94: Chapter 94 The Roadside Late at Night

The path suggested by the system provided him with a brand new, yet unexpected, direction.

Capitalizing on his clarity of thought, he quickly deduced along this direction, and sheet after sheet of blank A4 paper was rapidly filled with dense mathematical symbols, newly defined operators, and chains of derivation.

He constructed a framework around keywords like local perturbation energy, critical threshold, and measure concentration, transforming the system's abstract concepts into concrete mathematical language.

Equation after equation was set up by his pen, and then solved one by one, utilizing his profound mathematical foundation.

The logical chains extended across the paper, clear and powerful.

He could feel that he was genuinely pushing a certain frontier direction of current Navier-Stokes Equation research forward by a small step.

Although it was just one brick in the edifice of theory, this small step of a path seemed to be one that no one had clearly trodden and made public in the massive amount of literature he had reviewed.

"It makes no sense that no one has thought of this... Perhaps it wasn't published, or perhaps I haven't seen it."

This thought flashed through Chen Youhua's mind, only to be immediately replaced by an even stronger curiosity.

The system prompts were indeed able to give him precise, feasible directions every time, but he did not want to rely on them excessively.

While his train of thought was in full swing, he decided to try and think along this route on his own.

Thus, he began to continue forward, following the sporadic fragments of inspiration that occasionally flashed during his own derivation process.

These fragments were like fireflies in the night sky, drawing him deeper into the dark jungle of theory.

He was immersed in a self-constructed maze of logic, at times writing rapidly, at times pausing and frowning.

Time slipped away quietly amidst the rustle of his pen and the turning of draft paper.

Not knowing how much time had passed, Chen Youhua stopped his pen, staring at the pages of derivation results filled with complex symbols before him, his brow furrowed into a knot.

The logic seemed self-consistent, but the conclusion appeared extremely strange, far removed from the intuitive understanding of fluid physics, as if he had walked into a mathematical dead end.

"Tsk, I went off track..."

He rubbed his throbbing temples helplessly.

Mathematical research is just like this; a slight lapse in attention can lead one from the broad, straight path into a misguided one.

Over-focusing on the overall framework might lead to losing key local details.

And digging too deep into a specific local area might lead to getting lost in the abstract wilderness of mathematics, moving further and further away from the core of the original problem.

A wave of intense fatigue washed over him.

He yawned subconsciously, only then realizing the silence surrounding him.

The sounds of people and machines in the laboratory had completely disappeared.

He picked up the phone on the table and lit up the screen.

The glaring numbers displayed: 00:48.

"It's already almost one o'clock?"

Chen Youhua was somewhat stunned.

Immersed in the mathematical world, the sense of the passage of time had been completely blocked out.

Immediately after, his stomach let out a clear and intense protest; the rumbling sound was exceptionally loud in the silent study, reminding him that he hadn't eaten a single grain of rice since breakfast.

"If I keep researching, I'm afraid I'll become the first Millennium Prize Problem challenger to starve to death because of math."

He muttered self-deprecatingly, turned off the desk lamp and humidifier, and stood up to stretch his stiff neck and shoulders.

Walking out of the study, the entire laboratory area was pitch black, with only the dim green light of the emergency exit sign emitting a faint glow.

He walked through the empty corridor, his footsteps echoing clearly in the silence.

Pushing open the door of the laboratory building, the slightly chilly air of the deep night rushed towards him.

Almost the moment he stepped out of the door, a silent and upright figure appeared noiselessly from the shadows nearby, following him at a position a few steps to his side and rear.

It was the team member responsible for his security.

Chen Youhua looked back at him.

The security team member was dressed in plain clothes, but his posture was as straight as a pine tree, his eyes maintaining a professional vigilance in the night, without any unnecessary expression or words.

Chen Youhua nodded slightly to acknowledge him, and the other party nodded back with a very small movement in response.

This silent tacit understanding had long since formed.

The campus in the deep night was empty and deserted, with streetlights casting long shadows on the ground.

Walking out of the school gate, the corner of the intersection not far away was still lit up. A simple late-night snack stall was set up there, the stove fire illuminating the busy face of the owner.

Skewers sizzled on the charcoal fire, emitting an enticing charred aroma, while next to it, a large iron wok was stir-frying golden egg fried rice, the sound of the spatula clashing against the wok sounding exceptionally crisp in the quiet night.

The sense of hunger was instantly amplified several times over.

Chen Youhua walked over quickly and sat down at a small, greasy square table.

"Boss, ten beef skewers, two chicken wings, one portion of egg fried rice, add an extra egg and fry it together."

"Alright! Just a moment!" the owner responded nimbly, his hands moving even faster.

Chen Youhua glanced at the security team member standing quietly not far away, who seemed to blend into the background of the night, and waved at him.

"Brother, come over and sit for a while? Have a bite together?"

The security team member quickly scanned the surrounding environment, then shook his head firmly, his body still maintaining a vigilant posture, and replied in a low but clear voice.

"No need, thank you Professor Chen, please enjoy your meal."

Chen Youhua did not insist further.

He understood and respected the other party's duties and discipline.

Looking at that figure who was still meticulously keeping watch in the cold night, a sense of heartfelt admiration and gratitude welled up in his heart.

These people, regardless of day or night, whether he was burying himself in hard work in the laboratory or coming out to forage for food like now, would always follow by his side like this, silently guarding his safety.

Soon, the charred aroma of the skewers and the heat of the fried rice were served.

Chen Youhua was starving, so he didn't care about his image; he picked up a beef skewer that was still hot enough to burn his mouth and bit into it.

The aroma of the beef and the spicy fragrance of cumin and chili exploded in his mouth instantly, greatly soothing his long-protesting stomach.

He scooped up a large spoonful of the fried rice, coated in golden egg yolk with distinct grains, and put it into his mouth, exhaling a hot breath in satisfaction.

Just as he was burying his head in eating, a male voice, filled with obvious agitation and suppressed anger, came from across the street, moving from far to near:

"Where exactly are you?!"

"Tell me your location, I'm coming over right now!"

"Can you stop making a scene? Can you just go home first?"

"I'm sorry, is that okay? I was wrong! It's so late, let's go home, I'm begging you!"

The voice was intermittent, mixed with weak gasps and an indescribable exhaustion.

Chen Youhua glanced up; under the dim streetlight, the figure of a young man was pacing back and forth irritably, roaring into his mobile phone, his silhouette stretching and shrinking under the light.

He couldn't see the face clearly, but the emotion in that voice was almost overflowing.

Chen Youhua only looked for a moment, then withdrew his gaze and continued to focus on the egg fried rice in front of him.

Have you ever seen ZJ at one in the morning?

On the streets of ZJ in the deep night, such joys and sorrows, such trivial matters, were performed almost every night.

Secular troubles outside of scientific research were, to him, as distant as stories from another world.