There's something wrong with me

The next day, in the morning.

Drip, drip—

The office door opened.

Zhang Feng looked at Old Liu approaching, "The purpose of calling you here this time is to establish a new project."

"Yes, Manager Zhang," Old Liu said, finding a stool to sit on while curiously glancing at the 'ceramic mini-house' on the table.

"Neuroscience."

Zhang Feng got straight to the point, "Based on the recent martial artist cases, I think some virtual reality technologies from sci-fi movies should be explored in depth.

Give them a place to expend their Chi and spirit.

Furthermore, some large-scale military and police exercises or battles.

Can also follow this model, saving a large part of the consumption, as well as injuries and other accidents."

"Virtual reality?"

Old Liu paused, knowing that the technology Manager Zhang spoke of was probably not 'more mature' VR or similar.

"Does Manager Zhang mean 'consciousness accessing the network'?"

As he spoke, to better understand Manager Zhang's meaning, he gestured with both hands,

"Meaning 'players' can move around in the virtual world and achieve a 1:1 sensory experience with reality?

If that's the case, then virtual and real exercises could indeed achieve a 1:1 realistic simulation, and it would be very convenient."

Old Liu had been exposed to so many scientific projects over the years that he understood some conceptual technologies from fantasy.

But precisely because of this, he found it a bit difficult.

Because Manager Zhang always proposed such 'cross-era' concepts.

This made many people headache.

"That's the concept," Zhang Feng didn't care what Old Liu was thinking, only roughly described: "We have currently reproduced both Z1 and Quantum Superconductivity.

In terms of energy and materials, we have already achieved the required 'underlying architecture'.

And in terms of simulating a virtual world, the Computational Building can also modify parameters, so it can reach the basic computational capacity for a world in terms of operation volume.

Therefore, now we only need to make a major breakthrough in neuroscience, and then virtual reality technology can be realized; it's not just a concept from fantasy."

"Yes..." Although Old Liu could understand a little, it wasn't much.

Of course, more importantly, no matter what, since Manager Zhang had said it and established this idea, just saying 'yes' was enough.

Furthermore, this technology was clearly beneficial for regular training and for achieving greater convenience and operability in learning.

Even some scientific experiments could be based on this, allowing scientists to simulate materials inside, practice manufacturing, and so on, reducing the cost of proficiency in material production.

For example, Spiritual Stone production, if everyone practiced in the virtual world for a period of time.

Then the success rate would greatly increase, and it would indirectly reduce the cost of Spiritual Stones in reality.

Just this one item alone makes the virtual world a great boon for scientific research.

However, the premise for everything is achieving a 1:1 sensory replication.

As for the most important 'muscle memory'.

As long as one has their own memory, they can quickly grasp it.

Zhang Feng was the best example.

"Manager Zhang, should I have someone start planning now?" Old Liu stood up, ready to leave immediately.

He was completely enticed by the big picture Zhang Feng painted.

Besides, if it were truly developed, it would be a great benefit to reality itself.

"Mm," Zhang Feng nodded, but then added, "This is just my basic idea, as for whether it's feasible, it still needs to be reviewed by professionals.

If the investment is too large, or if the matter is impossible, then this project should be cut.

After all, neuroscience is a unique field independent of superconductivity and Z1."

"Yes..." What else could Old Liu say? Manager Zhang had said everything that needed to be said and everything that didn't, so he could only nod.

"If you have different opinions, you can voice them," Zhang Feng saw Old Liu's current state, picked up the small house next to him, and handed it to him.

"We've known each other for almost ten years, and today is your birthday, so here's a house for you."

"I..." Old Liu paused this time, then said with a touched expression, feeling both surprised and flattered, "Thank you Manager Zhang for the house! Thank you Manager Zhang for remembering my birthday!"

"Let's not talk about that," Zhang Feng brought up the old topic again, "It's still that same sentence, you are the second in command in the base, if you have any problems, speak up.

If you don't speak up, others will be even more afraid to say anything when faced with my project proposals.

If this continues, problems are likely to arise.

Because I cannot guarantee that I am one hundred percent correct."

"No," Old Liu shook his head this time, but replied with these few sentences, "But you have always been right!

