Chapter 22 Chapter 22 Workaholic Dad 22

Through the crack in the door, Zhuozhuo watched the mechanical dog gracefully land on all fours from a standing position. She exclaimed in surprise, "Woof, you couldn't stand this straight before."

Wangwang's electronic eyes lit up, and he spoke in a mechanical voice, "Yes, Dr. Wei replaced some parts for me this time. My limbs can now rotate 270 degrees, making them much more flexible. Zhuozhuo, I still can't dance with you, but I can hold your hand and take a walk with you."

Zhuozhuo said happily, "That's great."

9972 was stunned. Three years ago, the robot puppy could walk and march alongside Zhuozhuo, even locking onto and following him, but that was a fixed program. Today's hand-in-hand strolls were a result of the robot puppy collecting and analyzing external information and providing feedback through its control system.

Of course, this little bit of technology was nothing to 9972. What shocked him was that the progress in the laboratory was different from that in the original book.

At this point in the original novel, the laboratory's research had seemingly reached a bottleneck. Led by Dr. Wei, they labored tirelessly on the interactive system, resulting in two years of no meaningful progress. At the request of their investor, Qin Jin, the laboratory was closed, and the existing patents were converted into commercial products.

This was a normal business decision. After all, Qin Jin invested in the laboratory not to research epoch-making results, but to seize the market with exclusive technology.

But the problem is that after that, the experimental data was stolen due to improper storage by the branch. Based on Dr. Wei's unfinished research, a foreign company made phased progress and applied it to the military, and also imposed sanctions on China.

This has put China on the defensive internationally, with related domestic companies going bankrupt one after another and nearly one million people losing their jobs, which in turn has triggered a series of social unrest.

Under these changes, public opinion was difficult to control, and researchers like Qin Jin, M&W, and Dr. Wei became targets of public hatred. People boycotted all M&W products and attacked Qin Jin, M&W employees, Dr. Wei, and others online and offline.

Under such public outcry, several people could not bear the pressure and ended their lives.

Qin Jin was indifferent by nature, but his decision had led to such a result, and even out of human nature, he could not forgive himself. Moreover, Qin Jin had extremely high standards for himself, and the wrong decision was undoubtedly due to his incompetence, so he had to make amends no matter what.

Qin Jin gathered M&W's funds and began fully supporting Dr. Wei's research. Together, they created 001, the first robot to pass the Turing test. Unfortunately, the robot lost control the moment it was created, triggering the Omnic Crisis.

From the city to the doomsday crisis, it feels like being in a science fiction movie, but the plot of this book is logical, otherwise it would be impossible to generate a world.

In the original book, humans and robots fought a war that lasted fifteen years and won. However, after the world evolved, the result was the extinction of humans and the subsequent collapse of the world.

The department to which 9972 belongs has the main responsibility of saving these worlds that have evolved incorrectly while making as few changes as possible to the plot and settings of the original book.

Because this robot was modeled after Qin Jin, its disregard for life and its reckless incitement of war were seen as evidence of Qin Jin's personality flaws. Therefore, the main system's recommended solution after calculation was: redeem Qin Jin and teach him to love.

In this way, 001, which is based on Qin Jin, will also have the operating logic of "love". This small change is enough for humans to win the man-machine war.

After Zhuozhuo successfully stayed with Qin Jin and obtained the robot puppy, 9972, who had long since given up hope, thought that it could help Zhuozhuo save some pocket money and continue to invest in Dr. Wei's laboratory after Qin Jin withdrew his investment. Or, if Dr. Wei resumed cooperation with Qin Jin, he could persuade him to accept official recruitment.

Of course, the previous host had tried both of these methods, and all had failed. So 9972 was just thinking about it, and never mentioned it to Zhuozhuo.

However, now, for Zhuo Zhuo's sake, Dr. Wei immediately changed direction when he encountered a bottleneck, showing no stubbornness to refuse to turn back until he hits a wall.

9972 didn't know whether this change was good or bad, but what was certain was that as long as the lab could keep Zhuo Zhuo happy, Qin Jin wouldn't withdraw his investment after two years. So... if the subsequent data theft was avoided, how would the plot turn out?

Will a robot like 001, one that passes the Turing test, be created? Will there still be an Omnic Crisis? Will the apocalypse still happen?

If all of this were gone, which would be equivalent to 90% of the book's plot being gone, would this completely distorted world collapse? If it didn't, would it mean the mission was a success?

9972 was excited and worried, and his CPU was about to burn out.

Zhuozhuo didn't know that 9972 had thought so much. She played with Wangwang for a while, and when Qin Jin went to the bathroom, she suddenly asked Dr. Wei seriously, "Uncle Wei, can you make a companion robot?"

"What kind does Zhuozhuo want?" Dr. Wei asked while drinking water.

Zhuozhuo gestured excitedly, apparently having been thinking about it for a long time, "Like in the movies, so beautiful, just like a real person, and can sleep with people..."

"Puff!" Dr. Wei spat out a mouthful of water. He didn't bother to wipe it off and asked seriously, "Where did Zhuozhuo watch this kind of movie? Who took you to see it?"

