The Reincarnated Science Whiz

Chapter 46: Military

Training Parade A quiet corner of the Shuimu University Library Qin Yuanqing was listing numbers on a scrap of paper when suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck his mind. His whole body trembled as if he’d made a discovery; he quickly grabbed his pen, circled several numbers on the paper, and then rearranged them. The two sets of data, after rearrangement, turned out to be twin primes. Qin Yuanqing furrowed his brow slightly. He tapped the black ballpoint pen on the scrap paper and wrote down two lines of equations. But he quickly crossed them out. The famous Polignac Conjecture states that for every natural number k, there are infinitely many prime pairs (p, p+2k). When k=1, this becomes the Twin Prime Conjecture. In a sense, research into the distribution patterns of Mason primes also offers a new approach to solving the problem of the infinity of twin primes. Qin Yuanqing felt as if he had pierced through a veil; everything suddenly became clear. The pen in his hand moved as if guided by a higher power, writing line after line of equations, until finally, on the last sheet of paper, he wrote down the conclusion! Yes! Success! After writing down the conclusion, a radiant smile spread across Qin Yuanqing’s face. Sometimes it’s just like that—once you break through a barrier, you enter a whole new world where no secrets remain. “Oh no, time has flown by so fast! The library’s about to close!” Startled, Qin Yuanqing hurriedly stuffed all his scratch paper into his backpack, grabbed it, and headed outside. Walking along the quiet path, Qin Yuanqing felt completely clear-headed. His mood was excellent, and his body felt incredibly refreshed—even more so than when doing the things he loved. Sure enough, nothing brings more joy than pursuing scholarship! Back in the dorm, his roommates were all taken aback. What was going on? Didn’t this big shot usually stay out until midnight? How come he was back at 10:30 tonight? Could it be that he got dumped by his girlfriend? But it didn’t look like it. Isn’t every guy who gets dumped heartbroken beyond belief? How could he possibly have a face full of joy? “Big Shot, are you okay?” the chubby guy asked cautiously. He felt something was off about him today—could he have developed a taste for men? At the thought of that possibility, the chubby guy shuddered and felt his butt clench. “I’m fine. I’ve finally solved a difficult problem I’ve been working on for a while!” Qin Yuanqing said happily. “What kind of problem?” Everyone was curious—what kind of problem could stump this big shot? No way! Although the freshmen hadn’t even started their official classes yet, they were no ordinary students—every single one of them had already started reading their textbooks and previewing the material in advance. And the challenges they’d encountered had never been as difficult as the one facing Qin Yuanqing. Could someone this extraordinary really be stumped by a problem? Qin Yuanqing didn’t answer. Instead, he picked up his laptop, entered a password of over twenty characters, accessed the interface, and began typing furiously with both hands: [A Discussion on the Distribution Patterns of Mason Primes and a Proof of Zhou’s Conjecture] [Abstract: This paper investigates the distribution patterns of Mason primes and proves that when 2^(2^n) < P < 2^(2(n+1)), there are 2^(n+1) - 1 Mason primes. Using this as evidence, it proves that when p < 2^(2^(n+1)), there are 2^(n+2) - n - 2 prime numbers among the Mp. Note: p is a prime number, n is a natural number, and Mp denotes Mason numbers】 Qin Yuanqing took the sheets of scrap paper out of his backpack and organized them one by one. Qin Yuanqing typed quickly, and since the entire proof was already in his head, he hardly had to think at all as line after line of equations appeared in the text. What? What is this? The chubby boy, Zhang Jie, and Liu Feng stood behind him, exchanging bewildered glances. Why did every single character look understandable on its own, yet make no sense when put together? “Hey, big shot, have you gone off the deep end from practicing martial arts? Are you writing these weird symbols and cryptic texts on purpose? And why does this look like math, not physics?” When the lights went out, Qin Yuanqing turned on his desk lamp. His laptop battery would last three or four hours—more than enough time to finish the paper. Click, clack. Qin Yuanqing wrote until his fingers began to ache, and just as the desk lamp started to dim, he finally reached the final section on references. [Reference: Distribution Laws of Mason Prime Numbers [J]. Zhou Haizhong. Journal of Yixian University (Natural Sciences Edition). 1992(04)] This was the only reference he needed to cite. Over the past twenty years, countless math enthusiasts and number theory researchers have repeatedly attempted to prove this theorem, yet none have succeeded. Even Mr. Zhou himself, who first proposed this conjecture, has been unable to provide a satisfactory proof despite years of dedicated research. Yet this is precisely where the charm of number theory lies: Apple hangs right above everyone’s head, and whether they are mathematicians or math enthusiasts, all can see its alluring crimson hue. It only awaits a tall person to come along, stand on tiptoe, and pluck it. Qin Yuanqing’s roommates, meanwhile, had long since fallen fast asleep in their beds. At first, they were curious about the problem he was working on, but after reading a few pages and failing to understand it, the text had become a lullaby instead. One by one, they lay down on their beds and soon began snoring. Qin Yuanqing took a deep breath, typed “twin primes” into another folder, and entered the infinite prime