Chapter 1016 Intentional Murder? (2/3)

Chapter 1016 Intentional murder? (twenty three)

early morning.

Lu Zhou was sitting in the cafeteria of the Corinthia Hotel, enjoying bread and coffee, while logging into his mailbox to check unread emails as usual, and logged into Arxiv to browse a few of them, such as number theory, algebraic geometry, and differential manifolds. The latest research results in the direction of the trace are marked.

These days, the entire mathematics world is very quiet, and there is not much interesting news released. On professional academic forums such as mathoverfolw, most of the discussions are not academic issues, and are replaced by some gossip about the mathematics world.

Even if not everyone has received an invitation to the IMU conference, almost the vast majority of mathematicians are paying attention to this world event that is about to open in St. Petersburg.

While Lu Zhou was browsing a post about the Fields Award prediction voting, a big Russian man with sunglasses on his collar sat opposite him and whistled.

"Can I trouble you to stay in the hotel as much as possible today?"

Averting his gaze from the computer screen, Lu Zhou turned his questioning gaze to him.

"What happened?"

"If I have to say something, there are indeed some problems," Maxim said in a chatty tone after taking off his sunglasses and wiping them with a cloth. Several lines of dirty code. And according to our Office of National Security Intelligence analysis, this may be a premeditated operation."

Lu Zhou was speechless: "... Could this be unplanned?"

"You didn't understand what I meant," Maxim said with a slight smile when he looked up at Lu Zhou, "I mean, this may be a premeditated murder against you."

The atmosphere at the table froze instantly.

As if he had been hit by a silence spell, he became quiet.

This is probably the first time.

His life safety was really threatened.

His throat was slightly dry, so Lu Zhou raised his coffee cup and took a sip.

After recovering his composure in three seconds, he put down the coffee cup and said calmly.

"...To be honest, it's a bit far-fetched. It's just a malfunction of the nuclear power plant, and it's a bit too far-fetched to be connected to murder."

Blow up a nuclear power plant to deal with him...

Next to the Helios nuclear power plant is St. Petersburg, the second largest city in Russia. No matter how clean and safe the controlled fusion technology is, it still has the word nuclear.

If things come to light, I'm afraid this is not just a simple issue of regional disputes.

Even if it is sliding to the brink of war, Lu Zhou will not feel strange.

"More than 80% of the possibilities, at least we feel that someone's strategic value is obviously more important than the Helios fusion power station, and can successfully destroy the friendly relations between us and neighboring countries. After all, if you are really here Russia is in trouble, and that's not something you can just say 'we're deeply sorry' for."

Putting the clean sunglasses on the bridge of his nose, Maxim raised his eyebrows to Lu Zhou, pushed aside the chair and stood up.

Through the sunglasses, he stared at Lu Zhou seriously, and continued.

"In short, the current situation is that someone intends to harm you, and we are not sure whether they have a 'plan B' waiting for you after the failure of 'plan A', so in order to avoid accidents, I still hope that you can try to limit the scope of your activities It is controlled in this hotel. Here we are 100% sure to guarantee your safety, but if it is too far away from here, this number may only be 90%, or even 80%. "

"I see," Lu Zhou nodded, looked away from Maxim's face, and continued to look at the computer screen, "Although I don't know who thinks so highly of me, but I will try to limit the scope of activities to the hotel inner."

Originally, he didn't plan to wander around outside during the IMU conference.

Now that someone is eyeing him, it's better to be cautious.

"The basic situation is like this. I have one more important thing to deal with later, so I won't stay here. I wish you a happy day."

After gesturing goodbye, Maxim walked towards the entrance of the cafeteria with a smile.

However, when passing by Lu Zhou's seat, he suddenly glanced left and right, pretended to lower his body carefully, and whispered something.

"...that place with many good girls, I'm afraid I'll take you there next time I have a chance."

Hearing this sudden sound, Lu Zhou, who had just taken a sip of coffee, almost choked.

Coughing dryly and putting down the cup, Lu Zhou took a tissue and wiped his mouth, then said with a dark face.

"……No, thanks."

"Haha, don't be shy, my friend. Apart from science, life has many other funs worth pursuing. If it wasn't for this accident, I really want to take you to see it, but... or next time Let’s talk about it again.”

Maxim patted him on the shoulder with a hearty smile, and then swaggered away.

The news that the Helios fusion reactor ignition plan was postponed did not affect the tranquility of St. Petersburg. Even Pravda, an authoritative newspaper that represents the official mouthpiece, only mentions it lightly on the last page. Because of various reasons such as the holding of the IMU conference and the visit of scholars from various countries, it was originally scheduled to The ignition, which was scheduled to start at the beginning of the month, will be delayed by a week.

However, even with regard to the postponement of the ignition plan, the Russian official just took it lightly. However, many people with a keen sense of politics can still smell something unusual from a series of clues such as "the president who visited the three Baltic countries returned home early", "the manager of the St. Petersburg branch of the unified power company was arrested for accepting bribes in his position" .

It's like an invisible storm is brewing over St. Petersburg and even the entire Russian power system...

On the afternoon of the day when Massim left the Corinthia Hotel, scholars from all over the world began to arrive at this five-star hotel that was almost vacated for the International Congress of Mathematicians.

In fact, as early as yesterday, many people had already arrived here.

For example, Lu Zhou's tutor at Princeton, Professor Deligne, and Professor Fefferman, who had cooperated with him on NS equations, and Farr, who was said to be planning to make a big news before retiring. Professor Tings.

And this, Lu Zhou only knew at breakfast.

However, compared to old friends such as Deligne and Professor Fefferman, it was the figure standing in the hotel lobby with a suitcase that really made Lu Zhou's mood fluctuate significantly.

