Scholar’s Advanced Technological System

Lu Zhou guessed that this was the artificial retard’s way of being pouty.

Lu Zhou looked at Xiao Ai’s drone. He coughed and spoke.

“Shut up, let me figure out how this thing works first.”

This wasn’t just a children’s toy. This was the only commercial quantum computer in the world. This was different from the laboratory quantum guinea pigs.

If he somehow broke this computer, it would be a huge loss to humanity!

Xiao Ai: [Ah, but Master… I’m scared you are going to destroy it! :(]

“Of course not!”

Lu Zhou suddenly realized the system didn’t even give him a manual, so he awkwardly said, “… Do you know how to use this thing?”

Xiao Ai: [Nope! But I’ll learn!]

Xiao Ai: [I can also help you install an operating system!]

Really?

Since Xiao Ai was so confident, Lu Zhou thought about it seriously for a while and made a decision.

“Then I’ll have to thank you in advance.”

Information science wasn’t his strong suit.

Even though his information science level was rising, his subject level didn’t equate to raw knowledge. It only allowed him to absorb knowledge at a faster rate. Since he didn’t spend a lot of time programming, his coding abilities had stagnated over the past couple of years.

He could write some small programs, but when it came to the cutting-edge computer science field of quantum computing…

He didn’t even know where to begin.

Xiao Ai: [I’ll take care of it! (๑•̀ᄇ•́)و✧]

The moment the line appeared on the screen, the VGA logistics truck and the robotic arm attached to the wall began moving.

The computer was first transported next to the wall. The robotic arm on the wall then quickly connected the cables of the computers to their respective outlets.

Lu Zhou looked at this and almost had a heart attack. He didn’t want his “new toy” to be ruined.

Fortunately, nothing happened.

Xiao Ai was obviously more knowledgeable than him. It even built a water-cooled heat sink case for the computer.

Xiao Ai: [Master, Master, installation is complete! Time to witness a miracle!]

Lu Zhou: “Cut the crap, turn on the computer.”

The signal light on the case flashed, and the monitor signal light was lit.

However, even though the monitor signal light was lit, there was no picture.

Lu Zhou stared at the dark screen. If it weren’t for the text box on the upper left corner of the screen, he wouldn’t have realized the computer was on.

After a while, Lu Zhou looked at the drone and said, “That’s it?”

Xiao Ai: [Yeah, it’s sorted!]

Lu Zhou: “There’s no desktop?”

Xiao Ai: [This is a command-line operating system… Of course, Xiao Ai can design a graphical operating system for Master… Wait a second, Xiao Ai feels weird…Σ (°△° |||) ]

When the text on the drone screen disappeared, Lu Zhou quickly asked, “Are you okay?

“Xiao Ai!”

The quantum computer suddenly began to emit a bright blue light.

Lu Zhou looked at the computer and realized the light wasn’t coming from the computer, it was coming from himself…

Or rather, the system.

Half a second later, a translucent dialog box appeared in front of him.

[Congratulations, user, “Artificial intelligence” technology branch upgraded.

[Current level: level 3]

“Artificial intelligence” technology branch!

It leveled up by itself!

Lu Zhou was ecstatic.

When he returned from Princeton, he remembered giving Xiao Ai a new home, but that wasn’t enough for an upgrade.

I can’t believe level 3 requires a quantum computer!

That’s such a harsh upgrade condition!

Lu Zhou reached out and clicked on the translucent dialog box. The level 4 requirement was displayed in front of him.

[Upgrade requirements: Collect sufficient human social data.]

It seemed like level 4 wasn’t about increasing computing power. This made Lu Zhou feel relieved.

This was already a quantum computer from a higher-level civilization, there was no way for him to find a better “home” for Xiao Ai.

What does “collect human social data” even mean? That’s so abstract.

What if I just register a few social media accounts and record my friends’ activities, is that enough?

Lu Zhou stared at the empty progress bar and went into deep thought.

Xiao Ai, who was silent this whole time, finally came back to life. The drone swayed up and down and flew next to Lu Zhou.

Xiao Ai: [Master, I’m fine now. (✿◡‿◡)]

The translucent dialog box disappeared. Lu Zhou looked at Xiao Ai’s drone and asked, “How does it feel after the upgrade? Anything different?”

Xiao Ai: [I feel smarter! (๑•̀ᄇ•́)و✧]

Lu Zhou: “…”

I don’t know why…

But I feel like…

Letting Xiao Ai use this computer is a waste?

…

Because Lu Zhou couldn’t reverse engineer the X-1 computer, he lost most of his interest in the novel quantum computer. After giving Xiao Ai its new home, Lu Zhou exited the laboratory and went to his office on the top floor of the building.

Lu Zhou sat in front of his desk and planned on doing some paperwork. He pulled out some documents from his file cabinet.

He was about to flip through the documents when he heard a knock at his door.

Lu Zhou closed the document and left it aside.

“Come in.”

Yang Xu, the director of the Institute of Computational Materials, walked in with an excited look on his face.

Lu Zhou paused for a second. He then smiled and asked, “What’s so exciting?”

“Amazing news!” Yang Xu quickly walked up to Lu Zhou’s desk and smiled. He placed a report on Lu Zhou’s desk and asked, “Remember the carbon-based chip project we initiated two years ago?”

Lu Zhou immediately sat up from his chair.

“Results came out?”

“Not just results…” Yang Xu looked at Lu Zhou and took a deep breath. He then exclaimed, “We figured it out!”