My IQ has been increasing year by year.

Chapter 311 begins

Princeton University, New Jersey, Vane Building, Dean's Office.

The second hand of the wall clock jumped to exactly 9:00 AM Eastern Time.

Fifteen sheets of fax paper were laid out on the desk.

That was the original draft sent yesterday from a public fax machine somewhere in Cambridge, Boston, covered with clumsy handwritten characters.

Cyril sat in his chair, his fingertips touching, his gaze scanning back and forth over the formula for the convergence of local singularities in the discrete algebraic grid on page twelve.

As the chief administrator of the Princeton mathematics department and a senior algebraic geometry scholar, his brain had been trying for the past six hours to find a replacement for this abrupt truncation operator that conformed to the traditional mathematical aesthetic of smoothness, but each deduction crashed into a logical dead end.

The office door was pushed open without warning.

Cyril's academic assistant, Thomas, strode in, clutching a tablet computer with its screen still on and two still-warm A4 documents pulled from the printer.

"Dean Cyril, the ArXiv preprint server has experienced unusual traffic spikes over the past two hours."

Thomas spoke very quickly, laying the two documents flat next to the fax paper in front of Cyril.

"In the High Energy Physics and Computer Architecture sections, three preprints were downloaded and cited extremely frequently, with the articles being uploaded at almost the same time, including Mr. Chen's article."

Cyril shifted his gaze from Chen Zhuo's manuscript to the two newly appeared documents.

The document title on the left is: "Absolute Boundary Truncation in Eleven-Dimensional String Membrane Topological Physics Fields," and the first author is Allen (Department of Physics, Harvard University).

The document title on the right is: "Zero Overflow Underlying Scheduling Mechanism in a High-Concurrency Environment with Tens of Millions of Users: A Non-Contiguous Memory Folding Algorithm", with the first author being Sam (Computer Architecture Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

Cyril's pupils contracted instantly.

He didn't look at the discussion of the conservation of physical energy in the two papers, nor did he look at the complicated computer memory allocation code; he went straight to the last page of the two papers.

In the references section, these two industrial-grade papers, which belong to different cutting-edge fields, do not cite any existing classic literature, but instead share the same hyperlink.

The link leads to the paper "Local Singularity Convergence and Truncation Operators on Discrete Algebraic Grids" that Chen Zhuo uploaded to the ArXiv Pure Mathematics section.

Cyril grabbed the tablet, pulled up the third page of code from Sam's computer science paper, and then dragged the fourteenth page of Chen Zhuo's faxed manuscript to the same eye level.

Two completely different symbol systems began to be forcibly merged in Cyrillic's higher-dimensional cognition.

The memory release pointer in the computer pseudocode corresponds to the homology group mapping in the algebraic manuscript. The truncation instruction in the code that forcibly cuts off the data torrent and violates all existing scheduling logic is perfectly aligned with the aesthetically unappealing constant C in Chen Zhuo's manuscript, both in terms of its literal meaning and logical trajectory.

The data model is closed.

Cyril's breath hitched for half a second.

In that instant, his brain underwent a forced rewrite, transforming him from a pure mathematics appreciator into a defender of institutional interests.

This is not an isolated proof of a mathematical conjecture, but a long-planned interdisciplinary attack that reduces the scope of the problem.

Allen from Harvard and Sam from MIT have directly embedded Chen Zhuo's indestructible algebraic wall into the very bottom layer of physical high-dimensional space and servers.

Chen Zhuo's fifteen-page manuscript is the industrial master code for solving memory leaks at the level of tens of millions of concurrent users, and the underlying control valve for preventing the collapse of the eleven-dimensional physical field.

Whoever owns the patent rights or academic interpretation rights to this algebraic foundation will hold the reins on the underlying architecture of global servers for the next decade.

Cyril abruptly pressed the internal communication button in front of him.

"Connect to the Princeton Office of Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property and speak to Director Lawrence."

Cyril's voice was cold and hard, carrying an absolute administrative authority.

"Notify him to immediately activate the S-level job-related invention attribution plan, lock all of Chen Zhuo's on-campus research series and visa files in this department, no matter what he is doing in Boston now, this underlying algebraic framework must be stamped with the Princeton exclusive patent seal within two hours."

David's apartment in Cambridge, Boston, Massachusetts.

It is 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time.

