Chapter 30 The Compression Algorithm is Complete
Lu Yu was absorbed in the endless steps, soon losing track of time, and only returned to his room to sleep late into the night. Both women had already gone to bed, and Lu Yu didn’t sneak into their room.
When he woke up the next day, the two women had already left for work. After ordering breakfast, Lu Yu dove right back into coding, forgetting to eat or rest.
Time slipped by, relentless as ever.
...
On this day, Lu Yu finally wrote the last line of code in his hands. With some trepidation, he ran it on another computer acting as a temporary server.
He stared unblinkingly at the screen as lines of code flashed past, not wanting to miss a single detail. The computer fan whirred madly, buzzing as it battled to keep the machine cool.
After a long while, Lu Yu finally saw the results on the screen and a smile broke out on his face.
A compression ratio of eight to one—meaning what once required eight gigabytes now needed only one. Though it wasn’t yet lossless compression, that was only because of some bugs in the code. With a few more runs, a few more experiments, he could iron out those bugs and achieve lossless compression.
This should be worth a fair sum, shouldn’t it?
Thinking this, Lu Yu grinned like a delighted auntie, chuckling to himself.
But for now, he hadn’t figured out how to monetize the algorithm, so he decided to set it aside until the right time came.
After saving the code, Lu Yu stood up to stretch, his joints cracking audibly.
...
Checking the time, he glanced into the living room—both women had already gone to bed early, exhausted from work.
He lit a cigarette, and with nothing else to do, called Chen Xiaofei.
When the call connected, Chen Xiaofei asked, “What’s up?”
Lu Yu gazed at the night sky outside the window and, without missing a beat, said, “Tonight the sky is clear as crystal, the sun is shining, not a cloud in sight—perfect weather for drifting along with the waves, no paddle needed.”
Chen Xiaofei replied, “Tsk, I’ve got you on speaker, voice chat is on, and Zhang Kexin and Qianqian are listening in.”
Lu Yu coughed, deepening his voice: “Ahem, who is this? What do you want? My little brother was just playing with my phone.”
Chen Xiaofei laughed, “When did you get a brother? How come I don’t know? Last time I visited, there was no mention of him!”
Lu Yu sighed, “Ah, just met him. Life’s not easy, saw him handing out flyers, felt sorry for him, so I took him in.”
Chen Xiaofei said, “I don’t believe a word! So, is there something or not?”
Lu Yu replied, “Nothing really, just solved a big problem—like last time. I’m in a good mood, was thinking of inviting you out for some late-night snacks.”
Chen Xiaofei quipped, “You sure it’s just snacks?”
Lu Yu said, “No idea what you’re implying. I’m pure as can be.”
Chen Xiaofei suggested, “Wanna play some shooting games?”
Lu Yu answered, “You mean the kind where you not only take down enemies but loot their bodies while they’re warm?”
It took Chen Xiaofei a moment to catch on, then burst out laughing, “Exactly, that kind.”
Lu Yu said, “Alright, I’ll boot up and download the game now.”
...
Lu Yu went to the study, turned on a computer, downloaded the gaming platform, logged in, and started downloading the game. The home internet was fast, and it was done in just over ten minutes. He downloaded the voice chat software as well and joined Chen Xiaofei’s game channel.
Lu Yu: “Hello, hello.”
Chen Xiaofei: “I hear you. Game finished downloading?”
Lu Yu: “What else? Would I be chatting here if it wasn’t?”
Chen Xiaofei: “Wait up, we’re still finishing this round.”
Lu Yu: “Go ahead, I’ll wait.”
Qianqian, Zhang Kexin, and Chen Xiaofei were besieging a house in-game. After a fierce fight, they took out the enemies and rushed in to loot. But as they moved in, the enemy—who had been about to throw a grenade—was killed, and the grenade exploded, taking them out too.
Their joy at looting was abruptly cut short as their screens went black and the voice channel fell silent.
...
Lu Yu chuckled as he tuned into the voice channel, sighing, “Ah, what a tragic story…”
Zhang Kexin bristled, “Lu, stop with the sarcasm!”
Lu Yu replied, “Who’s being sarcastic? I’m just expressing my feelings. I know you guys are looking out for me, didn’t want me to wait too long, so you did this on purpose. I get it!”
