A One-of-a-Kind Press Conference

"Since Mr. Zhou is being so sincere, refusing again would be a little too full of myself. Happy cooperation!"

Chu Feng rose to his feet and extended his right hand.

"Happy cooperation!" Zhou Hongwei stood as well and shook his hand, though bitterness filled his heart. The waves behind the Yangtze River drove those before them onward. He and the others were truly getting old.

After signing two letters of intent, Chu Feng handed one to Zhou Hongwei and said with a smile, "Mr. Zhou, there's a press conference later today. I hope you'll attend. You won't be disappointed."

Hearing Chu Feng's invitation, Zhou Hongwei was happy to see what today's press conference had in store. He nodded and agreed.

Before long, Chu Feng arrived outside the International Assembly Hall.

There were many foreign guests today, so security was extremely strict. Many internet celebrities and the like were stopped outside, unable to get in at all.

Chu Feng had a special entrance, and just as he was about to go in, he unexpectedly spotted an old acquaintance—Xue Qing.

Xue Qing had also been stopped outside. The same cameraman was still behind her, and the two of them were squeezed about by the crowd, swaying this way and that with helpless expressions.

Xue Qing saw Chu Feng too, but she did not call out to him. She had his contact information, yet she had never taken the initiative to contact him.

Because of what happened last time, Xue Qing had received a gold-tier contract from Douyu, and her popularity had soared. The Super Rockets Chu Feng had gifted her had also filled her wallet. After Chu Feng turned down her dinner invitation, she had been too embarrassed to contact him again. The gap between them was simply too great.

"Hello, are you Miss Xue Qing?"

"Yes, I am."

A security guard hurried over to ask, leaving Xue Qing somewhat confused.

"Mr. Chu arranged for you to enter. Please come with me."

The guard's words stunned Xue Qing for a moment, followed by overwhelming delight.

She had not expected Chu Feng to still remember her, much less arrange for her to enter.

The viewers in Xue Qing's livestream exploded as well.

Xue Qing knows Wind God?

I told you Chu Feng wouldn't forget Xue Qing. Looks like he's interested in her.

Looks like our Xue Qing is about to fall for him. Just look at her expression.

When the young master makes a move, you know he's got it.

What a domineering CEO. Chu Feng is ours.

Chu Feng did not think much of it. He had turned down Xue Qing's dinner invitation last time because he needed to hurry back and handle the arrangements for the spaceship. How could he have thought so much into it? Still, Xue Qing had been the first person to interview him, and that interview had made him famous overnight. So, it was fair to say they had some fate between them.

Seeing Xue Qing stopped outside, Chu Feng simply instructed someone to bring her in. He did not think anything else of it. If Xue Qing's fans found out, they would probably be depressed to death.

"Hey, why can she get in while we can't?"

"That's right! We want to get in too! What right do you have to stop us?"

"We protest! This is unfair!"

Many internet celebrities had traveled from far away after hearing about today's grand event, only to find that they could not even get through the door. It would have been fine if no one could get in, but seeing someone else enter while they were kept out made them start causing a scene.

The police officers maintaining order on site noticed the commotion as well. To prevent an incident, they quickly sent people over.

The guard leading Xue Qing turned back. "She knows President Chu. President Chu told us to let her in. If you have a problem with it, ask President Chu."

The guard's words immediately silenced the internet celebrities. Comparing oneself to others only brought frustration. Knowing Chu Feng was her own ability—what could they do about it?

In the end, they could only curl their lips sourly and continue desperately seeking comfort from their livestream viewers.

Meanwhile, Xue Qing's fans were cheering wildly, showering her with gifts as if they cost nothing.

The bullet comments were flooded with one repeated message: Together!

Xue Qing felt both sweet and excited. She was the only streamer at today's event, and the popularity in her livestream kept climbing. It soon surpassed five million.

Chu Feng, however, did not pay much attention to that side. He had already entered the assembly hall.

Before he went onstage, Zheng Yun handed Chu Feng a prepared document and told him not to answer any questions he could not handle. Chu Feng readily agreed.

Chu Feng had deliberately dressed formally today. In a fitted black suit, with specially styled hair, his upright figure and handsome face made the viewers in front of their televisions light up.

Chu Feng walked up to the podium and looked at the crowd before him.

The assembly hall was arranged in a semicircle. At the front sat invited guests and executives or presidents from the various companies that had come on their own. In the middle were reporters from numerous news outlets, while the back was packed with cameras equipped with long lenses. Some reporters were even speaking in front of those cameras.

Once Chu Feng took the stage, the flashes from the cameras made the venue almost as bright as day, and Chu Feng could barely see clearly.

To be honest, Chu Feng was somewhat nervous. After all, this was the first time he had encountered such a scene.

After steadying himself, Chu Feng read the prepared speech under everyone's watchful gaze.

"First of all, thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend Origin Company's press conference today."

After reading that, Chu Feng put away the document in his hand under Zheng Yun's astonished gaze and placed it directly on the podium.

