Math Was Still the Best Stress Relief

The "Huaxuan Cup" Physics Applications Competition carried considerable prestige in science and engineering circles.

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That was because Huaxuan Technology stood behind the competition.

And Huaxuan Technology's parent company was Guowei Equipment Group.

The domestic lithography machine giant that occasionally appeared on the national news.

Within the entire group, Huaxuan Technology was mainly responsible for precision optical-path calibration and micro-displacement measurement and control.

In plain terms, it made the "eyes" of lithography machines.

A competition held by a company of that caliber naturally would not be like those worthless contests that tossed out a few questions and handed out certificates.

The Huaxuan Cup was highly valued by major prestigious schools because it often "slipped in some private goods."

The problem-setting team often took real engineering problems encountered during production, or representative technical pain points that had already been solved, simplified and anonymized them, then released them as the final questions.

It did not test how many formulas you could memorize, but your ability to apply physics, along with that tiny spark of intuition that might change the world.

A few years ago, one contestant whose usual grades were not especially outstanding proposed an exceptionally original cooling approach for a problem involving "thermal deformation from multilayer mirror reflection" during the finals.

Before the competition results had even been announced, Huaxuan Technology had taken notice of him. They not only fully funded all his undergraduate tuition, but he eventually joined the parent company, Guowei Equipment Group, directly. Rumor had it that he was now a key member of a core R&D team.

It was like in a cultivation novel, when an ordinary outer disciple used a self-created sword technique in a sect tournament, caught the eye of a Soul Transformation ancestor who had just emerged from seclusion, and was immediately accepted as a personal disciple.

If that was not soaring to the heavens in a single step, nothing was.

Chengdu High-Speed Rail Station.

At the crowded exit, Zheng Hua was exchanging pleasantries with a middle-aged man sporting a bald crown.

"Ah, Director Liu, it's been a long time! No. 6 High School really brought out all its elites this time," Zheng Hua said with a broad smile.

"Not at all, Director Zheng. You flatter us. What elites? They're just ordinary students. I brought them out to see the world."

This balding man was Liu Limin, the dean of studies and head of the physics department at Jiangcheng No. 6 High School. Eight students in Jiangcheng No. 6 High School uniforms stood behind him.

"No. 7 High School isn't bad this time either. I heard someone got a perfect score and took first place in the preliminaries? That's truly impressive."

"Luck. It was all luck."

Zheng Hua laughed it off.

The two exchanged a few more compliments and wished each other good results.

"Well then, Director Liu, we'll go check in at the hotel first. See you next time."

"Alright, Director Zheng. See you."

They waved goodbye and turned away.

Then Zheng Hua, who had been all smiles moments ago, immediately darkened.

He curled his lip and muttered quietly enough that only Li Dong could hear.

"We're clearly at the same level, yet he's always putting on airs. Anyone who didn't know better would think he was No. 6 High School's principal."

Li Dong, walking beside him, clicked his tongue inwardly.

Was this the adult world?

Zheng Hua turned and patted his shoulder, his tone becoming earnest.

"Li Dong, you need to do us proud this time."

With his backpack on his shoulders, Li Dong looked at Zheng Hua's hopeful face and felt speechless.

Teacher, I really only came for the twenty thousand... and to bring glory to the school.

Could you adults leave me out of your grudges and drama?

Meanwhile, in another passageway.

Liu Limin hurried along with his students.

His expression was not much better either.

"Director, was that No. 7 High School's teacher just now?"

A bespectacled boy walking behind him asked.

Liu Limin nodded without speaking.

"And the one beside him was Li Dong, the top scorer in the preliminaries?"

The boy adjusted his glasses.

"He actually came to the in-person round?"

Liu Limin slowed slightly and sighed.

"Looks like it's a little different from what we thought."

"This Li Dong might actually have some ability."

"Director, then we—"

"Don't mind him."

Liu Limin waved a hand, cutting the student off.

Although Li Dong had dared to come, proving that he had some knowledge, Liu Limin still did not believe that Li Dong had earned that perfect preliminary score through his own ability.

