For the first time truly stepping onto campus, Wang Shuo found everything in a state of chaos.
After settling the matters in the dormitory, Wang Shuo immediately went to the office building to find his counselor, with the intention of... asking for leave.
Yes, Wang Shuo needed to take time off, after having skipped class for forty-six days straight.
Wang Shuo didn't need to think hard to imagine the counselor's anger he would face. If he were the counselor, and had a student who hadn't shown up since the start of the semester, and the first meeting was to ask for leave, he would also lose his temper on the spot.
What's more... he currently had a black eye...
Although it was a misunderstanding...
It was very awkward.
But after some serious thought, Wang Shuo realized he had to go.
Chen Xin had already sent the basic information to his email. When Wang Shuo saw the attachment that was a whopping 2.74GB, he realized he was facing not a simple small project.
Indeed...
After opening the attachment, Wang Shuo was stunned...
The myriad of technical parameters, the extensive design drafts, the thick requirements specification that could be published, all gave Wang Shuo a chill down his spine. If it were before, he wouldn't even be able to understand it, let alone code it.
Fortunately...
Just as Wang Shuo was relieved, he saw another small attachment from Chen Xin, which hit him like a thunderbolt, leaving him stunned.
There was no project team, no other people; he was the only member of the current project team.
This... it can't be real, right?
Feeling a sense of despair, Wang Shuo quickly reviewed the materials and felt as if he had nothing to live for.
An engineering project that required at least a team of fifty people to start with, now had only him as the sole member, and even more terrifying was... there was only fifteen days left!
No wonder... no wonder Chen Xin had that expression when he mentioned wanting a share of the profits, no wonder Chen Xin, with her princess-like temperament, didn't say a word, no wonder the requirement for getting a share was the completion of the entire project...
It turned out that Chen Xin wasn't looking down on him, but rather, the project was essentially a shell, not something one person could complete.
He had foolishly rushed in to make a bet with her, wasn't this like the old man seeking death by hanging?
Wang Shuo wished he could slap himself. Why did he have to say that extra sentence? Why did he need that misplaced conscience? Wouldn't it be nice to just lie back and earn a million yuan?
The truth was... it wasn't.
If given another chance, Wang Shuo would still say those words, he would still choose this path. Don't ask, just know that Wang Shuo's socialist core values were deeply ingrained in his bones!
But if he had to do it again, Wang Shuo would never make a bet.
Of course, Wang Shuo wasn't completely clueless. He had considered backing down, at least discussing with Chen Xin to see if they could find a few more helpers. It wouldn't make him lie down, but it could ease his burden. However, after making the call and hearing the soft "hmph" on the other end, Wang Shuo got angry!
A real man should bravely overcome difficulties! Face challenges without fear. Wasn't it just a bet? Made it, so win it! He vowed to make Chen Xin kneel before him and sing "Conquer"! Moreover, he wasn't left with nothing, he still had his kidneys!
Cough cough... singing "Conquer"... let's consider that after winning...
This put the school teachers in a tough spot, especially since Wang Shuo had heard that this counselor named Ding Runan had a famous nickname, "The Explosives Barrel of the University," also known as "The Mother of Dinosaurs in Central China."
Hearing this name made Wang Shuo a bit nervous.
The office building wasn't far from the dormitory, just a ten-minute walk away.
Wang Shuo, wearing a baseball cap and a mask borrowed from Chen Cheng, lowered his hat brim, and sneakily entered the office building. He specifically took the stairs and climbed all the way to the fourth floor.
It was break time, and there were many people coming and going in the office building.
Wang Shuo stopped a passing senior and asked in a low voice, "Excuse me, senior, could you tell me how to find Counselor Ding Runan?"
"Office number 3."
"Thank you."
Office Number 3.
Ding Runan was bent over, writing her thesis.
It was a thesis on the development of computer science theory in China. Unfortunately, this thesis, which she had pondered over deeply, had been rejected once again by her supervisor.
She couldn't remember how many times this had happened. Each time, she submitted it with hope, but each time, she regretfully saw it return to her inbox.
Looking at the thesis in front of her, Ding Runan thought carefully.
She was one of the most valued interns in her supervisor's research team, so after graduation, her supervisor submitted an application to the school, allowing her to stay and become a counselor.
Such an opportunity was not given to many interns in the research team.
After staying at the school, she continued to do her basic work as a counselor while also serving as a researcher in her supervisor's team and taking charge of specific projects.
The enormous workload didn't pressure her; instead, it made her even more energetic.
