Break out of the courtyard

Chapter 1050: Plan Before Acting

Zhang Heping lectured in the large lecture hall all morning, and when it was almost lunchtime, he ended the get out of class directly, ignoring the students of all ages who were still eager to hear more.

"Teacher Zhang! Can 3D printing replace mental effort in constructing three-dimensional texture modules?"

"Yes, but the success rate is very low."

"Then what about using a lithography machine?"

"Sure, but this is classified technology, and you don't have access to it yet."

As several eager young people followed Zhang Heping out of the classroom, some students gradually put away their pens and paper and got up, but most were still writing and drawing.

"Eat! Hurry up and eat!" An old lady stood up and called out to everyone loudly, "After you finish eating, go back to the classroom, discuss your thoughts from earlier, and organize that pile of questions!"

Following this statement, many more people stood up and left their seats, making the classroom even noisier.

"How do you think Dean Zhang managed to create the first-generation brain-computer interface when he couldn't unleash his mental power?"

"I also have this question! But this question also applies to the Ruomu Brain-Computer: how was the first generation of the Ruomu Brain-Computer created?"

"Is it possible that he can release his mental energy without a medium?"

"That possibility cannot be ruled out, but the question is, where did he obtain those functional module patterns from before?"

"This brings us back to the Ruomu Brain-Computer. Where did the people who originally created the Ruomu Brain-Computer discover those module patterns?"

……

In the afternoon, due to some research project issues on the Dapeng Peninsula, Zhang Heping did not go to the lecture hall to give a lecture.

For the next ten days or so, Zhang Heping would go to the lecture hall to give lectures in the morning and handle other matters in the afternoon.

During this time, his mother, Ma Xiuzhen, went to Harbin and brought back Old Zhang, the old man addicted to his dreams. Also brought back were his maternal uncle and his wife, as well as 3-year-old Zhang Bo.

With the arrival of Xiao Zhangbo, Zhang Yong and Zhang Pandi, the grandparents, have recently started to frequently travel back to Shenzhen with Chen Shuting and her team.

Although the second sister, Zhang Pandi, didn't say anything, Zhang Heping could still sense that the other party wanted Zhang Yi and Luo Yi to settle down as soon as possible, instead of always running away from home and neglecting their child.

Just as Zhang Heping was explaining the materials on the Ruomu brain-computer interface, some people from the Chinese Academy of Sciences also arrived.

Furthermore, Qian Xuesen recently asked Zhang Heping again, tentatively, about the joint establishment of the Shenzhen Brain-Computer Technology Research Institute.

It won't be long before the Chinese Academy of Sciences contacts him again to discuss this matter.

On the very day that "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" premiered, Zhang Bei called from Suzhou. The virtual learning dream experience exhibition set up in the Suzhou University Library officially opened to the public this morning, with a total of two thousand game helmets installed.

The brain-computer interface equipment there was actually installed and tested a week ago. The reason it was delayed until today to open to the public was mainly because those insiders got a head start.

That same afternoon, Professor Hua arrived in Shenzhen from the capital, bringing with him the Chinese Academy of Sciences' construction plan for the Shenzhen Brain-Computer Technology Research Institute.

In terms of personnel structure, Zhang Heping was invited to serve as dean.

In addition, it is planned to invite Qian Xuesen to serve as vice president, Zhang Bei to serve as director of the Virtual Dream Institute, Zhang Yi to serve as director of the Brain-Computer Interaction Institute, and all other positions to be filled by people from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Seeing Zhang Heping turn to the last page of the plan and place it on the plastic table beside him, Hua Lao, who was sitting next to him in a plastic chair, asked with a smile, "Heping, what do you think?"

Zhang Heping pushed the project proposal to the center of the plastic table, looked at the artificial lake in front of him, and slowly said: "Brain-computer interface, mental power, biological brain, regenerative brain, virtual dream, precision manufacturing, material selection, brain-computer interface technology application..."

"The Ruomu Divine Tree project involves issues such as massive energy absorption and conversion. This project plan is very crudely designed. They probably only want to trick me out of the brain-computer interface technology and haven't considered the future development of this research institute at all."

Hua Lao picked up the project proposal, turned to the personnel page, looked at the candidates for the three research institutes of Virtual Dreams, Brain-Computer Interaction, and Mental Power, and smiled, "They are all laymen in the field of brain-computer interface technology."

"If you are willing to take on the role of director of this research institute, it will definitely be based on your proposed plan."

Hearing this, Zhang Heping looked away and reached for the plan.

Immediately afterwards, a pen came to a stop in front of Zhang Heping with a whoosh. No one noticed that the pen had flown out of the study window on the second floor of the villa.