The preliminaries had been online, after all. There were too many loopholes.

He was more inclined to believe that the student had some skill. Even if he performed poorly in the second round, as long as his score was passable, No. 7 High School could explain away that perfect preliminary score.

After all, off days were common.

So he did not pay much attention to Li Dong.

He turned back to the boy.

"Zhao Ziwei, don't worry about that kid from No. 7 High School. Just focus on yourself, do the problems carefully, and don't make any basic mistakes."

"You and Tianli's Lin Xiao were only one point apart in the preliminaries, and your rankings in the citywide joint exams have always been neck and neck."

"Qin Yan went to the national training camp, so he definitely won't come to a commercial competition like this. That means Jiangcheng's highest score this time will most likely be contested between you two."

"As for Chengdu No. 7 High School, well..."

Liu Limin sighed at that.

No. 6 High School could reign supreme in Jiangcheng, but compared with Chengdu No. 7 High School?

Forget it. Their teachers scolded students by saying, "If you don't work hard, you can go to the neighboring Sichuan University."

Chen Yue: ???

Zhao Ziwei nodded.

"Don't worry, Director."

Huaxuan Hotel.

This was a five-star hotel under Huaxuan Technology and the designated accommodation for this round of the competition.

Contestants stayed for free, and even accompanying teachers received a seventy-percent discount.

After checking in, Zheng Hua did not drag Li Dong off to discuss more problems.

They had already covered everything worth covering during those days of intensive training at school. Stuffing in more knowledge now would only make his thinking muddled.

"Alright, here's your room card."

Zheng Hua handed Li Dong a keycard.

"Get some proper rest tonight and get used to the environment. Don't put too much pressure on yourself."

"The exam starts at nine tomorrow morning. I'll come get you for breakfast at seven thirty."

Li Dong took the room card, nodded, and entered the elevator.

Back in his room, Li Dong tossed his backpack onto the bed and collapsed onto it spread-eagled.

Don't put too much pressure on himself?

Honestly, claiming he felt no pressure at all would have been a lie.

To be fair, the Huaxuan Cup's difficulty was not particularly high for Li Dong, considering he lurked in the Azure Dragon Study Group every day.

The big shots there discussed things like Riemann surfaces, gauge field theory, and high-order aberration correction.

So the second round of a cup competition was not enough to pressure him.

What truly pressured him was not the questions.

It was...

"That's fucking twenty thousand yuan!"

Li Dong's eyes practically gleamed green.

Twenty thousand yuan! Add the extra ten thousand promised by the school for first prize, and that made thirty thousand!

For his family's current circumstances, that was practically a fortune.

"Phew... I can't think about it. The more I think about it, the more excited I get."

Li Dong forced himself to calm down.

Since he had nothing else to do, he habitually took out his phone and opened WeChat.

"Maybe I should study some math. It's good for relieving stress."

"Let's see whether any new math big shots have appeared."

The group seemed unusually quiet lately.

Gauss's profile picture was still gray. Ever since that inexplicable remark about "countless worlds," he had never come online again.

The great Euler had not spoken up even once.

Even Newton, usually the most active member, had barely said anything recently.

"Maybe he's busy driving the Second Industrial Revolution?"

Li Dong mused inwardly.

As he delved deeper into physics, he increasingly felt the importance of mathematical tools.

Especially number theory.

Gauss had once said: Mathematics was the queen of the sciences, and number theory was the queen of mathematics.

Hmm, he also seemed to have said chemistry was mathematics's maid...

Dmitri Mendeleev: ...

Li Dong was actually rather intimidated by number theory now.

It might look like it was all just integers, but in truth, its pitfalls were bottomless. Any random conjecture could trap an entire group of geniuses to death.

Li Dong shook his head.

"Forget it. I'll deal with number theory when I get the chance."

"I should solve my algebra problems first."

"Who should I ask?"

"Euler isn't talking, and I can't just @ him directly. That would be too presumptuous."

Li Dong looked through the member list and finally spotted an ID.

