In the morning, Huang Xuan's parents left early, and their busyness made him uneasy. He had finished half of his homework but couldn't continue. Restless, he asked, "Lorin, do you think something's going on with my family?"
"Insufficient data to determine," Lorin replied.
Huang Xuan wasn't really expecting an answer. He shook his head, pulled out a family-sized bucket of chicken from the fridge, and started eating by himself.
Unlike usual, Lorin didn't remain silent. Instead, he continued, "Huang Xuan, I can now access temporal dimensions after T1600. Are you interested?"
Lorin had definitely become more human-like after the upgrade. At least his tone had become more expressive, making it easier to grasp his meaning. Hearing the upward inflection in Lorin's voice, Huang Xuan smirked and said, "Which time period do you want to send me to? Do we have enough energy for that?"
"Further increasing your access level would benefit you greatly."
"I have enough to eat and drink, and my homework isn't finished yet. I can't go now." Huang Xuan immediately declined. His grades weren't great, and while his mother couldn't monitor his class performance, she was strict about homework. If a teacher complained, he would certainly be in for a big surprise—possibly even a new form of punishment.
Lorin seemed frustrated by this response and replied in a low tone, "The base currently cannot simulate handwriting, but I can assist with calculations."
"Math homework is easy to copy," Huang Xuan shook his head. He didn't need a futuristic machine to help him copy math problems—a simple bucket of KFC would suffice. As he chewed on an ice cream bar, he added, "Lorin, something's going on at home these days, so I can't go out. And school starts in a few days."
"But you could recharge the base first."
Huang Xuan suddenly jumped up, pointing at the ceiling and shouting, "How dare you bring that up! Last time, when I asked you for 500,000 yuan, you gave me a program and made me sell it. Then you demanded over 20 million kilowatt-hours of electricity, nearly bankrupting me. We're even now, so don't ask me for anything, and I won't ask you for anything either."
"The base reaches manufacturing capability at Level 21..."
"Enough." Huang Xuan waved his hand dismissively. Honestly, he was curious about Lorin's new capabilities and the potential future ones, but this wasn't the right time. Using generator sets to generate electricity wasn't sustainable—a kilowatt-hour cost 1.6 yuan, and the daily expense was nearly 1 million yuan. He wasn't a money-printing machine and couldn't keep pouring all his hard-earned profits into Lorin's base. The factory could help recharge Lorin later, but there was no way he'd make any guarantees in advance. Who knew what new ideas Lorin might come up with?
After Huang Xuan's firm refusal, Lorin quietly disappeared. Sitting alone by the window, Huang Xuan suddenly felt a bit sorry for Lorin—disconnected from his world, with no one familiar around him, though, fortunately, he was just a machine.
Huang Xuan picked up his phone, but after some thought, he put it down again. In a couple of days, the generator sets would start being dismantled, as previously decided. Even if the factory could recharge Lorin's base, he needed to find new ways to do it—continuing to burn money with daily generator rentals wasn't an option.
It had to be said that after Huang Xuan's conversation with his mother, Lorin had become much more polite. And Huang Xuan wasn't as anxious as he had been when they first met. Now, even if Huang Xuan refused Lorin, there wouldn't be any threats—probably due to the access level issue, Huang Xuan thought.
Shortly after lunch, as Huang Xuan was debating whether to grab some snacks or continue playing World of Warcraft, Lorin spoke up again, "Huang Xuan, you have a meeting at noon."
"You're like a secretary," Huang Xuan said, remembering the persistent Gan Lizheng.
"As a Level 23 access holder, you can apply for a full-time secretary through the base."
"Oh?" Huang Xuan chuckled, "Isn't that the same as applying to you?"
This time, Lorin didn't directly answer the question. Instead, he said, "The Level 22 base can currently process data for two full-time secretaries. Typically, the base's highest access holder decides who among all applicants receives this privilege. Currently, the base overseer holds the highest level, which is Level 22, so I decide."
Huang Xuan couldn't help but laugh, "It's just the two of us in the base right now, so what's there to decide?"
