242: Chapter 241 The Flaw of Zero

When he walked out of the laboratory building again, it was nearly noon.

Walking on campus, Wang Shuo, having successfully completed his task, breathed in the fresh air with satisfaction.

He took out his phone and sent a message to Zheng Jun.

Before long, he saw Zheng Jun running toward him, drenched in sweat and wearing only a tank top. He started waving from afar, as if afraid that others wouldn't see him.

"Boss, aren't you cold?"

Looking at Zheng Jun, who had run up to him, Wang Shuo truly wondered if that sturdy frame of his came with a built-in down jacket.

Come on, it's December weather. Could you please show some respect for the twenty-four solar terms?

Zheng Jun smiled proudly, raised his arm to show off his robust biceps, and, seemingly mocking Wang Shuo's ignorance, said with disdain: "This is nothing. When I was in the Northeast, my old man would throw me into an ice lake every winter. That's what you call cold."

"Alright, my apologies for my shallowness."

Wang Shuo could only express his admiration; for a kid who grew up soaking in ice lakes, the winter temperature in Hanzhong City really wasn't anything.

"By the way, Second Brother, how do you have time to come to school today?"

Zheng Jun was a bit curious, as he had grown accustomed to Wang Shuo frequently being absent from the dorm, or even the school.

Truth be told, he wanted to be as carefree as Wang Shuo, but he was more afraid of having his legs broken by his own father.

"I had some things to take care of. Now that I'm done, I thought I'd grab a meal with you."

"A meal?" Zheng Jun slapped Wang Shuo on the shoulder: "At least you have a conscience. Let's go, let's go, my treat."

Wang Shuo grimaced from the slap. Enduring the pain, he asked: "What about your little sweetheart? Aren't you going to call her? I'm worried that if I don't get to eat some 'dog food', you won't be able to eat your meal."

"I'd like to, but she has something to do at noon and can't make it."

Zheng Jun looked slightly disappointed, then enthusiastically hooked his arm around Wang Shuo's shoulder: "It's a rare occasion that you're back today, so let's not wait for her. Let's go, I'll treat you to the Szechuan peppercorn fish that the school cafeteria just launched. I guarantee you'll want more after the first bite."

"Szechuan peppercorn fish? Sounds unappetizing..."

...

Although it was just the school cafeteria, both Wang Shuo and Zheng Jun ate until their mouths were glistening with oil, feeling very satisfied.

Regarding food, Wang Shuo never had any requirements. As long as it tasted normal and was edible, that was enough. As for ingredients, culinary techniques, and the like, those were things for Chen Zhongxuan to worry about.

After eating, they chatted for a while about the things that had happened at school recently. Only then did Wang Shuo set off and walk out of the school gate.

By this time, it was nearly two in the afternoon.

Back in the car, Wang Shuo did a headcount. Seeing everyone was there, he nodded: "Head to the storage area."

In the storage area, the massive steel gate slowly opened, and rows of LED strips lit up one after another.

As Wang Shuo walked into the warehouse, a familiar electronic voice rang out.

"Welcome back, Sir."

"Mm."

Wang Shuo nodded slightly and walked straight to the computer desk nearby to sit down.

A few minutes later, a small robotic arm carrying a steaming cup of tea nimbly wove through the parts scattered all over the floor and gently placed the tea on Wang Shuo's desk.

Picking it up for a sip, Wang Shuo nodded again: "Not bad. Who did you learn this from?"

He could actually taste a hint of fragrance in the tea.

"Sir, there was relevant data in the data uploaded by the initial user. Following your orders, Zero collected, organized, and generated algorithm nodes from the user-uploaded data independently."

Wang Shuo understood.

Looking at the teacup in his hand, he suddenly felt a bit bittersweet. After such a long time, Zero could finally take the initiative to brew tea for him. This was an experience he would never get sitting in his office.

After all, he couldn't exactly bring this robotic arm into his office, could he?

However, now was not the time to check Zero's growth logs; he had more important things to do.

"Zero, report to me on the completion status of the production tasks in Storage One."

As soon as he finished speaking, columns of data appeared on the computer screen in front of Wang Shuo, and Zero's voice sounded simultaneously.

"Sixty percent of the initial task targets have been completed, including one hundred logistical mechanical crawlers, fifty integrated mechanical crawlers, fifteen tons of iron-based room-temperature superconducting metal, and twenty tons of new alloy round steel. The storage space is basically full."