She worked harder on her project. It was a project on computer intelligence. The research team believed that to make computers intelligent, besides excellent AI chips, complete AI software was also essential.
This involved complex systems engineering, and each aspect needed her careful attention.
It was a very demanding task.
"The concept of machine learning is advancing, and we seem to be constantly approaching our goal of intelligence. Technologies such as voice recognition, image detection, and machine translation have begun to be applied in our lives. However, the author believes that machine learning is still in a very primitive state today, and the improvement and support of various systems remain significant issues that need to be addressed. More importantly, machine learning requires machine logic..."
Ding Runan suddenly felt a bit restless. She picked up her water glass, took a sip of water, and her gaze inadvertently landed on a form lying beside her.
It was a freshman admission form.
Ding Runan's eyebrows furrowed slightly. She put down her water glass, picked up the form, and looked at the name on it that she had seen several times a day and was already very familiar with.
"Wang Shuo..."
She gritted her teeth, feeling a bit angry.
This student, from the start of the semester until now, she had never seen him once. If it weren't for the doctor from the hospital calling to explain the situation, she would have suspected that the student was avoiding military training and not planning to come at all.
Forty-six days, a full forty-six days.
Drinking himself into a coma and ending up in the hospital for over forty days, it was... a disgrace.
Now, whenever she went out, she had to take a detour when she saw her colleagues, or else someone would inevitably come up and ask, "I heard a freshman in your class was in a coma from drinking for over a month?"
At first, she was still polite and explained the situation, but she soon realized that explanations were useless. People just came to gossip and weren't interested in her explanations.
Looking at her colleagues walking away with expressions of disbelief, Ding Runan felt a strong sense of grievance.
"Wang Shuo... if you ever fall into my hands, I'll make you regret it!" Ding Runan swore to herself.
"Report!"
"Come in." Ding Runan composed herself and answered in a low voice.
"This... teacher, I'm looking for Counselor Ding Runan, I don't know if she's here?" A slightly shy voice sounded.
"You're Counselor Ding Runan?" The student spoke in a muffled voice, and then, as if realizing something was off, quickly removed the Sun Wukong mask from his face, revealing a handsome face, though a...y."
Wang Shuo carefully observed the famous Counselor Ding Runan in front of him.
According to his roommates' descriptions, Counselor Ding was associated with a terrifying bloodthirsty demon. Zheng Jun described her as a brutal instructor, even more so than his own father; Chen Cheng said she was an unpopular old woman, devoid of any romance or emotions; Li Li didn't say much but silently nodded in agreement.
In summary, they both agreed that the nickname "Mother of the Dragon" was more fitting.
"Remember to be respectful, admit your mistakes, apologize if necessary, and if you notice the counselor's expression changing, find an excuse to leave immediately. Don't say you're there to ask for leave. Lastly... take care, brother!"
Is it really that serious?
Wang Shuo looked at the teacher in front of him, who seemed surprised, and rubbed his head, "Teacher, my name is Wang Shuo, I'm here to..."
"You're Wang Shuo?!?"
Huh? Why does this feel like a mix of disbelief and gritted teeth?
Wang Shuo braced himself, "Yes, I am Wang Shuo. Genuine article."
"You finally... came to report? You finally... remembered you have a teacher like me?"
Wang Shuo scratched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed, "Teacher, you might have misunderstood..."
"Can I ask for a few days off?"
Ding Runan stared at Wang Shuo with wide eyes, as if she couldn't believe there could be such a shameless student, "Ask for what? Say that again?"
"It's like this, teacher, I have something very important to take care of, so I need to ask for a leave of half a month. That's why I came to ask you if it's possible..."
"No leave!" Ding Runan finally exploded, her eyebrows furrowed, her angry eyes seemed as if they could swallow Wang Shuo whole, "Wang Shuo! You've already severely delayed your academic progress because of your personal matters! And now you have the nerve to come ask me for leave? And a leave for over ten days? Is your own business really that important? Huh?"
"Let me ask you, have you chosen your elective courses?"
"No." Wang Shuo touched his nose.
"Have you joined any clubs?"
"No."
As Wang Shuo was about to explain, Ding Runan was no longer interested in listening. She simply waved him away, indicating that he should leave and not mention the leave request again. She then turned her attention back to the thesis on her desk.
Feeling helpless, Wang Shuo looked at Ding Runan, who was ignoring him, and pondered what he could do to successfully ask for leave.
Suddenly, he noticed the thesis that Ding Runan was working on. It seemed to be related to computer science, specifically focusing on machine intelligence.
