Chapter 24
"In summary, the zero-gravity seat designed using the three-dimensional multi-mesh method based on steady Navier-Stokes equations and coupled damping moment volume rendering has strong feasibility."
After typing this line, Ji Zhixing breathed a long sigh of relief. The thesis was finally finished!
Although the writing process went relatively smoothly, after so many days of continuous output, he still felt like his brain had been drained. However, looking at the nearly one hundred-page document on his computer, an unprecedented sense of satisfaction gradually rose within him—this was his first formal academic paper.
Ji Zhixing checked the entire paper again from beginning to end, then copied it to a USB drive, intending to go to Professor Yan for feedback. Professor Yan had previously mentioned when explaining the Navier-Stokes equations that he could show it to him after finishing the paper.
Ji Zhixing was initially hesitant to trouble Professor Yan again, but after receiving Professor Yan's help during the livestream incident, he felt a strong connection with him. This was the first time since his grandfather's passing that he had experienced such selfless protection from a mentor.
It was indeed the right thing to ask Professor Yan for his corrections. After all, this was Ji Zhixing's first time writing a paper, and there were many oversights in the details.
"In this section, the description of the accompanying drawings should include a detailed description of non-limiting embodiments, which will make the objectives, features, and advantages more apparent..."
As Yan Jiusheng organized the experimental data, he listened to his advisor and Ji Zhixing discuss the paper. He thought to himself, "Are undergraduates these days really that hardworking? They're already researching the applications of the Navier-Stokes equations in their sophomore year."
Moreover, the mentor was known for his strictness, and his infamous reputation as the "King of Hell" was known throughout the school. It was unexpected that Ji Zhixing could remain so calm and composed in front of the mentor.
Seeing this harmonious scene of teaching and learning, Yan Jiusheng couldn't help but take out his phone to take a picture and upload it to the school forum so that everyone could see that as long as you are willing to study diligently, Professor Yan is still very kind and approachable.
Back then, he failed the postgraduate entrance exam, and the only hope was with Professor Yan, who had no applicants. After he passed the exam, his classmates all felt immense sympathy for him, thinking that once he entered the underworld, he would be stuck in the deepest hell forever.
He himself was also very pessimistic. He was really desperate at the time, which is why he grabbed at straws. Only after he came to his senses did he realize that he had grabbed a deadly straw!
But after spending time with him, I discovered that Professor Yan was truly an upright and honest teacher. As long as you were eager to learn, even if you were a little slow, Professor Yan was willing to teach you patiently. However, he was very strict and would never lower his standards or go easy on his students.
Many students who failed courses or had to extend their studies in previous years had expressed their dissatisfaction, and the nickname "King of Hell" was passed down from generation to generation. Ten years ago, Professor Yan was already widely recognized by students of Guangling University as the most unapproachable figure.
Yan Jiusheng had only gradually come to appreciate Professor Yan's respectability after listening to the terrifying tales for four years, and he had always wanted to find an opportunity to vindicate his mentor. However, his mentor was always serious and unapproachable, and few people believed him just by talking. Today, having finally found such good material, he naturally wanted to put it to use as soon as possible.
He opened the school forum, edited a post titled "Shocking! 'King of Hell' Has This Side Too!", and then uploaded a few of his carefully selected photos—to be honest, capturing a moment of your professor's smile is really not easy!
The new post on the forum was quickly discovered by bored students. They initially thought it was just another rant, but it turned out to be a post defending the King of Hell!
"Good heavens! I can't believe I've actually witnessed the smile of the King of Hell in my lifetime! That smile must be at least five degrees upturned!" (Cracks face.jpg)
"You upstairs, you're doomed! Pack your bags and head to the King of Hell's palace." (doge.jpg)
"It's not that exaggerated. Didn't we laugh about it once before? (Image)"
"Last time it was because of Ji Zhixing, and this time... it's Ji Zhixing again!"
"I initially thought he was just a bit handsome, a bit rich, a bit fast, and a bit good at shooting... Damn! The more I talk about him, the angrier I get!"
"No matter what, Ji Zhixing is a true hero for making the King of Hell laugh twice in less than a semester!"
