From university academician to chief academician

April 14, 2026, 2 pm.

Everyone in the number theory team took a plane to Kyoto. After arriving in Kyoto, they checked into a hotel near the Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation Award Ceremony.

"Team leader, it seems that many scholars live in this hotel."

Ye Fei and others were checking in at the front desk of the lobby on the first floor, a team member said.

Ye Fei nodded and said: "It's normal. This hotel is the closest hotel to the award ceremony. Naturally, many scholars attending the award ceremony stay in this hotel."

After checking in, Ye Fei and others took the elevator and walked to their respective rooms.

Along the way, some people were looking at Ye Fei.

Some people came up to say hello to Ye Fei.

The Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation Award covers all fields of academia, including mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology...

After Ye Fei attended the global blockchain academic conference, many people in the mathematics and computer circles knew Ye Fei.

The Global Blockchain Academic Conference is one of the most popular conferences in the world.

Many scholars from Xia State participated.

The people in the number theory group were filled with emotions.

This time they saw Ye Fei's energy.

Look, when you go out, many people know Ye Fei.

This means that Ye Fei is very popular, and also shows that Ye Fei is very capable.

In academia, if you are not very capable, even if you know you, you will not be ignored.

This is the reality in academia, or in other words, this is the reality in this world.

Everyone likes to get to know excellent people, and they tend to ignore, ignore, drive away, or hate inferior people.

After entering their respective rooms, they put down their luggage, and Ye Fei and others walked around together.

The next day, the Brahmé Hotel!

The Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation Awards were held here today.

Ye Fei and others took the car here early in the morning and took the elevator to the third floor. At the entrance of a hall, after handing in invitations, everyone entered and found their seats to sit down.

A lot of people came to attend the award ceremony. It was estimated that there were more than a thousand people.

The seats are also divided into many areas, and people in the same group sit in one area.

For example, people from the mathematics community sit together with people from the mathematics community, and people from the physics community sit together with people from the physics community.

Ye Fei's seat was not given special treatment because they were participating as a group, not individually.

Therefore, Ye Fei sat with his team members.

"Hi, Ye Fei!"

At this time, a fat man sat next to Ye Fei and said with a smile: "We meet again!"

Ye Fei said in surprise: "Song Chengkun!"

Ye Fei met Song Chengkun at the International Conference of Young Mathematicians.

It was a meeting with Amata and Balazs to compete for the top spot.

Song Chengkun is a professor of mathematics at Bayan University and studies triplet prime numbers.

Ye Fei smiled and said, "How is your research on triplets' prime numbers going?"

Song Chengkun shook his head and said helplessly: "Hey...it didn't succeed."

Ye Feidao: "What are you studying now?"

Most people will not struggle with a mathematical problem if they have not been able to successfully study it for a long time.

Unless you are the kind of person who has a dead brain.

But this kind of person will not succeed in the end even if he fights to the death.

Mathematics requires inspiration, and inspiration cannot be obtained through hard work.

If hard work is useful, what does it take to be a genius?

Maybe you are lucky, and suddenly inspiration appears at a certain moment.

Song Chengkun said: "This time I am looking for a simpler one, twin prime numbers."

The so-called twin primes are twin primes, or x+1 primes.

Ye Fei looked at him speechlessly and said, "You are going to fight the prime numbers to the end."

Ye Fei really couldn't understand what Song Chengkun was thinking. Prime numbers were such a big trap.

No one else jumped, but he jumped repeatedly in the pit.

This is almost burying himself, but he is still jumping.

Sooner or later one day he will bury himself alive.

Ye Feidao: "You haven't thought about studying anything else?"

"Something else?" Song Chengkun shook his head and said, "Not interested?"

“Not interested in asymmetric encryption?”

Ye Fei was in need of talents at this time, and he felt that Song Chengkun was very suitable.

Asymmetric encryption requires a lot of knowledge of prime numbers, and Song Chengkun has studied prime numbers for many years, so he is very suitable for studying asymmetric encryption.

"Asymmetric encryption?" Song Chengkun said: "One of the four core technologies of blockchain?"

