The People About to Be Replaced

After hearing Wang Fantian out, Mi Yue set aside the report she had been working on. Her mechanical right hand toyed with her wine-red hair as she stared at him and said, "So, you've come to me for my AI managers."

Wang Fantian nodded. When it came to the development and application of artificial intelligence, Mi Yue was at the absolute forefront of the entire Hong Alliance.

The Eastern Region, with less than one hundred million staff, produced an economic output exceeding that of the Southern Region's hundreds of millions, largely because a vast number of low-to-mid-level managers had been replaced by intelligent administrators.

The intelligent manager system was developed and implemented under Mi Yue's sole initiative. Once the system was fully deployed, the enterprise's administrative efficiency increased several times over. The massive funds previously paid out to human managers were largely saved, with the remainder redirected to the frontline personnel actually performing the work.

The result was that the salaries of frontline employees increased several times over, the total headcount decreased, labor costs dropped, and overall work efficiency rose instead of falling.

Of course, the managers who were laid off were not all people who had occupied positions to slack off or gotten in through nepotism. Most were graduates of prestigious universities with strong work capabilities and a dedicated work ethic.

However, the intelligent managers possessed advantages that they simply could not match.

In economics, the basic characteristic of a rational agent is that every person engaged in economic activity is self-interested.

It could also be said that every person engaged in economic activity acts in a way that attempts to obtain the maximum economic benefit at the minimum economic cost.

However, humans have never been rational.

They feel happy when they see the price of stocks they hold rising in the secondary market, and they feel depressed when they see their account balance shrink.

The essence of a company does not change, yet a shift in stock price can lead people to form completely different evaluations of a listed company within a few years.

People who can rationally weigh risks and returns at every single moment almost do not exist, which is why the secondary market is always fluctuating violently.

With the advent of artificial intelligence, many fund managers who previously controlled vast amounts of capital were replaced by intelligent managers. They have no emotional fluctuations and only seek returns commensurate with the risk, according to the client's requirements.

It is precisely the emergence of these intelligent managers that has made the violent fluctuations of the secondary market increasingly rare, making it nearly impossible for small and medium-sized individual investors to survive.

Similar to these practitioners, negotiations and cooperation between different enterprises were almost impossible to optimize due to the personal desires of managers and the lack of transparency in information.

The appearance of intelligent managers changed all of this. In corporate management and business cooperation, all their procedures are oriented toward the most direct and effective results. "More work, more pay" is strictly implemented, and personal bias is never again allowed to interfere in the workplace.

This extremely efficient management style allowed the Eastern Region to invest more capital into scientific research, which is why medical technology development has lagged behind communications and artificial intelligence over the past decade.

Being constrained by ethical issues is one aspect, but the different management models between the two sides have also made the Southern Region walk with the sluggish gait of a bloated giant.

Mi Yue asked, "How many do you need? These managers also require a massive amount of computing power to support; I can't spare too many at once."

Wang Fantian said, "Not as many as you think. This time, I only plan to lay off a portion of the staff; I won't be taking comprehensive action like you did. I need 500,000 small-scale AI managers. I will use them to replace those who are dragging their feet. It is expected to involve five million people, to be completed gradually within six months."

Although he had made the decision to lay off staff, Wang Fantian would not use a "one-size-fits-all" approach like Mi Yue. He needed to improve efficiency steadily and concentrate the strength of the Southern Region, rather than triggering massive chaos.

The entire Southern Region had more personnel involved in work than all other regions combined; it was impossible to achieve this in one step.

In the past, let alone a decision to lay off five million people, even resolutions involving tens of thousands would have faced massive opposition from top brass. The tangled web of interpersonal relationships made it almost impossible for Wang Fantian to push through a personnel reduction plan in a short time.

But now, the mystery of immortality was enough to override everything. Compared to letting their relatives and friends continue to slack off in the company, concentrating all their efforts on ensuring they could live forever was their only desire at this moment.

Mi Yue said, "500,000 is no problem; our data centers are sufficient to support them. So, how much funding are you prepared to give me?"

Wang Fantian said, "All of it. The average monthly salary for management is about 80,000 RMB. I will pay the entire 400 billion RMB monthly salary budget to these AI managers."

Upon hearing this, Mi Yue's lips curled into a smile. "Old Wang, although you're a bit old-fashioned and indecisive, you're certainly generous when it comes to paying up. I'll thank you on behalf of those researchers for your generosity."

The AI managers were, of course, not free labor; the technical developers in the Eastern Region were their owners. Most of these salaries would be paid to the researchers, while the rest would be invested in other scientific research projects.

Hearing Mi Yue's descriptors, Wang Fantian's already furrowed brows bunched together even tighter. He said in a low voice, "Since you know, hurry up and get to work. Send over the first 100,000."

Mi Yue was not annoyed; the prospect of receiving a large sum of funds immediately put her in a good mood. After smiling and bidding Wang Fantian farewell, she closed the projection and left.

