The Last Sentinel

A stifling atmosphere, a silent office.

Dean Zhang stood at the office door, his fingers intertwined, beads of sweat trickling from his forehead.

As a leading figure at Jiangbei District Hospital and a top-ranked orthopedic specialist in Daxia, I haven't felt this kind of nervous and heart-pounding feeling in a long time.

Dean Zhang peered through the gaps in the blinds at the young man inside.

The office floor was covered with paper papers, looking like a thick layer of paper bricks.

The young man named Ye Feng was writing furiously on the ground, holding a pen in each hand and another in his mouth. His face was flushed, and he was muttering something to himself. Wisps of white smoke rose from his forehead. He kept rewriting and deleting his papers, but he just wouldn't give up.

What is his limit?

As Dean Zhang watched this scene, he suddenly felt a sense of lingering fear.

A qualified professor will usually conduct a potential test for his students.

In this potential test, the professor will deliberately throw in a lot of questions, including some non-medical, out-of-scope content, and even world problems that the professor himself may not be able to solve.

Simply put, professors need to know the maximum potential of their students.

If a student has high potential, then he/she can be a core disciple who can be entrusted with important responsibilities in the future, or even a successor to the mantle.

If a student's potential is average, then he will become an unskilled lab assistant, and his ultimate goal will be graduation.

As for Ye Feng, Dean Zhang knew he was a genius, so the test papers Dean Zhang prepared for Ye Feng not only included his area of ​​expertise in orthopedic medicine, but also related fields such as dermatology, endocrinology, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and medical devices, and even papers in the field of mathematics.

Some might ask, "You're a medical professional, assigning math papers to others, isn't that making things difficult for them?"

This brings us to the rigor of biophysics.

Biology, strictly speaking, belongs to the sciences, and mathematics is the foundation and everything of the sciences!

There is a famous saying in the field of mathematics.

If you want to prove you're a genius, then go study math!

Mathematics is the touchstone of genius, the golden land of genius, and the last stronghold of individual heroism!

Every major advancement in mathematics drives revolutionary changes across the entire sciences.

And mathematics is the strictest yardstick for measuring the value of genius!

There's even a professional phenomenon in the field of mathematics called—genius worship!

Unlike the multidimensional subjective problems in the humanities, mathematics is a highly specialized objective problem. Unlike other industries, it cannot be manipulated or tempted to make progress.

Mathematics is a subject where you either know it or you don't; no matter how much effort you put in, it's useless. Unlike humanities subjects, where if you don't do it, there are plenty of people who will, in the field of mathematics, if you don't do it, there really is no one else who can!

It's the kind of romance where a pen, a person, a piece of paper, and a battle against the will of the universe—an indescribable kind of superheroic individual heroism!

It's no exaggeration to say that the entire field of mathematics is a spiral of growth led by a single master.

In this process, the big shots are responsible for rising, while the others are responsible for spiraling upwards.

Just like the famous quote from the mathematical prince Gauss, there are three kinds of math learners in the world: monkeys, monkeys that can do math, and mathematicians.

In the field of mathematics, personal character and appearance are irrelevant; only intelligence matters. The greatest achievement of a mediocre mathematician in his lifetime might be saving a mathematical genius the time it takes to eat a meal.

Only after entering this field did I deeply feel the terror of genius. Experts in the field of mathematics worship geniuses more than any other profession, without exception. They unconditionally and completely obey the true god of mathematics who is superior to themselves. It is a kind of fanatical worship.

Just then, footsteps echoed down the corridor.

Dean Zhang's face immediately darkened with displeasure. He had already warned the security department not to allow anyone to disturb him during this time.

Who would dare come to their own office area!

Dean Zhang had only taken a few steps when he saw a tall, thin old man in a trench coat striding towards him.

The dean's anger vanished instantly, replaced by a fawning smile. "Professor, weren't you on vacation at the sanatorium? What brings you here!"

The senior professor shoved Dean Zhang's arm away, "Where is he?!"

Dean Zhang pointed inside and said, "They're conducting a genius test in my office!"

The experienced mentor grabbed Dean Zhang by the neck, "You've tried to steal my apprentice! You've got some nerve!"

Dean Zhang dared not struggle at all, repeatedly saying, "Professor, give me a chance! I didn't want this either! At least you still have me as your student to uphold your reputation, but I really don't have a single student I can be proud of! I don't want people pointing fingers at me behind my back ten or twenty years from now, saying that I've practiced medicine my whole life and didn't even have a disciple! That would be the ultimate disgrace of my career!"

"To put it another way, Master, he's my disciple, and by seniority, he's your grand-disciple!"

"If we take this out, you can't say it's completely fine! Everyone will save face!"

"We've both reached this level, we don't care about money anymore, we're just after fame!"

The old mentor then slowly loosened Dean Zhang's collar. "How's that kid?"

Dean Zhang whispered, "The mentor is here!"

The two old men peered cautiously through the blinds, whispering among themselves.

"Disciple, what kind of difficult math problem did you give him? This kid's got white smoke coming out of his head, it looks like he's about to turn into a golden elixir!"

"There weren't many difficult problems. It was just the top ten academic questions of the year from the top medical journals, and the seven most pressing mathematical formulas and theorems to be solved this year—Ah! Professor, why did you hit me?"

