A genius? I just love studying.

Chapter 283 Going Home
The atmosphere in the tea break room instantly froze.

"Those guys didn't just kill a student, they killed a genius!"

Wei Teng took a swig of extra-strong black coffee and said angrily, "He hasn't made any new progress in more than half a year."

After the Michael incident, Chen Hui hasn't been to the tea room for more than half a year, and he hasn't produced any academic results for more than half a year. Obviously, he was greatly affected by that incident. Perhaps, an academic genius has fallen because of this incident.

They could imagine how much this would affect Chen Hui, perhaps even to the point that he would never be able to get over it, which would be a regret for the entire mathematics community.

Wei Teng was filled with regret.

Deligne stared blankly at the formula on the whiteboard. If Chen Hui were here, perhaps he would have already come up and explained his thinking to everyone with a smile, instead of everyone being at a loss like this.

Fefferman's face turned ashen. As the head of the mathematics department, he had failed in his duty by not being able to protect his own students or defend his own teachers.

As a mathematician, he felt heartbroken to see a talented young man fall from grace due to external circumstances.

"What do you guys think about going to China?"

Suddenly, a doctoral student named Margaret spoke up, "I heard that Professor Tao has been there for several months now."

No one answered her question, but everyone's eyes darted around, and it was unclear what they were thinking.

They all knew about Terence Tao's situation. More than half a year ago, his research funding was cut off. He tried various methods to no avail, and in the end, he went to China.

At first, everyone thought he was going there for an exchange, but more than half a year later, Jiangcheng University directly hired him as a visiting professor, and he actually set up a new research team at Jiangcheng University.

Although Terence Tao did not publicly announce that he would not be returning, his meaning was already quite clear.

"Stop thinking about those messy things. Are you planning to stay in China for the rest of your life?"

Seeing that many people seemed somewhat tempted, Fefferman quickly reprimanded them.

He was certain that, given America's nature, if they dared to do what Terence Tao did, once they left China to attend a conference elsewhere, they would never be able to return, and it wasn't impossible for them to suddenly die.

He even believed that S.H.I.E.L.D. was listening to their conversation, and everyone knew it, so even if these people were tempted, no one said it aloud.

"Why can't we do it?"

"If the Americans continue like this, everyone will go to China, and all future meetings and exchanges can be held in China. Why would anyone want to leave?"

Although Margaret was a native of America, she had no affection for the country. In fact, few people in America today have any affection for it; it's all about self-interest.

"Wake up, China doesn't have that capability yet."

"The academic center is still in America. If you really go to China, you should consider whether you can achieve the same results as before."

Fefferman looked at the young female PhD student with a serious expression, "And, will going to China solve the current problem?"

Margaret was clearly dissatisfied, but she didn't say anything more.

The tea break room fell into a deathly silence. The world's top mathematicians were filled with helplessness, a sense of helplessness towards the times.

They can dominate the world of mathematics, but they are powerless to change this damned environment.

The tea break ended quickly, and everyone left. Fefferman wandered aimlessly around the campus and eventually found himself outside Chen Hui's research room without realizing it.

Standing at the door, looking at the four people in the teaching and research office, Fefferman was slightly taken aback.

He knew Elena and Deng Leyan; the tall woman in the room was dressed in a clean and neat casual tracksuit…

He then remembered that he seemed to have heard someone say that Chen Hui was dating a history student, and that they had apparently been living together for some time.

Although teacher-student relationships are not something worth discussing, Lin Xiaotang was not Chen Hui's own student after all, so he had nothing to say about it.

But what are they doing now?
They made a complete mess of the teaching and research office, with a pile of damaged electronic components scattered on the floor.

"Professor Fefferman."

Chen Hui was also surprised by Fefferman's arrival.

"We're getting ready to leave Princeton."

He looked at Fefferman. During his year at Princeton, Princeton had taken good care of him, shielding Chen Hui from considerable pressure in ways that couldn't be seen.

"leave?"

"Where are you going?"

Fefferman frowned, his heart filled with disappointment, but he had no right to try to keep him.

He indeed failed to protect Chen Hui and Chen Hui's students, so he had nothing to say about Chen Hui leaving to seek better opportunities elsewhere.