"I am filled with utmost respect!"
The comments that followed were also filled with expressions of "deep respect".
Seeing that the post was not going well, Yan Jiusheng quickly replied.
"Professor Yan may look a bit serious, but he's actually a very nice person."
After posting one message, Yan Jiusheng immediately edited another, trying to support his point with specific examples. Before he could finish editing, someone in the thread recognized him.
As the only graduate student under the King of Hell, Yan Jiusheng is quite well-known at Guangling University. He appears in one terrifying legend after another with the name of the King of Hell, usually as an oppressed and tortured figure.
"Senior Brother Yan, I know it's not easy for you to live under the King of Hell all by yourself, but you don't need to be so manipulative."
"That's not fair. You're probably trying to lure a few little devils to the King of Hell's palace to suffer with him, aren't you?"
"It's hard to say whether I was forced to post this by the King of Hell, since it's postgraduate entrance exam season again."
"That's right. Starting with Senior Brother Yan, counting back three years and forward three years, even the King of Hell hasn't recruited any new little devils, has he?"
"There's no need to put it so harshly. Professor Yan is indeed too strict, but he is a good teacher who is responsible for his students."
"I know Professor Yan is highly accomplished academically, but I want to live!"
"Exactly! How many three-year periods do you have in a lifetime? Most people are just here to get a degree. Who would dare apply to a professor with the highest rate of delayed graduation?"
...
Yan Jiusheng wasn't particularly eloquent, and he quickly lost the argument with the people in the post. Alas! Another failure—his attempt to vindicate his mentor!
He stared blankly ahead, while Ji Zhixing was already thanking and saying goodbye to his mentor.
Three days before the competition deadline, Dormitory 310 finally finished all the materials. Ji Zhixing opened the official website and uploaded all the packaged application materials.
After seeing the words "Application Successful," the three of them breathed a sigh of relief.
Lin Lang collapsed to the ground, saying, "I can't go on!" The Wuling Hongguang had been towing two semi-trailers for two months. Although the engine had been worn down to the point of being like a Mercedes, the vehicle body was still almost beyond repair.
Xu Dongyang was also exhausted. Applying for a patent was very complicated. His patent technical solution was even returned once due to issues with details. Fortunately, Ji Zhixing helped him revise it, and he finally got the application number and acceptance notice.
Ji Zhixing stretched and loosened his muscles, then put a draft paper in his backpack and headed out.
"Are you going to the library?" Lin Lang looked up and asked.
Xu Dongyang stopped on the ladder to the bed, his expression almost splitting open: "Is there any material we haven't finished yet?"
“It’s all done,” Ji Zhixing said. “That’s right. I borrowed a few books on Navier-Stokes equations from Professor Yan before, but I haven’t had time to read them. Now that I have some free time, I can finally do it.”
After this period of research and application, he found the Navier-Stokes equations quite interesting and now he finally has time to continue learning them.
"Would you like to go to the library together?" Ji Zhixing extended a friendly invitation.
Lin Lang and Xu Dongyang shook their heads vigorously, like rattles.
"Okay, you guys take a break. Don't forget to finish the lab report on 'Measuring Planck's Constant using the Photoelectric Effect' by today. I'll be checking it when I get back!"
Xu Dongyang's legs went weak, and he almost fell off the ladder. Lin Lang recalled the post he had seen on the school forum last night while sneaking a peek, and deeply felt that Ji Zhixing already had a bit of the aura of the King of Hell.
The next morning was the class on mathematical physics methods. Because of Professor Yan's strictness, everyone still arrived at classroom 103 of Mingde Building early.
Before class started, everyone gathered in small groups to chat.
"Hey, have you heard? One of the two teams from our school that participated in the CUPT competition has made it past the provincial cutoff!"
"Has there been any official news yet?" Since both participating groups included people from their respective grade levels, everyone was quite concerned about the results.
"No, I heard it from one of the teachers who participated in the review."
"There's only one group..." Then we don't need to wait for the official announcement of the winners to know who qualified and who didn't.