Look, whether it was the Hua Jin medicinal formula, or Z1, or the Spiritual Stones from three years ago, and the superconductivity technology from more than half a year ago.

You have always been right."

"So the problem lies here," Zhang Feng sighed inwardly, "Too many people now blindly believe in me, thinking that a certain technology is bound to break through.

Just like the virtual reality of 'superconductivity' and 'neuroscience' I mentioned this time.

Frankly speaking, I have no basis in my heart whatsoever; I am completely crossing the river by feeling the stones.

But I am afraid that many people will believe in me, and because of my words, some research directions will change, with massive investment in costs.

If there are no results in the end, too many resources will be wasted.

It would be better to invest the computing power here into Spiritual Stones and superconductivity.

In terms of strategic significance, if it weren't for me proposing this virtual technology, but someone else.

If he submitted this project to the planning department, they would definitely veto it."

"Manager Zhang, that's not how it works," Old Liu had a different opinion, "Think about it, which research in the past wasn't a large-scale investment?

How many of them ultimately produced results?

Scientific research itself is about spending a lot of resources to explore."

As he said this, he suddenly had a realization and looked at Zhang Feng with surprise,

"Manager Zhang, if I'm not mistaken, do you mean 'every net cast must catch a fish', achieving the greatest results with the smallest cost?

Or rather, every step must be on the most correct path?

If it's not one hundred percent correct, it's better to focus on existing technology and optimize it?"

"That's the idea," Zhang Feng nodded, "Although my idea is very preposterous and idealistic, our current expenditure is too large.

If we can increase income and reduce expenditure, let's do it."

"Yes, I'll go prepare!" Old Liu fully understood, then went to find the planning department to prepare a better plan.

After seeing Old Liu leave, Zhang Feng's hand touched the desktop, which was a display screen with a composite structure of acrylic and steel, showing the global total energy production data curve.

Zhang Feng could see at a glance that the mass production line of superconductivity and the upgrade of global factories, this large-scale overall upgrade, had actually affected the global foundation.

Because global governments were subsidizing them.

Coupled with the previous coverage of the Z1 power grid, free electricity for the benefit of the people, as well as the Computational Building, Spiritual Stone manufacturing and computing, and extraordinary medicinal formulas and medicine, and so on.

Now, column after column were large negative numbers for the economy and energy, already close to the limit.

Finally, the large-scale replacement of Z1, and some temporary power outages in the power grid, this itself made the scarce resources even tighter.

Now, it could be said that this was definitely a 'global hard top', stubbornly trying to see the 'dawn appear'.

But there were also benefits, which was that the collapse of the economy and energy meant that the global economy didn't need to be examined closely anymore.

Then, relatively speaking, the economy item within the Federation's plan could be glossed over and moved on from.

Because the global massive investment itself, and the support from various parties, ultimately directed the focus of consumption to the data center.

Therefore, if the data center played dumb and laughed it off, then it would be a muddled account.

After all, these 'trillions' of project 'computation codes' were also unconditionally given to all parties.

Zhang Feng was now confident that as long as he said, 'Accounts are reset to zero, recalculate, establish the Federation currency.'

Then everything would start from zero.

Including the various parties around the world, they also had the intention of moving in this direction.

Zhang Feng had read some general reports and knew that in these few months, they had cut down on some currency exchange companies of various parties, etc.

And under the technological bombardment of Spiritual Stones and so on, the call for the Federation was now getting stronger and stronger.

So in this abstract situation, the complexity of restructuring the international monetary system could be temporarily ignored.

Zhang Feng was also considering this matter and felt that the time was becoming more and more ripe, just waiting to see when to implement it.

As for military control and nuclear weapons, the various parties would still manage them separately first.

Because even if a man and woman get married, it's not like they give their lives to each other right away.

Then, this economy would still be managed with separate accounts by each party, but the currency form would be unified.

Consider it slowly laying the foundation.

After all, this restructuring system was still complex.

It was just that there was also something interesting.

Zhang Feng searched for virtual currencies at this moment and saw that their market had basically ended.

Because when Z1 was rolled out, the leading Bitcoin, under the suppression of unlimited energy, coupled with the full network coverage of the data center, lost its decentralized characteristic, virtual addresses were no longer secret, and mining them no longer cost anything, so it collapsed.

