Chapter 84 - 63: Chen Lin’s Value
Gu Ming took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down and organize his thoughts.
"President," he began slowly, his voice slightly hoarse with excitement, "our previous assessment was wrong from the very beginning. It seems we’ve still underestimated Elder Liang."
"He must have learned some information about Chen Lin beforehand through some channel we’re unaware of. My guess is that while he might not have known Chen Lin’s name or identity before, this channel gave him a much deeper understanding of Chen Lin’s mathematical talent than we have!"
Gu Ming’s speech quickened, his logic becoming clearer. "Today’s problem—did you think it was a coincidence? Absolutely not! This problem was prepared by Elder Liang specifically for Chen Lin! Look at its characteristics. It doesn’t test any complex accumulation of knowledge, nor does it require a deep theoretical foundation. What does it test? It tests the purest form of mathematical thinking—that ineffable, untraceable mathematical intuition and genius!"
Chang Kai’s heart jolted. He wasn’t an academic, but he understood every word Gu Ming was saying.
Gu Ming continued, his voice now tinged with a hint of fanaticism, "And Chen Lin’s performance just now... you saw it. ’Excellent’ doesn’t even begin to describe it. It was terrifying!"
He held up two fingers, gesturing in front of Chang Kai.
"President, that modeling paper that won over the expert judges—its core algorithm utilized knowledge from the graduate, even doctoral, level. What does this mean? It demonstrates the depth and breadth of Chen Lin’s mathematical knowledge!"
"And today’s problem—unprepared, in front of the nation’s top students and academic titans, he smoothly wrote a complete and flawless solution in ten minutes. What does *that* mean? It demonstrates his mental flexibility and a one-in-a-million intuition!"
At this point, Gu Ming shot to his feet in his excitement. He looked at Chang Kai and said, word by word, "President! A student who displays such monstrous talent in both of these dimensions simultaneously! Do you realize what this means?!"
Chang Kai, infected by his emotion, also stood up abruptly, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
Gu Ming’s gaze burned as he stared at him and continued, "Before, you were willing to let Shen Yan go because, with her talent, her ceiling was most likely an excellent university professor if she developed smoothly. Perhaps she could win a ’Distinguished Young Scholar’ award, but it would be difficult for her to go any higher. Losing a student like that is a pity for Yannan University, but it’s a loss we can bear."
"But Chen Lin is different!" Gu Ming’s voice suddenly rose. "We can’t even begin to imagine his future! Nobody knows where his ceiling is!"
He took a step forward, drew a deep breath, and asked his final question.
"President, I’ll only ask you one thing."
"If Yannan University had the good fortune to encounter this generation’s Euler, or Gauss..."
"Would you let him go?"
Euler, or Gauss...
When those names left Gu Ming’s lips, Chang Kai felt his heart skip a beat.
As a president who was not an academic, Chang Kai might not have fully understood those profound mathematical theories, but he knew very well the weight those two names carried in the history of human civilization.
It was a weight sufficient to define an era, to create entire new branches of a discipline!
In an instant, all the noise in the venue seemed to fade away as a tempest raged in Chang Kai’s mind. His brain, so adept at navigating complex situations and making shrewd calculations, began to whir at high speed.
’If... if Chen Lin is truly a genius of that caliber, what would that mean for Yannan University?’
’First, and most directly, it means money! Resources!’
A series of heavyweight terms flashed through Chang Kai’s mind—major projects from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, key R&D programs from the Ministry of Science and Technology, and even the "Mount Everest Plan for Basic Research," established specifically for top-tier fundamental research!
’Which of these national-level research projects didn’t come with massive funding support, often in the tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions?’
In the past, these resources were mostly carved up by behemoth universities like Huaqing and Yanbei. Yannan University was lucky to get the scraps.
’But if they had a "modern-day Euler" or a "modern-day Gauss" on their side, the situation would be completely different!’
Top-tier talent was the ultimate hard currency, the strongest trump card for securing national strategic resources!
’And then there were the fintech giants and AI unicorns waving wads of cash! These companies, which relied heavily on top-tier algorithms and models, usually had a long waiting list just to hire a leading academic as a consultant.’
’If Yannan University could produce such a god-tier figure, would they ever have to worry about companies not showing up with money, begging for collaboration?’
The university’s long-promoted strategy of "integrating production, education, and research" would be able to leap to a whole new level at an unprecedented speed!
