343: Why not do it? (Chapter 342)

"Ninety percent?"

Mayor Fang Dingbei did not seem surprised. "In other words, you can completely independently decide on all matters regarding this Artificial Intelligence, and no one will raise any objections, right?"

Wang Shuo frowned. From Mayor Fang Dingbei's tone, he vaguely felt that something was off, but he still nodded and said, "Yes."

Mayor Fang Dingbei nodded slightly and asked again, "Junior, besides you, who else participated in the research and development of this Artificial Intelligence? I mean the kind who could deeply participate and have access to the core technology."

The sense of unease grew stronger. Wang Shuo shook his head slightly, meeting Mayor Fang Dingbei's slightly strange gaze, and said, "Apart from me, no one knows the overall framework and implementation path of Zero, including the source code."

"Is that so?"

Mayor Fang Dingbei nodded gently, his index finger tapping lightly on the armrest of the sofa, seemingly lost in thought.

Watching Mayor Fang Dingbei's strange behavior, Wang Shuo's feeling of oddity grew stronger.

The questions Mayor Fang Dingbei had just asked did not seem to be impromptu; they seemed more like they had been prepared in advance.

If that were the case...

Before Wang Shuo could think it through, Mayor Fang Dingbei's voice sounded again.

"Junior, if... I mean if, if I wanted to represent the municipal government to invest in your company and required a controlling stake of over forty percent, would you be willing?"

Wang Shuo was stunned.

The municipal government wants to invest?

Isn't this the rhythm of turning Frontier Technology from a private enterprise into a state-owned enterprise?

"Senior."

Wang Shuo frowned. "Can I refuse?"

Frontier Technology was an important means for him to achieve his goals. He did not want, nor would he allow, it to be held back by external forces, even if that external force came from the state level.

Everyone, including Liu Yemei and Lin Junfeng, thought he had a powerful R&D team behind him, but he knew that the so-called R&D team did not exist at all; from beginning to end, it had only been him alone.

Becoming a state-owned enterprise under these circumstances would only have disadvantages for him, no advantages.

The biggest problem was that after becoming a state-owned enterprise, he would have to accept the supervision and control of the Chinese Government. Relevant personnel appointments and financial allocations would be affected, and research and development would be out of the question—if the money was gone, what would he use to do research?

Therefore, he had to refuse, at least for now.

"Of course you can. The company is yours; whether to accept or not is entirely up to your own will."

Mayor Fang Dingbei smiled and said, "In this regard, the government is still very fair."

Wang Shuo breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Thank you, Senior."

If this person were to force it, he would really have to consider whether to lean completely towards the military. At least by leaning towards the military, provided he showed enough value, and with Zheng Yi's connections, he should be able to maintain a certain degree of autonomy.

At that time, he could drag the military and the government into their squabbles, and he would be able to do his work with peace of mind.

However, it seems now that things have not reached the worst-case scenario.

"Junior."

Without giving Wang Shuo extra time to think, Mayor Fang Dingbei added, "If, still if. If I wanted you to sell all the technical data of your company's Artificial Intelligence to a unit designated by the municipal government, and simultaneously transfer the relevant intellectual property rights, would you be willing?"

Wang Shuo shook his head slightly, his attitude clear.

Mayor Fang Dingbei did not show the slightest displeasure, smiling as he patted Wang Shuo's shoulder. "Although I knew it was impossible, I still wanted to try. Junior, I hope that in the future, whoever comes to ask you the above questions, your answer will be the same."

"You can be even tougher in your attitude. After all, just because I won't force you, it doesn't mean those people won't."

Wang Shuo frowned slightly. "Senior, what does this mean? Will others come?"

"Just some self-righteous people."

Mayor Fang Dingbei revealed a faint smile and said, "Junior, your company is not as inconspicuous as you imagine. In the eyes of some, your product is brighter than a light bulb in the dark; it's normal to attract some flies and mosquitoes."

Wang Shuo felt that he didn't quite understand.

This was the part he hated about intellectuals; they could clearly explain something in two sentences, but they insisted on beating around the bush.

Seemingly noticing Wang Shuo's dilemma, Mayor Fang Dingbei glanced at him and said, seemingly offhandedly, "I won't admit to anything I said today once I step out of this door."

Wang Shuo pricked up his ears to listen.