The production efficiency of a few CNC Machining Centers was still too low. Even with Wang Shuo 'cheating' by having Zero operate in a 24-hour non-stop, full-power production mode, the results were still unsatisfactory.

Moreover, this factory building was a bit too small. Leaving aside the issue of the crawler robot production line, just storing the things being produced was a big problem.

He had been busy with the zero egg matter and had overlooked this point.

Shaking his head, Wang Shuo temporarily set this problem aside.

"Zero, activate one logistical mechanical crawler and one integrated mechanical crawler, and bring them to me."

A minute later, two six-legged mechanical crawlers, which looked very much like spiders, arrived silently in front of Wang Shuo under Zero's control.

Wang Shuo examined the two mechanical crawlers in front of him.

The logistical mechanical crawler looked like a square box as a whole. After all six mechanical arms were deployed, it could reach a length of 80cm and a height of 32cm. It was built entirely of alloy, with a small portion using some polymer materials. Throughout the entire body, the highest technical components were just the magnetic pulse shafts used for the six mechanical legs, as well as the two multi-functional composite mechanical arms used for manufacturing and repairs.

Besides that, Wang Shuo also built in an ultra-high capacity battery and configured a unified interface and protocol for the entire mechanical crawler series, allowing them to replenish power for other mechanical crawlers at any time.

In comparison, the integrated mechanical crawler was much more compact, with an overall size nearly half that of the logistical mechanical crawler. Although its two small mechanical arms were small in volume, they were fully equipped. In terms of both precision and flexibility, they were not weaker than the logistical mechanical crawler, and in fact, even exceeded it by a lot.

Thanks to Wang Shuo's excellent design and technical support, these two mechanical crawlers were nearly silent while moving, with only the slight rustling sound of the six mechanical legs touching the ground.

"Not bad."

A look of satisfaction appeared in Wang Shuo's eyes.

The successful production of the mechanical crawlers was of great significance; it meant that Zero had initially mastered the design of production lines. In the future, for such matters, he wouldn't need to do it himself and could completely leave it to Zero.

"Are the test data out?"

Wang Shuo continued to ask.

"Tested. The specific data is as follows:"

"Logistical mechanical crawler. External dimensions: 80*80*32CM; maximum horizontal running speed (unloaded): 60 km/h; maximum vertical running speed (unloaded): 5 km/h; maximum load: 2200KG; speed at maximum load: 40 km/h."

"Integrated mechanical crawler. External dimensions: 43*30*22CM; maximum horizontal running speed (unloaded): 75 km/h; maximum vertical running speed (unloaded): 15 km/h; maximum load: 40KG; speed at maximum load: 70 km/h."

These were just the most basic attributes; Zero had already listed all other attributes in the table in front of Wang Shuo.

He took a rough glance, and overall, it was not bad.

Wang Shuo was very satisfied.

This was just the first version of the mechanical crawlers; they would definitely be upgraded later. As for an 'old cadre' destined to be phased out, this performance was already completely sufficient.

"Zero, continue manufacturing." Wang Shuo asked calmly: "Also, how is the optimization of the magnetic compression engine coming along?"

"The compression engine optimization has encountered a problem, Sir."

"Encountered a problem?"

Wang Shuo had actually anticipated this and was not surprised. He just asked: "Analyze the cause of the problem."

"The reason is: lack of simulation data. Description: Unable to find relevant models in reality for simulation, unable to obtain accurate data, and unable to perform data inference."

This...

Wang Shuo felt like he was looking at an idiot again.

You want to find a model for this kind of thing in reality? It would be strange if you could find one!

He sighed speechlessly. This problem couldn't be blamed on Zero; this was Zero's greatest flaw at the current stage—as a pseudo-Artificial Intelligence, it could not create things that didn't exist in the world on its own. Even basic theoretical data had to be obtained from Wang Shuo; otherwise, it was just an idiot.

"My fault." Wang Shuo smiled self-deprecatingly: "It's time to establish a professional simulation database for you."

Taking a sip of tea, Wang Shuo placed the cup on the desk, stretched out in a long yawn, his eyes flickering.

"Zero, pull up the theoretical model of the compression engine; I will optimize it personally."

"Understood, Sir."