The current Yutu Robot team is really penniless. They’ve just confirmed their ’split’ from Universe Company.

Yuan Zhongchen and several others have completed their resignation procedures.

Although their place of work is still in the small office provided by Universe Company, they are no longer employees of Universe Company and don’t even have a guaranteed basic salary.

All they have are the developed underlying algorithms, architecture libraries, and the materials and code support shared by Universe Company.

And then there are the people.

The handful of people Yuan Zhongchen has brought in are clearly very young. The elders among them are not even more than thirty years old. Being young, they have the drive. Some old employees from the Universe Technology Department also support the continued development of the robot operating system, but considering the pressure to support their families, it’s impossible for them to resign along with them.

The team is young and driven, but money is also critical.

Zhang Zhen genuinely supports the team. He invested 200,000 to help purchase necessary computers, machinery, and other items for the institute.

The rest of them are broke.

Yuan Zhongchen’s technical skills are strong, but having only been working for less than two years, he couldn’t possibly have much savings.

If they can’t secure an investment in a short time, the team members may not even be able to draw a salary, and it would be impossible to stick it out for a long time. Even after a mere day, some people began to regret their actions.

They also had some idea of the value of the team.

Not to mention the technical level of each member of the team, the underlying algorithms and architecture libraries alone are worth a fortune. But without fully developed materials, they are always meaningless. Only when a complete product is created can its value truly be reflected.

"Two million! Twenty percent stake!" Yuan Zhongchen gritted his teeth and repeated the offer.

A twenty percent stake is no joking matter. Universe Company had provided the workplace, given them all the development materials, and only held a twenty percent stake, with only the right to ’withdraw before the product is out’.

If Yuan Zhongchen’s team gives up halfway, Universe Company won’t lose out at all. They have their calculations perfectly figured out.

Zhao Yi took a deep breath, his expression serious, muscles tense.

Everyone watched Zhao Yi, wondering what he would say. Zhang Zhen hurriedly started explaining, "The algorithm packages we have now, the architecture diagrams we’ve made, they’re all very valuable. Brother, you must know this, you have done many of the algorithm packages."

Zhao Yi nodded.

Yuan Zhongchen also added, "We have already figured out the overall structure and some necessary features. The operating system we designed can greatly increase the reuse rate of code and provide some basic functions, including improved human-machine interaction, motion control, text processing. It can also provide some special AI functions such as length-height detection, obstacle warning, feature recognition, and more..."

He listed a series of professional terms related to robots.

Zhao Yi patiently listened.

After Yuan Zhongchen finished speaking, everyone in the room looked at Zhao Yi.

The scene was a bit strange.

Zhao Yi was the youngest there, but everyone knew he was the richest and wouldn’t hesitate to invest two million.

Zhang Zhen had some idea about Zhao Yi’s income. Just the Rubik’s cube calculator alone had brought Zhao Yi an income of tens of millions. Because of the "technology monopoly" effect, others could only research Zhao Yi’s screening method to create software with similar functions.

Until then, the income was continuous.

Zhao Yi looked around the room, and unlike what others thought, he couldn’t quite believe his luck. Yuan Zhongchen’s Yutu Robot team was asking him to invest just two million to become a shareholder?

Twenty percent?

Even ten percent would’ve been fine!

Stunned for a good while, Zhao Yi finally remembered to agree. He quickly nodded his head, looking as if he was moved by Yuan Zhongchen’s sincerity, "Alright, I agree to the investment!"

"Oh--!"

Cheers erupted from around the room, "Fantastic! This is really fantastic!"

"I knew it! Our perseverance was right!"

"With two million, we can last at least one or two years, and even expand our team!"

"Thank you! Thank you!"

Yuan Zhongchen started laughing in joy. He excitedly shook Zhao Yi’s hand, expressing his thanks repeatedly, "Thank you! I really can’t thank you enough, Zhao... Boss Zhao?"

"Call him Brother Zhao...no, Brother Zhao Yi."

Zhang Zhen came up with a name.

"Brother Zhao Yi!"

"Brother Zhao Yi!"

A few people kept shouting in unison.

Employees passing by the hallways peeked in out of curiosity, hearing the excited voices inside, "We secured an investment. Two million! Hahaha..."

"Secured an investment?"

"So quickly?"

Zhang Zhen went to close the door tightly, signaling everyone to quiet down, "Now that we’ve settled the investment, let’s start working. Since Brother Zhao Yi is here as well, let’s discuss the research direction."

"You all should know Brother Zhao Yi, right? His Rubik’s cube calculator, the screening method, our most streamlined and efficient algorithm packages in our algorithm library, they were all made by Brother Zhao Yi. He is a top-tier algorithm engineer!"

The folks in the room weren’t surprised, they had known all along. The surprise was in how young Zhao Yi is.

Next, they started discussing the research direction of the operating system, such as what kind of features to create, the content supported by the basic framework, how to increase the reuse rate of the code, and so on.

Zhao Yi listened attentively.

Although his technical level was not bad, the field of computer science is just too vast. The writing of the robot’s underlying operating system involves the lowest level machine language and execution methods. He could just about understand it, but when it came to hardware and automation issues, he felt somewhat lost.

But he had to say something.

After everyone had shared their thoughts and additions, all eyes turned to Zhao Yi. Zhao Yi stood up and said, "Everyone has done well to address the technical issues, which are not things that can be discussed in a short time, so I won’t add any more."

