Break out of the courtyard

As night falls on Hong Kong Island, it is just getting light in Washington, D.C., the United States.

The news that only three gifted teenagers in the United States passed the Peace Group's assessment and received advance cards for the Life-Extending Potion began to spread among the general public in the United States through various television stations, newspapers, and radio stations.

Of the 158 award winners, only 3 were from the United States, which really upset many Americans.

With the deliberate manipulation of some media outlets, some Americans spontaneously organized marches and gathered outside the US branches and sub-branches of HSBC Bank to protest.

It's not that these Americans didn't want to protest outside the Peace Group; the key issue is that the Peace Group has never established a branch in the United States. They had no choice but to protest outside the Peace Group-controlled HWF Bank in hopes of relaying their protest to the Peace Group.

The public opinion trends in the United States were naturally monitored by Peace Media.

Without Zhang Heping or Chen Shuting giving any instructions, Heping Media organized its controlled US media and online media to launch a corresponding counterattack.

Their counterattack was simple: they directly released the exam questions and rules for the first, second, and third rounds without any further explanation.

This approach was something Zhang Heping had discussed with Qu Zhouping, the head of Heping Media, during an interview with RTV.

In contrast to the United States, where none of its three laureates were awarded, Japan actually saw more protests, and these protests began earlier than those in the United States.

However, since Peace Media did not hold shares in the Japanese media, it did not offer any explanation locally and simply ignored the Japanese media's reaction.

Hwaseong, the office of the Grand Steward of the Palace.

Xiao Ke was eating breakfast while reading the newspaper behind his desk.

The men, women, and children who came in one after another did not have the relaxed expression that Xiao Ke had. They all frowned and found seats to sit down or places to lean against.

After a while, the black-haired female secretary led in an old man with blond and white hair, then leaned close to Little K and whispered, "Sir, John, the president of the Buckingham Institution, has arrived."

Little K put down his newspaper, looked around at everyone present, and as he stood up, he pointed with his right index finger at the plate with half a piece of bread left, signaling his secretary to take away the plate and cup.

“Mr. John!” Little Ke walked towards the old man with yellow and white hair, extended his right hand to shake hands with him, and then asked, “Have your experts finished experiencing the virtual dream game in Hong Kong?”

"You need to understand, your experts were able to skip the queue to experience it, but I didn't even get any sleep. I was on the phone at 3 a.m. discussing things with you. You'd better give me a detailed analysis report on the virtual dream game!"

The elderly man with blond hair, called John, said wearily, "Your Excellency, I haven't slept all night because of the situation in Hong Kong!"

"Fortunately, our experts sent the relevant report to my email address as soon as they finished the virtual dream game experience. I have already forwarded the materials to your personal secretary, and they should be printed out soon for everyone to review!"

"Please sit down!" Little K nodded, gesturing for old John to sit down.

Before Xiao Ke could urge the secretary, the black-haired female secretary who had just taken away the plates and cups came in carrying a stack of printed papers.

Xiao Ke first took a document, then sat down at the front of his desk and casually flipped through it.

The other people in the office who were called to the meeting all read the virtual dream game analysis report carefully after receiving it.

A moment later, before the chief steward could speak, a computer genius in his twenties said, "The content here is exactly what Pierre from France said in an interview. Virtual dream games are like a second world. You can feel touch, smell, pain, hearing, and taste. It doesn't feel like a dream!"

"Everyone, look at the time test!" a blonde middle-aged woman interjected. "The real-world mobile phone timer shows 15 minutes and 17 seconds, while the watch timer in the virtual dream world shows approximately 72 minutes, excluding the time spent looking for the watch!"

"In other words, time in the virtual dream world is five times faster than time in the real world!"

“I’ve seen the interview with Mr. Zhang on the Peace Media website,” Old John said slowly. “He said that the speed of time in the virtual dream world depends on the differences in the perception of the player’s brain.”

"It's the game that makes players' brains perceive time as faster, not that it's actually faster than real time!"

A group of think tanks spent half a day discussing in the office, but still couldn't figure out how the virtual reality game device worked.

"Could we send an agent to bring back a set of virtual reality game equipment for research?" A fat, middle-aged man in a white suit asked tactfully, but his true intentions were extremely sinister.

"no!"

“Don’t do that!”

Several dissenting voices immediately rang out in the office!

Old John looked at Little K and frowned, saying, "Our expert report clearly states that this virtual dream game uses a biological brain as the game server."

