CH 39.2

Li Qingzhou thought he would have to wait at least a week or so to receive a reply from Professor Buffett.

However he didn’t expect to receive news from him so quickly— he had rejected Li Qingzhou’s invitation and apologized.

Li Qingzhou stared at the message then sighed.

Forget it. If he didn’t want to come, there was nothing he could do about it.

However, while dining at the restaurant, Li Qingzhou could see that Professor Buffett had seemed a little hesitant, but not much more than that.

So why had he rejected him so quickly?

What had happened?

Li Qingzhou couldn’t help but feel a little confused, but he soon found out the reason— Professor Buffett had actually been hired by Cui Gengjian to serve as a technology consultant at the Cui Group.

And the CW studio funded by the Cui Group had officially begun cooperating with Professor Buffett.

This news was announced on the official website of the Cui Group.

When Fang Xiyan saw this, he quickly informed Li Qingzhou.

He said, “President Li, Cui Gengjian must have gotten the news of our contact with Professor Buffett and done this intentionally.”

“He originally wasn’t well-intentioned and is targeting us…..”

Li Qingzhou narrowed his eyes, his expression slightly grave.

After a while, he said, “Professor Buffett is the best choice at this stage, but he’s not the only option. Since he’s already made the decision to work with the Cui Group on developing artificially intelligent robots, then we will inevitably have a competitive relationship.”

“From now on, we are bound to become opponents….. he can only blame himself for choosing the Cui Group.”

Fang Xiyan nodded.

Li Qingzhou thought for a moment then said, “Is H University going to hold a competition for exchanging ideas on artificially intelligent robots?”

“Yes. Professor Buffett brought his student Keith to Yanjing to participate in this exchange competition— although it’s officially hosted by H University, it’s actually funded by national research institutions.”

“If the competition goes well and someone really stands out, there will probably be an international competition held in conjunction with foreign countries afterward.”

“And the winners will receive generous prizes as well as some rare opportunities.”

After Fang Xiyan finished saying this, he asked, “President Li, do you want to participate?”

Li Qingzhou: “Even if I want to participate, it’s probably too late now.

Fang Xiyan: “Indeed. The preliminary competition will be held in three days.”

“And the requirements for participating in this exchange competition for artificially intelligent robots are stringent.”

“Our laboratory hasn’t even been set up yet, not to mention the participants or the completed robots…..”

Fang Xiyan was familiar with the rules of this competition.

So he said, “However we can look for a studio to enter the competition under a pseudonym.”

“The period for the exchange meeting competition is very long.”

“The preliminary competition is followed by the official competition after half a month, followed by the semifinals, finals and finally the final championship. All this takes a total of about two months.”

This took into account the repair or replacement of the robots in the event of problems.

Researching artificially intelligent robots was very expensive, and smaller studios and labs usually had to go everywhere to find funding.

And the people or companies behind the funding could enter the competition under a pseudonym and then benefit if they won.

Li Qingzhou: “Then we’ll go to the preliminary competition site to take a look.”

“Okay, I’ll arrange it in advance.” Fang Xiyan said.

……..

Very soon, Li Hanyu would start school.

And taking advantage of this time, Li Qingzhou wanted to take his younger siblings out for a walk and watching the robot competition was undoubtedly a good option.

Li Xusheng wanted to invite his friend Xia Yijun to come along.

So Li Qingzhou called Liu Bohuai to ask him if he had time and Liu Bohuai of course agreed and brought Xia Yijun along.

The artificially intelligent robot competition was held in a sports arena.

Generally, there weren’t many people watching these competitions, and most of the ones who did were usually male university students who also liked robots.

Before the competition started, there were many people outside the venue checking and testing the robots they would use to participate in the competition.

—The robots came in a variety of shapes and sizes and were very interesting.

Even Li Hanyu, who wasn’t particularly interested at first, was mesmerized.

Not to mention Li Xusheng.

He was squatting by interesting-looking robots, watching them roll over obstacles.

When Liu Bohuai led Xia Yijun over, Li Qingzhou was behind Li Xusheng, also watching the robots intently.

These were two robots painted in camouflage colors, seemingly like a relay, crossing and climbing over obstacles.

[Small hole, small hole, this is limp hole. I am currently crossing a mountain and will soon arrive at your base, please respond…..]

[Hey, small hole, limp hole has fallen. Requesting support, need a hug!]

—The little guy in the bubble was wearing a camouflage helmet and a matching small outfit, imitating the actions of the robots climbing over the obstacles.

All of a sudden, one of the robots fell.

Copying the movement, the little guy in the bubble also fell with a thud like a little turtle, with his little hands and feet stretched upwards, turning left and right but unable to flip over.

[Small hole, small hole, requesting support. Come and hug limp hole quickly!]