Close Enough To Pluck the Stars” (GL) - Chapter 29

Chapter 29

“Comrades, friends, the New Year has just arrived, and all things are being renewed.”

Zhang Zhang called a meeting. He wanted to deliver a New Year’s address—boosting morale from all sides, grasping the direction of every department, doing this, and doing that.

Wu Chuchu took the lead in applauding.

The conference room was crowded, mostly with the heads of various departments bringing along their respective “idlers.” These idlers were keen on such activities, hoping to catch the leadership’s eye and gain appreciation. Thus, they followed suit, applauding as if in a competition, each trying to outdo the other.

“Oh, the atmosphere is quite enthusiastic today. Good, very good,” Zhang Zhang said.

“Indeed,” Wu Chuchu added. “Listen, Director. This isn’t just simple applause; it’s everyone cheering each other on. Am I right?”

A scattered chorus of voices rose from the floor: “Right.”

Because it wasn’t synchronized, the response dragged out—utterly lacking in spirit.

Wu Chuchu didn’t mind at all, continuing her hype: “In the new year, we must forge ahead with all our might. We must let the leadership see our vigor.”

Zhang Zhang turned his gaze toward her and asked, “Why isn’t Dr. Shu here?”

“Reporting to the Director: Dr. Shu said she has unfinished work and sent me as the representative.”

“Oh, the Intelligent Computing department is truly busy.” Zhang Zhang nodded.

“Yes. They didn’t achieve great results last year, so everyone is holding back their energy, ready to make a big move this year. This commendation meeting—this meeting of unity—should really let the advanced departments take center stage,” Wu Chuchu said, head held high.

These words caused quite a stir.

Everyone knew that Intelligent Computing had actually been quite productive last year.

Old Hu was nearing retirement, but his working spirit had never slackened. He had withstood pressure, running around to coordinate and solve problems like insufficient funding, leading the team through thick and thin. His researchers were even more hardworking, never complaining about the frequent overtime.

Liang Ke was the foremost among them. She was famous for her high efficiency, quick wit, boldness, and fresh ideas. Over the past year, she had practically treated the Institute as her home—sleeping in the lounge when tired and stealing Hu Yizhi’s midnight snacks when hungry. If she wasn’t a “model worker,” she was certainly a “labor warrior.”

So, while Liang Ke was beautiful and bright, she seemed too busy to date. Recently, rumors of a scandal with Wu Chuchu had surfaced, causing many colleagues to lament that she shouldn’t be so desperate as to settle for that.

If it weren’t for Wu Chuchu or someone else’s meddling, Old Hu’s team would have definitely swept the awards. From the collective to the individual, their certificates of honor would have been a foot high.

A pity, truly a pity.

The meeting continued, and the “Excellent Team” and “Individual” awards were presented in turn. Zhang Zhang delivered his concluding remarks—short phrases like “The wind is good, set sail” and “Paddle toward the future”—and adjourned the meeting.

As he left, he stopped Wu Chuchu, announcing that he would personally visit the Intelligent Computing department to understand the situation.

“Director, there’s no need for you to go in person!” Wu Chuchu acted shocked and flattered.

Zhang Zhang walked toward the elevator, sighing. “Old Hu is semi-retired, and Dr. Shu is still young. The burden on her shoulders is very heavy.”

“Yes, Dr. Shu is the mainstay now.” Wu Chuchu jogged over to press the elevator button, her voice slightly emotional. “As subordinates, we really want to help share the pressure.”

At that moment, Professor M approached from a distance, followed by a large entourage. His presence was quite grand. Upon learning that Zhang Zhang was going to visit Intelligent Computing, he immediately smiled and expressed his willingness to tag along.

Zhang Zhang readily agreed and asked, “Oh? As an expert in Materials Science, are you also interested in Computer Science?”

“Ha, of course,” M said with a wry smile. “AI, you know. I heard their domestic counterparts are developing a new technology to strip away the dangerous, high-precision, and cumbersome manual steps from our experiments and let robots do them. They’re even giving the overall experimental design to AI. If I don’t learn more, I’m afraid I’ll be kicked out of the lab by robots!”

“Hahaha, how could that be?” Zhang Zhang laughed, dismissing his modesty. “Come, let’s go see how the new Dr. Shu is leading her team.”

…

The Intelligent Computing department had a task today, and everyone was swamped. A regular competition was underway, and the server room was packed with thirty university students. The smell was… indescribable.

“Ooh, I smell gunpowder,” Zhang Zhang marveled.

Wu Chuchu covered her nose slightly and replied, “Yes, the contestants are excellent. The competition is fierce.”

“Has the number of teams increased compared to previous years?”

Wu Chuchu turned and called for Luo Han: “How many teams this year?”

Luo Han said, “Twenty-two. This year, besides local universities, many teams from neighboring provinces have joined.”

Wu Chuchu asked again, “Do you have the specific list?”

“Senior Liang Ke has the list,” Luo Han saw Wu Chuchu’s sour expression and quickly added, “Senior Ye also has it. I’ll go find him.”

Professor M chuckled and said to Zhang Zhang, “Our influence is constantly expanding.”

“That’s right. The arena speaks with strength. Although this is just training for the main event in summer, every unit takes it seriously.”

Zhang Zhang led the group to the observation area and told Wu Chuchu to turn on the main monitoring screen.

