Break out of the courtyard

After observing patients in the neurology department of Hong Kong Island Peace Hospital for several days, Zhang Zhaodi basically understood the principle of brain-computer interface therapy for vegetative patients.

In addition, she had also been to the mental training room in the basement of the villa on the mountaintop, and knew that Zhang Bei and Zhang Nan had a lot of discarded biological brain servers.

Therefore, after Lao Zhang and Chang Sheng returned to the capital, Zhang Zhaodi once again approached her third brother, Zhang Heping, to discuss conducting a clinical trial of brain-computer interface therapy for vegetative patients at Shenzhen Heping Hospital.

“You can call back first and have them find a patient and sign the relevant agreements with the family.” Zhang Heping walked out of the library and led his elder sister Zhang Zhaodi toward the bulletproof car parked by the roadside. “I’m still considering whether to let Xiao Bei take the equipment back or let Xiao Yi and the others take it back.”

Zhang Zhaodi frowned slightly, thinking about the meaning behind her two nephews bringing brain-computer interface devices back to Shenzhen.

The convoy drove up to the outside of the Virtual Dream Lecture Hall, and Zhang Zhaodi got out of the car again to take a look at the crowd of people experiencing the Virtual Dream game in the lecture hall. Then she stood curiously at the door of the computer room and watched her third brother, Zhang Heping, standing in front of a black spherical device.

Zhang Zhaodi had asked what it was before, and Zhang Heping only gave a simple answer: "Multi-species gene regeneration brain server." However, her nephews Zhang Bei and Zhang Long explained it to her in more detail, making her understand that it was an upgraded version of the biological brain server, which could also be called a large-scale multi-user server.

In addition, she learned a secret: Zhang Heping was testing multi-species gene regeneration brain servers in the computer rooms of the virtual dream tiered classroom and the library to verify whether they would develop independent consciousness or individual intelligence.

After the siblings got into the car, Zhang Zhaodi asked again, "Brother, did you ask Xiaoyi to take the brain-computer interface back with him because you wanted him to lead brain-computer interface research in China?"

“That’s a consideration!” Zhang Heping leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes to rest, and said slowly, “The early experts in brain-computer interface research in the mainland were mostly old men and women. I’m worried that Xiao Yi won’t be able to keep up with them!”

“He definitely can’t control them!” Zhang Zhaodi dismissed the idea without a second thought. “There’s a strong seniority system in China. Xiao Yi and Luo Yi are too young. Besides, they haven’t studied with you for more than a few days, and they don’t even have a lab in China.”

"Hmm!" Zhang Heping responded noncommittally.

When the convoy arrived at the underground parking garage of the Peace Group, while the two siblings waited in the car for Chen Shuting to come downstairs, Zhang Zhaodi spoke again: "How long can Xiao Bei stay in Shenzhen with the brain-computer interface device?"

“That depends on you!” Zhang Heping turned to look at his older sister. “If you want him to return to Hong Kong Island as soon as possible, he can teach the medical staff there how to use brain-computer interface devices and how to prepare biological brain nutrition solutions. Then you can leave the devices there and come back directly.”

"If you need him to stay longer, it would be reasonable for him to bring the brain-computer interface back to Hong Kong every few days for maintenance and to replenish his brain nutrition fluid!"

Zhang Zhaodi immediately understood her third brother Zhang Heping's intention.

Zhang Heping's decision to have Zhang Yi take the brain-computer interface back was actually for Zhang Yi's benefit. He wanted to use the medical clinical trial as an opportunity to help Zhang Yi, Luo Yi, and their brain-computer interface research team implement their first research project in China.

Sending Zhang Bei back was for Zhang Zhaodi's promotion.

Zhang Zhaodi originally thought that if Zhang Bei stayed in Shenzhen for a long time, he might be able to wait for Zhang Yi and Luo Yi to return to Shenzhen and take over Zhang Bei's place.

Hearing her third brother Zhang Heping say this, Zhang Zhaodi realized that brain-computer interface therapy for vegetative state patients was not complicated.

