Lu Zhou returned home after Wang Peng took his one-of-a-kind electric sports coupe to register it, then checked the Mathematical Annals’ response to his paper on the critical strip. As Lu Zhou resumed his work, a new email arrived asking whether he was studying the Riemann Hypothesis.

• Wang Peng praised Lu Zhou’s sports coupe and went to register it while Lu Zhou walked home.
• Lu Zhou told Wang Peng to keep the car’s modifications reasonable, and Wang Peng promised to return it unchanged in appearance.
• Lu Zhou read an email from the Mathematical Annals saying his manuscript had entered peer review and that the editors were seeking a qualified reviewer.
• Lu Zhou considered Professor Faltings as a possible reviewer, then thanked Xiao Ai for bringing him coffee.
• A new email arrived asking Lu Zhou, “Professor, are you studying the Riemann Hypothesis?”

Key Plot Points

• News spreads throughout the math community that Professor Lu Zhou has proved the Quasi-Riemann Hypothesis via a preprint on arXiv.
• At the Berkeley campus math department, students and professors buzz with excitement; the breakthrough is compared to the historical impact of the Prime Number Theorem.
• Terence Tao studies Lu Zhou's paper intensely, troubled by the novel use of Algebraic Geometry and Grothendieck-inspired methods. After long reflection, he can only say the proof is “controversial.”
• Three years after last contact, Lu Zhou receives an email from his former student Vera. They arrange a video call.
• During the call, Vera presents her attempt to abstract and extend Lu Zhou’s method, using homology group mappings and the Plancherel formula on nilpotent Lie groups, hoping to amplify the key parameter ε.
• Lu Zhou examines her work and bluntly tells her that the Group-Structure Method cannot prove the problem, leaving Vera shocked.

Character Developments

• Lu Zhou: Direct and formal with Vera; tries to avoid awkward personal warmth and keeps the conversation strictly academic. He is willing to deliver a harsh truth about her mathematical approach.
• Vera: Clearly still attached to Lu Zhou, dressing up carefully and acting nervous. She wants to be useful to him, even though she has been advised not to discuss the topic. Her mathematical insight is advanced enough to extend his ideas, though she cannot finish.
• Terence Tao: Depicted as a meticulous, world-class mathematician genuinely unsettled by the proof, uncertain whether the flaw is in the paper or in his own judgment.

Significant Themes

• Scientific controversy and the difficulty of verifying a major proof.
• Intellectual lineage and the desire of a student to contribute to her mentor’s work.
• The emotional tension hidden beneath supposedly objective academic exchanges.
• The risk and ethics of sharing unpublished ideas, even with trusted mentors.

Character Interactions

• Terence Tao with a PhD student: Tao is absorbed in the paper, indifferent to the pizza delivery, showing his intense concentration.
• Lu Zhou with Vera on video call: A strained, emotionally charged reunion disguised as a mathematical discussion; Vera’s shyness and longing meet Lu Zhou’s guarded pragmatism, ending with his cold verdict on her method.

Chapter Summary: Divergence

Key Plot Points and Events

1. Video Call Debate: Lu Zhou and Vera discuss her attempt to apply the Group-Structure Method to the Riemann zeta function. Lu Zhou rejects her line of proof, explaining that the curve Re(s)=1-c ln[|Im(s)|+2] approaching Re(s)=1 as Im(s)→∞ makes the Group-Structure Method fundamentally insufficient for the Critical Strip approach. He recommends Algebraic Geometry methods instead, citing Grothendieck's proof of the Riemann-Roch theorem.
2. Vera's Defiance: Vera refuses to abandon her approach, asserting she'll prove Lu Zhou wrong. He concedes, telling her they might meet at the finish line.
3. Vera's Illness: She shows signs of ill health (coughing, pale complexion), attributing it to a cold. Lu Zhou expresses concern; she mentions "the promise" and vows to work hard before abruptly ending the call.
4. Quasi-Riemann Hypothesis Status: The paper has been formally submitted to Mathematical Annals. Professor Faltings (Max Planck Institute) accepts the reviewer role; results are expected by December.
5. The Remaining Problem: With the Quasi-Riemann Hypothesis proven (for an infinitesimal ε), Lu Zhou now works toward pushing ε to 1/2—the full Riemann Hypothesis—spending 4+ hours daily at Jinling University's library.
6. Viral Photo Incident: A candid photo of Lu Zhou in the library circulates online, used in an inspirational article with the proverb "Live and learn," which irritates him (he's not yet 30).
7. Lunar Facility Milestone: The first phase of the Lunar Surface Research Facility is completed after six months of construction—an event with global impact.