With the popularity of blockchain, I believe that no one in the mathematics and computer circles has not understood blockchain.

Song Chengkun once knew that asymmetric encryption is one of the four core technologies of the blockchain.

Ye Feidao: "How are you interested? Asymmetric encryption requires a lot of knowledge of prime numbers. If you study asymmetric encryption, you may get a lot of inspiration from prime numbers, and it will be easier for you to study prime numbers."

Song Chengkun's eyes lit up, it seemed to be the truth.

Song Chengkun thought for a while and then said: "Let me think about it. If I agree, I will contact you."

"Okay!" Ye Feidao.

Song Chengkun smiled and said: "I heard about what happened at the global blockchain academic conference last time. There were many people from the mathematics and computer circles present. I also learned about it from a mathematician friend. He I was there at the time.”

"It's amazing. You were famous all over the world at that time."

Ye Fei shook his head in a funny way: "It's all a false name, a false name."

Song Chengkun smiled and said: "If this is a false reputation, I want it too."

Ye Feidao: "If you like it, just take it!"

Song Chengkun smiled bitterly and said: "Does this mean you can take it away? I don't have the ability like you."

"From the International Conference of Young Mathematicians, I saw that you are very extraordinary. I didn't expect that you would become such a famous person in just over half a year."

"I'm jealous!"

Ye Feidao: "Let's not talk about this anymore. By the way, how much do you know about the Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation Award?"

Song Chengkun said: "Speaking of this, you have asked the right person. I know all the details of domestic awards, big and small, but I also know a lot."

"Did you see the group of people at the back?" Song Chengkun tilted his head to indicate the group of people behind him on the right.

Ye Fei turned around and saw that most of the people in that group were young and middle-aged people, aged between thirty and forty-five.

Ye Fei asked in confusion: "What happened to them?"

Song Chengkun said: "They are just a bunch of parallel importers who spend money to win awards."

"Paying money to win a prize?" Ye Fei said in shock.

"Yes!" Song Chengkun said: "You also know that the Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation Award is divided into three major awards, one is the Achievement Award, the other is the Progress Award, and the other is the Innovation Award."

"Yeah!" Ye Fei nodded.

"Among these three major awards, the Progress Award is the most valuable, followed by the Achievement Award, and the Innovation Award is the most prestigious."

"I say it's watery because compared to the first two awards, it's not even worthy of holding a shoe."

"Let's talk about the Achievement Award first. If you win the Achievement Award, you must be an academician or a dynamite award winner."

The so-called Dynamite Prize winners are also Nobel Prize winners.

Because Nobel studied explosives.

"Let's talk about the Progress Award. The Progress Award is divided into many awards, such as the Mathematical Mechanics Award, the Physics Award, the Chemistry Award, the Astronomy Award... and so on."

"The Progress Award is a very strange award. Some academicians cannot get it, but some non-academicians get it."

"You also know that the Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation Award was established in Hong Kong, and its operation method is different from the mainland awards."

"It doesn't mean that you can win awards just because you are an academician. They don't look at your qualifications, they only look at the reported research results."

"Furthermore, it will be more difficult for those over 60 years old to apply for the Progress Award, and they need to be nominated by four academicians."

"If you are over 65 years old and apply for the Progress Award, the difficulty increases again and you need to be nominated by six academicians."

“So, it’s very impressive to win the Progress Award.”

"Finally, there is the Innovation Award. This award can be obtained purely by spending money, building relationships, and relying on operation to win the award."

Ye Fei smiled bitterly and said: "There are still all these twists and turns. Since the Innovation Award is so dark, why is it even established? Just get rid of it!"

Song Chengkun said: "You can't say that either. This world is inherently white and black. It can't be all white and it can't be all black."

“The Innovation Award was quite white at first, but I don’t know when it turned black.”

"Therefore, many people in the academic community do not like the Innovation Award in the Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation Award."

"Only those who are incompetent and want to win will compete for the Innovation Award."

"The purpose is to put money on my face and raise my own worth, so that I can win some scientific research funds, improve my professional title, and enter some societies and associations."

Ye Fei nodded, such a black prize, it would be a shame to see it.

