Chapter 29
2
To prevent any incidents, Chen Chen spent every day in the factory.
His goal was to watch over the USB drive and prevent any outsider from coming here and discovering his secret.
With that said, Chen Chen did not spend the entire time lazing around. Apart from exercising, he spent his days learning programming languages such as C, C++, Java, and others.
8
With the help of NZT-48, Chen Chen was able to attain incredibly high concentration and determination when he put his mind into any tasks.
He also noticed that NZT-48’s effects did not only apply to a person’s mental state. The drug also had an extraordinary impact on the human physique.
For instance, the ability to know which muscle to contract to be able to run more efficiently. Similarly, moving the muscles and bones in the right way to maximize the strength of a punch.
All of these can be sensed when under the influence of NZT-48.
Chen Chen specifically bought a treadmill and several dumbbells for this exact purpose.
He would spend two to three hours running on the treadmill each day.
After some time, the fruits of his labor were evident.
Chen Chen went from 130kg to 140kg and he also became fitter. From the outside, it may seem like not much had changed. However, when he took off his shirt, toned muscles could be seen across his body.
16
Just like the saying, “Your health is your most important asset”. For a researcher like Chen Chen who planned to continue pursuing his research, he would need a healthy body.
3
While he was exercising, he brainstormed an idea for a new app.
App or otherwise known as an application, is a software. They usually refer to the usable software on an iPhone or an Android phone.
6
There were various categories of mobile phone applications ranging from communications, productivity, entertainment, exercise, shopping, and others. Each one of these categories had several big shots leading in the forefront.
Each of these big shots of their respective categories made tens of billions.
If it went well, Chen Chen could rapidly amass a large amount of capital by developing an app, promoting him from a bottom feeder to being one on top.
2
By then, he would have countless options opened up to him, whether it was to be involved in the stock market or other methods. He would not have to continue scrapping for loose change like he was doing now.
However, app development was not an easy task. The mobile application market was oversaturated these days. He would have to make sure he was truly capable of taking a cut of the market profit.
Chen Chen pondered for a short while and an idea quickly surfaced.
He could develop an app for instant translation.
This was an idea Chen Chen came up with when he was learning the C programming language.
As Chen Chen went deeper into the C programming language, he began noticing the communication trends in today’s society.
Around fifteen years ago in the early stages of the world wide web, there was a sort of “Global Village” concept.
Following the rapid advancement of technology, the distance between nations began to shrink rapidly and globalized communication became far more efficient and convenient.
However, the language barrier remained a problem for many citizens on the internet.
Chen Chen conducted some research online. The current well-known translation software was Google Translate, Microsoft Translator, Prompt, SDL FreeTranslation, Yahoo Translate, and many others.
1
The way Chen Chen saw it, most of the current translation software was a joke.
For the majority of people reading their native language, they tend to notice the slight nuances in the sentence structure. They might claim that “This sentence is definitely machine translated.”
5
This was due to the limitation of artificial intelligence, the AI.
2
AIs were not inherently intelligent. They could only stubbornly move around blocks of concepts and were unable to piece together a logical sentence the way humans did.
On top of that, it was very unlikely that someone would manually translate every single sentence on the webpage when browsing online. It simply was not worth the time and effort.
2
What if Chen Chen was able to develop an app that was able to automatically substitute all of the foreign languages in a webpage with the correct translation? Surely, he would be able to dominate the market and generate an astounding amount of revenue.
4
However, it was easier said than done. It was not something he was certain he could accomplish even with NZT-48. The technical aspect involved was incredibly intricate and it was not something that could be done in mere days.
With his current abilities, Chen Chen would not be able to create something like that. However, if he had a similar completed product, he would be able to effectively use it as a case study.
Exactly, a finished product.
Chen Chen turned toward the USB drive on the transformer.
In sci-fi movies, there are many variations of artificial intelligence similar to Jarvis. “Sonny” from I, Robot, “Skynet” from Terminator, “Red Queen” from Resident Evil, and countless other examples.
16
It would certainly be very interesting to bring this artificial intelligence into life.
When he thought of this, a smirk appeared on the corner of his lips. He checked the time.
It had been three months since he had rented the factory. The rental period would end within the next few days.
Over the course of the past three months, Chen Chen took pictures of the USB drive at a specific time every day.
In the collection of pictures, the USB drive went through the exact sort of transformation he had expected it to. From originally looking rusted and run down, it slowly began to gain luster. To this date, it had become nearly identical to when he first discovered it.
1
“Can it be fully charged in three months?”
1
Chen Chen thought for a moment. Then, he immediately crossed out that possibility.
Despite the USB drive having gained a deep dark luster a month ago, it continued to receive power. There were no signs of it being fully charged.
5
Over the last three months, the factory rental fee alongside the electricity bill had cost Chen Chen close to eight hundred thousand. There were only around two hundred thousand left in the company account.
1
You had to admit that sometimes, money can be spent so quickly.
Arriving at this point, Chen Chen no longer hesitated. He turned around and entered the power distribution room where he proceeded to cut off the factory power source. He then put on insulation gloves and unplugged the USB drive that had been plugged into the copper ingot for three months.
The USB drive was cool to the touch.
Chen Chen was surprised. He tried touching the copper ingot and found out the copper ingot was boiling hot.
2
The strange thing was that the USB drive was completely unaffected by the heat stemming from the copper ingot.
How bizarre. Could it absorb heat?
A thought came to Chen Chen. Based on this, it should be safe to say that solar energy was also within the scope of energy that the USB drive could receive. Could this imply that if he tossed the USB drive into molten lava, it could absorb energy from the lava?
9
The idea only spiraled in his mind for a split second before he cast it aside. Now was not the time to think about this.
Chen Chen took the USB drive and quickly plugged it into the laptop. Then, he selected the folder containing the episodes of the TV series Endless and played the final episode.
3
At the same time, he used the cursor and dragged it to the frame of the “Permanent Immunity Shot”.
On the computer screen, a thirteen to fourteen centimeters long needleless syringe the thickness of three to four fingers appeared before Chen Chen’s eyes.
Chen Chen stared at it intently. He began to imagine the permanent immunity shot in the frame coming to life.
Suddenly, the screen appeared to morph into a pool of clear water. The permanent immunity shot began to float atop the water surface, creating rings of ripples around itself.
Chen Chen raised his hand. Then, he gently reached for the metal syringe!
The moment he gripped it, he could feel that it was cool to the touch. He gently held it, then he pulled.
“Ding!”
On the computer screen, the movie closed on its own.
At the same time, the permanent immunity shot that was inside the computer screen was brought into the real world by Chen Chen.
1
Finally, it was a success…
9