numbers and rows of expressions from his scratch paper into the document. The intertwining numbers and symbols coalesced into spells, weaving magic that described the truths of the universe. For the past twenty years, mathematicians around the world—anyone researching number theory—had, to varying degrees, studied special prime numbers such as Mersenne primes, twin primes, and Fermat primes. After all, these were the keys to solving the century’s greatest mathematical problems. And anyone who had researched Mersenne primes had, for the most part, attempted to prove Zhou’s Conjecture. Today, Qin Yuanqing was about to pluck this very apple—he had even nearly proven the existence of twin primes, with only the final step remaining. When his laptop battery issued a warning, Qin Yuanqing saved his file, shut down the computer, and noticed it was already 3:00 a. m. Realizing that today marked the end of military training and that a review parade would be held, Qin Yuanqing went to the restroom to splash some water on his face before going to bed. At 8:30 the next morning, military training began on time once again. The formation on the field was neat and orderly, and the singing was loud and clear. After a brief training session, they began organizing into order and rehearsing. Qin Yuanqing was selected as the flag bearer and practiced alongside two other students, who would serve as the escorting soldiers during the actual ceremony. Carrying a red flag and flanked by his two classmates, Qin Yuanqing marched in step along the track, practicing diligently. Whenever they passed in front of a formation, as the August 1st military flag fluttered in the wind, every cadet in the formation was required to stand at attention and gaze at it with deep reverence. That feeling of being bathed in a barrage of stares actually stirred a genuine sense of pride deep within Qin Yuanqing. At 3:00 p. m. , the military training review officially began. School and military leaders delivered speeches, and then, as the leaders announced, “The review officially begins!” a majestic march began to play—not over the PA system, but performed by the school’s symphony orchestra. Qin Yuanqing marched with determined strides, keeping step with the students on either side of him. As they approached the podium, they switched to a precise, synchronized march, with squad after squad of military training formations following behind him. After nearly a month of military training, the formations were well-organized. Although they did not quite match the perfect unison seen in major national parades, they were still superior to the parade formations of many other countries. When it comes to discipline and obedience, no country can match Huaxia. As military training came to an end, their joy was tinged with sadness, for the drill instructors with whom they had spent every moment were also leaving the school. Qin Yuanqing organized his classmates to bid the drill instructors a fond farewell; perhaps they would never see each other again in their lifetimes. With military training over, Qin Yuanqing spent his evenings at the library—not reading, but writing his thesis. After typing up *Twin Primes* into a document, he immediately began translating the paper *A Discussion on the Distribution Patterns of Mason Primes and a Proof of Zhou’s Conjecture* into English; for him, English was no challenge at all. By the time the library was about to close, Qin Yuanqing had finished writing the paper, converted it to PDF format, and saved it. The first thing Qin Yuanqing did upon returning to his dorm from the library was to submit the paper. After careful consideration, he ultimately chose *Mathematics Chronicles* (Princeton, NJ) as the journal. This specialized mathematics journal was founded by Princeton University and, after the 1990s, was published by the Journal Division of Johns Hopkins University Press. It primarily publishes research papers on theoretical mathematics, covering a wide range of topics. It holds a pivotal position in academic circles and boasts a substantial impact factor. With a history spanning 125 years since 1884, it is a century-old journal whose authority far surpasses that of most domestic mathematics journals. As for whether his paper would pass *Mathematics Chronicles*’s peer review process or when it would be published, that was beyond his control. “Congratulations, Host. You have proven Zhou’s Conjecture on Mersenne primes. Your Math Level has been raised by one rank, and you’ve earned 2,000 Study Coins!” Just as Qin Yuanqing finished uploading his paper, the system’s voice rang out in his mind, and he broke into a triumphant smile. If the system had determined that the paper’s proof was complete, that meant his proof was correct. If *Mathematics Chronicles* rejected it, he could simply submit it to another journal. Professional Attributes: Mathematics: Level 12 (1/10,000) Physics: Level 10 (50/100) Chemistry: Level 10 (50/100) Biology: Level 10 (50/100) Basic Attributes: Host: Qin Yuanqing Age: 19 Emotional Intelligence: 110 IQ: 195 Physical Ability: Level 10 (1/100) Skills: "Advanced Vocal Techniques," "Yan Zhenqing Calligraphy," "Guitar Mastery" Achievements: Top Scorer on the College Entrance Exam, CMO Gold Medalist, IMO Gold Medalist Now look at the Learning Coins in the upper-right corner of the system: 11 Qin Yuanqing saw that his math level had jumped directly from Level 11 to Level 12. Many mathematical concepts he hadn’t yet grasped or even encountered began to appear in his mind out of nowhere. Reaching Level 12 meant Qin Yuanqing had attained the level of a mathematics expert—he was even qualified to teach mathematics at Shuimu University. Qin Yuanqing smiled; his nearly month-long efforts had finally borne fruit.