The next morning, Zheng Li, as usual, had breakfast in the cafeteria and then planned to take a walk around the public experimental area.
He had a feeling similar to when he used to mentor mage apprentices in his own mage tower.
After graduating from the Mage Academy, most mages in the Mage Alliance need to study and work at the Mage Tower.
The probability of going from having a magical brain implanted and gaining spellcasting abilities to having one's own mage tower is probably less than one in 100,000.
Most mages, realizing they'll never have a chance to own their own mage tower, choose to give up.
Abundant resources and a highly intelligent social system ensure that even those who are laid off can have basic living security.
A small number of people are responsible for breaking through the limits of magic and science, while the majority of people lie back and let fully automated machines handle the basic operation of society.
Even the reproduction of life is handled by fully automated factories with artificial wombs. Most people don't have the concept of offspring; they only need to donate their genes when they reach a certain age.
The longer Zheng Li stayed on Earth, the more he enjoyed interacting with people—a feeling he hadn't experienced in a long time.
"Wanqing, how's the experiment progressing lately?" Zheng Li asked.
Li Wanqing has been somewhat distracted lately. His former colleague at Neuralink contacted him, saying that Neuralink wanted him to return.
Neuralink also stated that it was willing to pay the full penalty for breach of contract on his behalf.
Researchers of Li Wanqing's caliber typically sign a non-compete agreement upon joining the company, meaning that they are prohibited from engaging in work in the same industry for a minimum period after leaving Kechuang Biotechnology.
Li Wanqing was previously just a research group leader at Neuralink and had signed a non-compete agreement with his peers, which is why he returned to Singapore from California and became a researcher at a university.
After regaining his composure, Li Wanqing replied, "Due to the impact of the pandemic, the number of white and black people in Singapore has decreased significantly, making it difficult to find white and black students majoring in English."
"I think we can outsource this part of the experiment."
“We can outsource the experiments on English-speaking white students to CRO companies in America, and the experiments on English-speaking black students to CRO companies in South Africa.”
CRO stands for Contract Research Organization, which is essentially a large company outsourcing some of its research and development work through contracts.
CRO companies began to emerge in America in the 1970s, while domestic CRO companies generally emerged from 2000 to 2004, such as WuXi AppTec and Tigermed.
Li Wanqing hopes to outsource some of the experiments that are currently progressing slowly in Singapore to professional CRO companies.
Zheng Li thought it was a good idea, but he also had questions about outsourcing:
“It can be outsourced to CRO companies in America and South Africa, or even entirely to America.”
Li Wanqing: "Outsourcing to South Africa would be cheaper. Besides, under the current circumstances, there aren't many Black people in America willing to participate in experiments to make money, you know what I mean."
Due to the impact of the pandemic, America has been handing out money lavishly, and many Black people can easily support themselves without working thanks to government welfare.
Zheng Li asked, "The epidemic situation in America and South Africa is much more serious than in Singapore, right? Are their CRO companies still able to operate normally?"
Li Wanqing nodded and said, "No problem. The epidemic looks fierce abroad, but they don't really care about it."
"And we are conducting brain-computer interface experiments."
Zheng Li: "Then there's no problem. Contact the relevant departments at the Suzhou headquarters, and also complete the process in the enterprise office management system."
Most of the management functions of Kechuang Bio are located in Suzhou, while Lion City only has the function of recruitment.
After a long internal struggle, Li Wanqing said, "Chairman Zheng, Neuralink has come to me. They want to poach me."
Zheng Li asked doubtfully, "Is Neuralink the same company you used to work for?"
Zheng Li interviewed Li Wanqing; he had seen the name on Li Wanqing's resume.
"Yes."
Zheng Li: "Neuralink is still rich; they paid tens of millions of lion dollars in breach of contract fees so decisively."
Li Wanqing's annual salary is approximately 700,000 yuan. If he continues to work in the same industry after leaving the company, he will have to compensate Kechuang Biotechnology with ten times his salary over ten years.
That is 70 million Singapore dollars, but usually the maximum amount will not be paid out; there will be a discount if a lawsuit is filed.
Li Wanqing said helplessly, "Chairman Zheng, I didn't say I was leaving."
Zheng Li: "So what are you trying to express by this?"
Li Wanqing: "I want to know if the company's future R&D plans meet my expectations."
"Because I am a somewhat idealistic person, I hope that brain-computer interface technology can be developed into medical devices in addition to its commercial applications."
"For example, brain-computer interfaces can be combined with prosthetics for the disabled, or brain-computer interfaces can restore vision for blind patients."
"I would much rather do some small research for patients."
“Neuralink is willing to give me the position of head of research and development, which will give me more autonomy in my brain-computer interface research.”
"At Kechuang Biotechnology, I am the R&D director, but I am actually just following the R&D path you have arranged."
Zheng Li: "After this project ends, I haven't figured out the future direction of brain-computer interfaces. We can discuss your proposed solution before making a decision."
Zheng Li estimated that he would have regained his spellcasting ability by then, and the research and development function of the scientific and technological innovation would not be so important to him. At that time, the research and development center in Lion City could be handed over to Li Wanqing.
Zheng Li: "The reason Neuralink wants you to come back is definitely because they covet your experience at Kechuang Biotechnology. They certainly won't be making medical devices, at least not for the time being."
“You know the progress of Kechuang Bio. If you go to Neuralink to start over, it will take at least five years before you can do research on brain-computer interfaces and medical devices.”
Neuralink's ability to develop products simply by acquiring Li Wanqing's experience doesn't guarantee success; they also need to circumvent the patent barriers set up by Kechuang Bio.
Five years is already the most optimistic estimate.
Li Wanqing is a typical example of someone with high IQ but low EQ. After realizing what he meant, he said, "Chairman Zheng, I understand what you mean. I will work hard at Kechuang Biotechnology."
Time quickly moved to 2021. On the eve of Chinese New Year in 2021, Zheng Li made a phone call to each of the parents in this body.
Since arriving on Earth, he has only seen the parents of this body once. He has never returned since, whether he was taking a leave of absence from school or founding Kechuang Biotechnology.
Zheng Li's parents learned from the news that their son had founded a company with a market value of over 100 billion US dollars.
Only then could they understand why Zheng Li regularly sent over a large sum of living expenses every month.
Zheng Li is unable to play the role of a son emotionally, so he can only make up for the responsibilities he should have fulfilled by providing material support.
Singapore's Lunar New Year's Eve 2021 featured a two-hour fireworks display. Amidst the New Year's countdown fireworks, Zheng Li spent his second Lunar New Year on Earth.
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