"When designing an operating system, the most important thing is to clarify the bigger picture, and determine what kind of system we want to build. On this subject, I’d like to express my personal opinion."

"The robot operating system is different from a regular computer operating system. Our system is not used on fixed computers but in a more extensive field. Maybe cars need our system, or perhaps children’s educational toys too. Our goal should be to enable users, or cooperators, to rely on our system to develop intelligent tools that adapt to various items and environments."

"So, the primary goal of the design is to increase the reusability of code in the field of robot R&D, and to provide users with a platform for independent development and a design with more open ports. Therefore, we should develop some basic tools for professionals to use."

"In terms of functionality, we don’t need to consider much for now. We’re short-staffed, and whether it’s human-computer interaction, translation, or visual recognition, and application control, they are not something a small team can develop. But as long as we perfect the basic foundation, we can integrate other functions."

"It’s like a mobile phone. The apps inside can cooperate with other companies to complete our system functions."

Zhao Yi’s speech was simple, yet it pointed directly to the core issue.

The team needed to develop the operating system at the bottom layer, considering the application function was meaningless. Functions like human-computer communication, translation, and visual recognition were not tasks a small team could accomplish. The team’s focus had to be on the lowest level, and the upper-level things could be developed in collaboration.

After hearing Zhao Yi’s views, everyone in the room, including Yuan Zhongchen and Zhang Zhen, felt enlightened.

Before, they were all thinking about various functions and integrating them together, and everything felt messy. In reality, they could completely give up on upper-level application functions and focus only on the development at the bottom level.

Indeed.

The basic level could not produce a product, but a perfected basic level possessed unlimited possibilities.

Zhang Zhen applauded.

Yuan Zhongchen was the first to applaud, with others following suit. They all sincerely applauded.

Previously, their impression of Zhao Yi was just of a ’genius algorithm master’ and someone who ’made quite a lot of money’.

Now, they found that Zhao Yi was indeed very talented.

Even in the development of an operating system, he had a clear-thinking strategy and unique insights.

Yuan Zhongchen bluntly invited Zhao Yi to join the team.

Zhao Yi flatly refused with a very sufficient and simple reason, "I still have to go to school."

"..."

"..."

Zhao Yi went on to say, "However, if there are any problems, you can ask me for help. If I can solve them, I definitely will. After I’ve invested too, I’m also a part of the team, aren’t I?"

"But business is business, and personal is personal - collaboration comes at a cost!"

He said in a semi-joking manner.

Zhang Zhen, however, said very seriously, "Absolutely, we, this small team, probably can’t afford you, but if there’s anything we can’t solve, we’ll definitely pay for your help."

"Yes, that’s right!"

Yuan Zhongchen nodded in agreement, "We all get paid. If you’re working and not getting paid, that’s not right."

"Yes, it’s only natural to be compensated for work."

"Clear accounts make good friends!"

Everyone joked and laughed.

Zhang Zhen brought up the topic of the lecture, "Brother Zhao, you’re supposed to give a speech at Yanhua University tomorrow afternoon, right?"

Zhao Yi nodded.

Zhang Zhen said somewhat embarrassedly, "The thing is, your lecture is too popular. I’ve checked beforehand. Yanhua University has locked down the graduate building, only people invited can go in. Even a Yanhua graduate like Zhongchen can’t get in. Probably the students inside aren’t allowed in either."

"We were wondering if you could... hehe, give us two complimentary tickets, Zhongchen and I would like to go."

"That’s easy, I’ll talk to the school."

Zhao Yi agreed.

...

Zhao Yi’s lecture was indeed popular.

Although Yanhua University did only a simple promotion, many people were waiting for his talk, some even flew overnight to the capital upon hearing he would be speaking at Yanhua University.

Yanhua University was prepared for this.

The university’s professors and lecturers, many of whom were involved in the reception work, had confirmed that even many top industry experts would come to the lecture.

If each person who wanted to attend the lecture came, even the large conference hall would not be able to accommodate everyone. Therefore, Yanhua University could only limit some people.

It would be tough for ordinary people to enter.

Zhang Zhen, the Technical Department Manager of Universe Interactive, may sound important, but unfortunately, he is still considered ordinary, let alone Yuan Zhongchen.

When Zhao Yi left Universe Interactive, it was already past four in the afternoon. It was only when he took out his phone did he realise he had more than a dozen missed calls, with half of them being from Xu Chao.

Redial.

Xu Chao’s voice sounded a bit anxious, "Finally, I got through to you. Professor Luo has been looking for you, and Professor He has been urging."

"Professor He?"

"The Dean of the School of Information, Professor He Mingcheng, the number one person in Yanhua University, anyhow he’s quite amazing. Where are you? I’ll come pick you up?"

"No need, I’ll take a cab."

Zhao Yi quickly hailed a cab to Yanhua University. Along the way, he looked up Professor He Mingcheng and discovered he had come across a true heavyweight.

He Mingcheng, seventy-one years old, currently the Dean of the School of Information at Yanhua University, one of the early pioneers of fuzzy mathematics in the country, participated in the development of the country’s first fuzzy calculator.

At the same time, he is a national decision-making expert in soft science. His most impressive achievement was his application of the concept of fuzzy mathematics to computation, directly impacting the decision-making of the Yangtze River Dam.

He has published nearly a hundred papers and six books.

His awards are countless.

Thinking about meeting such a senior professor, Zhao Yi suddenly felt pressured. The highest-level person he knew was Professor Liu Hemin.

Clearly.

He Mingcheng was of a higher caliber than Liu Hemin...