Chapter Forty: A Remarkable Birth

With a snap, the computer connected directly to the robot, finding the proper port. A program on the computer began to run, and the robot was rebooting. The formatted machine was now receiving new instructions.

"Boss!"

Zhu Lan nodded with satisfaction. "Record this!"

"Yes!" The robot took the computer, a cable extending from its body to connect them. A few minutes later, it gently set the computer down; smoke rose from the device, indicating it was thoroughly ruined.

"Can you carry out the actions recorded in Plan Seventeen?"

The robot's eyes flickered ceaselessly. "Reporting, Boss. I can only achieve sixty-seven point eight three two six seven percent. My processing power does not reach the required value. A more advanced intelligent chip is needed!"

Zhu Lan had anticipated this and felt no disappointment.

The backdrop of "Wall-E" is an ecological collapse on Earth, with humanity building a space city so the remnants of the species can survive in the universe, managed entirely by robots until Wall-E brings news that Earth is habitable again.

The technology in "Wall-E" isn't especially advanced. If truly needed, the collective wisdom of Earth's people could create a robot like Wall-E. In the film, Wall-E is merely a worker who, over time, develops unique programming—in essence, evolution.

Wall-E's purpose is to clean up Earth's garbage. The robot Zhu Lan has manifested now is merely a standard transport robot, but the intelligence program within it would take decades to develop.

To completely forget Earth, the passage of time would have to be immense.

The spaceship's robot technology, by today's standards, is at least a century ahead, and considering it was created by pooling global expertise, it's a minimum of two centuries ahead. Unfortunately, this is only civilian technology.

Still, it would suffice for Zhu Lan's current needs.

"From now on, your name is Qite!"

"Qite, input complete. Thank you, Boss!" Qite's eyes flashed peculiarly as it circled Zhu Lan incessantly.

"Anti-gravity?" Zhu Lan watched Qite move without touching the ground and realized this was an application of anti-gravity.

"No, Boss. This is levitation technology!"

"Levitation? I was overthinking." Levitation was something Zhu Lan understood.

Zhu Lan had devised many plans, both for the company and for personal growth, and had recorded them all in the computer.

The computer was specially built—only able to store information, incapable of connecting to any network. Zhu Lan had no need to worry about data theft, for the layers of insurance meant total peace of mind.

Now, there was no further concern, as all the data had been fully transferred into Qite's body.

"Qite, connect to the network!"

"Yes!"

A faint spark flickered from Qite's body.

"Boss, the connection is successful!"

"Quickly, give me a summary: how far along are the plans I'm working on?"

Qite's eyes projected countless beams, forming a virtual screen. Famous websites appeared before Zhu Lan, and popular threads spun rapidly.

Unable even to blink, Zhu Lan watched as posts with hundreds of thousands, even millions of replies whirled by. He smiled, for all these threads were about the gene optimization solution.

"Excellent, excellent!" Seeing the plan succeed, Zhu Lan swept away his fatigue.

"Qite, with your processing power, can you infiltrate national-level servers?"

Qite shook its head. "Processing power insufficient. Qite is not a specialized robot and lacks infiltration functions. To do so, I would need to connect to a mainframe and load new capabilities!"

Connect to a mainframe? Forget it! In "Wall-E," the intelligent mainframe managing the whole ship is formidable. Extracting it? Red Queen would be more plausible.

Zhu Lan was only asking—if infiltration were possible, he'd have another card up his sleeve. Not that it would threaten much, but governments still maintain extensive public networks.

Qite's technology is impressive, but Earth is no slouch. In the field of artificial intelligence, nations are already brushing against the boundary, and it's possible that rudimentary intelligent systems have already emerged in secret.

In terms of intelligence, Qite is only a basic smart robot. Before, it was merely pseudo-intelligent; after loading the emotional program from the computer, it barely qualified as an elementary intelligent robot.

"Qite, could your existence be discovered?"

Qite didn't answer, its lights flickering incessantly.

"According to Qite's calculations, current Earth technology gives about a seven percent chance of Qite's existence being detected."

"Seven percent?"

Zhu Lan pondered. Seven percent meant Earth wasn't as simple as he had imagined—there were deep, hidden forces at play.