’Next, it was about reputation. The future!’
Although Yannan University’s School of Mathematics was ranked in the top ten nationally and even had a special "Singshen Class" for cultivating top mathematical talent, it was still a step behind the unshakable mountain that was Yanbei University.
’But what if they had Chen Lin as their glittering, living advertisement?’
In this era of high-speed information dissemination, the influence of a super math genius would be magnified hundreds, even thousands of times compared to the eras of Euler and Gauss!
Chang Kai could almost foresee it: in future college admission seasons, when the young prodigies who had won gold and silver in the Math Olympiads were filling out their applications, Yannan University would become an option they couldn’t ignore, right alongside Yanbei and Huaqing!
By then, even if Yannan University’s School of Mathematics couldn’t go head-to-head with Yanbei University, it could definitely secure a spot in the nation’s top three!
This would create a virtuous cycle where "genius attracts genius"! The magnetic effect of a single top-tier prodigy would be enough to elevate the quality of students and the academic atmosphere of the entire school to a new level within just a few years.
However, none of that was the most important thing.
Chang Kai’s gaze passed through the bustling crowd and finally landed on Chen Lin’s tall, straight figure walking back to his seat from the stage. Unconsciously, his breathing grew ragged.
He was thinking of something deeper, something with far greater implications.
’Mathematics is the foundation of all natural sciences and engineering technologies!’
’Within Yannan University, the School of Mathematics already had numerous cross-disciplinary collaborative projects with other science and engineering schools. If Chen Lin’s mathematical talent was as monstrous as Gu Ming claimed, then the beneficiaries would extend far beyond just the School of Mathematics!’
’Those "chokehold" technology sectors that had long plagued the nation—the core algorithms for high-end industrial software, the underlying logic of EDA software for chip design, the encryption systems for national information security... which one of them didn’t require the support of cutting-edge mathematical theory?’
’With Chen Lin’s terrifying mathematical ability, Yannan University would be able to take on more major national research tasks, truly transforming its academic advantages into a practical capacity to serve the country’s critical strategic needs!’
’At that point, in the next national university discipline evaluation, Yannan University would have a chance to boost some of its other science and engineering disciplines—ones that were currently only rated B+ or even B—into the A-tier, all on the coattails of the School of Mathematics!’
’This was the greatest value in keeping Chen Lin!’
At this thought, Chang Kai felt a surge of emotion, so powerful he almost trembled with excitement.
However, Chang Kai quickly forced himself to calm down.
The excited look on Chang Kai’s face quickly faded, replaced by a deep, bitter smile. He turned to Gu Ming, his voice full of helplessness. "Gu, your analysis makes a lot of sense. But... what do we have to make him stay?"
He sighed and continued, "Even if we show him the utmost sincerity and offer him every resource and promise we can, if he truly wants to pursue an academic career, what Yannan University can offer is nothing compared to a behemoth like the Yanbei School of Mathematics."
Chang Kai’s eyes dimmed slightly. "Not to mention Liang Tianshi lurking in the background. With Elder Liang’s connections and reputation in academia, if he’s dead set on snatching someone, I wouldn’t be surprised if he roped in an academician from Huaqing to create some ’joint cultivation program’ between the two universities, let alone just Yanbei. Our... chances are too slim."
Gu Ming listened quietly, but his face showed no sign of dejection.
He looked at Chang Kai and suddenly asked in return, "President, do you remember what you said to me in your office a few days ago?"
Chang Kai paused, taken aback for a moment.
Gu Ming continued, "You said that a lot of the time, we might do a hundred things and only see a return on one or two of them. But, to seize those one or two rewarding opportunities, we still have to do all one hundred things."
Those words struck Chang Kai’s heart like the resounding toll of a temple bell at dusk.
He was stunned. He took a long, deep look at this capable subordinate of his—a man who was a purist in academia but who had just given him a crucial wake-up call at this critical moment.
In just a few short seconds, the look in Chang Kai’s eyes shifted from confusion to struggle, and finally to determination.
The shrewdness and decisiveness befitting a man in his position returned to him.
He slowly nodded, straightened his back, and seemed to have made up his mind.
"Alright!" Chang Kai’s voice wasn’t loud, but it was firm and resonant. "You’re right!"
"Then this time, even if it means offending Elder Liang, I’m going to give it everything I’ve got!"