A genius? I just love studying.

Chapter 258 This child must not be allowed to return to China

Beijing, a courtyard house, under a grape trellis.
The crisp sound of chess pieces colliding continued, and the two old men played chess back and forth, creating an atmosphere of fierce battle on the battlefield.

Squeak!

The wooden gate to the courtyard opened, and a middle-aged man walked in anxiously.

"Boss, something's happened."

"Professor Chen has been taken away by S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel."

It was never just Dai Yafeng protecting Chen Hui; it was an entire team. Although the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents took Dai Yafeng away, the others had already reported the situation immediately.

"what?"

The two old men, who had just been locked in a battle of wits on the chessboard, stood up at the same time, like angry lions.

What exactly do they mean?

The old man quickly regained his composure.

The middle-aged man understood the old man's meaning. The two countries had been at odds for many years and were already intertwined. "Our people haven't received any news yet. Our initial assessment is that it was SHIELD that acted on its own initiative, but we cannot rule out the possibility that it was carrying out a secret mission."

Their people have long since infiltrated every aspect of America's society. If their people haven't received the news, then it can only mean that S.H.I.E.L.D. acted without authorization.

The old man's expression grew increasingly grave. "Then it's even more dangerous."

“Our people have reported the news immediately. America should respond. We can see what they mean. If it’s the worst-case scenario, we don’t have much time left.”

The middle-aged man was not merely a messenger; before arriving, he had already done everything he could: "Should we inform our people to rescue Professor Chen at all costs?"

He had already prepared for the worst. Being in his position, he knew a lot of things that ordinary people didn't, and he naturally understood what Chen Hui meant to China. If it really came down to it, many things could be sacrificed.

He pondered for a long time in the courtyard.

The old man finally shook his head. "No, forcing it won't work."

This is out of the utmost respect for the opponent. Even if they expose all their secrets, the chances of success in the end are very low. Just imagine if someone took a living person away from the heart of China, that would be too absurd.

"We can't be too forceful, and we can't overreact either. The more anxious we are, the worse it will be for Professor Chen."

The old man had completely calmed down from his initial anger. "You should contact Mr. Qiu Chengwu first and tell him the news. Tell him to inform the scholars in the mathematics community and even the scientific community as soon as possible."

"Contact reporters and media as soon as possible, report on this as soon as possible, spend more money, and make sure this news is everywhere."

“Send someone with money to lobby the councilors to try to save Professor Chen. Don’t ask to come back first, just make sure Professor Chen is safe.”

"Notify Jiangcheng University to go to America and hire the best lawyer to see if bail can be granted."

"..."

He methodically laid out each measure.

How should we respond?

The middle-aged man wrote everything down before finally speaking.

The old man understood what he meant; he was asking how the authorities should respond to this matter. "Don't rush. Wait until the matter is exposed before issuing a statement to strongly condemn it."

"Is that all?"

"We can't do too much, this is all we can do!" The old man shook his head, his eyes sharp and filled with murderous intent. He hadn't expected the other party to actually do such a thing. If he had a choice, he wouldn't even want to carry out the above arrangements; the more he did, the more mistakes he would make.

But the situation was too critical, and he had to do something, otherwise he worried that Chen Hui wouldn't make it that far.

"understood."

The middle-aged man was equally anxious, but he knew the old man was right. He turned and walked out of the courtyard to carry out the old man's arrangements.

"that's it?"

After the middle-aged man passed away, another elderly man who had remained silent spoke up.

"This is the only way to go!"

"Let's protect Professor Chen first. As long as he's safe, we can slowly devise a plan. There will always be an opportunity."

……

"Fury, you're absolutely lawless!"

"What do you want to do?"

"Do you want to rebel?"

A blond middle-aged man stormed into the conference room and launched into a tirade of abuse at Fury.

"Release him right now."

Fury frowned slightly as he looked at the newcomer, surprised that the other party had arrived so quickly, but he still firmly shook his head.

The blond middle-aged man's face was extremely ugly. "You'll be going to court!"

"Even going to court won't stop me from doing what I'm about to do."

Fury said with a righteous expression, "For Maga, I have a clear conscience. This boy must not be allowed to return to China."

"You're not doing this for Maga, you're just doing it for your own selfish desires!"

The blond middle-aged man said with disdain, "If you really care about Maga, you should follow the rules. If everyone ignores the rules like you, what's the point of Maga?"

