Beginning and End (Part 1)
"Almost, just a little bit more!"
"I can feel that there is only a thin layer of paper between us. As long as I can break through this layer of paper, I will succeed. But I can't find the paper."
One day in late June 2034, Chen Yuan leaned his hands on the desk, staring at the screen with a look of unwillingness.
In the more than one month since he was discharged from the hospital, he has been working around the clock despite his illness, but he has never been able to find the key to a breakthrough.
"I don't have time anymore. Will I ever have another chance to see you truly born?" Chen Yuan said sadly to the empty laboratory.
"Professor, we have detected that your mood is fluctuating too much, which is not good for your health. You need to rest." A mechanical voice answered Chen Yuan.
Chen Yuan smiled and nodded. He didn't have to be so anxious. He was only 50 years old this year and had plenty of time to complete his research.
Unfortunately, things did not go as planned. Two months ago, he was diagnosed with late-stage cancer that cannot be cured by current medical technology.
His life is coming to an end, probably only half a year or less.
Chen Yuan has experienced a lot in his life. He may not care about life and death, but he cannot let go of the hard work of half his life - a new type of intelligent body that can have real emotions.
"Of course there are opportunities."
A voice broke the silence of the laboratory, and two big men pushed open the door of the laboratory.
Han Zhe walked in and looked at Chen Yuan with a smile: "Senior Brother, long time no see."
"It's you!"
Han Zhe called Chen Yuan "senior brother", but Chen Yuan did not show much joy of reuniting with his fellow apprentice. Instead, he frowned and looked stern.
Chen Yuan was very unwelcome to Han Zhe's arrival: "I don't remember any visitor appointments today. The laboratory's security department should strengthen training."
Faced with Chen Yuan's cold face, Han Zhe did not feel uncomfortable at all. He found a place to sit down safely.
"I heard that my senior brother is not in good health. We are brothers and sisters, so I came to visit him."
Chen Yuan sneered: "If you hadn't come, I might have lived longer."
Chen Yuan and Han Zhe met when they were teenagers and they attended the same private aristocratic high school.
As a teenager, Han Zhe showed intelligence beyond his peers very early on, and it is not an exaggeration to call him a young genius.
Chen Yuan thought he was already the best among his peers, but this junior who was three years younger than him could not only keep up with him academically, but also had similar insights and thinking to him.
However, Han Zhe's genius mind and relatively introverted personality made him ostracized by his peers.
Therefore, Chen Yuan also took better care of this junior brother with whom he got along well.
However, later Chen Yuan was sent abroad by his father to study, and they lost contact.
But the miraculous thing is that three years later, Chen Yuan met Han Zhe again abroad, and Han Zhe became his junior again.
At that time, they had the best relationship.
Things are unpredictable. A few years later, his father passed away suddenly in an accident. He had to hurriedly end his studies and return to China to take over the family business, thus starting his own arduous business journey.
Chen Yuan is obsessed with technological research and has little interest or talent in business.
Faced with the siege of competitors, Chen Yuan took on the pressure and led the company from traditional industries to the research and development of artificial intelligence.
But at that time, it was still too early for this industry to be commercialized, and the money was almost burned out within a few years.
It was at this time that Han Zhe appeared in front of him with funds. At that time, he was truly grateful to this junior.
So how did they end up hating each other?
Because of their differences, they had ideological differences, and the differences were getting bigger and bigger.
It’s just that at that time Chen Yuantian naively believed that this difference could be balanced and reconciled, but it was also because of this idea that he suffered the most painful blow.
At that time, he was fighting fiercely with his competitors. What he didn't expect was that Han Zhe would cut off the funding at this time.
This was a heavy betrayal for Chen Yuan. The withdrawal of investment without any preparation put Chen Yuan in a very passive situation. He tried to seek investment everywhere but to no avail.
When Chen Yuan was completely in despair, Han Zhe bought his company again. Chen Yuan was kicked out and was burdened with huge debts.
If it were just this, Chen Yuan would just think that he was not as skilled as his opponent and would admit defeat.
In fact, this is what he did at the beginning. Losing the company made him a little discouraged and felt that he had no talent in business.
Chen Yuan spent several years paying off his debts and then devoted himself to research, which he was good at.
But later on, he accidentally learned that in order to successfully inject capital into his company, Han Zhe had used shady means behind the scenes and stopped several investors and institutions that wanted to invest in his company, with the purpose of becoming the only source of funds for his company.
Later, Han Zhe secretly supported his then competitor, withdrew funds at a critical moment, and finally used means to block all his financing channels again.
Chen Yuan felt that at that time he was like a lab rat being toyed around by Han Zhe. If they had different ideas, they should just part ways amicably. Why bother teasing him?
Perhaps things like trust and friendship are just tools for Han Zhe to manipulate people's hearts.
Well, in the end he was too trusting. From then on, the friendship between the two of them as young as they were no longer there, and they became strangers.
The memories came to an abrupt end, and Chen Yuan looked at the uninvited guest in front of him and just wanted to see him off.
"Brother, don't look at me like that. I came here this time with the sincere intention of helping you."
Chen Yuan respectfully declined Han Zhe's words, saying, "Life and death are determined by fate. I won't bother you with any more worries."
"Based on my understanding of my senior brother, I naturally understand that he is not afraid of death.
"But the new intelligent entity that Senior Brother has been researching these years is the product of half his life's work. If Senior Brother doesn't see it come to light, wouldn't you think it would be a great pity?"
"So what?" Chen Yuan's tone was very cold.