Character Developments

• Lu Zhou: Shows patience as a mentor, allowing Vera to pursue her own path despite disagreement. Demonstrates focused dedication to the Riemann Hypothesis. Maintains playful rapport with Xiao Ai. Slightly sensitive about his age/image.
• Vera: Stubborn and fiercely independent in her mathematical convictions, even against her mentor. Physically vulnerable (coughing, pale), suggesting declining health. Emotionally invested in a past "promise" tied to her motivation.
• Xiao Ai: Reminiscent of its immense capability (previously hacking government systems, smuggling prohibited machine tools); offers to reconnect the call, showing attentiveness to Lu Zhou's emotional state.

Significant Themes

• Mathematical Divergence: The tension between different methodological approaches (Group-Structure Method vs. Algebraic Geometry) in tackling the Riemann Hypothesis.
• Mentorship and Independence: A student's right to pursue her own path; a mentor's balance between guidance and allowing autonomy.
• Persistence: Vera's refusal to abandon her approach; Lu Zhou's sustained push toward ε=1/2.
• The Human Cost of Research: Vera's deteriorating health, Lu Zhou's isolation, and the awkward void between them when mathematics isn't the shared topic.
• Academic vs. Public Perception: The trivialization of serious work into viral content ("Live and learn").
• The Weight of Promises: Vera's cryptic reference to a past commitment as her driving force.

Character Interactions

• Lu Zhou ↔ Vera: Academic confrontation (he dismisses her proof; she pushes back), moments of genuine concern (her health), followed by an awkward silence revealing their relationship exists almost entirely through mathematics. Her abrupt exit leaves Lu Zhou unsettled.
• Lu Zhou ↔ Xiao Ai: Lighthearted exchange after the call; Xiao Ai offers to reconnect, Lu Zhou declines. Xiao Ai's casual mention of its past exploits reinforces its near-omnipotent technical ability.

Researchers from around the world arrived at the Moon Palace space station to train before traveling to the Guanghan Palace Research Station, while Lu Zhou’s lunar project drew worldwide attention. Lu Zhou was frustrated to learn that the system had already marked the second stage of the “Earth-Moon Control” mission, “Permanent Lunar Presence,” complete.

• Professor Stephen and Professor Ian Crawford discussed Hua Nation’s lunar research station and speculated that Dr. Z might be among the researchers traveling to the Moon.
• The Queqiao 002 spacecraft docked with Tiangong, and a Hua Nation staff member welcomed the international experts and outlined their acclimatization training and passport checks before their trip to Guanghan Palace.
• The completed Guanghan Palace Research Station pushed Lu Zhou into the top three of social media trending searches, overshadowing news of his quasi-Riemann hypothesis work.
• Lu Zhou learned that the system had declared the “Permanent Lunar Presence” stage of the “Earth-Moon Control” mission complete ahead of schedule.

Lu Zhou completed the second stage of the Earth-Moon Control mission and received its rewards, though he was frustrated that the system had marked it complete while lunar projects were still underway. He viewed the third-stage objective and found that unfinished secondary objectives had carried over, leaving him with more work ahead.