"As the base overseer, my required data processing capacity is included, so there's still room for two full-time secretaries' data streams," Lorin explained. After pausing until Huang Xuan stopped laughing, Lorin continued, "Full-time secretaries are highly useful. They can assist with calculations, record data, and more..."
"What's the difference between them and you?" Huang Xuan had always used Lorin as a secretary, so he was puzzled as to why Lorin was promoting this new feature.
"I previously handled secretarial duties," Lorin replied in his usual tone. "But if you want to access information in the future, you'll need to apply for a full-time secretary."
"So I'd still be dealing with you?"
"Of course. Applying for a full-time secretary essentially just allocates the resources needed to process data."
"Whatever." Huang Xuan said lazily, figuring that nothing much had changed.
"50 million kilowatt-hours of energy," Lorin said without any change in tone, but Huang Xuan froze—this was outright extortion.
"No way," Huang Xuan shot back.
"40 million," Lorin lowered the price.
Huang Xuan remained silent, so Lorin said again, "30 million kilowatt-hours."
Thinking about the convenience Lorin had provided over the past two weeks, Huang Xuan felt he couldn't completely deny him energy. He had bought the factory, so it couldn't just sit idle. However, he was still angry about Lorin's underhanded tactics. After a long pause, Huang Xuan gritted his teeth and said, "20 million kilowatt-hours."
"Deal," Lorin agreed quickly, as if he had been waiting for Huang Xuan to give in.
Huang Xuan knew it—Lorin wasn't easy to deal with. When his morning attempts failed, he came up with a new trick in the afternoon, striking right at Huang Xuan's weak spot. After getting used to Lorin's conveniences, losing them would be too inconvenient.
By the time Huang Xuan met Gan Lizheng again, he was still feeling a vague sense of regret. Nothing had changed—Lorin was still Lorin, and the answers he provided were still infuriating. But the money was still flying away like it had wings, ready to disappear at any moment.
Huang Xuan didn't think he was particularly greedy. All he wanted was a sports car—or maybe three or four. Then a yacht, like the 35-50 meter one his uncle had. And in a couple of years, he'd like to buy a private jet. After that, he'd have no more transportation needs. As for other things, like a bunch of servers or some jewelry to store for his future wife, those were just minor expenses. But even these modest dreams were being ripped away by Lorin.
With that thought, Huang Xuan downed his cup of coffee in one gulp.
Gan Lizheng, sitting across from him, was shocked. Downing a cup of coffee like that? It wasn't about taste; it was entirely psychological. He quickly signaled the waiter for a refill and forced a smile, saying, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Huang Xuan. We've heard great things about your encryption programs. Hahaha."
As he spoke, he exchanged a nervous laugh with the person beside him. Huang Xuan barely raised an eyebrow before downing another cup of coffee, saying, "Let's get to the point. I'm busy."
"Of course, of course," Gan Lizheng wiped the sweat from his forehead, thinking, What's with this guy? Out loud, he said, "Our company initially plans to offer 6 million yuan to purchase all rights to your programs, primarily the core code, excluding the rights you've already sold."
By this time, Huang Xuan had already learned a lot about the company from Lorin. Without changing his expression, he asked, "Has your company acquired Lianyou?"
Lianyou was the company that had bought Huang Xuan's software. They had finalized the deal just a few days ago, leaving Gan Lizheng in an awkward position. However, being an experienced negotiator, he quickly regained his composure and said with a smile, "I didn't expect Mr. Huang to be so well-informed."
This negotiation between a teenager and a middle-aged man was bizarre, especially in a café. Not just Gan Lizheng, but also the person beside him felt uncomfortable. Only Huang Xuan remained relaxed, downing another cup of coffee and saying, "I'm not very interested in your purchase offer, but I do have a new proposal."
"Oh?" Gan Lizheng kept smiling, ready to listen.
"The software, plus 12 million yuan in cash, in exchange for 30% of your company's shares."
Gan Lizheng's smile froze on his face.