Chapter 49 The Clever Manager Wang Dachui: How about Version 2.0?

In the open space outside the factory, a deathly silence still persisted.

Those one hundred drones hovering in the air were like one hundred nails in the black night sky, firmly fixed in place, not moving a single inch.

Their existence itself was a public execution of the cognitive systems of all the technical Experts present.

Sun Danian swayed, and another white-haired technical Expert beside him, an academician and a leading authority in the field of aerodynamics, reached out to support him.

Sun Danian did not thank him; he just stared blankly at the fleet in the air, then turned his head to look at his old friend beside him who was equally devastated. His lips trembled, and he asked in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "Old Zhang... tell me... that project in our institute that cost over ten billion... compared to this, doesn't it count as... a complete and utter joke?"

The academician known as Old Zhang had trembling lips and couldn't say a word, only smiling miserably, his eyes filled with the sorrow of being completely abandoned by the era.

It wasn't that they hadn't seen advanced technology; on the contrary, they had seen too much of it. But they had never seen such "unreasonable" technology. Zero-latency data exchange, 100% command success rate, absolute collaborative stability in extremely complex dynamic environments... this was no longer a technological breakthrough; this was f*cking crushing them.

Li Jiajun looked at this group of Experts who were so devastated they were about to collectively shut down, and felt the timing was just about right. He cleared his throat, preparing to step forward and say a few polite words, such as "Leaders, I've embarrassed myself. It's getting late, shall we go get something to eat first?" or something similar, just to quickly send this group of great gods on their way.

However, the moment he was about to take a step, a voice he never expected rang out from not far behind him.

"Leaders! You're shocked by just this?"

The voice was loud, full, and filled with heartfelt pride and arrogance.

Li Jiajun's heart skipped a beat. He was all too familiar with this voice; it was his manager who had just been promoted not long ago, loyal and devoted, capable, but often lacking a screw in his head—Wang Defa's prized disciple, Xiao Wang.

Li Jiajun turned his head sharply, only to see that "Big Smart One" manager, in whom he had placed high hopes, now standing with his chest puffed out, face glowing, walking quickly towards the Old General and the group of Experts with an attitude of "eager to protect his master" and a hint of "begging for praise."

...

This Big Smart One manager had just been watching from the side, his heart surging with excitement; his boss's technology was simply divine. When he saw these important leaders from the state looking stunned like wooden chickens, he felt that the perfect opportunity to "win face" for his boss had arrived! Of course, seeing his own boss showing off, he was also feeling a bit itchy to join in.

He didn't have any other hobbies in his life, just showing off a little. But he knew himself that his cultivation was too shallow, and his showing off was too straightforward—it belonged to that kind of "obvious showing off" where he was afraid others wouldn't notice, a very low level.

'My level isn't high enough!' He had sighed like this more than once.

But ever since following Factory Director Li, he felt his life's level had been sublimated. He discovered that his factory director's skill in showing off was simply maxed out! It was a high-level method of showing off that he had never seen before—a return to simplicity.

'Factory Director Li's method of showing off can be summarized as the "Reluctant Showing Off Method"!' A thought emerged in the Big Smart One manager's mind, and the more he thought about it, the more brilliant it felt. 'It's where he's obviously incredibly awesome, but on the surface, he doesn't want to show off at all, and insists on waiting for others to force him and beg him, and only then does he, with a reluctant face, pull off an earth-shattering show-off! This is the demeanor of a master! This is the way of showing off that is worth my whole life to learn!'

He felt he had already grasped the essence of his boss's way of showing off, and today's scene was simply a practical lesson tailor-made for him!

'The boss is just the type who likes to hide his talents!' He looked at Li Jiajun, who was surrounded by the crowd, and became more and more certain in his heart, 'I saw it long ago; what he is best at is this "Reluctant Showing Off Method." Even though he has even more awesome things, he insists on waiting for others to force him before bringing them out. As his most loyal subordinate, I must have the insight to proactively hand him this step! Let him make this show-off even smoother and more masterful!'