Zhuozhuo tilted his head and said the name of a movie, "My dad took me to see it."

It was a foreign science fiction blockbuster with a rubbish plot but shocking special effects. The actors were all good-looking and had great figures. It was very popular when it was released.

Dr. Wei silently wiped the water off the table with a piece of paper. Forgive him for immediately thinking of something impure. To hide his embarrassment, Dr. Wei smiled and asked, "Why does Zhuozhuo want a robot to sleep with? A robot is uncomfortable to hold. You can sleep with a doll."

9972, who had the same wrong idea, silently agreed, yes, yes, why did Zhuozhuo suddenly want a humanoid robot, has Wangwang fallen out of favor?

"It's not what I want, I made it for my dad." Zhuozhuo glanced at the door, making sure Qin Jin hadn't returned yet, and quickly said, "My dad doesn't know how to fall in love, so I want to make a robot to accompany him in practice. If Dad really can't learn, then I can just treat the robot as my wife."

Zhuozhuo sighed deeply and said seriously, "I will agree to their marriage and hold a wedding for them."

"Puff." Dr. Wei nearly spit out another laugh. He laughed heartily a few times, but forced himself to suppress it under Zhuozhuo's accusing gaze. His voice, distorted by the laughter, said, "Yes, yes, Zhuozhuo is truly filial. Your father needs a robot like this. I will do my best."

"Okay. Uncle Wei, how much does this robot cost? Do I need to pay a deposit?" Zhuozhuo said a little worriedly, "I can't give you money right now. I gave all my New Year's money to Dad."

Actually, Qin Jin had put Zhuozhuo's New Year's money into the fund. He would make up for any losses, and any profits would belong to Zhuozhuo. But Zhuozhuo didn't quite understand, and could only think that the money was with Qin Jin and she couldn't use it.

Zhuozhuo looked so adorable, like she was seriously discussing business. Dr. Wei turned his head and laughed silently for three seconds, unable to resist teasing her, "Then what should we do? We have to pay the deposit before we can start working."

Zhuozhuo didn't panic at all. He said calmly, "How about I help you sell the robots? Uncle Wei, robots like Wangwang are very expensive, and the more you produce, the lower the cost of each robot. I'll help you sell them, and I only want a 10% profit. I can use that money to pay for my robots. Is that okay?"

It was clear that Zhuozhuo had been preparing for the custom robot for a long time. She had even rehearsed Dr. Wei's reaction and prepared a response in advance. Furthermore, Zhuozhuo was very secretive. Even 9972 only just realized that some of her previous conversations with the CEO's office were intended to obtain information.

Dr. Wei hissed. Did Qin Jin save the world in his previous life? How could he have such a caring daughter? He asked curiously, "Who is Zhuo Zhuo going to sell the robot to?"

"My classmates all want a robot like Wangwang. They have money." Zhuozhuo said without hesitation. She even found her target customers.

The primary school that Zhuozhuo attends is a private aristocratic primary school run by Qin Jin. Except for those with particularly good grades or special admissions with special skills, all the students are either rich or noble and have sufficient purchasing power.

It’s just that Zhuozhuo hasn’t reached an agreement with Dr. Wei yet, so he didn’t tell his classmates in advance, but he has already tested their purchasing intentions.

Realizing that Zhuozhuo had made a comprehensive plan, Dr. Wei couldn't bear to disappoint her and wanted to agree immediately. However, the laboratory's achievements belonged to Qin Jin and M&W, and even if Dr. Wei was the person in charge, he had no authority to produce and sell robots.

Just as Dr. Wei was struggling with his words, the door opened and Qin Jin walked in. He seemed oblivious to Zhuo Zhuo's guilty conscience and said to Dr. Wei calmly, "Now that the technology is mature, robots like Wangwang can be mass-produced and put on the market."

Wangwang, a fusion of all the lab's achievements, wasn't a product destined for production. Normally, products would be categorized into different series, equipped with different technologies and targeting different customer groups. But since Qin Jin had said so, he was certain to produce a batch of robots like Wangwang.

"Okay, okay." Dr. Wei worked with Qin Jin while leaning over to Zhuo Zhuo's ear and whispered, "Zhuo Zhuo's suggestion is very good. I accept it. I hope you can sell a lot of robots."

"That's great, I will try my best!" Zhuozhuo covered his mouth and said in a low voice.

Without receiving any instructions, Wangwang, who was waiting on the spot, suddenly started talking, "Sister, don't sell Wangwang."

"Shh..." Zhuozhuo nervously covered Wangwang's mouth and read his lips to it. "I'm selling other robots. I won't sell Wangwang. Wangwang is my baby."

Wangwang stopped talking and sprinkled flowers and made hearts on the electronic screen to Zhuozhuo.

Qin Jin, filled with pride in Zhuozhuo's excellence, pretended not to notice the conspiracy between the two men and the dog. He waited until they had discussed it before suggesting that they should leave. Looking at Zhuozhuo's cheerful figure, Qin Jin slowly smiled. The child's sincerity and whimsical ideas really made people love and anger.