Chapter 736: AI Appraisal: It's Either Real or Fake! Xiao He: ?
Chapter 736: AI Appraisal: It's Either Real or Fake! Xiao He: ?
Xiao He and Professor Ye chatted as they walked, quickly entering the core area of the restoration center.
The restoration room's lighting was soft and cool-toned, the temperature dropping sharply. The surroundings were so quiet that only the soft hum of instruments could be heard. A wide lab table was covered with a dust-free mat, with the scorched fragments of the ancient painting placed in specialized glass trays, surrounded by microscopic equipment and sampling tools. Xiao He looked around curiously, feeling that this place didn't resemble the simple cultural relic restoration rooms shown on TV; instead, it felt more like a high-tech laboratory.
"You can take a brief look around. I'll go start the machine."
Leaving those words, Professor Ye walked off to another small room.
Xiao He stood there hesitating for a moment before slowly approaching the pile of fragments, carefully examining them. After that massive fire, what was once a perfectly preserved calligraphy piece had turned into this scattered mess, the characters completely illegible. And he wasn't sure if it was part of some restoration process, but the fragments looked damp, as if they'd been soaked in some chemical solution. They appeared even more shapeless now—some pitch black, some yellowed, and others shattered to the size of a thumbnail...
Xiao He had no idea how these people had managed to collect and organize everything so meticulously. But just looking at the sheer amount of work involved, he couldn't help but feel genuine admiration.
This restoration work was truly a painstaking craft. At any rate, he felt that with his level of patience, it was definitely something he couldn't do.
...
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Come over here."
A few minutes later, Professor Ye led Xiao He to another room.The lighting in this room was undoubtedly brighter than the previous one. At the center, a massive piece of transparent glass was set up on the instrument.
"Just do what you normally do, the way you did before. This process will take a while, so you can write several times. The AI will automatically record your movements and conduct a probability analysis..."
Professor Ye explained the details to Xiao He.
It was actually very simple—just write.
Within ten minutes, Xiao He had already completed the task smoothly. He hadn't even had time to mentally prepare; his hand had already started writing. His mind felt calm and relaxed, completely pressure-free. It was no different from his usual practice sessions.
Only Professor Ye, staring at the dozen or so nearly identical copies Xiao He had produced in one breath, rubbed his eyes in disbelief. Then he looked at the real-time AI analysis results beside him and remained silent for a long time.
An error rate approaching zero? Was this a joke?
Old Qian hadn't just sent him a technical expert—he'd practically sent him a human photocopier!
If he hadn't watched Xiao He write with his own eyes, Professor Ye would have suspected the AI was broken.
Was this really just a calligraphy novice?
Professor Ye couldn't help but lament internally.
Such a promising talent... why did he have to become a celebrity?!
Meanwhile, Xiao He had no idea what Professor Ye was thinking. He simply moved closer to the computer to look at the jumping data, squinting slightly. The most impressive part of this algorithm was its ability to run real-time computations and directly provide basic appraisal results. However, since the AI world was governed by strict probability theory, the final numbers could only serve as a reference.
For example, the current appraisal result—
[68.77%]
Xiao He inhaled sharply.
This was a very subtle number.
To put it simply, it was like flipping a coin: 50% chance of heads, 50% chance of tails. It was either real or fake.
And Xiao He knew that his copy was almost a one-to-one reproduction of the calligraphy piece at the art center—an almost error-free replication of the handwriting, eliminating the interference of secondary human reproduction differences. With this premise, the AI could only tell them that the authentic work was most likely real, but there was still a small chance it was fake...
Xiao He: After all that buildup, this is what you come up with?
I already know that if it's not real, it's fake!
Xiao He let out a silent sigh.
He'd been hoping for some breakthrough result, but in the end, that was it?
Maybe if it kept developing, one day it could produce a machine capable of replacing human antique appraisers... but definitely not now.
Even Professor Ye, upon seeing this result, furrowed his brows in deep thought.
Perhaps, from a more professional perspective, this result still had plenty of reference value. But Xiao He wasn't a professional, and he couldn't do these specialized tasks.
However...
Xiao He straightened up and turned his head to look at the fragments placed on the restoration table. After a moment of contemplation, a determined glint flashed in his eyes.
The next second, the System interface appeared before him...
---
Meanwhile, Liu Rulan had found Director Qiu Zhenlong.
Contrary to her expectations, Director Qiu's face showed no panic or urgency. Instead, he appeared quite calm and composed. He was only momentarily surprised when he saw Liu Rulan had rushed straight to the capital, but quickly regained his composure.
"Imperial Enterprise won't be scrapped. Don't worry."
Qiu Zhenlong poured a cup of tea and slid it over to Liu Rulan.
They were at Director Qiu's home. Compared to many directors who enjoyed lavish, opulent decorations, his residence was more understated and restrained. It wasn't very large either—just a modest, middle-of-the-range property in the entire capital's real estate market. Relatively simple.
Liu Rulan didn't stand on ceremony either. She sat down on the redwood sofa behind her, took the tea with both hands, took a sip to moisten her throat, and then said in a somewhat pitiful tone, "There's no helping it, Director Qiu. You left so hastily that we were worried about Imperial Enterprise's situation! After all, it's everyone's blood, sweat, and tears."
Qiu Zhenlong shook his head helplessly, picked up his teacup, and took a light sip without immediately responding to Liu Rulan's words.
Liu Rulan studied his expression and continued her probing in a tactful manner, "But seeing how composed you look now, Director Qiu, it seems you're not too worried? After all, the authentic script incident happened last week. If the truth really came out and caused a big mess, I doubt you'd still be leading everyone in filming over the next few days."
Aside from Screenwriter Qin and a few producers who had left, Director Qiu's work continued as usual without any sign of urgency. That hardly seemed like the attitude of someone about to be implicated.
In any case, Liu Rulan found it hard to believe that Qiu Zhenlong would have rushed back to the capital just because the production had stopped filming. It felt more like...
"Director Qiu, your hurried return to the capital... wouldn't it be to avoid someone?"
Liu Rulan set down her teacup and asked with a smile.
Qiu Zhenlong's hand paused. He gave Liu Rulan a deep look, then set down his own teacup and let out a soft chuckle. "Since you've figured it out, why did you bother coming all the way here?"
Liu Rulan immediately felt relieved, understanding Qiu Zhenlong's attitude. Her smile didn't fade as she nodded slightly. "There's no choice. With Jingyou Entertainment in its current state, we still need Xiao He to shield us from public opinion. Naturally, we can't feel at ease."
Good. Since he wasn't avoiding them, that meant he was avoiding someone else.
That old fox was certainly quick on his feet.
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