Chapter 38

Translator: Atlas Studios

Editor: Atlas Studios

“This isn’t the end product yet?” Wang Lei gaped and looked at the gray metallic strip in his hand. In his opinion, this was already perfect and yet, the chairman said that it wasn’t a finished product yet.

“This device is excellent, but it still can’t get rid of the issue of hand control. Besides, it costs a lot to be produced and is destined to be a high-end consumer product, at least for a short time. But after installing the voice assistant, it will completely get rid of hand control and we will enter a new era of voice control!” Ren Hong smiled at Wang Lei and said. “And if you want to step into the voice-controlled era, then an excellent voice assistant is essential.”

“An artificially intelligent voice assistant similar to Microsoft’s Cortana?” Wang Lei pondered.

Ren Hong said disdainfully, “How can such a stupid assistant like Cortana be compared to Little You?”

That’s right, Ren Hong named the voice assistant, Little You1.

Wang Lei can’t help but look forward to transitioning from hand to voice control. He felt excited at the thought of it. This was definitely a product that could change the world, just like Apple did in 2007.

He couldn’t help but look at the young chairman with a surge of ardent admiration. He heard that many new technology theories came from him and were proven through supercomputing. Employees like him could be said to be executors of his theories or designs. But Wang Lei was well aware of how invaluable this was, and what was hard for him to accept was that this series of technologies was all created by this young man in front of him. His first thought wasn’t how smart the other person’s brain was, but whether or not this chairman had acquired some alien technology.

It was apparent that Ren Hong hadn’t acquired anything like that. It was all done by relying on his own brain.

Because he was a genius!

Ren Hong solemnly looked at Wang Lei and said, “Three months later, on the 24th of May, the company will hold the second product launch—namely this wearable smart device ‘S-1’. Mr. Wang, please pay full attention to the production schedule.” Finally, with a stirring tone, he said, “Three months later, we will begin to change the world!”

“Don’t worry, Chairman! Leave it to me. It will live up to expectations!” Wang Lei nodded with excitement and solemnity. Change the world; how aspiring! He finally believed in the meaning of the company’s slogan.

When Ren Hong was in the ‘S’ shaped building, the ‘O’ shaped building was holding a ribbon cutting ceremony. Hundreds of people were gathered in front of the ‘O’ shaped building, including many of the company’s employees, journalists from major domestic and international media, as well as local government leaders. XlouS was a huge company, after all.

In front of the ‘O’ shaped building, a long red veil was extremely eye-catching.

Finally, XlouS’s CEO, Gao Yue, cut the ribbon with a smile. The scene was then greeted with warm applause and fluttering fireworks. Even though many people were surprised to see Gao Yue cutting the ribbon instead of the founder of the company, that was all there was to it.

The ribbon cutting ceremony didn’t last too long. After Gao Yue gave a speech, it was over rather quickly. The company executives and reporters entered the press conference site temporarily set up on the first floor of the ‘O’ shaped building.

The hall on the first floor was large enough to accommodate an entire basketball court. The ‘O’ shaped building would be the headquarters of XlouS, with the entire ‘O’ shaped section at the top of the building designed as the only hall where XlouS’s future product launches would take place. For now, it was still being set up.

By then, this conference hall would be able to seat more than 1,500 people.

The spokesman announced the start of the press conference in the first floor lobby. Gao Yue smiled and stepped on to the podium with a thin document in hand. The place was quiet, with only the sound of the camera clicking and flashes.

“Our company will spend 6 billion RMB to build a supercomputer, and the ‘L’ shaped building will be its future site.” Gao Yue announced the first news with a professional smile.

6 billion RMB to build the company’s supercomputer? The reporters could only marvel at how rich this company was. Whenever this company made a move, numbers were counted in billions.

In the past two years, people became numb to this fact. According to incomplete statistics, XlouS had spent at least 200 billion yuan to purchase all kinds of high-end equipment and material.

If it weren’t for the huge revenue from Real-time Online Translator and the current tax-free period supporting the company, the company would have folded long ago, spending money at a rate not much slower than its rate of income.

Gao Yue announced the second news: “Effective immediately, our company announces the creation of an option pool of 10% total shares to reward and distribute to employees and executives within the Company who have made significant contributions!”

No one was more surprised by this announcement than the executives and talented employees within the company. Although the company’s salary and series of treatments were already top-notch, they were still far less than the company’s share dividend. Everyone knew how lucrative XlouS was, and the employees were clearer than anyone else that even a slight involvement with their shares would be a huge asset to them. However, wealth wasn’t the only thing that mattered. More importantly, gaining a stake in the company was an attitude of recognition that was sometimes more important than money to the young elites.

It was apparent that structuring a share incentive plan was incredibly important for a company’s cohesion, and XlouS was no exception. The reporters weren’t surprised by this news, as most of the world’s largest companies had equity incentive plans, especially high-tech companies that were trying to avoid talent loss.

Gao Yue flipped through the documents, paused, looked around at everyone, and said, “On May 24th, the company will hold a new product launch at the ‘O’ shaped building dome. This is the first time in more than two years that our company has announced the second product. When the time comes, all of you are welcome.” Gao Yue found it hard to hold in her excitement. She was well aware of what Ren Hong was up to in the past two years, traveling between Hainan and Guangdong. At that thought, she couldn’t help but continue. “I believe the new product will amaze the world, just like how Apple changed the world in 2007. I can’t wait!”

The reporters were appalled to see the slightly excited Gao Yue, especially with the last statement that was so suggestive.

Comparable to the birth of the iPhone?

What a side-splitting phrase.

“Hello! Miss Gao, I’m a correspondent for Weifeng Technology, Rong Xia. May I ask what your company’s new product is? Can you reveal any specific information about it?”

“The new product is a smart electronic device. The specific information will be announced at the product launch, and I’m sure you won’t be disappointed!”

“Greetings, Miss Gao! I’m the special correspondent of NetEase Technology, Zhang Dong. May I ask why the founder of your company, Mr. Ren, isn’t present today?”

“The chairman also serves as the company’s CTO. He is needed for many technical issues of the company’s products. He is also obsessed with technology, so he is probably in one of the labs at the moment,” Gao Yue said with a smile.

While the news conference was being held, XlouS became a hot topic among netizens again.