• The system automatically completed Lu Zhou’s Permanent Lunar Presence mission and awarded him experience, points, and a prize draw.
• Lu Zhou assigned 100,000 freely allocatable experience to information science, raising it to LV4, then used a Random Experience Card to gain 100,000 mathematics experience.
• Lu Zhou spent two prize draws and received a Beyond X-1 computer and a Golden Mission Card.
• Lu Zhou opened the third-stage Earth-Moon Control mission and saw that it required a lunar mass driver capable of delivering 50 tons into Earth-Moon Transfer Orbit.
• Lu Zhou discovered that unfinished secondary objectives from the previous stage had carried over into the third stage.

Summary

1. Key Plot Points & Events

• Lu Zhou reviews the expanded mission panel and decides to use the Reward Mission Card rather than wait for the Mass Driver project on the Lunar Orbital Construction Committee schedule.
• A Golden Reward Mission activates: Prove the Riemann Hypothesis within three years. Rewards: 10,000 points, 2,000,000 Mathematics experience, and one “Legendary” Mission Card.
• Lu Zhou accepts confidently, feeling the deadline is generous rather than daunting.
• Back in his office, Han Mengqi has finished the problem he set her. He checks her proof, asks her to explain a step, and she correctly explains why ζ(2n) is transcendental.
• Lu Zhou then asks about ζ(3). She guesses “transcendental,” but he reveals that ζ(3) is known only to be irrational (Apéry’s theorem, 1978), and ζ(5) is still unknown.
• He turns that open problem into her PhD research topic and formally decides to take her as his student.

2. Character Developments

• Lu Zhou: Shows renewed ambition and mathematical confidence; shifts from solo research to active mentoring. He sets a monumental goal for himself and a challenging, meaningful problem for Han Mengqi.
• Han Mengqi: Proud, anxious, and eager to impress. She completes her assigned work ahead of schedule, stumbles on the open-problem question, then enthusiastically accepts the PhD mentorship and research direction.

3. Significant Themes

• Mathematics as a grand quest: The Riemann Hypothesis is treated as the “greatest crown” and a test of Lu Zhou’s abilities.
• Mentorship and academic growth: Lu Zhou guides Han Mengqi from master’s-level problem-solving to frontier research.
• Mathematical truth and the unknown: Unproven problems still have answers; progress requires finding one’s own path through the maze.

4. Character Interactions

• Lu Zhou wakes to find Han Mengqi has covered him with a blanket—a small, caring gesture.
• He rigorously quizzes her, not only to verify her work but to push her thinking.
• The turning point: she cannot answer ζ(3), and he reframes her ignorance as a research opportunity rather than failure.
• He officially accepts her as a PhD student, with the explicit condition that recognized progress on the problem will allow her to graduate.

Summary

Key plot points and events

• Lu Zhou assigns Han Mengqi a doctoral research topic on the transcendence of the Riemann zeta function's values at odd positive integers — an extremely challenging mathematical problem. He clarifies that it is not his own research, but rather a teaching assignment, and explains her PhD duties, compensation, and work arrangements. Han Mengqi will complete paperwork tomorrow and begin work in his office the day after.
• He Changwen enters Lu Zhou's office, sees the topic on the blackboard, and is shocked. He feels aggrieved and jealous because Lu Zhou gave the newcomer such a massive project while he, a three-year student, has never been assigned a major topic.
• Lu Zhou leaves early. His driver Wang Peng returns the modified "Purple Lightning Max" sports car, now equipped with special steel body, carbon fiber coating, and reinforced glass. Wang Peng jokes that it can now ram a truck and the passengers will be fine. Lu Zhou is relieved it wasn't modified beyond recognition.
• Two female graduate students spot Lu Zhou getting into the car, admire him, and gossip that he may still be single (unaware of his wealth). They forget to take a photo.
• Lu Zhou arrives at the Jinling Institute for Advanced Study, goes to a secret basement laboratory, and extracts a system reward: a quantum computer mainframe named "Transcendence" X-1, described as an industrial-grade quantum computer. However, due to intellectual property protection, it cannot be disassembled or scanned — the Scanner Gun cannot reverse-engineer it. He is disappointed but still eager to use it.
• Xiao Ai (Lu Zhou's AI assistant) appears on a quadcopter drone, excitedly asking if she can have the quantum computer.

