Chapter 151: The Iron Rule

When assigned the task of protecting Wu Tong, they had undergone specialized training, with the primary focus centered on what could be termed the "Wu-style state"—Wu Tong’s unique inspired state of contemplation.

According to collected intelligence, whenever Wu Tong entered this state in the past, it was invariably accompanied by the birth of major breakthroughs. The Zhou Conjecture, the Twin Prime Conjecture, the Polignac’s Conjecture, and the previously unrevealed era-defining new aerospace materials...

Every single one of these was an achievement that shocked the world and left it in awe.

Those mathematically complex conjecture names, which he found a mouthful even to look at, had once sparked their curiosity, prompting them to look up the problems and proofs themselves. Yet when they laid eyes on those pages upon pages of intricate mathematical formulas, their vision swam with golden stars, turning into a dizzy blur! To them, aside from the occasional Arabic numeral they could still recognize, once combined with those mathematical symbols, everything dissolved into heavenly scriptures beyond their comprehension—entirely unfamiliar entities existing in another dimension.

They had once secretly sighed to themselves, wondering if, in the same world but with different brains, their own minds operated at the level of mere animals compared to these divine intellects.

Was another world-shaking achievement about to emerge?

Cai Yi quietly straightened his posture. While he appeared like any other attendee attentively maintaining focus at the sharing session, in reality, his eyes took in all six directions and his ears listened to every sound from all eight quarters. He was fully prepared to guard Wu Tong at a moment's notice, ready to spring into action against any contingencies, while also ensuring that no one could peek at Wu Tong's research results.

The Wu-style special state: unless Wu Tong's life was in danger, no interruption was permitted. This was an ironclad rule.

Judging by Wu Tong's past achievements, disrupting such a genius burst of inspiration or allowing it to be artificially spied upon fell squarely into the realm of crime! The resulting losses would be incalculable.

Wu Tong's inspirations could not be controlled regarding when or where they were born, but protecting her from disturbance and ensuring her work was safe from theft—that was their mission.

Extreme-value problem solving? Quantum mechanics...

The homogeneous balance method, the Fourier transform?...

Immersed in a state of rapid thought, Wu Tong rapidly reviewed the literature she had previously consumed within her mind. Individual points of knowledge danced and leaped forward, each possessing comparative flashes of insight. Transforming into threads of logic, under the full-force deduction of her mind, they coalesced into a gradually forming turbulence model.

Evolving yet another step, they transformed into mathematical equations flowing from the tip of Wu Tong's pen...

For a fleeting second, Wu Tong felt as though she had brushed against that elusive string, but ultimately, it was only a feeling. Her accumulation was still insufficient; she was currently unable to push toward higher realms—it was simply too forced. She had not yet found a way to pierce through that layer of window paper that had trapped so many successive generations of scholars. Even though that paper looked as though a single breath could break it, its sturdiness definitely exceeded the imagination of ordinary mortals!

With a trace of lingering regret yet general satisfaction, Wu Tong paused her pen and closed her notebook. Just in time, Mr. Qiu announced the conclusion of the lecture, and thunderous applause erupted. She joined in clapping, offering her grateful appreciation. Through Mr. Qiu's presentation and the collision of their thoughts, she had reaped a considerable amount of inspiration.

Those who drink water must not forget those who dug the well; this was her expression of gratitude.

"Wu Tong?" Cai Yi asked with a hint of tension. Had Wu Tong's inspiration been interrupted by the on-site environment? However, specially requesting the relocation of all scholars present was not something that could be practically executed in a short time; for now, he lacked the capability to control the entire venue.

"Brother Yi, don't be tense. It's fine, I've already finished thinking!" In the outside world, even with Cheng Yi present, Wu Tong would never place herself in a state of absolute defensiveness.

Just now, she had merely entered a state of deep contemplation without completely losing herself to it.

"Let's go, Brother Yi. We'll head back and organize my insights!" Bowing slightly to nod in gratitude to Mr. Qiu, who was looking over from the stage, Wu Tong immediately rose to leave following Mr. Qiu's exit.

"Wu Tong, I'm very glad you came to my lecture!" With agile steps, Wu Tong and Cheng Yi were the first to leave the venue, catching up precisely with Mr. Qiu as he headed toward the lounge.

Seeing Wu Tong, Mr. Qiu was delighted and smiled as he shook her hand.

Wu Tong expressed her gratitude in person once more: "Thank you for your guidance, Mr. Qiu. It allowed me to catch sight of a forward direction for one of my research topics!"

"Being able to give you something to take away is perhaps the greatest fulfillment of this lecture!" Mr. Qiu smiled with magnanimous tolerance. Though he had minor frictions with Peking University, it did not affect his diplomatic interactions with this young prodigy.

This child's achievements in number theory were so breathtaking that even he cast sidelong glances of astonishment.

Or rather, when he used the word "child," it was merely the sentiment of an elder looking upon a junior, devoid of any condescension—nor did he possess the qualification to look down upon her! This child's accomplishments had already propelled her to international fame, establishing her firmly in the world as a genuine, top-tier scholar on equal footing with him.

Yet, unless his memory failed him, hadn't Wu Tong's research always been focused within the realm of number theory? How did she still have the energy to study other fields? Unable to suppress his curiosity, he inquired, "Have you been researching partial differential equations lately? You have an interest in this area?"

She was truly worthy of being a top-tier mathematical talent envied by the entire world. It seemed that number theory research did not consume all of her energy, nor did it appear to cost her much effort.

Naturally. The formidable capability to break through two major world-class mathematical conjectures within a single month, her skillful application of topology and group theory, and her effortless, multifaceted answers during the lecture were already sufficient to showcase Wu Tong's rich reservoir of scholarship along the path of mathematics.

A genius of this caliber was destined not to be confined to a single domain—was he not the exact same way?

Interests were always broad, and curiosity was the best teacher. The fact that Wu Tong and he shared overlapping research sectors was a joyful matter; from now on, he could count one more peer-level young friend with whom he could engage in academic discussions.

Wu Tong smiled shyly. "I was a bit curious and did some reading in fluid mechanics. I wanted to tackle a topic regarding the limit solutions of nonlinear partial differential equations. After reviewing some materials, your presentation helped me deepen my foundational understanding in this sector!"

"Limit solutions? $lim sin x / x = 1 (x o 0)$, $lim(1 + 1/x)^x = e (x o infty)$..." Mr. Qiu raised an eyebrow, gesturing vaguely in the air as he began to discuss the matter with Wu Tong with keen interest.

Using limit formulas as substitutions in nonlinear partial differential equations—what a novel perspective.

"This leans toward quantum mechanics, doesn't it? Generally speaking, it's more suited to application in the Yang-Mills existence and mass gap." This child's knowledge base covered a truly vast range; her grasp of physics was presumably quite sound as well. Without a solid foundation, no one would dare touch quantum mechanics, let alone play with it in such an unorthodox manner.

"I previously considered the stream function, but after substituting it, I found it wasn't viable!"

Mathematical limits refer to a certain variable within a given function which, in the perpetual process of growing larger (or smaller), continuously approaches a definitive value $A$ while "never quite being able to coincide with $A$..."

Approaching infinitely close yet never arriving—Wu Tong wished to push even one step further forward upon this limit. "I previously looked at Diophantine approximation..."