Let the Fire Burn More Brightly

"Seriously, I went to a dinner party with my dad on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year. Man, the whole table was full of prominent investors in Beijing. Guess what they were talking about after a few drinks?"

Li Zicong mysteriously lowered his voice, "They were all talking about DeepSpace Tech!"

Guo Yang, listening nearby, got excited and even tabbed out of his game. "The company that created Moss? I saw it on TikTok. That AI is absolutely insane, it can even solve advanced math problems. If I had known about this thing during finals, I wouldn't have had to beg the counselor to let me pass."

"It's more than insane," Li Zicong slapped his thigh. "My dad said this company just secured billions of dollars in funding from state-backed funds and Wall Street. Their valuation shot straight up to fifteen billion dollars! Fifteen billion! And that's in USD!"

Zhang Tianyang gasped beside them, clearly shocked by the number.

"You know what's the craziest part?" Li Zicong pointed at Chen Zhi. "Word in the industry is that the boss behind this company is a Peking University student, and his last name is also Chen. Plus, he's extremely low-key. Even those top-tier venture capitalists can't get a meeting with him in person."

Li Zicong looked Chen Zhi up and down, clicking his tongue. "Chen Zhi, if you weren't sitting in the dorm eating instant noodles and playing games with us every day, I'd seriously suspect that person was you."

Chen Zhi didn't bat an eye as he tore open the packaging of a tub of pickled cabbage instant noodles. He skillfully sprinkled in the seasoning packets, poured in boiling water, and then covered it with a book.

"If I were worth billions, the first thing I'd do is buy that Rolex Submariner of yours and smash it right in front of you just to hear the sound." Chen Zhi pulled out a chair, sat down, and crossed his legs.

"Damn, hating on the rich, huh!" Li Zicong gave him the middle finger. "But seriously, if we could just get a little connected with a big shot like that, we wouldn't have to worry about anything after graduation. My dad is racking his brains trying to shove some money their way, but they won't even open the door a crack."

Chen Zhi smiled and didn't reply.

Invest money?

What a joke. Right now, all kinds of domestic and foreign capital were begging to throw money at them; they wouldn't even glance at those loose change investments.

Just as he was about to lift the lid off his noodles, the phone on the desk suddenly buzzed twice.

Chen Zhi picked it up and saw a WeChat message pop up on the screen.

Pei Ningxue: [Back in Beijing?]

Chen Zhi's hand paused. He had just stepped into the dorm, and she already knew?

Chen Zhi: [Just got to the dorm, about to have a hot meal.]

Pei Ningxue: [Forget about eating. Get your ass to the 20th floor of the World Trade Center within half an hour.]

Chen Zhi looked at the words on the screen and sighed helplessly.

This woman had returned to Beijing to work overtime on the fifth day of the new year. Now that she saw he was back, she was probably ready to draft him for hard labor.

"Hey, Chen Zhi, your noodles are ready. They'll get soggy if you don't eat," Guo Yang reminded him.

Chen Zhi suddenly stood up and grabbed his down jacket from the back of his chair. "Not eating. Whoever is hungry can have it. I have an emergency and need to head out."

"Running out right after you get back? Going to keep your girlfriend company again?" Li Zicong called out from behind.

"You could say that."

Chen Zhi rushed out of Dorm 404 without looking back.

The others in the room looked confused. What did "you could say that" mean?

...

Half an hour later.

The taxi pulled up downstairs at the World Trade Center.

Chen Zhi swiped his card and went up to the 20th floor. This was DeepSpace Tech's new headquarters, rented after their Series A funding. The entire floor, a full 1,900 square meters, had been leased out with a single wave of Pei Ningxue's hand.

Just out of the elevator, he was greeted by a highly futuristic reception area. Carved into a massive black marble backdrop were the silver letters "DeepSpace."

Two pretty receptionists in professional attire were sitting at the front desk. Seeing Chen Zhi approach, they stood up politely: "Hello sir, do you have an appointment?"

DeepSpace Tech had expanded so quickly that these two receptionists were clearly hired over the winter break. They had no idea who their elusive big boss was.

Just as Chen Zhi was about to speak, someone hurried out from behind the glass doors.

It was DeepSpace Tech's CTO, Dai Damai.

"Boss! You're finally here!" Dai Damai looked up and saw Chen Zhi. It was like seeing a savior, and he rushed over, taking the steps two at a time.

The two receptionists instantly turned to stone, their eyes widening as they stared at this ordinarily dressed young man.

Boss?!

This was the legendary President Chen, worth billions and extremely mysterious?!

Chen Zhi smiled at the two receptionists, then turned to Dai Damai. "What's the rush? Is the company going bankrupt?"

"Not bankrupt, but I'm about to drop dead from overwork." Dai Damai swiped open the access control door and led Chen Zhi inside, pouring out his grievances. "President Pei is an absolute workaholic! She dragged me back from my hometown on the fifth day of the new year."

"Now that Moss's API is fully open, the daily data throughput is an astronomical figure. Those big tech companies send people to block our doors every day. I've been working around the clock these past few days and have slept for less than ten hours!"

