278: Legendre Conjecture

On Wednesday and Thursday, Lin You took the school bus to the New Campus every morning and returned to the Old Campus on the school bus every evening.

After two days of riding the bus, Lin You felt... quite at ease. He didn't study during the bus rides, but instead engaged in intense chatting and phone scrolling.

For two consecutive evenings on the school bus home, Lin You was even invited by Qian Manzhi to play a few rounds of Honor of Kings.

Lin You initially didn't want to agree, but... Qian Manzhi was just too proactive.

In the month since school started, Qian Manzhi was probably the friend from Ancheng No. 7 Middle School that Lin You knew who most strongly insisted on coming to Nandu University to see him, especially after Lin You and Li Qingbo had a late-night snack and Li Qingbo even posted on Moments... "My brother can do it, why can't I?! Is my brother more charming than me?"

Hehe, woman, do you think your E-cup can compare to the charisma my Brother Bo cultivated with his "filthy rich" ways?

It seems... it really can.

Regarding the charm intensity of the cousins, Lin You's big head and little head had completely opposite evaluations.

However, with Xiao Yu'er at school, Lin You still hardened his heart and rejected Qian Manzhi's numerous requests for a "visit."

But Qian Manzhi probably understood the "house-demolishing effect," first proposing a request Lin You wouldn't agree to, and then suggesting some simpler ones... like playing games together.

Every time they played, Lin You would end with, "I have a lot to do tomorrow; I won't play tomorrow."

The next day, Qian Manzhi would just send a message: "Log on!"

Lin You hesitated for 3.14 seconds before immediately clicking the "create room" link.

Qian Manzhi always said she just wanted to be friends, and she even managed to befriend Han Shaozhen, who was also at Normal University. Plus, she was Li Qingbo's cousin, so joining Lin You's Moments circle was effortless for her.

What could Lin You do? Faced with an E-cup beauty's invitation to be good friends, could he really say no?!

...Wang Chun and You Xinyue finally rented an apartment together for a month. Of course, the rented apartment was only used for evening joint practice; they would return to their dorms in the early hours and not stay there overnight.

Preparation for the Mathematical Modeling Contest had entered a fierce stage. Lin You had already stated that his parents would come to Nandu City during the National Day holiday and he wouldn't be able to practice with them for all seven days.

However, Lin You had already spent some time establishing mathematical models for more than a dozen alternative practice problems Wang Chun had found, and handed them over to the two for subsequent program and paper writing.

At this point, Lin You had achieved speed, accuracy, and quality in his part.

Although practicing together yielded better results, if Lin You was busy and couldn't go, Wang Chun and You Xinyue could still proceed with the next steps of training according to the mathematical models Lin You provided.

At the same time, Lin You's significantly higher skill level made his two teammates feel... how great it was to ride on his coattails!

On Thursday evening, Lin You had dinner at the enthusiastic invitation of Wang Chun and You Xinyue, officially concluding the two offline joint practices before National Day.

After returning to the Old Campus, Lin You began to focus on his own matters. He studied all night in the Library, and combined with his recent period of contemplation, he finally decided on the mathematical problem he wanted to tackle.

[Do you want to create the target entry "legendres conjecture"? Description: Solve the conjecture "For any natural number n, there is at least one prime number between n² and (n+1)²," and perfectly prove it.]

Lin You selected "Yes" on the Panel, and then an 8.91% progress bar appeared next to the entry.

Lin You thought it was reasonable. He had specifically searched for legendres conjecture himself and had watched popular science explanations by math bloggers online, gaining a certain understanding of the conjecture. An 8.91% progress bar was neither too high nor too low.

Lin You then clicked on the newly created [legendres conjecture] entry. Below it, a large number of progress bar enhancement tasks had already been generated:

[Deeply study and understand 10 examples of classic Number Theory problem proofs], [Learn and reproduce classic sieve methods, complete a comparison report of 3 sieve methods], [Thoroughly read all milestone papers on legendres conjecture], [Build a numerical verification Library, program combinatorial sieve methods, and master programming tools], [Analytic Number Theory special training]... There were many tasks, each with detailed descriptions, practically a nanny-level teaching guide.

system daddy, awesome!!! (Voice cracking)

Being able to solve a conjecture that has remained unsolved to this day, even with the help of the system, Lin You was still a bit excited, browsing through the detailed descriptions of each task on the Panel in his mind.

The tasks generated by the system were all within the host's capabilities. Although the number of tasks was huge and would take at least three or four months, what were a few months for solving an unsolved conjecture in the mathematical world?

Many people struggle their entire lives and still cannot complete such mathematical research.

But for a genius, sometimes solving a conjecture only requires sustained effort after a flash of inspiration.

In 2011, Liu Lu, a junior at Central South University, single-handedly solved the Seetapun Conjecture in just over two months, from start to finish.

With Lin You's current graduate-level mathematical theoretical knowledge, solving a mathematical problem wasn't out of place.

Ask him how? It's simply supreme talent, coupled with extraordinary effort and sweat.

Lin You had already studied all night in the Library, planning to go back and rest after creating the new entry, but... sleep? No way! At this age, how could he sleep?

Lin You slung on his bag and went to the 24-hour self-study room in the Library, eagerly searching for relevant knowledge online according to the task requirements, absorbing and learning tirelessly like a sponge.

Students left one after another; some studied until midnight, some until 2 AM, some until 4 AM... Finally, only a few persistent ones like Lin You remained.

When the first rays of dawn broke through the horizon, Lin You was unaware. He remained in his seat, his eyes reflecting the data on his laptop screen, his mind constantly weaving numbers and symbols.

Finally, another "comrade-in-arms" who couldn't hold on chose to leave at 5:30 AM. This Buddy looked like he was "overindulged" and kidney-deficient, his eyes bleary as he scanned the room, eventually locking onto Lin You.

There were other soft and cute female students in the self-study room, so why did he lock onto Lin You?

Because every time this Buddy looked up to clear his head, he saw Lin You sitting there motionless. Many people pulled all-nighters studying and researching in the Library, but someone like Lin You, who barely moved for five or six hours, was rare.

Is this guy's kidney so good? He doesn't even go to pee???

Finally, as he packed his backpack to leave, he deliberately walked behind Lin You, first glancing at the pile of mathematical symbols on the laptop screen, then at the manuscript next to Lin You's computer.

Oh, a madman from the School of Mathematics, no wonder he's scribbling so much gibberish I don't understand... legendres conjecture... what the heck is that?

On his way out of the self-study room, this Buddy couldn't resist taking out his phone to search online, and immediately burst out laughing.

"Sure enough, there are more jokers in the School of Mathematics. Why don't you go solve the Riemann Hypothesis? You're not even as bold as amateur scientists."

Lin You didn't know that in the eyes of others, he had already become a "madman and joker from the School of Mathematics," lumped into the same category as amateur scientists.

Yes, Liu Lu in 2011 was the idealized version of many mathematics students, but how many could replicate a similar achievement during their undergraduate years?

Lin You just kept studying, studying, studying.