Chapter 51

PS: Thank you for the support from 'Less Chatter'!

Yang Jie sent Xiao Yue Deng home and had a few drinks with her father. After dinner at the Dengs', he walked back to the postal office dormitory, which was almost 9:30 PM.

Entering the dormitory, he thought Xie Yan and Cao Meng were already resting, but to his surprise, the two women were sitting on the sofa watching a TV drama. "Yanzi, you must have been very busy today. Did they install the phone already?"

"The technician installed it at noon. We can already make calls and use the internet. When are you going to buy a computer?" Xie Yan noticed that Yang Jie had drunk quite a bit and frowned, wrinkling her small nose, seemingly uncomfortable with the smell of alcohol in the room.

"I've already asked someone to buy it. It should be delivered in a couple of days. I'll go take a shower first. I have to work tomorrow, so you two should get some rest!" Yang Jie smiled, nodded at Xie Yan, and opened the dormitory door to go inside.

The phone line was brought in through a hole in the window and connected to a red telephone on the desk.

After washing up in the bathroom, Yang Jie returned to the dormitory, locked the door, and sat in front of the phone. He called his home and his brother-in-law's house to give them his dormitory's phone number, then called Liu Daxing.

Liu Daxing had already bought the computer for Yang Jie and was almost done purchasing the equipment needed for the mine. He planned to stay in the city for one more day and return to Wuhé County the day after tomorrow to deliver the computer to Yang Jie. They agreed to meet at the county postal office dormitory at noon the next day, and then Yang Jie hung up the phone.

"Hey! What's this little chip?" After the call, Yang Jie noticed a small, transparent, thin chip, about the size of a thumbnail, on the clean desk, shimmering under the fluorescent light.

"Brother Jie, don't touch it! That's the light brain module that Xiao Wu just separated from your body. It's a sub-module separated from my main system. Xiao Wu can use it to connect to the internet. It has some autonomy and can execute various commands as required.

Xiao Wu plans to build an internet empire, and this will help him achieve that. Could you please embed it into the phone line junction box? That way, Xiao Wu can control it and use the internet." Xiao Wu, dressed in a well-fitted business suit and wearing black-rimmed glasses, suddenly appeared in Yang Jie's mind, stopping him from picking up the chip.

Hearing Xiao Wu's words, Yang Jie looked at the tiny crystal on the desk in disbelief. "This thing can connect to the internet? Just by putting it on the phone line? That's incredible!"

"Federal S-class variable material intelligent light brain, with variable characteristics. Although you saw a large diamond-shaped whole before, its internal structure is modular and variable. Under the main system, there are three branch system program sub-modules and a central data storage unit.

Each of the three sub-modules is equivalent to a Federal A-class material intelligent light brain, capable of independent operation and completing tasks assigned by the main system. They can be controlled by the host through wired or wireless networks. Their relationship to me is like that of servers to workstations.

The bioenergy stored in your body can currently only support the separation of one branch system sub-module. Just place it in the phone junction box, and it can connect to the internet and monitor phone calls." Xiao Wu's serious expression didn't seem like a joke. After hearing Xiao Wu's explanation, Yang Jie picked up the chip and examined it from all sides.

The chip was as transparent as crystal. Although it was small, it felt somewhat heavy. Holding it up to the fluorescent light, he could see fine beams of light flickering inside, making it look very beautiful.

"Is this a Federal A-class material intelligent light brain? Why are future products so small? Can it connect to the internet and monitor phone calls like this afternoon?" Yang Jie had many questions, but they were all to the point.

A hint of pride flashed in Xiao Wu's deep eyes as he looked at Yang Jie and said seriously, "Brother Jie, this is a Federal A-class material intelligent light brain. You can call it Xiao Liù. As for why future products are so small, it's because the Earth's population grew too quickly, and living space per person was very limited, forcing products to be designed smaller.

The computing speed of an A-class material intelligent light brain is very fast, with a peak speed of 780.2 billion billion calculations per second. Through it, not only can it connect to the internet and complete tasks I assign, but it can also monitor all phone calls in Changyang City and even the entire Jiangnan Province in real time."