Zhang Heping gripped his pen, first crossing out the line "Chinese Academy of Sciences Shenzhen Brain-Computer Technology Research Institute" on the proposal, then adding a new name: "World Advanced Technology Research Institute".

Then, Zhang Heping turned to the page on personnel structure and crossed out the three research institutes at the top.

Then write the first research institute in the upper left corner: Brain-Computer Interaction and Technology Research Institute.

He then wrote about research centers such as brain-computer interfaces, mental power, biological brain, virtual dreams, and brain-computer assisted therapy.

After that, Zhang Heping wrote down the Institute of Integrated Technology, the Institute of Biomedicine and Pharmaceuticals, the Institute of Supercomputing, the Institute of Big Health and Medical Care, the Institute of Aerospace, and so on.

"The research centers here will be partly funded by the Peace Group and the Peace Academy, and partly require the participation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, domestic universities, and other research institutions." Zhang Heping capped his pen, pushed the roughly revised proposal in front of Professor Hua, and said solemnly:
"If this research institute plan doesn't pass, then let Zhang Yi run the Brain-Computer Interaction and Technology Research Institute, and we won't discuss anything else."

When Hua Lao picked up the plan, he looked at the powerful characters on the cover and immediately sensed Zhang Heping's arrogance and his desire for greater power!
But when Professor Hua turned to the personnel page and saw the densely packed list of research institutes and centers, he felt both happy and worried.

The good news is that many of the research centers listed here are indeed related to the Heping Group, which shows that Zhang Heping is willing to share his technology with domestic research institutions.

The worry is that having one research institute integrate so many research institutes and centers will likely face opposition from many people.

The key point is that this plan will definitely involve a lot of funding. If the Peace Group is still to provide the funding, then the nature of this research institute will change!
When Hua Lao came to his senses and wanted to discuss with Zhang Heping whether they could take over one research institute at a time, he didn't expect that Zhang Heping had already taken his phone and gone to the side to hold a video conference.

The following day, October 24th, was Sunday.

After finishing explaining the materials in the large lecture hall in the morning, Zhang Heping answered a few questions briefly, then stopped paying attention to the materials and began planning his trip to Western Sichuan.

However, before heading west, he made another trip to Hong Kong Island.

It was unclear how long they would be staying in Western Sichuan, so for safety reasons, Zhang Heping personally oversaw the security arrangements for both the Umbrella Company and the Smart Technology Company.

In addition, Zhang Heping increased the number of security training game pods on the third basement floor of the villa to 1000.

As for the gaming helmets on the first floor of the library, they haven't been installed yet; only the lacquered iron pipes and telescopic devices have been installed.

...The US Embassy in Hong Kong, Central, Hong Kong Island.

After entering the office, the blonde secretary went straight to the curator, Alex, who was standing by the window, and whispered, "Curator, Mr. Zhang has gone to Shenzhen again, for reasons unknown!"

Director Alex stared at the buildings in the distance, frowned, and asked, "Is the renovation of the first floor of the Peace Academy Library finished?"

"Not yet!" the female secretary hurriedly said, "However, the Peace Group has released its second recruitment plan for the Genius Training Camp."

"The first test requires you to stay in a virtual dream for 24 consecutive hours under 10x sensory acceleration!"

"24 hours?" Curator Alex turned around in confusion. "Can we eat during that time?"

"I don't think so, because they require a continuous 24-hour stay, and the word 'continuous' is highlighted in bold!" the female secretary explained.
"Based on the intelligence gathered previously, people experiencing virtual dreams need to remove their gaming helmets or learning pods before they can eat."

“It’s unlikely that they won’t eat anything during the training!” Curator Alex shook his head and said, “Go and check the information on the first genius training camp later, and see how many meals those teenagers ate a day!”

"Okay, I'll verify this when I go out later!" The female secretary said, and then took a pen and made a note in her notebook.

Curator Alex walked to his desk, picked up a cigar and a knife, and asked, "What's the next test? Is there a reward of a lifespan potion advance card if I pass?"

"The second assessment requires creating a task item within a virtual learning dream," the female secretary replied. "The announcement didn't specify what item to create, nor did it mention a time limit."

"The third assessment is a closed-book exam, which requires answering questions in a virtual learning dream."

"The prize remains a Lifespan Potion advance card, and there is no limit to the number you can receive!"

"In addition, they also announced the usage of the Lifespan Potion Advance Cards issued in the first Genius Training Camp. Currently, 23 Lifespan Potion Advance Cards have been redeemed and used!"

Director Alex, holding a cigar and lighter, thought for a moment before asking again, "Are there any restrictions on Japan and South Korea's participation?"