"Han Zhe, no matter how much you flatter me, it's nothing more than your interest in my research results. But your plan has failed. He won't become a tool just to make money for you. We had a disagreement on this point before, and it still remains the same now."
Han Zhe smiled and sighed, "Brother, you're still so stubborn. Commercializing technology is the only way to get it into every household. I'm just making a little money in the process."
Chen Yuan sneered, "You mean by commercializing it for every household that he becomes a custom toy for the wealthy and aristocratic, something ordinary people can only dream of, right?"
"Brother, we can put aside these insignificant differences for now." Han Zhe stopped arguing with Chen Yuan on this issue and instead used temptation:
"What if I say I can give you more time to conduct your research?"
"I didn't know that the Han Group had such great achievements in the field of biomedicine. If that were true, they would probably look down on my insignificant research."
Han Zhe pretended not to hear Chen Yuan's ridicule, and said leisurely: "Brother, have you heard of time and space technology?
As long as you use time-space technology to send your current research results to your past self, you will have more time for research. So, are you still worried about not having enough time?"
Chen Yuan looked at Han Zhe coldly without saying anything.
"I know you don't believe me, after all, these technologies are still under strict lockdown."
Han Zhe, with his signature smile, pushed a memory stick in front of Chen Yuan. "This is my sincere gift. It contains relevant top-secret information. After reading it, you will be able to judge whether what I said is true."
Chen Yuan's eyes moved slightly. Han Zhe, who had been watching him, knew that his goal had been achieved, so he prepared to leave: "In that case, I will not disturb you anymore, Senior Brother."
"Oh right." Han Zhe stopped suddenly when he reached the door, as if he suddenly remembered something.
"I remember that you have a student named Bian Senlin, right? He's currently working for the Space-Time Bureau. If you don't believe me, you can go ask him."
After saying that, Han Zhe took his men and left one by one.
The laboratory returned to silence. Chen Yuan looked at the hard drive in front of him for a long time and finally picked it up.
Even if Chen Yuan no longer wanted to pay attention to Han Zhe, Han Zhe's words were like a poisonous seed that pierced his heart.
He needs time.
Chen Yuan studied a large amount of information and used his connections to make direct or indirect inquiries everywhere, and finally confirmed the authenticity of space-time technology and the feasibility of sending existing research results back to the past.
Chen Yuan was tempted, but he didn't want to cooperate with Han Zhe, because he was a hungry wolf who would eat people without leaving any bones.
Chen Yuan thought of his student Bian Senlin. His good friend Wang Zhixing once invited him to participate in a top-secret research, but Chen Yuan was devoted to his own research at that time.
Although he declined the invitation, Chen Yuan still recommended his students.
He knew that Bian Senlin later followed his good friend into a confidential unit. He knew the sensitivity of the situation, so he never asked any questions.
Now that I think about it, what Bian Senlin entered was the legendary space-time bureau.
However, after repeated consideration, Chen Yuan gave up this idea.
I am a late bloomer. I have had a rough first half of my life, and it has not been easy for me to get to where I am today.
He often came to visit me after hearing that I was ill. He is a kind-hearted child. I should not drag him into this trouble because of my selfish desires.
What's more, he has only been in the Space-Time Bureau for a short time and may not be able to help much.
My good friend Wang Zhixing has status and ability, but he is a stubborn person who values principles more than his life, so this path is not feasible for him.
Chen Yuan helplessly discovered that apart from the space-time technology that Han Zhe had mastered from somewhere, he seemed to have no better choice.
After hesitating for a long time, Chen Yuan finally called Han Zhe: "Han Zhe, what do you want?"
Han Zhe wasn't surprised at all that Chen Yuan contacted him: "Brother, I'm a businessman. I want the commercial development rights for the new intelligent entity."
The moment he heard Han Zhe's voice, Chen Yuan recalled the unpleasantness of the past and felt that he was confused and actually wanted to take advantage of the tiger. He wanted to hang up the phone immediately.
"Brother, don't be so quick to refuse."
Han Zhe obviously knew Chen Yuan very well: "Commercialization can allow your achievements to reach thousands of households in the fastest way. Isn't this also your wish?
I can guarantee that this time is different from the past. Now I am not short of money, power, or people.
The benefits to me from making AI accessible to all classes of the world would be much greater than just targeting a specific class."
Chen Yuanxin believed what he said, Han Zhe was an out-and-out profit-oriented person.
"Brother, we can send your research results back to fifteen years ago, when all the conflicts had not yet occurred and we were still the closest collaborators.
You can have another 15 years of research time, and I can maximize the benefits. This is a win-win cooperation."
"How would I know if you just want to cheat me out of my research results?"
"Of course there are ways to reassure you, brother. Besides, since you've contacted me, I'm sure you've made some preparations. We can meet and discuss the details."
In this way, Chen Yuan and Han Zhe met again.
They worked out a more detailed plan, and Han Zhe addressed Chen Yuan's concerns one by one, including but not limited to how to ensure the safety of members' research results, how to develop the commercial value of the intelligent body afterwards, etc.
Han Zhe was so thoughtful that he seemed like a considerate and morally perfect person, but Chen Yuan knew that he was not.
"Professor, this is not a wise choice." A mechanical voice sounded again in the laboratory.
"I know." Chen Yuan coughed with difficulty, but he had no choice. His health was getting worse and worse.
"I don't trust Han Zhe. If Han Zhe keeps his promise, it's fine. But if he breaks the agreement..."
Chen Yuan looked at the time with a serious look in his eyes. It was now September 10th, and there were still 10 days before the agreed time tunnel was to be opened.
Before that, he wanted to leave a backup plan for himself and his life's work just in case.
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