Lin Lang slumped dejectedly onto the table. Had it really failed him again? But he had tried so hard all this time…
Xu Dongyang lowered his head, his heart filled with mixed emotions, his mind buzzing. So... were these two months completely wasted...?
Ji Zhixing was momentarily stunned by the oppressive atmosphere, but then he realized that the list hadn't been announced yet, so it didn't necessarily mean they had been eliminated. Their project wasn't so bad that they couldn't even get a third-place finish in the province, was it? In fact, Professor Yan had previously hinted that their project had a chance to compete for a national first-place finish!
He patted his companions sitting on either side of him and comforted them, "Don't be discouraged, the list hasn't been released yet."
But this statement is too weak. If you look at it from beginning to end, there is indeed a big difference between the two project teams.
The school team started preparing last year, but they only started working on it two months ago, a last-minute effort.
Zhao Yi, Sun Er, Li Shan, and later Fan Yongjie were all true academic geniuses, and only Ji Zhixing could be compared to them.
Not to mention that the school team has instructors who follow them from beginning to end, and the school provides a special laboratory for model building and data processing.
They only received guidance from Professor Yan on the application of the Navier-Stokes equations. The models were all completed independently by Lin Lang using Ji Zhixing's notebook, and even he himself was not sure if there were any errors or omissions.
Lin Lang and Xu Dongyang both lacked confidence in themselves, as did the other students.
Everyone's gossip was burning brightly, their eyes darting back and forth between Fan Yongjie and Ji Zhixing. From the challenge they made on the forum, to their clashes in the lab, and then to Fan Yongjie's failed attempt to shift the blame to Ji Zhixing during the recent morning exercise incident, the conflict between the two had been completely out in the open.
This competition can be seen as another focal point of the conflict between the two sides. It seems that the veteran academic elites are still standing strong, while Ji Zhixing, although making rapid progress, is still some distance away from being a true academic elite.
Fan Yongjie suppressed his inner excitement, his face remaining calm as he basked in the long-awaited admiring glances from his classmates.
Since the morning exercise incident, everyone's attitude towards him has changed drastically. Even though he didn't really care about these ordinary classmates, humans are social animals after all, and no one can stand being ignored or even hostile to them all the time.
Fortunately, people still have to rely on their strength to speak for themselves. Now, he has redeemed his image in everyone's mind through a competition, hasn't he?
Fan Yongjie felt he could do more, such as extending some goodwill to his defeated opponent, Ji Zhixing.
So he walked to the front row, put on a smile that was three parts sincerity, three parts comfort, and four parts humility, and said, "I'm sorry, but try again..."
To the trio, these words sounded like utter mockery.
Ji Zhixing pressed down on Lin Lang's outstretched hand and said, "It's too early to say that now." The outcome is still uncertain!
Just as Fan Yongjie was about to speak, the class bell rang. As always, Professor Yan entered the classroom on time, and he had no choice but to return to his seat with regret.
The Mathematics and Physics Methods class was as difficult as ever. Although everyone wanted to continue gossiping, no one dared to "make secret deals" in front of the King of Hell. They could only wait until after class to continue talking about the new juicy gossip about the competition.
To everyone's surprise, Professor Yan brought up this gossip just before get out of class ended.
"Before get out of class ends, I'd like to say a few words on a different topic. As university students, I hope everyone will have a certain degree of initiative and enthusiasm in their studies, and not confine themselves to textbooks. Take Ji Zhixing, for example. Before, he was at the same level as most students in terms of Navier-Stokes equations, but through two months of proactive research and study, he has already achieved considerable expertise in this area..."
Listen carefully to the underlying meaning; those who get into university aren't fools. Everyone naturally understood the implied meaning in Professor Yan's words—could it be…?
Lin Lang had already stood up from the table, Xu Dongyang was no longer looking down, and there was a glimmer of light in Ji Zhixing's eyes.
Professor Yan kept urging students to study, but refused to say a word about the competition.
The desire for gossip overcame the fear of the King of Hell, and after Professor Yan finished his words of encouragement to study, some students finally mustered the courage to raise their timid hands.
