Cutting-Edge Technology R&D Center

Chapter 34: “Newbie Village”-Style Wilderness Survival

Wang Hao connected the chip and performed the final debugging. To prevent any accidents, he prepared seven or eight chips, while Zhang Xin and Zhang Nan watched nervously from the sidelines. “Let’s try installing it,” Wang Hao said, handing a fully assembled chip to Zhang Xin, who skillfully installed it into the drone. Although the drone’s design hadn’t changed significantly in terms of structure, its aesthetic appeal had been elevated by more than a notch, and the performance of the brand-new components had also improved dramatically. Wang Hao took out his phone, opened the drone’s control app, and flipped the drone’s power switch. Once paired, the drone’s live feed appeared on his phone. Under Wang Hao’s control, the drone slowly took flight. “It worked,” Zhang Xin said, watching the drone with excitement. “Yeah. Did you bring the tracking device?” Wang Hao nodded slightly and took the tracking device from Zhang Xin. The tracking device itself wasn’t very large—about the size of a thumbnail. According to Fang Bing’s idea, if it needed audio recording capabilities, it should be made into a large necklace; if not, a wristband would suffice. The unit in Wang Hao’s hand was an unpackaged, bare component. After pairing it with the drone, he handed it to Zhang Xin for testing, while he picked up another one and began guiding Zhang Nan on how to use the chip programmer. If you have the source code, programming the chips is actually not difficult—it’s just a matter of following a standardized process. Zhang Nan picked it up quickly, but Wang Hao didn’t have the time to sit in the factory programming control chips for drones. So this important task naturally fell to Zhang Nan, who would then teach Fang’s father how to do it. After seeing Zhang Xin and Zhang Nan off, the two men, having received the drones, were as excited as children with a new toy and couldn’t wait to test them out. Wang Hao brought out the server he’d purchased for 200,000 yuan. Since he didn’t have a server rack, he simply placed it on the desk in his bedroom. Opening the graphic design studio software he carried with him, Wang Hao began typing on the keyboard. Line after line of code appeared as he created a port for Longnao on the server—essentially a clone of Longnao. This would allow him to harness the server’s processing power to assist with computations. Just then, his phone suddenly rang. A look of puzzlement flashed across Wang Hao’s face, as if he’d just realized something, and he answered the call. “Hello, is this the ‘Dear Sanitation Worker’ developer?” Wang Hao heard the voice on the other end—it was a woman with a pleasant voice. “Yes.” Wang Hao replied calmly. “We’re from the Qilong Platform. We’d like to discuss a potential partnership regarding ‘Dear Sanitation Worker.’ I was wondering if you have time.” Upon hearing the words “Qilong Platform,” Wang Hao visibly paused. Qilong was one of the major software companies in the country, with a broad range of operations—including antivirus software, web browsers, and a software promotion platform. He hadn’t expected such a major platform to reach out to him. “Sure. I’m in Gancheng. Come by whenever you have time.” This was just a minor incident, but what really frustrated Wang Hao was that, after it passed, his phone began ringing nonstop—three or four calls in a row—all regarding partnership opportunities for the “Dear Sanitation Worker” trash cleanup app. However, no face-to-face meetings were scheduled; instead, they discussed revenue sharing directly over the phone. As soon as they started talking about a “30-70 split” right off the bat, Wang Hao had already written these companies off—though he still politely dealt with them. After hanging up with them, he finally had some peace and quiet and went back to writing code. But he hadn’t been at it for long when the phone rang again. Wang Hao picked up his phone, somewhat exasperated. “Hey, Bing, weren’t you supposed to be live-streaming?” To Wang Hao’s surprise, it was Fang Bing calling—he should have been on air right now. “I’m about to go live—get ready to witness the man at the top of the food chain surviving in the wilderness!!” Fang Bing’s excited voice came through the phone. “Bro Bing… I’ve got to remind you to face reality. Spending just one night in the mountains around Gancheng and calling it ‘survival in the wild’? Have some self-respect.” Wang Hao was at a loss for words. He knew Fang Bing’s livestream location—it was in the mountains not far from Lanjia Village. There was plenty of game there, and the danger wasn’t actually that high—he figured the fiercest beast would probably just be a wild boar. “Uh… I’ll die if you don’t take the wind out of my sails,” Fang Bing said, sounding a bit dejected. “All right, I won’t bring you down anymore. Just be careful tonight—don’t let a wild boar accidentally rip your ass apart.” Wang Hao chuckled softly. “Don’t worry. I’ve got my jungle knife and some epic gear. I’m about to go live. Hao Ge, you can watch and point out any areas where I could improve.” “Sure.” Hearing Fang Bing’s chuckle, Wang Hao agreed and opened the live-streaming platform Fang Bing had mentioned—Guobao Live, a platform founded by the son of Hua Guo’s richest man. With a quick search, he found Fang Bing’s stream. “Master Bing’s Survival in the Wild: Episode One.” “The streamer has crossed the Sahara Desert, survived three days and three nights on the African savanna, and encountered an avalanche while climbing Mount Everest. Let’s follow him to see how to survive correctly in the uninhabited wilderness. All of the above is just Master Bing’s official bragging—now let’s get down to business: Master Bing’s Wilderness Survival: Part One—The Beginner’s Village: Spending the Night in the Deep Mountains.” Wang Hao stared speechlessly at Fang Bing’s livestream title and description, suddenly feeling a sense of absurdity. Fang Bing, who constantly claimed he wanted to be at the top of the food chain—Wang Hao actually agreed with the first part of the description, but the second half instantly made his head spin. When he entered the livestream, he realized he seemed to be the only person there. “Welcome to Master Bing’s livestream. Were you drawn in by my bio? You’re about to experience something truly unique and exciting.” Wang Hao watched Fang Bing in the livestream as he spoke eloquently to the camera—which actually took him by surprise. If it weren’t for that fleeting hint of awkwardness, he might have even thought this was a seasoned streamer.