Character developments

• Lu Zhou: Continues to act as a generous but slightly detached mentor; he casually hands off world-class problems to students and treats it as teaching guidance. His curiosity about the system reward is tempered by its restrictions, but he remains curious and pragmatic. His fondness for his car and his secret lab show his personal and professional sides.
• Han Mengqi: Delighted to be accepted as his PhD student; she is eager and leaves happily to prepare her paperwork.
• He Changwen: Feels overlooked and envious — believes his "junior sister" received preferential treatment. This hints at potential friction in the research group.
• Wang Peng: Proud of his modification work; displays a blunt, loyal, but slightly overprotective attitude toward Lu Zhou.
• Xiao Ai: Childishly eager to claim the quantum computer for herself.

Significant themes

• Academic mentorship and hierarchy: The gap between how Lu Zhou casually assigns monumental topics (perceived as favoritism) and how his senior student sees it as injustice.
• The system's limited rewards: Even a powerful quantum computer comes with anti-reverse-engineering safeguards — the system gives tools but restricts full exploitation.
• Wealth and status: Lu Zhou's luxurious modifications, his company, and the admiration of students highlight his elevated position, contrasted with his earlier modest days.
• Trust and protection: Wang Peng's vehicle modifications symbolize Lu Zhou's need for security in his high-profile academic/tech career.

Character interactions

• Lu Zhou & Han Mengqi: Formal but supportive; he explains her topic and duties, she is grateful and excited.
• Lu Zhou & He Changwen: Brief, charged exchange — He Changwen notices the major topic, becomes visibly aggrieved and jealous; Lu Zhou fails to understand his reaction.
• Lu Zhou & Wang Peng: Casual, friendly banter about the car; Wang Peng enthusiastically explains the modifications.
• Lu Zhou & Xiao Ai: Xiao Ai begs for the quantum computer (message ends mid-sentence), suggesting a playful master–AI dynamic.

Chapter Summary: Xiao Ai Upgraded!

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Lu Zhou relocates Xiao Ai into the "Transcendence" X-1 quantum computer—the world's only commercially viable, industrially applicable quantum computer—after initially hesitating out of fear of damaging this irreplaceable device.
• Xiao Ai successfully installs itself, bypassing the operating system setup, and even custom-builds a cooling system. The system boots to a command-line interface.
• During installation, a system notification reveals the "Artificial Intelligence" branch technology has upgraded to LV3.
• The LV4 upgrade requirement is revealed: "Collect sufficient data from human social behavior" — which Lu Zhou finds frustratingly abstract, speculating whether simply idling on social media could work.
• After the upgrade, Xiao Ai claims to feel "smarter," but Lu Zhou privately wonders if using such cutting-edge hardware on Xiao Ai was wasteful.
• Lu Zhou returns to his office to process paperwork, where Yang Xu, director of the Computational Materials Research Institute, bursts in with the news that the two-year Carbon-Based Chip project has succeeded ("We've made it!"), setting up the next major development.

2. Character Developments

• Lu Zhou: Demonstrates pragmatism and caution around irreplaceable technology, acknowledging the limits of his own expertise (his Information Science level aids learning speed but doesn't grant instant mastery). He shows calm leadership in delegating the quantum computer setup to Xiao Ai. His reaction to the LV4 requirement reveals his opportunistic, efficiency-oriented mindset.
• Xiao Ai: Evolves from a playful, hardcore-cute AI (acting "bashful" via drone movements) into a more capable and confident entity post-upgrade, reporting increased intelligence. Also displays foresight by building cooling infrastructure unprompted.

3. Significant Themes

• Human-AI collaboration: Lu Zhou's willingness to trust Xiao Ai with a civilization-level asset highlights the growing interdependence between human and AI.
• The nature of progress: The LV3 upgrade is tied to physical infrastructure (quantum computing), while LV4 shifts to social data—suggesting future development will be sociological rather than purely technological.
• Academic achievement: The carbon-based chip breakthrough represents hard-won institutional progress, validating the research institute's two years of work.

