"Boss, are we really just going to let them go like this? Those are the data disks! If we really hand them over to them, aren't we just watching them prosper right in front of our eyes?"
"The situation is far more complicated than you think. There's no unity within our ranks. Everyone is driven by self - interest when it comes to getting things done!"
"Are you saying that Zhu Ning..."
A high - ranking official cursed, "I've never seen such a crazy person. She was willing to go to such extremes!"
"The most puzzling part is that after going to such lengths, she didn't even want those data disks... I simply can't understand what these crazy people are thinking."
"So are we just going to let it go like this? Are we just going to sit back and watch them step all over us?"
"Of course not. Isn't Zhu Ning still in our country?" The high - ranking official said, "Just wait. We'll have plenty of opportunities to deal with her in the future!"
"The dragon - ranked killers who showed up today must be related to her. If you send people to search and dig deeper, we'll surely be able to make her fall into our hands!"
"My men are already on the case."
Soon, a call came in with bad news. "Boss, we just checked. There's no one named Aurora, Blaster, or Anchor on the so - called Dragon List."
"They're nowhere to be found!"
The commander was furious. "They personally admitted their identities over the radio. How can they not exist?"
"Moreover, people of such status love to gain fame and accumulate achievements. How could they fake their identities? Keep investigating!"
"But boss, they really don't exist! We've mobilized all our resources for the search, but there's still no sign of them!"
"Keep..."
"Enough! There's no point in investigating anymore!"
A high - ranking official beside him roared, interrupting. "They've already intervened. Since we were one step behind, there's no way we'll be able to find out anything."
It was impossible to tell whether these people really didn't exist on that damned list or if it was just a cover - up.
Maybe they were on it before but wouldn't be anymore.
But being one step behind meant losing the game.
The high - ranking official said, "Just find a few scapegoats as backups. And regarding these killers today, I have a hunch..."
Maybe the people who helped clean up the mess had been watching from the very beginning.
Otherwise, how could they have reacted so quickly?
"Are they so protective of their own people?"
"Let's see if they can keep it up in the future!"
At the headquarters of Sunlight.
Alexander checked for updates every half an hour.
After several hours had passed, he started checking every ten minutes. "Is the job done?"
A call came in with news from LA that the disks were lost.
"Lost?!"
Alexander exclaimed, "They were on your turf, and you're telling me they're lost?!"
"It's not our fault. They escalated the situation. They directly contacted the embassy and got their country to back them up."
"Are they crazy? What's the difference between this and just handing it over?"
"That's exactly what they did! They handed it over!"
Even though the person on the other end of the phone had already vented his anger several times, he still couldn't calm down. Just thinking about it made his blood boil.
"I've never seen such people. Instead of keeping such a valuable thing for themselves, they wanted to hand it over, and they even went to great lengths and spent a fortune to do so! I'm sure they're well aware of the value of this thing, but they still chose to hand it over!"
"Fuck it! If they were just a little more selfish, we wouldn't have failed!"
"Just when we were about to get our hands on it, it slipped through our fingers. This feeling is disgusting!"
Alexander didn't care about how the other person felt. He said impatiently, "I don't have the time to listen to your complaints. The mission failed. How do you plan to make up for it?"
As the sponsor, Alexander had the upper hand. The person on the other end quickly replied, "We'll bide our time. As long as Zhu Ning is still in the United States, we'll surely get our chance!"
The special channel opened, and the data disks were safely returned to China. Academies from all over the country rushed to sign up for the research. After the higher - ups made a decision, a joint research team centered around Deep Sea was formed.
Professor Qin, with graying temples, rushed in from outside. He grabbed Pei Jin's arm and asked, "Are we really the main force in the latest AI research?"
Pei Jin replied, "Yes, Professor Qin. We are the main force. More than three thousand scientific research teams will join us later. The national university alliance has been launched, the country's semiconductor giants have come together for discussions, and hundreds of suppliers are ready to cooperate. We can finally go all out!"
It's not that with the digital assets and algorithm models in hand, the development of the domestic AI industry can rest easy and see the light of day immediately.
On the contrary, getting these is just the beginning.
- The algorithms need to be continuously updated and evolved. The data requires a huge amount of training. And the chips that carry the AI system need countless scientists, engineers, and suppliers to work their hardest, even sacrificing everything, to develop!
Getting the data assets and computing models is not a ticket to success.
It's just an admission ticket.
It's a ticket to the future that Zhu Ning and Chi Wannian brought back from America.
Getting it only means having the qualification to enter the door.
Whether they can actually enter the door depends on the collective efforts of domestic scientists and the country's engineering resources.
- Because cross - era scientific and technological research and development can never be solved by just one or two genius companies.
In the end, it all comes down to the country.
Each generation has its own long - march.
Some people have been silently walking on the current long - march for decades.
In the future, more people will continue to walk on this path.
"Good, good, good!"
Professor Qin tightly held Pei Jin's hand. His old eyes were filled with tears. "Even if I die, I'll have no regrets!"
Pei Jin also tightly held his hand. With a smile on his face and moist eyes, he said, "The future is in our hands."
In China, scientific research was carried out under strict confidentiality. Construction teams entered the site to build large - scale research bases. Suppliers and semiconductor companies had endless meetings. Scientists and engineers were fully deployed, and top - notch talents from universities were on standby.
Everyone in every link was doing their own thing. Everyone was on the right path, doing the right thing. They all believed that the predecessors plant trees for the descendants to enjoy the shade.
For their descendants, their country, and future generations.
They were going to their own battlefields.
While the domestic efforts were in full swing, foreign forum posts went viral.
[China Stands Up to the US to Bring Back Its Citizen. Miss Zhu Spent a Fortune to Pave the Way, and the Country Backed Her Up to Protect Its People!]
Below the title was a video of the Chinese ambassador directly rejecting the US high - ranking officials' demand to take away their citizen.
The forum went crazy with replies and reposts, attracting countless people.
[The most inspiring scene I've seen this year was actually brought to me by China? When did China become so powerful!]
[No way, am I seeing things? They actually dared to stand up for their citizens! Are they that bold?]
Netizens were shocked. They also imagined what would happen if they were in the same situation and whether they could get the same level of protection. But at this moment, they all realized:
China was completely different from what their mainstream media had been portraying.
Netizens who had participated in the Haiyin Defense War felt the same way.
[China has always been different! I admit that I had a lot of prejudice and discrimination against China under the influence of the media. But it wasn't until the three major platforms brought the war to our doorstep and Chinese netizens stepped forward that I realized the atmosphere in their whole country was completely different from what we had imagined!]
[We might have all been deceived!]