Smart Manager

Mi Yue acted quickly, as decisive and efficient as her personality, never dragging things out.

Less than an hour after her deal with Wang Fantian was completed, one hundred thousand Smart Managers had been distributed among dozens of maglev trains and transported toward major cities in the Southern Region.

These intercity maglev trains had streamlined blue-and-white noses and traveled at speeds exceeding five hundred kilometers per hour, enough to cover more than a thousand kilometers in just a few hours and deliver the goods by afternoon.

At one in the afternoon, at a train station in a coastal city somewhere in the Southern Region, one thousand black spherical devices roughly one meter in diameter were being loaded onto vehicles by staff from Googol Tech's transportation department. They would be distributed among the major companies in the city.

Dozens of workers wore simple powered exoskeleton supports. They weighed no more than fifty kilograms, and their two mechanical arms had been designed in an oversized form suited to carrying large, heavy objects, making them look somewhat crude.

However, high-strength low-alloy steel combined with high-energy batteries provided their users with tremendous strength. These unattractive mechanical devices could steadily support more than a ton of force. Though they could not move at high speed, they still allowed the workers to easily carry Black Spheres weighing several hundred kilograms.

Half an hour later, all the Black Spheres had been loaded. The workers boarded the transport vehicles and departed in an orderly fashion, delivering the Black Spheres to Googol Tech's directly controlled subsidiaries.

This batch of companies consisted of subsidiaries under Googol Tech's strongest control, capable of rapidly completing staff cuts and replacements in a short time. The subsequent small and medium-sized enterprises would gradually meet their reduction targets within half a year.

At the headquarters of the pharmaceutical company where Tao Renkun worked, more than half of the company's management personnel had gathered. Over a thousand executives controlled the smooth operation of this enormous corporation from here.

The beautiful office building stood in the city center, its silvery-white exterior gleaming beneath the sunlight. With a floor area exceeding one hundred thousand square meters, it contained dozens of high-speed elevators, hotel apartments, various conference halls, and banquet centers for partners from across the Hong Alliance.

The office lobby had been meticulously built from precious marble and granite, giving it an extraordinary air of grandeur. Exquisite chandeliers, countless hanging lights, and carefully selected artistic decorations made the place resemble a resplendent palace.

The grand front doors of the beautiful lobby stood open as two transport workers in powered exoskeletons carried Black Sphere after Black Sphere inside and connected them to the building's power system.

They only needed to bring these Smart Managers to the first floor. What happened afterward had nothing to do with them.

Several sharply dressed managers stepping out of the first-floor elevators froze at the sight. They had been discussing a gathering at the nearby water park after work, followed by an expensive private dinner.

They quickly came to their senses. Their formerly relaxed expressions abruptly tightened as they frantically operated their smartwatches and smart glasses, trying to contact their superiors.

Ten years ago, these Black Spheres displayed in the lobby had stirred up a storm in the Eastern Region. Called Smart Managers, they had swept countless elites like them into the trash heap.

In that massive layoff known as the Artificial Intelligence Revolution, tens of millions of people in the Eastern Region had been replaced by these black spheres. Countless disappointed people had no choice but to change careers, while others had come to the Southern Region to begin new lives.

And now, these Black Spheres, Demons to them, had arrived here. Thinking of the stories he had heard from some senior colleagues, a man who had only recently been promoted to department manager grew even more anxious. He cursed in a tense whisper, "Why now? Why here? I was just promoted. I still have such a bright future. It definitely won't be me. It won't be me."

Yet reality did not bend to individual will. As directly controlled subsidiaries of Googol Tech, these companies' layoffs could be described as getting it all done in one stroke. Unlike the small and medium-sized enterprises that still had a buffer period, the cuts would be completed today.

In fact, because small and medium-sized enterprises had fewer managers, large companies would instead have more positions eliminated. Compared to the six hundred originally estimated, the actual number would approach eight hundred. Half the people in this beautiful building would lose their jobs today.

Before they could receive any response from their superiors, every communication request was rejected. At this moment, their access permissions had been revoked, and the Smart Managers began taking over the enormous company.

These spherical Smart Managers could easily oversee the detailed work of hundreds of people, accurately evaluate their results, and distribute compensation according to Hong Alliance wage standards.

Their operational authority was held by the highest presidents of Googol Tech's various regions. This meant that even Tao Renkun, the company chairman, could not tamper with them.

By discarding complicated workplace relationships and reclaiming all authority over frontline staff management, Mi Yue had used these Black Spheres in the Eastern Region to achieve an unprecedented degree of control over her subordinate companies.

And now, Wang Fantian was taking this step with the momentum of Project Immortality behind him. Only highly centralized power could concentrate resources and accelerate research progress. At present, that was the most important thing to everyone.

On the right side of the lobby, dozens of enormous Black Spheres rested silently on the floor. On the left, the sharply dressed men leaned against the wall in a daze.

The place remained splendid and magnificent, but they could no longer enjoy this life.

To reach this point, they had put in countless efforts. Decades of hard study, innumerable exams and interviews, the forced smiles they had offered to build good relationships with superiors after entering the workplace, and all the flattering words they had racked their brains to come up with.

Now, all that effort would vanish into smoke.

One of them suddenly tore off his tie and hurled it viciously to the floor, then stomped on it several times in fury.

