More Capable Than Mengchuan

Shanghai City, atop the Huaxia Pearl Tower.

"We meet again, Mengchuan." Xu Shuwei and Toni appeared at the café.

Chen Mengchuan smiled. "I'm glad I can still see you both."

"Then let's get straight to the point. Since your plan and vision already have a complete framework, it seems that having us or not having us wouldn't make much difference, would it?" Xu Shuwei said seriously, while Toni remained quietly silent beside him.

Chen Mengchuan nodded, then shook his head. "Brother Xu, I won't hide it from you. I can indeed complete these plans on my own, but! It would take me at least three months to complete Chisako alone. If your team joins us, I believe that time can be cut by more than half."

"Her name is Chisako?" Toni asked.

Toni's question made Chen Mengchuan pause slightly, countless memories from those strange dreams surfacing in his mind...

In the end, Chen Mengchuan shook his head. "Her name is Achen, meaning the vast sea of stars."

"Achen's intelligence will no longer be simulated Artificial Intelligence, but true autonomous thought and exploration. Her answers to every question will no longer be preprogrammed sentences or combinations of words. She will possess some real emotions, just like humans."

Chen Mengchuan's words plunged both men into thought.

After a long while, Toni extended his hand toward Chen Mengchuan. "Pleasure working with you."

Chen Mengchuan was somewhat surprised by his decisiveness, but quickly extended his own hand and clasped his. "Pleasure working with you, Toni."

Xu Shuwei rolled his eyes beside them and, somewhat helplessly, extended his hand as well.

A weight lifted from Chen Mengchuan's heart. Smiling, he shook Xu Shuwei's hand. "Brother Xu, pleasure working with you."

Once they had reached an understanding, the three of them spoke far more easily. They talked atop the Huaxia Pearl Tower until evening before bidding each other farewell and leaving.

Chen Mengchuan spent another night at Zhao Wanyu's Riverside Garden. In high spirits, he played a few rounds of battle royale with her.

After they fell asleep that night, Zhao Wanyu once again slipped into Chen Mengchuan's bed.

After saying goodbye to Zhao Wanyu the next day, he finally returned to Su City.

He took a taxi to Su City Industrial Park and found the factory building Sun Zhongyong had rented. Two enormous blue characters were mounted on the top floor of its facade: "Tianzhi."

The factory compound had already been enclosed by walls. When Chen Mengchuan got out of the taxi, the guard at the entrance stopped him. Visitors had to make appointments in advance, register with their original ID cards, and have someone come out to receive them before they could enter. Although the entire building was still under renovation, the rules were quite strict.

He took out his phone and called Sun Zhongyong. Somewhat awkwardly, he said, "Brother Sun, I'm at the company entrance. The guard stopped me."

Sun Zhongyong laughed over the phone, then hung up. He soon appeared at the guard booth.

"Little Luo, this is our company's CEO Chen. Remember his face," Sun Zhongyong said to the guard with a smile.

"Sorry, CEO Chen. I didn't recognize you." The young guard smiled shyly.

Chen Mengchuan waved to him. "Security is being handled quite thoroughly."

Sun Zhongyong immediately laughed and handed Chen Mengchuan a hard hat. "I'm just following others' example. I've worked with plenty of large companies, and they all do it this way. I thought it seemed safe, so I copied them."

"Brother Sun, you've thought things through more thoroughly than I have." Chen Mengchuan shook his head. He was fortunate to have met Sun Zhongyong. Compared to him, there was still far too much Chen Mengchuan didn't understand. With Sun Zhongyong around, he felt at ease.

"The front half of the first floor is for security screening and the monitoring room, while the back half is the supercomputer server room. It's currently being renovated. Though work only started four days ago, progress has been fast, and the first phase will be completed tomorrow. The second and third floors are office space and the cafeteria. Renovation began the day you left, and it's now been eight days. A small portion is already usable, and there's also an open-air landscaped area on the top floor." Sun Zhongyong led Chen Mengchuan from the first floor up to the rooftop.

