94: From Technological Warfare to Space Empire

Hearing Lin Yu say this, Liu Bo and Ding An felt even more grateful. Now that everything was in need of rebuilding, there were not many teachers who understood this cutting-edge field. Even if the two of them wanted to learn, they would not be able to find a way.

Even if Lin Yu only gave a brief overview, they will be more competitive if they want to join the relevant research team later.

Not to mention that Lin Yu shared so much valuable information and explained the entire situation to them.

Once you've absorbed all of that knowledge, and then browse through the literature, you'll be ready to become a researcher.

Knowledge is so precious, yet Lin Yu just casually gave it all away, as if it were free.

Both Liu and Ding felt a little embarrassed.

Lin Yu, however, didn't think that much about it. He had lived in the information age before, where he could find free resources for almost every subject on the Internet, so he was completely unaware of the scarcity of knowledge.

At that time, knowledge was no longer valuable; what was valuable were people who could understand and learn it.

He was quite satisfied to see that Liu and Ding were willing to listen to him and could even follow his train of thought.

The three of them then exchanged a smile.

Lin Yu was in high spirits and felt somewhat unsatisfied.

Liu Bo wanted to listen, but his upper and lower eyelids were drooping so badly that the bruises around his eyes looked even more pronounced.

Ding An was nodding off, and seeing that Lin and Liu wanted to continue their discussion, he quickly pointed to his watch and began to change the subject:

"It's already past 4 a.m. If we keep talking, you two won't be able to go to the research group to do experiments tomorrow?"

Moreover, there's something I'm not sure if I should say.

Lin Yu, are you planning to build rockets again? Or take over a steel mill? Or develop artificial intelligence?

These guys are all big spenders; it's not that I don't believe in your abilities.

But I still suggest you get one done first, to avoid wasting time splitting your efforts across three different places.

Hearing Ding An's advice, which showed he was thinking of him from Ding An's perspective, Lin Yu nodded in agreement.

When starting a business, funding is secondary; what's truly important is having partners who are willing to work hard on the entrepreneurial journey.

Currently, the path of working on satellites with one's professor's research group is almost completely blocked.

Lin Yu was thinking of starting his own business. One of his roommates was good at scientific research, and the other was good at practical work. They were also good people. It would be great if he could get them on board.

Lin Yu then replied with utmost seriousness:

"These three are indeed money-devouring beasts, but they are also treasure troves."

Rockets are the most difficult to manage and require the most funding;

A steel plant is easy to set up, but it lacks funds and technology.

Artificial intelligence is the easiest to develop, but the only problem is the lack of funding.

Once artificial intelligence is developed, it will not only generate income, but also solve technical challenges in steelmaking and rocket manufacturing.

Lin Yu thought to himself that his understanding of this era was mostly based on the rough descriptions in short videos about 2026.

The specific hardware and software used to create artificial intelligence still require careful research.

He has no idea how far chip companies like Nvidia and Intel have developed.

I don't even know if I have enough money to buy a computer.

But there is no doubt that this era can create artificial intelligence.

In fact, if the 20th century hadn't discarded the most important algorithms of artificial intelligence, the birth of artificial intelligence would have come even earlier.

Now, whether it's the Bayesian equation or the understanding of the Markov chain Monte Carlo method, Lin Yu is ahead of his time.

Seeing Lin Yu's response, Ding An didn't say anything more about starting a business, but simply said:

"It's good that you know what I mean, but... there's one more thing."

Lin Yu's lecture today had been kind to him, and Ding An, wanting to repay the favor, pointed to the bed near the door:

"A few days ago, I left a book in my dorm room that I was supposed to return to the library. When I came back to get it, I saw Xu Haoxiang going through your things."

"As you all know, I'm not prejudiced against anyone, but Xu Haoxiang is clearly a spoiled brat sent over by his family to get some experience, yet he's looking through your scraps and drafts, Lin Yu."

"When he saw me come back, he hurriedly hid your notes and told me that he wanted to study hard and was afraid that you would have a problem with him, so he wanted me to help him keep it a secret from you."

"I thought your relationship wasn't that bad. If he wanted to learn, he could just ask you directly, right? I offered to set him up, but he insisted on not doing so."

"I didn't agree to help him cover it up, and he never went back to the dormitory after that."