He remembered forcing down an entire bottle of baijiu at a drinking table a few days ago for the sake of a promotion. He had spent most of the night vomiting afterward, then arrived at the company early the next morning with a splitting headache, still smiling as he greeted his boss.

And now, that so-called relationship with his boss was completely useless. Even his superior could barely protect himself.

He could not help giving a self-mocking laugh. "That's life. No one can truly do as they please."

In an office somewhere in the building, a young man who had been imagining a company-funded trip with a female subordinate tomorrow sat listlessly in his chair. The luggage he had neatly packed had been tossed messily onto the floor.

This time, his uncle had not helped him as he had before. His uncle was also on the layoff list. Without this job, he had become the useless good-for-nothing he used to be. Even people he had once looked down on could now despise him.

The more incompetent and hollow a person was, the more they needed to boast constantly about their connections and background, because deep down, they knew perfectly well that without all of it, they were indeed someone who had accomplished nothing.

Before the overwhelming tide of the era, individual strength was small and useless. One could only drift with the current.

Where some were disheartened, others were naturally delighted.

The wages Wang Fantian paid these Smart Managers were based on management-level salaries, but beyond that, managers received countless bonuses, benefits, and other perks. That portion of the funds was even higher than their salaries.

Now, that entire portion was being given to frontline workers, increasing their pay by several tens of percent.

When a whale falls, all things flourish. The millions of laid-off employees could free up vast sums of money for other ordinary workers.

The Black Sphere managers faithfully carried out every instruction. They remained silently on one side of the lobby, adjusting employee salary standards.

Countless people inside the building stood dazed, their heads hanging in dejection. Meanwhile, at a processing plant not far outside, workers who saw their pay double broke into broad smiles.

On the top floor of the building, Tao Renkun stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows. Every aspect of life within the company played before his eyes like scenes in a film.

This time, Wang Fantian had used the pressure of Project Immortality to unify the intentions of the Southern Region's upper ranks. Everyone had tacitly accepted it all, and Tao Renkun could only watch silently as Wang Fantian reclaimed and centralized Googol Tech's power.

No one who had reached this position was a fool. Petty disputes were meaningless. Even if he dismissed Wang Fantian's ideas with contempt, he could only grit his teeth and accept it now.

Looking at the smiling young people, the old man spoke in a hoarse voice. "The strong should help the weak. That idea runs in your family, inherited from your father. Now, every dispute can be set aside in the face of immortality. But once human immortality truly becomes reality, will you also share that immortality with everyone?"

Someone with billions in wealth could easily give another person a hundred dollars. The value of immortality was greater than every material possession one owned, so those at the top could naturally give up these insignificant benefits with ease.

However, once human immortality was achieved, would those who already possessed Infinite lifespans still be willing to share that achievement with others?

At that point, immortal humans and ordinary humans would become two different species. A divide more severe than today's gap between rich and poor would emerge between them.

When that moment came, could Wang Fantian's desire for the strong to help the weak still be upheld?

With that thought, Tao Renkun no longer felt angry over the minor loss before him. If immortality could not be achieved, then all power would naturally vanish with death.

But if they succeeded, the situation then would be different from now. Wang Fantian's allies today might become his greatest opponents.

At a Googol Tech directly controlled hospital somewhere in the Southern Region, Wang Ziyun had just completed an operation. Roughly two-thirds of a stomach cancer patient's stomach had been removed.

After the successful operation, the patient's wife clutched his hands and thanked him again and again. The exhaustion in both his body and mind seemed to vanish.

After removing the auxiliary mechanical arms he wore, Wang Ziyun changed back into his white coat. He stood in the hospital corridor, watching patients and family members accompanying hospital beds pass by, listening to the names of different patients announced over the broadcast, and let out a soft sigh.

There was naturally a gap between ideals and reality. When one truly experienced one's helplessness before death, the feeling of powerlessness was more painful than imagined.

Only here, in close contact with patients, could he truly feel how fragile human life was.

A female nurse in white handed Wang Ziyun a cup of water. He reached out to accept it and replied gently, "Thank you."

The female nurse's cheeks reddened slightly under Wang Ziyun's gaze.

This newly arrived young doctor was handsome, mild-tempered, and reportedly from a good family. He was extremely popular among them and an ideal boyfriend candidate.

She leaned a little closer and whispered mysteriously, "I just saw several huge Black Spheres being moved inside downstairs. I know they're Smart Managers. Someone in the hospital might be in trouble."

Hearing that, Wang Ziyun opened his smartwatch and checked the day's news. Sure enough, he found a major headline:

"Massive Layoffs at Googol Tech in the Southern Region, Black Spheres Return!"

The striking headline sat at the very top of the webpage. Below it were numerous videos and images, including Black Sphere Smart Managers being delivered to major companies, as well as laid-off employees leaving company buildings with their heads lowered.

In addition, the Artificial Intelligence Revolution in the Eastern Region ten years ago had been brought up again. Many comments speculated that this was only the beginning, and that tens of millions might lose their jobs again. This left many people anxious and uneasy, terrified that they would be next.

After thanking the young nurse, Wang Ziyun turned and headed toward his office.

The appearance of this news meant that his father was preparing to further accelerate immortality research. The Hong Alliance, which had been peaceful for years after the Artificial Intelligence Revolution, might be about to face another storm.