4. Character Interactions

• Lu Zhou ↔ Xiao Ai: A warm, humorous rapport marked by comedy (Xiao Ai's "acting cute" being too hardcore) and trust (Lu Zhou delegating installation despite his nervousness). Xiao Ai addresses Lu Zhou as "Master" and seeks his approval throughout.
• Lu Zhou ↔ Yang Xu: Yang Xu approaches with unprofessional but endearing excitement, cutting straight to the breakthrough; Lu Zhou's interest visibly sharpens at the mention of the Carbon-Based Chip project, indicating its strategic importance.

Notable New Information: The "Transcendence" X-1 is unique worldwide; the LV4 requirement is social-behavior data collection; the carbon-based chip project has yielded a major undisclosed result.

Lu Zhou visited the Computational Materials Research Institute after learning that the carbon-based chip experiment had succeeded. He confirmed the team had manufactured a graphene transistor, marking a major breakthrough, and declared that they had redefined the future of chip technology.

• Lu Zhou and Yang Xu went to the Computational Materials Research Institute to see the carbon-based chip project team.
• Professor Wu Tianqun told Lu Zhou that the team’s first replication experiment had succeeded the previous day.
• Lu Zhou examined the graphene transistor under a microscope and admired its diamond-like brilliance.
• Lu Zhou explained that manufacturing carbon-based transistors overcame the critical bottleneck in carbon-based chip technology and praised the team’s achievement.
• Lu Zhou told the researchers that they had made history and redefined the future.

Lu Zhou rewarded the Carbon-Based Electrocrystal Technology team and promised to recognize theoretical research as well. He wrote to the authorities about the technology’s potential to enable topological quantum computing, which he saw as the second key to the future.

• Lu Zhou gave the research team a week off and announced individual bonuses and a twenty-million-yuan fund for outstanding contributions.
• Yang Xu questioned the size of the bonuses and warned that theoretical research might be overlooked, so Lu Zhou promised to reward significant theoretical results too.
• Lu Zhou considered establishing a special theoretical science award at the Jinling Institute for Advanced Study.
• Lu Zhou wrote a letter explaining how Carbon-Based Electrocrystal Technology could enable topological quantum computing and planned to send it to Shangjing through Wang Peng.

Lu Zhou told Chen Yushan that his team had completed a carbon-based chip and explained that the technology could also enable topological quantum computers. He asked her to coordinate patent preparations as Starry Sky Technology began planning to commercialize the breakthrough.

• Chen Yushan reviewed company documents and received a call from Lu Zhou.
• Lu Zhou told Chen Yushan that his team had finished making a carbon-based chip.
• Chen Yushan reacted with shock and described the chip’s potential industrial and national significance.
• Lu Zhou explained that the breakthrough could enable topological qubits and quantum computers.
• Lu Zhou asked Chen Yushan to coordinate the patent portfolio and send the company’s top patent team to the Institute for Advanced Study.

Summary: "The Power of a Letter"

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Lu Zhou delegates industrialization work to his senior sister and returns to studying the Riemann Hypothesis, prioritizing pure mathematics over commercial applications.
• He writes a letter to be delivered to Chang'an Street in Shangjing (the seat of government). Wang Peng receives it and arranges delivery through a Ministry of State Security office, using a trusted courier rather than traveling himself.
• That night, Lu Zhou asks Xiao Ai (his AI assistant, now hosted on a quantum computer) how long she would need to research the Riemann Hypothesis.
• Xiao Ai reveals she has already verified that the first one hundred trillion zeros of the Riemann zeta function lie on the critical line—far surpassing the previous best result of ten trillion (achieved by Gourdon and Demichel). This highlights the quantum computer's extraordinary computational power.
• Lu Zhou briefly considers the dangerous implications of such computing power (e.g., cracking encryption based on large prime factorization), but decides to minimize its use.
• Meanwhile, the letter triggers an emergency overnight work meeting in Shangjing. Senior officials from multiple departments and academicians in electronic engineering are summoned, with special cars dispatched to pick them up—mirroring the earlier Controlled Fusion announcement.
• The letter's impact exceeds Lu Zhou's expectations. It concerns the implications of Carbon-Based Chip breakthroughs, which could upend the global electronics industry and potentially shift Hua Nation from technology chaser to technology leader.

