The two-hour exam passed quickly, and when the test paper was placed in front of Huang Xuan, he instinctively glanced around and amusingly noticed that everyone else was doing the same.
The homeroom teacher coughed twice, "Everyone, focus on your own paper. This is just a small test to assess your usual learning, so there's no need to be scared. Just answer seriously, it's okay."
Monkey, sitting behind Huang Xuan, muttered quietly, "They always say that, but they always end up sending me to the stage."
Huang Xuan couldn't help but laugh silently. Hou Minyue's father was the big boss of Yadong Industries, with a net worth of billions, but he had never married and had built his fortune in real estate. Monkey's education was a bit problematic, and mixed with their group, his grades were as chaotic as his father's real estate deals—completely disorganized.
After scanning the surroundings and finding nothing helpful, Huang Xuan resigned himself to focusing on his own paper. The teacher was usually easygoing, but her seating arrangements were impeccable, making it impossible to find anyone worth copying from. However, truth be told, there weren't many in this class worth copying from anyway.
Up front, Wei Mujian and others had already started scribbling away, leaving Huang Xuan no choice but to lower his head and begin writing.
Language, after all, was something he had been using since childhood, so even though he didn't understand many of the questions, he managed to fill in everything. Satisfied, Huang Xuan put down his pen and glanced at his "colleagues," who were still lost in a cloud of confusion, giving him a sense of pride.
"Based on my analysis, your answers to questions 1, 2, 3, 4, ... have a correctness rate of less than 50%," Lorin chimed in, always ready to deflate Huang Xuan's confidence at the most inopportune moments.
Unfazed, Huang Xuan closed his test paper and, mouthing his words, said, "It's all multiple choice anyway. I raised my accuracy from 25% to 50%. You should be satisfied with that."
After a brief pause, Lorin continued, "Based on the data I obtained from the computer of the woman you call your homeroom teacher, your overall answer accuracy is below 60%."
"Failing?" Huang Xuan blinked in surprise. "Do you have the answers?"
"I just obtained them," Lorin, ever modest, responded naturally, as if being more advanced didn't make him feel superior. "If you want a precise accuracy estimate, I can scan her past grading habits and provide a score range."
With less than 20 minutes left in the exam, Huang Xuan, covering his face with one arm, quickly muttered, "Don't bother with that. I trust your accuracy. Just give me the correct answers, quickly!"
Realizing he had such a valuable resource at his disposal, Huang Xuan smacked his forehead—how foolish he had been.
However, Lorin didn't immediately provide the answers. Instead, in his usual calm tone, he said, "In return for helping you, I'll need something in exchange."
"I knew it," Huang Xuan groaned, smacking his forehead again. "Okay, how much power do you need?"
"I require a high-performance server and a sufficient number of hard drives."
"You'd even settle for outdated technology like that?" Huang Xuan was perplexed. Though he had jokingly mentioned getting Lorin some hard drives before, it seemed absurd that something so ancient would be of any use to a machine from millennia in the future.
"As an intermediary for obtaining information, modifying a level-24 buffer machine would help reduce energy consumption. When the base reaches level 21, it will have basic manufacturing capabilities. Given your consistent ability to acquire resources, I suggest purchasing in advance."
Huang Xuan snorted derisively, "Given my consistent ability to acquire resources? You should know by now that not many people can do what I do."
"The base's security is the top priority, upgrading the base is the second, and obtaining resources is the third..."
"So the third priority shouldn't interfere with the first," Huang Xuan quickly interrupted. "You sure are serious about this. Fine, I'll get it for you, but let's be clear—200 million yuan at most. Any more, and I'll be out of food."
Lorin didn't respond to this but instead began reciting the answers: "A, C, C..."
As Huang Xuan wrote down the answers, he sighed. It seemed Lorin was getting smarter, knowing when to dodge the tough questions. It looked like his wallet was about to get lighter again.
With even his most confident subject, Chinese, at risk of failing, Huang Xuan lost all hope for the remaining two subjects, and it turned out he was right.
