"To be frank, Mr. Fang, at the current pace of development, this kind of technology would take at least ten years to materialize. Without solid evidence, it's hard for me to believe." Ma Teng was indeed a very rational person, perhaps it was this rationality that led to his tremendous success.
"I knew you'd have such concerns, Mr. Ma, and I've prepared for it!"
Fang Jueyu had already anticipated Ma Teng's concerns. He had Little Yi produce a small piece of equipment a few days ago, a simple device consisting of a basic game and a special helmet.
However, due to technical and time constraints, Little Yi only managed to make a simplified helmet in three days, but it could still achieve more than 70% simulation accuracy, which was already a quite high level.
"Oh?" Ma Teng immediately showed interest.
"I've prepared a set of simple experience equipment. If Mr. Ma has time today, you're welcome to try it at my place."
"That would be great!" Ma Teng was eager to experience it himself. In fact, he was a hardcore gamer, but regular games no longer captivated him. A game with such high simulation accuracy was appealing to anyone.
"Are you driving this thing to your internship?" Ma Teng was stunned as he watched Fang Jueyu park the Sun God in the underground garage, thinking that if Fang was only interning, couldn't he be a little low-key? Driving a car could take the whole department years to afford. Who would dare assign him work?
"It's simply the easiest car for me to drive!"
Fang Jueyu controlled the car with his voice, performing actions like opening doors and starting the engine, scenes that seemed straight out of a sci-fi movie. It seemed like no country had produced such an intelligent sports car yet.
Now, Ma Teng started to believe that Fang Jueyu might actually develop a VR gaming device .
Guo Xinyu had already gone to practice in her recording studio, and Zhuang Ying was still handling matters related to the Ladinic Family. Besides the few people cleaning, there was nobody else in Jiangnan's villa.
"Wow, you've got quite an eye for living!" remarked Ma Teng, recognizing many of the artworks in the hall, some of which Fang Jueyu had acquired from an auction last time.
"Nothing much, just some trinkets, not worth much," Fang Jueyu casually responded.
"Not worth much..." Earlier, Ma Teng noticed a Van Gogh painting and doubted that a person like Fang Jueyu would display fakes in his home. Such items, worth millions of US dollars, he claimed to be insignificant?
That was indeed how Fang Jueyu saw it. To him, anything that didn't cost over his 500 billion US dollar principal was deemed worthless.
"Here we are!" Fang Jueyu had a gaming room in his home, specifically for playing games. The equipment Little Yi prepared had been delivered yesterday. Fang Jueyu had tried it himself, and the feeling was indeed dreamlike.
"Woah!" As he entered the gaming room, even Ma Teng was surprised. This wasn't just a place to play games; it was nearly as equipped as a lab.
"Is this the thing?" Ma Teng pointed at the silver helmet connected to a bunch of data cables.
"That's right!" Fang Jueyu explained, "This helmet uses neural synchronization to project your sensory thoughts into the computer. Through the supercomputer's expansive computing power, feedback is converted into data and neural fluctuations, then sent back to your brain to simulate various physical sensations. The realism can reach up to 70%."
"Can I try it now?" Ma Teng couldn't wait to ask.
"Of course!" Fang Jueyu opened a computer and connected the silver helmet to it, "Mr. Ma, have a seat!"
Ma Teng, quite daring, sat down directly on the gaming chair in front of the computer.
"You might feel uncomfortable at first, but it'll ease soon," Fang Jueyu said as he placed the helmet on Ma Teng's head.
He felt a tingling sensation from his temples. Suddenly, a glaring brightness unfolded before him. Within moments, he realized he was standing on a turbulent sea, on a sailboat riding the waves.
"Splash!" A massive wave crashed against the side of the boat, throwing it into a violent sway. Unable to keep his footing, Ma Teng fell to the ground, feeling a subtle sense of pain in his leg.
"Mr. Ma, I only set the pain perception to 10%, just to give you a slight feel," Fang Jueyu's voice echoed in his mind.
"It's incredible!" Ma Teng touched his clothes, the sensation of cold, damp fabric being astonishingly realistic. The enormous waves and the sea breeze—was this truly only 70% simulation?
"What's that?" Suddenly, a massive tentacle emerged from the sea ahead, at least ten meters long, crashing down onto the ship.
"Crash!" The deck shattered, and Ma Teng was flung skyward by the overwhelming force, plunging into the sea. The salty water, together with the feeling of suffocating, surrounded him. Just as he was about to feel discomfort, the vision and sensations in his body disappeared instantly.
Ma Teng removed the helmet and saw Fang Jueyu smiling at him.
"How was it, Mr. Ma?"
"Amazing!" said Ma Teng, inspecting himself to find no injuries or discomfort—everything felt just like a dream. "Did you really create this?"
"That's right!" Fang Jueyu nodded.
"Isn't it a waste to use this technology for gaming?" Ma Teng, with a wider perspective than Fang Jueyu, knew that if this technology were applied to military training, it could facilitate large-scale military exercises, greatly enhancing national defense capabilities.
If other countries took notice, they might even covet it. This was national strategic-level technology, and yet, Fang Jueyu developed it just for gaming!
"Waste? What's the waste?" Fang Jueyu pointed at the data line behind the computer, "See that? We even use a supercomputer for gaming in my house."
"Damn it!" Ma Teng, in an instant, felt the urge to curse. Such powerful technology, not applied to more meaningful uses, yet used for gaming? Who needs that? Just because you're rich? Does having money allow you to do whatever you want? I'm wealthy myself, but I've never used a supercomputer to play games!
"What do you plan to do with this game?" Ma Teng still focused on the most critical point.
"For single-player, the system requirements aren't that high. But to create a large-scale online game, it requires massive specialized servers and supercomputers for data support."
"How much would it cost?"
"The helmet itself isn't expensive, costing about 4000 yuan. The construction cost of a supercomputer is about 1.5 billion US dollars. I have channels for this, so you don't need to worry. As for the specialized servers, they might be a bit pricier."
"10 billion?" Ma Teng tentatively asked.
"If it needs to accommodate over 500,000 players, it would require around 150 billion US dollars!"
"Gasp!" Ma Teng took a sharp breath; the investment technology-wise was truly substantial.
"Don't worry, I'm covering the costs!" Fang Jueyu patted his chest, "But, Mr. Ma, setting up the servers requires a lot of manpower and regular maintenance work. Those tasks are up to you."
"You'll lose a substantial amount of money!" Ma Teng remarked.
"I wish I could lose more!" Fang Jueyu said. "So, are you in or out? Give me a straightforward answer!"
Ma Teng gritted his teeth. This was definitely a huge opportunity for him. If this revolutionary game hit the market, his company's stock would undoubtedly soar, overtaking those big corporations wouldn't be too difficult.
The key aspect was that his partner was a filthy rich bigwig, to whom wealth was just a figure. He spent money purely based on whether it made him happy!
"I'm in!" With such a cooperative opportunity, Ma Teng would only profit, not lose. Not going for it would indeed make him a fool!