Chapter 40 - Game Development

Translator: _Min_ Editor: Lis_, Rundi

His anxiety was unjustified as Jiang Chen’s voice was calm and gentle.

But to Du Yongkong’s ears…

“I like the title boss.” Jiang Chen smiled as he pulled out a resume and cut straight to the topic. “Du Yongkong, age 30, male, computer major, previously worked as the chief technology officer at Walkman Technology. Is this correct?”

“Yes…” Du Yongkong carefully answered, uncertain about the meaning behind Jiang Chen’s words.

“That makes things easier then.” Jiang Chen got right to the point and threw a Huawei phone to him. “You’re going to develop an operating system for me on this thing. It shouldn’t be that difficult for you, right?”

“Eh?”

“This is an order. I want to hear you answer with certainty.” Jiang Chen didn’t waste time with any bullsheet. He bought these people to work for him, not the other way around.

“Yes, yes.” Du Yongkong quickly nodded without any attitude that indicated his former executive position at a top company. Such a laughable dignity had long vanished in the cruelty of the apocalypse. Jiang Chen now controlled his life, and his only option was to serve him.

When Jiang Chen saw Du Yongkong’s perplexed look, he smiled and walked over to pat him on the shoulder. He didn’t care about the overwhelmed expression on Du Yongkong’s face as he continue to explain.

“You don’t have to be reserved. Do a good job, and I won’t let you down.”

“I understand, Boss.” Du Yongkong sensibly lowered his head.

Jiang Chen nodded before he continued, “I have some requirements. Let me know if you have any difficulties, but you’ll have to solve it, understand?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” Jiang Chen was pleased with Du Yongkong’s certainty. “I don’t know about operating systems, so I only care about the results. I need you to develop an operating system that has two times the processing power as this system called Android. At the same time, don’t change any of the requirements so that it remains compatible with all Android and iOS system software. Ask me any questions you have right now since you won’t be seeing me a lot. I want to see a reliable result by next month.”

Finishing, he handed him an iPhone that was also brand-new.

Du Yongkong took it and fiddled around on the screen for a bit before a forced smile appeared on his face.

“What? Is this too difficult for you?” Jiang Chen raised his eyebrows.

“No, this is too easy.” Du Yongkong waved his hands in denial. He was afraid that his boss would fire him for this kind of easy job that didn’t exist even before the war.

“Hmm? Then explain.” Jiang Chen was quite curious.

Du Yongkong adjusted his glasses as he displayed the phone with the air of a professional before he started to explain.

“First, this old operating system should be a product from 150 years ago. The hardware operating efficiency as well as the human-computer interactive design are full of flaws.”

“Oh? You’re saying that the human-computer interface of the iPhone is bad?” Jiang Chen couldn’t help but laugh at the statement.

Du Yongkong snuck a look at Jiang Chen’s expression and when he saw that he wasn’t angry hearing about the flaws of the two operating systems, he began to explain more in-depth with renewed courage.

“Regarding hardware operating efficiency, although the logic seems faultless, there exist unnecessary areas. To put it simply, a logic that can be covered with just one plus one, due to the limitation of the programming language as well as the algorithm, becomes muddled when the processor must do some unnecessary actions. For example, by defining A equals one, B equals one, and then calculating C equals A plus B to output C equals two as the final result. This old processing method not only wastes memory, but it also decreases the operating efficiency of the equipment tremendously.”

“Oh? Then how will you take care of it?” Jiang Chen asked curiously.

“This is an easy fix. The ultimate problem lies in the limitation of the programming language. Although both systems have its pros and cons, they can’t escape the boundary of the lower level programming language. If D++ is used to program it, some small adjustments to compatibility will solve the problem. The antique known as the phone would have its operating efficiency increased by threefold, and the power consumption would also be cut in half. At the same time, because the drain on the hardware is lessened, the hardware life would also be extended for a prolonged period.”

Jiang Chen gasped for air.

This was ridiculous! The hardware operating efficiency increased by three times? Could it also be compatible with apps from both systems? These two features alone were already insane. That meant that even with a terrible phone, they could easily run games previously available only on the iPhone. This system would start a revolution in the phone gaming industry!

Phone game developers spent an endless amount of effort to decrease memory usage. To optimize the game, they often had to remove features that enhanced gameplay and catered towards the general audience. But if this operating system was introduced, everyone’s phone performance would increase by three times! At that point, the creativity of developers could be fully unleashed, free to create worlds of imagination that could run on every computer. It was a technological revolution. iOS and Android would never be able to compete.

“Regarding human-computer interaction, I recommend maintaining the status quo since I’m already accustomed to this interface.” Jiang Chen paused. Even if he controlled this man’s life, he didn’t want to expose his identity to someone who had yet to prove anything.