The satin-like blond hair was tied into a slender ponytail at the back of the head, against the backdrop of the long white dress, it was as dazzling as the floating light on the winter snow. The slender shoulders and the contours of the body looked a little fuller than four years ago, but for some reason, the unreliable feeling made people care more than four years ago.

Lu Zhou, who was coming out of the cafeteria and walking towards the elevator through the lobby, recognized her at a glance.

As if feeling his sight, Vera, who was standing in the middle of the hotel lobby with a suitcase, also caught a glimpse of the familiar figure from the crowd.

"professor……"

Shouting in a low voice, surprise and surprise were instantly written in those sapphire-like pupils.

With her right hand, she let go of the handle of the tow bar of the suitcase, leaving the suitcase in place, and ran towards the direction of the landing boat at a trot.

According to the principle of inertia in Newtonian Mechanics, if she does not slow down and continue to move forward at this time, the next action will probably collide with Lu Zhou.

However, this outrageous action was a little too exciting for a certain girl.

Under the influence of a series of physiological effects such as shame and tension, as the distance between her and Lu Zhou got closer, her galloping steps finally slowed down like lead.

Standing still in front of Lu Zhou, Vera, whose cheeks were flushed because of running or something, stretched out her hand and quickly smoothed the fluttering hair on her forehead, and said with a shy expression.

"……haven't seen you for a long time."

"It's been a long time." Seeing this familiar face, Lu Zhou smiled, "Is your body okay?"

"Well... I'm fine, don't worry about me."

Although he got an affirmative answer, Lu Zhou couldn't let go of the eyes that suddenly dodged for some reason.

Just when Lu Zhou was about to ask questions, the sound of high heels stepping on the granite floor came from the side.

"You're making people even more worried."

The two looked over there at the same time, and saw that Molina, who was carrying her own suitcase in one hand and picked up Vera's suitcase in the other, had already walked beside them.

Because I only saw her in Jinling last year, compared to Vera, Lu Zhou's impression of Molina has not changed much.

The only thing that has changed is that the long windbreaker to keep out the cold has been replaced by a gray-green short coat.

The slightly boyish short hair over the ears, combined with the striped white shirt and khaki trousers, gives people the feeling of being on the streets of Paris in the last century.

Hearing Molina's words, Vera hesitated a little and whispered.

"Eh? Is there?"

"I think if you have any problems, it's better to speak up. A certain person is notoriously protective, and you are his precious apprentice. He can definitely find a way to help you solve it."

"No, I'm really fine...don't worry about me please."

Seemingly feeling the pressure from Molina's questioning, Vera, who took the handle of the suitcase's tow bar from her, said thank you in a low voice, then walked quickly towards the elevator with the suitcase in her hand, even Forgot to say goodbye to Lu Zhou.

Seeing the back of Vera walking towards the elevator, Lu Zhou pulled Molina next to her and asked seriously.

"Aren't you her teammate? Don't you know anything about her?"

"Obviously, my teammate didn't fully open up to me. Besides, even if I knew about it, without her permission, do you think I would tell you the privacy of a lady?"

Rolling her eyes at Lu Zhou, Molina pulled back her sleeves, and quickly chased towards the elevator with her suitcase.

Looking in the direction of the elevator with a complicated expression, Lu Zhou fell silent.

At this moment, another familiar voice with a bit of joy suddenly came from the side.

"professor!"

Attracted by the voice, Lu Zhou immediately turned his head away, and saw a young man with darker complexion and curly hair holding the arm of a Latino beauty with darker complexion and long slightly curly hair , greeted him warmly with his free right hand.

Seeing that Lu Zhou didn't seem to react, this guy continued to shout as if he was afraid that he would forget himself.

"Hey, Professor! I'm Hardy! You haven't forgotten me, have you?"

"Of course I know it's you, it just takes a little time to digest this huge amount of information..."

His eyes wandered back and forth between Hardy and the beautiful woman who greeted him next to him, Lu Zhou opened his mouth, and it took a long time before he spit out a sentence, "Are you...already married?"

With a hearty smile and neat white teeth on his face, Hardy rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, and said with a smile, "Of course! Anyway, I have graduated with a Ph.D. for so many years, and I am not young anymore. They are already professors. It would be too pitiful not to be married again."

Lu Zhou: "..."

This guy is really the same as before when it comes to underplaying. He always likes to add a superfluous sentence after a sentence that is not wrong.

Sure enough, he shouldn't have graduated so early in the first place.

Seemingly aware of the unkindness in Lu Zhou's eyes, Hardy greeted him with some guilt, and then walked towards the elevator with his newly married wife.

According to him, they got married two months ago, and this time they came to St. Petersburg, apart from attending the IMU conference, another thing was to spend their honeymoon.

The reason why I chose to arrange the honeymoon itinerary with the IMU conference is because if I apply to the school in the name of attending the IMU conference, the school will not only allow paid vacation and reimburse travel expenses, but also give them a certain amount of difference. travel allowance...

After attending the IMU conference, they will also fly to Italy and Greece in the name of connecting flights.

Among all the people Lu Zhou knew, only Hardy seemed to be able to do this kind of trickery...

Besides Hardy, Lu Zhou also met Qin Yue in the hotel lobby.

Compared with four years ago, the change of this young man can be said to be earth-shaking from the inside to the outside.

I remember that when he first came to Princeton, this young man was quite honest and dull. Now he not only treats people but also talks, giving people a very reliable feeling.

Seeing his students getting better and better, Lu Zhou was naturally very happy.

The only thing that made him a little bit disappointed was that Vera still refused to confess to him what happened to her body...

Hopefully, as she said, it's not a big deal.

But Lu Zhou always felt that things might not be as simple as he imagined...