257: Chapter 256 US Stocks Fell?

The official release of the zero egg was undoubtedly a heavy blow to the overwhelming theories of fraud, conspiracy, and hype circulating on the internet.

As more and more people received their zero egg, test videos of the zero egg were no longer the exclusive domain of a small number of bloggers and tech enthusiasts; all kinds of test clips spread rapidly.

Some tested the zero egg's level of intelligence, some used the so-called "Turing" test to probe its intelligent mechanisms, and others tested the zero egg's intelligent productivity conversion.

There were even those who violently dismantled the zero egg, only to find they couldn't put it back together...

It was a mixed bag, with everything imaginable, fully showcasing the divergent thinking power of the vast number of silly netizens.

In response, Wang Shuo just smiled faintly and had Zero add the people who dismantled the zero egg to a temporary purchase ban list; these poor bloggers had no hope of owning a zero egg again for at least a year...

Of course, these silly netizens with brains wired differently from the average person were, after all, in the minority.

More users felt deeply shocked after using the zero egg, and countless words of praise followed immediately.

And Frontier Technology Co., Ltd., an Artificial Intelligence company established less than half a year ago, had thoroughly entered the public eye with the explosive popularity of its first product.

"Friends, I can't describe my current mood; I'm very excited, but also very conflicted."

"As a senior engineer who has been engaged in industrial design and manufacturing for decades, Tianya feels curious about a tech company for the first time."

"Not long ago, Tianya even wrote a post specifically about this company; friends who have been following Tianya should know which one it is. To be honest, I was already very excited and proud back then, but compared to how I feel now, that previous excitement and pride fall far short."

"This is not on the same level."

"Far from it."

"If automated control systems are one of the pearls on the crown of industry, then Artificial Intelligence is the direction humanity must advance toward in the next hundred years, without exception. If we cannot conquer the high ground of Artificial Intelligence, there will be no way forward for automated control—only a dead end."

"Since the birth of computers hundreds of years ago, how many scholars in the fields of computer science, mathematics, and physics, and how many engineers in the field of mechatronics have been climbing this peak? We could clearly see the summit, but we could never find a path to it."

"Today, I saw that this path is open."

"In that very instant, it was so sudden that I found it unbelievable, as if something that shouldn't have appeared for hundreds of years suddenly popped up right before my eyes. I couldn't believe my own eyes."

"Speaking of which, I must first apologize. Tianya is ashamed; when the zero egg was released, I still held a skeptical attitude and didn't buy it immediately, so Tianya was not among those who received it this time. However, my neighbor, a cute little girl, successfully obtained one of the first batch of zero eggs. Tianya was fortunate enough to be allowed to conduct some tests."

"As for the results of the tests... Tianya won't go into detail. There are many test videos of the zero egg on the internet; you can all go watch them. I can only say that Tianya is deeply shocked."

"If this cannot be called Artificial Intelligence, then Tianya would like to ask, what is?"

"Is it those so-called smart assistants on the market that cost a few hundred yuan? Or those voice assistants that can only turn lights on and off with simple commands? Or perhaps those Artificial Intelligences integrated into mobile phones that can't even open programs accurately?"

"No matter what others say about Frontier Technology, and no matter how Frontier Technology develops in the future, the emergence of the zero egg is destined to leave a significant mark in history for Frontier Technology. If you don't believe it, let time be our witness."

"Finally, I sincerely wish Frontier Technology to continue moving forward; the road ahead is incredibly bright!"

The world's number one Artificial Intelligence.

It is now well-deserved.

Hanzhong City, Software Park.

Wang Shuo put down the tablet in his hand, revealing a faint smile.

Tianya; this was the second time he had read this guy's posts. Every time, they were written quite well—upright stance, concise, and to the point. He was a talent.

Silently clicking "follow," Wang Shuo picked up his teacup, took a sip of water, and looked at the data displayed on the screen.

Three days had passed since the zero egg went on sale.

Within three days, the cumulative number of zero eggs Wang Shuo had sold reached five thousand units.

This was not a large number. Compared to the number of pre-orders for the zero egg and the potential user base, it was pitifully small. Logically, a sales volume of this magnitude shouldn't have caused such a huge stir.

