Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 376 My First Trip Abroad After Rebirth?
High-precision remote object control would be of great benefit to both routine experiments and manufacturing, as well as the reverse engineering and adjustment of cutting-edge equipment.

Even though Zhai Da already had a lot of equipment, this ability was still extremely valuable, so he took it very seriously.

In fact, since the press conference, Zhai Da and Xinglang have been communicating intermittently about the program's preparation, and it has already taken shape.

ZTE's multi-million dollar sponsorship fee was intended to advertise its own V-series phones. With Tianyu and HTC releasing their Hongtu phones in September, they were practically drooling with envy.

In order to get a piece of the "Hongtu OS" business as soon as possible, everything was done overtime and even some additional budget was added. The release date was set for October, and with this impetus, the pre-production preparation of the program was very efficient.

After school, Zhai Da went to the Mechanical Core Research Institute, where he now had a permanent office, fully equipped with all necessary office equipment.

However, it wasn't much different from other people's offices. At most, it was slightly more spacious. He couldn't possibly do something like a boss's office that took up a third of the area, hundreds of square meters, and had a hidden door on the side with a bed inside.

At this moment, he was converting the white model he had obtained during the day into computer graphics. With Lao Yu's support, he devoted as much of his mental work as possible to the research institute.

As a piece of equipment worth tens of millions, the silicon carbide vapor deposition epitaxial iron box is quite complex. However, if you disassemble it, at least 70% of the components are not secrets; they are all outsourced or are standard parts.

Even though TEL is Japan's largest and one of the world's top five semiconductor manufacturers, it's impossible for them to manufacture all the components themselves. That's not how industry works. For example, the robotic arm that transfers the substrate was considered technologically advanced in 09, but it could have been directly purchased.

Only 30% of the core components have directly related technical secrets, which is roughly what Tao Zheli meant by one-third being a black box, meaning they cannot be disassembled, viewed, or repaired.

But with Zhai Da, even his underwear was completely exposed!
However, he is not yet able to fully understand the structure of each component, especially since the secrets of some sophisticated parts are not in the structure itself.

It takes time to figure it out, but you will eventually gain something from it.

It was like he'd accidentally glimpsed under the goddess's skirt but couldn't understand why she'd tattooed her own name on it.

Just then, his phone rang. Zhai Da glanced at the caller ID, "Li Tiantian," and picked up the phone.

"Teacher Zhai, are you still busy lately?"

"It's alright, go ahead."

"Here's the thing, the production company has a basic plan for that magic show. I've sent it to your email. You can open it and we can watch and discuss it together."

Zhai Da logged into his email and, sure enough, found the so-called "program proposal".

He was involved in the discussions on the general direction, since the show couldn't go on without his approval, but this version has many more details.

The lineup is roughly like this:

Sponsored by ZTE Mobile, produced by a Shanghai-based production company, with Xinglang handling online promotion, and broadcast simultaneously on provincial satellite TV and online platforms.

"Hongtu OS" and "Zhai Da" were shown together, with Zhai Da not paying an appearance fee (in fact, there weren't many coins to be had these days), and Hongtu OS not paying either.

The project is short in length and is planned in four phases. Since both Zhai Da and ZTE have proposed to increase their overseas influence, one phase each is planned for China, Japan, South Korea, and the United States.

If the response is positive, these countries actually have Chinese-language or pro-China TV stations, so they might be able to broadcast it. The rest will depend on the internet.

Domestically, these days, as long as you have connections to overseas, you won't lack exposure. There aren't any variety shows on the market that have been filmed overseas yet, which is a major selling point.

Externally, Zhai Da's own reputation overseas is somewhat insufficient to support the economy, but it's better than nothing.

The tentative title is "Magic Talent Show".

He is that Da.

The plan is as follows.

First, create a story or theme:
The great magician (Zhai Da himself) has decided to recruit disciples (guests) to embark on a dreamlike magic journey in various cities around the world (actually only four).

Each episode, Zhai Da teaches the guests a magic trick. The guests must learn it quickly while completing some fun tasks. Afterward, they perform the trick on random (or maybe not) street performers in various cities to gain recognition.
However, depending on the theme of each episode, Zhai Da would perform a "stage-level" magic trick at the end of the show as a way to conclude and elevate the experience.

The timeframe will be very tight. At Zhai Da's request, he hopes the program can be completed within fifteen days, with a maximum of three days spent in each location, with any extra time reserved for unforeseen circumstances.

This year, the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival coincide, resulting in a ten-day holiday to stimulate consumption. If the goal can be achieved within fifteen days, Zhai Da will only need to take four or five days off.

The school may not care whether Zhai Da asks for leave or not, but he cares. This semester, whether it's the silicon carbide project or preparing for graduation, it's arguably the most intense semester yet.

"Teacher Zhai, the production company highly approves of your grasp of the overall direction. They are very confident in this program now, as are the TV stations."

