Rebirth: Controlled Nuclear Fusion

Part 80：Two Steamed Buns

"Xiaoyu, who is this? How rude!" one of her friends exclaimed.
Xiaoyu quickly signaled for her friend to lower her voice, afraid that Jiang Fan, who had walked away, might hear. After all, the bonus she had just received was thanks to him.
Moreover, he was a student of Long Lao, and she couldn't afford to offend him!
"You all almost caused a major incident just now, lucky for you he didn't take offense!"
"Caused a major incident?"
The group of girls were bewildered.
"Wasn't that guy just a poor student?"
"A poor student? He's actually a legend from the Long Ke University Traditional Challenge, and..."
Xiaoyu hastily stopped herself from continuing. The matters of the laboratory had been strictly confidential, as Long Lao had warned them not to reveal anything to anyone.
"Wow, he's the legendary genius? But he doesn't look like it!"
"Don't judge a book by its cover. Just know that he's incredibly talented."
The girls exchanged puzzled glances, nodding in agreement, silently relieved they hadn't said anything out of line.

...

Back at his place, Jiang Fan ate the two buns and resumed working on the P vs NP problem.
He worked in silence through the night.
It wasn't until the first light of dawn broke through the window that Jiang Fan rubbed his tired eyes.
Standing up, he opened the window, and a fresh breeze immediately refreshed him.
His groggy mind cleared, and he noticed two small birds chirping on a branch outside the window.
His mood lifted, and he returned to his desk, continuing his research.
He was confident the approach he was taking was correct, but halfway through the calculations, he found one part that he simply couldn't reconcile.
By 7:00 AM, he had made no progress.
Deciding to take a break, he recalled that the last time he had made a breakthrough, it had been after stepping out to grab the buns.
Perhaps a change of scenery would spark a new insight.
He went to the nearest cafeteria, where a group of freshmen, dressed in military training uniforms, were sitting together, discussing their grueling training.
The freshmen had been at it for half a month and only had another week left before they could finally escape the torturous drills.
After a quick meal, Jiang Fan returned to his room and resumed his research.

The day passed quickly, and by the time it was 9:00 PM, Jiang Fan had still not had time for lunch. He decided to take a break and head back to the cafeteria for a late snack.
When he arrived, the cafeteria windows were already closed.
But the lady at window 10, who had served him the previous evening, called out to him.
"Young man, eating so late again?"
"Was working on a problem, lost track of time."
She smiled and handed him two buns, not asking for payment.
Jiang Fan thanked her and left.
As he walked away, the lady closed the window, and another worker commented,
"Li Auntie, you waited so long just to give that student two buns?"
Li Auntie smiled and said,
"I see that kid isn't doing too well. If I can help, I will. Anyway, my time here is almost up."
Li Auntie had observed Jiang Fan's modest appearance and guessed that he came from a poor family, with little money for living expenses.
"Young people always have their pride, don't they? Since there were no students around, I thought I'd just give him something to eat."
"Li Auntie, you truly have a kind heart! Let's go, we should head to the hospital now."
"Alright."

...

On his way back with the buns, something extraordinary happened. The problem that had troubled him for a whole day and night was miraculously solved.
With a sigh of relief, Jiang Fan realized just how powerful those buns were!
Now, the millennium problem that had stumped mathematicians worldwide for so long was solved on his scratch paper.
All that remained was to organize his solution into a formal document.
He worked tirelessly through another night, drafting 50 pages of material.
Thankfully, he had some energy supplements; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to push through.

The next morning, Jiang Fan went to see Dean Lu to discuss his plans to submit a paper to an SCI journal.
Dean Lu was overjoyed, impressed that someone so young had the ambition to publish such a paper, especially since future academic promotions would depend on the number of SCI papers published.
"Jiang Fan, have you decided which field you want to focus on?"
"Mathematics," Jiang Fan replied.
"That's excellent! The last time, you solved the Riemann Hypothesis, and our country earned a position on the World Mathematical Council. I should thank you for that!"
"It was just good luck," Jiang Fan humbly responded.
Dean Lu appreciated Jiang Fan's modesty despite his remarkable achievements.
"So, what topic are you planning to tackle this time?"
"The P vs NP problem."
"The P vs NP problem?"
Dean Lu was taken aback, as he knew this was one of the seven major millennium problems.
In fact, just a few days ago, Professor Wu and his student, Professor Xiao, had suggested replacing the final challenge of the next Traditional Challenge with the P vs NP problem.
It seemed like a coincidence that Jiang Fan had chosen the same topic for his paper.
Seeing the shock on Dean Lu's face, Jiang Fan asked,
"Is there a problem with choosing this topic?"
"No, not at all. It's just that a few days ago, Professor Wu and Professor Xiao recommended using this for next year's challenge."
"Oh, what a coincidence!" Jiang Fan remarked.
"But this is a tough one," Dean Lu added, concerned that Jiang Fan might struggle, which could undermine his confidence.
"Jiang Fan, perhaps you should consider a more ordinary problem. With your mathematical knowledge, you'd easily get published."
"Dean, I've already solved the P vs NP problem," Jiang Fan said nonchalantly.
"What? You solved it?"
Dean Lu was stunned. This was one of the most challenging problems in mathematics, and many scholars had spent their entire lives without coming close to solving it.
But Jiang Fan had already solved the Riemann Hypothesis in less than two hours during the Traditional Challenge.
This miraculous talent had shocked everyone at the time, but they had accepted it.
But if, just half a month later, Jiang Fan had already solved another millennium problem, it was hard to believe!
"Jiang Fan, please don't joke with me!"
Jiang Fan handed over the 50 pages of his solution to Dean Lu.
Dean Lu flipped through it, and though he wasn't a mathematician, he could tell that the problem was indeed the P vs NP problem.
After skimming through the pages, he was utterly perplexed.
To verify the solution, he contacted Professor Wu, the most senior mathematician at Long Ke University.