"I believe everyone already knows Xiaoke quite well. Since that's the case, there's no need to waste anyone's time. Ask whatever questions you have, and I'll selectively answer them."

Chu Feng's words sent murmurs through the hall. No one had expected him to be so direct. Zheng Yun, beneath the stage, was practically covering his face. He was too young. If the media started making things difficult for Chu Feng and asked strange, bizarre questions that he could not answer, would that not be utterly humiliating?

The reporters were stunned as well. Chu Feng was not playing by the rules, and it left them somewhat unaccustomed. But time waited for no one, so they all raised their hands.

"There are quite a few people here today, so let's go in order. We'll start from the left and proceed to the right."

Hearing Chu Feng's words, no one objected. Some local television stations were even overjoyed, since they had very little chance to ask questions under a random selection process.

Chu Feng had his own plan. Which of these media outlets were not seasoned veterans? If they played word games with him, would he not just be asking for trouble?

It was better to give each person one question and be done with it. As for whatever they had prepared, how much could they really prepare? It was better to answer openly. Besides, he had prepared a grand gift for them—it just depended on whether they could handle it.

The first reporter was naturally from CTV. Wearing gold-rimmed glasses, he looked refined and scholarly.

"Hello, Mr. Chu. I'm a reporter from CTV. May I ask how you can guarantee Xiaoke's security and confidentiality? After all, she is software people interact with all day long. Could the kinds of problems seen in films and television dramas arise, turning her into a hidden bomb inside phones or computers and threatening users' information security?"

The first question was not particularly sharp, but it did address the concerns in most users' hearts. The scenarios portrayed in films were simply too terrifying.

"First, I don't know whether everyone has read Xiaoke's installation notice. If Xiaoke is cracked and users suffer losses as a result, we will compensate them in full, with an additional tenfold compensation!" The moment Chu Feng spoke, everyone froze.

Every program installation came with so-called liability disclaimers. They were so long that few people ever read them. Yet no one had expected such a massive bomb to be hidden there. Many people even pulled out their phones to check, while countless viewers in front of their televisions downloaded the software again on their phones or computers to take a look.

Sure enough, the third clause clearly stated that any losses caused by the software being cracked would be compensated at ten times the amount.

How much confidence did that take?

Ignoring everyone's astonishment, Chu Feng continued, "Second, all software follows the instructions of its code, so your concerns are completely unnecessary. Because I won't allow it!"

The reporter smiled and applauded, and bursts of applause rose throughout the hall.

"Hello, Mr. Chu. I'm a reporter from People's Daily. I would like to ask whether Xiaoke, as Artificial Intelligence, could be used for illegal crimes, or even developed for military purposes?"

The moment this question was asked, the entire hall fell silent.

As an official spokesperson, Chu Feng had no choice but to answer cautiously.

"Just as I said earlier, Xiaoke is only a basic Artificial Intelligence, and she is merely a program. No matter how intelligent she is, she still has to follow the settings of her code. She can only help you handle certain matters and cannot actively do anything on her own. And as for the military field, it is even more impossible for her to calculate things like ballistic trajectories, because she has no code support in that area."

The reporter said nothing. He merely gave Chu Feng a meaningful look, applauded, and sat down.

"Hello, Mr. Chu, I'm a reporter from The Times. You said Xiaoke is only code, so why does she respond so quickly? She doesn't seem like a program at all. I'm sorry, but I'm too shocked, and I like her too much. Her responses are so fast that it feels like I'm talking to a person rather than a program."

"Thank you for your appreciation of Xiaoke. I can explain that Xiaoke is a processing program based on cloud computing. All issues are processed in the cloud, and the programming language we use is completely different, so the processing speed and methods are different as well. I can't say more, as it involves trade secrets."

Hearing Chu Feng say that Xiaoke used a new programming language immediately caused an even greater uproar. Everyone felt their trip had been worthwhile. This was an entirely new innovation, a moment capable of changing history.

The reporter who had prompted this revelation could only sit down regretfully, because she no longer had another chance to ask a question.

The next reporter quickly asked, "Then, Mr. Chu, do you plan to make this new programming language public? It would write a new chapter in history, no less significant than the achievements of Android or Microsoft!"

"Sorry, this programming language is the shared achievement of the development team. I do not have the authority to decide whether to make it public."

Although everyone had long known this would be the answer, they still felt somewhat regretful.

"Mr. Chu, I'm a reporter from Citi Ap TV. How can you guarantee the security of users' information? You said that issues are handled in the cloud, but what if the cloud is breached? Or what if you leave a backdoor in the program? How can users' confidentiality and security be guaranteed?"

This reporter's question was undeniably sharp.

Zheng Yun beneath the stage grew nervous. The company executives below, along with Zhou Hongwei, who had only just finalized the letter of intent, were also waiting for Chu Feng's answer. It would affect everyone's attitude toward Origin Company.