But something is better than nothing. With the Innovation Award, your status will be different immediately and you can get many benefits.

This kind of thing is very common in academia. Some scholars are not very capable, but through operation, they can obtain the title of professor, or join certain societies and associations, strive for scientific research funds, and reap benefits.

But for capable people, these people are not cold to them, and they may even be disgusted.

Song Chengkun smiled and said: "I haven't congratulated you yet. With your ability, you should get the Progress Award!"

Ye Fei is not an academician yet, so among the three major awards, it is impossible for Ye Fei to win the Achievement Award.

The only ones left are the Progress Award and the Innovation Award.

And with Ye Fei's ability, he definitely wasn't going to compete for the Innovation Award.

So only the Progress Award remains.

Ye Fei shook his head and said, "Then you congratulated the wrong person. I didn't win the award."

"Huh?" Song Chengkun looked at Ye Fei in astonishment and said, "You didn't win the award? Did you come with someone else if you didn't win the award?"

"Yeah!" Ye Fei nodded, pointed to the team members beside him, and said, "They won the award. They won the Progress Award. I came with them."

The team members all smiled and nodded at Song Chengkun.

Song Chengkun also nodded with a smile, and then asked Ye Fei, "Who are they?"

"Members of my team."

"What?" Song Chengkun said in surprise: "All your team members have won awards."

"Yes!" Ye Feidao.

Song Chengkun felt very sad. He himself had not won the Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation Award, but Ye Fei's team members had all won the Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation Award.

Doesn’t this mean that he is not as good as Ye Fei’s team members?

Very heartbreaking!

After a long while, Song Chengkun said with a smile: "What research did they win the award for?"

"Serre conjecture!"

"Searle's conjecture?" Song Chengkun said: "It is the study that the projective model on the polynomial ring must be a free model?"

"Yeah!" Ye Fei nodded.

Song Chengkun said: "You should participate!"

The difficulty of Searle's conjecture is very high.

Purcell's conjecture is a study in algebraic theory and is closely related to topology.

In 1955, after the Sayre conjecture was proposed, a person named Seshadi proved that the Sayre conjecture is true when it is equal to 2.

In 1964, a man named Horrocks gave a local ring (a ring with only one maximum ideal ring) and proved similar results.

In 1976, a North American mathematician, Quillen, and a Soviet mathematician, Suslin, independently proved the Searle conjecture.

Quillen won the Fields Medal in 1978 for this proof.

Of course, Quillen and Suslin proved Searle's conjecture from different angles.

It's just that Quillen's proved more successful.

Ye Fei guided his team members to prove Purcell's conjecture, also from different angles.

But compared with the proof angles of the previous people, it is more rough and cumbersome.

If they can surpass their predecessors, they will not just win the Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation Award, but the Fields Medal.

But even so, Ye Fei's team members are also very powerful.

You know, this is the Sears conjecture that can win the Fields Medal.

"Yes!" Ye Feidao: "I just gave a rough research direction and asked them to study it independently, but I didn't expect it to be proved."

Speaking of this, Ye Fei showed a proud smile on his face.

"Awesome!" Song Chengkun gave a thumbs up in admiration.

Ye Fei is not only great himself, but his team members are also great.

Of course, it was because of the research conducted by Ye Fei's team members that they proved Purcell's conjecture based on Ye Fei's guidance.

So, essentially, Ye Fei is more powerful.

Ye Fei smiled and said: "I'm average, my team members are great."

Song Chengkun smiled and said: "They are all awesome."

Ye Feidao: "Since I am so powerful, you have to think carefully about whether you will come to my job. This opportunity cannot be missed, and it will never come back."

"As soon as the scientific research funds come in, I will start recruiting people."

"With my influence, I think I can attract a lot of people!"

"If my place is full, then you won't even have a place to come."

"Look at my team members, they are all lecturers and teaching assistants at Zhonghu University, not even an associate professor."

"They can all win awards. After you come here, you will most likely win awards too."

Song Chengkun was very moved by what he said. Song Chengkun also wanted to win the award.

No one who is a scholar does not want to win awards.

Awards not only represent honors, but also represent worth and recognition of personal abilities.

