"A bit difficult? Just a bit difficult? I'm a math idiot and even I know how hard the Riemann hypothesis is. It's stumped mathematicians worldwide for over a hundred years, and you're telling me it's just a bit difficult?"
"Are you telling me that you paid a bunch of mathematicians to do research for you behind the scenes?" Wang Ling speculated.
He knew Zhang Menglong's family had many capable people, so this speculation wasn't without reason.
"But still, that doesn't seem right. Plus, with this difficult math problem added, how could it possibly be solved in just one and a half hours?" Wang Ling continued to speculate, "Did you bribe the test creator, or is the test creator another one of your family's employees?"
"How come your imagination is so vivid?" Zhang Menglong was speechless, "It's just a high-grade math test paper. Why are you all overreacting ?"
"Damn! Talking to you is just setting myself up for frustration, goodbye!" Wang Ling abruptly hung up the phone.
Zhang Menglong truly didn't know what the Riemann hypothesis was. Although he had studied high-grade math before, aside from the week before the final exam, he had spent almost all his time playing, and the Riemann hypothesis had long exceeded the scope of high-grade mathematics; Zhang Menglong knew nothing about it!
Thanks to the enhancements made by the Super God Academy, Zhang Menglong's brain development had reached a very high standard: memory, logic, creative thinking, etc., had all reached a nearly limitless level.
High-level mathematical theorems and formulas could be derived from some basic mathematics. Zhang Menglong relied solely on his modest math foundation to deduce the Riemann hypothesis practically from scratch.
If others knew Zhang Menglong had deduced the proof of the Riemann hypothesis entirely from scratch, they would probably go insane. The computations involved were not something human brains could ordinarily handle.
Of course, Zhang Menglong's current brain computing power had already far surpassed that of ordinary humans.
Secrets can't be kept forever. Screenshots of Zhang Menglong's results were quickly posted online.
"150 points? Damn! 150 points in high-grade math?"
"He solved the last question too? That was the Riemann hypothesis!"
"A month ago, the Clay Mathematics Institute had already announced that the Riemann hypothesis was successfully proven. Someone had boldly speculated that it might be some genius solving it during a university entrance exam. Perhaps this month was just about waiting for the entrance exam scores to be released?"
"Do you all remember the interview video with President Zhang that day? When he called these questions trash, I thought he was just showing off."
"Forget it, some people said President Zhang slept after half an hour of the exam. Half an hour isn't even enough to solve these problems, let alone copy them from an answer sheet, which I wouldn't even be able to do!"
"Is there anything President Zhang can't do?"
"Quick, send Zhang Menglong an acceptance letter!"
"Give him the highest treatment, the highest scholarship tier, and spots for international exchanges. Whatever he wants, give it to him!"
All the universities in Huaxia were mobilized. Even though Zhang Menglong had applied to Jiangnan University of Science and Technology, solving such a world-class math problem meant there were a thousand ways to specially admit Zhang Menglong.
If he could solve the Riemann hypothesis in such a short period, were any other problems even considered difficult? Just by himself, he might advance the field of basic mathematics by decades!
Not just domestic universities, but international universities were bustling with activity too.
In the mathematics department at Harvard University, several researchers were gathered together. At their center was a leading figure in mathematics, who himself had transformed Harvard's mathematics department from a third-tier faculty to a global mathematical center.
His name was Singh, a recipient of the Fields Medal, Abel Prize, and Wolf Prize in Mathematics.
"This young man from Huaxia named Zhang Menglong must be brought over!" Singh said with a strong determination in his tone, "We need his mathematical abilities. With him on board, I believe the other six of the seven great problems in mathematics stand a good chance of being solved!"
"I'll have someone send him an acceptance letter right away!" the department head said eagerly.
"That's not enough!" another professor exclaimed, "His level has probably caught the attention of the entire world. We must offer him the best conditions!"
"I'll go to the government right now to apply for a green card for him. As long as he comes over to study with us, he can immediately obtain American citizenship!"
"Idiot, do you think American citizenship holds any appeal to him?" Singh cursed loudly. "He's the richest man in the world. Does he even care about which nationality he is?"
"This..." Everyone was stunned. Yes, to recruit Zhang Menglong, their methods were merely things like full scholarships and other material conditions, and while a green card was indeed very attractive to the average person, did these incentives hold any significance for the richest man in the world?
A green card? It's just a lousy card!
Scholarship? For others it might be a generous sum, but for Zhang Menglong, it probably wasn't even as much as his daily pocket money.
"And do you think, in our Harvard University's Department of Mathematics, anyone is qualified to be his teacher?"
This statement left everyone dumbfounded once again.
Yes, this mathematical problem that hasn't been solved in over a hundred years had consumed countless years of effort from these people without any results.
And Zhang Menglong, with just two hours of exam time and having turned in his paper early, was far beyond their reach; even Singh wouldn't dare claim he was qualified to teach him.
"Send him an invitation to come to our Harvard University as a professor, a distinguished professor!"
"Mr. Zhang, the acceptance letters from Galidon University and Cambridge have arrived," Hong Yi said, holding a thick stack of letters, "along with some from other schools. You received a total of 198 today. Would you like to take a look?"
"No need," Zhang Menglong shook his head, "Just put them aside. I applied for polymer material science. What's with all these mathematics acceptance letters?"
Hong Yi smiled helplessly and just placed the documents on the pile of acceptance letters that were stacked like a mountain in the corner.
"Menglong, your phone," Lu Yiyao handed over the mobile phone casually.
Zhang Menglong took the phone and saw it was an unfamiliar number.
"Hello, this is Zhang Menglong, may I know who is speaking?"
"Hello Zhang Menglong, I'm Bai Gongyu, the dean of the Mathematical Sciences at Qingbei University."
"Oh, hello Dean Bai," Zhang Menglong responded to the call, already knowing it must be another solicitation.
"Mr. Zhang, I'm here on behalf of Qingbei University to invite you to join our graduate program."
"Dean Bai, thank you for your invitation, but I applied for the polymer materials program at Jiangnan University of Science and Technology, so I can only..."
"Just listen to my conditions!" Bai Gongyu quickly interjected. "If you agree to study with us, we guarantee you direct progression from Masters to PhD, all tuition fees waived, and we'll even provide you with an annual scholarship of 200,000 yuan and sort out your residency in Yanjing, and more..."
"Dean Bai, I'm really not interested in money," Zhang Menglong said, "and that scholarship fund from your university, it seems like it was established with my donations."
"What?" Bai Gongyu's expression suddenly suffocated.
"Also, the president of Harvard University just called me, asking me to join their faculty, and I just turned him down, so..."
The muscles on Bai Gongyu's face on the other end of the phone twitched slightly.
The president of Harvard personally invited you? And even offered you a professorship? Have the Americans gone mad?
Most importantly, Zhang Menglong actually turned it down?
He isn't short of money, isn't pursuing a PhD for a bit of prestige? They even offered you a professorship and you still refuse?
What are you really after?