Once we uncover the truth and provide the brain-computer interface equipment and nutrient solution to the medical staff at Shenzhen Peace Hospital, they can quickly get started!
Of course, if brain-computer interface devices are regulated and the number of users is limited, just like in Hong Kong, no one can find fault with it.

Because those brain-computer interface devices are still under development and have not yet matured to the point of being commercially viable.

“Then I’ll trouble Xiao Bei!” Zhang Zhaodi chose the latter and explained to Zhang Heping, “I just went to the Shenzhen Health Bureau and there are still many things to sort out.”

"Besides, Xiao Bei is not getting any younger. If he travels more between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, he might meet a girl he likes someday. What do you think?"

"We'll ask Xiao Bei for his opinion when we get back!" Zhang Heping wasn't an overbearing parent, so he didn't make the decision for his eldest son directly.

After Chen Shuting arrived, Zhang Zhaodi sat down in the back row. "Why is Shuting at the company today? Aren't you supposed to start work on the eighth day of the new year?"

“There are two gold transactions, and those foreigners insist on delivering the goods today!” Chen Shuting complained, then sat down next to Zhang Heping. “Honey, the price of gold is too high right now. Can we sell some to drive down the price?”

As the vehicle started, Zhang Ping said calmly, "You can handle this yourself. Don't let outsiders think we're stupid and rich."

Chen Shuting said with a grin, "There are actually people online who say that about us. Once we go back to work after the New Year, I'll show them who the fool is!"

Zhang Zhaodi asked curiously, "Shuting, how do you ensure the safety of so much gold you collect?"

"Melt it into 10-ton gold ingots, dump them in the underground warehouse, and then glue them together with adhesive," Chen Shuting laughed. "Unless we encounter a large-scale armed attack, and without the help of large forklifts and trucks, don't even think about stealing our gold!"

……

Conference room in the administration building of Shenzhen Peace College.

"I reserve my opinion!" an elderly man with white hair stubbornly said. "The consequences of abusing brain-computer interfaces for hypnosis are unimaginable. It must be restrained in advance. It would be best to establish a special regulatory agency to conduct pre-screening of every virtual dream that comes out!"

"Given Advisor Zhang's personality, I'm afraid he won't agree!" A small, gray-haired old man glanced at Elder Hua and said slowly, "If he doesn't give us the brain-computer interface, or doesn't sell it to us, who will he establish a regulatory agency to audit?"

"If the two professors have any objections, they can raise them after they return to Xishu and develop a new type of brain-computer interface. This is the Peace Academy!" Vice Dean Deng coldly looked at the Xishu brain-computer interface expert group. "If you want to create conflict with Dean Zhang here, don't blame me for having the guards escort you out!" "They should have been kicked out long ago!" an older professor from the Peace Academy spoke up. "They've been eating and staying here for free for so long, wasting so many supplies, and they still dare to criticize our Dean Zhang!"

"These people have been researching for decades but haven't been able to replicate Ruomu's brain-computer interface. Now that they've been outdone by Dean Zhang's research, it's understandable that they feel uncomfortable. Let's not take it to heart," another professor from the Peace Academy chimed in. "If it were me, I would also be jealous of Dean Zhang's talent and try every means to limit him!"

As if receiving a signal, the professors at the Peace Academy, disregarding the ongoing video conference connected to the capital, began to criticize the brain-computer interface expert from Western Sichuan on the other side of the conference room.

"Isn't that right? They previously blocked Dean Zhang from going to Western Shu to research that Ruomu brain-computer interface, finding all sorts of reasons not to grant him the necessary permissions. Now that he doesn't need their permission, Dean Zhang has taken a different approach and developed a different kind of brain-computer interface, and now they're all panicking!"

"If it weren't for them, why would Dean Zhang have gone to Hong Kong to conduct research! To put it bluntly, Dean Zhang simply doesn't want to share his research findings with these people!"

"We should get rid of these fame-seeking bastards as soon as possible, otherwise we won't be able to get Dean Zhang back! If Dean Zhang doesn't come back, we can only consult him via video at night, which is very inconvenient."

Old Hua picked up his teacup, took a sip as if nothing had happened, and then leaned over to Old Qian next to him and asked in a low voice why it wasn't Pu'er tea.