There are many hidden benefits that are not visible.

Song Chengkun's eyes flickered, and after a long while he said: "Okay, I will think about it carefully. I will call you when I think about it, and it will not take more than half a month at most."

"Yeah!" Ye Fei nodded.

At this time, the Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation Award Ceremony began.

The host came on stage and introduced the important leaders present.

Then the director of the Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation took the stage to speak, which lasted for more than ten minutes.

Then the awards began.

The first award is the Achievement Award. The winner of the Achievement Award every year is sometimes one person, sometimes two.

When there are two people, it turns out that they are working together on the same project.

The host said: "The recipient of the Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation Award Achievement Award this year is Academician Cai Lin of Zhejiang University."

"Academician Cai Lin, Executive Director of the Blockchain Research Center of Zhejiang University, Distinguished Researcher of the National Institutional Researcher of Zhejiang University, Dean of the Zhejiang Blockchain Technology Research Institute, and Director of the Blockchain Professional Committee of the Xiaguo Computer Society."

"Convenor of the expert group of the National Blockchain Innovation Application Pilot Action Plan, which has formulated informatization standards for multiple ministries, banks and authoritative institutions in Xia State."

"Academician Cai Lin mainly studies cloud computing, blockchain, metaverse and information security."

"It has appeared on CCTV news many times and has been reported by many domestic mainstream media and online media."

"Academician Cai Lin's research has been widely used in finance and large enterprises, and has achieved significant social and economic benefits."

Ye Fei was amazed when he heard this, this is a great person!

Research affects many industries across the country and makes many contributions to the country.

Many people present were in admiration.

The host said: "Welcome Academician Cai Lin to the stage."

A lean, middle-aged man in a suit and silver-rimmed glasses walked onto the stage and shook hands with the host.

The host said: "Now, Director of the Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation Committee will take the stage to present the award to Academician Cai Lin."

After the director came on stage, he presented the award to Academician Cai Lin.

"Bah bang bang..." Everyone present burst into warm applause.

This was followed by a speech by Academician Cai Lin.

After Academician Cai Lin steps down, the next step will be the Progress Award.

There were many people who could win the Progress Award, and they came on stage one by one. The first one was mathematics. Han Dong came to the stage to receive the award excitedly.

All awards are presented by the Director.

Han Dong said with a smile: "This is the first time in my life to receive an award. I didn't expect to win the Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation Award for the first time. At this time, I am very excited, very nervous, and very excited."

"There are eleven people in our group, and I come up to receive the award on behalf of our group."

"The first thing I want to thank is Professor Ye Feiye, who is the leader of our group."

"All our research was conducted under his leadership."

“We wouldn’t have been able to complete the study if it weren’t for him.”

"Thank you very much, Professor Ye."

"..."

Many people present were surprised. Ye Fei from Zhonghu University?

These winners are actually members of Ye Fei's team?

Oh my god, this is so surprising.

Even if Ye Fei is great in person, I didn't expect that he would also coach his team members, so that his team members also won awards.

Cai Lin, who was sitting in the front row, asked the person next to him: "Is this person named Ye Fei the one who proposed the future development and research of blockchain at the global blockchain academic conference?"

"Academician Cai, that's him." The man on the side said.

Cai Lin smiled and said, "Is he here today?"

"I don't know about that, but it should be coming."

"If he comes, I would like to have a good chat with him. I didn't go to the last global blockchain academic conference because I was too busy with research, but when I heard his name recently, I could feel the calluses in my ears. I heard that he is only 24 this year. age?"

"Yes, Academician Cai."

"You are young and promising!" Cai Lin said with a smile: "I really want to get to know him."

"Academician Cai, wait until there is a party in the evening, then you can get to know him."

Cai Lin nodded.

After Han Dong came down, the award ceremony continued.

After the Progress Award is awarded, there is the Innovation Award.

As Song Chengkun said, everyone knows that the Innovation Award is very popular, and no one pays much attention to it.

Of course, they still patiently watched the presentation of the Achievement Awards.

It's just that for many people, looking at those who receive achievement awards, it's like looking at clowns.