Zhang Kexin was so mad she could barely speak, “You’re thinking of peaches!”
Lu Yu replied, “Thank you for your sacrifice so I wouldn’t have to wait!”
Qianqian’s lips twitched, probably just as exasperated as Zhang Kexin. Chen Xiaofei chimed in, fanning the flames, “You two, I get that I wanted to loot, but why were you in such a hurry? I could’ve carried whatever you wanted!”
Zhang Kexin and Qianqian both fell silent: “……”
Lu Yu said, “I saw the beginning, but never guessed the ending.”
Qianqian, biting her lip as she listened to Lu Yu’s teasing, thought to herself, just wait until we’re in the game—I’ll show you!
Lu Yu clicked his tongue, “Tsk, the twist came so fast, like a tornado. I can’t bear to think about it, I can’t, I just can’t…”
Qianqian said nothing, but her eyes flashed dangerously.
...
Soon, the four of them were in the plane, landing in a secluded corner. Lu Yu had just finished searching two houses when a teammate ran over. Before he could react, he was knocked down by a shotgun blast, and the teammate walked away… just walked away…
Lu Yu lay on the ground, desolate, staring at the departing ID—it was none other than Qianqian. He was speechless.
So this is what a woman is like?
An angry woman is truly fearsome!
After a while, with his health bar nearly empty, Qianqian sauntered back, beaming, “How’s that for a twist? Did you see it coming?”
She even fired the shotgun into the ground beside him, making it clear that if he didn’t behave, who knew where the next shot would go.
Lu Yu drew a deep breath in disbelief—was this really the Qianqian he knew?
Qianqian had always been gentle, quiet, and aloof, hadn’t she? Had Zhang Kexin possessed her?
After a few seconds of silence, Lu Yu realized he had no choice but to bow his head and said gently, “I apologize for my earlier words and am deeply remorseful.”
Chen Xiaofei and Zhang Kexin watched gleefully from the sidelines, laughing so hard they could barely breathe.
Qianqian snorted haughtily, then finally revived Lu Yu’s character in the game.
But who was Lu Yu? Chen Xiaofei called him “birdman”—could he really apologize so meekly? As soon as Qianqian revived him, Lu Yu didn’t even heal, just whipped out his submachine gun and went to spray at Qianqian.
But Qianqian was ready; before he could fire more than two shots, she downed him with the shotgun again.
Lu Yu sighed deeply, dragging his wounded character desperately toward Chen Xiaofei, with Qianqian trailing him every step of the way.
...
On voice chat, Chen Xiaofei and Zhang Kexin were in stitches, one slapping the desk, the other banging the mouse, both laughing so hard they couldn’t speak.
Qianqian, watching Lu Yu crawl on the ground, was immensely satisfied. She knew that Lu Yu was up to no good and would definitely try to retaliate!
Lu Yu realized that today’s Qianqian was no longer the Qianqian he used to know.
He missed the old Qianqian—so gentle, even when drunk.
Clearly today was not his lucky day; nothing was going smoothly. Next time, he’d have to check the almanac before going out.
When Lu Yu’s health was almost gone, Qianqian finally revived him again.
After getting up, Lu Yu quietly bandaged himself, while Qianqian kept a wary eye on him.
Lu Yu lit a cigarette, his tone deep and tinged with sadness, “Qianqian.”
Qianqian: “Hmm?”
Lu Yu: “You’ve changed! You’re no longer the Qianqian I once knew! Time flies, and you’re not the same as you were at the start!”
Qianqian knew he was being melodramatic and didn’t bother to reply, rolling her eyes triumphantly.
Their banter and mock fights made the time fly by.
...
Near one o’clock, they finished their game.
Lu Yu shut down the computer and went back to his room to wash up.
Soaking in the bathtub, Lu Yu mulled over the cosmetics company.
Calculating, he realized that budget products had the lowest profit—only about threefold—but would probably sell the most once launched.
High-end products, on the other hand, had higher margins, though sales might be a bit lower.
Given the company’s current size and strength, they could only compete in the domestic market for now, not yet ready to challenge the headquarters of international giants.
Lu Yu looked forward to the day when he could go conquer new markets, feeling a rush of satisfaction at the thought.
...