"Teacher... will hard work really pay off?" He didn't dare to ask about the competition results directly because of Professor Yan's authority.
Yan Anjin could easily tell what he really wanted to ask. Looking at the bright, piercing eyes of the students, so different from how they were during class, and then at the three hopeful-looking students in the first row, he finally spoke:
"Yes, hard work pays off. Congratulations to Ji Zhixing, Lin Lang, and Xu Dongyang for winning the provincial first prize for their zero-gravity seat project and successfully entering the national production line."
After Yan Anjin finished speaking, she clapped for the three people in the first row.
After a moment of shock, everyone followed suit and clapped, whispering among themselves as they did so.
"Really? Ji Zhixing and his teammates made it through?"
"So that means Fan Yongjie's group didn't even make the provincial cutoff score?"
"How is that possible? Even the worst player on the school team used to get a provincial second prize!"
"That's right, the instructor is Fan Yongjie's own father. He's coached three contestants who all made it to the national finals. Of course, he'll put in even more effort for his own son!"
"Could the information be wrong? Professor Yan didn't seem to be a judge, did he?"
Yan Anjin did not serve as a judge. Although he received an invitation, he declined to avoid any appearance of impropriety. After all, he had provided some guidance to Ji Zhixing's project, and participating in the selection process would not have been fair to the other project teams.
However, the physics community is so small, and naturally, some of the judges were his old friends. When they saw that there was a project from Guangling University on the list of winners, they would naturally inform him in advance.
It was already an exception for Yan Anjin to talk so much in class about things unrelated to math and physics methods. After clapping, he packed up his lesson plan and left briskly, ignoring the students' eagerness for knowledge. If they were truly eager to learn, he would have been happy to stay and teach overtime.
After Professor Yan left, there was a five-second silence in the classroom. Then, some of the onlookers who had recovered from the shock continued to discuss the matter, while others went to the official website to check for news.
Zhang Biao opened the CUPT competition website, and the latest message was still the previously released competition registration notice. Undeterred, he refreshed the page and, surprisingly, a new message appeared, posted just a second ago.
Zhang Biao quickly clicked on it, his eyes practically popping out of their sockets, and then he saw...
"Zhi Xing, you really are the best in the province!!"
Wow!
People around him immediately craned their necks to look at Zhang Biao's phone, while those further away simply opened their own phones and searched for the official website address. Soon, almost everyone saw the list of competition winners in black text on a white background on the official website.
Provincial First Prize: Project Team of "Zero Gravity Seat Designed by 3D Multi-Mesh Method Based on Steady Navier-Stokes Equations and Coupled Damping Moment Volume Rendering"
Award recipients: Ji Zhixing, Lin Lang, Xu Dongyang;
Immediately, the entire classroom was abuzz with discussion about the award winners, with everyone congratulating Ji Zhixing and the other two. Compared to Fan Yongjie, the three of them were far more popular.
Fan Yongjie was the only person in the classroom who hadn't seen the list of winners. He didn't dare look at his phone, even though everyone around him was discussing the list. He buryed his head in the sand and didn't dare look at his phone.
There must be something wrong. Maybe the organizers misspelled the names, or maybe a careless staff member messed up the document. It might actually be a list of non-winning candidates...
Or perhaps Ji Zhixing and his group bribed the judges? Fan Yongjie couldn't help but look towards the first row.
Lin Lang had already jumped onto the blackboard, while Xu Dongyang remained calmly seated in his chair, only his pale knuckles showing through his tightly gripping pen, hinting at the turmoil in his heart.
Ji Zhixing then got up and walked from the first row to Fan Yongjie, returning the words to Fan Yongjie: "It's a pity, but keep up the good work."
Fan Yongjie had no idea how he left the classroom that day, or how Zhao Yi and Sun Er angrily took him to the laboratory.
"Where did this data come from?!" Zhao Yi demanded, pointing at the computer screen.
"Where else could it be from! Of course, it was simulated in the model!" Fan Yongjie shook off the hand that was grabbing his arm. "If there's a problem with this data, it's because your model design is flawed. Don't try to push the blame onto me!"