Ultimately, it was just a concept, a degree of recognition.

When everyone disagreed, coupled with the lack of decentralization and the fact that various institutions began to massively dump and focus on 'physical extraordinary items' such as spirit stones that could extend life, the distorted virtual market was bound to collapse.

Once the big brother Bitcoin was finished, everything else could 'return to zero'.

Zhang Feng saw this and found that it was different from what he had thought.

Because in some sci-fi movies, these things are popular in worlds with such advanced technology.

But now, Zhang Feng knows that it is not popularity, but increasing recognition, and then raising their prices.

But at this moment, it is a new civilization of energy revolution driven by technological subversion.

It has truly happened.

A virtual tumor was easily removed by the tide of the general trend.

This is a great thing, leaving a large blank space in the monetary world of reality and virtuality.

If the Federal Currency is really established, then the price ratio will be stable.

Then, it is the recovery of currency in various places and unifying it into the Federal Currency.

Coupled with the previous global computing power and other matters, this can be regarded as creating an excellent opportunity to reconstruct the currency.

So.

After thinking about it, Zhang Feng felt that the Federation was about to be established.

Because he was about to search for neurologists around the world, and the data center was about to become a research base for various types of global scientific research.

Then there must be a 'name' for all parties.

The Great Xia officials summon people every day, even if they don't give the name of a legitimate wife, they have to give the name of a concubine.

Zhang Feng felt that this should be the case, and then the matters of the Federation would need to be prepared, requiring discussion and optimization with the planning department and the foreign affairs department.

Thinking of this, Zhang Feng pressed the call button on the desk and said to the operator: "Ask Old Liu to come back again."

...

Six months later.

Lin Province, An City.

Old Xu is a veteran master craftsman at the local official wire factory.

Now, at the entrance of his unit's family compound.

"Come home for lunch at noon, and go back to work in the afternoon."

Old Xu, who is in his fifties, is greeting acquaintances among his neighbors while walking towards a car at the entrance of the community.

It is a modified Z1 sedan, and its appearance is different from other cars.

The unique sun-collecting fabric and four battery panels are conspicuously attached to the surroundings of the car, as if afraid that others would not see them.

And in the entire community, even in this area of streets, only Old Xu has a Z1 sedan.

Because he contributed greatly to the factory, of the 10 'self-use Z1s' allocated to their factory, one was his.

At this time.

"Is that a Z1 sedan?" Many people on the roadside showed envious expressions when they saw the Z1 sedan.

There was even an outdoor blogger who, when passing by here and seeing the Z1 car, chose to live stream here directly and used his limited knowledge to try to describe the characteristics of the Z1.

In particular, there were a few people taking photos in front of Old Xu's car and posting them on their respective social media.

Because self-use Z1s are too rare at present, to obtain one is not possible with just money, but also requires a certain merit.

Similarly, the scene of his beloved car being surrounded also satisfied Old Xu's vanity.

When a person is alive, they always have to pursue something.

Old Xu is just vain, and he also has this ability in his hands.

"Make way."

Although he was vain, he was still very steady in asking the onlookers next to the car to leave.

'This Old Xu...' An old man playing chess on the roadside knew Old Xu, and at this moment, seeing Old Xu's appearance, he kept shaking his head inwardly.

'He has a parking space in the community, but he doesn't park there. He insists on parking on the roadside, insisting on showing off like this. This Old Xu is really...' The old man was very speechless, but he couldn't deny that he was also envious and jealous.

"Checkmate!" The old man was angry, and when he 'checkmated' the opponent, he slapped it very loudly.

This not only startled the old man opposite him, but also made Old Xu, who was more than ten meters away, hear it.

This made Old Xu even more satisfied.

Because this old man used to be a leader in their factory, his superior.

"Master craftsman, I'm leaving." Old Xu waved to the old man before leaving.

But the next second, he was just about to start the car.

Whoosh—

Several martial artists who were exercising ran past the car like the wind.

To be honest, although the people around were envious of Old Xu, Old Xu envied these martial artists.

Their physique was excellent, reaching a level that ordinary people could not have imagined before.