Mayor Fang Dingbei said calmly, "Yesterday, the Municipal Administration for Market Regulation received a report handed down from superiors. The content of the report was that a certain company was suspected of online fraud and illegal infringement of trade secrets, and the person being reported was none other than your... Frontier Technology."

Wang Shuo was somewhat dazed.

He was reported?

And for two charges?

Beside them, Ding Congsheng and Professor Zeng also turned pale.

"Mayor Fang, what is going on?"

Ding Congsheng asked anxiously.

Mayor Fang Dingbei did not answer but looked at Wang Shuo. "The reporter did not provide detailed explanations for the suspected online fraud, but for the trade secret infringement, they provided detailed evidence, including design framework diagrams and some preliminary simple source code. Junior, you understand the implications of this, right?"

Wang Shuo nodded with a serious expression. "They can't defeat me with their products, so they want to use the state to strike at me."

From the moment the U.S. stock market's Artificial Intelligence sector started to fall, Wang Shuo had sensed that something was wrong, but he had never been able to figure out one problem: disrupting the supply chain and sanctioning Chips had already been implemented. To be honest, although it caused some minor trouble, he was still alive and kicking. Under these circumstances, as long as the other party wasn't stupid, they wouldn't continue to use such methods to waste resources and time. So, where would they actually start to deliver a fatal blow to him?

Today, what Mayor Fang Dingbei said allowed him to instantly find the answer—the government.

These bastards actually wanted to try to use the government to put pressure on him. And then what? They would continue to smear him by manipulating public opinion? Make it so that even if he proved his innocence, he would be unable to clear his name online?

Thinking of the content he saw on the forum yesterday, he immediately felt his teeth itch. These sons of bitches, they took the money and did the job, having no shame at all. It seemed that he hadn't sent enough people to prison yet; he should keep working hard.

Watching Wang Shuo's gnashing expression, Mayor Fang Dingbei immediately laughed. The junior before him was still a child after all, unable to keep his cool.

"This is just one aspect. In fact, they also know that this method won't work. No matter where they got the data, fake is fake; it definitely can't be real..."

Wang Shuo rubbed his nose and said sheepishly, "Perhaps it's not fake."

Mayor Fang Dingbei paused, surprised. "Not fake?"

Wang Shuo glanced at Professor Zeng and said nothing.

"It's like this."

Professor Zeng sighed and said, "Wang Shuo has now been hired as a specially appointed associate professor at our school and is leading a research project team, with the research content being Artificial Intelligence. During the research process, Wang Shuo may have taken the Artificial Intelligence framework and a small part of the source code he led the creation of and used them as teaching materials, so..."

Mayor Fang Dingbei understood. He suddenly didn't know what expression to show. Looking at the silent Wang Shuo, he shook his head helplessly. "Junior, you really are..."

After thinking for a long time, not knowing what word to use, he could only say, "You really are generous."

Wang Shuo felt somewhat helpless.

To be honest, when he handed these things over at the beginning, he had already prepared for them to be leaked, but he didn't expect this stuff to turn into a bullet fired at him by others.

Although it was useless, it was disgusting.

"In that case, I can understand why the other party wanted to file a report under their real name."

Mayor Fang Dingbei shook his head and said, "But in my opinion, this is probably not the other party's entire goal."

"Not the entire goal?"

Professor Zeng's gaze tightened.

This Artificial Intelligence was not just Wang Shuo's product; it was his life's expectation, and he couldn't help but worry.

"No matter what the other party provided, the relevant departments will review the report and require the reported party to provide the corresponding technical data for comparison. I believe the other party will definitely provide the 'entire' source code. It doesn't have to be real; the real goal is only one, and that is to require you to provide the corresponding source code."

"The rest is simple. As long as they find a few acquaintances, they can get this source code provided by you exactly as it is, and then..."

"They will conduct research and development based on this source code until they come up with their own Artificial Intelligence solution..."

Professor Zeng muttered, finishing the words that Mayor Fang Dingbei hadn't said, his face instantly turning livid.

"These bastards are simply robbers! Scum! A disgrace to intellectuals!"

Ding Congsheng cursed angrily.

Mayor Fang Dingbei looked at the two angry men and shook his head slightly. Sometimes, overt schemes are more terrifying than covert ones.

You can avoid or deal with a conspiracy, but with an overt scheme, sometimes even if you know about it, you can only bite the bullet and face it.