Judging from Zhao Yi's tone, it seemed that their project's Waterloo was due to this set of data. But his job was simply to monitor the software, watch the model run the data, and record it; even if there was a problem with this set of data, the root cause wasn't him.
Zhao Yi said coldly, "Now! Do it again in front of me!"
His relatives were among the judges organized by the province for the CUPT competition. Although he wouldn't show favoritism because of this, he would still tell them some details privately after the judging results were announced.
Their project, "A Green Air Purifier Designed Based on Multi-Sensor Information Fusion of Oscillating and Dissipative Structures Using Nonlinear Dynamics," initially piqued the interest of most judges, given the current trend towards smart home appliances. While various types of air purifiers already exist on the market, their design boasts a more intelligent structure and superior purification performance.
In the initial screening stage, their project had already made it onto the shortlist for the provincial first prize based on its rigorous literature review. However, it failed in the second round of selection.
Each participating group must provide the corresponding model and software, and the judges will conduct data tests on each of the projects that advance to the second round.
One of the judges was an expert in this field, and one of his graduate students had worked on air purifiers. After reading the paper, he immediately stated that the project's description of impurity adsorption, elimination, and decomposition effects was too idealistic. When the software was running the data for the last tenth of the time, he stopped it, directly pointing out that the molecular mechanism of transcriptional regulation by the same operon under oxidative stress was suspected of being fabricated.
It is said that Professor Fan Chuanshuo was also there at the time. He was originally attending a meeting in the province, but after hearing the news, he rushed directly to the competition judging venue, which was not far away, and argued that he had been in charge of the project from beginning to end. At most, there was a bug in the model, and there was absolutely no possibility of fraud.
Unable to reach an agreement, the two sides decided to rebuild the model on the spot based on the paper and test the controversial set of data.
The data obtained in the new model differed from the records provided by the project team by 0.6 decimal points.
In scientific experiments, data often needs to be accurate to three or four decimal places, or even more than ten decimal places, because in many cases, even a slight error can lead to drastically different results.
The judges tested the newly generated data using the original model, and the results were indeed vastly different from those provided by the project team. This directly verified that the green air purifier project team either had incorrect or fabricated data, and they were immediately removed from the shortlist.
After receiving the news from his relatives, Zhao Yi was completely stunned. After finally calming down, he reviewed the situation with Sun Er and, sure enough, discovered the set of data that had put them in a deadly situation.
This part was adjusted later. At that time, Fan Yongjie proposed to repeat the process of eliminating and decomposing impurities by electrostatic adsorption to enhance the filtration effect.
At the time, they felt that Fan Yongjie's additions had a negligible effect on improving the air purifier, but they also understood that Professor Fan wanted to increase Fan Yongjie's participation and contribution to the project, so they didn't say much and revised the paper based on the data that Fan Yongjie had recorded during debugging.
Who would have thought that Fan Yongjie would fabricate something like this?!
Fan Yongjie would certainly not admit that he had made a mistake, but Zhao Yi and Sun Er were staring at him fiercely as if they wanted to kill him, so he had no choice but to compromise for the time being and sit back down in front of the computer.
Damn it, wait until his dad gets back, and see what happens to these two!
While cursing under his breath, Fan Yongjie brought up the software, dragged the progress bar to 1/10, and was about to debug the data step by step when he suddenly remembered something.
His heart skipped a beat!
This...could it be...?
That day marked the fifth day of his seclusion with Zhao Yi and Sun Er. The laboratory was completely isolated from all signals; there was no entertainment inside, only data, data, and more data.
After staring at the data for five days, he was exhausted and bored. He just wanted to finish the research as soon as possible so he could leave this tedious experimental environment.
Perhaps because he was too tired and sleepy, he was a little irritable when he was debugging the data. After the software finished running a set of data, he was a little unsure after recording it. Was the final result 3.1 or 3.7?
The software was already running the next set of data. If he started over, it would waste another three hours. He tried hard to recall the data for a long time and felt that he had not made any mistakes in recording it, so he casually let the matter pass.
Could it really have been 3.1 instead of 3.7?!
