While the family was busy, Huang Xuan traveled around Nanjing City in a car. He used to have fun in the city center and had never visited the industrial park and the development zone. He had thought theses places old and full of fumes; however, when he got there, what he saw was totally different from his imagination.
The land on the outskirts wasn’t cheap, and to pursue profits, many factories were built in small towns and townships. Huang Xuan was unwilling to walk far, and Rolin had demanded that they be near the base. They were seeking an energy-consuming enterprise. After a long-time search, Huang Xuan found an electrolytic aluminum factory.
This was the oldest factory Huang Xuan had ever seen. It had been said that it had a production capacity of hundred thousand tons, which was a data dating back ten years, and had never replaced its equipment once; most of the staff had left except some workers who were about to retire, and several leaders and accountants. It was supposed to file for bankruptcy. No one knew why it had been stalled.
The entire factory got excited by the news that Huang Xuan would buy it out. The price was extremely low, but the old-age insurance of the retired workers became the main issue. Huang Xuan didn’t have time to hesitate and signed the contract in two days, which meant that he formally became the owner of the factory, offering a perfect cover for the electricity transmission. The workers in the factory were all happy, thinking that with the replacement of the owner, the factory would revive. However, what they didn’t know was that the factory had been intended to lose money since the day of the signature. Usually, for new factories, a ton of aluminum consumed 15,000 kWh of electricity, but this one would consume more than 20,000 kWh, which was exactly what Huang Xuan and Rolin were hoping for.
After having fixed the energy chain in the new switchroom, Huang Xuan didn’t even hold a meeting and just told the original factory director that everything should be kept as usual. Of course, the payment of the electricity bills wouldn’t be as usual.
Now, the generators could generate nearly 500,000 kW. Since the same amount of electricity could be borrowed from another place, plus the consumption in the past two weeks, the ten million kWh of electricity Rolin had demanded were almost achieved. Huang Xuan knew that he was special because of Rolin, so he had bought this factory to make sure Rolin had enough energy whenever he needed him. However, Rolin hadn’t been heard at all for three days in a row, as if he had disappeared.
Huang Xuan didn’t look for Rolin. Summer holiday was near the end, but he hadn’t done his homework yet. Although it had been like this every year in the past, now he was worried.
He had no idea what his parents were busy with. He was left home with a few helpers, doing homework. Just when he decided to finish the damned homework in a single day, his phone started to ring.
“Is that Mr. Huang?”
“Yes, speaking.” Huang Xuan put down the pen. Few of the ones who addressed him as Mr. Huang knew him. Otherwise, who would call a 15-year-old teenager Mr?
“I am Gan Lizheng, the CTO of Shanghai Xinye Company. Do you remember me? We talked on the phone several days ago.”
Huang Xuan recalled this was the guy who wanted to buy Rolin’s program. He asked sullenly, “How can I help you?”
“I have arrived in Nanjing and am hoping to have a meeting with you about our cooperation on code programs,” he sounded sincere, yet still couldn’t move Huang Xuan. With homework undone, when he got to school on Monday, no matter how sincere he was, his teacher wouldn’t let him through. So, Huang Xuan responded blandly, “I’m sorry, Mr. Gan. I’m busy.”
As if he was worried that Huang Xuan might hang up on him again, Gan Lizheng speeded up and said, “Mr. Huang, we are very sincere. As long as you are willing to talk, the price is negotiable.” Huang Xuan wasn’t interested in the price. He responded twice with “Hmm”, and was going to hang up when Rolin said to him, “Say yes.”
“I feel you are watching me all the time,” Huang Xuan complained. Then he said on the phone, “OK. Tomorrow at noon, in the cafe on the old tree-lined street.”
After hanging up quickly, Huang Xuan looked around. Of course, he couldn’t see Rolin. He smiled and asked, “Where have you been? I called you, but you didn’t answer.”
“I’ve been upgrading.”
“What?”
“The level of the base was upgraded three days ago. So was your authority.”
Huang Xuan became excited. He asked, laughing, “Can you send me where I want to go now?”
“No. Only a sixth-level base can determine the time and space of the plane. Our base’s level is 22.”
Huang Xuan’s fantasy was broken.
“Which means it’s nearly useless.” Huang Xuan was depressed, which was common with the teenagers at this age.
“Certainly not. Since my capability of getting information has been much improved. I can get more code programs.”
“How?” Huang Xuan sat up.
“From higher-level time and space.”
Huang Xuan was elated. “Does that mean we can travel to the future?”
“It’s higher-level plane time and space.” Rolin corrected. “At the time being, I can only get information and can’t move substances.”
“Then what’s the use?”
Rolin replied patiently, “Information is valuable. I can get a lot of programs like the one the man was interested in buying just now.”
“Really?” Huang Xuan doubted. “My mom said that everything has two sides. I don’t believe you can become unrivaled suddenly.”
Rolin was silent for a second, and then said, “Although getting information can’t create energy, it causes the instability of the plane and brings about superimposed effect.”
“Technology is the first productive force,” Huang Xuan retorted.
“The more the technology influences productive force, the more unstable it makes the base. Therefore the superimposed effect would be stronger because the plane has to use more energy to remove it. On this account, getting technological information wasn’t permitted before temporal and spatial oscillations.”
“What do you do now?” Huang Xuan was still doubtful.
“I haven’t received new orders, so currently my main task is to elevate the level of the base and monitor the state of the planes.”
“In other words, let it be.” Huang Xuan shrugged his shoulders. “It’s all Rolin’s business. Should the sky fall, the tall are the ones to hold it up.”
“What’s my authority now? How do I use and improve it?” asked Huang Xuan. This was what he cared about.
“At present, your authority is at level 23, meaning you can enter and use the base. On account of your unpaid supply and further contributions, the guardian has upgraded your authority.”
“The guardian is you, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
Huang Xuan felt scorn for Rolin’s shamelessness. However, he looked forward to the elevation of his authority. He nodded his head casually, closed the book on the desk and asked, “Specifically speaking, what can I do with my authority?”
“Using the infrastructure, energy, and funds of the base and take over the base when it is necessary.”
Huang Xuan blinked his eyes and asked, “Take it over? What about you?”
“Your are still subordinate to the base guardian now. Only when I am in an abnormal working state can you take the base over.”
Huang Xuan felt that it was not a good idea to talk about “seizing the throne” with the “king”, so he changed the subject cleverly and asked, “Rolin, can the base help me with my homework?”