BSI Chapter 061 The Overlord of the Sky
Chapter 061 The Overlord of the Sky
The bidding briefing was packed with people.
Zuo Cheng stood at the back of the hall, his gaze piercing through the crowd and landing on the silver-gray-haired man in the front row. Lin Jianhua, CTO of Huaxin Group, was one of the biggest figures in China's telecommunications industry. Around sixty years old, he wore a dark blue suit and was looking down at the documents in his hands.
Zuo Cheng's fingers clenched unconsciously.
The air conditioning in the conference room was blasting, yet his palms felt sweaty. Not from nervousness, but from anger. Not because Huaxin was 402's rival, but because he knew Lin Jianhua's face all too well.
In his previous life, at the age of thirty-eight, Zuo Cheng worked at Huaxin for a full twelve years. Then Lin Jianhua called him into his office and said the company needed fresh blood and that he should consider other opportunities. Twelve years of hard work turned into a thin resignation agreement overnight.
That day, Zuo Cheng walked out of the Huaxin Building and stood under the scorching sun of Shenzhen, suddenly unsure of where to go. He then lay in his rented room for three months, his resume disappearing without a trace. At thirty-eight, in the eyes of a big company, he was practically useless.
Then came that car accident.
Zuo Cheng closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, Lin Jianhua was already standing up and giving his opening remarks on stage.
"Thank you all for attending the bidding briefing for the third phase of the Blue Bay Communications Sky Dome project." Lin Jianhua's voice was calm and steady, carrying the meticulousness of an old-school technologist. "The Sky Dome project is a key national project, and Blue Bay Communications, as the general contractor, is very cautious in selecting its partners."
Zuo Cheng listened to these words, a cold smile creeping onto his lips. In his previous life, Huaxin missed the golden window of opportunity for low-Earth orbit satellite communication because Lin Jianhua was too "cautious." He only did things he was sure of doing, and by the time he figured it out, Lanwan Communications had already seized the entire market.
"The technical difficulty of this tender is more than five times that of the second phase," Lin Jianhua continued, "It involves cutting-edge fields such as integrated space-ground architecture and massive terminal access."
Zuo Cheng noticed that he used "partners" instead of "suppliers." This was Lin Jianhua's rhetoric, implying that Blue Bay was the dominant force, and everyone else was just a supporting character.
The briefing lasted two hours. Lin Jianhua explained the technical requirements and scoring criteria in detail, with three Q&A sessions. Zuo Cheng didn't raise his hand to ask questions; he simply listened quietly and took notes in his notebook.
He was noting Lin Jianhua's tone of voice, his gaze, and his micro-expressions when discussing certain technical details. Having followed Lin Jianhua for twelve years in his previous life, he knew the man all too well. When Lin Jianhua mentioned "satellite-to-ground link latency compensation," his brow furrowed slightly, indicating that Huaxin hadn't yet found the optimal solution. His slower speech when discussing "massive concurrent terminal access" was a typical sign of his lack of confidence.
The briefing ended, and the crowd began to surge out. Zuo Cheng didn't rush to leave; instead, he stood still, watching Lin Jianhua being surrounded by a group of people.
As the crowd gradually dispersed, Lin Jianhua suddenly stopped as he passed Zuo Cheng.
"402 Technology, right?" Lin Jianhua began, "The winning bidder for the second phase of Sky Dome."
Zuo Cheng nodded: "Hello, Mr. Lin, I'm Zuo Cheng from 402 Technology."
"Young and promising." Lin Jianhua smiled. "I've heard your IoT terminals are doing quite well."
"Still studying."
"It's good that young people are humble." Lin Jianhua's gaze lingered on Zuo Cheng's face for a few seconds. "However, the bidding process is another matter. The difficulty of the second phase is incomparable to that of the third phase. I hope you are well prepared."
Zuo Cheng understood the subtext: You won the second stage because of luck. In the third stage, Huaxin won't give you a chance.
"We will do our best."