Fan Yongjie was initially indignant and furious that Zhao Yi and Sun Er had prevented him from obtaining the qualification for postgraduate recommendation, but when he thought about it, his anger subsided.
"Well... I'll go out and call my dad to ask what's going on. Maybe they just sent the wrong message." He wanted to leave first.
"What's the rush! If you're going to leave, you should finish debugging this set of data first!"
Seeing Fan Yongjie's weakening momentum, what else could they not understand? This set of data really had gone wrong in Fan Yongjie's hands!
After a long and silent three hours, Zhao Yi looked at the bright red numbers on the computer screen and helplessly let his hands fall to his sides.
387 days of painstaking thought, 387 days of tireless effort, 387 days of arduous pioneering work—all ruined by Fan Yongjie's 0.6 mistake…
Zhao Yi couldn't contain his anger and was about to make a move when Sun Er grabbed him and forcibly dragged him away.
"Think about the future, Zhao Yi!" Sun Er grabbed Zhao Yi's hands. "If you really make a move today, believe me, Fan Chuanshuo can easily pin the blame on you! Calm down!"
After more than a year of contact, they have come to see Fan Chuanshuo's true colors. He is a selfish, power-hungry, and hypocritical man who uses his position for personal gain.
They had heard a rumor before that Fan Chuanshuo had misappropriated the research results of his graduate students, allowing Fan Yongjie, who was still in high school, to win a major science competition. Since it was just a vague rumor, they didn't pay much attention to it; they figured they could just avoid enrolling in Fan Chuanshuo's graduate program in the future.
But later, something they witnessed firsthand was truly shocking.
At that time, Fan Chuanshuo's research project was "Research on the Physics of Novel Ferroelectric Materials and Magnetoelectric Coupling," which was not only selected as a national key research and development project, but also received a central government grant of 6.5 million yuan.
Last year, one of his graduate students filed a formal complaint against him for falsifying documents and embezzling research funds. However, a series of evidence submitted by Fan Chuanshuo to the relevant authorities showed that the graduate student had repeatedly falsified quantitative data and misled statistical analysis during the project, leading to serious deviations and errors in the entire project. In the end, Fan Chuanshuo only bore minor responsibility for inadequate supervision.
They witnessed the graduate student storm into the lab, escalating from pleading to hurling insults at Fan Chuanshuo, the argument revealing shocking details. Fan Chuanshuo remained unmoved, and the graduate student was driven to the brink of suicide. Finally, Professor Yan Anjin spoke to Fan Chuanshuo, and after some unknown conversation, the matter quietly subsided. It's said that the graduate student left the university with his bachelor's degree and never returned to the lab.
Thinking of the graduate student's fate, Zhao Yi had to force himself to calm down. He screamed wildly several times, and finally, tears streamed down his face in despair...
After the competition's official website published the list of winners from each province, Guangling University was abuzz with discussion, and the school's forum was buzzing with activity.
"I never expected this! This is the final result!"
"I guessed the outcome would be a mixed bag, but I never expected the process to be the complete opposite."
"Actually, it's quite satisfying to see Fan Yongjie get his comeuppance. I haven't forgotten about the morning exercises. If it weren't for the leader's wisdom, I wouldn't be able to lie so comfortably in bed right now."
"I remember Fan Yongjie once said that Ji Zhixing might not even make it out of the provincial line, but in the end, it was he who couldn't even make it out of the provincial line."
"It's just a pity for Zhao Yi and Sun Er. They're both seniors now, and they didn't get the recommendation for graduate school this time. Now they have to prepare for the graduate school entrance exam, but there's not enough time."
"Not necessarily, there's still half a month left."
"Half a month! That's basically taking the exam without any preparation. No wonder you're unlikely to pass!"
"Ji Zhixing and his team are truly impressive. I originally thought that getting a second place in the province would be the best result."
"I originally guessed it would be third place in the province, but I didn't expect it to make it into the national line. I just don't know what ranking it will get later."
"If you can get into the national cutoff score, you'll at least get into the third-tier national cutoff score, and your postgraduate recommendation will be a sure thing!"
"I'm so envious! I'm so jealous!"
