New Times, New Hell

Chapter 48 - Technology Summit

Because he had used his phone to summon the Ghost King with one call, Zheng Yan, who had originally been pretty much ignored among the Zheng Heavenly Masters, suddenly found his status shooting up. Those present that day to help Zheng Guang and his son bully them suddenly changed their attitudes. They began praising and complimenting Zheng Yan like crazy.

Actually, since entering Luofeng to work, he had gained a new understanding of the legacy of Heavenly Masters shared in his family. In his heart, he also wished that he could pass down and further promote the teachings of the Zheng Heavenly Masters. In the past, though, he had always thought of himself as lacking the talent to practice Daoism, thus believed that he would never be able to shoulder such a heavy responsibility. But with Yu Zhengdu’s faith in him, followed by this situation with his family, he finally saw new hope for a change.

There were thousands of roads, and all of them led to Rome. Though he couldn’t cast spells, he knew how to work with technology.

And besides, based on his experience at Luofeng, it was very likely that the future of cultivation would rely heavily on technology. The speech he had given to the Zheng clan’s Doaists hadn’t been pure bragging.

Because of this, though Zheng Yan very resolutely returned to Luofeng to continue being his product manager, he no longer was so unwilling to take care of the issues at home. Consequently, the Zheng clan’s collateral branches reaffirmed their willingness to follow the main family. In the blink of an eye, Zheng Yan’s family status once again returned to the top.

Only, Zheng Yan’s father was now completely disappointed in these collateral branches. These people were never the true descendants of the Heavenly Masters and were only borrowing the Zheng clan’s fame to make a living. Who knew that at such a critical moment, they would try to harm their family in such a manner. After this event, their relationship with the collateral branches was no longer as close as before.

There were also a lot of people who tried to both subtly and obviously ask how Zheng Yan had learned scientific cultivation and suddenly been able to achieve such great results in an incredibly short amount of time. However, these people were all rejected by Zheng Yan’s father.

Nobody could say anything about Zheng Jing’s actions. Since historical times, the ways of cultivation practiced by each family and sect were secrets that weren’t to be shared. The method was one his son had discovered, so belonged to him. Nobody could force him to disclose it.

Of course, Zheng Jing didn’t do this entirely because he wanted to keep secrets. Another reason was that he had tried to talk to Zheng Yan about this new technology, but had gotten a headache from Zheng Yan’s spiel regarding Internet product concepts.

For example, user research, demand scenario analysis, minimum viable products, structural design, iterative development, growth operations, etc. made him remember those classes he had to take in school, especially the fear he had of being forced to take mathematics and physics.

Now, Zheng Jing finally realized that for Zheng Yan to have been able to get into a national key university and successfully become an exceptional product manager, his IQ was definitely superior to all the other Zheng Heavenly Masters.

In the end, Zheng Jing angrily decided that he would leave the science to his son. As for himself, well, he would continue trying to figure out the knowledge their ancestors had left them.

In comparison, Zheng Guang and son were a bit more unfortunate. Their plan had greatly failed; not only did they not manage to get the qiankun eight trigrams mirror, they had even lost a red-eyed mandrill. Zheng Yan had also replaced Zheng Dan in name as the family prodigy.

Honestly, Zheng Yan was very exasperated too. He really didn’t want that mandrill with the extraordinary appearance. But because the Ghost King had given it to him in front of everyone else, Zheng Dan and his father couldn’t ask for it back either. Thus, that mandrill was determined to follow him around, refusing to leave. In the end, with no other solution, his father could only give him a little calabash gourd the size of a keychain to carry around and keep the mandrill in.

***

Monday, Yu Zhengdu got dressed and headed for the technology summit.

This year’s technology summit was to be hosted at Fu City’s Ancient Well Hotel. The event sponsors were rich and unafraid to spend money, so simply rented two floors of the hotel and set up two large-scale conference halls. One was to be used in the first half for the technology discussion meeting, while the second was to be used in the latter half for the post-meeting discussion.

