The following morning.
When Gerald arrived at the company, he found that Lin Lixin was unusually present in the hardware department.
He sat quietly at the table, facing a small circuit board, deep in thought.
Lin Lixin seemed oblivious to the person behind him, his eyes closed in deep thought, his fingers unconsciously tapping rhythmically on the table to help him concentrate.
What are you doing?
Gerald stepped forward and glanced at the board.
It's just a very ordinary motherboard with a Motorola 68000 processor; there's nothing else on it.
It seems that Lin Lixin's project is still far from being finalized.
Hearing Gerald's voice beside him, Lin Lixin slowly opened his eyes.
"What do you think about us bypassing the state government and doing our own DLG digital line mapping?"
His words, which were meant to be startling, immediately woke Gerald, who was still a bit sleepy that morning.
Is this some kind of plot to rebel?
"You're Geological Survey USGS's job!"
Recalling what Lin Lixin had talked about with him yesterday, Gerald immediately realized what Lin Lixin needed.
As for realistic road networks, they did that back in the time of " Momotaro Dentetsu ".
"Are you trying to get road data for the new game? If so, wouldn't it be better to just get ready-made digital maps from USGS or TIGER?"
"Too slow, and we don't need such high-precision detailed information."
Lin Lixin shook his head. If that were all it took, he would have already asked Sam to negotiate.
However, dealing with these departments can take months just for the initial preparations, which is simply not worthwhile.
Once the data is obtained, it will need to undergo extensive filtering and optimization before the desired content can be obtained.
However, as the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining. Thanks to the fact that digital technology is still in its early stages, Lin Lixin discovered that the relevant laws at this stage seem to lack corresponding provisions.
Even his proactive collection of road information can be given a respectable label—improving traffic safety.
"I'm actually used to your reckless and self-destructive personality."
Gerald sighed helplessly and looked at the bare board again. "So you're planning to seal a black box and have the drivers carry it?"
"That's about it, but we're still figuring out where to start with the preparations—"
As they were talking, a figure walked out of the equipment room next to them.
Kojima was holding a camera, clearly having been fiddling with equipment here.
He overheard their conversation and, seeing Lin Lixin looking at him, spoke up, "Lin, I do know a little about this."
Lin Lixin and Gerald exchanged a glance, both showing surprise.
Although Kojima has been involved in various projects, his knowledge of hardware is probably only at an average level.
Seeing the two's puzzled looks, Kojima continued, " Japan has always been researching navigation technology. Last year, Toyota even developed a trajectory-based navigation system with a built-in CD player."
The Toyota Crown performs well in terms of information technology.
"Although it's not a surveying system, there should be many common technologies involved, right?"
"Hmm... that's true."
Lin Lixin then nodded in understanding.
Indeed, they couldn't find a ready-made mapping module to reverse engineer, but in fact, in-vehicle navigation systems already have many similarities.
All you need to do is imitate those car navigation boards, make some minor modifications, and you can turn them into a usable device.
"If that's the case, California also has this kind of technology, EtakNavigator, which even predates Toyota's by a few years."
Gerald's eyes lit up, and he immediately found a new direction by following the train of thought.
This thing, which was invented in 1985, already used a 16-bit processor like the Intel 8088, which was even faster than Gamenova.
However, due to the limitations of the storage media at the time, this thing required four whole tapes just in the Los Angeles area, making its practicality almost zero.
Not to mention the terrifying price tag of $1,500.
Keep in mind that a new car costs only around ten thousand dollars.
"Understood."
With this idea in mind, Lin Lixin immediately banished his previous hesitation.
After a brief half-hour discussion with Gerald, the final plan was ready.
[ Motorola 68000 (16-bit processor)]
[GPS receiver][Gyroscope][Sensor]----
[CD-ROM drive][ROM flash memory]
[Nova Radeon display chip power-locked version (for large-scale parallel data processing)]
As for the power supply system, it naturally draws power directly from the vehicle's cigarette lighter.
However, the price of this thing is destined to be quite high.
Even if they have their own wafer fabs and a cooperative relationship with Motorola, the cost of one of these devices would probably be around a thousand yuan.
But none of that matters.
Because Lin Lixin doesn't need to sell it.
There's no need for truck drivers to actively buy them.
He wants to throw money at it and turn it into a place where it's incredibly easy to get something for nothing.
Money is the last thing GAMENOVA has right now.
Michigan, Detroit.
