The night before the college entrance exam results were released, I redeemed my Peking University ad

Philadelphia, a Chinese-owned hotel.

Top floor executive suite.

The curtains were drawn tightly shut, with only a sliver of morning sunlight filtering through the gaps, cutting a thin golden line across the carpet.

"Hmm!"

Ji Bai stretched out one arm from under the covers, then the other, and then his whole body looked like a bear that had just woken up from hibernation.

He lay sprawled out in the middle of the bed, staring blankly at the unfamiliar crystal chandelier on the ceiling for a full half minute.

Jet lag is really annoying.

I finally fell asleep, but then I had a bunch of weird and wonderful dreams.

He dreamt that Li Mei was holding a bowl of steaming hot noodles and forcing him to eat it.

Then I woke up.

Just then, a crisp "ding" sounded in my mind, and the familiar system notification tone appeared without warning:

[Ding! Daily selection is now available! Activate?]

Ji Bai was taken aback.

That's not right!

He was in his old house in Fucheng before boarding the plane. He had just heard the notification once that day. How come it had been refreshed again after only a dozen hours?

"Could it be...?"

Ji Bai lay in bed, his mind racing.

Different places on Earth have different local times at different longitudes, and the time of sunrise also varies.

If the daily selection is not based on a fixed time zone, but rather on the natural time of his/her location...

I got a free daily selection by crossing a different time zone; this was probably due to a system bug.

"He's got something."

Ji Bai curled the corners of his lips and replied in his mind without hesitation: "Don't activate it, save it."

Including this time, there are exactly ten times, which is enough to make up a thousand-yuan-level choice.

But Ji Bai did not intend to use it immediately.

He had other ideas.

As for now...

He picked up his phone, leaned against the headboard, found a comfortable position, and started scrolling through Weibo.

If I don't scroll through my phone for half an hour as soon as I wake up in the morning, I won't feel energetic all day.

It's very troublesome to access foreign websites from within China.

You can access domestic websites from abroad as long as you can afford the roaming fees.

Ji Bai swiped the screen and opened Weibo.

Hey!

This trending topics list is really lively.

Eight out of ten trending topics are related to him.

The top-ranked one is naturally room-temperature superconductivity.

The entry, followed by a deep red "Explosive" sign, has been at the top of the trending searches for two whole days. Its popularity has not only not decreased, but has actually grown stronger as major laboratories around the world have successively announced successful replication.

This is not just a domestic issue, but it's currently the hottest topic worldwide.

Some even say this will usher in the Third Industrial Revolution.

When Ji Bai saw this comment, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

The Third Industrial Revolution? That's not entirely wrong.

He continued scrolling down, and the next few entries surprised him somewhat.

#RenrenDaily reopens its gates to the heavens#

Ji Bai raised an eyebrow.

Everyone in the country knows the tone of Renren Daily. Its wording is so meticulous that every punctuation mark is carefully considered, and its headlines are always steady and predictable.

Now, they're calling him "Young Emperor" and even saying he opened the gates of heaven with a single sword!

Just outrageous!

But Ji Bai was really happy!

Scroll down further.

#Shen Yizhen tax evasion#

#Yan Dahai tax evasion#

#StarShiningEntertainmentSummonedForTalks#

#OperationSunnyDay#

#Statement from the Chinese Mathematicians Association#

As Ji Bai read through the series of entries, he couldn't help but laugh more and more.

It seems that my sudden departure abroad has indeed startled some people.

Of course, this is all predicated on the realization of room-temperature superconductivity.

Without superconductivity, even if he flew to Mars, no one would give him a second glance.

But because of superconductivity, and because he holds the key to the next industrial revolution, his every move has been put under a microscope.

After being out of contact for more than ten hours, the entire administrative chain, from Fucheng to Beijing and then to the United States, was shaken from beginning to end.

He said, "Who should I greet?" Renren Daily personally stepped in to support him, the Mathematicians Association cleaned up its ranks, the tax authorities took strong action, the internet monitoring department destroyed online troll dens, and the national security department arrested foreign spies.

A casual remark is more effective than any number of reports written by many people.

From cyberbullying to academic clique attacks, from copyright infringement to public smear campaigns, everyone who has ever opposed him has been brought down.

It feels not so bad that someone vented my anger for me.

Ji Bai put his phone on the bedside table, leaned against the headboard, and looked out the window at the gray-blue sky of Philadelphia.

It has definitely cleared up a bit!

Wait, that's not right!

This is overseas!

I take back what I just said!

After having breakfast delivered by the hotel, Ji Bai headed to the ICM venue under the guidance (escort) of the staff stationed in the U.S.

The staff were taken aback when they saw Ji Bai's attire.

It seems they didn't expect Ji Bai to dress like this.

But in the end, nothing was said.

……

domestic.

After broadcasting that news program and an interview, the CCTV news channel suddenly switched the camera to the other side of the ocean.

Live broadcast!

"Hello everyone, I am a reporter from CCTV stationed in Philadelphia."

"It's 8 PM Beijing time, which is 8 AM Philadelphia time."

"The International Congress of Mathematicians, held every four years, will open in an hour, and the Fields Medal will be officially awarded at the opening ceremony."

The camera panned across the red carpet outside the venue, where scholars in suits entered one after another, the host's voice brimming with barely suppressed excitement:

"It is widely predicted that he is highly likely to win this year's Fields Medal with his proofs of the five great conjectures of mathematics, achieving a breakthrough for our country in this award!"

"We have just received news that Ji Bai has confirmed his attendance at this International Congress of Mathematicians!"

The news caused an instant uproar online.

Has Ji Bai gone to the US?

Is Ji Bai going to attend the ICM conference?

Is Ji Bai going to win the Fields Medal?

Countless people flocked to the live stream, and the viewership skyrocketed.

"Holy crap! He really went! The Emperor is going to win the Fields Medal!"

"Spread the word! The whole family is sitting in front of the TV waiting! This is the first time this has ever happened in China!"

"When the Emperor goes to war, not a blade of grass will survive!"

"The highest honor in mathematics! A breakthrough for China!"

"Five major hypotheses and two millennium problems—it would be an injustice if this didn't win an award!"

"I just dragged my dad out of his study. He taught math for thirty years and said he was determined to witness this historic moment, even if it meant his death."

The news spread like wildfire across major social media platforms.

On Weibo's trending topics list, the hashtag #JiBaiAttendsICMConference# surged to the top of the list in just over ten minutes, followed by a dark red "Explosive" character.

The number of viewers for live streams is increasing.

The ratings have been rising steadily.

It even surpassed a certain currently popular TV series.

The Fields Medal, named after Canadian mathematician John Charles Fields, is awarded every four years, and recipients must be no older than forty.

Since the Nobel Prize does not have a mathematics category, the Fields Medal is widely recognized as the highest honor in mathematics and is often referred to as the "Nobel Prize of Mathematics!"

"Since its inception in 1936, the Fields Medal has a history of nearly a century, but regrettably, in that century, no mathematician of Chinese nationality has ever stood on this podium..."

The host was still leisurely explaining the prestige of the Fields Medal, but the audience wasn't paying attention at all; everyone was staring at the camera, waiting for the young man to appear.

Just then, a black van with diplomatic license plates slowly drove up to the entrance of the venue.

The frontline reporter seemed to have received a prompt; his voice suddenly rose, tinged with obvious excitement:

"Dear viewers! He's here! Ji Bai is here!"

The camera zoomed in suddenly, focusing on the slowly opening car door.

The next second, the entire room fell silent.