Because the guests this year included several incredibly important people in the field, the security at the venue was also very strict. Aside from needing an invitation, guests also needed specialized servers to lead them inside.

Yu Zhengdu showed his e-invite. After they scanned his barcode, a specialized server guided him into the lobby of the hall where the discussion was to be held.

There was still some time left before the meeting was set to begin, but several people had arrived early in the hopes of being able to hold some more meaningful conversations with others in the field.

Yu Zhengdu wasn’t famous, and also looked quite young. After entering the meeting hall, not many people paid attention to him. He didn’t mind this, though. He chose a seat closer to the front and was just about to sit down when he heard a familiar voice shout, “Zhengdu.”

Yu Zhengdu looked up. Jiao Shanlan walked through the front door, surrounded by a swarm of people. Because Yu Zhengdu was in the row close to the door, the two of them managed to see each other immediately.

Thus, Yu Zhengdu walked up and shook hands with him, slight smile on his face. “landry, we meet again.”

A beautiful woman with a tall figure and wavy hair stood next to Jiao Shanlan. Upon seeing this, she grinned and said, “landry, this is your little friend who rejected you?”

“Can you not take this opportunity to mock me?” Jiao Shanlan was very exasperated. He said to Yu Zhengdu, “Zhengdu, let me introduce you. This is the famous Erica, Zhao Ruola. She’s also one of the main speakers today.”

Actually, as soon as they walked in, Yu Zhengdu could already pretty much guess Zhao Ruola’s identity. At an event like this, there wouldn’t be any other woman who could walk in shoulder to shoulder with Jiao Shanlan and not seem less important whatsoever.

He smiled and shook hands with Zhao Ruola. “Hello, my name is Yu Zhengdu.”

Zhao Ruola shook his hand and spoke in a teasing manner, “There’s nothing else you want to say now that you’ve seen me in person?”

Yu Zhengdu couldn’t really understand what she was implying, but thought about it and politely replied, “I’ve read the book you published,&#k300J;Basic Scientific Development and Future Revolutions&#k300K;. It’s very professional and very impressive. It inspired me greatly.”

Zhao Ruola burst into loud laughter and finally revealed what she had meant. “You’re the first person who hasn’t complimented my appearance but first spoke about my work after seeing me today. As expected, landry knows how to pick them.”

Yu Zhengdu was dazed for a moment, but realized what was going on very quickly after.

Though Zhao Ruola was quite famous in their field, because of the fact that she spent most of her time working in America, there weren’t many reports regarding her in their country. This, along with the fact that she didn’t like to show her face, resulted in a lack of her pictures floating around online. Thus, people who didn’t do some research would only think of her as some strong, iron-willed woman. As such, when they truly saw her in person, it would make sense for them to be shocked.

After understanding this, Yu Zhengdu started laughing. He joked too, “My mistake, but I refuse to apologize. I just think that your achievements are more memorable than your appearance.”

At this, Zhao Ruola started chuckling even louder. She honestly didn’t care how people viewed her appearance or achievements, and also didn’t think that being good-looking was something career-oriented women needed to avoid bringing up. But those like Yu Zhengdu, who could see both as equal, were quite rare.

Zhao Ruola thought that she got along quite well with Yu Zhengdu, so couldn’t help teasing him a bit. She asked, “If you aren’t going to landry’s laboratory, how about considering joining my team?”

Jiao Shanlan’s face immediately became dark. “Why are there humans like you who try to steal people right in front of others?”

Yu Zhengdu asked Zhao Ruola curiously, “You’ve confirmed a project?”

After the news that Zhao Ruola was quitting and returning to the country got out, an innumerous amount of famous factories and investors had their eyes on her. With her skills and influence, no matter what project she was part of, there would be plenty of people willing to spend money and give her resources.

Yu Zhengdu was pretty on top of the news in their field. In his memory, he didn’t recall that Zhao Ruola had made any new indications.

Zhao Ruola responded, “Not yet. I just want to steal you onto my team first is all.”

Yu Zhengdu sweatdropped. “You’re trying to trap a teammate without any bait.”

