Genius of the Rules-Style System

Chapter 767: Chapter 416 Edward: You really are a great person!_2

As the two continued their discussion, others couldn’t interject. However, Hu Zhibin suddenly chimed in, "It’s like Altair and Vega. The Heavenly Emperor won’t let them be together, so they can only stand on opposite sides of the bridge, each looking at the other."

"Brilliant!"

Zhao Yi gave Hu Zhibin a thumbs up.

The analogy was indeed very appropriate. The rules do not permit them to unite; thus, they can only generate a mutual ’attraction’.

When the others heard this analogy, they also laughed. Especially the ’administrative’ staff who had long exited academia, who didn’t understand what the two were talking about. Hu Zhibin’s analogy at least made them understand.

Of course, there were two people who didn’t understand, Edward Witten and his student Camilla.

Neither of them understood Chinese.

Edward Witten had intentions to learn Chinese, but his age was indeed a little high. A smart brain doesn’t necessarily mean strong learning ability, and trying to change a lifetime of speaking habits to learn a new language was a bit far-fetched.

Camilla had learned a little Chinese, enough for everyday greetings, at most.

Zhao Yi then explained to them the story of ’Altair and Vega’.

After hearing the story, Edward Witten was amazed, "Is this a story from your ancient times? Incredible!"

"Why so?" Zhao Yi was somewhat puzzled.

"You’ve had stories related to strong forces thousands of years ago, and they can still be used today!"

"..."

Zhao Yi thought about it carefully and realized it was true. Chinese culture is extensive and profound. No matter what happens, it seems possible to find an idiom or story from ancient times as a metaphor.

The topic changed.

Zhao Yi and Edward continued to discuss and ended up approaching the end. Looking at the time, he concluded, "When such points are ample, the weak induction force will become a slightly stronger force!"

He said ’slightly stronger force’, not ’strong force’, because he wanted to review it a bit, unsure if his interpretation indeed dissected the strong force.

Edward Witten guessed directly, stating, "This is the secret of the strong force!"

...

Zhao Yi checked the time and concluded the discussion with Edward Witten. As the host, he could not let a group of people hang around waiting. He courteously saw the group off.

Midnight.

The room finally quieted down. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

Edward Witten had gone to the opposite room to sleep. Only Zhao Yi and Camilla remained in the room.

Camilla was helping to tidy up Edward Witten’s drafts, and also help Zhao Yi clean up the room. After she finished, she looked over at Zhao Yi who was lying leisurely on the sofa, his mind preoccupied with the analysis of the ’strong force’ problem.

When he noticed Camilla looking at him, he realized the atmosphere was a bit strange.

Midnight, a man and a woman alone in a room. A blonde woman with long legs was looking at him with intense eyes...

Cough, cough. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

It was really a bit scary!

Zhao Yi quickly sent Camilla out of the room, preventing the enactment of a midnight battle scene. He made a phone call to his ’secretary’, Xiang Qianhong, asking her to help him with a massage. He had been researching for several days and felt very exhausted. Maybe after a good massage, he could rest properly.

Of course, Qianhong was quite dissatisfied. She had just fallen asleep and was woken up to come over to Zhao Yi’s dormitory late at night...

"No way!"

She flatly refused.

Ten minutes later, she appeared in Zhao Yi’s room, taking over from Camilla to tidy up the room. She also went next to the sofa and gave Zhao Yi a quick massage.

"Your technique is not good."

"You need to learn more, it’s quite useful! I had a classmate named Zhao Linlin..."

"Carry on!"

Qianhong asked curiously, filled with resentment, "Why did you ask me to come over? Is it because of Camilla? Was she just in your room by herself?"

"Yes, she was."

"Then why did you ask me to come?"

Zhao Yi looked up at Xiang Qianhong solemnly and remarked, "You’re the safer option!"

"——?"

Xiang Qianhong took a moment to process, then suddenly hammered his shoulder hard with her finger.

"Hiss~~"

"Go to hell!"

...

That night, Zhao Yi kept pondering over the complex analytic problem until four in the morning, then managed to squeeze in a little sleep before awakening at nine.

A knock on his door echoed ’dong’, ’dong’.

Dressed in his pajamas, he opened the door to find Edward Witten standing there with a stack of documents.

"Come in."

He stepped aside to let him in.

"I just visited the library to find some materials. I believe you’ll find them useful." Edward Witten placed the books on the table.

Zhao Yi replied, "You’ll find them useful too."

"What?"

"I mean, we’ll work on this together."

Zhao Yi spoke seriously, he had made up his mind, "This is a research project we’re working on together. I only conceptualized the functional expression."

"But that’s the most crucial part."

Edward Witten expressed his surprise, "You did most of the work. My contribution is at best 20%, no, 10%, or even less."

"But without you, I wouldn’t have been able to complete it." Zhao Yi insisted earnestly. He truly felt that Edward Witten had contributed to the achievement. Though he had shaped the most important functional part, without its integration into a 3D wave diagram and its inductive summary of a certain set of prime numbers, it would hold little value.

The parts where the two of them researched and discussed together were also very important.

Continuing, he added, "And I’d like to discuss and research it some more. I’m not sure if we’ve fully solved the complex problem. Perhaps there’ll be some issues we could work out together or maybe draw some conclusions?"

Edward Witten glanced at Zhao Yi solemnly and finally said sincerely, "Thank you, Zhao Yi, you are truly a great man."

"Of course."

Zhao Yi laughed.

For the following five days, Zhao Yi and Edward Witten barely ventured outside, and they didn’t entertain anyone else. Instead, they shut themselves in a room, discussing, researching, and even co-authoring a concluding document, which could be understood as evidence.

They also thought about the problem of publication.

Edward Witten suggested publishing in the top mathematical journal, his choice being "Mathematical Progress", because its publishing speed was fairly fast and its demands were relatively low.

Zhao Yi, on the other hand, suggested they should publish in the domestic "Mathematical Physics Journal". His previous paper on the ’Supersymmetry Problem’ was published in this journal. Although international top mathematical journals were excellent, he hoped that more domestic mathematicians and physicists could conduct research on the particle boundary theory and thereby support domestic academic journals.

A dispute arose between the two.

In the end, Zhao Yi respectfully considered Edward Witten’s opinion, and Edward Witten likewise respected Zhao Yi’s wishes. They decided to publish in both journals, with the English version appearing in "Mathematical Progress" and the Chinese version in "Mathematical Physics Journal".

Usually, this ’multiple submissions of the same manuscript’ is impossible because the journal that accepts the manuscript owns the copyright of the published paper.

But when it came to Zhao Yi and Edward Witten, this was not an issue at all.

Their submissions didn’t even need to be reviewed. They simply called the editorial office of "Mathematical Progress", mentioned where their collaborative research paper was headed, and mentioned they wanted to publish a Chinese version in another journal. The editorial office considered it for less than a minute, talked it over briefly, and immediately gave the go-ahead, even creating a custom online copyright agreement for them.

"Mathematical Progress" also promised in the agreement to pay a special submission fee of twenty thousand dollars.

Although ten thousand dollars per person for the submission fee isn’t much, anyone else submitting would surely be envious to the point of spitting blood. For them, having their submissions reviewed alone would be fortunate, and actual publication would be a godsend, let alone receiving a submission fee. They would even be willing to pay for it.

Zhao Yi and Edward Witten not only had their joint submission accepted by two journals without needing a review, but they also received a nice submission fee.

Such is the gap!