Seeing Mi Yue leave, Wang Fantian shook his head and sighed. Having worked together for many years, they understood each other well enough, and he couldn't be bothered to argue with her anymore.

He re-edited another document and sent it to the company's top executives and the heads of the subsidiary companies. These people controlled the high-tech and economic lifelines of the entire Southern Region and were also aware of the ongoing Immortal Cell research.

Thinking of those few who always sang a different tune than him, a smile couldn't help but appear on Wang Fantian's stern face:

"Old fogies, now it's your turn to have a headache."

In the Southern Region, in a coastal city, an old man with graying hair was enjoying the scenery from the floor-to-ceiling windows of his office.

The old man's name was Tao Renkun. Over seventy, he wore a black Zhongshan suit and silver-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose.

It was early autumn in October, and the sky, washed clean by autumn rain, was as blue and clear as the sea. The expansive view made him feel at ease.

The emergence of the Immortal Cell had reignited his passion for life. The power he had begun to relinquish due to his advancing age had been reclaimed, and he remained the chairman of this large pharmaceutical company.

"Hello, you have an important message."

The intelligent butler's voice rang out. The old man browsed the report, and his previously amiable face turned gloomy in an instant.

A hoarse, aged voice sounded: "Wang Fantian, that brat, he's certainly chosen a good time for this."

The Southern Region had a population of nearly five hundred million; with so many people, relationships naturally became more complex. When Wang Fantian returned to Googol Tech after retiring from the military and climbed the ranks, many people had helped him, but this had simultaneously offended another group.

For instance, the old man had been one of the strong contenders over a decade ago, but he had ultimately lost to Wang Fantian, which had resulted in a terrible relationship between the two for many years.

In the past, such a radical proposal to lay off millions would have been opposed by almost all the top brass, let alone the old man who had long been at odds with Wang Fantian.

But now, as long as it was beneficial to the research on the Immortal Cell, they wouldn't hesitate to do it—not just laying off a batch of relatives who were slacking off, but even kicking their own children out of the company.

Time would never stop, and they were more anxious than anyone else.

"Send this document to all the directors. Also, tell Weidong that the situation is special this time; he cannot continue to play the peacemaker like before."

The document was sent to all directors in a short time. Seeing the radical plan and intense wording in the document, even though they felt it was absurd, they still chose to execute it. The old man controlled everything in this enterprise.

In a luxury suite, a middle-aged man named Tao Weidong looked at the message his father had specifically left for him, his originally nonchalant expression turning grave.

Under his father's protection, he had planted many relatives and friends within the company, and several women with whom he shared intimate relationships had also been placed in high-level management positions.

This large pharmaceutical company had over twenty thousand employees, and according to the requirements of the document, at least six hundred people had to be laid off. Excluding those working on the front lines, there were over two thousand management staff, which meant that one-third of the management personnel would be replaced.

"Bang!" Slamming the golf club beside him onto the ground, the man picked up his teacup and downed it in one gulp, breathing heavily as his chest heaved violently with rage.

In front of those relatives and friends, he was surrounded like a god, hearing their praise and flattery all day long, which made him feel quite pleased.

He knew he lacked his father's sharp mind and iron will, being nothing more than an ordinary person relying on the shade of his elder's legacy.

But he did not care; he lacked his father's grand ambitions, wanting only to eat, drink, and be merry with ease, surrounded by people fawning over him.

Even if they were not necessarily sincere, the hypocritical way they had to flatter him despite their reluctance brought him even more joy; at the very least, he lived more recklessly and authentically than these people.

And now, all of this was about to vanish into thin air. All his power came from his father, and once he defied his father's will, he would be kicked out just like those poor wretches.

Tao Weidong understood his father: beneath that kind and amiable exterior lay a cold and ruthless core, just like how he had heartlessly discarded his mother back then; he, the son, was merely a flaw his father had deliberately allowed to exist.

A flawless person would make others wary and fearful, while the image of an old man doting on his son could put others more at ease.

Tao Weidong had also dutifully played the part of this incompetent son; he would not do anything out of line, only coveting petty gains within the rules, and no one would care about a harmless fellow like him.

A few minutes later, Tao Weidong regained control of his emotions and executed his father's instructions to perfection.

Perhaps, deep down, he was the same kind of person as his father; whether it was his so-called lovers or his friends and family, he would never hesitate when it came time to cast them aside.

In an office somewhere in the pharmaceutical company, the young man from the previous footage was humming a tune while packing his luggage; tomorrow, he would be able to take that new female subordinate on a business trip, essentially a vacation on the company's dime.

At this moment, he had long since cast his work to the back of his mind. As the nephew of a director, no one would dare to manage him; he could just throw that work to the people below him, as it had always been that way anyway.

The money those poor wretches earned after working hard all day didn't even amount to half of his salary. This was the difference between those with connections and backgrounds and ordinary people; he had been born into a good family, possessing everything they envied with ease, without the need for any effort.