Thus, he completely failed to notice Li Jiajun's expression, which had instantly turned into that of someone who had been constipated for a month, and continued to speak loudly in his voice that was so proud it cracked:

"Don't look at our boss as usually low-key; he's just the type who likes to hide things! What you are looking at now is, at best, just the 1.0 export version we sold to that foreign artist! The functions are very limited!"

As soon as these words were out, the pupils of all the Experts present, including Sun Danian and the Old General, suddenly constricted!

What?

This is just the 1.0 export version?

Li Jiajun felt a chill shoot straight from the soles of his feet to his skull. He wanted to rush over and cover this "Big Smart One's" mouth, but under the gaze of the Old General and the group of big shots, he didn't dare move at all. He could only watch helplessly as his pig teammate slammed his foot on the accelerator on his path to being executed.

The Big Smart One manager completely failed to catch his boss's murderous gaze. Seeing the leaders staring straight at him, he thought his words had been effective and became even more enthusiastic, continuing to reveal information with a proud face:

"My boss long ago felt this 1.0 version was too stupid, having to rely on someone holding a remote control and poking around, not intelligent at all! So, later on, he tinkered and came up with a 2.0 'Professional Version'!"

"That version, that's what you call truly amazing!" The manager, excited to the point of dancing, said, "That version doesn't need any human management at all! You just need to designate a target area on the map, and it can go in to scout on its own, judge which threat is the greatest on its own, and plan how to attack on its own! And, and it even comes with ultra-low-altitude penetration capabilities that even radar can't detect!"

"How about it, leaders? Why don't... I ask my boss to demonstrate our 2.0 version for you all too?"

After finishing, he even turned back to give Li Jiajun a smug look that said, "Boss, look how well I performed, hurry up and praise me."

Li Jiajun just wanted to find a piece of tofu to bang his head against and die. The muscles on his face twitched crazily, and in the end, he forced out a smile that was uglier than crying—awkward but still polite.

'I thank your ancestors for eighteen generations!' Li Jiajun roared crazily in his heart, '**Wang Dachui**! You thick-eyebrowed, big-eyed guy, you've betrayed me too? You want to send me in so you can inherit my toy factory, right?!'

He was now absolutely certain that this kid was definitely a corporate spy sent by a competitor!

And at this very moment, everyone else at the scene had completely lost the ability to think.

If the individual performance test was the first wave of shock, letting them see the "impossible".

The hundred-drone coordination was the second wave of shock, letting them witness what it meant to be crushed, and what despair was.

Then, this "2.0 Autonomous AI Version" revealed by the Big Smart One manager was the third wave, and also the most fatal wave of impact.

That was no longer shock, but fear! D*mn, there's still a master? No, wait, d*mn, there's something even more awesome?

"Autonomous... scouting? Autonomous... threat assessment? Autonomous... attack planning?"

Sun Danian's lips turned pale, his body swaying, and he felt as if his chest had been struck hard by a heavy object, making it difficult even to breathe, and his ears were buzzing.

An old professor who specialized in artificial intelligence and military AI ethics, upon hearing these words, saw his face instantly turn as pale as paper. He leaned on his assistant, muttering in a hoarse voice: "Crazy... all crazy... how is this possible?"

The fanaticism on Liu Jianguo's face also froze. He blinked his eyes—holy sh*t, he felt that the other party wasn't just some genius of his evil sect, but f*cking the Supreme Elder of the evil sect.

The Old General, who had always been calm and composed, finally couldn't hold it together at this moment. His hands were trembling slightly, and for the first time, his eyes revealed a trace of undisguised horror.

These people, the prototype of "intelligent warfare" with fully autonomous combat capabilities, which they had pursued their whole lives and which only existed in science fiction novels and the highest-level military concepts, was today, by a manager of a toy factory, in a manner almost like "buy one get one free," nonchalantly spoken out.

At this moment, the whole world seemed to have lost its voice.

What the f*ck? This, this, this????!!!!