"go home!"

Chen Hui smiled at Fefferman, full of confidence.

"go home?"

Fefferman's eyes widened.

He knew Chen Hui's current situation, and of course he knew that Chen Hui could not go home; at the very least, S.H.I.E.L.D. would not let Chen Hui return alive.

Chen Hui didn't say anything more, but looked at Elena and Deng Leyan, "Do you want to come back with me?"

Lin Xiaotang had just removed all the listening devices in the research room, so he could speak without restraint. Although this would prompt S.H.I.E.L.D. to take immediate action, it would only take a little time, which was exactly the time difference he needed.

Elena and Deng Leyan, like Fefferman, stared wide-eyed, not understanding what the teacher meant.

"I'll go with the teacher."

Elena hesitated only briefly before giving her answer.

She was a big fan of Chen Hui, so no matter what, she just had to follow her teacher's lead.

"I'll stay."

After a moment of contemplation, Deng Leyan gave the same answer. He roughly understood what the teacher wanted to do, so time was of the essence and he had no time to hesitate.

He knew that staying might be dangerous, but Princeton was a paradise for mathematicians, and he didn't want to give up this opportunity; he wanted to complete his work here.

Even if the teacher fails, China will still have itself!
Deng Leyan looked at Chen Hui with a firm gaze.

"Professor Fefferman, I hope you can take good care of him for me."

Chen Hui looked at Fefferman. The reason he wanted to take the two away was because he was worried that S.H.I.E.L.D. would make things difficult for his students after he left.

But since Deng Leyan chose to stay, he respected his choice.

After saying that, Chen Hui went downstairs without hesitation, sat in the passenger seat, Elena sat in the back, and Lin Xiaotang stepped on the gas. The Dodge Challenger, with a full tank of gas, roared away.

"Has this day finally come?"

Fefferman, watching the Dodge Challenger disappear, finally understood what Chen Hui meant.

He frowned, not optimistic about Chen Hui's operation. But he also understood that Chen Hui hadn't achieved anything in more than six months, and if he wasn't allowed to return and continue to stay in Princeton, he would only be keeping a walking corpse.

Perhaps Chen Hui himself has realized this problem and is preparing to take a gamble.

"This damn world."

Fefferman cursed under his breath and looked at Deng Leyan, "You can do research in my department from now on."

This time, he was determined to protect Chen Hui's students.

Perhaps this will be that genius's last student.

……

"Captain, all the listening devices in Professor Chen's office have been destroyed. We have lost track of Professor Chen."

"Professor Chen's Dodge Challenger left Princeton and headed towards Route 206 in New Jersey."

With a constant stream of messages arriving, the captain, who was having afternoon tea, rushed to the monitoring room. "Immediately send people to pursue him and try to stop him in New Jersey and authorize the use of the pit."

Upon arriving at the monitoring room, he saw the Dodge Challenger speeding across the monitor screen.

Unfortunately, all the listening devices installed in the Dodge Challenger were also removed by Lin Xiaotang, so they could not know what was happening inside the car.

"Chief, given the current situation, how should we handle it?"

He quickly dialed Nick's hotline to report the situation on the ground.

"Have they finally taken action?"

Nick wasn't flustered. He wasn't surprised by the news that Chen Hui was going to escape; in fact, he had been waiting for this day to come.

A rat locked in a cage will always be eager to escape, but if it is caught every time, it will eventually lose the desire to escape. Even if the cage door is opened, it will not take another step out of the cage.

He wouldn't mind playing cat and mouse with Chen Hui a few times.

"Everyone, get out there and stop him."

"Remember, don't hurt Professor Chen. Everyone, be polite."

Nick instructed, remembering Wilson's instructions: Chen Hui's survival was crucial for their greater interests.

After doing all that, he went to the monitoring room himself to check the footage transmitted from Princeton.

At Nick's command, dozens of S.H.I.E.L.D. vehicles sprang into action around Princeton, and, following the shared footage, converged on the Dodge Challenger's path along various routes.

Some were blocking the way ahead, some were chasing after them from behind, and others were guarding various intersections.