"I came with orders, release them immediately."

The blond middle-aged man didn't care that China would never rise to power. Coming from a prominent family, he understood that whether it was America or China, they were just making money in a different place.

Dynasties come and go, families rise and fall, but none of this will have a significant impact on them. At most, they may suffer some loss of interests, but that's not worth risking their lives for.

Money can be earned back if it's lost.

For aristocratic families, money has never been the most important resource; talent is!
As he spoke, a heavily armed squad stormed into the conference room, surrounding the S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel, with several gun barrels pointed at Fury.

The blond middle-aged man didn't come alone.

"Wilson, haven't you considered the consequences of releasing them now that we've already taken action?"

Ignoring the dark muzzle of the gun, Fury calmly said, "Releasing him now would be like releasing a tiger back into the mountains, allowing him to completely side with China. You must know what the consequences would be."

Wilson remained silent.

Fury smiled happily.

From the very beginning, this was an open conspiracy.

Once he arrests Chen Hui, he will have blocked all of Chen Hui's escape routes.

"No matter what, you will be taken to court and put on trial."

Wilson's tone had changed.

"I am willing to accept trial."

Fury laughed heartily, “Let’s see how future generations will judge us decades from now.”

……

Philadelphia, Hilton Hotel
The mathematicians, having just concluded the International Congress of Mathematicians, were gradually leaving. Kei Nakajima sat in his office, happily reviewing the results of the conference. He could predict that his name would be etched in history alongside these achievements. Suddenly, he turned to look at his vibrating phone beside him.
It was an unfamiliar number, but he answered it anyway.

His expression quickly turned serious.

After hanging up the phone, Nakajima Kei frowned, but did not take immediate action.

As a Japanese, he was happy to see the rise of China interrupted.

But soon he picked up his phone and started making calls.

As a mathematician, he couldn't bear to see such a genius perish. He should have led mathematics to a level that transcended his time, like Gauss and Euler.

"what?"

On the way to the airport, Schultz also learned that Chen Hui had been arrested by S.H.I.E.L.D. His shock turned into rage. After hanging up the phone, he told the driver, "I'm not going to the airport. Please take me back to the hotel."

On his way back to the hotel, he immediately contacted the German Academy of Sciences and the European Mathematical Society, demanding a joint statement condemning this barbaric violation of academic freedom, and requesting that the German Academy of Sciences and the European Mathematical Society contact America to try to ensure Chen Hui's personal safety.

Terence Tao happened to be collaborating with a team at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Computer Science. He learned of the news in the lab and was so angry that he couldn't concentrate on his work. He immediately posted an update on his personal blog.

Not satisfied with that, he wrote a long article titled "When Equations Become Evidence of Crimes," and contacted the editors of journals such as Nature and Science to push the academic community to sign a joint letter of protest. He knew that only by making this a big deal could he ensure Chen Hui's safety.

Professor Fefferman smashed a coffee cup in his office and immediately called an emergency meeting of the mathematics department. He publicly stated, "Princeton has refused to accept persecuted squid scholars, and today it will not tolerate another genius being stifled by politics."

After the meeting, he even used his personal connections to contact the White House science advisor.

Edward Witten interrupted his presentation at a string theory symposium, where American Energy Department staff happened to be present. He immediately tore up the memorandum of understanding with the Department of Energy in public and announced the suspension of all research projects in cooperation with American officials until Chen Hui was released.

Although Nakajima Kei initially hesitated, he eventually contacted all members of the Fields Medal Committee and issued a statement in the name of the conference chairman demanding the immediate release of the innocent scholar.

The French National Institute for Advanced Studies in Science (INFES) announced the suspension of academic exchanges with the United States, and students and faculty of the École Normale Supérieure in Paris held a sit-in protest in front of the French Embassy...

Mathematicians attending the conference in Philadelphia spontaneously formed a support group for Chen Hui, and Deligne led more than 30 scholars in a protest outside the Philadelphia branch of S.H.I.E.L.D.

In an instant, the entire international academic community was mobilized, with dozens of Nobel laureates announcing the termination of their collaborative projects with the U.S. government unless Chen Hui was released, and dozens of Philippine laureates and thousands of top scholars made the same statement.

