“Do you… like me?”
Jiang Chen recalled the conversation backstage as he scratched his nose with a troubled smile.
“Why am I so charming?” he said to himself with a cocky flair before becoming overwhelmed by embarrassment again. He turned the car radio on in an attempt to drown his awkwardness in the noise.
Xia Shiyu was the type to be shy, easily embarrassed by anything. Even with her emotionless face, she was cold only on the outside, warm on the inside.
The atmosphere had been intimate. Her mouth half-open, she had been completely at a loss with the situation. Just at that moment, however, an untimely phone call with an explosive ringtone broke the delicate closeness. Jiang Chen, realizing it was his phone, was about to hang up when Xia Shiyu quickly gathered her wits and then fled the room with her head buried.
[…Fine. Perhaps that phone call had perfect timing.]
Or else he wouldn’t have had a clue on how to disengage from that awkward situation. He wasn’t sure about his attitude towards her either. He used to masturbate to her image long ago for quite some time, but he hadn’t had such thoughts for a while now.
Perhaps his mentality had changed?
Shaking his head, he had tried to push away the strange thoughts in his mind.
And then his phone rang once more.
He thought for a second, the same troubled smile crossing his face.
There was no point in hanging up again. He sighed and connected the call with his Bluetooth headphones.
The voice from the other side had made him fall into a deep contemplation again.
Wang Zhiyong?
Jiang Chen was now on his way to the home of Wang Dehai, the general secretary of Wanghai City. The elder wished to invite him over for dinner to express his sincere gratitude for saving his life.
But the phone call had been too timely, coming not long after ending the press conference. It felt unnatural to Jiang Chen, yet it was the general secretary’s invitation. And he had saved his life, so it probably wouldn’t be anything too terrible. After a moment’s hesitation, he began his drive over.
It was a serene community without seeming too luxurious, but the amount of vegetation here was rare to see in the entire Wanghai City. The security at the door seemed to be retired soldiers. He could feel the bloodlust from several meters away. These guys must have come from a border conflict.
All of the residents in this community had to be influential in some way. Even with money, not everyone could be the general secretary’s neighbor.
He parked the car in the building before walking up to knock on the door.
The door opened momentarily, revealing a cheerful face before him.
“You’re here. Come in, my mom wants to thank you personally.” Wang Xinran grinned at Jiang Chen.
“Hmmm? Don’t you live on campus?” Jiang Chen was surprised to see her.
“It’s Saturday. Is President Jiang Chen so busy that he forgot the date?” She playfully poked her tongue out.
[Hmm, now that I don’t work, it’s hard to keep track.]
As soon as he entered, he was greeted with warmth. He was surprised by the generosity and welcoming gestures, making him feel slightly ashamed since he had his own motives in saving people. But regardless of the reason, he did fight off death and save Wang Dehai.
He most mostly taken aback by the fact that Wang Dehai was not like other grim politicians who acted fiercely. Instead, he lacked the daunting vibe, seeming instead like a kind elderly man. Seeing Jiang Chen, he warmly called out Little Jiang (little is a common way to refer to younger people). Aware of the situation, Jiang Chen responded by calling him Uncle Wang.
Wang Dehai’s wife was a grandma with kind features who consistently served Jiang Chen food. It certainly gave Jiang Chen, who had been venturing outside, a sense of home.
Wang Zhiyong was an interesting person as well. He kept trying to drink with Jiang Chen, but his weak alcohol tolerance put him under the table first. When he started spouting gibberish, his sister stuck him back in his room as he snored.
Jiang Chen always viewed straightforward people in a positive light.
As for Wang Xinran, she maintained her usual level of energy as she pestered him with questions about Future 1.0. She also informed him that she became the top member of the distinguished alumni at Wanghai University—the youngest to ever take the spot.
Unfortunately, the list only circulated within the school and didn’t hold much influence since few students held an interest in the school newspaper anymore.
As for her questions, Jiang Chen didn’t disclose anything outside of the norm. Everything he said was consistent with his stance at the press conference.
As he spoke with Wang Xinran, he kept most of his attention on Wang Dehai for his reaction.
What did this powerful politician think about Future 1.0?
Support? Or more reserved?
－
After dinner, Wang Dehai called Jiang Chen into his office.
“Feel free to sit. Don’t be nervous, I just want to chat with you.” Wang Dehai saw Jiang Chen was nervous and smiled warmly as he invited him to take a seat.