"Even if we obtain the complete set of virtual reality game equipment, without knowing how to maintain that biological brain, even if we rashly bring back a set, we cannot guarantee the survival of that biological brain!"

“Mr. John is right!” An elderly professor in a white coat and glasses chimed in, “It would be best to wait until the Peace Group sells its virtual dream game equipment and figure out how they maintain the activity of biological brains before considering other methods.”

A burly, fair-skinned man in a black military uniform frowned and said, "The Umbrella Corporation has a very strong security force. According to reliable intelligence, they have deployed a lot of advanced weapons in places such as the Peace Academy and Victoria Peak, and have also built a smart city system on Hong Kong Island that can monitor the movements of most areas of Hong Kong Island."

"Unless a large force is sent to seize it, it would be difficult for just a few agents to steal their virtual reality gaming equipment."

"Rob?" The tall black man in the white military uniform shook his head repeatedly. "We haven't detected any submarine activity from the mainland for years!"

"Do you think the mainland destroyed all its submarines, or is it because our equipment is outdated and we simply can't detect their submarines?"

"If we can't detect their submarines, would our aircraft carrier fleet dare to sail over?"

"And their fighter jets!" the old man in the blue military uniform added, and then fell silent.

Everyone present understood what the old man was trying to say!
Since the new aircraft from mainland China was first revealed two years ago, it has been undergoing secret testing and no information has been released to the outside world.

Some people speculate that the new aircraft in mainland China is a fourth-generation fighter jet, but the mainlanders are cunning and have not responded to this speculation.

However, what the Americans don't know is that Zhang Heping defined the Joint Strike Fighter, Interceptor, and Air Superiority Fighter manufactured by Shaanxi Aircraft Industry Group as only fourth-generation and a half-generation aircraft two years ago, because the intelligent auxiliary system of the space-based computing center had not yet been built at that time.

Today, the space-based computing center is connected to the space-based early warning system and important equipment in various parts of the ground, and has long been equipped with intelligent assistance.

This was already evident when Peace Wisdom Technology Company sought assistance from the Space-Based Computing Centre to use the Hong Kong Island Smart City Monitoring System to locate suspicious individuals.

Therefore, the three new aircraft that mainland China has been quietly developing without publicly announcing them can actually be considered fifth-generation fighters. The next step, besides continued testing, is determining the production volume.

This is also why Zhang Heping hasn't been going to Shaanxi Aircraft Industry Group recently, because they don't need his guidance there for the time being. Instead, they need to focus on internally digesting the relevant technologies.

After all, in the data on land, sea and air equipment that Zhang Heping provided to the mainland, fifth-generation fighter jets could only be considered mid-to-high-end weapons, and there were still sixth- and seventh-generation fighter jets waiting for them to realize.

"What if we buy it from within their ranks?" The chubby middle-aged man in the white suit, clearly not giving up, asked again.

The middle-aged man in a black suit standing in the corner behind Xiao Ke said, "We are trying, but there are no successful cases yet!"

"Isn't Mr. Zhang interested in that hammer from Area 51?" A female professor in a gray suit, who was waving away the smoke in front of her, said with a slight frown, "Could he come to our United States because of that hammer?"

……

"Report!" Old Yang's secretary suddenly stood up and looked at the group of elderly men who were smoking and discussing things in hushed tones in the sofa area.

After receiving a slight nod from Elder Yang, the secretary said with a smile and a hint of excitement, "Advisor Zhang has agreed to let Zhang Yi's brain-computer interface research team visit his underground laboratory on Victoria Peak!"

"What about the brain-computer interface research teams in Shenzhen and Western Sichuan?" Old Nie asked.

The secretary shook her head. "They weren't allowed to go!"

"Hehe!" Old Yang looked at Old Hua and laughed, "This preferential treatment is too obvious!"

"If we want to collaborate with Consultant Zhang on brain-computer interface research, it seems we'll have to let Comrades Zhang Yi and Luo Yi take the lead!"

"Actually, I would prefer Zhang Long and Zhang Hu to take the lead!" Old Hua said seriously. "Don't underestimate them just because they are young and haven't gone to university. They have their own independent laboratories in the underground base, as well as supporting researchers and assistants."

"Most of the drone equipment that the military is scrambling to order came from these two brothers' labs!"

Old Yang chuckled, "So, the Dragon and Tiger brothers that the Xie family has their eye on?"

Old Hua nodded, but didn't say much about the Zhang-Xie marriage. Mainly because the two families hadn't met and gotten engaged yet, it wasn't appropriate to say too much about such matters, lest it damage the reputation of the Xie family's daughter.