Even some scholars who were once jealous of Chen Hui's achievements got involved. With their intelligence, they certainly understood that protecting Chen Hui today was protecting their own tomorrow.

Not only in academic circles, but also netizens have joined the fight, thanks to Terence Tao's blog and reports from various media outlets.

This is a blatant trampling on academic freedom! Chen Hui is a Fields Medal winner; his research is a treasure for all humanity and should not be hijacked by politics!

[Fields Medal winner arrested? This is straight out of a science fiction movie!]

This is so typical of S.H.I.E.L.D.: they don't care about people smoking cheap cigarettes on the street, but there are plenty of law-abiding scholars out there.

If even scientists aren't safe, what's left of academic freedom? It's hard to imagine living in a country where we constantly preach freedom and democracy, yet there's neither.

We cannot remain silent. Today they are framing Professor Chen Hui; if we don't speak out, we will be the ones framed tomorrow. I have started a petition on xxx.org demanding Chen Hui's release. Let's all sign it!

[Is this the beacon of freedom? They're even arresting scientists? Who will dare go to that land in the future?]

It's a pity Professor Chen isn't Indian, otherwise, would America dare to arrest people?

This time, most netizens sided with Chen Hui. Even the people of America, with their simple human values, believed that such a thing should not have happened.

Of course, there are also some radicals who believe that...

Controlled nuclear fusion is a strategic technology and should indeed be approached with caution.

Such people should not be allowed to bring knowledge back to China.

Of course, most of the IP addresses of those who made these comments were not from America itself, but from Japan, the Korean Peninsula, and other places.

If this is the case on the Western internet, the anger within China is even greater.

[Shameless! Framing and slander!]

History repeats itself; the Americans love to pull this stunt.

The motherland must guarantee Professor Chen's safety.

Countless opinions clashed online, and at this moment, driven by the deliberate efforts of some, this topic became the talk of the world, generating unprecedented buzz and sweeping across the globe.

In the small outpost at the eye of the storm,
Wilson was eventually persuaded by Fury to neither release Chen Hui nor actually kill him, but instead took Chen Hui back to Washington.

Parliament Hall,

This matter was clearly not worthy of a plenary session of all members of parliament, but it was equally important to address it. More than thirty key members of parliament gathered to debate the issue.

Originally, only a minority of people wanted to kill Chen Hui, but after Fury's actions, just as Fury said, the man had already been thoroughly offended. If they were to let him go, he might become a major threat.

Therefore, at the crucial moment of the vote, the calls to kill Chen Hui were amplified to an extreme degree.

"Before you vote, please listen to me for a moment."

At this point, a Canadian-Canadian Democratic MP stood up and asked, "What is the source of everyone's fear of Chen Hui?"

"Is it because Chen Hui can help China make great strides in science and technology, thereby gaining a dominant position?"

"Isn't that right?" someone retorted.

The congressman chuckled. "What era are we living in? What use is a scholar, no matter how talented, anyway?"

"I'm not afraid of offending you all. None of you graduated with an engineering degree, so you have no idea how far science has progressed. Any major breakthrough requires a strong team, not just one person."

"No matter how strong Chen Hui is, he is still just a person. Is it necessary for us to do something with such far-reaching consequences for such a person?"

Have you considered the consequences of doing this?

The hall fell silent; no one refuted it, but no one agreed with it either.

"This is a price that must be paid."

After a long while, someone finally spoke up in a low voice.

Although the others did not speak, they all had expressions of agreement on their faces.

"So why should we pay a price?"

Wilson sneered, "Is it because of gallium oxide?"

"Could it be because the proof of the well-known Navier-Stokes equations has already been uploaded to arXiv?"

"Or is it because of the proof of the Yang-Mills equation published in the Annals of Mathematics?"

Silence fell over the hall once more.

After Wilson reminded them, they realized that all of Chen Hui's achievements seemed to be public, which, in fact, benefited them greatly.

The gallium oxide issue, in particular, convinced them that Chen Hui was not an official of the Chinese government; otherwise, how could such an important resource be sold so easily?

If that's the case, why not let him play a greater role?
The moment you let go of someone, you suddenly feel the vastness of the world.

"I agree with Wilson's opinion."

One legislator said, "But the person definitely cannot be sent back to China."

The others nodded in agreement, clearly interested.

The ensuing vote naturally became a one-sided affair.

(End of this chapter)