Zhai Da nodded: "I'm just offering some ideas; the actual production will depend on the arrangements of the professionals."

If future visitors were to see this, they would recognize that it already had some "reality show" elements, which was quite novel in 09 among a large number of variety shows that mainly consisted of interviews and indoor games.

Because it was Zhai Da who led it out.

His "close-up magic" only requires 10,000 followers, but this show can lay the foundation for "millions of followers" and "hundreds of millions of followers" in the future, so he also hopes that the quality of the show itself is high enough to attract attention.

The location was far, the time was short, and the filming style was relatively novel, making it destined to be a high-intensity journey. However, he still suggested choosing the United States as one of the stops, because he could better perform the "bullet-blocking" scene there.

Throughout Asia, almost all countries have banned guns (except for chaotic areas like North Korea). Although there are a few professional shooting ranges, they greatly limit the expressiveness of his magic tricks.

The guns were all chained up in a special base. How could anyone believe that?

ZTE initially hoped that the three external regions would be Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, which was related to their market planning. However, at Zhai Da's suggestion, they changed it to Japan, South Korea, and the United States.

Only in a realistic environment, where the audience believes it's a real gun, can Zhai Da perfectly create the feeling that it "can stop bullets".

Go and acquire foolish believers.

He had a vague premonition that going abroad might become increasingly troublesome in the future, at least for Americans.

The plan was quite long, and Zhai Da mostly observed it, occasionally offering a few comments. In the end, the discussion turned to the issue of "guests".

"Firstly, we are in a hurry, and secondly, big stars are not very willing to appear on variety shows, so this time we will focus on second and third-tier celebrities. However, we will try our best to find young and beautiful men and women to increase our viewership."

Zhai Da thought for a moment and said, "I can ask Gao Yuanyuan and Hu Ge. They might be willing to come and join in the fun. The appearance fee should be just a token amount."

"That's great. Having readily available resources is the best, since our budget is limited."

One of them is a top-tier actress, and the other is a second-tier actress with a currently airing hit drama. That's pretty good.

"By the way, Ms. Lu Siwen is also a good choice. Why don't you ask her?"

"Let me ask."

Zhai Da will not get involved in the selection of other guests. There must be new faces in each of the four episodes. This is related to the asking price and the schedule. Let the production company handle it themselves.

After hanging up the phone, Zhai Da felt a pang of emotion.
Is this your first time going abroad since being reborn? When was the last time?

It seems like he was part of a Thai underworld group, but after he returned to China, he felt it wasn't a good thing.

It can easily challenge one's values ​​and beliefs.

"Teaching the guests magic tricks isn't anything special; just prepare the props and explain some simple techniques. The four closing magic tricks, however, are worth figuring out..."

Now, only 10,000 followers are needed, so Zhai Da doesn't need to perform the same type of show in all four programs. As long as one episode is about "remote object control," it will be fine. It will definitely be set in the United States.

Of the remaining three locations, domestically is the most convenient, as manpower, resources, and venues are easy to secure. The locations in Japan and South Korea require some ingenuity.

Zhai Da had a lot of magic ideas popping into his head, and then looked at the TEL epitaxial device structure in front of him.

Let's focus on the tasks at hand first, one at a time.

After thinking for a moment, Zhai Da took out his phone and opened the Weibo app.

Yes, Starwave has completed the development of its most important product, Weibo, into an app, and it was launched on app stores last week.

A few days later, they discovered something amiss and promptly spent 200 million on advertising.

Yes, they discovered a "key issue" that would be considered obvious in later generations: mobile users are far more active than traditional users, by several times!
The data feedback generated by one mobile user is equivalent to that of five PC users.

This is not only due to the frequency of mobile phone use, but also because of the excellent developer platform provided by Hongtu OS, which can provide better applications and experiences.

The spring of mobile internet is coming, and coincidentally, because they started developing it before the press conference, it is currently the only social software in the app store.

Eating alone.

However, other companies are not stupid either. QQ, which is targeting Hongtu OS, will be launched in October, along with other websites like Renren and Kaixin.

Thanks to the app and Hongtu OS, the operation has become much simpler. Zhai Da is no longer completely ignoring Weibo; he occasionally logs in to check his account with 1022.9 million followers.

After thinking for a moment, Zhai Da edited a message: "Several works will be released soon, and I hope you will enjoy them."

Both "The Severed Finger" and "Magic Talent Show" are estimated to be happening within the next month or two, and given the current situation, they are both major events.

Zhai Da stretched and prepared to go to the water bar outside to get some cola.

Upon opening the door, you're greeted by an efficient, bright, and bustling indoor town, making it a truly comfortable place to work.

Most people don't want to go home after get off work; if it weren't for the explicit prohibition, these people would probably just stay there.

As Zhai Da nodded to the people, he muttered to himself:
"It's not that I intentionally make a fuss all the time. It's just that I'm naturally beautiful and can't hide it."

(End of this chapter)