96: Chapter 96 Holding a Small Meeting

"...Old Long, that is the situation."

Lin Jixian stood before the large solid wood desk, concluding his five-minute report.

His breathing rate was noticeably higher than usual.

His chest heaved quite heavily.

He clasped his hands in front of him, his left thumb pressing firmly against the back of his right hand, the fingertips turning pale from the pressure.

After receiving the encrypted direct line call from Chen Jingshan, he had not dared to delay for even a second, walking quickly all the way from the other end of Ziguang Pavilion.

Along the way, his pace had been twenty percent faster than usual, and a fine layer of sweat had even beaded on his forehead.

It was not because of nervousness, but because this news was truly too heavy.

So heavy that he did not dare to delay even a second on the way.

Fifth-Generation Communication Technology!

Brain-like Machine Intelligence!

He had chewed over these two terms countless times on his way here, but when he actually stood before Old Long and repeated them, Lin Jixian's throat still involuntarily felt dry.

Long Zhenguo did not respond immediately.

He just leaned quietly against the large chair back.

One of his hands rested on the edge of the armrest, his index finger slowly and unconsciously tracing the grain of the solid wood.

In the vast office, the only sound was the "tick-tock" of the wall clock, biting into the seconds and pushing forward bit by bit.

Seeing this, Lin Jixian stood straight, not daring to even breathe loudly.

He did not urge him, nor did he make any unnecessary additions.

Having followed Old Long for so long, he naturally understood what this kind of silence from Old Long meant.

The longer this old man remained silent on a matter, the more it meant that in his mind, the matter was being weighed, dismantled, and reassembled over and over again, with every edge being thoroughly examined.

Fifth-Generation Communication Technology...

Brain-like Machine Intelligence...

Long Zhenguo's deep gaze narrowed slightly, his thoughts pulled back to that global-shocking press conference from a few days ago.

That day, he had naturally made time to watch the entire live stream.

When Lin Yuan mentioned "next-generation communication technology" and "underlying intelligent system" nonchalantly on stage, Old Long had taken note of it at the time.

But his judgment at the time was the same as the vast majority of people around the world.

Next-generation communication would likely be the fourth generation, striving to bypass Western barriers.

And the underlying intelligent system, he guessed, was likely some kind of improved information processing architecture.

These two directions combined were already enough for Xia to stand tall for the next decade.

But now, the news brought by Lin Jixian had overturned this prediction, along with the entire cognitive framework of the Western scientific and technological community.

It was not the fourth generation... but the fifth generation that directly spanned eras!

It was not an improved architecture... but Brain-like Machine Intelligence, which had only been mentioned in science fiction!

The former directly skipped over the entire generation of current international communication technology.

And the latter was a blank space that even the current global academic community had not yet fully defined.

Long Zhenguo slowly closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them again slowly.

As one of the very few people in all of Xia who understood Lin Yuan's trump cards, he had thought he had already overestimated Lin Yuan's courage and the power of that system enough.

But now it seemed he had still been conservative.

The surprises Lin Yuan brought him exceeded expectations every time, each one more shocking than the last!

From Photolithography Machine theory, to building a Photolithography Machine in a few months, to special material preparation, and now...

Where exactly was the ceiling for this young man?

Or, with that system combined with Lin Yuan's audacious heart, where was the ceiling?!

Long Zhenguo could not come up with an answer.

But he was incredibly glad at this moment that back then in this office, when that young man smiled and said "I have a system," he had chosen to trust him.

Facts proved that he had bet correctly, and he had won big!

Now, this young man was uprooting the technological foundation of the entire Western world, bit by bit!

"Tap." Long Zhenguo's index finger tapped heavily on the edge of the armrest.

"Fifth-generation Communication and Machine Intelligence." He finally spoke, his voice still calm, but the spacing between each word was drawn out, carrying a certainty that came after deep deliberation.

"These two things have too wide a scope and are of too great significance."

Lin Jixian leaned forward slightly, perking up his ears, holding even his breath.

"This is no longer something that the Xia Academy of Sciences alone can handle, nor even something one or two departments can coordinate."

Long Zhenguo's hand moved from the armrest back to the desktop, his gaze like a torch.

"These two projects must be coordinated from the top."

Hearing this, Lin Jixian's heart jolted, and his scalp tingled.

What did Old Long's words mean? It meant that the Fifth-generation Communication and Machine Intelligence projects would no longer be just a few research-level challenges.

They would be elevated to the level of national strategic decision-making. Multi-departmental linkage, with the full resources of the national system poured into them.

This terrifying scale of resource allocation was rare even in the history of Xia!

Long Zhenguo did not give Lin Jixian too much time to digest this.

"Xiao Lin, go tell Old Zhang, Old Li, and the others immediately to cancel all their afternoon schedules."

"Let's have a meeting at two o'clock this afternoon!"

A wave of heat rolled through Lin Jixian's heart; he suppressed the turbulent waves within and responded, "Understood, I will go arrange it right away."

Without asking another word, Lin Jixian immediately took his leave, turning around and walking toward the door decisively.

He opened the door and walked out quickly. The thick door panel closed behind him, making a dull sound.

The office returned to silence. Long Zhenguo sat alone behind the desk, his hands, covered in the lines of time, slowly clasped and placed on the desktop.

Fifth-Generation Communication Technology. Brain-like Machine Intelligence. Added to the previous Photolithography Machine and special material preparation...

That twenty-year-old young man was rewriting the technological landscape of this country at a speed that left everyone stunned. He was even rewriting the rules of the game for the whole world.

After a long while, Long Zhenguo pulled open a drawer, took out a notebook, and unscrewed the pen cap. The nib touched the paper, making a faint rustling sound.

He began to outline the agenda framework for this afternoon's small meeting, his handwriting steady and forceful, without a single correction.

Meanwhile. Xia Academy of Sciences, Lin Yuan's temporary dormitory.

The warm afternoon sunlight shone through the clear window, casting diagonally onto the clean floor.

Lin Yuan was sitting lazily at the large desk, spinning a carbon pen in his hand, occasionally sketching something casually on a piece of scratch paper.

"Buzz—buzz—buzz—" Suddenly, his phone on the corner of the desk vibrated violently, breaking the silence of the room.

Lin Yuan put down the pen in his hand and glanced at the screen. Caller ID: Chen Jingshan.

A faint smile appeared on his face as he picked up the phone and pressed the answer button.

"Hello, Dean Chen."

"Lin Yuan."

On the other end of the line, Chen Jingshan's breathing was noticeably heavy, and although his voice tried hard to remain steady, one could still hear the irrepressible excitement and slight trembling.

There was no small talk, no build-up. The next sentence Chen Jingshan said directly was four sonorous words.

"It is decided."