Genius Playground

DING DONG!

Meanwhile, in an office at the Dragon Country Academy of Sciences.

An assistant had just picked up her cup of coffee when she was interrupted by an email notification.

”A new email?”

She tilted her head.

”Who sent it?”

The only place she had ever left her email address publicly was in the information booklet for a research project led by Dean Gao Yan.

But she almost never received any emails from it.

Curious, she clicked it open.

”Huuuh—”

She let out a contemptuous sound, her lips twisting into a sneer.

”Goldbach’s Conjecture again! Ugh, these amateur scientists are relentless. How did they even get my email address?!”

Having worked here for years, she’d long since heard the stories. Hundreds of emails flooded the Longke Institute’s official inbox every day, filled with all sorts of crackpot ideas for perpetual motion machines and three hundred thousand, seven hundred and eighty different ways to prove Goldbach’s Conjecture.

It was utterly terrifying.

’Ugh, I’d better turn this down politely.’

Bored, she began to type.

While glancing at the email’s contents, she touch-typed a response, advising this little ”Jiang Ran” to first compile his materials into a proper paper and submit it to an academic journal.

In reality, this was just a way to pass the review work off to the journal editors.

But that was fine.

Reviewing submissions was the editors’ job, after all.

After finishing the polite boilerplate, having skimmed about half a page of the document in the email preview, the assistant raised her right hand, ready to hit the Enter key to send—

The key—

The key...

The key.

”Huh?”

She blinked. Something felt off.

This manuscript proof didn’t seem like the work of an amateur. It used a lot of uncommon theories...

While these theories weren’t overly complex, they were definitely not something you’d encounter in daily life, or even in a university advanced mathematics class.

’This is kind of interesting.’

She abandoned her reply for the moment, grabbed her mouse, and started scrolling.

Scroll...

Scroll...

Scroll...

「Two hours later.」

”TEACHER GAO!!!!”

A supersonic blur clutching a laptop shot straight toward the dean’s office!

...

「Another two hours later.」

Several academicians had gathered in the dean’s office, their brows deeply furrowed.

”It seems... it actually works.”

An elderly man nodded.

”I can’t find any mistakes, at least. I just find it hard to believe... Could a 300-year-old problem really be solved this simply?”

”We just need to verify the ’1+1’ part.”

Another academician said:

”Ever since Mr. Chen the Elder proved ’1+2’, the only part of Goldbach’s Conjecture left was the final ’1+1’ problem. As long as this part holds up, the entire proof is correct.”

Gao Yan pushed his chair back, pulled open a drawer, and took out a thick stack of A4 paper.

”The person who sent this email says he doesn’t want to publish it publicly, nor does he want credit. He wants to donate this achievement to the Longke Institute free of charge.”

”Of course, the sentiment is appreciated, but we can’t just shamelessly accept it. In any case... everyone grab some paper and let’s verify it. Don’t let word of this get out yet.”

...

「Four hours later.」

Even though it was the middle of the night, the very air in the dean’s office was buzzing with excitement.

”Incredible, this is absolutely incredible!”

Several top-tier academicians’ hands were trembling with excitement.

”Goldbach’s Conjecture... it’s actually been solved!”

”I can’t believe it. The line of reasoning in this proof... it’s so elegant. Indescribably elegant.”

”Dean Gao, which scholar is responsible for this? This is the work of a once-in-a-generation genius!”

”Heh, if this were to be published, it would turn the entire world of mathematics upside down.”

Dean Gao looked at the crowd and also broke into a gratified smile.

However, he was a bit calmer than everyone else.

Only he knew the origin of this email, and because the sender had requested confidentiality, he hadn’t told the others present.

It was from a 19-year-old university student in East Sea City named Jiang Ran.

Truly, each generation produces its own great talents.

Nineteen years old.

Goldbach’s Conjecture.

If he hadn’t witnessed it with his own eyes, he would have thought it was a fairy tale.

And...

”Heh heh.”

Thinking of that email, Dean Gao couldn’t help but chuckle.

”This kid must have a great personality. Very witty and humorous.”

The assistant turned her head.

”Teacher Gao, why do you say that?”

”Because he clearly loves to joke around. Just look at the request he wrote at the end. It’s obviously meant to make us laugh.”

Unable to hold back his amusement, Dean Gao pointed to the last sentence of the email.

”See? He’s joking that he doesn’t want any fame, fortune, rewards, or honor—he just wants a recommendation letter for a vocational-to-bachelor’s transfer program!”

AHAHAHAHAHA!

Hearty laughter echoed through the dean’s office—

”WH-WH-WH-WH-WH-WHAT?!”

In a conference room in East Sea City.

The assistant’s jaw dropped to the floor, her eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

”Y-y-you, you said you’re from which school?”

”East Sea College of International Trade and Economics.”

Jiang Ran repeated himself.

”This—!”

The assistant was speechless, her mind racing.

’This has to be another one of his dry jokes, right?’

’Students from prestigious universities often give their schools lame-sounding nicknames as a form of self-deprecating humor, which is actually a humblebrag.’

Dean Gao Yan pursed his lips, sitting on the sofa and adjusting his glasses, also a bit stunned for a moment.

He had made a special trip for this, rushing from the Imperial Capital to the East Sea to immediately contact the phone number from the email, to meet this kid named Jiang Ran.

The whole way here, he had been thinking the kid was just very humorous.

He never expected it!

He actually, genuinely wanted to get into a vocational-to-bachelor’s transfer program!

Still, having weathered so many storms in his long career, Gao Yan had seen plenty. So, after a moment of surprise, he calmly accepted it.

”Jiang Ran, do you mind if I ask you a few questions about the line of reasoning in your manuscript?”

”Of course not,” Jiang Ran replied casually.

Dean Gao Yan asked several serious questions, and Jiang Ran answered each one.

It had to be said.