“Haha, Uncle Wang, I’ll make myself comfortable then.” Jiang Chen settled himself onto the sofa across from him.
He didn’t dare to pretend to be an “ancient remedy doctor” anymore. In Hua, all of the intelligent people were politicians, particularly a powerful one like Wang Dehai. The difficulty in convincing him on a story was nearly impossible. Even the finest acting would have its flaws.
Say as little as possible.
But Jiang Chen had clearly overthought the matter.
Wang Dehai didn’t pry into the matter of how he cured rabies. Instead, he started talking about his childhood anecdotes.
“My rabies was probably from the sixties. I was young, my dad was being punished, and I got bit by the dogs of those crazy politicians. I remember the bite was about this big on my leg. I initially didn’t think it would be a problem after so many years, but it still turned out to be worse. Haha.”
Wang Dehai used his hand to show the size of the scar. Jiang Chen smiled, but didn’t respond.
He knew it was better to listen since elders enjoyed telling young people their stories. They didn’t need comfort or praise, only an audience that was willing to hear them out.
Although he didn’t know what Wang Dehai was planning, since he treated Jiang Chen as one of the younger generation instead of as a subordinate, Jiang Chen’s impression of him was not too bad.
He heard many stories from Wang Dehai.
Until the end.
“Now, we are finally powerful. Good, good, good!” In a nostalgic tone, Wang Dehai repeated “good” three times as he looked in Jiang Chen’s direction with a look full of hidden meanings.
The show had finally started.
Jiang Chen’s focused as he waited for this powerful politician to speak.
“Little Jiang, is it feasible for artificial intelligence to be used in the military?” Wang Dehai casually asked as he sipped his tea.
“Of course,” Jiang Chen responded without hesitation before sternly saying, “It would be a disaster to the country and even the world.”
“Oh?” Wang Dehai was quite interested by Jiang Chen’s response and waited for the context.
“Artificial intelligence is not human. If the life and death of a human is given to a program to oversee, it would only take a programming error to cause a catastrophic disaster. In the end, the law cannot regulate lines of code.”
“Oh? But if artificial intelligence soldiers could replace human soldiers going into war, could it not eliminate the need for bloodshed?”
“No, there will only be more casualties.” A troubled smile appeared on Jiang Chen’s face.
Wang Dehai’s gaze bored into him.
Since this elder was asking him, it meant that it was not the worst scenario. From the looks of things, even the top had not managed to reach a consensus yet. Too many parties were involved in this. There was no need to talk about whether it was feasible for artificial intelligence to replace soldiers; how many PLA would be discharged? How many people would want to shut his mouth?
Even foreign agents would target him.
Cold sweat began to drench Jiang Chen’s shirt as he thought about the possible repercussions.
“Since Uncle Wang mentioned bloodshed, may I ask, does this mean our country is going into war soon?”
“Of course. There are always some fools who want to take action.” Wang Dehai raised his eyebrows but explained anyway.
“Then Uncle, if a cheap, effective, and powerful weapon is introduced, how would this change the current situation?” Jiang Chen carefully said.
“An arms race? That’s based on whether the technological capabilities are the same.” Wang Dehai dismissed the idea with a wave of his hand.
“So the question is,” he said with a troubled smile. “But I don’t have it. Like how I explained at the press conference, Future 1.0 can answer questions logically and given permission from users, operate fundamental phone functions. To give an analogy, Windows 7 is effective, but you don’t expect it to control a PC as well as robots, right?”
“Could you not make any adjustments? For example, include a fire control system.” Wang Dehai persisted, reluctant to give up.
“I don’t have any understanding of firearms. I would have to start from scratch to gain any understanding. Also, from a practical standpoint, does the country need a scientist now, or a possible ‘Bill Gates’ who will lead the industry for the next ten years?” Jiang Chen gazed seriously into Wang Dehai’s eyes.
Wang Dehai shouldn’t have been pushing this hard as the developer team was supposedly overseas.
As he spoke, Jiang Chen was also planning in his mind, going so far as to think that if the authority were to take action, then he would drop everything and run overseas. There was still four hundred million USD in his Swiss bank account. He could start over from scratch again anywhere.
Wang Dehai also stared at Jiang Chen.
But soon, his fierce gaze disappeared, and he took a sip of his tea with a smile on his face.
“You and I have the same understanding. Don’t be so anxious.”
