Chapter 76: Accepting a New Mission

Just as he returned home and sat down on the sofa, preparing to send a message to Su Xiaoli, the system’s voice rang out.

“Congratulations to the host, for receiving a new mission! Within seven days, prove the Riemann Hypothesis! Upon completion, you can earn a reward of 5000 points!”

“What? The Riemann Hypothesis?” Tang Feng stood up from the sofa all at once.

“Yes! The Riemann Hypothesis! When you exchanged for the Genius Secret Manual, you already mastered all the theoretical knowledge necessary to prove the Riemann Hypothesis. Of course, whether you can prove the Riemann Hypothesis, that’s up to you,” the system answered.

Tang Feng didn’t speak.

My goodness! 5000 points!

For him, it was indeed full of temptation.

After all, with 5000 points, one could exchange for many good things from the system’s points mall.

He sent a message to Su Xiaoli, then went back to his room and closed the door.

He laid out a large amount of white paper on his study desk.

The Riemann Hypothesis, one of the world’s top mathematical problems.

This conjecture was proposed by Riemann in 1859.

Over a hundred years have passed, during which countless mathematicians have devoted their lives without proving it.

Some mathematicians claimed to have completed the proof of the Riemann Hypothesis.

However, the papers they published simply could not withstand verification.

To this day, no one has been able to prove the Riemann Hypothesis.

Tang Feng began to organize his thoughts.

Although he had exchanged for the Genius Secret Manual and his mind had already possessed the theoretical knowledge to prove the Riemann Hypothesis.

Having theoretical knowledge did not mean he had the ability to prove the Riemann Hypothesis.

These were two different things.

The gap between thinking and doing is a deep chasm.

Some people spend their entire lives unable to cross this chasm.

He started to calculate on the white paper.

Time flew by.

At some point, the door opened, and his mother came in from outside.

“Little Feng, what are you busy with? I called you earlier, but you didn’t hear,” his mother asked with a smile.

“Mom, I’m solving a mathematical problem. Unless there’s something special, don’t disturb me for the next few days. If I’m hungry, I’ll take care of it myself,” Tang Feng instructed.

“Is this mathematical problem very important?” his mother continued to ask.

Regardless, nothing was more important than her son’s health in her eyes.

“Important! Very important! If I can solve this mathematical problem, then I could’ve gotten into the mathematics department of Beijing University without taking the college entrance exam,” Tang Feng answered.

“I see! Then continue with your work! I won’t disturb you. I’ll also tell your dad,” his mother said before leaving, carefully closing the door behind her.

After all, if her son’s undertaking was so important, as a mother, she might not be able to help much but definitely couldn’t hold him back.

Tang Feng kept calculating on the white paper.

One sheet! Two sheets! Three sheets!

Even he didn’t know how many sheets of paper he had used.

Halfway through proving it, he realized his approach was wrong.

No choice but to start over.

“It seems the Riemann Hypothesis really does have its difficulty! No wonder no one has been able to prove it for over a hundred years!” Tang Feng couldn’t help but sigh.

Maybe it was because he had been using his brain intensively for a long time, but he felt very hungry.

He got up, stretched, and then went to the kitchen to find something to eat.

While he was eating, his phone rang.

It was a call from Su Xiaoli.

“Tang Feng, what are you busy with? I sent you several messages, but you didn’t reply,” Su Xiaoli said.

“I’ve been busy solving a mathematical problem,” Tang Feng replied.

“No wonder there was no reply to my messages. How is it going? Have you solved it?” Su Xiaoli continued to ask.

“Not yet. It’s not that simple. I had proved half of it when I realized the approach was wrong, so I stopped,” Tang Feng said, his mouth curving into a wry smile.

“I’m very curious! What kind of mathematical problem is it that can stump even a genius like you?” Su Xiaoli asked.

“The Riemann Hypothesis, have you heard of it?”

“What did you say?” Su Xiaoli’s tone suddenly rose by three octaves.

“The Riemann Hypothesis, have you heard of it?” Tang Feng repeated.

“I have some impression! Isn’t that a world-class mathematical problem?” Su Xiaoli guessed.

“Yes,” Tang Feng nodded, “It’s one of the world’s seven great mathematical problems.”

“Why would you think of solving this problem? Although you scored full marks in mathematics in the college entrance exam, facing such a mathematical problem, you would probably be at a loss,” Su Xiaoli was somewhat puzzled.

“I just wanted to try. You know, I applied for the mathematics department at Jingcheng University. The department is full of geniuses. To stand out among them, I definitely need something to prove my abilities,” Tang Feng answered.

“I can understand your feelings. But even if you want to tackle mathematical problems, you don’t need to pick something like the Riemann Hypothesis. You could choose something slightly less difficult. That way, there might still be hope,” Su Xiaoli suggested.

“Less difficult isn’t interesting. Alright, I won’t talk anymore! I just had something to eat and need to organize my thoughts before continuing to prove,” Tang Feng said, preparing to hang up.

“Take it easy! If you feel tired, rest right away! Rome wasn’t built in a day, and haste won’t help in eating hot tofu,” Su Xiaoli reminded him.

“I know. It’s getting late, you should sleep,” Tang Feng ended the call.

He sat back down at his study desk.

He seriously organized his thoughts, then resumed his calculations on the white paper.

Time ticked away.

Not knowing how long had passed, he threw his pen onto the desk.

He couldn’t help but sigh.

The Riemann Hypothesis was more difficult than he had imagined.

He had tried two different approaches, only to find both were incorrect.

It seemed the challenge of completing the system’s mission within seven days was extraordinarily difficult.

He didn’t continue his calculations.

His brainpower had been significantly drained.

He felt somewhat sleepy all over.

During the calculations, he had been fully focused and hadn’t felt any discomfort.

But now that he paused, the consequences of overexertion became somewhat unbearable.

He lay down on the bed without even bothering to undress and fell asleep.

He slept until eight in the morning.

When he woke up, he found a blanket covering him.

He got up and went to the living room.

There he saw Su Xiaoli sitting on the sofa, reading a book.

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