The Big Exam

He hung up the phone, leaned back in his chair, and let out a long sigh of relief.

Then, he picked up the internal phone and dialed the Computer Software Development Team directly.

The call was answered quickly.

"Team Leader Nohara," Nakayama Takuya's voice, though not loud, came through clearly on the other end of the phone, "Get ready, the final exam is coming up."

"An exam?" Team Leader Nohara's voice still carried a hint of excitement, clearly still basking in the joy of the project's success. "Executive Director, don't worry! The server is perfectly stable! You mean—are there any new features that need to be added temporarily? No problem! I guarantee the task will be completed!"

Nakayama Takuya leaned back in his chair and tapped his fingers lightly on the table.

"It's not about adding features." He interrupted calmly. "Professor Jun Murai and the WIDE Project Team will be here tomorrow to personally proctor the exam."

The other end of the phone went silent.

Nohara's voice sounded tense, as taut as a fully drawn bowstring.

"Executive Director—you mean, tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow."

"Yes, sir!" Nohara Leader Nohara snapped to attention, immediately standing at attention as he replied, "I understand! I'll go review the server logs again right away and recheck all the cables! Make sure everything is perfect! The software will run flawlessly!"

"I trust you about the server issue." Nakayama Takuya changed the subject. "Another matter: how's the email client I asked you to prepare coming along?"

When this was mentioned, Nohara's voice regained its confidence and pride.

"Reporting to the Chief Executive! It's all done! The first batch of one hundred floppy disks, along with the extremely detailed user manual we spent several sleepless nights writing, are all boxed up!" He paused, then added, "Five boxes in total, twenty boxes per box, are now neatly stacked in the Development Department."

"Very good." Nakayama Takuya smiled. "Now, bring out two of those five boxes of 'treasures' for me."

Team Leader Nohara paused for a moment. "Move out? Executive Director, is this...?"

"One box will be delivered to Professor Murai and the WIDE Project Team tomorrow. The other box will be sent to Tokyo Tech for Professor Yonezawa and those two brilliant students who helped us a lot."

"Of course! This is just a small token of our appreciation!" Nohara replied immediately.

"The sentiment is one thing." Nakayama Takuya's voice lowered slightly, carrying an undeniable penetrating force. "Nohara, remember, tomorrow tell Professor Muramasa and the others, and also tell Professor Yonezawa that the software in the box, besides what they use themselves, can be freely given to their friends, colleagues, and peers."

"Huh?" Team Leader Nohara was completely dumbfounded. "Just sending it away like that? Executive Director, this is something we worked so hard on—"

"Now that our roads are repaired, we need to find a way to get more people driving on them, right?" Nakayama Takuya chuckled. "Professor Muramasa and his ilk are the titans of academia, and Professor Yonezawa's circle consists of top engineers and scholars. How about we have them distribute our 'car keys' for free to those who know cars best? Do you think that would be more effective than spending tens of millions of Japanese yen on newspaper ads?"

The leader of the Nohara on the other end of the phone suddenly caught his breath.

He finally understood.

From the very beginning, the executive director's goal was not to make a pittance from selling a few hundred copies of the software, but to use these people at the top of Japan's technology pyramid to spread Sega's software like dandelion seeds throughout Japan's academic and technical circles!

This is how they can turn the top people in all of Japan into users of their software without spending a single penny!

"I—I understand!" Nohara's voice trembled slightly with excitement. "Executive Director, I'll take care of it right away! I'll do it myself!"

The atmosphere at Sega Headquarters was somewhat solemn the next day due to the arrival of Jun Murai and his group.

Director Yoshikawa personally waited at the elevator entrance.

Nakayama Takuya, along with Jun Murai and several core experts from the WIDE Project, went directly into the Logistics International Receiving and Dispatch Group.

There were no formalities, no small talk; this was a surprise inspection.

As soon as he stepped into the office, Jun Murai paused for a moment.

The anticipated chaotic scene of fax machines whirring and staff rushing around carrying stacks of documents did not materialize.

Instead, a quiet and efficient scene unfolded, with only the crisp sounds of keyboard typing and mouse clicks echoing in the office.

Several veteran staff members from the logistics team were sitting in front of their computers, the screens displaying email client interfaces that they had gradually become familiar with.

"Section Chief Tojo," a bespectacled young expert behind Jun Murai, clearly prepared, pointed to an email attachment on an employee's screen and asked directly, "With such a large list of goods, if the other party says the attachment is damaged and can't be opened, or simply says they didn't receive it, how do you confirm? Faxes are good because both sides have a physical proof."

The section chief named Tojo was a long-time employee who had worked there for nearly twenty years and was also the one who had the least confidence in the system before.

At this moment, instead of panicking, he skillfully operated the mouse and clicked on the email's "send details".

"Mr. Takahashi, look here." He pointed to a line of small print on the screen, his tone tinged with barely concealed smugness, "Read receipt," accurate to the second. It shows exactly when the email was opened on the United States side. As for attachments, we've agreed with the United States side that an MD5 checksum will be generated and included in the email body before sending. They can check it in half a second to see if there's anything wrong. Trying to renege? No way!"

The young expert was chuckled at, adjusted his glasses, carefully examined the timestamp and the MD5 checksum program on the screen, and then fell silent.

This is the latest file verification method that just appeared this year, and its reliability is extremely high.

Another member of the WIDE Project Team walked over to a female employee who was processing data and watched her quickly check the orders sent from the United States using the software's built-in spreadsheet function.

"These data, how long did it take you to verify them before?"

The female employee didn't even look up, her fingers flying across the keyboard. "Before? We'd use a calculator and ruler to check line by line, sometimes a whole morning, sometimes an entire afternoon. Now—" She pressed the last Enter key, and a green "MATCHED" icon popped up on the screen. Only then did she look up, smiling easily, "Five minutes."

Five minutes?!

Everyone in the WIDE Project Team heard it and looked on in surprise.

Theoretical efficiency improvements are one thing, but the visual impact of seeing an ordinary employee complete a task that used to take half a day in just five minutes is far more shocking than the numbers in the report.

Time ticked by, and before lunchtime, the logistics team had already finished the most important transoceanic document processing work of the morning. Some were starting to organize the physical goods lists to be checked at the warehouse in the afternoon, while others were already chatting quietly in the break room with coffee cups in hand.

Jun Murai's gaze swept across the entire office, finally settling on the wall clock.

11:25.