"When you came back a few days ago, I was already asleep. When I woke up, you were already back at your research group working hard, so I haven't had time to talk to you about this."

"Liu Bo and I stayed up all night again today, and only when you came back did we have a chance to talk to you."

"Although his family is rich, many rich people have strange quirks. Be careful, or he might steal your things."

Hearing Ding An say this, Lin Yu stroked his chin, wondering what Xu Haoxiang was up to.

He remembered this person; he was a spoiled rich kid, but not a bad person.

I remember that a couple of years ago, when we still had to use ration coupons to eat in the canteen, the 30 jin of grain coupons a month would only amount to 2 liang per meal.

This small amount of staple food was hardly enough for the young men in their early twenties. Back then, Xu Haoxiang would often exchange money for tickets to bring them food.

If he just wants to learn, he can just tell him directly. If he pays more for tutoring, Lin Yu will be more willing to tutor him wholeheartedly.

Without overthinking it, having returned from the future, he was unwilling to assume the worst about people.

They completely failed to consider that the social atmosphere of this era was not as pleasant as that of later generations. There were no innocent and foolish college students now; everyone who could go to college was a shrewd and intelligent person.

Lin Yu only wanted to have a proper chat with Xu Haoxiang when he met him later, so he nodded to Ding An to indicate that he understood.

Liu Bo wanted to chat with Lin Yu a little longer, but Lin Yu saw that Ding An was about to give up and Liu Bo was also getting sleepy, so he quickly said that they would talk again tomorrow.

Liu Bo then gave up. The three of them didn't wash up, but went back to their own beds, wrapped themselves in blankets, and went to sleep.

The next morning, Lin Yu got up after sleeping for less than 3 hours. This could be considered a benefit of time travel. Since he could remember, his energy had been far more abundant than that of ordinary people.

Seeing that his two roommates were still asleep, Lin Yu quickly washed up and decided to go to the library to look at some books about AI.

He not only needed to find books on algorithms, but also the most cutting-edge hardware of the era.

To develop artificial intelligence, a computer is the minimum requirement, and the higher the computing power, the better.

However, before leaving, Lin Yu thought about what Ding An had told him yesterday—Xu Haoxiang had been secretly going through his things.

Lin Yu tore off a piece of paper and scribbled some derivation formulas on it.

Then I put it in the drawer, deliberately leaving the bottom right corner of the paper sticking out of the drawer, and made a five-pointed star mark on it.

After finishing this, Lin Yu went out.

The heavy snow that fell last night didn't stop until late into the night.

Right now, just outside the dormitory building, you can see more than a dozen faculty and staff members, along with some male students, clearing the snow from the roadside.

Seeing Lin Yu passing by, they wanted to invite him to participate in the labor together.

Lin Yu waved his hand repeatedly, indicating that he had other things to do.

The faculty and staff were not annoyed after Lin Yu's explicit rejection.

Instead, upon hearing that he was going to the library early in the cold morning, they gave him a thumbs up.

Walking onto the main road, you can see footprints from different directions on the snow, all converging together.

A little further on, the road splits into three separate routes.

To the north is the library, to the east is the cafeteria, and to the northeast is the school gate.

Following the sparse footprints on the snow northward, we soon arrived at the library.

The library was filled with the mixed scent of old paper and mothballs. Lin Yu had always thought it was a fragrance that would calm his mind.

To enter, you need to show your library card. Not far from the door, the librarian, wearing a faded blue uniform with a red armband on his sleeve, is checking the library cards.

Only after passing the entrance where the administrator was located did we actually enter the indoor area.

As soon as I entered the room, the stinging sensation on my cheeks from the cold was relieved by the heat from the boiler.

In January 1994, Beijing had not yet implemented full-scale heating; only a few major areas or state-owned enterprises had heating.

Most of the books on the bookshelf are wrapped in kraft paper. Popular engineering textbooks have time limits for borrowing, with notices posted on the shelves indicating that they can only be borrowed for three days.

There weren't many people in the hall. Most of the boys were wearing Zhongshan suits or polyester shirts. At that time, people liked to call polyester shirts "Dacron shirts." Lin Yu tried to learn to call them that, but he felt awkward no matter how he said it.

The girls mostly had short, ear-length hair and wore floral print blouses. Even without makeup, they looked very energetic.