Jiao Shanlan took this opportunity to ask Zhao Ruola, “Recently, a lot of people have asked me about you. What are you interested in? Or, how about just joining my laboratory?”

Zhao Ruola tsk’d. “What’s so good about your laboratory? There’s only a few topics investors are interested in: big data, cloud technology, AI, and other similar fields. I’m sick of them.”

Jiao Shanlan replied in exasperation, “I really don’t know who could successfully invite you.”

Zhao Ruola was indifferent. “If there’s somewhere I’m interested in, I’ll think about it. If there isn’t, that just means more vacation time for me. I’m not a workaholic. Isn’t it nice to have some time off to relax?”

Jiao Shanlan said, “Fine fine fine.”

Zhao Ruola still wanted to keep talking with Yu Zhengdu, but she was one of the most important people tonight. There were still an abundance of high-level administrators and investors who were waiting to speak with her, so she got dragged away by the event staff.

After Jiao Shanlan and Zhao Ruola left, Yu Zhengdu, who had originally been ignored by everyone, suddenly became high in demand. Though most people didn’t recognize him, just the fact that he could hold a private conversation with Jiao Shanlan and Zhao Ruola proved that he didn’t have an ordinary identity.

Thus, a swarm of people instantly surrounded Yu Zhengdu, trying to speak with him. It was a good thing that he was already prepared. He took out a stack of his business cards to exchange with them.

But after receiving his cards, these people read the company’s name and realized that they didn’t recognize it all, thus all fell into deep thought.

There were some sly ones who took out their phones to do a search on the company. Not soon after, the crowd around Yu Zhengdu had mostly dissipated. It could be said that they were very realistic.

Yu Zhengdu didn’t care, though. He went back to his seat and started sharing what he had witnessed today with Boss.

Yu Zhengdu:【Xiao Shang, guess who I just saw!!!】

Shang Que replied instantly. It was so fast that he started to suspect if Boss had just been staring at his phone this whole time.

My broke-ass Boss:【……Laboratory?】

Yu Zhengdu:【= = No.】

Yu Zhengdu:【Zhao Ruola!】

My broke-ass Boss:【The author of《Basic Scientific Development and Future Revolutions》?】

Yu Zhengdu was completely shocked:【You read that too???????】

My broke-ass Boss:【Don’t you keep it next to your computer……】

Yu Zhengdu:【Oh, you’re right.】

Yu Zhengdu:【I like her so much! She’s definitely top-tier in terms of skills. Ah, I hope I can interact with her some more later】

My broke-ass Boss:【Don’t you think you like too many people?】

Yu Zhengdu:【No?】

My broke-ass Boss:【[Link][Link][Link][Link][Link]】

Yu Zhengdu:【…………Why do you still have these links saved】

Weren’t these the replies he had given in the past on Fu City University’s forum regarding the CP votings……

Yu Zhengdu:【Ey, these were all fake responses】

After seeing this reply, Shang Que’s mood immediately become much better. But that only lasted a second. Very soon after, it dropped again.

Yu Zhengdu:【None of them can compare to Zhao Ruola】

My broke-ass Boss:【……】

Yu Zhengdu:【Oh, right. Zhao Ruola is super pretty in person. Both good-looking and skilled, I admire that】

My broke-ass Boss:【Have you considered laboratory’s feelings?! He’s the one who gave you the invite】

Yu Zhengdu:【Ah?】

Wait, he couldn’t understand Boss’s logic?

Yu Zhengdu was just about to ask again, when he was interrupted by someone suddenly greeting him. “Hello.”

Yu Zhengdu looked up and found that this person was someone who had been in the crowd following Jiao Shanlan and Zhao Ruola just now. He was pretty tall, but only looked to be around twenty years old. However, his hair was already starting to thin out.

Yu Zhengdu reached the swift conclusion: Tech-geek, a tech-geek who was probably pretty skilled too.

As expected, this person introduced himself and said, “My name is Tang Min. I’m a member of Nova’s pioneering laboratory.”

