Time always seems to move at a pace contrary to one's expectations. By the time Huang Xuan slipped out of the house after dinner and made his way back to the construction site, it was already dusk. From a distance, he could hear the loud roar of the engines, rivaling the noise of an airplane.
Frowning, he paid the driver and jogged onto the site. After asking a few workers, he found Li Shenggang supervising the work. A generator on the ground was being tested, vibrating so violently that the nails in the ground rattled, and the earth seemed to shake.
Signaling the workers to continue, Li Shenggang pulled Huang Xuan aside, shouting over the noise, "We've installed three generators, each 250KW. There's one more being set up, and I bought eight barrels of diesel. Do you think that'll be enough?"
"Of course not," Huang Xuan responded without hesitation. Then, seeing Li Shenggang rubbing his hands together with a silly grin, he realized, "You're out of money?"
Li Shenggang smiled and blinked, "These units consume 64 liters of diesel per hour. At over three yuan per liter, and after accounting for the deposit, the money you gave me will only cover about two days' worth of fuel." He chuckled as he explained.
Huang Xuan sighed inwardly. If Lorin had only needed a few tens or hundreds of thousands of kilowatt-hours, it wouldn't have been a problem. But with millions of kilowatt-hours required, he was truly at a loss. For now, he decided to take it one step at a time and figure it out as he went.
Thinking this, he maintained a calm demeanor, "Got it. For now, just connect the power."
"Where to?" Li Shenggang asked, puzzled.
"First, connect it to the site's distribution room." Huang Xuan pointed in the direction. Although Li Shenggang found this request odd, he complied.
After about an hour, Huang Xuan dismissed Li Shenggang and connected the energy chain to the electrical line, muttering, "Lorin, I've hooked up the power here. The rest is up to you."
"Understood," Lorin finally responded. Huang Xuan wasn't sure what exactly Lorin understood, but he didn't care. Even if he sent the shifty-eyed assistant to another dimension, it didn't matter to him. Waving his hand, he locked the door and called for Li Shenggang.
The latter, perceptive as always, had moved to a distant part of the site. He jogged over, still grinning.
Imitating his mother's tone, Huang Xuan said, "Run the cable from this room to the factory I need to power. Also, connect the site's power line to this main line. Just keep all the generators running, and don't worry about anything else."
"But..." Li Shenggang hesitated, looking at the distribution room, unsure where Huang Xuan wanted the cables connected.
"I told you not to worry about it," Huang Xuan replied impatiently. "No one is allowed to touch these lines except me. Not even my cousin—he'll have to call me first. Got it?"
Li Shenggang was reluctant to agree. The site still needed power, and he glanced helplessly at the generators, then back at the distribution room, still unsure where the power was going. Huang Xuan, not interested in explaining, noticed it was getting late and walked away, adding, "Remember what I said—if you mess this up, I'll make sure you can't stay in Nanjing."
This last threat Li Shenggang understood perfectly. His body swayed slightly as if he wanted to say something, but Huang Xuan had already walked off.
Returning home without a moment's rest, Huang Xuan entered his room, turned on his computer, and spoke into the air, "Lorin, how's the power usage going? Feeling good?"
"At this rate, you won't be able to fulfill your promise," Lorin replied without a hint of irony.
"Tell me about it," Huang Xuan snapped. "Even if I had the money, this is a job not many people could handle."
"This was your promise," Lorin stated coldly.
"I know, but you didn't mention needing millions of kilowatt-hours at the time," Huang Xuan retorted. "How about you chip in a little?"
"What?"
"Chip in."
"Chip in what?" Lorin asked blankly.
Huang Xuan was exasperated, lowering his head in frustration, "Chip in some money! The money you gave isn't even enough for fuel."
"I will consider it."
That was it? Huang Xuan waited for a moment, then sighed. He felt like he was under a roof with no way out, while Lorin was acting like a demanding guest. With no other options, Huang Xuan opened the C drive and admitted defeat, "What are those two files you gave me?"
He had initially thought about having someone look at them but was concerned there might be some issues. Since he had the chance now, he decided to ask Lorin directly.
"They are encryption programs."
Hearing they weren't games, Huang Xuan shrugged indifferently, "Are they worth anything?"
"That depends on your judgment. Based on the information I gathered in P136T2050, they should have some value."
"Is that P136T whatever another dimension?" Huang Xuan asked, genuinely curious.
"It is P136, a dimension equivalent to the year 2050 in standard time."
"Is standard time the same as our current dimension?"
