From all-round academic master to chief scientist

On July 9, at 8:30 in the morning, the first day of examination of the 59th International Mathematical Olympiad arrived as scheduled, and candidates began to enter the venue.

The examination venue is the multifunctional stadium in Cluj-Napoca, which will also be the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies. Originally there was a standard football field in the middle, but now the turf on it has been replaced with a smooth floor, and the There are more than 600 tables and chairs, and the tables also have candidate information for candidates to determine their seats.

At this time, the team leaders from various countries also brought their players to the entrance, and the Chinese team also arrived. Chen Qiusheng, as the deputy team leader, began to give the final emphasis to Lin Xiao and the six others.

"Okay, the game will start soon. You can just play as usual. I won't say more about the rest. Remember, you must check carefully and don't write the wrong numbers for me. Zou Ziyi, it's just you. Don't look around. Every time you write that '8', write it carefully for me. The '8' must be sealed. If you write it as a 6, you will lose your own points."

"Also, when we take the exam in China, one question is worth 21 points, which is in line with our habits. In the IMO competition, one question is only worth 7 points, and six questions are worth 42 points. If you make a small mistake, you will not get 1 point. It’s equal to one forty-two percent of the total score.”

"Do you know?"

"knew!"

All five people except Lin Xiao agreed.

Chen Qiusheng looked at Lin Xiao. Lin Xiao seemed to be thinking about something and didn't hear what he just said.

In fact, all along the way, he found that Lin Xiao remained like this.

He couldn't help but ask: "Lin Xiao? What are you thinking about?"

"Ah? Oh, I understand." Lin Xiao responded as if he had just come to his senses, "I didn't think about anything."

Chen Qiusheng shook his head and did not continue to ask, but he still reminded him: "Don't be distracted during the exam later. Whether we can get a perfect score this year depends on you."

"Don't worry." Lin Xiao made an OK gesture.

Chen Qiusheng said no more, and then said: "Okay, there is no need to emphasize the rest. You are the six most outstanding students in our country, and I hope you can continue to maintain such excellence in this competition. Go ahead."

After saying that, he pointed to the examinee entrance over there.

Lin Xiao and the other six nodded, and then walked towards the entrance. As for Chen Qiusheng, he walked towards the entrance of the deputy team leader on the other side. When the game starts later, he will stay in the auditorium next to him and observe. Candidates’ situation.

There was even a deputy team leader next to him with binoculars, as if he was running over to watch football.

Soon, Lin Xiao and the other six people also arrived at the entrance. First, they submitted relevant information to the staff and confirmed their identities. Then they checked whether they had any electronic equipment or anything on them, and then let them in.

Because the exam started at 9:30, it was only around 8:40, so it was still early, and the staff did not ask them to take a seat.

In the examination room, most of the contestants were still chatting, and some even lay down on the table to catch up on their sleep.

However, probably at the opening ceremony last night, the conversation between Lin Xiao and Professor Pompieri left a deep impression on many students present, especially the contestants who were close at the time and heard clearly the content of their conversation. At this time, everyone couldn't help but cast their eyes on Lin Xiao.

This competitor gave them the feeling of facing a BOSS.

However, Lin Xiao turned a blind eye to these glances. Part of his attention was on finding his seat, while the other part continued to focus on the problems in his mind.

What he was thinking about along the way was naturally the distribution of Mersenne prime numbers.

After sorting it out last night, he had some preliminary ideas and a certain amount of inspiration, but there was still an invisible gap between him and the ultimate goal.

He can only continue to read some related papers, and look forward to the incomplete version of the "Secret Book of the Ancestors" that Professor Pompieri will give him.

"Lin Shen, what were you thinking about just now? You won't see any beautiful sister, right?"

At this time, Sun Yu next to him asked.

Hearing Sun Yu's words, Lin Xiao glared at him angrily and said, "You are the only one who talks too much."

And then, he stopped to think. It was a bit inconvenient just to do the calculations in his mind. After all, not all problems can be solved by mental calculations.

Ouyang Sheng, who was standing next to him, patted Sun Yu on the shoulder and said, "Do you still think our Lin Shen likes people with low-level taste?"

Li Boyuan: "Lin Shen has already surpassed the limits of human beings and is no longer a human being."

Beard Chao: "Tell me, Lin Shen, how long do you plan to finish today, two hours, or one and a half hours?"

Lin Xiao said: "One hour."

"God Lin, you are being humble...what, an hour?"

I originally thought that Lin Xiao would not answer directly, and Hu Chao was about to say some clichés, but unexpectedly, Lin Xiao actually answered directly, and it was still within an hour?

Several people swallowed: "As expected of Lin Shen."

However, at this moment, a voice came from the side: "'Just a smile'? You mean an hour?"

The first four words are in broken Chinese, while the last words are in smooth English.

Lin Xiao and others turned around and saw six players wearing blue uniforms coming in front of them.

Four of the faces are Chinese, the other two are Indian and one is brown.

Lin Xiao and the others quickly recognized that these six people were members of the American team.

The person who spoke to them just now was one of the Chinese.

Lin Xiao said doubtfully: "Sorry, what did you say?"

"Please speak English, otherwise I won't understand you, thank you." The Chinese continued, but after he finished speaking, he shook his head and said, "Forget it, maybe you don't want to tell me, but you don't Please don’t think I’m here with ill intentions.”

"As you can see, I am a player on the American team, James-Lin. In Chinese, my last name is 'Lin'. I heard your chat with Professor Pompieri yesterday, and I know that you are even in the "Annals of Mathematics" ", so I want to know how big the gap is between us."

"You just said that you would finish today's question within an hour. I have to admit that I can't guarantee that you will finish it within an hour. However, I can still guarantee that you will finish it within two hours."

"Then, let's take two hours as our final time. I will hand in the paper on time at two hours, and then compare our results."

"I wonder if you agree?"

Thanks to Kunlin Yuanshan for the 100 starting coin reward.