Casting his gaze toward Wang Shuo, Mayor Fang Dingbei was stunned to find that compared to the anger of the two teachers, Wang Shuo was surprisingly calm. His young face was unruffled, and even the slightly helpless expression from before had disappeared, as if he didn't take the consequences he had mentioned seriously at all.

Mayor Fang Dingbei said with some surprise, "Junior, you..."

"Senior."

Wang Shuo revealed a faint smile. "Thank you, Senior, for bringing such important news."

"Wang Shuo, this matter is not as simple as you think."

After cursing, Ding Congsheng looked at Wang Shuo's calm expression and said anxiously, "These people are all people who eat people without spitting out the bones. If you follow their path, you won't even know how you died."

"I know, Principal Ding."

Wang Shuo nodded. Knowing the other party's plan, he was instead not worried. They want to set him up? Then let them set him up, and see who can outplay whom.

"It's good that you know."

Ding Congsheng wanted to advise a few more words, but his lips moved a few times, and in the end, he didn't say anything.

Mayor Fang Dingbei stared at Wang Shuo and asked, "Junior, what do you want to do?"

Wang Shuo's expression was calm. "Fake is always fake and cannot become real. Real is always real and cannot become fake. My things are not that easy to take."

"Good."

Mayor Fang Dingbei smiled and patted the sofa armrest. "In that case, I can also rest assured to cooperate with you, Junior."

"Cooperate?"

"Cooperate."

Mayor Fang Dingbei nodded affirmatively. "Junior, don't blame me. Before coming here, I had already asked Director Jiao to pull all your records, including your movements over the past few months."

Wang Shuo nodded slightly. This was not hard to understand; his records were not something that couldn't be seen by others.

Mayor Fang Dingbei stared at Wang Shuo with a strange look. "The specific situation is not convenient to talk about here, so I won't say it. Coming here this time, it was mainly to use Professor Zeng's relationship to let me further understand your situation, Junior."

"Now, I can say that I am very satisfied."

"I wonder what you think of me, Junior?"

To be honest, this question made Wang Shuo somewhat unable to answer. He always felt that he couldn't quite see through the senior in front of him; he was even harder to guess than Chen Zhongxuan.

Is this the internal strength cultivated by being an official?

One shouldn't hit people in the face. Wang Shuo still nodded and said, "Senior is a good person."

"It's good that you're satisfied."

Mayor Fang Dingbei smiled and said, "Originally, I didn't know how to cooperate with you, Junior, but just last night, President Ren of the Pengcheng Huaneng Group contacted me personally, asking me to approve a plot of land and specifically mentioning your company's name. And this morning, right before I set off, I received the land approval application submitted by your company to the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau. On the way here, I even had leaders from above call me personally to inquire. Junior, you are not simple."

Wang Shuo rubbed his nose and didn't speak, but in his heart, he was quickly thinking about who might have called to inquire.

"In that case, our cooperation has a foundation."

Mayor Fang Dingbei tapped on the sofa, pondered for a moment, and then said, "How about this, Junior. I will approve a 1500-mu plot of land for you in the southwest suburbs of Hanzhong City for you to build a factory. The land price can be calculated at 85% of the average price, with a 40% initial payment and the rest paid off within ten years. If it's not enough, we can add more later."

"Additionally, within the city's second ring road, I can also approve a plot of land for you, but the area won't be too large, at most 10,000 square meters. The government will lead the demolition and relocation work, and you will provide the funds. I have only one request..."

Mayor Fang Dingbei held up one finger.

"Your company's headquarters must be located in Hanzhong City."

Wang Shuo looked at Mayor Fang Dingbei, shocked by this grand land-granting gesture. After a long while, he asked, "Senior, by doing this, what benefits can you get?"

Cooperation must be profitable.

Mayor Fang Dingbei was giving land and offering discounts, and if his guess was correct, there would be subsequent policy support. Standing from Mayor Fang Dingbei's perspective, Wang Shuo really couldn't think of what he could gain.

"Benefits?"

Mayor Fang Dingbei smiled.

"Does having a Fortune Global 500 company settle in Hanzhong count?"

"Does fostering a company with infinite potential count?"

"Does gaining an advanced wafer Chip manufacturing plant count?"

"Does increasing employment opportunities for the people of Hanzhong City count?"

"If you succeed, does increasing Hanzhong City's urban visibility and attracting talent flow count?"

"With so many benefits, and the only cost being some land and goodwill, why wouldn't I be happy to do it?"