561: Chapter 556 How Will He Handle It?

On the ground was a puddle of cooled tea stains, soaking a crumpled design drawing.

Not far away, the power cord of a high-performance workstation lay abandoned on the floor, roughly torn out.

Shen Yan's appearance was like a ladle of cold water poured into a boiling oil pot.

The noisy confrontation instantly died down.

Everyone's gaze focused on the elevator entrance.

A mix of awe, tension, and a hint of almost imperceptible guilt.

Shen Yan's gaze slowly swept across the room.

His steps were light, yet they seemed to tread on everyone's heart.

He didn't walk towards either party. Instead, he pulled up a high stool beside the experimental bench in the central area, which was scattered with blueprints, and sat down.

This action made everyone feel the pressure.

He became the eye of the storm.

"Speak."

Shen Yan spoke, his voice not loud, yet it clearly reached everyone's ears.

"From beginning to end."

He looked at Engineer He.

Engineer He, this esteemed senior in the H-country semiconductor field, was now trembling with anger.

He took a deep breath and pointed at Ben across from him.

"President Shen! This person is a madman! A complete gambler!"

"The 'Super Entangled State Stability' is the cornerstone of the entire project. We spent half a year building a stable and reliable 'Three-Step' theoretical model, and each step has undergone tens of thousands of deductions and verifications!"

"Now, with only the final verification step remaining, we can obtain the most precise data and pave the way for subsequent experiments!"

"But what about him? He came today and dismissed our half-year's hard work as trash! He insists on using his radical algorithm, which wasn't even verified at MIT, to skip theoretical verification and proceed directly with multi-threaded parallel experiments!"

"President Shen, do you know what this means? It means hundreds of quantum interferometers will operate simultaneously at overload! If there's even a tiny logical flaw in the algorithm, triggering a chain collapse, our tens of billions worth of equipment will burn into a pile of scrap metal!"

"This is a blasphemy against science! A betrayal of your trust!"

Engineer He's voice became hoarse from excitement.

The old researchers behind him were all filled with righteous indignation, nodding repeatedly.

Shen Yan listened without any expression on his face.

His gaze turned to Ben on the other side.

"Is what he said true?"

Ben, a young man with blonde hair and blue eyes, barely twenty, wore the arrogance typical of a genius.

He crossed his arms and sneered.

"True? The truth is, if we follow his antiquated methods and wait for you to complete your so-called 'final verification,' our competitors in Boston would have already popped the champagne!"

"Times have changed, He! Science isn't a bible carved on stone tablets; it's meant to be broken through!"

"My algorithm indeed didn't complete final verification at MIT, and that's because those old geezers there, just like you, can't keep up with the times!"

"My algorithm can shorten the experimental cycle from an estimated three months to three weeks! Or even two weeks!"

"As for risk?"

A mocking smile played on Ben's lips.

"No risk? That's solving a math problem, not doing scientific research!"

"Tens of billions worth of equipment? President Shen invested money not for them to lie here and rust! It's for them to break open the door to the future with maximum efficiency!"

"He dares not gamble; I do!"

"The slow progress of scientific research in H-country is precisely because there are too many people like Engineer He, who only seek to avoid mistakes and not to achieve merit!"

Just as the atmosphere was about to ignite again.

"Enough."

Shen Yan interrupted him.

He took out his phone from his pocket and handed it to Xia Xue, who was standing beside him.

"Pull up the surveillance footage from the entrance of the core area just now."

Xia Xue quickly took it, her fingers trembling as she operated it.

Soon, a high-definition video was projected onto the huge display screen on the wall.

There was no sound.

But the visuals were more impactful than any words.

From arguing to pushing.

From Engineer He angrily splashing the hot tea.

To Ben retaliating by unplugging the power.

Then to the mutual accusations and escalating tensions between members of both teams.

Every detail was clearly displayed before everyone.

The laboratory was silent.

Both parties, who had been so self-righteous before, now dared not look directly at the screen.

Shen Yan watched quietly, as if watching a silent film unrelated to him.

He fast-forwarded, paused, rewound.

He watched the entire conflict three times.

Everyone's hearts were in their throats.

They didn't know what kind of judgment this young controller would make.

Would he reprimand Ben's recklessness? Or criticize Engineer He's conservatism?

Or would he punish both equally?

Shen Yan turned off the video.

He leaned back in his chair, his long fingers gently tapping on the cold experimental bench.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Each tap was like a countdown to fate.

He finally spoke again, but asked a question no one had expected.

"Engineer He."

He looked at the old man whose face was ashen.

"For your 'Three-Step' plan, if all goes well, what is the most time-consuming bottleneck step for the final verification of the theoretical model? How long will it take?"

Engineer He was startled for a moment, then answered subconsciously.

"It's... it's the inverse calculation of 'Quantum State Spin Conjugation,' which requires 70% of the server cluster's computing power for 72 hours of uninterrupted operation."

Shen Yan nodded, then turned to Ben.

"Ben."

"For your new algorithm, what is the estimated peak demand for computing resources? How long does it last?"

Ben immediately lifted his head, like a proud rooster.

"My algorithm uses Tidal Parallel Computing. The peak will instantly reach 100% of the server cluster, but it lasts for a very short time, about four hours per cycle. Within a day, six cycles of parallel experiments can be completed."

Shen Yan nodded again, seemingly calculating something.

The atmosphere in the room eased slightly.

At least, President Shen seemed to be seriously considering technical issues.

Rather than assigning blame.

Then, Shen Yan asked a third question.

His gaze swept over Engineer He and Ben simultaneously.

"If I ask you to adopt the other's plan, and that plan ultimately proves to be a failure."

"Can any of you take over the mess, correct the course, and get the project back on track within twenty-four hours?"

This question was like a heavy hammer, striking both their hearts.

Engineer He opened his mouth but couldn't speak.

The arrogance on Ben's face also froze.

They had only thought about proving themselves right and the other wrong.

But they had never considered what they would do if the other failed.

This was not just a technical problem, but also one of responsibility and accountability.

Looking at the silent pair, no emotion could be discerned in Shen Yan's eyes.

He turned and asked Xia Xue, who had been standing beside him.

"Xia Xue, how much backup computing power does our server cluster have left now?"