Especially just yesterday, because a few workers operated improperly, when a four hundred-pound machine in the factory was about to tip over, he personally saw a young man who came for an internship push the machine back.

The shock this scene brought him was powerful.

He also suddenly realized that the entire world was gradually being replaced by 'newborn superhumans'.

Seniors like him were already old.

Coupled with the current Z1, and the superconducting production training he participated in a while ago, as well as various prescriptions and fantasy spirit stones, this made him realize that the world had changed invisibly.

Maybe in a few years, the factory will be full of new people who are superhumans.

'I am already old...'

Old Xu didn't know what it felt like, but at this moment, he was completely without the excitement of driving the Z1, but instead felt endless emotion.

Looking at the retired old man over there again, he felt that in a few years, he would be sitting there enjoying the cool, replacing the current old man.

Then a 'new Old Xu' would be yelling at him.

...

Beep beep...

After leaving the community, Old Xu saw more martial artists on the street.

Including some shops, and the screens of some large shopping malls, also began to advertise some 'extraordinary medicines'.

The analysis of the Jade Pond Immortal Dew, coupled with several years of data disclosure, also allowed all walks of life to develop some of their own products.

Before, Old Xu really didn't pay attention to these things, and more often his apprentice was driving.

He was thinking about things in the car, thinking about work arrangements, and machine production problems.

But at this moment, truly admitting that he was old, and looking at this world with the eyes of a few years ago, he suddenly discovered many changes.

The most crucial point is that there are more martial artists on the street.

Especially on crowded roads, many young people, seeing that they couldn't get through, got off their electric bikes, lifted them up, and went onto the sidewalk next to them to bypass the traffic jam.

In the past, this would definitely have been eye-catching.

But now, when people on the street see this scene, they still do what they are supposed to do, and are used to it.

Old Xu continued to move forward, passing a relatively wide small street.

In a small building, the second floor is an internet cafe.

There is also an 'aerial door' opened on the second floor, in a small alley inside.

There are also a few small steps below.

Many martial artists who want to surf the internet and don't want to go up the stairs from the first floor will walk into this small alley and then climb up like rock climbing, reaching the top in one or two breaths.

Of course, this is not allowed and is dangerous, and the Martial Arts Department will investigate.

But generally speaking, they will not intervene.

Because there is a line of text posted on these steps: 'Martial Artist Exclusive Passage, Test Your Climbing Skills'.

Coupled with the fact that there are protective pads under this alley and on the walls on both sides, the Martial Arts Department actually encourages this kind of 'entertainment facility' on the premise of ensuring safety.

Since they are practicing martial arts, they must inevitably have some convenience and some differences in life.

It can also be considered as a disguised way to make others feel 'so cool, I want to practice too'.

The Martial Arts Department not only manages martial artists, but also manages the further promotion of martial arts practice, achieving universal awareness and integration into the whole population.

So this kind of non-standard 'small illegal stairs' will be temporarily ignored.

This must always conform to people's livelihood.

These are all small details in life.

At least Old Xu was integrated into it, feeling very good and very normal.

He didn't even realize how much the world had changed invisibly until today's 'moment of loss'.

Then he took out a bottle of 'Heart Special Medicine' from his car pocket.

Taking one pill can not only effectively relieve angina pectoris, but also stabilize blood pressure and soften blood vessels.

And after finishing a bottle of twenty pills, some heart diseases and high blood pressure can be perfectly cured.

This was no longer the world he knew.

He felt that this was already the 'human utopia' mentioned in the newspapers.

Especially as a veteran master craftsman at the power plant, he also knew that superconductivity had not yet been mass-produced for civilian use, and was more used for replacing Z1 batteries.

He couldn't imagine now, if superconductivity were to be spread out, what kind of magical scene would that be?

'I want to try practicing martial arts! I want to exercise, I want to live until that time, I want to see it...'

Old Xu, who was over fifty, also suddenly had the firm idea of practicing martial arts and called the factory director.

But before that, after thinking about his age, he chose to give up.

"Hello, Factory Director, I want to take a day off today and go to the martial arts gym to sign up.

Yes, I heard that our state-owned enterprise master craftsmen have preferential treatment when signing up for martial arts gyms. I want to practice martial arts."