"Very good." Lin Jianhua turned to leave, but stopped after a few steps, glanced back at Zuo Cheng, and said, "By the way, Zuo Cheng, right? I'll remember that name." He then turned and left.
Zuo Cheng stood there, watching his figure disappear at the end of the corridor. Those words were like a thorn stuck in his heart. In his previous life, Lin Jianhua had said something similar. At the time, Zuo Cheng felt flattered, but later he realized that being remembered by Lin Jianhua was not a good thing. It was a mark, a mark that you were both useful and disposable.
Zuo Cheng took a deep breath and closed his notebook. In this life, he wouldn't let Lin Jianhua have the chance to say those words.
In the evening, Zuo Cheng returned to the company. Zhang Lei was eating a hamburger and greeted him as he entered.
"Brother Cheng, how's it going?"
Zuo Cheng tossed his notebook onto the table: "I saw Lin Jianhua."
"The CTO of CEFC?" Zhang Lei's eyes widened.
Zuo Cheng didn't speak. Zhang Lei noticed that something was wrong with him, so he put down his hamburger and came closer.
"What's wrong?"
"It's nothing."
"Can we win?"
Zuo Cheng looked up: "Yes. Because I've seen the technological paths of the future. He, on the other hand, is still stuck in the past."
Zhang Lei hesitated for a moment: "Then let's take him down."
"Yeah, let's get him."
The sky outside the window gradually darkened, and the lights of Hangzhou lit up one by one. Zuo Cheng stood up and walked to the whiteboard. The five words he had written yesterday were still on the whiteboard: Space-Ground Integration.
He picked up a marker and wrote a line next to Lin Jianhua's name.
"In this life, I will not lose to you again."
Then he put down his pen, walked back to his workstation, opened the document, and began writing the technical solution.
At two in the morning, only Zuo Cheng remained in the office. He was waiting for an opportunity. Lin Jianhua's words, "I'll remember you," from the bidding briefing earlier that day, were like a thorn in his heart.
Just then, the system interface suddenly started flashing. A line of golden text appeared on the panel.
[System Prompt]
Zuo Cheng's heart suddenly raced.
[A significant challenge has been detected facing the host]
[New Main Quest Chain Activated: Sky Overlord]
Main Quest Chain: Celestial Overlord
[Difficulty: S-rank]
[Part One: The Third Stage of Winning the Bid for Sky Dome]
1. Complete the integrated space-ground technology solution.
2. Defeat Huaxin Group in the bidding process.
3. The third phase of the winning bid for Sky Dome
[Rewards Preview]
- Points +50
- Tech tree growth accelerated by 1.5, lasting for 7 days.
[Failure Penalty]
- Deduct 50% of current points
[Duration: 90 days]
Zuo Cheng held his breath. S-rank difficulty—this was the most difficult mission he had ever encountered. But he noticed a word in the reward preview: AI Branches.
"accept."
[Task chain accepted]
[Current Stage: Completion of the integrated space-ground technology solution]
[Completion: 15%]
[Tip: It is recommended that the host use the Technology Radar to scan competitors and gain a technological advantage.]
[System Recommendation]
The host has been detected to have copied complex technology. It is recommended that the host use 10 points to exchange for 3 technology analysis capabilities. Technology analysis can improve the host's efficiency by 1.2 times and is valid for 7 days.
Current points: 133
[Redeem or not?]
Zuo Cheng pondered for a moment. 10 points for 3 technical analyses meant that each analysis cost less than 4 points, while the efficiency gains from the analyses could save several weeks.
"exchange."
Points deducted: 10
[Current Score: 133 → 123 points]
[Gain temporary ability: Technical Analysis x3 (Valid for 7 days)]
Deadline for the mission: 90 days.
He stood up and walked to the window. The night sky over Hangzhou was starless, the city lights casting a dark red hue over the heavens. But Zuo Cheng felt this was the clearest night he had ever known since his rebirth.
He knew what to do.