Wang Shuo frowned slightly.

He was no longer the novice in the business world he had been six months ago; he wouldn't naively think this was a matter of course.

Huaxia is huge, and the internet is vast. Every day, every person receives countless pieces of information. Why was the zero egg release able to stand out from all of that?

Because the zero egg is excellent?

Because of the zero egg's reputation as the world's number one Artificial Intelligence?

Undeniably, these were reasons, but they were definitely not everything.

Liu Yemei stood quietly behind Wang Shuo, looking at his back, her eyes behind her lenses flickering slightly.

"Sister Liu."

Wang Shuo spoke up, "How much capital do we currently have on the books?"

Hearing no response from Liu Yemei, Wang Shuo turned around curiously, only to find Liu Yemei with her head lowered, seemingly pondering something. He called out to remind her, "Sister Liu?"

Liu Yemei finally snapped back to reality. The zero egg, which had been staying at her feet, reminded her at the right moment, "Master, the gentleman's question just now was..."

Liu Yemei looked slightly surprised, then quickly composed herself. Without even flipping through the data in her hand, she replied, "As of now, we have released five batches of pre-order slots, totaling eighty thousand units, and all have been ordered. The current account balance is around 910 million."

Wang Shuo smacked his lips.

900 million; it sounded like a lot at first glance, but if you thought about what he wanted to do, this money didn't even count as a drizzle.

Not to mention, he couldn't fully control all of this money.

What? You ask why?

The zero egg has costs, right? Suppliers need to be paid for goods, right? Transportation needs to be paid to that old fox Chen Zhongxuan, right? Labor wages need to be paid, right?

These all cost money.

Although Wang Shuo had relied on Zheng Yi's face to agree on monthly settlements with most suppliers, if "face" were reliable, what would contracts be for?

It was already the end of December; a portion of the payments had to be settled before the New Year.

Some funds also had to be kept for turnover; he couldn't just clear the books.

By this calculation, at least fifty percent of this money was something he couldn't use at will, so the funds he could actually move were only... less than 600 million.

Hiss... what can this little bit of money do?

Enduring a toothache, Wang Shuo waved his hand.

"Sister Liu, withdraw 60 million from the working capital and transfer it to the designated account I gave you earlier."

"Understood."

Liu Yemei didn't ask what the money was for; she nodded faintly and agreed.

"In addition, have General Manager Lin and the others continue to build new zero egg production lines, with costs covered by headquarters."

The production lines for the zero egg were still being built without pause. Wang Shuo never took this lightly; it concerned the future layout of Frontier Technology.

According to Lin Junfeng's report, in these three days, he had allocated another factory area and set up several zero egg production lines. The number of production lines that could operate normally had reached as many as 12, producing nearly 1,500 zero eggs per day, and with continuous improvements to the production lines, this number would continue to rise.

The rest was a matter of suppliers.

In order to minimize the number of SOC Chips consumed by the zero egg, Wang Shuo did not use 3D Chip stacking technology on the standard retail version of the zero egg. That luxurious practice of stacking four Chips to create a super Chip was only done by Wang Shuo on the zero eggs he gave to Chen Xin and used for himself, to ensure that these two units could maintain basic feedback even when disconnected from the network.

Of course, just basic feedback; slightly more complex operations were out of the question.

Based on current consumption, the SOC Chips Wang Shuo had already reserved were enough to manufacture nearly 100,000 zero eggs. Additionally, thanks to Wang Shuo's continuous huge orders, Frontier Technology had become a guest of honor for Vangi Semiconductor. Priority scheduling of production lines was standard operating procedure, so it was to be expected that another 100,000 SOC Chips would soon be delivered.

Noting down Wang Shuo's words one by one, Liu Yemei was just about to leave when she suddenly frowned slightly and stopped in her tracks.

Just a moment ago, she had received the latest news from her own zero egg via her Bluetooth headset.

"General Manager Wang. Just received news, the US stock market's Artificial Intelligence sector..." Liu Yemei furrowed her brows slightly and said, "Something happened."