Jiang Chen let out a breath of relief. To be honest, he was reluctant to leave unless he was forced to.
“I won’t lie to you—we have always been researching artificial intelligence. The other countries are doing the same. It’s not a major project, but we have quite a large budget for it. It’s just that we haven’t had any results yet.” Wang Dehai looked meaningfully at Jiang Chen. “Some people even said that you should voluntarily give out this technology. Do you know what I said?”
Jiang Chen thought for a moment before he smiled. “Uncle Wang must have thought further than them.”
Wang Dehai laughed.
“You’re quite clever. I told them, you guys are all old and stubborn! If we did that, who would dare to reveal new technology here? You’re pushing all of the talent away!”
Before he finished his sentence, Jiang Chen knew.
Even if they controlled the person in headquarters, with the development team based overseas, if they were pushed away to unfriendly nations, wasn’t that providing them with a more advanced technology? What could they do? If they didn’t have exclusive possession of the technology, what was the point of it?
“Thank you,” Jiang Chen said with a peculiar expression. There was nothing else for him to say.
He didn’t understand Wang Dehai’s intention. Friendliness? Who was he representing? Or was he returning the favor?
“You don’t need to thank me. I’m not the only one supporting you.l The old guy from the Zhou family was more anxious than me.” He sipped the tea again and looked at Jiang Chen. “His family is responsible for military artificial intelligence project with a budget of five hundred million a year.”
Jiang Chen immediately understood.
Just as he suspected, even the top level had not reached a consensus. Or perhaps a better way to put it was that collectively, they were unified, but when it touched their own cake, the situation became much more complex.
Or else, the authority would not have waited for him to finish the press conference. The moment Future 1.0 was released, trouble would have ensued.
Once it came into the world’s spotlight, it would be too costly to work from the shadows again. It was related to the country’s attitude; they were already having difficulty retaining talent. If they proceeded with the plan, they would be chasing away the talents.
The key now was not to be stronger, but to become more stable.
“I’ll ask only one more question. What’s the value of Future 1.0 in the military industry? And be truthful.” Wang Dehai locked onto Jiang Chen’s eyes. In his aged gaze, there was less kindness and more ferocity.
[It’s not the right time to go into the military. There are too many personal interests attached to it.]
Thoughts flashed through his mind as he firmly answered the powerful authority figure, “Zero.”
Wang Dehai nodded, a smile appearing on his face.
“Then, as the general secretary of Wanghai City, I hope you are able to contribute substantially to the city’s economic development! I also wish to see Future Technology significantly benefit the lives of the people and do even greater things!”
With a genuine smile, he answered, “Of course!”
[Is he hinting at me to not overreach the limits of civil usage?]
[Looks like Wang Dehai was not trying to convince me, but rather test me. The Wang and Zhou families probably wear the same pants….]
Thinking about this point, he was not afraid, but he still felt a chill run down his spine.
He originally had the ambition to take Future Technology to the military field, but now it seemed as though he had been overzealous.
[Did Wang Dehai help me?]
Of course, since the Zhou family did not go after him right away.
But would he have repaid Jiang Chen’s favor if the interests of the Wang and Zhou families had been on the line? Probably not, since then it was no longer a personal issue. If Jiang Chen showed the slightest interest in military, or if Future 1.0 had the possibility of encroaching into the field….
Wang Dehai would not do anything, but the Zhou family would not let him walk free either.
At that time, they would threaten him into giving up the technology before getting rid of him. Or, they would get rid of him right away without even asking for the technology.
It would of course result in Jiang Chen’s escape, but he would have a hard time returning home again.
Would it be beneficial for the country?
If they truly cared, then they would not have been so greedy.
All of the smart people were in politics.
Throughout history, the motivated and the honest died on the battlefield, the knowledgeable avoided politics, and the intelligence belonged in the forbidden city.
It was better for the simple to stay away from the intelligent.
Jiang Chen didn’t reveal any of his thoughts. As soon as he left, he inhaled deeply.
He suddenly realized that the past few days had been more tiring than living in the apocalypse.
“Why do I tire myself out? Am I missing the purpose here?” Jiang Chen mocked himself as he shook his head.
Regardless of whether he thought too much or not, he didn’t consider Wang Dehai to be reliable.
Favors were like bills. Once used, it was gone. But it was almost more complex than that since items had a set price; at least you knew how much remained.
The only good news was that Future 1.0 would not receive too much hindrance from regulations; this danger faded in its infancy.