702: Chapter 697 I Want a Platform

At a "bargain price" of only ten percent of the market value, they acquired all robot-related patents, equipment, and the research and development team under Future Vanguard.

This was an extremely insulting offer, a clear case of taking advantage of someone's misfortune.

But for Future Vanguard, which was on the verge of liquidation, this money was their only hope for repaying Bank loans and Employee wages.

The Board of Directors had no choice but to sign the agreement through their tears.

After dealing with the company's affairs, Gao Jun personally faced his own doomsday.

He was placed under investigation for multiple charges, including suspected commercial fraud, embezzlement, and occupational misappropriation.

He sold off all his assets and hired the best lawyers, but in the face of the flawless chain of evidence prepared by Ning Ke, any defense seemed pale and powerless.

On the eve of his imminent arrest, he received a phone call.

The call was from his lawyer.

The lawyer told him that the prosecution had received a new piece of evidence.

It was the original evidence of how he had stolen Zhou Qiming's core algorithm years ago.

Once this evidence was admitted, his charges would escalate from commercial crimes to criminal offenses, adding at least ten years to his sentence.

Gao Jun's psychological defenses completely collapsed at that moment.

"Is there any way... please, is there any way!" he roared into the phone.

The lawyer was silent for a moment before slowly saying, "The person who submitted this evidence is Mr. Zhou Qiming."

"He who tied the knot must untie it. It is said that Mr. Zhou is now the Chief Scientist of Qingtian Technology."

"I'll send you the address."

Half an hour later.

Inside the brand-new Qingtian Technology laboratory.

Zhou Qiming was standing in front of a massive robotic arm, directing his team through debugging.

The laboratory door was pushed open.

Gao Jun, looking haggard with bloodshot eyes, walked in like a living corpse.

He saw the high-spirited Zhou Qiming.

He saw the equipment that once belonged to him, now a hundred times more advanced than before.

He saw 'walker no. 1' standing quietly in the center of the lab, already fitted with bionic tendons that shimmered with a metallic luster.

He saw a dream he had once personally destroyed, now reborn in an even more glorious form.

"Qiming..." Gao Jun's voice was as raspy as sandpaper.

Zhou Qiming stopped his work, turned around, and looked at him calmly.

There was no anger, no mockery, only a sense of indifference.

It was as if he were looking at a stranger.

Gao Jun could no longer hold himself up.

He thought of Lawyer Shen Yan's hint, and the ten years of prison time that might be added.

Thud.

His knees buckled, and he knelt straight down in front of Zhou Qiming.

"Qiming, I'm sorry! I'm not human! I'm an animal!"

"I beg you, for the sake of our time as classmates, give me a break!"

Tears and snot flowed as he kowtowed desperately, his forehead hitting the polished floor with a dull thud.

Everyone in the laboratory stopped their work, watching the scene in shock.

Zhou Qiming watched his performance quietly, without saying a word.

On the sofa in the corner, Shen Yan held a cup of coffee, gently swirling it as if admiring a play with a long-written script.

It wasn't until Gao Jun's forehead was bloodied from kowtowing and he could no longer speak a word.

Only then did Zhou Qiming slowly speak.

"Gao Jun, you're wrong."

Gao Jun snapped his head up, a glimmer of hope flashing in his eyes.

"I am standing here today not to watch you kneel."

"I just wanted you to see with your own eyes exactly what it was that you threw away back then."

He pointed to the 'walker no. 1' behind him, which was full of power and aesthetic beauty.

"You cannot defile my dream, nor can you stop it."

"As for whether I forgive you," Zhou Qiming shook his head, a trace of disdain appearing at the corner of his mouth, "you are no longer worthy."

After saying that, he turned around and didn't look at Gao Jun again.

"Security, please escort him out."

"From now on, Qingtian Technology does not welcome this person."

Gao Jun slumped on the ground, his face ashen.

He knew he was finished.

Shen Yan put down his coffee cup and walked to Zhou Qiming's side, watching Gao Jun being dragged out by security like a dead dog.

"Satisfied?"

Zhou Qiming let out a long breath, as if exhaling years of pent-up frustration.

He didn't answer, but turned to Shen Yan and gave a deep bow.

"Mr. Shen, thank you."

"From today on, Zhou Qiming has no more past."

Shen Yan nodded.

This was the result he wanted.

A genius scientist who had completely severed his past and would devote all his energy to the future.

"Very good."

"Now, let's talk about how to get this iron fellow running within two months."

After Gao Jun was dragged away, the oppressive atmosphere in the lab vanished instantly.

A few young researchers couldn't even help themselves and cheered softly.

The last trace of gloom in Zhou Qiming's eyes completely dissipated, replaced by a pure, technical fanaticism.

He pulled Shen Yan over to the prototype of 'walker no. 1' and began to talk incessantly about his ideas.

"Mr. Shen, look here. For the leg drive structure, we can use a Series Elastic Actuator (SEA) solution to simulate the energy storage and release of animal Achilles tendons. This way, its running efficiency will be greatly improved!"

"And its balance algorithm—that idiot Gao Jun only knew how to use gyroscopes and accelerometers for attitude estimation. That's too elementary! With such strong computing power, we can fully introduce vision and LiDAR data to create a multi-modal fusion dynamic perception system!"

Shen Yan listened quietly without interrupting him.

He knew that Zhou Qiming needed an outlet for his passion.

The brain of this genius, who had been suppressed for too long, was the most precious treasure.

Chen Guangke listened from the side, confused by the technical jargon, but he could feel the terrifying aura coming from Dr. Zhou.

It was a kind of confidence that felt like it could pierce a hole in the sky.

It wasn't until Zhou Qiming's mouth was dry from talking that Shen Yan handed him a bottle of water.

"Dr. Zhou, I only have one question."

"What?" Zhou Qiming unscrewed the cap and took a large gulp.

"Besides running, what else can this machine do?"

Zhou Qiming was stunned.

All his previous ideas had focused on how to push the robot's athletic performance to the limit.

Shen Yan's question suddenly pulled the perspective to another dimension.

Shen Yan's fingertips lightly tapped the cold metal shell of 'walker no. 1'.

"What I want is not a toy."

"What I want is a platform."

"A platform that can carry different modules to replace human labor in various extreme environments."

"For example, performing pipe welding under the pressure of a thousand meters underwater."

"For example, conducting emergency rescues in areas with excessive nuclear radiation."

"Or, for instance, conducting twenty-four-hour continuous life searches in disaster areas with complex terrain."

With every sentence Shen Yan spoke, Zhou Qiming's eyes grew brighter.