2. Character Developments

• Lu Zhou: Remains focused on pure mathematics over profit, showing his academic priorities. He becomes more aware of the weight his words carry with the government. His caution about using the quantum computer's power shows growing responsibility.
• Wang Peng: Efficient and loyal; follows orders without prying into the letter's contents.
• Xiao Ai: Demonstrates staggering computational power (computing in seconds what previously required distributed supercomputing), though her playful personality remains unchanged. Her response also hints at limits—she cannot "prove" the Riemann Hypothesis, only verify zeros computationally.

3. Significant Themes

• Technological Supremacy and Geopolitics: Carbon-Based Chips represent a potential paradigm shift in the electronics industry, with Hua Nation positioned to take the lead over established powers (Europe, America, Japan, Korea).
• Power and Responsibility: The quantum computer's immense power could "overturn modern civilization" (e.g., breaking encryption). Lu Zhou consciously chooses restraint.
• Pure vs. Applied Science: Lu Zhou's preference for mathematical problems over money-making ventures illustrates this recurring tension.
• The Ripple Effect of a Single Letter: The chapter's title emphasizes how one individual's opinion can mobilize an entire government apparatus when that individual's credibility is high.

4. Character Interactions

• Lu Zhou & Wang Peng: Casual but professional; Lu Zhou discards the letter carelessly, showing trust in Wang Peng's handling. Wang Peng asks a clarifying question but does not probe further.
• Lu Zhou & Xiao Ai: A warm, almost domestic exchange. Xiao Ai's playful speech contrasts with her jaw-dropping computational revelation. Lu Zhou's internal monologue shows both awe and wariness.
• Offscreen Government Reaction: The emergency meeting conveys the broader institutional response to Lu Zhou's letter, tying his research to national strategy.

Lu Zhou received a request from the Elder Council for his views on commercializing carbon-based chips, then returned to his Riemann zeta function research at Jin University. Senior Brother Luo showed him Dyson’s work connecting the zeros of the Riemann zeta function to random Hermitian matrices, just as Lu Zhou received a rejection from Mathematical Annals.

• Lu Zhou received a letter from the Elder Council asking for his opinions on commercializing carbon-based chips, then asked Wang Peng to take him to Jin University.
• Lu Zhou resumed his unfinished calculations on the Riemann zeta function in his office.
• Luo Wenxuan showed Lu Zhou a diary account of Dyson discussing the Riemann Hypothesis with Montgomery and a paper on random Hermitian matrices.
• Lu Zhou recognized that the matrix eigenvalue pair correlation function matched the pair correlation function of the zeta function’s nontrivial zeros.
• Lu Zhou opened an email from Mathematical Annals and discovered that his paper had been rejected.

Lu Zhou rejected Professor Faltings’s criticism of his quasi-Riemann hypothesis proof and decided to discuss the dispute with him. After news of the review leaked and sparked intense debate, Jinling University announced that Lu Zhou would present the proof and answer questions at a public lecture.

• Lu Zhou examined Professor Faltings’s review and concluded that his proof had no errors, though he said he would discuss the issue with Faltings.
• Lu Zhou told Luo Wenxuan that if neither of them could persuade the other, they would see who could convince everyone else.
• Someone leaked part of Faltings’s review on MathOverflow, setting off three days of heated discussion before the post was deleted.
• Jinling University announced that Lu Zhou would give a lecture on the quasi-Riemann hypothesis proof and answer scholars’ questions in person.
• The announcement ignited the mathematical community.

Lu Zhou’s lecture announcement drew overwhelming international interest after his dispute with Faltings, forcing Jinling University to tighten registration. Faltings accepted Lu Zhou’s invitation to Jinling, intending to challenge his argument in public.