Standing in the monitoring room, Nick looked at the panoramic view in front of him and was very satisfied.

He had been prepared for this day and had already deployed enough manpower. Now that he was launching the operation, it was like a net that would trap Chen Hui, leaving him no way to escape.

However, soon, a green dot suddenly stopped on its way forward and did not go to the interception intersection as planned.

"Eagle 7, reporting your situation."

Nick picked up the radio and took charge himself.

zizi...

After the radio signal was connected, there was a brief period of noise before Eagle 7's voice came through the receiver: "We have collided with a civilian vehicle, which is severely damaged and unable to reach the designated location on time."

"Make repairs as soon as possible, and once repairs are complete, head to the designated location and remain on standby at all times."

Nick's brow relaxed slightly. He gave the order and simultaneously connected to another squad's radio, "Eagle 9, Number 7 has had an accident. Go and fill in for Number 7."

Such operations naturally involve more than one plan; often, two or three teams work together to achieve a single objective, ensuring that even in the event of an accident, a team can arrive in time.

"Received on the 9th."

A reply came through the radio, and soon, a green dot on the panoramic map changed direction and headed towards the target point No. 7, filling in the missing link in the intricate network.

However, before Nick could even relax, Green Dot 9, which had only been running for a short time, stopped again, and this time it even disappeared completely.

"Number 11 and Number 13, proceed immediately to Target Point 7 to provide support."

Nick didn't rush to check on Number 9's condition. Instead, he immediately issued orders. If Number 7's accident could be explained as an accident, then the fact that both Number 7 and Number 9 were involved in accidents could not be explained by accident.

But not long after, numbers 11 and 13 also stopped.

Nick's expression turned serious as he carefully observed target point 7. Then, a chill ran down his spine. "Numbers 3, 17, 19... all of you, surround target point 7. We absolutely cannot let them set foot on New York State Interstate 98."

Target point 7 is located at the intersection of New Jersey Highway 206 and New York State Interstate 98. If Chen Hui and his team were to go there, the capture would become much more difficult. Furthermore, the interstate highway leads all the way to Virginia, and the coastline is right next to it. Chen Hui could very well board a boat and sail into international waters, allowing him to escape.

At a command, the green dots on the panoramic map immediately shrank, all converging towards target point 7.

……

hum hum...

Chen Hui's Dodge Challenger has undergone track-level modifications and uses a large V8 naturally aspirated engine with over 700 horsepower. Although it is not the king of power, it is already unmatched on the asphalt road.

Lin Xiaotang's driving skills were much better than Chen Hui had expected, almost to the point of being one with the car. In traffic with an average speed of 120 km/h, the Dodge Challenger was like a nimble fish, darting through the traffic.

"The S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel have been deployed to the New York Interstate Highway. Point 11 is undefended and can be accessed."

A burst of noise came through Lin Xiaotang's radio; the other party seemed to be driving at high speed. Chen Hui could also hear the whooshing sound of wind coming through the radio.

"receive."

Lin Xiaotang replied with a sentence, then turned the steering wheel slightly. The Dodge Challenger drew a graceful arc on the road, changed four lanes in a row, exited the highway, and rushed towards Interstate 78 in Pennsylvania.

……

Washington, D.C., S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters monitoring room
Nick stared, his face ashen, at the red dot that burst forth from the circle of green dots.

They deployed a large number of personnel to blockade point 7, leaving point 11 undefended and allowing the Dodge Challengers to exploit the situation.

He was fooled.

The Dodgers' target wasn't Point 7 at all, but Point 11. They wanted to detour through Ohio to Virginia to escape America. Chen Hui had no choice but to leave by boat, as Virginia had the closest coastline to Princeton.

Nick immediately understood.

Although Chen Hui designed the route, Lin Zhengtian was involved in the evacuation route and plan. The feint attack was just a simple tactic he came up with on the spot.

"Let's see if you can sprout wings and fly away."

Nick decided to ignore the battle on the New Jersey highway and turn to the Virginia defense line. He didn't need to chase after the fleeing birds; he could simply set up his net at his destination and wait.

On his territory, these Chinese people still want to fight him?

(End of this chapter)