Grandma Zheng frowned and said, "Zhang Long and Zhang Hu are now learning brain-computer interface technology from their father, and they rarely come back to Shenzhen. For now, we can only rely on Zhang Yi and Luo Yi."

Hua nodded again, which was considered as his approval of Zhang Yi and Luo Yi taking the lead.

An elderly man wrapped in a military overcoat nearby said worriedly, "I remember Zhang Yi and Luo Yi were a couple, and they were only about twenty-six or twenty-seven years old."

"Should we consider having Vice Dean Qian or Vice Dean Deng take the lead first, and appoint Zhang Yi as their deputy?"

“There’s no need for that right now!” As soon as Hua heard this, he understood what the other party wanted to do. “It’s not the right time to integrate other brain-computer interface teams. Let Zhang Yi’s brain-computer interface research team contact Zhang’s research first, and then we can talk about other things after we’ve established cooperation.”

"Then let's wait and see!" Old Yang smiled and agreed with Old Hua's idea, then changed the subject, saying, "I heard that Consultant Zhang's uncle is receiving treatment at Shenzhen Peace Hospital. How is his condition now?"

Hua Lao casually replied, "Consultant Zhang has already administered the medicine to his uncle. It is said that he needs to stay there for observation for 3 to 6 months before the final efficacy can be confirmed."

Old Qin, who was standing to the side, laughed and said, "Leaving aside Consultant Zhang's scientific research contributions in other fields, just in the medical field alone, he deserves the title of 'miracle doctor' that people talk about."

……

Zhang Heping, who is being talked about by countless people, is currently demonstrating his laboratory equipment, materials, and operating methods to his nephew Zhang Yi and his group of 16 people in his underground laboratory.

As the equipment came to a stop and the parts and materials that had been flying through the air fell to the ground, Zhang Heping smiled and said to the group of young people:

"If you want to study brain-computer interfaces, you must first learn to use mental power, and then possess mental power that surpasses that of ordinary people."

As he spoke, Zhang Heping walked out of the laboratory. "Otherwise, we can only do auxiliary research on brain-computer interfaces. For example, research on regenerating the brain and the nutrient solution needed by players."

Outside the laboratory is the virtual dream game testing area, which has been expanded to 300 game pods, and bodyguards and their families on vacation waiting in line to enter the game.

Unlike the Nanjing Fallen Dream scenario in the virtual dream classroom down the mountain, the virtual dream here is a simulation game about security, rescue, and defense. It's a security training program, but these bodyguards are using their vacation time to train here, and they don't get overtime pay.

Zhang Heping let Zhang Yi and Luo Yi experience the five-times acceleration for five minutes, then took them back to the flat area above to have a late-night snack.

"Third Uncle!" Zhang Yi held a plastic chair behind him with both hands and sat down next to Zhang Heping with a grin. "After your brain-computer interface becomes widespread, will computers become useless?"

Zhang Heping picked up a teacup from the plastic table next to him and asked in return, "The 'patriotic bullet' has been around for so many years, do you think handguns are still useful?"

Zhang Yi asked excitedly, "You mean that brain-computer interfaces and computers have different use cases, so there's no such thing as them being phased out?"

"Don't be too happy yet!" Zhang Heping took a sip of his still-scalding tea, then slowly said to the young people around him who were eavesdropping:
"Your understanding of computers is still limited to desktops and tablets."

Have you ever thought about miniature computers with retinal screens?

“This…” Zhang Yi was speechless for a moment. Although he usually taught computer courses, he also paid attention to cutting-edge research such as quantum computers and photonic computers.

However, he hadn't really thought of projecting computer data onto his retina.

“Dad, I’ll take Zhang Yi and the others to the underground base in Shenzhen tomorrow!” Zhang Bei said from the side. “You can’t accept things quickly unless you see them with your own eyes.”

“It’s good to go. It’s a good opportunity to verify the qualifications of your group.” Zhang Heping said with a faint smile, “Although you should have already been vetted by the capital, the security level of Shenzhen Peace Academy is very high.”

"If you want to learn brain-computer interface technology from me, you should give up on this idea as soon as possible if you can't get past the Shenzhen Peace Academy."

Zhang Heping's words were so blunt that they made the other 14 young men and women quite nervous.

"Don't be too nervous!" Zhang Heping said with a smile. "I happen to be short-handed here. If you can pass the inspection over there..."

"Next, you can help with setting up the virtual dream game equipment needed for the genius training camp."

...(End of chapter)