On the rooftop, Chen Mengchuan looked at the vast expanse of lush, low grass and short shrubs. The sight was thoroughly pleasing to the eye, and he was simply amazed by Sun Zhongyong's efficiency.

Seeing his expression, Sun Zhongyong laughed. "I can't take credit for this landscaping. It was a gesture from Weijie's parents. After Zhongshi heard about the company, he originally wanted to send some potted plants. But once he came upstairs and took a look, he arranged all this instead. Weijie's mother owns a landscaping company, and she's even contracted a stretch of forest at Lingyan Mountain. The expensive part of all this was the transportation."

Chen Mengchuan smiled and nodded. "We still need to thank them. Once the company renovation is complete, we'll invite them to the opening ceremony."

"Haha, you can tell him that yourself."

After making a round of the rooftop with Sun Zhongyong, Chen Mengchuan looked at the more than two thousand square meters of greenery. It even featured a large Bagua-shaped water circulation system. Although no fish had been put in yet, once fish were added after a while, this place would practically be an open-air park.

"I saw quite a few people already working on the second floor just now?" Chen Mengchuan asked. Though he had only taken a quick look around earlier, it had left an impression on him.

Sun Zhongyong nodded. "We've already hired finance staff, accountants, cashiers, administrative personnel, and front-desk receptionists. We also hired four security guards for the booth downstairs, two per shift."

As the two spoke, Sun Zhongyong's phone rang. When he answered it, it was Gu Xiaoxiao, so he asked her to come up as well.

Once they met, Gu Xiaoxiao immediately reported on the supercomputer's progress. "The first batch of supercomputer components will clear customs the day after tomorrow. If all goes smoothly, they can be delivered to Su City four days later."

"That fast?" Chen Mengchuan paused. Had overseas bulk procurement really become this fast?

Gu Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes. "Not fast at all. The order was placed the day before this building's renovation began. It's already been nine days, CEO Chen~"

Chen Mengchuan smiled awkwardly. "It's already been nine days? Ahem, Xiaoxiao, you should just call me Mengchuan."

"Even after all the components arrive, it will take at least another ten days. However, once the first batch arrives in four days, we can start inspections and testing. The supercomputer server room really is progressing quickly. As expected of professionals. In America, it would take two months to build a server room like this." Gu Xiaoxiao sighed at the country's construction efficiency.

"Brother Sun, I poached two big names from Shanghai University of Science and Technology. I don't yet know how many people they'll bring with them, but to be safe, we need to prepare a batch of computers and hardware equipment first. I'll have to trouble you with this as well," Chen Mengchuan said to Sun Zhongyong.

Sun Zhongyong nodded and asked, "What configuration do you need?"

"Top-end. Make them as powerful as possible. Also, we need to deal with their housing. It would be best if they lived nearby. Most of them are homebodies."

"Which two big names did you poach from Shanghai University of Science and Technology to make you value them so much?" Gu Xiaoxiao asked curiously.

"One is named Xu Shuwei, and the other is named Chen Miantang. You know them?" Chen Mengchuan smiled.

Gu Xiaoxiao's mouth fell wide open when she heard the names. In disbelief, she said, "Qinghua's number one Artificial Intelligence expert, Xu Shuwei? Oracle Toni Chen? My god, are you trying to offend Shanghai University of Science and Technology to the death?"

"If they're offended, then they're offended. There isn't much time left." Chen Mengchuan smiled.

Sun Zhongyong looked puzzled. "Xiaoxiao, are those two really that impressive?"

Gu Xiaoxiao shook her head, struggling to digest the shocking news. Only after quite a while did she answer, "They're among the very best in the world. What do you think?"

"More capable than Mengchuan?"

"Obviously!" Gu Xiaoxiao answered without hesitation.

Chen Mengchuan awkwardly rubbed his nose beside them. That killed the conversation.