"Standard time is based on the history of P001."
Hearing these sci-fi-like terms, Huang Xuan's curiosity grew. He thought for a moment and asked, "Is P001 the same as our P112?"
"They were originally different, but due to a previous temporal disturbance, many dimensions experienced time-space collapse. So now, most dimensions are very similar to standard time."
"What does that mean? What's a temporal disturbance?"
Lorin paused briefly before answering, "A temporal disturbance is a disaster. You can think of it as a scenario where most dimensions that couldn't withstand the disturbance perished, and history started over. Without the interference of time travelers, developments became very similar. Of course, Genghis Khan might not necessarily still be called Temujin."
Huang Xuan's knowledge of history was limited, so he returned to his previous question, "So was standard time also determined by P001? Did our dimension once perish?"
Lorin seemed unwilling to continue this line of discussion, or perhaps he simply wasn't prepared to elaborate further. Sensing this, Huang Xuan pursed his lips and began searching the internet for information about software and encryption.
Although people often say that the vast internet contains everything, Huang Xuan found that whenever he had a serious task, the internet always seemed to distract him with trivial matters. After aimlessly browsing for a while, he decided it would be better to consult a professional.
Zhang Xinyi rarely handled business matters at home, but there were always plenty of documents around. Huang Xuan had often been roped into organizing them. He snuck into the study, saw that his mother was watching a movie, and quietly retrieved Sifang Group's directory from a drawer. He found the phone number of the Technical Director at Sifang Communications Technology Co., Ltd. and dialed it directly.
From a young age, Huang Xuan had learned that going straight to the top often got things done more efficiently. For example, when he was in elementary school and wanted to buy an arcade machine, his parents refused. So Huang Xuan went directly to the company's sales department, got a machine, and set it up at a classmate's house, using it until he got bored. His parents only found out after he had played through his Nth game. If he had gone through the butler or a secretary, not only would everyone in the family have known by the next day, but the task might not have been completed at all. The only reason he had involved his mother's secretary with the stamps was that the amount was so large, and he was eager to verify their authenticity, proving Lorin's existence was real and not just a dream. If he had involved Uncle Zhou, who knew where that money might have ended up.
Director Deng of Sifang Technology Co., Ltd. was a serious figure with a deep voice. As soon as the call connected, Huang Xuan greeted him warmly, "Uncle Deng?"
"Who is this?" Director Deng was immediately puzzled. He didn't recognize the number or the voice. He couldn't recall any nephew with this name.
"Uncle Deng, hello. My name is Huang Xuan, Zhang Xinyi's son."
Whenever Huang Xuan mentioned his mother's name, he was always greeted with various respectful titles. This time was no different. Director Deng's quick response turned friendly, "Oh, it's the young master. What can I do for you?"
"I have a question I'd like to ask you," Huang Xuan adopted an innocent tone as he explained the two programs, conveniently claiming he had created them himself. He then asked, "I'd like to see if I can sell them. Do you have any advice?"
"I see," Director Deng hesitated for a moment. Encryption programs usually involve complex mathematical problems, many of which have been unsolved for centuries. It was already highly improbable that a teenager could come up with a new global challenge, let alone solve one. But since this was the son of the company's president, and given that Zhang Xinyi might have hinted for him to take the call, a simple refusal would be problematic.
He couldn't outright dismiss the boy, nor could he promise to sell the software on his behalf. Moreover, the company wasn't in the software business. After thinking it over, Director Deng assumed the young man was in a hurry and calmly suggested, "Huang Xuan, how about this: I'll help you recommend the software to some companies, and see if they're interested in buying it. In the meantime, you could also upload it to 'Shared Sky' and see if anyone else takes an interest. How does that sound?"
"'Shared Sky'?" Huang Xuan's computer was strictly for gaming, so he had no idea about such specialized websites. Director Deng felt a chill run down his spine—how could someone claim to have developed two encryption programs without even knowing about the most popular software platform in the country? Who would trust such software to protect their secrets? He couldn't say this out loud, of course, so instead, he patiently explained how to upload the software, apply for protection, and so on. The call lasted half an hour before Huang Xuan finally managed to upload the programs. Director Deng wiped the sweat off his brow, thinking that if any of his employees were this clueless, they'd be out the door in no time.
Huang Xuan, oblivious to what Director Deng was thinking, sent a copy of the software to the director's email as well. Satisfied, he hung up the phone, thinking that the randomly selected director seemed quite competent. At least he had helped him get the software online. Not bad at all.