M-Theory... Livestream?

"Professor Witten, Professor Zhou, Professor Xiao, hello, I'm Jeff Myers from Nature magazine. May I take a group photo of the four of you, including Professor Shen?" Myers earnestly requested.

"Of course, why not?" Shen Qi and the others readily agreed, and the four of them took a group photo at the coffee shop.

After finishing filming, Miles excitedly said, "I've already come up with the script for this part: 'In this seemingly ordinary coffee shop, four mathematicians teamed up to solve the Millennium Prize Problem, the Navier-Stokes equation.'"

Next, Miles visited the Condensed Matter Physics laboratory, but only from the entrance; he didn't go inside.

The Condensed Matter Physics laboratory has a very high level of security. Shen Qi stood at the entrance and introduced the laboratory, hoping that Miles could understand.

Miles expressed his understanding, and then went to the Chemistry Laboratory to observe the various chemical instruments and reagents up close.

Shen Qi didn't allow Miles into the Condensed Matter Physics lab because the FASTER Project Team was conducting experiments inside.

Miles is a journalist, but not just any journalist; he's a science journalist for Nature magazine.

You're asking Shen Qi to let a senior foreign science journalist into a key laboratory to observe firsthand a national key project in progress? He wouldn't take that risk.

The Chemistry Laboratory was different; there were only two people inside: Old Yan was cleaning, and Cheng Haonan was checking the medicines.

Miles can film chemical instruments and reagents however he wants; he's only filming standard instruments and reagents anyway.

Having observed workplaces in fields such as mathematics, physics, and chemistry, Miles's field interviews are coming to an end.

Before concluding, Miles asked Shen Qi to give a summary, which, after being processed by Miles, will appear in a special issue of Nature.

Shen Qi immediately began, "First of all, I would like to thank the journal Nature for publishing a special issue on our center. Utilizing collective wisdom, we were the first in the world to find the general solution to the Navier-Stokes equations; our Condensed Matter Physics laboratory has continuously innovated, developing world-class Metallic Plastic and other pioneering condensed matter materials; our Chemistry group, after thousands of experiments, finally synthesized a novel compound, C01C-2, which may show some positive effects in the treatment of Type II Diabetes."

"I accepted Nature's suggestion to publish a special issue on our center. My intention was not to highlight how great our center is or how brilliant our achievements are. Although we have indeed achieved some success, it is more like an invitation than a hard advertisement."

"I hope that through the broad platform of Nature, more scholars aspiring to innovation will come to know us, become familiar with us, and join us. In short, our center and Yenching University will dedicate ourselves to better serving all humanity with humanistic thought and a scientific and innovative attitude. This is our mission and pursuit. Thank you."

Miles turned off the recorder and said sincerely, "Professor Shen, your summary is excellent. I have nothing to change. May I quote your summary verbatim?"

"Sure," Shen Qi smiled.

"After this day's visit, I have gained a deeper understanding of the remarkable achievements your center has made over the past five years, and I believe this will be a fascinating report. Professor Shen, looking to the future, could you share some eye-catching information?"

"Looking to the future?"

"I remember you said in a public setting last year that the Mathematical Grand Unification, the M-theory refinement, and environmental protection would be the key areas you and your team will focus on in the future."

"Yes, I did say that." Shen Qi maintained a faint smile and said, "The Mathematical Grand Unification is an extremely complex and massive project. I raised this topic last year. You can't expect me to complete the Mathematical Grand Unification this year, can you? Such a large project must have a gradual research process, right?"

"So the project to Mathematical Grand Unification has not yet achieved any exciting preliminary research results?" Miles asked, as he was actually very concerned about the three-century-long questions that Shen Qi had raised last year.

The Navier-Stokes equations, new materials in Condensed Matter Physics, and the novel compound C01C-2—these research findings have been published in various well-known academic journals and monographs, and Shen Qi has also given very detailed public presentations on them. Even if Miles didn't come to China for on-site interviews, given his writing skills, he could still write a very accurate article while sitting at the UK headquarters researching materials.

"This will take time, time," Shen Qi said slowly.

"Okay, we will continue to follow Professor Shen's latest research progress."

"Let me put it this way, Mr. Miles," Shen Qi said, "I actually started collecting information on the issue of Mathematical Grand Unification a long time ago, and the formal project was only launched last year. Back then, I was young, passionate, and even idealistic. I thought that integrating number theory, Algebraic Geometry, Mathematical Analysis, and other fields into a new theoretical system, and using a new paradigm to solve all mathematical problems, would be the Mathematical Grand Unification." Shen Qi sighed, as if he had encountered an insurmountable obstacle.

Miles: "Everyone has been young, and everyone has had dreams and fantasies. So, Professor Shen, after you were hailed as the foremost mathematician of our time, have you gained any new insights or inspirations regarding the Mathematical Grand Unification?"

"Recently, I've felt that integrating number theory, Algebraic Geometry, and Mathematical Analysis into a new theoretical system, using a new paradigm to solve all mathematical problems, is only one part of the Mathematical Grand Unification. Of course, there's also good news: Professor Xu Yang's team from Peking University has joined this project, and they've already achieved preliminary directional research results in Algebraic Geometry. Because these preliminary results are still immature, I can't reveal too much information to you at this time." Shen Qi stopped there; this was top secret.

"Oh, well, I look forward to the day you succeed." Miles turned the recorder back on and asked, "We've discussed the problem of the Mathematical Grand Unification, so what about the other two century-long projects that will benefit all mankind?"

Shen Qi: "Environmental protection is a much larger topic, and I won't discuss it for now. As for the M-theory refinement, Mr. Miles, you've come at a good time. We've already made substantial progress in the research on M-theory refinement. According to the plan, we will hold a report meeting on M-theory in the Yenching University Academic Hall in a few days, which will be broadcast live. If you're interested, you can go and see it in person."

"M-theory... live broadcast? Why haven't we received any official notification beforehand?" Miles shuddered. This was a major event in the Physics Community!

Shen Qi: "If I inform you now, does that count as official?"

"Of course it counts!"