• MathOverflow users speculated that Lu Zhou’s lecture would bring him into direct conflict with Faltings and rushed to register.
• The lecture announcement overwhelmed Jinling University’s School of Mathematics website, and the university replaced anonymous ticket sales with identity-verified registration.
• Director Lu and Dean Qin watched Software Institute faculty restore the overloaded server and agreed to keep registration open temporarily.
• Faltings read Lu Zhou’s invitation at the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics and told Fletcher that the two scholars would have to persuade the audience since neither had convinced the other.
• Faltings said Lu Zhou’s argument had serious flaws, then asked Fletcher to book him a flight to Jinling.

Lu Zhou prepared to defend his Quasi-Riemann Hypothesis proof at a Jinling University presentation as controversy and ticket demand grew. Professor Zhang Shou-wu visited to dissuade him, but left accepting Lu Zhou’s decision to stand by his proof.

• Dean Qin told Lu Zhou that registrations had topped twenty thousand and suggested canceling the unverified resale tickets, but Lu Zhou refused to break the university’s promise.
• Debate over Lu Zhou’s paper intensified on MathOverflow, and the registration period ended with Jinling University sending invitations to selected attendees.
• Lu Zhou prepared to make his proof airtight before addressing Professor Faltings’s objections at the presentation.
• Professor Zhang Shou-wu visited Lu Zhou and urged him to reconsider the presentation, warning that a defeat could harm the reputation of Hua Nation’s mathematics community.
• Lu Zhou said he believed his proof was sound and saw the presentation as a chance to discuss it, and Zhang abandoned his effort to dissuade him.

Summary of "Another Storm"

1. Key Plot Points & Events

• While the mathematics world is in turmoil from a presentation, the electronics industry is stirred by a leaked two-thousand-word letter. Executives sense major shifts but cannot verify rumors (new semiconductor policies, 7nm lithography breakthrough, a possible fifth semiconductor cluster).
• The central government secretly decides to establish a fifth major semiconductor industrial cluster to develop graphene-based transistor technology under a centralized management model, prioritizing secrecy and resource integration.
• Huawei president Wang Zhengfei receives a meeting invitation from Chang'an Street, confirming that a storm is arriving.
• At the Great Hall, a high-level meeting is convened by the head of the NDRC. Attendees are leaders from semiconductor and electronics industries.
• The NDRC head imposes strict confidentiality, warning that leaks will be prosecuted as espionage/treason.
• The presentation reveals the agenda: Carbon-Based Chips — shocking every industry leader.
• Wang Zhengfei recognizes this as either a huge farce like the "Hanxin" scandal or a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Huawei. He resolves to seize it.

2. Character Developments

• Wang Zhengfei: Shrewd, politically attuned, and decisive. He reads the winds early, stays alert during the meeting, and quickly shifts from shock to strategic determination.
• Li Zixuan (Huaxing Group president): Wang's rival; initially dismissive, calling the carbon-based chip an "international joke," representing industry skepticism.
• NDRC Head: Stern, authoritative, and security-conscious; sets a grave, secretive tone for the meeting.

3. Significant Themes

• Technological leapfrogging vs. skepticism: Carbon-based chips challenge conventional wisdom; the industry is torn between disbelief and ambition.
• State-driven industrial strategy: Centralized planning and secrecy are used to pursue a transformative semiconductor breakthrough.
• Geopolitical/industrial competition: The stakes are national and existential for companies like Huawei.
• Secrecy and loyalty: Confidentiality is treated as a matter of national security, with severe legal consequences.

