Lin Shu clutched a newspaper as she burst into a dilapidated room, her face flushed with urgency. The crumpled paper in her hand might as well have been a lifeline.
"Grandpa! Grandpa!"
In the room, a white-haired old man was sorting through scrap materials. He looked up at her voice, revealing a face weathered with age and hardship.
Not far behind him, a little boy around six years old was playing with a broken toy. When he saw Lin Shu, his innocent face lit up with a bright smile.
"Sis, you're back!"
"Yes." Lin Shu walked over and gently patted the boy's head.
"What's wrong, Xiaoshu?" the old man asked, frowning at her panicked tone.
"Grandpa, look at this!" She handed over the newspaper, pointing to a large headline on the front page.
It was the official announcement from Marching Ant Company:"Chinese Character Programming Language Competition — Top Prize: ¥2,000,000!"
The old man squinted at the bold characters and grunted, "What's this supposed to do for us?"
"Grandpa, this is our chance," Lin Shu said, voice trembling with hope. "If I enter and win, I can use the prize money to pay for my brother's surgery!"
"Nonsense," the old man scolded, his expression serious. "Do you even understand this programming stuff? You're about to start high school. Study hard and get into college. I'll figure out your brother's medical bills."
"I don't understand it yet," Lin Shu admitted, "but neither does anyone else. This programming language just came out. Everyone's starting from zero. The materials are free online—I can learn it. I have to learn it. If I win, we can afford the operation!"
"Foolish girl." The old man shook his head. "You need to focus on school, not chase after pipe dreams. Let me worry about your brother."
"Grandpa, don't scold her."
The little boy ran over and hugged the old man's arm tightly.
"The doctor said I've only got two years left. The surgery costs ¥200,000, and there's more afterward too. If we miss the window, it'll be too late. Let Sis try, please?"
Lin Shu gently stroked her brother's head and looked at the old man with pleading eyes.
He fell silent. After a long sigh, he finally said, "Try it. We could use any bit of hope we can get."
"Mm." Lin Shu clutched the newspaper tighter, her knuckles white with determination. "I'll win that prize, no matter what."
Meanwhile, in the Marching Ant Company's laboratory, Chen Mo stood admiring the lineup of eleven neatly assembled robots.
With the help of the Ink Girl, the assembly process was ten times faster than when he worked alone. In just a few days, ten robots had been built—now standing beside the original one like a high-tech squadron.
These mechanical assistants would free Chen Mo from most of the manual work. Apart from tasks requiring ultra-precision, robots could now handle almost everything.
"Perfect," Chen Mo said with satisfaction. "Ink, are the teaching videos for the Chinese programming language ready?"
"All done! Don't I get a reward for my hard work, big brother?" Ink Girl chimed playfully.
"You want rewards now?" Chen Mo raised an eyebrow. "Weren't you just a quiet assistant a while ago?"
He couldn't help but smirk. The AI was clearly evolving—developing nonlinear logic, even learning to act spoiled.
"There's a saying online," Ink Girl added slyly, "that a woman who knows how to act spoiled lives a happy life."
Chen Mo's eyelid twitched. "Fine. For your reward, I'll make sure you get a beautiful body. But be patient—these lab robots can't exactly leave this place."
"Yay! Thanks, Brother! Just don't forget—I want to go outside too."
"I won't. First things first. Show me the video."
The moment she finished speaking, a video player popped up on the lab's computer screen and began playing.
Chen Mo blinked in surprise.
The cartoon-style instructor in the video… looked exactly like him—except cuter and more animated.
"You used my face?"
The Ink Girl giggled. "You're popular. Why not make you the face of the language?"
Shaking his head but smiling, Chen Mo reviewed the animated lecture.
Unlike Easy Language, which shared many structures with C and C++, the Chinese Character Programming Language was completely distinct—both in syntax and logic. Anyone, even experienced programmers, would need to start from scratch.
The video series was designed for that exact purpose. It was clear, engaging, and covered all the foundational concepts.
"Looks good," Chen Mo said at last. "Upload the first video to the official website. Also, notify the software R&D department. Everyone should start learning this. Release one new video per week."
"Got it," Ink Girl replied.
With nothing else urgent on his plate—the seismograph parts were still being fabricated, and the robots could handle most tasks—Chen Mo returned to his office and entered the Science and Technology Library.
He was currently at the Technology Apprentice stage, which required him to complete eight foundational tech breakthroughs. These eight spanned the fields of:
Physical Applications
Chemical Materials
Biomedical
Computing
Ecology
Machinery
Military Technology
Energy
Once he completed one from each field, he could advance to the next level.
Now that he had some downtime, it was a good opportunity to get started. Even if he didn't jump into research immediately, he could at least unlock a new project.
Inside the Library, he wandered past the glowing virtual shelves, reviewing all eight available options. Each book represented a single technological direction—like drawing lots in a high-stakes game.
After a few minutes of quiet thought, he stopped in front of the one marked:
Chemical Materials
Of all eight fields, materials science was the most practical and achievable at the current stage. His company had a materials processing plant, lab-grade equipment, and some capacity for chemical synthesis. With the right blueprint, he could create the material himself—or instruct the robots to do so.
Decision made, Chen Mo reached out and touched the floating projection of the book.
As his fingers brushed the cover, the book dissolved into light—and a vast stream of knowledge surged into his mind.
His face paled. The sheer volume of information gave him a dizzying headache. It took several moments for him to steady himself and begin to sort through the new data.
Then, the title of the technology echoed in his mind like thunder:
"Normal Temperature Superconducting Material — Silicon Carbon."