Li Chengzhi stood outside the office building of the Marching Ant Company, silently marveling at how fast it had risen to prominence. In such a short time, this company had become a tech juggernaut.
Calling Chen Mo a genius didn't quite cut it anymore—he was an anomaly, a once-in-a-century phenomenon.
The more Li Chengzhi learned, the more shaken he felt. The Marching Ant operating system, intelligent assistant, carbon crystal materials—all of them originated from Chen Mo's lab. That young man's mind was terrifyingly brilliant.
Chen Mo had reached out to him personally, which came as a surprise. Could it be about his earthquake early warning paper? Asking for help dealing with the fallout?
Li Chengzhi quickly dismissed that idea. The Earthquake Administration had already reviewed the paper. Though the language was professional, it remained entirely theoretical. Without experimental evidence, no one would take it seriously.
Still, Chen Mo wasn't someone who acted without purpose. He wouldn't just toss a paper out there for fun. Which made this meeting all the more curious.
With questions lingering in his mind, Li Chengzhi stepped through the doors of the Marching Ant Company.
"Mr. Li, the boss is expecting you. Please follow me," a humanoid robot greeted him politely.
Li Chengzhi raised an eyebrow. It was the same enchantress-type robot he'd seen at the Internet Technology Expo. The fact that this high-end machine was now being used as a lobby greeter? Extravagant didn't begin to cover it.
Only the Marching Ant Company would use bleeding-edge AI like this to welcome guests.
"Alright," Li Chengzhi nodded, following the robot to the elevator.
Under its guidance, he soon arrived at Chen Mo's office.
"Welcome," Chen Mo said with a nod of greeting.
"Chen Mo, my man. I came here straight off a plane—this better be good." Li Chengzhi sat across from him on the sofa and picked up the tea.
"Nothing too urgent. Just wanted to talk about that earthquake paper." Chen Mo dove right into it.
"As long as you've opened the news at least once, you'd know about it." Li Chengzhi smiled. "But surely you didn't call me just because of some online backlash?"
"Backlash? Please. I stopped caring about public opinion long ago—otherwise I'd be insane by now," Chen Mo replied. "I called you because of what's in the paper."
"Oh? Go on." Li Chengzhi sat up straighter, intrigued.
"Do you believe my theory is real?" Chen Mo asked with a faint smile.
"I'm not a scientist," Li Chengzhi replied honestly. "But I've always believed—when people say you're crazy, you're probably onto something."
Chen Mo chuckled. "Let me show you something."
He stood and gestured for Li Chengzhi to follow. The two headed toward Chen Mo's private lab—an area very few had access to. Aside from Zhao Min and Xiao Yu, Li Chengzhi was the first outsider to enter.
Inside the lab, three robots moved about quietly, and a large cylindrical instrument stood prominently in the center. Its surface was smooth, its design minimalistic.
Li Chengzhi's eyes flicked to the robots. He was briefly surprised again, but quickly understood—Chen Mo, working alone, would naturally build robotic assistants to help.
"What's this? You manufacturing robot energy sources now?" Li Chengzhi joked.
"Twenty million per unit. Want one?" Chen Mo grinned.
"I'll pass," Li Chengzhi laughed. "But a lot of folks in the engineering department are drooling over your bots. If they're serious, maybe I'll arrange a purchase."
"For ordinary use, they're not cost-effective," Chen Mo said. "I only use them as assistants. But today's topic isn't robots—it's this."
Chen Mo approached the cylindrical device and placed a hand on it.
"This is a seismograph," he said. "Built exactly according to the principles in my paper."
Li Chengzhi inhaled sharply, eyes locked on the machine. That infamous paper… Chen Mo actually built it?
But the device didn't look special—just a bland cylinder. Still...
"You seriously think this can predict earthquakes?"
"To be honest… I don't believe it," Li Chengzhi admitted with a shake of his head. "If seismographs were this easy to build, we'd all be safe by now."
"You're not wrong," Chen Mo said. "But that's why I called you. I need to test it. Not just in China. I want to place it in the Mariana Trench—one of the most seismically active zones on the planet. I was hoping you could help with the logistics."
Li Chengzhi hesitated, circling the instrument and studying it. No matter how he looked at it, it didn't seem extraordinary.
Still, if it worked... this could be the most advanced early warning system ever made.
Refusing Chen Mo wasn't really an option. Not only was he a technical asset to the military's engineering school, but the potential gain here was astronomical.
Helping transport and deploy a device? A small effort, potentially world-changing results.
"How many of these do you want to deploy?" Li Chengzhi asked.
"Six," Chen Mo replied. "Might as well do it all at once."
"And how much does one cost?"
Chen Mo shrugged. "About five million yuan per unit." He was guessing—he hadn't tallied up the exact figure. The real value came from the tech library, not the materials.
"I'll ask around," Li Chengzhi said. "The Academy of Sciences has some oceanic research missions coming up. If there's a chance, we can piggyback off one of them."
"Much appreciated."
Li Chengzhi paused. "And this really works?"
"I built it based on theory," Chen Mo said. "This will be the first live test. Whether it succeeds or not… well, ask the machine." He patted the side of the seismograph. "If it fails, I take the loss. If it works? I make a fortune."
Li Chengzhi stared at him for a long moment. Spending tens of millions just to maybe succeed?
Only a madman… or a genius... would treat money like that.
"This is the only thing you needed?" Li Chengzhi asked.
"That's all."
"Alright then. I'll head back and see what I can arrange. You keep doing your thing—time is precious." Li Chengzhi took out his phone, snapped a picture of the device, and left.
After he was gone, Chen Mo returned to work on the seismograph.
Sending it to the ocean floor wasn't just about waterproofing—it had to withstand deep-sea pressure and still transmit data.
Without a way to communicate from the seabed, even a perfect prediction would be useless.
Thankfully, with the Ink Girl assisting, technical challenges were far easier to solve.
Now, it was only a matter of time.