Rebirth: Controlled Nuclear Fusion

Part 56：The Argument

After finishing the affairs related to the challenge competition, President Lu returned to his office. However, not long after his arrival, an elderly professor walked in.

"President Lu, I heard there's a freshman at our school who managed to answer all nine questions in the challenge competition?"

"Professor Wu, you sure are well-informed!" President Lu replied with a playful smile.

Professor Wu, at the age of sixty-two, had retired but was re-employed by Longke University as a professor. He had dedicated his entire life to the university and was highly respected by everyone as an elder figure.

"President Lu, I've had fewer courses recently and more free time. I was thinking of taking this student as my disciple to make use of my remaining years of knowledge. What do you think?"

"This..." President Lu hesitated. After all, Professor Wu was an elder, and rejecting his request outright might hurt his feelings. Moreover, Old Long had previously expressed interest in taking Jiang Fan as a student, though President Lu wasn't sure if Jiang Fan had agreed. Furthermore, the higher-ups had instructed him to give Jiang Fan complete freedom and not force him into anything.

"Professor Wu, this is something I can't decide alone. It depends on Jiang Fan's wishes. Besides, Old Long had mentioned wanting to take Jiang Fan as a student."

"Old Long?" Professor Wu furrowed his brow at the mention of Old Long. If it were someone else, he might have tried to assert his seniority, but Old Long was even older than him, and his accomplishments far exceeded his own.

"But Old Long specializes in materials science, while this freshman's talent lies in mathematics!"

President Lu wanted to say more, but he held back. He was well aware that Jiang Fan's talent in mathematics was only one aspect of his brilliance—he had already developed a working model of controlled nuclear fusion. Unfortunately, that was classified, so he couldn't share it.

Just as President Lu was about to continue explaining, the door knocked, and two more professors entered.

Upon seeing Professor Wu, they were surprised, but they greeted him before turning their attention to President Lu.

"President, I heard that the freshman who solved all nine problems is from the Space Technology department! Such talent is too valuable to waste. My suggestion is to transfer him to our Information Engineering department!"

Before President Lu could respond, one of the professors accompanying him objected. "Why should he be transferred to your Information Engineering department? I believe he should be placed in the Physics department!"

"The Physics department? What does that have to do with Jiang Fan's mathematical genius? Our Information Engineering department requires a strong foundation in mathematics. It's the perfect place for him to excel!"

"Physics and mathematics are closely related, don't be so dismissive! They are both systematic fields and have a great deal in common!"

At this point, Professor Wu, who had been quietly observing, couldn't remain silent. "I'm a specialist in mathematics. Why are you all so excited?"

An argument quickly ensued.

Just then, there was another knock on the door, and it was Professor Xiao. He entered and saw the professors from the Physics and Information Engineering departments engaged in a heated discussion with his own professor. Curious, he stepped forward to ask what was going on.

Upon learning that they were here to "fight" over Jiang Fan, he couldn't help but feel displeased. As the instructor for the challenge competition, he knew just how extraordinary Jiang Fan's mathematical abilities were.

He had already planned to approach President Lu about transferring Jiang Fan to the Mathematics department, but if the president disagreed, he would bring it up with his own mentors. However, seeing his mentor already present, he realized that President Lu would likely give him some leeway.

But seeing other professors from different departments attempt to claim Jiang Fan for themselves was something he simply couldn't tolerate, so he immediately jumped in to support his mentor in the debate.

President Lu, seeing the situation escalate, quickly intervened to calm things down. But before he could, two more professors arrived. After hearing their reasons, President Lu realized they were also here to compete for Jiang Fan.

Before long, more than ten of Longke University's top professors had gathered in his office, all vying for Jiang Fan. President Lu's head began to ache as he saw the office turn into a battleground of academic prestige.

Eventually, Dean Li of the Research Department entered. He looked around at the bickering professors with a confused expression and turned to President Lu.

After receiving an explanation, he finally understood. These professors had come to "fight" over Jiang Fan. Before Jiang Fan entered Longke University, they had already been in fierce competition with other schools to recruit him.

Now that he was here, one simple competition had sparked a fierce internal struggle among the university's faculty members.

For Dean Li, as long as Jiang Fan stayed at Longke University, he had no objections to which department he joined or what major he pursued.

He handed the paper containing Jiang Fan's solution to the Millennium Math Problem to President Lu.

After receiving the answer, President Lu's face lit up with a smile. If Jiang Fan's solution proved correct, it would bring immense prestige to the university on the global stage.

"All right, professors, let's put aside our disagreements for now. Our main task is to examine whether Jiang Fan's solution to the ninth problem is valid," President Lu declared.

Upon hearing this, the professors immediately ceased their bickering. They were all eager to know if Jiang Fan's answer was truly correct.

Dean Li made several copies of the answer and distributed them, and the professors began discussing it.

Meanwhile, the Longke University forum was buzzing with activity, far more lively than President Lu's office.

Every post related to Jiang Fan was pinned to the top. One of the most popular threads was titled: "Longke University Challenge Competition Freshman Grand Slam, President's Overwhelming Rewards!"

It featured a photo of President Lu shaking hands with Jiang Fan, though it was a bit unclear, and the text below outlined the rewards:

A personal laboratory.One hundred million yuan in research funding.24-hour support from faculty for any academic questions, no matter the field.Induction into the University Hall of Fame.

Seeing these rewards was a huge shock to the students.

While having a personal laboratory was a dream for any Longke University student, the one hundred million yuan in research funding was simply unreal! Many students were accustomed to having to go through rigorous approval processes for even a few thousand yuan in funding.

And the privilege of having all the faculty available to answer any questions at any time—this was the pinnacle of academic luxury.

As for the Hall of Fame, that was even more impressive. Longke University had been around for over a century, producing countless talented individuals, but only thirty-eight had ever been inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Names like Qian Xueshen, who contributed to China's nuclear weapons, Yuan Longping, the father of hybrid rice, and Long Zhenguo, a pioneer in rocket fuel research—these were all legendary figures. Now, Jiang Fan was being included in the same ranks.

Many students couldn't help but feel that these rewards were excessive.

After all, even if Jiang Fan solved the world's hardest math problem, it seemed too much for him to be directly inducted into the Hall of Fame.

As a result, many students began to question the authenticity of the post.

The comments section was flooded with activity—within just one hour, there were more than 100,000 comments! Given that the total number of students and faculty at Longke University was just over 15,000, this meant many students had commented multiple times.

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