the more distant South Pacific Ocean, 2,000 kilometers from mainland New Zealand."

"Although that coordinate is 2,000 kilometers away from New Zealand, we are still the closest sovereign nation to it, and we have an obligation to monitor the earthquake situation in that area."

"Professor Shen, could you provide the timeframe for the earthquake at that predicted point, as well as the estimated earthquake magnitude, so that we can collect earthquake data in a timely manner?"

"Looking forward to your reply, the New Zealand Seismological Network will always be your best friend."

The New Zealand Seismological Network's attitude was drastically different before and after the earthquake in the waters south of Campbell Island.

At this point, the New Zealand Seismological Network had even higher expectations for Shen Qi, hoping that he could provide the earthquake prediction point 2,000 kilometers away from the New Zealand mainland, including the timing and estimated intensity of the earthquake.

This was beyond Shen Qi's capabilities; he could only provide the location coordinates, not the timeframe or the estimated intensity.

"I'm sorry, I can't do it."

Shen Qi gave a simple and straightforward reply to the New Zealand Seismological Network, and then continued his seismological research.

A few days later, a screenshot began circulating in the international earthquake community.

The screenshot is from the English version of Outlook. The sender is Shen-Qi, and the recipient is the official email address of the New Zealand Seismological Network.

In the email, the sender wrote:

"I am Shen Qi, a professor in the Princeton Mathematics Department. Based on my calculations, I predict that earthquakes may occur at two locations: 55 degrees south latitude and 167 degrees east longitude, and 55 degrees south latitude and 167 degrees west longitude. If an earthquake of magnitude 2.0 or higher is detected at these coordinates in the near future, please contact me immediately. Thank you."

Based on the recent earthquake that occurred off the coast of New Zealand, the international seismological community has reached a surprising conclusion: Fields Medal winner Shen Qi accurately predicted the earthquake off the south coast of Campbell Island, with an error of only one degree of latitude and longitude!

"Damn it, the New Zealand Seismological Network betrayed me! They'll always be my best friends, but are friends just for betraying each other?"

Shen Qi's earthquake prediction skills were not yet fully developed. He did not want to cause trouble; he only wanted to improve his seismological theory and Mathematical Physics model. Only when his skills were fully developed could he truly benefit the people of the world and promote the process of world peace.

One wave subsides only for another to rise.

Shen Qi's earthquake model theory research paper, which was almost forgotten and ignored on arVix, is now extremely popular, with a large number of downloads and reposts.

The story spread like wildfire: Princeton mathematician Shen Qi developed a new seismological model that accurately predicted the New Zealand earthquake.