Mr. Qian replied in a low voice, "Pu'er tea is too expensive, and Mr. Deng and I couldn't bear to buy it."

"Has the price of Pu'er tea gone up?" Old Hua asked in a low voice, looking surprised. "How much is it per pound now?"

Instead of answering, Mr. Qian asked, "Guess how much a ten-year-old compressed tea costs per kilogram?"

Old Hua smacked his lips, thinking that if even the two vice-deans thought it was expensive, the price must be quite high. So he held up his right hand, held up three fingers, and said, "3000?"

Mr. Qian held up five fingers and smiled, "50,000!"

"5 yuan per kilogram?" Old Hua frowned and said, "Is someone speculating on Pu'er tea like they would on Clivia miniata?"

Mr. Qian nodded and said, "A group of Hong Kong businessmen are leading the speculation, but none of the Pu'er tea they bought at high prices is sold in China. Instead, some speculators in China are cheating their own people, making it so that we can't afford Pu'er tea anymore."

As the two old men spoke, they couldn't help but look towards the Western Sichuan Brain-Computer Interaction Team.

If it weren't for the obstruction of these people and their superiors, the meeting on how to cooperate with Zhang Heping on brain-computer interface research wouldn't have been delayed from yesterday to today.

The noise in the conference room of Shenzhen Peace Academy naturally did not spread to other meeting rooms via video link.

Meanwhile, in the capital city venue, a heated debate was taking place with microphones muted, and the volume of the argument was no less than in Shenzhen. Even the cameras were turned to a corner to prevent people in other venues from seeing it.

After receiving a phone call, Vice President Deng first whispered something to Elder Hua in the middle, Secretary Chen behind Elder Hua, and Elder Qian beside Elder Hua.

Then, at Hua Lao's prompting, Vice Dean Deng turned on the microphone, coughed once to draw the attention of others and the meeting room, and then began to speak:
"I just received news that Zhang Zhaodi, deputy director of the Shenzhen Municipal Health Bureau, has secured a clinical trial for brain-computer interface therapy for vegetative patients for Shenzhen Peace Hospital. Now we need to organize a group of vegetative patients to participate in the relevant clinical treatment."

"In addition, considering the instability and uncertainty of the existing brain-computer interface and biological brain server, Dean Zhang will send Comrade Zhang Bei and his entourage to bring brain-computer interface equipment to assist in the clinical trials."

The room fell silent as everyone processed the news.

Their previous argument concerned the hypnotic function of brain-computer interfaces, and some people wanted to use this to set rules to restrict and regulate Zhang Heping's brain-computer interface research.

Don't those people understand that the initiative is in Zhang Heping's hands?

No! They all understand!

However, they understand better who holds the power!

"Let me say a few words!" Old Hua picked up the microphone and said slowly, "Advisor Zhang's brain-computer interface is nearing completion!"

Hua Lao’s first sentence was spoken calmly, but it was like a slap in the face to those brain-computer interface experts, including those brain-computer interface experts affiliated with the underground base of the Shenzhen Peace Academy.

This means that Zhang Heping's brain-computer interface device does not require the participation of others in its research and development!

"The Americans have already received Zhang's approval. As long as they can provide technology that satisfies Zhang, they can go to him to learn about brain-computer interfaces and have the hope of participating in his brain-computer interface research and development. But we haven't!"

The last sentence is more direct, but still somewhat subtle, not directly stating that the participants' arguments were meaningless.

After turning off the microphone, Professor Hua agreed to let Vice President Deng leave first, allowing him to arrange matters related to coordinating the brain-computer interface clinical trial.

Although the Shenzhen Peace Hospital is independent of the Peace Academy, due to certain confidentiality regulations, it is actually under the jurisdiction of the Peace Academy and cannot be directly managed by the Shenzhen Health Bureau.

Therefore, if Zhang Zhaodi wants to be promoted, it's not enough to just have Shenzhen Peace Hospital conduct brain-computer interface clinical trials; she needs to at least add Shenzhen Peace Hospital to the mix… (End of Chapter)