A genius student? Ha, they're nothing but ants at your feet!

The eye of the storm has finally arrived.

The day of the highly anticipated academic conference.

The wind is surging.

This event has already caused a sensation across the entire internet.

The event venue was urgently moved by the university from the remote small auditorium of the School of Mathematics to the Capricorn Auditorium, the central hall of MIT's main building that can accommodate the largest number of people and symbolizes the highest academic honor!

If we follow the unspoken rules and conventions of academia in the past...

These academic conferences that explore profound theories are usually deserted and sparsely attended.

Those sitting below were always just a very small number of core industry professionals working in the same field, a few sleepy mathematics journal reporters, and those stern and rigid professors in the front row responsible for peer review.

Everyone was like a group of priests attending a funeral, attending discreetly, listening quietly to the results of the paper, and then dispersing.

however!

The situation on site today is completely different from any previous report meeting!

The entire hall, and even the plaza outside, was under immense pressure, on the verge of exploding!

The entrance to the venue.

It had long been completely blocked by all sorts of powerful media outlets!

Heavy-duty cameras with long lenses and short lenses were densely packed in all the passageways.

Those broadcasters, wearing press passes from top media outlets around their necks, were sweating profusely as they scrambled to secure camera positions.

The constant clicking of camera shutters was like a sudden storm.

"Look, look! Look at that passageway over there! That student surrounded by a group of people is Su Hao. He's the immortal from the poster!"

"Really? He looks even younger in person, and his skin is even better!"

"Unbelievable, right? I heard she's only fifteen."

At such a young age, he single-handedly solved a mathematical problem that had puzzled the world's top academic circles for decades.

What kind of novel protagonist has come to life?!

The huge scene was like a giant boiling cauldron, with much discussion taking place.

The cacophony of voices—a mixture of shock, doubt, infatuation, and fervor—rose in waves, one after another, never ceasing!

Normally, those professors who are aloof and only know how to bury themselves in writing on the blackboard are all dragged here today as laborers, shouting and sweating profusely as they busy themselves maintaining order in the inner area and arranging seats that are so crowded that no matter how many people squeeze in, there aren't enough.

Meanwhile, all the employees in MIT's communications department, with faces twisted with a mixture of disbelief and extreme excitement at monetizing their online traffic, were frantically dealing with various mainstream media outlets that they would normally never be able to invite.

Look around.

The most spacious central hall on campus was already completely full two hours before the lecture began!

Even the aisles were packed with people like sardine cans.

Besides the students from our own university who fought tooth and nail to get tickets, the professors who canceled all their meetings to come, and the top scholars from all over the world who flew in on a pilgrimage.

The most outrageous thing is that the area outside the audience seats was even crowded with crazy fans and fanatical people from outside the school who would never normally appear in such a sacred academic occasion!

All sorts of bizarre costumes and outrageous promotional signs created a chaotic scene.

This is the terrifying, overwhelming power of top-tier influencers!

Amidst the extreme noise and chaos that made the whole place resemble a bustling market.

Da, da.

Suddenly, a man with a powerful aura, with steady and imposing steps, like Moses parting the Red Sea, walked slowly into the hall under the gaze of thousands of people.

The moment that person appeared!

The media, who were just watching the spectacle, hadn't even realized what was happening yet.

But in the front row, a strong commotion erupted in the square formation where the top mathematicians were sitting!

"That's...that's Ilya Cronin?!"

The name seems to possess some kind of cooling magic that brings you to absolute zero.

The air in the venue seemed to freeze instantly.

It's like a Siberian wolf king suddenly swaggering into a group of Chihuahuas having a party!

Those heavyweight academic giants who dare to cross their legs and doze off even at the Fields Medal ceremony, sitting in the front row.

At the same time, they all pushed back their chairs and stood up to greet them!

The astute reporters on the periphery, though they didn't recognize the old man, instinctively felt like sharks smelling blood.

They all turned their heavy cannons around and aimed them directly at the old man who had just entered the room, with a series of sharp, clattering sounds.

"My God, this is a living legend! He actually came!"

"Doesn't he never attend anyone's presentations?"

"Given his reclusive personality—he wouldn't even bother attending a White House dinner—he actually went to such lengths to attend this public presentation just to prove something for a fifteen-year-old boy!"

Da, da.

Ilya Cronin didn't even glance at the group of worldly reporters, walking straight to the front row as if he were walking in a deserted wilderness.

The long hem of the trench coat gently brushed the ground with each step, carried by the cold wind.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone present, he stopped in the very center of the first row, where he had a clear view of the stage.

Professor Whitman, the Dean of the Mathematics Department at MIT and the host, immediately stepped forward and solemnly extended his right hand to him.

"How come we didn't hear a single word beforehand that you came in person today?"

Cronin replied expressionlessly:

"I came here for no other reason than this."

I just wanted to see with my own eyes the fish that had slipped through my net.

Just how big has it grown now! And what incredible waves has it stirred up!

Professor Whitman was taken aback at first.

Then, the corners of his mouth slowly turned up.

Immediately following, a smile of pride, relief, and even a hint of schadenfreude spread across his face.

Like ripples, it spread completely across his wrinkled face!

.......

In a corner at the back of the auditorium.

Lin Shuwan remained quietly seated in the audience, like a bystander whose phone had been muted.

The surroundings were bustling with noise, but she seemed out of place in this noisy world.

Her heart was pounding.

Why?

Why am I so nervous?

Her brows furrowed tightly, and a strong sense of absurdity rose within her.

There wasn't even a ghost on stage yet, so what was wrong with me?

But it's completely uncontrollable!

Just thinking about seeing that long-lost friend again, and that once-familiar name, made her heart race for no reason!