The dark room was filled with the roar of cooling fans, their noise like a distant torrential downpour.
Master and disciple sat together, drenched in sweat, busy checking the final section of the supercomputer design.
"It's done!" Xiang Xiaotong said. "No problems!"
"I think it's fine too." Song He rubbed the mouse. "Then shall we submit it? After that, we can build a prototype and give it a try?"
"How high do you think its score will be this time?" Xiang Xiaotong asked, her spirits soaring.
"Let's double it again. We scored over eighty thousand last time, so reaching one hundred and sixty thousand this time shouldn't be a problem!" Song He said confidently.
Before he had even finished speaking, the two phones on the desk rang at the same time.
Li Gong: Moon Brain No. 2 has just completed its benchmark test. 884,000 points.
Master and disciple stared wide-eyed, as though struck by lightning!
Song He's head buzzed, as if a grenade had exploded above it!
Xiang Xiaotong's mouth fell open so wide it looked as though she might swallow the computer.
"Wait!" Xiang Xiaotong raised her hand. "Let me confirm this."
She picked up her phone and messaged Li Gong: "Did you type one extra 8, or one extra 0?"
After sending the message, the master and disciple waited with pitiful, hopeful expressions.
Li Gong: Exactly 884,000 points.
The merciless, brutal reply was like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing the last shred of hope in the master and disciple!
Song He collapsed directly into his chair, his head lolling to one side and his eyes vacant like Stephen Hawking's.
884,000 points! An unbelievable astronomical figure!
Last time, Song He's supercomputer had scored just over eighty thousand—barely a fraction of Moon Brain No. 2's score!
"So this is