855 More Intense Storm

What baffled him was that there were hundreds of tickets that were being resold online.

Not to mention they were being resold at a much higher price.

If he didn’t have more money than he knew what to do with, he would start “trading” these tickets himself.

“The number of registrations reached 20,000, and it’s only the third day,” Dean Qin said to Lu Zhou. While sitting in Lu Zhou’s office, Dean Qin said, “This is scary, people might think we’re hosting the International Congress of Mathematicians here in Jinling.”

Lu Zhou smiled apologetically.

“Sorry for the added trouble.”

Dean Qin waved his hand and said, “This is not trouble! Host as many reports as you want, I don’t mind! You have no idea how jealous Kai University is. Old man w.a.n.g s.h.i.+cheng keeps coming to ask when we will host a report at their university. We have the venue, we have the money, where’s the trouble?”

Lu Zhou smiled and said, “You’re right, thanks in advance.”

“You’re welcome.” Dean Qin smiled and said, “Oh yeah, there are more than a hundred tickets being sold online. Now that we have changed our registration system, should we cancel these tickets that don’t have a pa.s.sport attached?”

Lu Zhou thought for a bit and shook his head.

“There’s no need, we’re the ones who sold the tickets, so we shouldn’t cancel them.”

If Jin Ling University wanted to establish itself as a world-cla.s.s mathematical inst.i.tute, they shouldn’t do this kind of unethical thing.

Not to mention, Lu Zhou was curious about what kind of people would buy these tickets.

After his last report, the old campus auditorium was extended, and it could now accommodate two to three thousand people.

In addition to the 200 invitees, there were more than 2,000 spots available. As long as someone was academically qualified, they could obtain a ticket by registering.

Any scholar in the number theory field could attend this report.

After all, there were probably less than 2,000 scholars who were researching the Riemann hypothesis, let alone the unpopular “critical line” and the Quasi Riemann hypothesis areas…

Suddenly, Lu Zhou thought of something.

Maybe…

These people are coming because of me?

Lu Zhou smiled and touched his handsome cheek.

Oh, they’re too kind…

Dean Qin: “…?”

…

The discussions on Mathoverflow were still going strong. Especially the debates on whether or not Lu Zhou’s Quasi Riemann hypothesis proof was legit. They were also discussing the report that was going to happen in a week at Jinling.

The people who had doubts about Lu Zhou’s thesis were brave enough to speak out, largely thanks to Faltings’ review. They began to debate with the people who supported Lu Zhou…

What the Mathoverflow admins didn’t expect was that, because of the controversy over the Quasi Riemann hypothesis, the Mathoverflow visitor traffic had quadrupled.

This website was mostly visited by younger scholars. Some of the older, more stubborn scholars didn’t have the habit of using forums.

But now, it seemed like some of the older folks also registered Mathoverflow accounts, becoming keyboard warriors…

The registration portal was closed.

After selecting the suitable attendees, Jin Ling University sent out invitation letters for the report.

The prices of resold tickets online were as high as $5,000. This made the other attendees feel like they were getting a good deal.

Lu Zhou made some preparations for this report.

Faltings was a powerful scholar, and he was highly ranked in terms of popularity and ability. People often compared him to Grothendieck.

Convincing him wasn’t going to be easy.

Unless he made his argument impenetrable!

While Lu Zhou was preparing for this report, an unexpected visitor came to Jin Ling University.

This visitor was none other than…

Professor Zhang Shouwu, a great Chinese scholar, one of Faltings’ students. His research on the Gross–Zagier theorem was quite outstanding, and he even won the Chinese equivalent of the Fields Medal—the Morningside Medal of Mathematics.

Dean Qin introduced Lu Zhou to Professor Zhang.

The two sat down in front of the coffee table, and after some small talk, they soon began to talk about the forthcoming report.

“Are there any misunderstandings between you and Faltings?”

Lu Zhou, who was drinking tea, was surprised by this question. He smiled and replied, “Of course not… Why do you ask?”

“Not me, the entire mathematics community is also wondering.” Professor Zhang shook his head and said, “You guys are both pillars of the mathematics world. If there really is a misunderstanding between you and Professor Faltings, then I hope you guys can resolve the issue and maintain the harmony between the Chinese and international mathematics community.”

Lu Zhou smiled and said, “Professor Zhang, you’re mistaken… Those are just rumors, there are no misunderstandings.”

Professor Zhang paused for a second and said, “It’s not my place to say this, but don’t you think… the timing of your report is a bit rushed?”

Lu Zhou shook his head.

“I don’t think there’s a problem with my proof. Faltings thinks there is a problem. If that’s the case, then we should debate about it at the report.”

Zhang Shouwu said anxiously, “But what if you lose? Not only will it tarnish your academic reputation, but it will also tarnish the reputation of the entire Chinese mathematics community. Have you thought about that?”

Lu Zhou smiled and replied, “Who cares if I lose?”

Professor Zhang went silent for a while. He then sighed.

“It seems like you have made up your mind.”

Lu Zhou smiled and said, “Professor Zhang, you came here all this way just to convince me not to go through with the report?”

Professor Zhang nodded, then shook his head. He sighed and spoke softly.

“I planned on convincing you, but now, I decided not to.

“Maybe you’re right, academic reputation is something that doesn’t matter. A scholar should pursue something he believes is correct.”

He suddenly smiled and spoke with admiration.

“I finally understand why you’re able to accomplish so much.”

Lu Zhou: “…?”

I don’t really know what he’s talking about.

I guess…

I’ll just smile…