This automotive industrial capital, thanks to its high latitude and proximity to the Great Lakes, has already cooled down early in the tail end of summer.
Such pleasant weather makes it a great time to enjoy a wonderful symphony concert or watch a Detroit Pistons game.
But Carlos had no time to waste on this.
He had just set off from Battle Creek in the early hours of the morning, delivering a shipment of frozen baked goods to Detroit.
This kind of work is truly time-sensitive and demanding.
As a salesman and truck driver for the Kellogg's Group, hauling goods occupies almost his entire life.
However, Carlos didn't actually have many complaints about it.
Making money is nothing to be ashamed of.
Moreover, he was about to be promoted to sales representative, which meant he had a very promising future.
Driving around the world like this has its own unique charm.
It's much better than being trapped in a concrete pigeon coop and waiting to slowly rot away.
That's Carlos for you; no matter what life throws at you, you always charge forward with boundless energy and optimism.
"Laugh-
He released the brakes and drove the car past the last intersection before his destination.
After unloading the trailer, Carlos habitually opened the car door and nimbly climbed over the handrail.
Despite being 35 years old, he still has a very upright posture.
As the old saying goes, 35 is the age to strive and work hard.
"Master, would you like to come inside and have a drink of water?"
The warehouse manager in charge of inventory went through the proper procedure and gave him a polite greeting.
Carlos waved his hand, walked to an open space, took out a Marlboro, and put it in his mouth.
After having a light snack to relax, he climbed back into the driver's seat.
Although his car is quite old and doesn't have a modern CD player, it can still play cassette tapes and listen to the radio without any problems.
He has his own familiar FM radio stations.
The pop music radio station was playing his favorite album.
Without the trailer pulling us along, the journey back to Battle Creek was exceptionally easy and pleasant.
At midday, Carlos returned to the company's warehouse parking lot.
Before he even got out of the car, he noticed a young Chinese man talking to his boss in the distance, occasionally pointing at the trucks in the parking lot.
The boss glanced in the direction of Carlos from afar, and after clearly seeing the car model and license plate, he clearly perked up. He called out to the young man next to him and then hurriedly rushed towards Carlos.
" Carlos! You've come back just in time."
The boss, his face flushed and panting heavily, didn't even have time to catch his breath before gesturing to the person next to him, "Let me introduce you, this is Mr. Lin Lixin, Chairman of GAMENOVA."
"GAMENOVA? That's the video game company?"
Carlos looked at Lin Lixin in surprise.
To be honest, someone like him who doesn't follow this industry at all doesn't really know much about Lin Lixin.
Although he heard the names GAMENOVA and Lin Lixin on the radio or somewhere almost every day, this was truly the first time he had ever seen their faces.
My God----
Carlos couldn't help but exclaim inwardly in amazement.
Judging by his appearance, he's probably in his early twenties.
Think back to when I was in my twenties, I was working as a truck driver at Kellogg's's branch in Mexico.
"I've long admired your name, Mr. Lin! What brings you here, ----?"
"Ah, hello. I'm just testing out the new equipment the company developed, and also gathering some material for the next game."
Lin Lixin smiled politely and nodded, then raised the metal briefcase he was carrying in his other hand.
This is a sample that the hardware department rushed to produce not long ago. The integration is still very rough, but it can already be used by powering it on a car cigarette lighter.
Kellogg's's is a leading United States manufacturer of cereal products.
Its annual revenue is in the tens of billions of dollars.
Every day, countless trucks travel on highways across the United States, delivering cereals, cookies, and frozen baked goods to various destinations.
If you're looking for a suitable logistics company to handle this, they're clearly a good partner.
Lin Lixin glanced in the direction of the company building.
As a side effect, Sam was also sent to discuss potential collaborations with the marketing team regarding OmNom's new products.
"Here's the situation, Carlos. There's a truckload of instant corn chips ordered by Gamenova, being delivered from Michigan to California. Mr. Lin wants to travel with it. Are you interested?"
"Clam?"
Carlos was taken aback, not expecting to hear such a strange request.
The CEO of a top global gaming company is actually going to spend several days crammed into a sweltering train carriage with him?
Isn't this just asking for trouble?
Are all rich people this kind of lunatic?
Hmm... perhaps this is what they call the pursuit of art.
Artists, you know, are all a bit mentally unstable.
But when he looked at his boss, he saw the other man winking at him, clearly urging him to accept the offer quickly.
"Ha--I understand, of course! Mr. Lin, I believe this will be the most unforgettable journey of my life."