Chapter Sixty-Two: The Great Robot Uprising

"Yunyan, big sister wants to know how difficult it is to develop a robot housekeeper."

During dinner, Ye Qiu originally had no intention of discussing work, but he was no match for the two women who kept tossing out questions, each more pointed than the last. He could only change the subject, drawing his sister’s attention to work instead.

Yunyan projected her holographic image. "If it’s one of those clumsy robots, the difficulty isn’t too high. But if it’s a robot as agile as a human, it’s still quite challenging right now."

"Yunyan, I think you’ve grown taller!" Xiao Yurou exclaimed, staring at Yunyan’s virtual image.

Yunyan replied shyly, "I want to grow up too, you know."

"This is way too advanced," Liu Yiran muttered. She projected her own virtual persona, Willow Leaf, while Xiao Yurou projected her fictional character, Lady Xiao Eleven. Compared to Yunyan, these two virtual beings were clearly much less lively and intelligent.

At the moment, Willow Leaf and Lady Xiao Eleven were both in a cute-but-dull state, their beautiful big eyes filled with curiosity about everything. Without instructions, they could only observe mechanically.

"Second Sister, stop fooling around—we’re having a serious discussion." With a stern look, Liu Yiran admonished Xiao Yurou. When it came to work, her demeanor always turned serious.

"Big Sister, although we’ve solved the software issues, the hardware problems are still hard to crack," Yunyan explained. "Even the most advanced countries are stuck at the hardware bottleneck. To achieve truly agile robots, an enormous supporting hardware industry is needed. Just a cutting-edge chip alone is beyond the financial capacity of a single company, let alone the mechanical arms, storage systems, and network security—these all need to be addressed."

"So even with Deep Sea Corporation’s investment, we might not be able to start production within a few years, let alone mass production," Liu Yiran sighed.

"Big Sister, I think you’re approaching this the wrong way," Ye Qiu interjected. "Why insist on making everything ourselves? As long as we control the core software, we can bring established hardware systems into the project. That way, we maintain absolute authority, and hardware and funding issues can be resolved."

"Willow Leaf, list the most capable companies in chips, mechanical arms, storage systems, and network security."

"Yes, Master."

In moments, a projection of the world’s top companies in these fields appeared before Liu Yiran.

The leading chip manufacturers were from Tulip Country, the top storage system company was from the Rooster Nation, and the best mechanical arm and network security companies were domestic.

Liu Yiran sighed. "I can try to reach out to the domestic companies, but I’m at a loss with the foreign ones. That’ll be tricky."

"Big Sister, leave the two foreign companies to me," Ye Qiu volunteered.

"Are you sure you can handle it?"

"Drop the uncertainty," Ye Qiu replied confidently, patting his chest. "Just leave it to me."

Liu Yiran considered for a moment, then nodded. Although these two companies were industry leaders, if they could invite someone as influential as Mary over to China, it was worth a try.

But thinking about how Ye Qiu had only just returned to the country, she hesitated to send him traveling again. "Leaf, you just got back. Let’s wait a bit. I’ll try to reach out to the domestic companies first."

"Whatever you say," Ye Qiu agreed, understanding her concern.

Chips and storage hardware—those were actually easier to deal with than local companies.

"Alright, can we stop talking about this boring stuff?" Xiao Yurou interrupted impatiently as Ye Qiu and Liu Yiran’s conversation strayed further. "It’s break time—let’s put work aside for now. Leaf, Second Sister has a question for you… Hey, come back here, don’t you run off—"

Ye Qiu hurried into his room, wiping cold sweat from his forehead.

What strange interests did Second Sister have these days? The age-old ‘Who would you save first if both sisters fell in the water?’ question was infamous enough, yet now she’d upped the ante—‘If you had to choose a girlfriend, would you pick Big Sister or Second Sister?’

Choose a girlfriend?

What did that have to do with Ye Qiu?

Women really couldn’t be left idle. The moment they had nothing to do, they’d come up with all sorts of questions.

Big Sister was currently preoccupied with robot housekeepers. Perhaps it was time to give Second Sister something to do, to divert her from these outrageous whims.

He had an idea. Ever since Second Sister had become Master Xuanyuan’s disciple, Lin Wan’er felt a sense of rivalry. Given Second Sister’s competitive nature, he just needed to find a way to spark some rivalry between the two of them.

If women weren’t fighting each other, they’d only make trouble for the men.

Once he’d decided, Ye Qiu quietly peeked out of his room to check on the two women washing dishes in the kitchen, then tiptoed out of the villa.

Xuanyuan Datang couldn’t stand hotels, so Xiao Yurou had rented a villa nearby. The rent wasn’t too expensive—the property fees were the real cost.

As Ye Qiu reached the entrance, he saw Lin Wan’er coming out, with two luxury cars parked nearby. Through the windows, he could vaguely make out both men and women inside.

"Ye Qiu, perfect timing—play a couple of chess games with my master."

"I actually came here today to see you," Ye Qiu began, but before he could finish, a man got out of the car, casting a wary glance at Ye Qiu before turning his attention to Lin Wan’er. "Wan’er, we need to go or all the good spots for the meteor shower will be taken."

Lin Wan’er looked at Ye Qiu apologetically. "Let’s talk later, alright? Tonight’s a once-in-a-century meteor shower—I’m off."

With that, she slipped into the car.

When did this girl make friends in Linhai? He hadn’t heard her mention anything about it.

"Master, I intercepted a message from that man just now. They bought knockout drugs from the black market."

Ye Qiu raised his eyebrows.

After a moment’s hesitation, he opened the car door and climbed in as well.

Besides Lin Wan’er, there was a stylish young woman in the backseat. Her white T-shirt just covered her shorts, making it look at first glance as though she wasn’t wearing any, her long, pale legs on full display. She looked at Ye Qiu in surprise, her large dark eyes widening.

Lin Wan’er also shot him a questioning look.

"Once-in-a-century meteor shower—I couldn’t resist joining the fun," Ye Qiu said.

"You’re everywhere," Lin Wan’er muttered, then turned to the man in the driver’s seat. "Xie Hao, my friend wants to come along too—hope you don’t mind?"

"Of course not. Wan’er’s friends are my friends," Xie Hao replied with practiced ease, then added, "But it’s a tight squeeze with three of you in the back. Doesn’t your friend have a car?"

Lin Wan’er looked at Ye Qiu again.

She honestly couldn’t recall ever seeing him drive.

"Sorry, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him drive," she admitted.

Of course he didn’t drive—people usually chauffeured him.

"Wan’er, what kind of friend is this? He doesn’t even own a car, and he reeks," the girl in the front seat remarked with a frown, waving her hand in front of her nose in disgust. "Why don’t you let your friend ride in the other car instead?"