Rebirth: Controlled Nuclear Fusion

Part 106：Complaint

The editor-in-chief of Dragon Journal is a young man under twenty!

Upon hearing this, the members of the group erupted in astonishment!

Member 28: Are you sure?

Member 109: Absolutely. I have a classmate who was temporarily invited to serve as an editorial expert for Dragon Journal.

Member 11: ????

Member 11: Is this some kind of joke?

Member 190: A twenty-year-old editor-in-chief—what can he possibly know?

Member 203: I think Dragon Journal is doomed!

Member 13: No wonder even Professor Zhang got rejected. It turns out they appointed some inexperienced youngster as editor-in-chief.

Member 19: This is unacceptable! We must demand an explanation!

...

Professor Zhang Shaohua of Fudan University read the messages in the group, feeling an immense sense of frustration. He, a recipient of the prestigious international "Best Academic Award," had published over twenty SCI papers in renowned journals. Yet, his submission to his own country's journal had been rejected. It was a blow he could hardly accept. If his paper was rejected, it seemed no one in the country could qualify for acceptance.

As he stewed in indignation, he received a voice call from the leader of their academic group, Professor Wang Deshun, his university roommate, now a professor at Nankai University.

Wang Deshun: "Hey, Old Zhang, I just saw your post in the group. You got rejected too?"

Zhang Shaohua: "Yeah! I even submitted a paper I've worked on for three years, which I had originally planned to submit to an international journal. But, when I heard about our own country starting a journal, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity, so I sent it to Dragon Journal with high hopes. Who knew... sigh!"

Wang Deshun: "Old Zhang, have you heard that the editor-in-chief of Dragon Journal is a young man under twenty?"

Zhang Shaohua: "I just found out!"

Wang Deshun: "What can a twenty-year-old possibly know? This is complete nonsense!"

Zhang Shaohua: "What can we do? It's the decision from above."

Wang Deshun: "Old Zhang, some of the group members contacted me. We've discussed it, and we're planning to demand a word from the person in charge of Dragon Journal. We can't let a clueless young man destroy the journal. It's a journal founded by our own country!"

Zhang Shaohua thought for a moment and then responded: "Old Wang, you're right. The rise and fall of a nation is everyone's responsibility! While we scholars can't defend the country with weapons, we can bring glory to it through our academic achievements. To ensure Dragon Journal gains recognition internationally, let's contact the person in charge!"

...

The person in charge of Dragon Journal, Cheng Shu, was originally a deputy director of the Education Bureau in Kyoto, assigned to oversee the journal's operations after its establishment. He was currently in a meeting, discussing issues like the publication schedule, journal cycles, and market channels, when his secretary approached him.

"Mr. Cheng, I've received several complaints that require your attention."

Cheng Shu's face darkened slightly. "Can't you see I'm busy? Just summarize the problems and bring them to me!"

The secretary didn't leave, instead continuing: "Mr. Cheng, the complaints come from several university representatives, including Professor Wang from Nankai University, Professor Zhang from Fudan University, and from Southwest University..."

When Cheng Shu heard the names of these prominent professors, he realized the gravity of the situation and immediately set down the papers in front of him. He followed the secretary out of the room.

Meanwhile, at the temporary review office of Dragon Journal at Longke University...

When Long Lao and Wu Lao reviewed the SCI papers submitted by Jiang Fan, they were both stunned. The mathematics paper he submitted tackled the Millennium Problem: the P versus NP problem! This was the very problem Professor Holt from America had previously stolen from Jiang Fan.

But Jiang Fan's solution this time was entirely different from the last one. His previous solution had focused purely on mathematics, but this time, he incorporated a wide range of scientific disciplines, making the approach far more comprehensive.

"Xiao Fan, did you come up with this solution yourself?" Long Lao asked, his face full of disbelief. It was no surprise that he was astonished—Jiang Fan's solution contained an immense breadth of knowledge. Long Lao could hardly believe that one person could master so much.

"Teacher, it was more of a sudden inspiration. I reviewed a lot of materials and realized that my previous answer was too narrow. After further research, I arrived at this new solution."

"Jiang Fan, you're amazing! With this, the answer the foreigner stole is now irrelevant—it's meaningless! Haha..." Professor Qiao laughed happily.

Just as Long Lao and Professor Qiao were filled with excitement, Cheng Shu, the head of Dragon Journal, entered the room. He greeted them with a smile and proceeded to inform them about the publication schedule for the first issue.

"Editor-in-Chief Jiang, have all the manuscripts for the first issue been finalized?" Cheng Shu asked.

"Not yet," Jiang Fan replied.

"None at all?" Cheng Shu's face darkened. His primary reason for coming was to question Jiang Fan about the rejections. Less than half an hour ago, several submitters had called to complain.

Cheng Shu had initially tried to explain the situation, saying that since it was the first issue of Dragon Journal, the submissions might not align with the journal's direction, and hoped for their understanding. But when he arrived and asked Jiang Fan, he learned that all submissions had been rejected. Only one had barely met the revision standards, and if the revisions were inadequate, it might also face rejection.

"Editor-in-Chief Jiang, you've rejected all the manuscripts! How are we supposed to publish the first issue of Dragon Journal now? Many countries are paying attention to it!"

At this moment, Professor Qiao spoke up: "Mr. Cheng, it's not that none of the submissions were accepted. Jiang Fan has written two papers that we are definitely confirming."

Hearing this, Cheng Shu became even more infuriated. It turned out that Jiang Fan had rejected everyone else's submissions while keeping his own SCI papers—this was blatant favoritism.

"Editor-in-Chief Jiang, you rejected over a thousand SCI submissions and only kept your own papers. Isn't that a bit too much?" Cheng Shu's voice carried an accusatory tone.

Long Lao, hearing the implication that Jiang Fan was exploiting his position for personal gain, immediately became displeased.

"Mr. Cheng, the country trusts us and has appointed us as the reviewers for the first issue of Dragon Journal. Our review standard is to select only the highest-quality SCI papers, regardless of the reputation of the submitters!"