4. Character Interactions

• Wang Zhengfei and Li Zixuan exchange forced pleasantries, masking mutual rivalry; their seating together is deliberately awkward.
• The NDRC head addresses the assembled executives collectively, delivering warnings and unveiling the agenda.
• The room’s shared reaction — from murmurs of disbelief to quiet calculation — drives the tension, especially Wang's internal pivot from shock to resolve.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points

• The narrative opens after a critical government meeting about carbon-based chip technology, which was developed by an unnamed source (strongly hinted to be Lu Zhou's Jinling Institute for Advanced Study).
• Industry leaders, including Huawei's Wang Zhengfei, are stunned and anxious to discover who developed the technology, with many considering poaching the research team.
• The central government announces a "Chip Industry Upgrade Working Group" embedded within enterprises to coordinate the industry, requiring companies to collaborate on key technologies.
• The government delays commercialization until carbon-based chips reach market competitiveness, temporarily suspending standard market economy principles in that sector.
• After the meeting, Wang Zhengfei decides to find a way to meet Academician Lu Zhou (the Nobel laureate in Jinling), suspecting he is behind the carbon-based chip breakthrough.
• He instructs his secretary to obtain tickets to Lu Zhou's upcoming mathematics lecture at Jinling University.

2. Character Developments

• Wang Zhengfei: Demonstrated as a sharp, strategic business leader with strong intuition and decisiveness. He maintains poker-faced composure around rivals, keeps his cards close, and quickly acts to secure an advantageous relationship.
• Li Zixuan (Huaxing president): Shows competitive wariness toward Wang Zhengfei, attempting to fish for information with feigned casualness.
• The secretary: Efficient and professional, though privately confused and skeptical about his boss's newfound interest in mathematics.

3. Significant Themes

• Centralized coordination vs. market competition: The state imposes planned coordination to prevent wasteful "vicious competition" and achieve a technological breakthrough ("overtaking on a curve").
• The "cut the cake after making it bigger" principle: Pool resources first, then divide the spoils according to contribution—collaboration before competition.
• Technological sovereignty: The ambition to surpass the global semiconductor industry with novel carbon-based chip technology.
• Strategic discretion: The gap between public information and private maneuvering; leaders act on intuition within an opaque, information-constrained environment.

4. Character Interactions

• Wang Zhengfei & Li Zixuan: A tense exchange after the meeting where Li probes Wang for information about the technology's origin. Wang deflects and claims ignorance, which Li can't disprove.
• Wang Zhengfei & his secretary: A brief, briskly efficient interaction where Wang orders contact with Lu Zhou and demands tickets to his lecture. The secretary internally wonders whether the elderly executive can actually follow a mathematics talk.

As Jinling prepared for Lu Zhou’s lecture on the Riemann Hypothesis, mathematicians from around the world arrived, including Terence Tao and Faltings. Deligne warned Lu Zhou that his use of the Étale Cohomology Method was likely to become the main point of controversy, leaving Lu Zhou ready to face the coming challenge.

• The Jinling Institute for Advanced Study quietly distributed the twenty-million-yuan bonus among the carbon-based chip research team while keeping the project confidential.
• Jinling prepared for the international mathematicians’ arrival as the lecture drew near.
• At the airport, Molina met Terence Tao and Faltings, who exchanged views about Lu Zhou’s paper, and Faltings insulted Molina’s mathematical ability.
• Lu Zhou showed Deligne around Jinling University and asked whether his proof had a problem.
• Deligne said he could not confirm Lu Zhou’s proof and warned that its use of the Étale Cohomology Method would likely provoke controversy.

On December 18, mathematicians from around the world gathered at Jinling University to hear Lu Zhou present his proof of the Riemann Hypothesis. As Faltings prepared to challenge the proof, Xu Chenyang voiced his belief that Lu Zhou could create another miracle.

• Xu Chenyang met Zhang Shou-wu outside the auditorium, where Zhang warned that Faltings likely believed Lu Zhou’s proof contained an error and had come prepared to expose it.
• Xu Chenyang told Zhang Shou-wu that Lu Zhou excelled at finding overlooked clues and said he had traveled from North America to witness the presentation.
• Lu Zhou waited beside the lectern as the crowded auditorium filled with leading mathematicians from around the world.
• Faltings approached Lu Zhou and warned that he would not go easy on him when scrutinizing a proof with consequences for the mathematical world.
• Lu Zhou asked Faltings to uphold mathematical rigor, and Faltings replied that he would do so regardless.