342: What is the significance of Chapter 342's existence?

As the command was issued, a uniform, deep, and prolonged humming sound suddenly rang out.

In an instant, tens of thousands of indicator lights turned from dark to bright, and a cold, deep blue light flooded the dome and the floor like a tide.

The entire jungle of steel awakened.

Countless multi-axis intelligent robotic arms suspended in mid-air emitted a faint "hiss" from their hydraulic joints.

They then reached into the adjacent sealed storage area with precision, moving at a speed that exceeded the limits of human dynamic vision.

High-strength cutting arms flashed with cold arcs of light, slicing rare alloy materials into thin sheets.

On the other side, the temperature of the smelting furnace soared rapidly, completely melting the captured core materials.

Purification, segregation, reconstruction, condensation, synthesis...

On the giant screen of the main console, three-dimensional models were spinning rapidly. Countless data streams representing different processes poured down like a waterfall.

The entire production process, so vast it left one speechless, was like a pre-set model, devoid of any stagnation or redundancy.

On the left was the batch preparation of "gene agents." In the middle was the construction of "mechanical prosthetics." On the right was the production of the core for "second world" immersive access devices. The three production lines operated in parallel without interference.

Its complexity and precision were enough to cause the brain of any top engineering team in any country on Blue Star to crash from information overload the second they saw these data streams.

But here, under the control of the Artificial Intelligence "Little Dragon," everything was as natural as breathing.

Lin Yuan stood quietly in front of the main console, watching everything calmly.

"Not bad."

He looked at the data streams on the screen, a satisfied smile appearing in his eyes.

"In the past, when working on projects, I had to personally lead the team to tackle difficulties, and every step required manual intervention, which was time-consuming and labor-intensive."

"Now, however..."

He withdrew his gaze, the corners of his lips curling up slightly.

"Intelligence, it truly is the ultimate answer to liberating productivity."

"Of course..."

"The prerequisite is that one must possess the complete 'perfect answer' itself."

He knew very well that this breathtaking scene before him was not achieved because the Artificial Intelligence itself had become so heaven-defying that it could create technology out of thin air.

Ultimately, it was because he had used the vast knowledge base materialized by the system to impart the underlying logic and complete preparation processes of these three technologies to Little Dragon, without a single error.

All Little Dragon needed to do was to "transcribe" this perfect, error-free answer using these steel arms.

"With the rollout of the Hidden Dragon System across the national and even global communication networks, Little Dragon's computing power and permissions are growing exponentially in sync."

"Coupled with my current strength... there is no longer any need to be as timid as before."

Now, he could finally truly let go and use the most unreasonable methods to achieve even grander and crazier dimensionality reduction strikes.

Looking at the three preparation progress bars advancing steadily, the smile on Lin Yuan's face deepened.

Afterward, he didn't take another look.

He turned, took a step, and walked toward the heavy metal isolation door he had come through.

Half an hour later, at Xishan Base, in Yang Tongan's office.

The familiar fragrance of top-grade Dahongpao tea curled up in the air.

Yang Tongan set a steaming cup of tea on the coffee table in front of Lin Yuan and sat down on the sofa opposite him.

In his eyes, there still lingered a profound shock that he hadn't fully digested.

When Lin Yuan pushed the door open just now, he had thought there was some equipment failure or a problem with material matching that required him to personally intervene and coordinate.

It turned out, unexpectedly, that this kid had become a complete "hands-off manager."

Yang Tongan picked up his own teacup, looked at Lin Yuan with a hint of disbelief, and finally couldn't help but ask,

"You just came out like that?"

"Yes."

Lin Yuan picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said in a calm tone.

"Aren't you going to keep an eye on it?"

"Keep an eye on what?"

Lin Yuan retorted with a faint smile.

"It's just a few fully automated assembly lines, not some delicate surgery that requires improvisation on the spot."

Yang Tongan's brows twitched uncontrollably.

He leaned forward half an inch uncontrollably, his tone filled with irrepressible surprise and a sense of absurdity.

"Lin Yuan, I haven't dealt with you just once or twice."

"In the past, when you worked on the south heaven gate and the Super Serum, which project didn't assemble the top teams in the country?"

"At the very least, you still had to oversee and command, and there were people to act as executors for you."

"Now, it's even better; you don't even want people, and you don't even need to watch it yourself?"

"An Artificial Intelligence, plus a bunch of robotic arms, is enough?"

By the end, Yang Tongan couldn't help but shake his head, feeling as if his worldview was being crushed bit by bit by this young man.

After listening, Lin Yuan clasped his hands together on his knees, his smile undiminished.

"Old Yang, you should understand one principle best."

"What?"

"A commander should not be obsessed with the tools."

Lin Yuan tilted his head slightly, his gaze clear.

"A true commander only needs to formulate the most perfect strategy before the battle, issue the most precise commands to the battlefield, and then... wait for the news of victory in the rear."

"As for the execution level, just leave it to the most suitable and reliable troops."

"It's just that..."

Lin Yuan paused, tapping his fingertips lightly on his knee, making a crisp sound.

"In the past, the most suitable 'people' were those experienced experts."

"Now, the most suitable 'people' have become an Artificial Intelligence that is completely obedient, never tires, and has zero error rate."

"That is all."

Yang Tongan fell silent.

He looked at the young man in front of him, and the scene of Lin Yuan first stepping into Xishan Base last year involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

At that time, Lin Yuan's concepts still required a massive scientific research system to undertake them and countless hands to realize them.

But now... he alone was an entire closed-loop, self-sufficient, top-tier scientific research system.

Yang Tongan pondered for a moment, then suddenly raised his head, his eyes becoming extremely serious.

"Lin Yuan, if you continue down this path, with Artificial Intelligence taking over everything..."

"Will scientific researchers still be needed in the future?"

This question carried the weight of Mount Tai.

When efficient Artificial Intelligence could completely replace humans, what would be the meaning of existence for those scientists who had dedicated their entire lives and life's work to academia?

Hearing this question, Lin Yuan did not answer immediately.

He looked at Yang Tongan, shook his head slightly, and a meaningful smile appeared on his face.

"Old Yang."

"Hmm?"

"You are wrong."