David sat on a clean single sofa, having just finished processing several fax confirmations from New York, holding a freshly brewed cup of black coffee in his hand.

The encrypted satellite phone on the table broke the silence in the apartment.

Caller ID: Princeton, New Jersey.

David's gaze lingered on the screen for a second, then he extended his right hand, pressed the answer button, and simultaneously activated the hands-free recording function.

"This is David Collin, Mr. Chen Zhuo's Chief Legal and Commercial Representative."

David's voice was steady, without any sign of fatigue from having just stayed up all night.

The sound of two people breathing could be heard from the other end of the phone.

"Mr. David, I am Cyril, Dean of the Department of Mathematics at Princeton University, and this is Lawrence, Director of the Office of International Education (OIT) at Princeton University."

Cyril's voice came through the loudspeaker, carrying an unquestionable institutional authority.

"We have already seen three papers on ArXiv. Given that Chen Zhuo is currently a full-time fellowship holder and registered researcher at Princeton, OIT will officially take over the patent application work for all derivative application layers of the Discrete Algebraic Grid Truncation Operator."

Director Lawrence's voice followed immediately, like a legal machine executing a procedure.

"In accordance with the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 and Section 4, Section 2 of the Princeton Intellectual Property Management Regulations, the university has default jurisdiction over service inventions produced by on-campus researchers during their employment or funding period. Please immediately cease any private commercial licensing negotiations and transfer control of all technical documents to the university's legal pool."

"In compensation, Princeton will strive for the highest level of revenue sharing for Chen Zhuo."

David took a sip of black coffee, the bitter liquid stimulating his central nervous system. He looked at Sam, who was fast asleep on the sofa, his tone completely unchanged.

"Director Lawrence, Dean Cyril, your jurisdictional claims have three fatal logical flaws."

David pulled a thick file folder from his briefcase and laid several documents out on the table.

"First, physical spatial breakpoints."

David spoke into the phone.

"The derivation, calculation and finalization of this algebraic foundation took place 100% in an Irish pub in Boston, Massachusetts and in this privately rented apartment where I am currently located. During this time, not a single sheet of paper from Princeton’s Vane Building was used, not a single megabyte of computing power from your university’s computer lab was consumed, and the physical location was completely outside the jurisdiction of Princeton."

Cyril's suppressed breathing came from the other end of the phone.

"Second, the disruption of the capital chain."

David continues to output the variables.

"I have faxed the project's financial statement for the past 72 hours to your OIT's public email address. Please check it. Mr. Chen Zhuo's accommodation, transportation, and even the cost of purchasing whiteboards and markers during this period were all settled independently from my offshore account. The underlying structure's dependence on Princeton's internal funding or the National Science Foundation is absolutely zero."

"Funding and space cannot completely circumvent the nature of one's job duties."

Lawrence's rebuttal sounded somewhat forced.

"His intellect and academic background were nurtured by Princeton!"

"This leads to the third breakpoint: the isolation of academic tasks."

David's voice turned extremely cold.

"Please review Chen Zhuo's established project filing records in the Department of Mathematics. This algebraic truncation operator, which spans high-energy physics and the underlying layers of computers, is his personal, amateur exploration outside of working hours. It is not part of any experimental or demonstration task assigned by Princeton. You have no legal basis to define it as a work-related invention."

There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone.

"Mr. David."

Cyril's voice rang out again, stripped of legal jargon, replaced by raw, unvarnished pressure.

"You may be an expert in legal loopholes, but you underestimate the ambition of the industry. Once the news of zero overflow during tens of millions of concurrent users spreads in Silicon Valley, you will face a joint attack from multinational giants and patent trolls. Without an institution of Princeton's caliber as a legal umbrella, the defenses built by individuals are no match for capital."

"Thank you for reminding me, Dean Cyril."

David pulled the last document from the bag; it was a confirmation of trust bearing the official seal of the Cayman Islands.

"That's why I took this call; I need to formally report the situation to Princeton."

David stared at the timestamp on the document, his speech as steady as ever.

"At 2 a.m. today, four hours before the ArXiv paper was uploaded, MIT's underlying algorithm implementation, Harvard's eleven-dimensional physical model, and Professor Chen Zhuo's algebraic foundation have completed an absolutely closed-loop cross-licensing agreement internally."