"It's restricted!" The female secretary's lips curled up as if in a smile. "There's a small note at the bottom of the announcement stating that people from blacklisted areas are not eligible to refer to it!"

Curator Alex seemed to have forgotten about the cigar in his hand, and didn't light it, just leaning against the large desk in deep thought.

After a moment, Curator Alex spoke again, "Go and ask the Peace Group if any American-born Japanese can participate in the assessment!"

"Director!" the female secretary said with slight concern, "Should we change it to an eagle-origin Japanese? That way we can avoid some unnecessary misunderstandings!"

“Good idea!” Curator Alex nodded and added, “It would be best to call from a public phone to inquire!”

"Not a single person from the Japanese islands entered the training camp last year. If they can be used by us this year, we might be able to get one or two Lifespan Potion Advance Cards!"

……

Mitsubishi Bank, Central, Hong Kong Island.

A middle-aged man in a black suit knocked on the door of the rooftop conference room and bowed to the man in a black kimono sitting at the head of the conference table, saying:
"Branch manager! The customer service from Heping Group just replied that we are on the blacklist and are not eligible to register for the exam!"

A thin, middle-aged man with a small mustache asked at the conference table, "If I acquire another nationality, can I register for the exam?"

"Okay!" The middle-aged man in the black suit bowed to the thin middle-aged man and said, "But you must have been a member of another country for more than three years to be eligible to apply!"

"Baka!" The short, thin old man at the head of the conference table looked at the projection screen and said to the East City venue on the other end of the video conference, "Boss, can we communicate with the mainland and put pressure on the Peace Group to allow our people to register for the exam?"

"We've already communicated with the mainland, but there are no results yet!" A voice came from the speaker from the East Metropolis area. It was an old man in a black kimono speaking. "Suspend all tracking operations. Remember not to provoke the Peace Group in the near future!"

"Hey!" Everyone in the Hong Kong Island venue suddenly stood up and responded.

"The second Genius Training Camp is now open for recruitment. The first requirement for applicants is to spend 24 hours in a virtual dream world!" The voice from the East City venue continued, causing the people in the Hong Kong Island venue to quickly sit down.

"Currently, the virtual dreamscapes open to the public are: Nanjing Fall, Project Night Cherry Blossom, and Virtual Learning Dreamscape!"

"If we go to the first two virtual dream worlds under the guise of seeking verification, we should be able to trick our way into getting a chance to experience them, but we might not be able to experience them for an extended period of time!"

"The third virtual learning dream is currently on display in Suzhou. It's being guarded by Zhang Heping's eldest son, Zhang Bei, and nephew, Zhang Yi. It's quite difficult to get a chance to experience it, but we can't give up. We can let our international students go there first to try it out!"

……

Shenzhen Peace College, Villa No. 1.

Zhang Heping was unaware of the content of the Japanese islanders' meeting, but when he had the Peace Group release the recruitment plan for the second Genius Training Camp, he anticipated some of the Japanese islanders' reactions.

First of all, the Japanese islanders definitely want to participate in the genius training camp. Putting aside the prospect of obtaining the lifespan potion advance card, the virtual dream experience and access to the Peace Group's brain-computer interface are things they have been plotting all along.

Secondly, if the Japanese islanders want to overcome the restrictions on registration, they need to find a way to ease relations with the Peace Group.

Although the Japanese government has never acknowledged the attack earlier this year or the theft of the virus source, it has been sending people to meet with them in an attempt to ease tensions with the Peace Group, since the Peace Group's countermeasures have been too offensive.

Putting aside the increased service fees charged by ports on the new island for Japanese vessels, the chip restrictions alone have forced some Japanese companies to buy electronics from mainland China and then secretly use the chips from those electronics in their own products.

Furthermore, if the Japanese islanders want to register for the second Genius Training Camp, they must refrain from doing anything that could further provoke the Zhang family or the Peace Group.

In this way, things should calm down in Hong Kong while Zhang Heping is at Sanxingdui.

Moreover, Mr. Hua repeatedly assured him that he would ensure the safety of Chen Shuting and Zhang Nan on Hong Kong Island.

Hong Kong Island hasn't even been taken back yet, so who knows where his guarantee came from? Zhang Heping didn't ask any further questions.

"Honey, can't you even decide on a rough time?" Tang Xin asked, her face full of reluctance as she packed Zhang Heping's luggage.

Zhang Heping explained with a hint of helplessness, "It's really hard to say. After all, those old experts have been researching over there for decades, but they haven't come up with anything."

"Do you think I'll get the answer I want just by going over there and taking a look?"

"Okay then! If things don't go well, I promise I'll be back before the New Year, is that alright?"

……

(End of this chapter)