Wu Chuchu began her introduction to the big shots: “You see, we have powerful supercomputing units as the venue, authoritative experts as judges, and our excellent technical team as security. More and more—”

She had just reached “more and more” when Professor M pointed at the screen and asked, “What is that?”

Zhang Zhang looked in the direction he was pointing. He saw that the “AI Remote Sensing Imagery” project had been completely tampered with. The original competition data had been erased and replaced by two little pigs wearing bright red wedding clothes—one was playing instruments, and the other was setting off fireworks.

Ye Tianze popped his head in at the door and couldn’t help but marvel: “Wow, what festive little piggies.”

Zhang Zhang signaled him to come closer. Ye Tianze scurried over.

“Festive? Who is the person in charge? Bring them to me.”

“Liang Ke. It’s her every year, don’t you remember?”

“Get her here.”

“Yes, sir!” Ye Tianze turned to walk away, then turned back: “She’s on leave today. I’m temporarily in charge.”

“Good lad.” Zhang Zhang rolled up the documents in his hand into a club and thwacked Ye Tianze on the head. “Then explain to me: what is this!”

“I… I don’t know,” Ye Tianze stammered.

He always followed the rules—meticulous and careful. Today’s venue setup was done exactly according to Liang Ke’s workflow. Three tracks, twenty-two teams. He wondered if Liang Ke was trying something new and intentionally making him take the fall, but he quickly dismissed the thought.

In the midst of the tension, a roar of laughter, applause, and whistling suddenly erupted from the server room. The students, who had been immersed in the stressful rhythm of the competition, saw the Spring Festival pigs and began to cheer. They thought it was an “Easter egg” provided by the organizers to comfort everyone training during the holiday.

“You can interact with it! Cool!” a boy gave a thumbs-up to the pigs.

“But what about the competition? Where’s my data? We were leading by a lot!”

“Yeah.” A sincere student raised his hand. “Teacher? Teacher? Is this a new project? We aren’t prepared; the notice didn’t mention this!”

Someone whispered to him, “Stop calling them ‘teacher.’ The teachers are useless. This is a new type of Trojan horse—can’t you see? And they call this a frontier AI lab? So low.”

The students were in a mess. Zhang Zhang’s face was ashen, M was trying to calm him down, and Wu Chuchu had already vanished.

Ye Tianze wanted to call Liang Ke, but he knew that “distant water couldn’t quench a nearby fire.” He knew that despite the number of people in the lab, their skills varied, and more importantly, people were unpredictable—everyone was afraid of getting entangled in this kind of trouble. To solve this mess at their level would take at least two hours of troubleshooting. He grabbed Luo Han and lunged for the last straw.

However, Shu Qingchen was not in her office.

Ye Tianze said despairingly to Luo Han, “Sister, I’m having a Mercury-in-Retrograde year. Not only am I getting fired, but Liang Ke won’t live long either.”

Luo Han looked past him toward Liang Ke’s seat and saw Shu Qingchen. She waved her hands frantically. “No, no, no! The Big Shot is there! There’s still hope!”

The two rushed over, waiting piteously for instructions.

Shu Qingchen’s brow was furrowed as she typed rapidly on Liang Ke’s keyboard. Her speed was shocking. Ye Tianze was meticulous but slow, and Luo Han was skilled but lacked confidence. By the time they reacted, the pig farce had ended. It was replaced by a pixel cat. The cat was counting down; with every number, its whiskers twitched.

“The method isn’t new, but the data source is strange,” Shu Qingchen told them.

Ye Tianze asked, “What’s wrong, Dr. Shu?”

“Never mind. Organize the competition first. The investigation can wait.” Shu Qingchen said, “The new competition environment is loaded. Loading time: thirty seconds.”

Luo Han, face full of admiration, asked, “Do you need us to do anything?”

“Send the new interface to each team individually using an encrypted channel,” Shu Qingchen said.

Ye Tianze asked, “And me?”

Shu Qingchen was clearly angry with Liang Ke, but she didn’t take it out on the others. “Tell them that was a ‘happy moment’ to relieve stress. It’s fine to liven up the atmosphere, but competition discipline must be observed. If anyone cheers again: one warning, a point deduction for the second time, and security for the third.”

The two nodded like chickens pecking rice and did as they were told.

The new environment was identical to the previous one. Ye Tianze re-announced the rules. The students settled down; seeing others so focused, they didn’t dare slack off and became even more serious than before.

Professor M marveled, “Wow, impressive.”

“Yes. Young people—they have vitality.” Zhang Zhang’s expression gradually softened.

“Exactly. Dr. Shu is so young, so her team naturally has a very relaxed and active working atmosphere.” M kept praising Shu Qingchen, making Zhang Zhang feel a bit embarrassed for her.

Luo Han went to report the progress. Shu Qingchen said she understood and added, “When you see Liang Ke this afternoon, tell her to come to my office.”

Ye Tianze rushed in, worried: “Today’s matter definitely has nothing to do with Liang Ke! I swear on my character!”

Luo Han nodded frantically in agreement.

Shu Qingchen clasped her hands, propped them on the desk, and gave them a small smile.

Luo Han and Ye Tianze froze simultaneously.

Ten seconds later, Ye Tianze said, “We will unconditionally complete the leader’s work arrangements! Liang Ke, right? She must come! We’re going to wait at the main gate right now!”