This seemed to overlap with the knowledge he had extracted from the core. However, Wang Shuo had not had the opportunity to verify whether the technologies between the two universes were compatible. If they weren't...
Wang Shuo broke out into a cold sweat. He decided to take a risk and try.
He closed his eyes and began to access the core's database, retrieving information about basic intelligent computers.
The development process of the humanoid race was also an informatization process. Computers had undergone several transformations, eventually leading to the creation of the most basic intelligent optical brain,简称智脑. However, before the advent of the intelligent brain, the humanoid race still used circuits and computers, which were more advanced than those currently used by humans.
Wang Shuo extracted this information, which was not extensive in the core's database. He didn't retrieve it all at once, just a small portion to deal with the current situation. However, the massive data flow still made Wang Shuo feel dizzy and weak, and he experienced the familiar warm flow from his nostrils.
Wang Shuo knew that this was a stress response caused by his brain working rapidly in a short period of time, leading to insufficient energy supply for his body.
But fortunately, Wang Shuo had obtained what he needed. Now, he just had to give it a try.
He opened his eyes and met Ding Runan's slightly dissatisfied gaze.
"Why haven't you left yet? I've made it clear that taking a leave is impossible, so don't even think about it." She threw a roll of paper at him, snorting, "You're so weak that you get a nosebleed just from standing. Wipe it."
Wang Shuo awkwardly rolled up the paper and stuffed it into his nostril, performing the action with surprising proficiency. Then he spoke, "Teacher, I was about to leave, but I accidentally saw your thesis, and I'm also very interested in this area, so I looked at it for a bit longer. I hope you don't mind?"
"Looking at the thesis?" Ding Runan raised her eyebrows, her expression softening slightly, "Can you understand it? And you're sweating and having a nosebleed... Is it that hot here?"
Wang Shuo smiled bitterly as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. Sweating was all too common for someone engaged in mental labor.
"I know a little bit about it, but you were flipping through it too quickly. I wanted to read it more carefully."
Ding Runan nodded. It was fine for students to read the thesis, as it was meant to be read by others. She handed the thesis to Wang Shuo without hesitation.
Wang Shuo didn't hesitate either and carefully began to read the thesis from the beginning.
He had guessed correctly; the thesis was an analysis of the trends in machine intelligence. It detailed the development of machine intelligence, from the earliest simple programs to the later complex programs, and now to system programs with volumes of dozens or even hundreds of gigabytes. The thesis included various dazzling algorithmic systems, and Ding Runan had even included some of her own ideas, making predictions about the trends in intelligence and summarizing the five major schools of thought in the development of intelligence. However, based on the current theoretical framework, the forward-looking nature of these predictions was immeasurable.
"How much did you understand?"
Seeing Wang Shuo look up, Ding Runan asked casually. It was a bit challenging for a freshman to read such a thesis.
"I understood a little." Wang Shuo answered with a frown.
"Understanding a little is not bad. System engineering of machine intelligence is something you will learn and come into contact with in the future. For now, a general understanding is enough. Alright, you've finished reading the thesis, so hurry back."
Ding Runan took her thesis back from Wang Shuo and waved him away.
"But I have a question, Teacher Ding." Wang Shuo continued, "On the fifth page of your thesis, you listed more than a dozen machine learning algorithms, including decision trees, support vector machines, Naive Bayes classification, recurrent neural networks, and so on. You also proposed your own new algorithm and explained its operability. But why not incorporate a neural logic module into the computer?"
"Neural logic module?" Ding Runan laughed, "You mean logic calculation, right? Since you're studying computer science, you should know that the language computers understand is binary, that is, 0 and 1. To some extent, their logic is different from human logic. Therefore, we've written various programs to control the operation of computers to achieve the design purpose of the program. That is to say, computers are already strictly following their own logic to understand commands. Human logic, in the eyes of computers, is equivalent to having no logic."
"I understand." Wang Shuo nodded, "So I designed a logic algorithm that I call a node-based self-recurrent neural network."
"You designed an algorithm?" Ding Runan didn't laugh at Wang Shuo but shook her head, "That's interesting. I hope you can continue to refine it so that we can use your algorithm one day."
"Teacher." Wang Shuo's face showed a hint of cunning, "If you agree to let me take a leave, I'll show you the architecture of this algorithm."
"In the end, that's what you were aiming for. I tell you, this is not..."
Ding Runan hadn't finished speaking when she saw Wang Shuo hand her a piece of paper.
Ding Runan glanced at it, and her eyes widened instantly.