Rebirth: Controlled Nuclear Fusion

Part 54：The Last Question

"Principal, it's... it's Jiang Fan!"
Upon hearing Jiang Fan's name, Principal Lu's demeanor shifted instantly, his calmness replaced by urgency. While the situation was still pressing, he instinctively felt that Jiang Fan's matter was of paramount importance.
He hastily inquired, "What happened to Jiang Fan? Is everything alright?"
Dean Li caught his breath and composed himself before responding, "Jiang Fan is fine. I mean, all these people are here to see him!"
"Here to see Jiang Fan?"
The principal's anxiety intensified. His first thought was that Jiang Fan had somehow revealed something he shouldn't have. The controlled nuclear fusion research was a state secret, and if it became public knowledge, Jiang Fan would likely be whisked away by the government for protection, making it impossible for him to continue at Longke University.
Dean Li, noticing the principal's concern, quickly clarified, "The student who solved eight questions in the challenge is Jiang Fan. These people are here to see him!"
Upon hearing this explanation, Principal Lu finally relaxed, but as the full implication set in, his astonishment deepened.
"What? Jiang Fan solved eight questions in the challenge?"
He was speechless. The difficulty of the challenge questions was well-known, and never in his wildest dreams did he expect Jiang Fan to be the one to crack them. It seemed the young man was even more extraordinary than he had anticipated.
Could it be that their university had truly struck gold with this student?
The thought brought a broad smile to Principal Lu's face.
He immediately turned to Security Captain Niu, "Gather all security personnel and maintain order!"
"Understood!"
Captain Niu quickly radioed for the entire security team to assemble in the challenge area.
Noticing several faculty members nearby, the principal called them over. Although the situation was still manageable, the real concern was the overcrowded bleachers. The seating capacity was only 2,000, but now there were nearly 3,000 students packed in, with the aisles completely filled. It was already well beyond the safety limit.
The primary task was now to clear the aisles.
After giving a quick rundown to his colleagues, the principal set them to work, urging students to vacate the aisles.
He then grabbed a megaphone and began announcing to the crowd, "All students in the aisles, please exit in an orderly manner. The bleachers can only accommodate 2,000 people..."
"All students in the aisles, please exit in an orderly manner. The bleachers can only accommodate 2,000 people..."
He repeated the message, relieved to see the students cooperating.
In less than 10 minutes, the aisles were cleared. Outside, security personnel stood at the entrance, ensuring no one was allowed back in.
Students on the outside strained to see, eager for a glimpse of Jiang Fan's progress, but the crowd was too thick to see anything.
The principal, noticing their frustration, signaled Dean Li to activate the large screen outside, synchronizing it with the one inside the arena.
A wave of cheers erupted as the screen flickered to life. "Long live the Principal!"
The large screen showed Jiang Fan, his back to the camera, with the exam questions clearly visible on the blackboard.
The problem: ζ(s) = 0?
Everyone was taken aback. What kind of question was this?
What was the strange symbol ζ supposed to represent?
Was this even a legitimate problem?
As confusion spread through the crowd, a student from the mathematics department suddenly leapt up, pointing at the screen excitedly.
"I know! I know what this is!"
His friends around him anxiously asked, "What is it?"
"This is one of the seven great unsolved problems of the millennium—the Riemann Hypothesis!"
The mention of the Riemann Hypothesis left many students confused. However, when they heard that it was one of the millennium's seven unsolved problems, they at least recognized its significance.
This was a problem that had eluded the greatest minds in mathematics for centuries. They had even heard that the global mathematics community had offered a $1 million reward for anyone who could solve it.
Naturally, the problem was considered a monumental challenge.
"Isn't this a bit much? One of the seven millennium problems, the very question that has stumped mathematicians worldwide, is now the final challenge of the freshman contest? They're practically setting the students up for failure!"
"Yeah, who could possibly solve this?"
"Seems like the school is really trying to teach the freshmen that learning has no limits. They're going all out with this!"
"Ugh! No way anyone can solve this!"
"This freshman has been standing there for nearly twenty minutes now. He probably doesn't even know this is one of the millennium problems. If he did, he would have given up by now!"
On the bleachers, Qiao Yifei overheard her friends discussing the origins of the question, and her displeasure grew.
Just as Jiang Fan was on the verge of completing the entire challenge, the final problem, one of the millennium's toughest, had to be the one to trip him up?
"Xiaoyu, do the teachers at your school intentionally change the final question because they see how amazing Jiang Fan is?"
"I don't know, but in 30 years, Jiang Fan is the first to reach the ninth question!"
"These teachers have no humanity!" Qiao Yifei muttered.
Her words echoed the sentiment of the entire crowd. From the first question to the last, Jiang Fan's performance had astonished everyone.
He had been rewriting history, breaking all the mental barriers that students believed impossible to overcome in the contest.
But just when everyone had pinned their hopes on him to complete the challenge, the last question shattered their dreams.
A wave of regret washed over the crowd. Jiang Fan had come so close to completing the entire challenge, but that one final question was beyond reach.
Still, solving eight questions was already the best result in the competition's history.
In their eyes, Jiang Fan had already become a legend.
Just as the crowd was ready to give up and leave, Jiang Fan's hand moved again.
He slowly took the chalk in hand and began writing on the blackboard:
"Assume that the functions f1(z) and f2(z) are analytic in regions d1 and d2, respectively, with a common portion where f1(z) = f2(z)..."
He continued, his writing growing faster and more fluid. The crowd of over 10,000 fell into a stunned silence, the scratch of the chalk on the board the only sound that filled the air.
Every eye was locked on the large screen.
Until, with one final, deliberate stroke, Jiang Fan finished the last character.
"Crack!"
The chalk broke in two.

4o