Chapter 51: Another New Project

At first, Li Yun didn't realize she was being tailed. It was only when she went out to buy groceries in the evening, her vigilance heightened outside, that she became aware of it.

"Li, you're back so early today?" Hao Nan was holding a newspaper, leaning against the sofa in the main hall.

Li Yun pulled herself from her musings. "These past two days, you and the others have been escorting Comrade Zhong to the school. Have you noticed anything unusual?"

"No, nothing at all! We always follow Comrade Zhong from a distance, and haven't seen anything suspicious." Hao Nan put down the newspaper, a look of concern in his eyes. "Did something happen to you while you were out?"

Li Yun nodded lightly. "Yes, I keep feeling like someone is following me."

Hao Nan lowered his gaze, something flickering in his eyes.

"Hao Nan, you all need to be careful from now on." Li Yun never suspected Hao Nan; he and Tian Shangguo did a different kind of work than she did, and when it came to surveillance and counter-surveillance, she was certainly more skilled. They'd all been assigned to protect Comrade Zhong, and nothing major had happened yet, so there was no reason for either of them to suspect her.

Thus, she remained hidden in plain sight.

"If someone's following you, then you'd better be careful. Unless it's absolutely necessary, try not to go out, so as not to bring trouble to Comrade Zhong," Hao Nan advised in a seemingly casual tone, his eyes deep and unreadable.

"I think so too. I’ll hardly leave the house these days; I can ask someone else to pick up groceries for me. Luckily, Comrade Yan brought us plenty of meat, so there's no need for special trips." Li Yun agreed readily. "By the way, why aren't you out protecting Comrade Zhong today?"

Hao Nan shook his head. "Comrade Zhong told me to stay home, said one person was enough for protection. We've been following nearby all this time, and really, nothing's happened."

"That won't do." Li Yun frowned, displeasure written all over her face. "Whether or not something happens, protecting Comrade Zhong is still our duty."

"You know how Comrade Zhong is—unyielding to a fault." Sorry, Comrade Zhong.

Li Yun shook her head and sighed. "These researchers all seem to have one quirk or another."

Harmless quirks, perhaps, but they truly existed. The worst was dealing with those with severe obsessions or compulsions.

"We should be grateful. Comrade Zhong is only territorial and inflexible, nothing more." Hao Nan shrugged helplessly. When it came to Li Yun, he truly didn’t know what to say. The way she’d hidden things in her basket when she left, sneaking about—his five parts suspicion had grown to nine.

The last part was just hope—hope that she would turn back before it was too late.

If she persisted in her stubbornness, her fate was all too clear.

Li Yun couldn't have known the complexity of Hao Nan's feelings.

At Huada University.

One afternoon, Zhong Yuxiu finished analyzing all the surveillance equipment data, and Professor Ding managed to prepare the entire semester’s lesson plans before the end of the workday.

"Comrade Zhong, you’ve been busy all day. Is there another new project?" Professor Ding glanced at the thickness of her notebook—it was already nearly full.

Zhong Yuxiu smiled brightly as she handed over the notebook. "I suddenly had a new idea. I wanted to jot down the data and my thoughts so I can study them further when I get home."

"You young people are so quick-minded. We’re old; our thoughts can’t keep up anymore. Sometimes our hands and feet lag behind, too." Professor Ding shook his head, sighing as he acknowledged his age. After flipping through the notebook, he felt it even more acutely. "Comrade Zhong, you mention surveillance recording in here. Setting up surveillance is easy enough, but how do you record the footage?"

"That requires a computer. The computer would serve as the memory storage; the footage recorded by the surveillance cameras would be connected and saved automatically onto the computer." Zhong Yuxiu briefly described the purpose and operation of the surveillance system and laid out her ideas. "First, the computers currently available on the market have limited memory, operate slowly, and the components don’t meet the requirements. They’re not suitable as carriers. Second, the camera itself is a new technology. If I want to build one, it’ll take a very long time."

The computer needed a true overhaul—not like last time, when Goudan had patched something together just to get by. What was the ideal computer in her mind? Think of a quantum computer—now that would be perfection.

But that was impossible.

As for the camera, the necessary materials were easy enough to find, but the key was connecting it to the computer. That brought up the issue of networking—without a network, connecting it to a computer was an empty promise, let alone saving recorded images.

However, the equipment currently used in the Hong Kong entertainment industry might provide some inspiration.

"Your idea is excellent and innovative. If you can pull this off, it would be another great contribution to the country and the people." Professor Ding returned the notebook to her, determined to remember this new project. Not that he meant to research it himself, but he wanted to see when it would become reality. "Keep at it, and try to perfect it soon. If you need anything, come to me, or Principal Guo. I may be old, but I still make a decent assistant."

Zhong Yuxiu smiled gently. "Professor Ding, you flatter me. You’re a senior in the field—how could you only be an assistant? Let me organize my thoughts and draft a specific plan first, then we can discuss it together, if you're interested. Your experience far exceeds mine. With your guidance, I might avoid some wrong turns."

"Agreed! I’m really interested." Professor Ding accepted enthusiastically.

After they parted, Zhong Yuxiu headed straight home and threw herself into her laboratory. She first copied all the data from her computer onto Goudan’s chip, and then dismantled the computer.

"Goudan, we’re going to thoroughly overhaul the computer. I’ll draw up a diagram first and have Elder Yan and the others study it, so they can make the casing and the motherboard, chips, all the different circuitry."

"Understood, master. Do you need my help?" Goudan asked.

Zhong Yuxiu nodded. "Yes. Start by drawing the circuitry for the motherboard and specifying the materials. Use chips to replace the CPU, memory, and graphics cards, though the chips themselves will need another round of improvements."

"Understood, master. You can count on me."

Each busy with their own task, Zhong Yuxiu finished sketching the casing, while Goudan analyzed the data for the motherboard, chips, and various circuits, and came up with the most suitable components for the current situation.

"Well done, Goudan." Zhong Yuxiu nodded in satisfaction. "Now that we have the components, we need tools. I’ll sketch those out and give everything to Elder Yan."

This project was massive—not something that could be cobbled together as in the past.

Goudan nodded. "Once the parts arrive, I can help you with the soldering."

"I thought the same. Having you around is truly a blessing."

"Thank you for your praise, master." Goudan’s voice carried a hint of happiness. For a robot, praise from its master was the greatest reward. If the master was dissatisfied, they might be destroyed.

Driven by instinct, even a robot had fears. Destruction would mean ceasing to exist. For robots with vast data storage like Goudan, nonexistence was the last thing they wanted; thus, they were determined to become as valuable and capable to their master as possible.

Zhong Yuxiu bent her head and continued to sketch the required tools. Regardless of the computer upgrades or surveillance camera development, even these tiny components and tools were, in themselves, a step forward in technology.