“Trust me, Boss, my design will be much more advanced than this ancient human-computer interaction method.” This former chief of technology officer was a different and more zealous person when touching on the topic of technology. “Yes, using the touchpad to perform human-computer interaction is still mainstream even to this day, but this ancient operating system is inherently different from the operating system used by present-day entertainment systems.”

“What’s the difference?” Jiang Chen asked curiously.

“Artificial intelligence!”

“Artificial intelligence? Can you create it?” Jiang Chen raised his eyebrows.

“If it is basic artificial intelligence, I’m confident I can create it in a month’s time since all the data is stored in the library’s database. I only need to transfer it.” Du Yongkong patted his chest.

“If artificial intelligence isn’t difficult, then why isn’t it on the full-sensory computer?” Jiang Chen asked with some confusion. If it was so effective, there was no reason to not use it on the full-sensory computer.

“Hmm, that’s because the Artificial Intelligence Act prohibited the development of artificial intelligence. If everything was given to machines to do, everyone would be unemployed.” Du Yongkong shrugged. “The artificial intelligence operating system was popular for a time before it was replaced by an equally impressive neural operating system. Before the war, artificial intelligence was only limited to the nuclear power plant, the water treatment plant, and other government-run infrastructure.”

“I see. You talked about basic artificial intelligence. Are there no risks?” Jiang Chen voiced his worry of the artificial intelligence programs potentially mutating within the modern-day world’s internet and developing into a malicious program. He was reminded of the movie <I, Robot> that portrayed a world ruled by artificial intelligence.

“Boss, you are worrying too much.” Du Yongkong sighed, guessing at Jiang Chen’s concern. “The program is fundamentally a stable program. Even if they were intelligent, they could never possess emotion or desire. At a basic level, it can only be what you’ve programmed it to do. Its intelligence responds to what you’ve taught it before. For example, if you hit it, it will not fight back. Its interest is neither hurt nor would it sense any danger. Unless you specifically tell it ‘if someone hits you, fight back.’ Only in this case would it respond with an action. Self-coding is something only intermediary artificial intelligence possesses. As for emotions, that’s something only advanced artificial intelligence would have. Even before the war, it was a theoretical concept.”

Artificial intelligence was fundamentally a more advanced program.

Only after hearing the explanation did Jiang Chen finally feel relieved.

“Okay, you’ll be fully responsible for everything. You’re free to try anything you want. Also, you have to keep in mind that you must ensure the security of this system! I don’t want to hand this phone to someone only to have them crack the entire operating system and create something similar.”

Security was of the utmost concern. Jiang Chen didn’t want to see the operating system he brought over to be cracked into an open source within a few days. Especially if the D++ language was exposed, he would not be able to explain it.

The best way to program it was to have it be like a black box that only exchanged information with an external source but did not accept any data extraction.

Du Yongkong hesitated for a brief second before he smiled and promised.

“Boss, don’t worry! The program I develop will not be easily cracked. Walkman Technology Corporation’s games were all secured by me. Take <Star Storm 7> for example. It released before the war, but no one in the world has been able to crack the game yet. For an operating system of this level, this is a piece of cake to me.”

This certainly seemed to be the case.

If someone in the modern world had the ability to crack software made by the chief technology officer from 150 years in the future, it meant that he was also a time traveler. Jiang Chen would do anything to kill him, but of course, such scenario would be impossible.

“Good, if you can do it, it’ll be an outstanding achievement! Work hard; I promise you’ll be able to eat meat every meal!” Jiang Chen laughed as he patted Du Yongkong’s shoulder.

Hearing about the meat, Du Yongkong was ecstatic. He would never have dreamed of this before. With a taste of the rewards, Du Yongkong immediately reaffirmed that he would finish in no time. It was no surprise that he used to be in management; he was technically skilled but also masterful in kissing ass. Jiang Chen didn’t dislike such clever people.

“Lastly, for Future Technology’s logo, make it look cool so that people think it’s futuristic , but don’t overdo it.”

“Yes! Boss!” the guy belted out.

Jiang Chen nodded his head, pleased at Du Yongkong’s confidence. He waved his hand to signal him to leave.

The cheerful Du Yongkong carried both phones and walked away. Of course, before he left he also remembered to take his bowl. Instead of labor work, he could work in his old field. For many years, he hadn’t dared to imagine this kind of happiness.

But it became a reality on this day.

Grateful for the opportunity given by Jiang Chen, Du Yongkong mustered all of his determination to create a product that would stun the boss! Although the technology was ancient, the boss liked it, and the best way to rise up the ladder was to do things that the boss liked. He didn’t care about Jiang Chen’s purpose, he only needed to complete the task.