Chapter 347: 347 Not necessary

Chen Xu leveled up to thirty and his strength saw another significant increase. With the extensive time spent playing the game, he also learned more ways to respond to challenges.

After two attempts, he smoothly completed the quest, successfully underwent his second class change, and obtained a new piece of equipment: a larger handgun capable of holding sixteen bullets, its firepower twice that of its predecessor. Of course, the price of ammunition also doubled.

It was like trading in a musket for a cannon. Now with enough strength, he was ready to take on extraordinary quests with Mu Shang.

However, this had to be put aside for the moment as the game was about to enter forced downtime.

The virtual reality equipment mandated that players could only play for eight hours a day, equivalent to one in-game year. After that, players had to be forcibly logged out.

This created a problem; if the game kept running continuously and a player played for a year, they would have to exit the game and wait until the next day to re-enter, by which time two years would have passed in the game world, making the plot impossible to follow due to the lengthy progression of time.

Therefore, many games accommodated the playtime of most players by running for one year and then forcibly logging out all players, pausing the time and shutting down the servers. After the two-year period, the servers would restart, letting players enter again.

This ensured that the majority of players wouldn’t miss out on game developments.

The game provided a notification before shutting down. After Chen Xu’s second class change, there were only a few days left, so there was no way to complete the extraordinary quest. He decided to make plans to tackle the quest the next time he logged in.

On the day before the game’s closure, both logged off early.

It was only two or three in the morning in the real world. With time to spare, he selected another game to play, given he had plenty of accrued gaming hours left.

The second game he chose was another very popular title, “Fighting.” It conveniently had a gaming schedule that didn’t clash with “Second Life.”

…

At five in the morning, Chen Xu woke up, got into his workout clothes, and went for a morning run.

The temperature was lower in Beijing, and the air was both dry and poor in quality, making him uncomfortable. He finished his exercise half an hour earlier than usual and returned to the hotel.

At eight o’clock, while Chen Xu was copying code on his laptop, there was a knock at the door. Balancing the computer, he walked over to open it.

The visitor was Cai Weiyi, and behind him stood an assistant.

“So early?” Chen Xu glanced at him before focusing back on his laptop, casually asking.

Cai Weiyi seemed somewhat anxious, saying, “Boss, I’m sorry for not making it to the airport to pick you up yesterday due to the traffic jam. I came over as soon as I knew you were at the hotel, but Secretary Wen said you were resting, so I didn’t come in to disturb you.”

Chen Xu remembered there had been such an incident, but at the time he was in a hurry to enter the dream game and neglected everything else.

He took a seat on the couch and said, “It’s no issue; it’s the thought that counts.”

Cai Weiyi stood awkwardly in front of him, not daring to sit.

Chen Xu looked up at him and said, “Sit down, why are you standing?”

“It’s fine, I’ll stand.”

Chen Xu’s thoughts shifted, and he guessed what was on Cai’s mind, probably thinking he was angry about being ignored yesterday. He didn’t bother explaining further; if Cai preferred to stand, so be it.

“How are the new products from those battery companies?”

Cai Weiyi quickly replied, “They’ve done quite well. The batteries produced by the various companies are similar in capacity, enabling electric vehicles to have a range of approximately six hundred to seven hundred kilometers.”

It wasn’t that higher capacities were impossible to achieve; it was just not cost-effective. This capacity provided the best value for money option.

Then there was another knock at the door.

Cai Weiyi took the initiative, peered through the peephole, and said, “It’s Secretary Wen,” before opening the door.

Secretary Wen arrived with breakfast, greeted him with a “Boss Cai.”

As Cai Weiyi was responsible for a laboratory, his subordinates called him ‘boss’, so others followed suit.

“Good morning, Secretary Wen,” Cai Weiyi greeted politely, not daring to overstep.

Chen Xu asked him, “Have you had breakfast?”

“I already ate in the car.”

“Alright.” Chen Xu didn’t dwell further and began eating his breakfast.

“I’ll wait for you downstairs then,” Cai Weiyi said without lingering to disturb him further, leaving with his assistant.

…

Cai Weiyi and his assistant made their way to the lobby on the first floor and waited patiently.

The assistant’s surname was Lin, named Lin Lei. He not only hailed from the same hometown but also was Cai’s junior, a year behind him in school. Their hometown was a small county, and the high school he attended was the best one there; not many students managed to get into prestigious universities, let alone in other provinces.

Cai had picked up Lin when he first went to university. From undergraduate to graduate and then to doctoral studies, their relationship remained strong.

Once Cai Weiyi found success in his career, he wanted to elevate his junior.

Lin Lei couldn’t help but feel it was unfair, “Brother Ye, even if he’s a benefactor, we don’t need to go this far.”

Cai Weiyi’s demeanor had seemed too subservient, and it was troubling to Lin Lei.

With several major battery companies announcing the launch of a new generation of lithium batteries, Cai Weiyi’s original paper had come into the spotlight again, elevating his academic status.

Since arriving in Beijing, he had been treated with the utmost courtesy by these companies. Even high-ranking executives in his presence had to respectfully address him as “Mr. Cai.”

Frankly, Cai Weiyi’s academic status and influence had surpassed even some dissertation advisors.

Yet in the presence of Chen Xu, he almost seemed subservient to the point of humility.

Lin Lei felt stifled.

“You don’t understand,” Cai Weiyi said, “Mr. Chen is my patron. Without him, where would I be today?”

Lin Lei insisted, “But you’ve also brought him substantial returns. I’ve heard the major companies spent billions just to obtain the patent licenses and also on the sales shares of the batteries. All that money went into his pocket.”

Billions, what an immense fortune. Even with a huge favor, that kind of repayment should surely square things.

Cai Weiyi fell silent. Lin had only joined the laboratory after it expanded, so he was unfamiliar with many details. Cai, however, understood that Mr. Chen had purchased the laboratory, designed the experiments, and even the experiments were conducted by his people.

The sole contribution he had made was turning the experimental data into a paper.

This fact was known only to him and the initial few experimenters.

Chen Xu did not shortchange them; he had given out several million in bonuses and spent an extra billion on various pieces of laboratory equipment. He also recruited staff to expand the lab’s scale.

Of course, to those unaware, it seemed like he had suffered a great loss, especially since his name was the first listed on the paper.