Super God-Level Top Student

Nine years of compulsory education may not have told everyone how much weight the Huaxia Science Progress Award and the highest science awards carry, but the textbook passages about Madame Curie "A Beauty that Spans a Century" indirectly mention the Nobel Prize at an enlightening stage.

By the time students reach middle school, "The First Nobel Prizes Issued" further instills the original intent behind the establishment of the Nobel Prize in everyone's minds.

"The Nobel Prize is awarded annually to those who, in the past year, have made contributions to humanity in the fields of physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and peace efforts."

There are actually many major awards in the field of natural sciences, but in Huaxia, the most influential is definitely the Nobel Prize.

This award is also directly linked to the world's top awards in the minds of many Huaxia people; as for other awards, well, they're just that—other.

It's like when Qiao Ze first searched online for Nobel Prize judging methods, the questions on Zhihu were all based on the Nobel Prize, not others like the Fields Medal, Abel Prize, Turing Award, Crafoord Prize, and so on.

The series of news coming from Across the Ocean this time really tore apart the beautiful perception and reverence countless Huaxia people had for the Nobel Prize.

What does "once in a lifetime" mean?

This is freaking it!

It even caused many people to become confused, starting to argue online.

"No way? That's the Nobel Prize, right? How could it be unfair?"

"Why talk about unfairness? The Crafoord Prize's judging method is exactly the same as the Nobel's, so if a minor Langley can change the outcome of the Crafoord Prize with just one sentence, couldn't the Nobel be the same?"

"First off, that's not some minor official; it's the influential Director Langley. Secondly, it was not just a sentence; it was a threat."

"So what? What are you trying to say? That you know better than the former Nobel laureates?"

"Stop arguing, stop arguing, I just want to know what they are after. Surely the whole world isn't just bombarding the Nobel Prize because Qiao Ze didn't win the Crafoord Prize, right?"

"Damn, this perspective is so freaking unique, yet it seems to explain everything."

"God Qiao is so terrifying! But if it's true... Xilin University of Technology is destined to become legendary!"

"Sorry, the ones upstairs, Xilin University of Technology has already become legendary. I suggest you check this year's enrollment scores for Xilin University of Technology."

...

Yes, for many netizens, the whole affair is too fantastical.

From the perspective of ordinary people, after the official announcement of the Crafoord Prize, it didn't generate any buzz in Huaxia at all.

Apart from the academic community, not many people even knew that the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences operated such an award.

Not to mention the Xilin Mathematics Research Institute did not make any comments on this matter, and as for Qiao Ze himself, he did not express any opinion publicly.

Everyone gradually learned about it because Dou Dou suddenly complained online, and then netizens found out that Qiao Ze had established the Qiaoze Natural Science Award, to commend scientists worldwide for their contributions to the advancement of human civilization, and that Dou Dou was managing it.

Even then, everyone was indignant and rushed out to defend Dou Dou.

To everyone's surprise, before they could make much of an impact, the other side blew up on their own!

It started with an American Forbes journalist revealing that the current acting U.S. Director Langley went to Sweden to threaten the Royal Academy of Sciences not to award Qiao Ze, forcibly changing the candidate for the Crafoord Prize using heavy-handed methods.

Then, all hell broke loose on their side!

First with the director resigning out of fear of legal consequences, student protests, and various criticisms and commotions in the academic circle, just as everyone sat down with their popcorn, waiting to see how the United States would resolve this, the winds suddenly shifted, and a bunch of academic bigwigs stood up to directly criticize the Nobel Prize...

Everyone was dumbfounded, and even felt a sense of absurdity. What on earth is happening?!

Xilin was just creating the Qiaoze Natural Science Award, blatantly revealing their ambition to rival the Nobel. But before they even began their publicity campaign, Mei already rushed to the forefront, tarnishing the reputation of the Nobel Prize. Are they trying to elevate the Qiaoze Natural Science Award?

Mei... What are you up to?!

Even Mei took the initiative to vindicate artificial intelligence; one moment the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences was declaring war on AI judging systems, the next moment Mei's own prestigious award was considering introducing AI. Who the heck are allies with whom in this?

Ordinary people might just watch for fun, but for those who like to think independently, this series of brazen moves is really pushing their brains to overload, nearly smoking from the strain, unable to find the underlying logic.

It makes no sense at all! Who exactly is Mei's targeting? Why the sudden ambiguity? How should they position themselves?

Could it be the Americans love Qiao Ze so much that they are willing to sacrifice the core interests of their allies to help the world science award established by Qiao Ze rise to prominence?

Otherwise, none of this makes any sense.

It couldn't be that Dou Dou just sent out a sobbing Weibo post and it made the Americans feel pity and stand up for him, could it?

The Dou Dou of the world?!

Not just for the world of ordinary people, but emotions within the Huaxia academic community are extremely conflicted as well.

Literally, one just watches in the sphere of public opinion as the reputation of the Nobel Prize quickly becomes a joke.

One can only say that those on the other side are truly ruthless; A single satirical cartoon has gone viral on Facebook and Twitter, and even spread to Huaxia's internet.