Chapter 39

Translator: Atlas Studios

Editor: Atlas Studios

After relocating to the new headquarters, some of the employees’ selfies went viral on the internet and stunned many netizens. Naturally, these employees knew exactly what could and couldn’t be shown, so they didn’t reveal anything that they shouldn’t.

An employee posted a set of pictures with a message that attracted envy and hate: “Just moved into the new company headquarters for regular employees. Note: regular employees. I’m just a regular employee in XlouS, but I’m goddamn proud of it. I have no words. This place has everything. Check out the pictures; all courtesy of the company, hooray!”

Some netizens couldn’t help but gape when they saw the three bedrooms, two living rooms, facilities, as well as the company’s brand-new work system—eight hours a day, four days a week—properly in line with Europe and the United States.

“The reservoir is being converted into an artificial beach. It is only open to employees within the company. I’m so fortunate. Next time I can enjoy a free vacation in Sanya district whenever I head out!”

There was no doubt that the series of pictures uploaded by the employees of XlouS earned 10,000 points of hate throughout. The wonderful treatment they received in this company was just great.

[Ren Hong is so damn rich! So capricious; even the fridge is stuffed to the brim, tell me that ain’t blissful?]

[Stop it, this guy is just out for hate! What a shame for us miserable house and car slaves!]

[I’ve decided. My goal after graduation is XlouS! Nobody’s stopping me!]

[The commenter above me can forget about it! The probability of admission to this company now is comparable to civil service. First, you have to have a master’s degree, which is the minimum threshold. Second, you have to be young, and so on…]

In contrast to the netizens who were talking about the treatment of XlouS employees, XlouS stepped into the public eye once again as the presentation ended.

[Damn! Spending 6 billion RMB to build supercomputers and an entire ‘L’ shaped building? I remember that the total construction cost of our country’s Tianhe-2 was only 600 million RMB. The R&D cost was also only 600 million. XlouS is on pace to win the title of the number one supercomputer in one fell swoop!]

[The commenter above me doesn’t seem to be paying much attention to this company. I went to look it up. Over the past two years, the highest usage and frequency of application for use of Tianhe-2 wasn’t by any of the national research institutions, nor other corporate companies, but XlouS. During those two years, Tianhe-2 almost became the exclusive supercomputer of XlouS! God, I just want to know what the hell this company is working on. What the hell are they counting every day? So much so that they need a supercomputer for that? And now you’re even creating a supercomputer yourself?!]

[All I know is that this company emanates the aura of a local tycoon, generously slamming the table with billions and billions of dollars!]

Unlike the netizens who were marveled, the tech community was more interested in the news of XlouS’s new product. However the company’s CEO, Gao Yue, didn’t divulge any information other than revealing a product launch on May 24th and that the product was a smart electronic device.

But it was apparent that the smart electronic device quickly reminded people of a smartphone. It was a bit of a surprise that XlouS was entering the mobile phone industry.

Judging by the smart electronic device mentioned by Gao Yue, as well as the devices this company purchased over the past two years, it was most likely a smartphone!

The speculation from the outside world was basically correct, but they also questioned the move of this company. If the company was really carrying new products into the mobile phone industry, they weren’t too optimistic about the prospects, despite the bragging of CEO Gao Yue. However, wasn’t it normal for all CEOs to brag about their product before it was completed? The important thing was that the industry had become a red sea of blood. There was overcapacity and the high-end products were monopolized by Apple, while low-end products were occupied by major domestic brands. Perhaps there was nothing left for XlouS as a latecomer anymore.

A week later, Ren Hong came to the company’s marketing department.

“Is the promo video for the new product ready?” Ren Hong asked the marketing director.

“It’s done, Chairman, do you want to view it now?” The director responded. She was a young 28-year-old woman by the name of Huang Qing.

As Ren Hong nodded in agreement, a 90-second-long short film was being played on the computer screen.

A cheerful background music sounded, followed by the appearance of a young girl in a white dress, wearing a grass wreath around her head and enjoying the beautiful scenery under the shade of the forest. Soon after, the view projected on the girl’s back gradually shrunk, revealing a man holding a smartphone-like device and filming the scene. He gently applied pressure with his hands at the ‘mobile phone’, which instantly joined together into a long strip. He took the piece of silver strip with his right hand and placed it over the left wrist. Almost instantaneously, the strip bent on its own and became a bracelet on his wrist. Upon waving his left hand a little, the man ran toward the girl in front of him.

All of a sudden, the scene changed to the icy winter. A man pulled up his sleeve and revealed a black circular object on his wrist. He held it in his hand and applied some force. The black circle cleanly separated itself and automatically became a straight rectangular strip. He held the ends, pulled gently, and a 5 inch screen instantly lit up. He gave it a tap and the local temperature data was displayed!

-36 degrees Celsius!

The scenery changed again. This time, it arrived at the bottom of the sea, where a diving enthusiast was using the device to film marine life. The built-in hollow screen displayed normally and without any issues. He then put the device on his wrist and started swimming toward a school of fish.

Before the video ended, there was a single close-up of the device with some basic data: 4mm slim body; 160mm length, minimum 24mm and maximum 86mm width…

Wearable Smart Device, S-1.

XlouS: Change the World!

The short video ended as the company logo appeared at the end.

Ren Hong was satisfied! All the information he wanted was revealed in there.

“Tomorrow, we will post this video to the homepage of the official website to start warming up for the launch.” Ren Hong said.

“No problem!” Huang Qing nodded and everyone who saw this product was thrilled. She could imagine that once this short video was released, it would absolutely amaze the world.

The next day.

Across the ocean. Cupertino, California, USA. Apple Park.

“Mr. Cook, you better take a look at this!” A balding middle-aged man rushed into the office of Cook, the current CEO of Apple. The former didn’t even knock on the door and barged right in with an iPad in hand.

Cook was startled by the head of marketing’s reactions. Judging from how the middle-aged man was panting, it was apparent that he ran all the way to his office. Cook rubbed his eyes and looked at the other man, before shifting his gaze to the iPad in front of him. He didn’t say a word and took the device. At first glance, it was just a video. He immediately clicked to unpause the video and it continued to play.

“Thanks!” The balding man received a glass of water from a female assistant, found a chair, and sat down. He looked at Cook, who was now watching the video without saying a word, like a frozen wooden carving.

Cook’s reaction was as he expected. The latter was more than surprised when he saw the video sent by the marketing department. The next thing he did was run straight to Cook’s office.

XlouS: Change the World!

Cook saw the logo appearing at the end of the video.

After a long time, he returned to his senses and immediately turned to the other man. “Isn’t XlouS an internet technology company?”

“Yes, Mr. Cook, but that was before.” the bald man responded.

“Is the authenticity of this video reliable?” Cook asked again.

“I’m not sure, but this video was posted from the homepage of XlouS’s website, so… It should have some reliability!” the other side replied.

Upon hearing his response, Cook instantly opened his computer to search for the company’s domain name and clicked on it. The company’s website had an eye-catching headline on the home page, and Cook didn’t hesitate to click on it.