"The absolute control of this three-in-one underlying computing power architecture and more than 50% of the derivative revenue rights have been packaged and locked into an offshore trust entity registered in the Cayman Islands, which is protected by the highest level of trade secrets under Anglo-American law."

David placed his coffee cup on the table with a soft thud.

"The door is welded shut, Dean Cyril. This is a sovereign stronghold independent of the Ivy League system, and Princeton has no legitimate entry point. If your OIT insists on initiating an intellectual property rights claim lawsuit, the Collins' legal team is ready to fight."

David pressed the hang-up button.

The silence echoed through the Boston apartment, signaling the physical disruption of the first wave of institutional power grabs.

Dean's office, Department of Mathematics, Princeton, New Jersey.

Cyril held the receiver still for a full five seconds, the busy tone in the receiver seeming to mock his slowness as an academic tycoon.

He slowly put down the phone, his gaze falling once again on the fifteen pages of fax paper.

OIT Director Lawrence sat in the opposite chair, his face ashen, wiping cold sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.

"Honorable Sir, if we file for an emergency injunction in a New Jersey court..."

"Withdraw the contingency plan."

Cyril interrupted Lawrence abruptly, his voice as cold as ice water in December.

"We have already lost this legal battle, and we have lost so badly that we have no room to fight back. David has built a perfect firewall with offshore trusts. He has calculated all the physical evidence and time differences to the extreme."

Cyril stood up, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window in his office, and looked down at the quiet Princeton campus.

His brain completed the calculation of massive sunk costs in a very short time.

If a lawsuit is pursued, not only will it lead to a multinational legal quagmire that can last for years, but more fatally, it will result in the loss of control over the physical location.

Chen Zhuo is currently in Boston!

Harvard and MIT have an academic edge that is in no way inferior to Princeton's.

Once Laurent and Richard, those old foxes, figure out the terrifying value of this foundation by following the ArXiv citation chain, they will not hesitate to use their highest-level special-approval funds to directly offer Chen Zhuo a full-time teaching position, an independent laboratory, and even an exorbitant settling-in allowance.

Under such extreme tension, if Princeton were to show even the slightest greed or hostility, Chen Zhuo might just be devoured whole by the academic monsters of Massachusetts.

Princeton will face a disastrous double loss: losing both its commercial foundation and groundbreaking genius.

The recalculation of interests has concluded.

Cyril turned around, the frustration in his eyes vanishing, replaced by a more fanatical and aggressive political ambition.

Since David has welded the physical ports of business and legal affairs shut down, let's immediately switch tracks and take full control of the historical definition of this theory.

"Lawrence, you can go out now."

Cyril issued an order to leave.

As the office door closed, Cyril returned to his desk and pressed the red emergency broadcast button leading to the mathematics department secretariat.

"I am Cyril, issuing the highest executive order."

"First, immediately halt all non-urgent regular courses and seminars in the Mathematics Department today."

"Second, summon all full professors in the department, especially the core personnel in algebraic geometry, topology and number theory, to assemble in the top-secret conference room No. 1 within ten minutes. No one is allowed to ask for leave."

Cyril's gaze was fixed on the fax paper on the table. He carefully gathered it up and put it into a bag.

"Listen carefully, this is not a regular academic exchange."

Cyril's voice was broadcast throughout every corner of Vane House via the public address system.

"I want Princeton to dedicate all its computing resources to producing a white paper on the compliance derivation and official algebraic legitimacy of this Discrete Algebraic Grid Truncation Operator within 24 hours, down to the punctuation marks."

What Harvard and MIT currently possess are merely the application-level test results of this theory.

This is Princeton's only window of opportunity.

If Princeton University is the first in the global academic community to publish this white paper, it will be tantamount to crowning Chen Zhuo with power in terms of academic legitimacy.

This is a land grabbing movement of academic and political significance at the highest level.

In the future, no matter how Silicon Valley's giant server rooms apply this algorithm, and no matter how CERN's collider verifies this physical field model, as long as they touch upon the underlying algebraic logic, the orthodoxy, legitimacy, and ultimate right of interpretation of its theory will be permanently and irreversibly anchored on the cornerstone of Princeton's mathematics department.

David has built his current business empire.

Cyril, however, decided to use Princeton's academic dominance to forcibly buy out the naming rights of this system in the history of human science.