But it made sense. The Star Wars era was a contest between the Soviet Union and the United States, but truly it was a battle between two blocs.

Most people know the American moon landing was fake.

The Soviet space program failed, resulting in the USSR's collapse.

Did America succeed? Not necessarily. The Soviets built a space station, but the supposedly superior Americans couldn't build one.

More suspicious still, now that China has begun building space stations, America is unable to construct one, nor does it have plans in that direction.

Japan is planning to build its own space station, and even India is considering constructing one in the coming decades.

Is it possible America would permit these countries to fly over its homeland at will? Impossible.

Whether the moon landing was real or not, no one knows, but from the recent declassified information, the case for it being fake is stronger.

So where did America's research go?

America remains Earth's dominant power, that much is beyond question, but what lurks in the shadows, nobody knows.

Now Qite says there's a seven percent chance of being discovered, meaning Earth may have entities on par with Qite.

"Looks like I need to make some changes!"

"Qite, from now on manage everything about the company. I want to know the status at any moment. Be careful not to let other company members find out."

"Yes, Boss!"

"Good, go over there! If anyone enters, activate the camouflage."

With instructions given, Zhu Lan left the basement. He hadn't slept all night and was exhausted.

He drifted off, but the world was beginning to ripple.

Early in the morning, Lan Tianxin began sending invitations to capable companies worldwide. Not every company could receive one—the minimum threshold was assets of ten billion.

Zhu Lan had tasked Lan Tianxin with targeting every company in every nation. Of these, only about a tenth—no, only five percent—were aware of Fantasy Technology, or rather, the gene optimization solution.

Now Zhu Lan needed everyone to know.

Of course, Zhu Lan knew it was impossible for everyone to attend; if a tenth came, he'd already be successful.

He couldn't resist national pressure, but a few tricks were still possible.

Being led by the nose by the state was unpleasant for anyone.

Moreover, this was an excellent publicity opportunity.

Whether they attended or not, news of the gene optimization solution had truly entered the sights of all major players.

There were plenty of clever people; Zhu Lan needed a battle, not a gang of thieves splitting a big cake—with himself as the delicious cake.

Smack!

"Damn it, he's courting death!"

In Beijing, atop a towering building with two hundred seventy-eight floors, an angry voice echoed.

"Enough, stop it. You've already smashed plenty this month!"

Five people sat in the room, all sharing one thing in common: youth. All were men in their twenties—except for one woman.

"Li, relax! Do you really want to mess with him?"

"Hmph, who knows what those old fogies upstairs are thinking, protecting this garbage!"

"Long, there are things you don't know," the woman, Su Mei, replied.

"What do you mean, Su Mei?"

Long looked at the only woman, clearly annoyed.

"Enough, don't take it out on Mei. Let me explain."

"Hmph." Long grunted, but didn't pursue the matter further, sipping coffee from the table.

"As everyone knows, the producer of the gene optimization solution is Fantasy Technology in Tiannan Province. There's no need to elaborate on the solution—you're all familiar. What I want to discuss is the company's boss: Zhu Lan."

"What's there to say? He's just a poor nobody," Long retorted.

"No, Long, that's where you're wrong. Superficially, yes, Zhu Lan's background is ordinary, but what's behind him is not. His teacher is Qin Min—yes, Aunt Qin. Though she's not in Beijing, who among us would dare disrespect her?"

Long hesitated, said nothing, and took a casual sip of coffee.

"Of course, Zhu Lan's identity alone wouldn't earn Qin Min's protection, but he's a genius—a genius the state shields!"

"You mean to say he developed the gene optimization solution?"

Another quickly grasped the point.

"No. The gene optimization solution is something any of us could easily acquire. It's merely a generalized gene reagent. The real prize is something else—the state values it highly. Not just us, even our elders wouldn't move against Zhu Lan lightly!"

"Oh? What is it?" Long perked up.

"Gene enhancement solution—a reagent specifically designed to strengthen human genetics. It's a future gene medicine, once only imagined. With it, human capabilities could be boosted—it's a strategic-level asset!"

ps: The New Year is approaching. I wanted to do some business, but it's so hard. After a day of breathing dust, I barely earned enough for groceries.