Rebirth: Controlled Nuclear Fusion

Part 112：New Answer

Beautiful Country!
The world-renowned mathematics journal, SIAM Review, in its academic research division!
Professor Holt, holding the previously stolen SCI paper by Jiang Fan, was deeply immersed in his studies.
Since his return from the World Mathematics Summit, he had secluded himself in the research lab, meticulously analyzing this paper.
He believed that once he thoroughly understood the P vs NP problem, he would no longer be caught off guard in public speeches, as he had been during the summit, when Jiang Fan had questioned him.
The warm yellow glow of the desk lamp cast a soft light over his face, illuminating his graying beard in shades of brown.
Bang!
With a sudden slap, Holt slammed his pen down onto the desk.
The tension that had furrowed his brows instantly eased.
A grin spread across his face, gradually turning into laughter—his chuckles growing louder until the room echoed with his manic glee.
Had anyone been present to witness this scene, they might have thought him mad.
In the midst of his self-congratulation, a sudden cough seized him.
"Cough! Cough!"
His face flushed crimson, his body trembling uncontrollably.
The silhouette of his figure, reflected on the wall, seemed to writhe and flail like a devil.
After half a minute, the coughing subsided slightly.
He took a sip from his water glass, leaned back in his chair, and began to catch his breath, his body gradually relaxing.
Yet, despite the interruption, his excitement was undiminished.
He removed his glasses and stretched his stiff limbs.
"At last, I've cracked it. The solution to this millennium-old mathematical conundrum is now truly mine!" he laughed to himself.
Just as he was about to burst into another round of laughter, he caught himself, fearing a repeat of his earlier mishap.
At his age, now in his seventies, his body couldn't handle such outbursts.
He happily paced back and forth in his office.
Yes, such wonderful news had to be shared with John and the others!
He stepped out of the research lab, only to realize it was already around nine in the evening.
"Looks like John and the others have already left for the day," he muttered to himself.
With enthusiasm, he grabbed the phone and dialed John's number.
Moments later, the anxious voice of John came through the line.
"Holt! You finally picked up! I've called you over ten times!"
"You know my habits, John. I don't like to be disturbed when I'm focused on my research," Holt replied.
John, well aware of his quirks, didn't mind, and continued, "I need to tell you something..."
Before John could finish, Holt excitedly interrupted, "John, let me share some good news with you first! I've cracked the mathematical problem we took from the Dragon Kingdom. I'll be giving my lecture tomorrow! Ha-ha!"
However, instead of the usual excitement, John let out a heavy sigh.
"Holt, you should really take a look at the Dragon Journal," he said.
"The Dragon Journal?"
Holt paused for a moment, then recalled the recent announcement from the Dragon Kingdom about the launch of Dragon Journal.
"John, has the Dragon Journal actually been published?"
"Yes, the first issue came out today!"
"What's there to see? The Dragon Journal they started probably can't even compare to our least popular publication, SciK," Holt sneered.
His attitude mirrored John's initial reaction, and as he logged into the Dragon Journal website, he prepared to enjoy a laugh. But what he saw shook him to the core.
"Holt, you'd better check it out for yourself. Call me back once you've seen it!"
Before Holt could respond, John hung up the phone.
John's strange behavior left Holt feeling confused.
After all, John knew that Holt had cracked the world's most difficult mathematical problem and would be more excited about it than Holt himself.
Given that he was the publisher of SIAM Review, John stood to gain plenty from any future lectures Holt gave on the topic.
Holt entered his office and opened his computer, reluctantly clicking into the Dragon Journal website.
He opened the first issue and found only four SCI papers.
He couldn't help but laugh.
This was the first time he'd seen a SCI journal with just four papers in its debut issue.
From a sheer numerical perspective, Holt was certain that Dragon Journal would be a failure.
"Looks like John just wanted to cheer me up. Ha-ha..."
But when Holt read the title of one of the papers, his smile instantly faded.
It was none other than the P vs NP problem.
The same paper he had stolen from Jiang Fan.
They were audacious to have published it in Dragon Journal!
"How utterly reckless, those Dragon Kingdom people!" Holt muttered angrily.
As far as the P vs NP problem was concerned, they had already published the solution through SIAM Review, with his own name on the byline.
The whole world knew that Holt had solved the problem.
And now, the Dragon Kingdom dared to publish it in their journal, as if they wanted to challenge the authority of the United States!
Yet, Holt's anger quickly turned into amusement.
This could be the perfect opportunity to discredit the Dragon Kingdom!
A wicked smile crept across his face.
He clicked on the link.
As he read through the content, his eyes widened in shock.
"This...?"
Holt was stunned once again.
The content was completely different!
If this were the case, the United States would have no grounds to attack the Dragon Kingdom.
For the title of an SCI paper could be chosen freely, as long as the content was original.
But wait...
Could it be that the Dragon Kingdom had come up with a completely new approach?
Holt continued reading, his confusion mounting.
Two hours later, after finishing the paper, Holt sat frozen in his chair.
His eyes were wide with terror.
The solution to the P vs NP problem was logical, coherent, and approached from multiple angles—there was no hint of error.
This meant that the solution was correct.
Even more shockingly, this paper directly negated the solution he had stolen from Jiang Fan.
In other words, the solution Holt had worked on for days was wrong.
His earlier research was rendered meaningless. Having published the incorrect solution, he would be ridiculed by the academic world, and SIAM Review would suffer the same disgrace.
At that moment, Holt finally understood what John had meant during their conversation.