The difficulty of the test far exceeded the junior high level. Even Wei Mujian, one of the more diligent students, wore a pained expression. Huang Xuan glanced around the classroom, doubting that anyone would achieve an excellent score.
Realizing this, Huang Xuan didn't dare to get everything right—a delightful dilemma. Just three hours earlier, he had been considering what to make up for the blank spaces on his test paper. Now, he was figuring out which parts to omit to lower his score.
He needed to keep his score around 65 points. Huang Xuan's standards were quite high.
At 6 p.m., Huang Xuan stretched as he walked out of the classroom. The hallway was a chaotic scene filled with frustrated students. These children, who had just entered their final year, weren't yet accustomed to the harsh educational environment—or rather, this school originally hadn't required such rigor; it was only that a certain principal had decided they needed the experience.
Monkey looked as though he had lost a cherished possession, his face contorting with regret as he clung to Wei Mujian, crying out, "Brother, for the sake of the Party and the nation..."
"Brother, I'm struggling myself."
On the other side, Old Chang, often referred to as "The Class Rep," was rallying a group of younger students, shouting, "Comrades, you've worked hard."
The younger students replied in unison, "We're here to serve the people."
Old Chang, smugly satisfied, walked away. He didn't usually mix with Huang Xuan's group, supposedly because of his lofty ambitions. After every test, he would sport a self-satisfied look, in stark contrast to Huang Xuan and his friends—though to Old Chang's dismay, the non-test days always outnumbered the test days.
Huang Xuan shook his head and took the opportunity to slip away. Normally, he would stay with Monkey, but today felt a bit different—it was better to leave early.
Just as he got into the car, Lorin spoke up, "I've already gathered quotes from various manufacturers. There are three models that could be modified, and you can choose two of them."
"You want me to choose?" Huang Xuan was suspicious of Lorin's intentions.
"IBM model T-Rex, a large Z990 machine, priced at $1 million."
As soon as Lorin mentioned it, Huang Xuan interrupted, "Stop right there—$8 million! I'll be living on water and air if I go with that. I spent millions on that factory and invested in Xin Ye, so where am I supposed to find the money?"
"In about a week, there will be a rare book auction where you could earn at least 20 million yuan."
"That still won't do." Huang Xuan flatly refused. "Find something cheaper. You said you were going to modify it anyway, so with technology from thousands of years in the future, it shouldn't matter if it's the best. Anything should work just fine." The more he said, the more convinced Huang Xuan became of the truth of his words. He continued, "You should just look at the specs and build the servers yourself. Why do I have to buy them?"
"A level-21 base can only handle modifications and basic manufacturing. According to the optimal production principle, it's better to purchase a server with a good architecture and then use high-level technology to modify it. This combination would consume the least energy while meeting the requirements."
Huang Xuan skeptically asked, "So after some modifications, it will be comparable to the computers of your time?"
"It's a cognitive brain." Lorin seemed to take offense at being compared to a mere computer. He emphasized, "Of course, it can't compare to a cognitive brain. Buying a server is for better integration with this era's network system. As a buffer device, maintaining the characteristics of this era is crucial. If you want me to build it myself, it would require about 6 billion kWh of energy and the corresponding materials."
"Understood." Huang Xuan closed his eyes, feeling defeated. "Can't we just pick a cheaper one?"
"A low-end version of the x235. It comes with one 2.2GHz processor, one 18GB hard drive, 512MB of memory, and dual power supplies, priced at $3,724. Another version with two processors, three 36GB hard drives, 2GB of memory, and other features is priced at around $7,800. If you choose this model, I would need about 2,000 units."
"That would total over $10 million?" Huang Xuan calculated for a long time before realizing Lorin's sinister plan.
"That's why I recommend purchasing the Z990. It would also save energy."
The car gently shuddered as if it had encountered a red light. Outside the window, the rush of people and vehicles hurrying home filled the streets. Huang Xuan sighed and reluctantly said, "Fine, buy it. Can you handle the transaction? After all, it's with foreign manufacturers."
"OK," Lorin replied in English. Huang Xuan chuckled to himself, comforting himself with the thought that at least the server would be used to assist him.