"Lin Lang and Xu Dongyang are so lucky. Just because they share a dorm with Ji Zhixing, he has carried them to success."
"Is there still an empty bed in their dorm room? Is it too late for me to apply to move in now?"
"Too late! The three of them have already transcended undergraduate studies and are no longer in the bachelor's degree category; they have essentially transformed into graduate students."
"I haven't completed all my undergraduate credits yet, so I'll definitely continue studying. Maybe I'll even participate in some competition and carry you to victory!"
...
"Hey, did you guys get the text message? There's an earthquake in ten minutes!"
Almost simultaneously, everyone in Guangling City received a mass text message from the Provincial Earthquake Bureau.
"An earthquake is about to occur in the southeast direction of Guangling City. The seismic shear wave is expected to arrive in 10 minutes and 21 seconds. Please immediately seek shelter in the nearest triangle of life or open area!"
There was much discussion and some questions:
"Earthquakes can be predicted now? When did this happen? I haven't seen any news reports about it."
“There have been instances of people arriving 83 seconds early before.”
"Completely different! This time it's a full ten minutes early!"
"Could it be a prank?"
"Sending mass prank text messages? That's an outrageous amount! Who would be that stupid!"
There are also those who don't take it seriously:
"Ten minutes? Let me finish my instant noodles before I go downstairs."
"Where's my cat? Where's my computer? Where's my property certificate? Bring them all!"
"The gas is off, the air conditioner is off, the TV is off, the windows are closed, um... where are my keys?"
Of course, there were also those who valued their lives, those who were skeptical, and those who preferred to believe it rather than not. Although everyone hesitated slightly, they all went downstairs to an open space.
Those who were unwilling to come downstairs or dragged their feet were also urged to come downstairs by the village committee, neighborhood committee, and property management, who had received the notice.
At Guangling University, the people responsible for getting students out of the dormitories and teaching buildings are counselors, teachers, dormitory managers, and other staff.
Everyone gathered in an open space, checking their phones to keep track of the time.
The three students in dormitory 310 also gathered together to discuss this matter.
Originally, the three of them were planning to go out for a big meal to celebrate making it into the national finals of the competition, but they didn't expect to receive an earthquake warning text message as soon as they got back to their dormitory and put down their textbooks.
Lin Lang looked at his phone: "There's only one minute left before the warning time. I wonder if there will really be an earthquake."
Many people had the same question, and in the last 10 seconds, many even started counting down simultaneously.
"5, 4, 3, 2, 1!"
In an instant, the earth shook violently, the road cracked open, the streetlights swayed precariously, the trees collapsed, and dust flew everywhere!
Ji Zhixing and the others were shaken and fell to the ground. Fortunately, after the initial violent tremor, the shaking that lasted for several tens of seconds was relatively mild.
A few minutes later, everyone noticed that the ground was no longer moving. Looking up and around, the once peaceful and tranquil campus was now unrecognizable.
A crack tens of meters long appeared on the smooth concrete road surface, the fissure turned up like a ripped wound on a person's body. Streetlights leaned precariously, seemingly on the verge of collapse. Several trees had already fallen, their broken and jagged roots a horrifying sight…
"Is it over? Is the alarm off?"
"Let's wait and see, I didn't expect there to actually be an earthquake!"
"Yes, the timing of this warning was incredibly precise."
"If only we could get early warnings like this for every earthquake."
"Quick, check the news! The epicenter is in the neighboring city of Quang Nyeong!"
With this shout, everyone pulled out their phones—except for those who were hurriedly dragged out of bed, most people had plenty of time to bring their phones and other personal belongings.
The hashtag "Earthquake in Guangning City" was trending on social media, followed by a bright red "Explosive" tag.
Ji Zhixing clicked on the entry and was shocked to see that the earthquake was magnitude 6.4. Magnitude 6 is already a strong earthquake. Just last month, a 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck a neighboring country, killing and injuring hundreds, affecting more than 70,000 people, and causing direct economic losses of up to 190 million!
Guangling University issued a notice that classes would be suspended that day, and Ji Zhixing had no interest in going to the library. He kept refreshing the news in his dormitory.