“Hello,” Yu Zhengdu hurriedly returned a greeting.

The two exchanged business cards. Yu Zhengdu finally realized that Tang Min was the youngest member of Jiao Shanlan’s laboratory team. He had just graduated from a famous university in America last year, and could be considered outstanding among his peers.

Tang Min casually chatted with him for a bit, then suddenly changed the topic. He said, “I heard landry wanted to ask you to join his pioneering laboratory in the past?”

This wasn’t a secret, so Yu Zhengdu nodded. “I had some personal matters, so couldn’t go. A pity.”

Tang Min laughed. It was hard to tell what he meant. “So it’s true. No wonder people always say I got lucky because of you.”

Yu Zhengdu: “……” Ah, this familiar sour scent.

He immediately understood why Tang Min had come to find him, but didn’t want to start an argument with Jiao Shanlan’s employee. Besides, probably because he had encountered similar situations too many times before, he could somewhat understand how Tang Min felt.

He smiled and said, “Why do you care what others have to say. Is being able to join landry’s laboratory a matter of luck?”

Tang Min realized that Yu Zhengdu was trying to avoid conflict, so didn’t try to keep provoking him. He shrugged, “I think so too.”

After, he glanced at Yu Zhengdu’s business card again. “I’ve never even heard of the company you’re at now. What do they do?”

Yu Zhengdu smiled faintly, “You can find that information online.”

He originally thought that he had portrayed his reluctance to continue chatting fairly obviously, but the logic of tech-geek homebodies was so straightforward it was shocking. Upon hearing this, Tang Min actually pulled out his phone on the spot and searched online.

Yu Zhengdu: Speechless!

But what made him more speechless was what followed. Tang Min finished reading Luofeng’s information on their official website and started laughing. “What kind of company have you gone to? I thought that you would have joined some important project after rejecting landry’s invitation? How come you’ve gone to work on pyramid schemes?”

Yu Zhengdu very seriously stated, “We are an official business with official products. We have files with the government.”

Tang Min immediately burst out into laughter. “These count as official products?”

Yu Zhengdu: “……”

Tang Min shook his head while scrolling. He kept tsk’ing. “And here I was wondering how amazing you truly were. But it turns out this is all you do. Do you even have clients? Or do you just sell these to old people?”

He was still blundering on when another swarm of people drew closer. As everyone watched, the people at the center of the crowd stopped in front of Yu Zhengdu.

Tang Min glanced at them. The ones who had just arrived were two of the sponsors of this grand technology summit: the CEO of Double Horn Technology, Wei Xiao, and Cui Jianlan from Wind Riders Technology.

Cui Jianlan very familiarly greeted Yu Zhengdu, “Xiao Yu, long time no see.”

Wei Xiao cheerily said too, “We originally were going to look for you after the discussion, but Lao Cui was worried that you would be too busy later and run off. He was adamant about coming over to say hi first.”

Ever since Luofeng had officially started the development of the Life and Death Accounts system, the job of directly communicating with Wei Xiao and these important clients got completely transferred to the operations department. It truly had been a while since the last time Yu Zhengdu had contacted them.

Cui Jianlan said, “Isn’t that so. I heard Xiao Yu’s been working on a new product recently, so obviously had to hurry and say something to try and be the first to test it out.”

Yu Zhengdu smiled and responded, “You’re all VIPs, so don’t need to say anything. If we release any new products, we’ll definitely recommend them to you first.”

These two bosses then continued down the topic of new products to chat with Yu Zhengdu for a few more minutes, not leaving until the staff reminded them that the discussion was about to start soon.

After they left, Yu Zhengdu could finally sit down. He finally realized that Tang Min was still next to him, staring at him in bewilderment. He asked, “Wei Xiao and Cui Jianlan are your company’s clients?”

Yu Zhengdu nodded and very professionally stated, “Yes. VIPs, the kind that get special one-on-one service.”

Tang Min: “……”

The author has something to say:

Tang Min: Please definitely sell me a set!