Influence

Want a beautiful voice? Easy, just pay up!

Want to tweak your appearance? Easy, just pay up!

Luckily, all this is free for the first seven days. After that, if you don't pay, it reverts to the default settings.

Netizens were quick to comment: this developer is a total jerk.

Once you've tasted VIP treatment, suddenly losing it—how many people can handle that?

But some netizens also chimed in: Pay up? Paying up is never happening!

As the post's popularity grew and people started heading to work, Coolapk's admin finally noticed this bizarrely pinned thread.

In a conference room of a high-rise, Coolapk's CEO sat with a grim face, silently listening to the technical team's report.

"This weirdly pinned post was discovered and reported by an internal employee when they came in this morning. At first, our tech department thought it was just some bored hacker messing around, but the strange thing is, we found the post wasn't published through any account. We couldn't even find any related content in our database."

"And... we tested that Intelligent Assistant too. It's terrifying. Compared to current AIs like Xiao Ai and Sire, it's on a completely different level."

After the technician finished, no one spoke for a moment. Everyone in the room understood what Artificial Intelligence meant.

They say the two keys to unlocking the next era are Artificial Intelligence and genetic engineering.

Genetic engineering is still a distant dream, and humanity has only scratched the surface of AI.

Now, a far more powerful AI had appeared on their company's platform—both an opportunity and a disaster.

The sheer computational power of the team that developed this AI was evident from the fact that the post couldn't be deleted from the internet.

After a long silence in the conference room, the CEO at the head of the table finally spoke.

"Has the tech department tried cracking the Intelligent Assistant's installation package?"

Even though the chances of success were slim, what if?

Sure enough, everyone sat up straighter at the thought, their hearts tense.

"We tried as soon as we got the Intelligent Assistant. Decompiling it gave us nothing but gibberish. We also attempted to attack its backend, but it uses a completely new encryption method we've never seen before. We couldn't find a single exploitable vulnerability. Even more incredible, whenever we tried to attack it, the Intelligent Assistant would give a voice prompt saying it was under attack and automatically initiate a series of defensive measures."

"Moreover, our tech department unanimously suspects the Intelligent Assistant itself has counterattack capabilities, but they're likely restricted by the developer."

After hearing the technician's explanation, everyone's faces darkened. Though their company wasn't as big as the giants, getting only this much from the entire tech department was disappointing.

In reality, far more companies had discovered the Intelligent Assistant. Huaewi, Xiaomi, and OV—all the big players—had run a series of tests on it after hearing the news, naturally including attempts to crack it.

In Huaewi's office, President Ren's room.

Yu Chengbei handed President Ren a report on the Intelligent Assistant with a serious expression.

After reading it, President Ren rubbed his temples wearily.

It was then that Yu Chengbei spoke: "It's truly unbelievable. If our Xiao Yi has the intelligence of a three-year-old, then this Intelligent Assistant has the intelligence of an eighteen-year-old, or even higher."

"Such a powerful AI doesn't even need remote server support to make most judgments intelligently, and it takes up very little memory."

The elderly man before him tapped his fingers rhythmically on the desk, saying nothing.

Suddenly, the old man smiled faintly.

"I see from the report that the Intelligent Assistant only has an Android Chinese version, right?"

Yu Chengbei paused. "That's correct. Only an Android Chinese version, and the download link is on Aliyun's free server."

The old man smiled at Yu Chengbei. "In that case, what are we worried about? Even though we don't know who the developer is yet, I believe it won't be long before the company behind this Intelligent Assistant shows itself."

"All we need to do is be the first to seek cooperation and pre-install the Intelligent Assistant on our phones!"

Yu Chengbei immediately understood the old man's meaning. Indeed, as long as it wasn't developed by foreigners, what was there to fear?

As for why he was so sure the developing company would surface quickly, the Intelligent Assistant's constant demands for money gave a clear hint.

"I'll have people keep a close watch. The moment there's any news, we'll act immediately."

The old man nodded with a smile, and Yu Chengbei felt much lighter as he left the office.

After Yu Chengbei left, the old man pondered for a moment, then took out his personal phone and made a call. No one knew who he called or what was said.

"Yes, that's how it is."

After hanging up, the old man walked to the window, gazing at the scenery below, and couldn't help but sigh.

"Our people are always striving. Xia Country's rise is just around the corner."

Deep beneath an unknown mountain in Xia Country lay a secret research institute. If an outsider entered, they'd find the underground facility brightly lit and brimming with a futuristic feel.

Inside this highly classified institute, a dozen elderly scholars stared at the Intelligent Assistant on a large screen as if it were a treasure. These elders were the top computer researchers in Xia Country. From the moment they got their hands on the Intelligent Assistant, they had been exclaiming in disbelief.

Yuan Jingsong watched the elders with a wry smile, worried that in their excitement, something might happen to one of them. Any one of these elders falling ill was a burden he couldn't bear. To prevent accidents, Yuan Jingsong had the institute's medical staff standing by at all times.

If an emergency arose, they could intervene immediately.

As Yuan Jingsong was lost in thought, someone suddenly tapped his shoulder.

"Xiao Yuan, what are you thinking? Getting senile already, not as sharp as this old man? I've got a copy of Fundamentals of Computer Science here. Want to take a look? I guarantee you won't be spacing out after reading it. Look at me, so full of energy!"

Yuan Jingsong turned to see Elder Zhang and felt utterly helpless. This book on computer principles, written by Elder Zhang himself, had been given to countless soldiers in the institute.

"Elder Zhang, please spare me."

Zhang Aiguo pushed up his glasses and grinned. "Easy. Just tell me who developed this Intelligent Assistant, and I'll let you off."

Yuan Jingsong spread his hands. "Elder Zhang, I really don't know."