Yang Jie looked at the small chip in his hand. Although he didn't have a clear concept of the data Xiao Wu mentioned, he knew it was very impressive. He was amazed that Xiao Liù was so powerful. "You mean I just need to put it in the junction box?"

"Brother Jie, when has Xiao Wu ever lied to you? Insert the chip into the junction box, and Xiao Liù will immediately connect to the internet through the phone line and start monitoring phone calls. Any calls related to you will be recorded and transmitted to me via wireless signals.

Xiao Liù's capabilities aren't limited to monitoring phone calls. In just one night, Xiao Wu can direct Xiao Liù to create some websites and network applications and games for you. When your computer arrives the day after tomorrow, you'll see for yourself." Xiao Wu put on a mysterious look, not explaining the principle of how the chip connects to the internet or how it transmits information to him, but just urging Yang Jie to put the chip in the junction box.

The phone line from outside wouldn't connect directly to the phone but would go through a small junction box. Yang Jie took the junction box off the wall, carefully picked up the chip, and inserted it into the interface where the phone line and the junction box connected.

The chip was transparent, and the small crystal head at the interface was also transparent. After inserting the chip, there was no visible difference from the outside. "Done! It can connect to the internet through the phone line now. This era is so troublesome; even connecting to the internet is so difficult. Brother Jie, I have to go work now. Get some rest! Bye!"

Xiao Wu was about to leave, and Yang Jie hurriedly asked, "If you're using the internet here, what about me? The one-hour internet fee isn't cheap, and besides, I won't be able to receive calls. Can you be a bit more restrained?"

"Oh! Brother Jie, are you annoying! Xiao Wu only needs a line with an internet port to connect. It won't affect your dial-up internet or incoming calls, and it won't incur any internet fees. Don't worry!" Xiao Wu, looking anxious and agitated, hurriedly answered Yang Jie and then disappeared from his sight.

Yang Jie picked up the phone and listened to the dial tone, then tried calling the office. The dial tone came through quickly, and there was no problem. Satisfied that the phone was working, he lay down on the bed and fell asleep in less than a minute.

The moment Xiao Liù connected to the phone line, it instantly re-intruded into the switchboard, just as Xiao Wu had controlled it in the afternoon. This time, after monitoring all the phones and pagers in Wuhé County, Xiao Liù didn't stop. It followed the lines and intruded into the Changyang City Post and Telecommunications Bureau's server room.

The switchboards in the server room were C08 digital program-controlled switchboards, the same as those in Wuhé County, so Xiao Liù had no trouble intruding. After monitoring all the phones in the city through the server room, Xiao Liù temporarily stopped the intrusion.

Countless data streams traveled through the lines. Xiao Liù, monitoring all the phones in the city, intelligently filtered out more than 98% of the useless information. For some special calls, Xiao Liù recorded them for future reference.

Xiao Wu, excited, directed Xiao Liù to start conquering the internet after intruding into the city's phone system.

At that moment, Guo Xin was sitting in Liao Guojin's study, which was filled with smoke, making the entire room seem shrouded in mist. Both Guo Xin and Liao Guojin were frowning, their expressions serious as they smoked continuously.

"Old Liao, after County Magistrate Zhang received the call from the city this afternoon, his attitude changed significantly. I learned through my connections in the city that the city held a standing committee meeting this afternoon, and Secretary Zhou is about to be promoted. At this critical moment, County Magistrate Zhang won't care about Xiao Kai anymore."

"From the look on his face, he's probably already hoping that I'll be implicated by Xiao Kai." Liao Guojin frowned deeply, took a deep puff of his cigarette, and stubbed it out in the ashtray. After exhaling a long breath, he said, "When Zhang Daxian first came to Wuhé, if it weren't for our support, he would still be alone. How could he have established himself so quickly in Wuhé?

I never expected that as soon as the situation changed, he would turn on us. Does he really think we're just a chamber pot, to be used when needed and kicked away when not? Is there such a cheap thing in this world?"