"Is this something a human being would do? It's a test, not treating people like cattle! Just throw one or two in to show for it, there's plenty of time to solve the problems later. Are you trying to kill them?"

"Then, should I go in and stop it now, Professor?"

"What's the point of going in now! They're thinking; interrupting them would just disrupt their train of thought, a cardinal sin in academics!"

"Then, what do we do now?"

"Wait, wait until he tells you to stop, or he lies down on his own. Luckily this is a hospital, so if something really happens, we can send him straight to the emergency room!"

"Mentor, what percentage do you think he has a chance of succeeding?"

"Even if he can't complete a single one of the difficult problems you raised, the orthopedic content I just corrected for you is enough to put him at the next level above me—a true pioneering master!"

"What if he solves a few difficult problems?"

"If he completes half of the problem, he can become a global leader in contemporary medicine. If there are mathematical formulas involved, he will become the Gauss of contemporary mathematics."

"What if we could solve all of them?"

"Simple. Go to the Mathematics Palace, have Gauss stand up, and let him sit there. Also, have Newton, Einstein, and Mendeleev line up to light his cigarette and offer him a drink. When offering the drink, they should also learn to recite the toasting words of the Great Eastern China. Those who cannot recite them well are not allowed to sit at the table."

"Mentor, you're exaggerating!"

"I'm exaggerating? Don't forget, I originally studied mathematics; I switched to orthopedic medicine halfway through my career!"

"Mentor, I know that. You majored in mathematics in college, but you switched to orthopedics to pursue a senior in orthopedics, who is also your wife. Everyone in our circle knows that."

"I know why you're asking! There's a blind, almost fanatical, worship of geniuses in the field of mathematics!"

Just as the two were whispering to each other, a thud came from inside the door.

Dean Zhang hurriedly pushed open the door and saw Ye Feng lying on the floor, convulsing, with a paper that was more than a meter tall that he had corrected in front of him.

Dean Zhang quickly helped Ye Feng up, "Little Ye, are you alright?"

Ye Feng rubbed his temples. "I feel a bit tired! By the way, these papers are too complicated. I've only finished two-thirds. I'll finish the remaining third after I reply to some questions."

Two-thirds?

That's more than half!

As instructed by his old mentor, Gauss should now rise from the palace of mathematics and sit on the throne of the god of mathematics, while Mendeleev, Newton, and Einstein prepare to offer him a toast.

Dean Zhang said, "Young man, you need to take care of your health. Go to the rehabilitation center and rest for a while!"

Ye Feng waved his hand and said, "No, just prescribe some medicine to relieve my nervous tension. I have something to do; I need to go see someone."

Dean Zhang said, "How can you go find someone looking like this?"

Ye Feng insisted, "We must go, immediately, we can't waste any more time!"

Seeing Ye Feng's insistence, the older mentor took out his business card. "My car is outside. Go directly to my driver, Xiao Long, after you leave. He'll take you wherever you want!"

Ye Feng looked at the business card. "You are...?"

Dean Zhang hurriedly introduced, "This is my mentor, and by seniority, this is your grandmaster. We're all family!"

Ye Feng hurriedly bowed, "Ye Feng greets Senior!"

"You're too kind!" The old mentor stroked his white beard with satisfaction. "We're all family, your problems are my problems. When you get out, have Xiaolong take you to get a bath, a massage, some food and drinks, and a good rest. Scientific research isn't something that can be accomplished in a day, take your time! You're still young, you have plenty of time! Your health is the most important thing!"

Ye Feng replied, "Master's teachings are correct, Ye Feng has remembered them!"

The old mentor said, "Alright, go out and find Xiaolong. I've already notified him. If you have any trouble, just ask him; he can help you solve everything!"

Ye Feng said, "Thank you for your care, teacher and advisor. It's nothing, I'll be leaving now. I really have something urgent to attend to, someone is waiting for me!"

The old mentor nodded, "Okay, take care! Contact me if you need anything!"

"Okay!"

Ye Feng left in a hurry.

Dean Zhang and his mentor looked at the completed thesis, which was taller than a person, with faces full of joy.

"Xiao Zhang, get to work! Submit these papers separately!"

"How will it be distributed?"

"Isn't his name Ye Feng? So, those in the medical field call him Mr. Ye, and those outside the medical field call him Mr. Feng."

"Why do you have to do this?!"

"It's simple. Ordinary people don't believe in all-around geniuses. If we use Ye Feng's name to spread rumors, institutions and forces will question our academic fraud and monopoly, which will cause a lot of trouble! After all, ordinary people prefer to believe in geniuses in a particular field. We'll create two geniuses first, and then tell everyone that they are the same person. Hahaha, this way we won't overstep our bounds and cause problems."

"Our mentor is brilliant!"

"What's so brilliant about it? It's just that I've seen enough of the filth in academia, and I'm a little more careful not to get scammed. Do as I say, and this time I'll personally take charge and create an invincible disciple!"

"Advisor, let me keep a copy of the paper first, then I'll send it out!"

"Yeah, make a few more backups. I think we're going to completely ignite this stagnant academic world..."