[John Charles Fields]

The man who had established the Fields Medal.

To ordinary people, he was undoubtedly a godlike figure in mathematics.

But in this group, he still had a long way to go.

In terms of academic achievement, forget comparing him to Gauss or Euler—even compared to Riemann and Cauchy, he was more than a tier behind.

It could be said that John Charles Fields was more like a great mathematics educator than the sort of peerless genius who dominated an era.

"But he seems to be the only one who has spoken up these past few days..."

After thinking it over, Li Dong decided to test the waters and see whether he could pick up some benefits.

He skillfully put on his "my nephew" disguise.

[Currently Grinding Senior-Year Problems]: @John Charles Fields, good evening, sir.

[Currently Grinding Senior-Year Problems]: My dull-witted nephew has recently been pondering a question about algebraic function theory. He keeps getting confused about applying the Riemann-Roch theorem to specific curves...

This was actually a difficulty Li Dong had encountered while reading Algebraic Geometry. It was a point he had not fully grasped.

[John Charles Fields]: Oh? Algebraic functions? As it happens, I know a little about them too.

[Fields]: The essence of the Riemann-Roch theorem is actually quite simple. It establishes an identity between the dimension of the linear space of divisors and the genus of a curve for smooth algebraic curves on compact Riemann surfaces...

Li Dong frantically took notes while casually evaluating the explanation.

"It's pretty detailed, but compared with the other big shots' explanations, it's a bit average."

Li Dong had not realized that he had become spoiled. He had actually called Fields average.

Finally, in order to get even more out of him, Li Dong deliberately added something.

[Currently Grinding Senior-Year Problems]: Thank you for your guidance. By the way, I heard you've been considering establishing an award...

[Currently Grinding Senior-Year Problems]: I think that if the award focused on young mathematicians, say those under forty, it might inspire more vitality in mathematics.

After all, mathematics belonged to the young.

Li Dong was practically answering the question with the answer already in hand.

Historically, the Fields Medal had indeed been designed that way, with the aim of encouraging young mathematicians.

[John Charles Fields]: !!!

[Fields]: Under forty? This suggestion is simply wonderful!

[Fields]: Youth truly means limitless possibilities! Sir Currently Grinding Senior-Year Problems, your insights are always so original!

Li Dong looked at the screen, unable to suppress the upward curve of his lips.

By convention, this was when a red packet should appear.

However...

One minute passed.

Five minutes passed.

Yet the group remained silent.

After sending that exclamation, Fields seemed to have gone off to revise the rules for his award.

"???"

Li Dong was completely bewildered.

"No way?"

"I even helped you settle on the core spirit of the Fields Medal, and you can't even give me a red packet?"

Li Dong gloomily tossed his phone aside.

"Don't tell me I have to win the Fields Medal before I get a reward?"

"If that's really the case..."

Li Dong decided to block Fields for the time being.

"Forget it, sleep!"

Li Dong pulled the blanket over his head.

To hell with Fields—getting those twenty thousand yuan first was what mattered!

It was late at night.

Yet the lights remained on in the rooms of Huaxuan Hotel.

Top students from across the city and even the province were hunched over their desks, making the most of their final hours to review.

Zhao Ziwei was grinding through practice problems, his brows tightly furrowed.

Meanwhile, Lin Xiao from Tianli had his eyes closed as he rested, muttering as he recited complex physical constants.

The teachers were also in the various rooms, giving their students their final pep talks.

Everyone wanted to seize first place in one go. Everyone wanted to enter the legendary Guowei Equipment Group and become one of its chosen "direct disciples."

Only Room 302 was different.

Faint snoring drifted out from inside.

Li Dong had a dream.

In the dream, he stood on the winners' podium, but what he held in his hands was not a trophy.

It was a thick bundle of cash.

He grinned like a two-hundred-jin fat man.

In the middle of the night, he suddenly woke with a start! His pupils contracted, as though he had forgotten something important!!

"I almost forgot—happy New Year, everyone! May you get rich soon!"