News photos show ruins everywhere, roads cracked, and vehicles damaged by falling rocks and trees abandoned haphazardly on the roadside.
However, overall, the situation is still relatively optimistic.
In this strong earthquake in Gwangnyeong, most people evacuated to open outdoor areas in advance as required by the warning, so although the economic losses were severe, there have been no reports of large-scale casualties so far.
Very good!
Because of this sudden change, the three students in dormitory 310 lost their desire to celebrate the award. They simply ate a quick dinner in the cafeteria, planning to wait until the national competition results were announced before celebrating.
Several canteens at Guangling University have a huge screen that plays the news every day at mealtimes.
It's said that this was the school leaders' idea, aimed at getting students to pay attention to current events. Previously, about half the students showed no interest in this large screen; they used their phones as if they were eating, watching whatever they wanted.
But today, the earthquake they experienced firsthand just hours ago has made them extremely attentive to the earthquake news broadcast on the screen; almost everyone eating in the cafeteria has their eyes glued to the screen.
The news program is showing reporters covering the earthquake scene. As of the time of the press conference, only two injuries have been reported.
In one case, the person had just woken up from a hangover and was still not fully alert. Upon seeing the earthquake warning information, he panicked and jumped directly from the second-floor balcony, fracturing his right leg on the spot.
Another case involved someone being caught by a falling tree, falling to the ground and losing a tooth.
Apart from that, there are no other reports of casualties so far.
The scene shifts back to the news studio, where the host introduces Mr. Shi Yanshi from Hengtai Technology's Digital Seismic Wave Laboratory, a special guest expert for this episode.
When asked by the host, Shih Yan-shih recounted the whole story of how they issued the earthquake warning.
“At that time, our earthquake prediction software had just been successfully debugged, but it had not yet been actually used for prediction and verification. Therefore, we hesitated for a moment when we received the early warning information from the software. However, after seeing the predicted earthquake magnitude, we knew that we could not delay any longer, so we immediately contacted the relevant departments.”
Shih Yen-shih still feels lingering fear when recalling the urgency of racing against time.
The software issued a warning that a 6.4 magnitude earthquake would strike Quang Ninh City in 26 minutes and 48 seconds. After hesitating for less than a minute, they decided to contact the relevant departments immediately. Upon receiving their message, the departments, though still hesitant, quickly reported it. Ultimately, the provincial leader approved the issuance of an earthquake warning, giving Quang Ninh City, the epicenter, and several surrounding counties and cities expected to be affected approximately ten minutes of evacuation time.
In the twenty-odd minutes leading up to the earthquake, every second felt like an eternity for Shi Yanshi, his mind a complete mess, incapable of any effective thought. Fortunately… or perhaps it shouldn't be said fortunately, anyway, the outcome was good.
After Shih Yan-shih recounted the harrowing 26 minutes and 48 seconds, the host said, "Prediction software that can issue earthquake warnings more than twenty minutes in advance is unprecedented. Mr. Shih, could you explain the principle behind the software to our viewers?"
"In short, our research has revealed that before an earthquake, the total electron density of the ionosphere fluctuates dramatically, and the near-Earth atmospheric electric field exhibits a negative anomaly. Furthermore, statistical analysis shows that in all earthquake data recorded to date, the opposite direction of the electric field vector points towards the epicenter..."
In the cafeteria, students watching the news program were discussing it animatedly.
"I don't understand, but it sounds impressive!"
"In other words, earthquakes will be able to be predicted in advance!"
"I don't know how much earlier we can bring it up."
"Oh my god, if that software takes half an hour longer to be debugged, the casualties in this earthquake will definitely be much higher!"
"May God bless China!"
After explaining the software's principles, Shih Yan-shih added, "In fact, we have to give special thanks to one person for enabling our earthquake prediction software to be successfully debugged and make predictions before this earthquake occurred."
Host: "Who is it?"
Shi Yanshi: "It is Ji Zhixing, a sophomore in the School of Physics at Guangling University."
Wow!
The entire canteen at Guangling University erupted in an uproar.
A note from the author:
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