Chapter 199 - 149: I Have a Bold Idea
A wave of emotion washed over Chen Lin.
After all, the final results of his research on "Manifold Boundary and Hallucination Control in Generative Models" were valuable enough to propel the entire artificial intelligence industry a giant leap forward. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it had nudged the progress of human civilization forward, even if just a little.
Yet now, just a minor problem from within Peter Schultz’s grand research framework was proving to be even more difficult than his own industry-altering work.
This filled him with a deep, heartfelt admiration for the top mathematicians who truly stood at the pinnacle of human intellect.
’And I’m practically using a cheat code, yet I’m still finding this so strenuous.’
Meanwhile, those geniuses charged into the unknown territories beyond the boundaries of human cognition day after day, using nothing but their own minds.
’What incredible wisdom, perseverance, and passion that must take.’
Chen Lin shook his head, clearing the tangled thoughts from his mind.
Fighting back a wave of sleepiness, he stood up, pulled the prepared suitcase from his closet, and began to pack methodically.
A change of clothes, toiletries, chargers...
Finally, he returned to his desk and sorted the fruits of the last few weeks of painstaking work into separate categories.
One pile was the thick stack of research manuscripts for "Manifold Boundary and Hallucination Control in Generative Models."
The other was his preliminary deductions on the "FF Curve" problem from the past two nights.
He found two manila folders, placed each stack of drafts inside, and carefully tucked them into his backpack.
After all that, he could no longer fight the overwhelming wave of exhaustion. He threw himself onto his bed and fell into a deep sleep.
...
...
「Wednesday, October 29th, morning.」
Chen Lin woke up to the sound of his 6:45 AM alarm.
He sat up in bed and stretched, feeling a surge of energy throughout his body.
After washing up and changing into a clean, casual outfit, he grabbed his suitcase, slung on his backpack, and left his rented apartment, hailing a taxi to Jinmen West Station.
As he dragged his suitcase into the waiting hall, he immediately spotted a familiar, tall, and elegantly cool figure standing near the ticket gate.
Shen Yan was wearing an off-white trench coat over a simple, solid-colored sweater. A pair of slim-fit jeans accentuated her long, straight legs.
She wasn’t playing on her phone, just standing there quietly, her clear eyes watching the bustling crowd. She was a beautiful sight in her own right, drawing frequent glances from passersby.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," Chen Lin said, walking up quickly.
"Not at all, I just got here too." A faint smile appeared on Shen Yan’s coolly beautiful face when she saw him.
According to the rules for this World Mathematics Conference, every invited speaker was allowed to bring one additional person to attend.
When Chen Lin had asked Shen Yan on WeChat a few days ago if she wanted to go, she had replied almost instantly with a single word: "Yes."
The intercity express from Jinmen West Station to Beijing South Station took only a short forty minutes.
But after leaving Beijing South Station, the two of them boarded Line 4. Looking at the dense map of stations inside the train car, even Chen Lin felt a headache coming on.
Although it was a direct subway line with no transfers, they had to ride for a full eighteen stops. The journey took almost as long as the intercity train from Jinmen to the Imperial Capital.
When the subway announcement finally called out "Yanbei University East Gate," Chen Lin felt like his legs had gone numb from standing.
The two followed the packed crowd out of the subway station, where a cool, late-autumn breeze, characteristic of the Imperial Capital, greeted them.
Shen Yan took out her phone, preparing to navigate to the Quanji Hotel where attendees were being housed, as mentioned in the organizer’s email.
But Chen Lin stopped her and pointed across the street.
"We don’t have to go there. I booked a different hotel."
Slightly taken aback, Shen Yan followed his gaze and saw a much more upscale-looking building across the road.
It wasn’t that Chen Lin had suddenly become extravagant.
He mainly just wanted some peace and quiet.
This World Mathematics Conference was a high-profile event, and nearly all the top domestic universities had sent professors and outstanding students from their mathematics departments to attend.
Given his current fame in academic circles, especially among the younger generation of students, the outcome was predictable if he were to stay at the crowded Quanji Hotel with all the other attendees.
He had no desire to experience being surrounded by a crowd of curious fans like Yan Lin; he probably wouldn’t even dare to leave his room.
Rather than deal with that, it was better to spend a little extra money and avoid the trouble in advance.
A week ago, Chen Lin had booked two deluxe single rooms at the five-star hotel across from Yanbei University.
The two checked in at the front desk, went to their respective rooms to settle their luggage, and soon met up again in the hotel lobby on the first floor.
Chen Lin glanced at his watch. It was just half past eleven in the morning.
Chen Lin had already thought this through carefully before coming.
It was a rare opportunity for the two of them to be out alone together. Besides attending the conference, it would be a terrible waste not to take the chance to explore and have fun in the Imperial Capital.
According to the conference schedule, there was only an opening ceremony this afternoon, from one to two-thirty.
Afterward, all attendees would be free to do as they pleased. They could choose to tour the Yanbei University campus or get to know and socialize with other participants.
When it came to socializing, Chen Lin had always kept his distance.
Among the crowd attending this conference, he could count the people he actually knew on one hand: Academician Liang Tianshi, and the Academician’s two prized students—Director Feng Yunhai from Yanbei University and Professor Gongtan from the Science and Technology University.
Oh, and Peter Schultz, of course, but that heavyweight’s flight wouldn’t arrive until tonight, so he wouldn’t see him until tomorrow.
Besides them, everyone else was a stranger.
With his less-than-extroverted personality, forcing him to make awkward small talk with a group of academic luminaries he didn’t know would be more painful than making him self-study programming for six hours straight.
On the intercity train to the Imperial Capital, he had already messaged Professor Gongtan on WeChat.
Professor Gong said that he, Academician Liang, and Director Feng were planning to have a small get-together somewhere after the opening ceremony this afternoon, and they had also invited Chen Lin to join.
Chen Lin had naturally agreed without a second thought.
So, it didn’t seem to matter much whether he went to the so-called opening ceremony this afternoon.
Thinking of this, Chen Lin turned his head to look at Shen Yan, who was quietly admiring the hotel lobby’s decor. He cleared his throat and tentatively proposed, "Hey, I have a bold idea."
Hearing this, Shen Yan turned, her clear eyes holding a questioning gaze.
"What if... we skip the opening ceremony this afternoon too?"
Chen Lin put on a coaxing expression. "We’ll grab lunch first, then head straight to Yuanming Garden for a walk. By the time we’re done there, it’ll be about the right time to go straight to Yanbei University and find Academician Liang and the others."