Chen Zhi patted him on the shoulder and said earnestly, "Damai, when heaven is about to place a great responsibility on a man, it first tests him. Look at this spacious office, look at this top-tier equipment—this is the empire you've built. Hang in there a bit longer, so you can buy me a Maybach S680 by the end of the year."

Dai Damai rolled his eyes, clearly used to his big boss's flippant attitude.

"Alright, I'm going back to work. President Pei is waiting for you in her office. Be careful when you go in; she doesn't seem to be in a good mood today." Dai Damai pointed to the office at the end of the hallway and warned him in a low voice.

Chen Zhi knew what to expect. He walked up to the office door and, without even knocking, pushed it open and walked right in.

The office was massive. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows was the bustling view of Beijing's CBD.

Pei Ningxue was sitting in the executive chair, looking down and flipping through a financial report.

Today, she was wearing a well-tailored, haute couture black business suit, paired with a white blouse underneath, its collar slightly open. Her hair was pinned up at the back of her head, revealing a long, pale neck. A pair of gold-rimmed blue-light-blocking glasses rested on the bridge of her nose.

It seemed today's persona was the aloof, stoic female CEO.

Hearing the door open, Pei Ningxue didn't even look up. "Close the door."

Chen Zhi locked the door behind him, walked up to the desk, and leaned both hands on the surface, studying her.

"What's the matter, Miss Pei? Are you going for the cold, unapproachable female CEO vibe today to show me, your humble boss, who's in charge?" Chen Zhi teased with a smile.

Pei Ningxue finally put down her pen. She looked up, took off her glasses, and revealed her slightly exhausted eyes. There were faint bloodshot traces in her beautiful eyes; clearly, she hadn't had an easy winter break.

"So President Chen still remembers he has a company?"

Pei Ningxue's voice sounded a bit hoarse, carrying a trace of resentment.

"This office is 1,900 square meters, and the daily rent is an astronomical figure. I rushed out of my house on the fifth day of the new year to haggle with those old foxes from the investment firms, reconcile accounts with the tax bureau, and keep an eye on the headhunters to poach talent."

She stood up and walked over to the floor-to-ceiling windows. As she watched the endless stream of traffic on the East Third Ring Road outside, her silhouette looked somewhat lonely and fragile.

While you were out shopping and playing ring toss with your childhood sweetheart in Jiangcheng, did it ever cross your mind that I was stuck here drinking cold water and eating takeout?

Chen Zhi's heart skipped a beat, and all the slick words he had prepared caught in his throat.

Looking at Pei Ningxue's back, he genuinely felt a pang of guilt. This girl could have easily spent her whole life lounging around as the little princess of the Pei family, yet she insisted on coming here to help him clean up this mess. For Deep Space Technology to reach its current scale, Pei Ningxue's contributions were no less than his own as a hands-off boss.

Chen Zhi walked around the desk, stepped up behind her, hesitated for a moment, and then reached out to hold her slightly cold hand.

You've worked hard lately.

Pei Ningxue didn't pull away. Letting him hold her hand, she mocked,

A scumbag's affection comes way too fast. Truly worthy of a top-tier master who can juggle three women at once. Chen Zhi, is your conscience sliced up into little pieces so you can hand one out to whoever you meet?

Chen Zhi was choked up and speechless. He could only cough awkwardly and force a change of subject.

Let's talk business. Da Mai just complained to me that you're about to squeeze him dry. What's wrong? Did something happen with the company?

At the mention of business, Pei Ningxue's emotions quickly cooled down. She turned around, picked up a financial analysis report from the desk, and tossed it into Chen Zhi's arms.

See for yourself.

Pei Ningxue reached out and tapped the report a few times.

Currently, our biggest expense is computing power. To maintain Moss's operations and iterations, we've rented massive computing resources from Alibaba Cloud and Huawei Cloud. Coupled with the maintenance costs of the A100 graphics cards we purchased ourselves, the monthly electricity and bandwidth costs are a bottomless pit.

Then there's talent. You demanded we poach top PhDs from Tsinghua, Peking University, and the Ivy League. Their starting annual salaries are in the millions, and we have to give them stock options. Add the rent for the space here at the World Trade Center, and the R&D centers we set up overseas...

Pei Ningxue looked at Chen Zhi, her tone serious.

Excluding our funding rounds, the meager revenue we make right now from selling API access isn't even enough to cover their payroll. Capital is profit-driven, Chen Zhi. The folks at Sequoia and BlackRock are putting you on a pedestal right now because Moss looks like a miracle.

But if, in six months, they realize this thing is just a money-burning typewriter, they will pull their investments ten times faster than they handed over the cash.

Chen Zhi flipped through the report, his brows furrowing deeply.

He knew very well that Pei Ningxue was telling the truth. The AI industry in 2021 was still in the darkness before dawn.

Everyone knew it was the future, but no one had a clue how to monetize it. Relying solely on writing code for programmers and essays for students was far too flimsy a business model to support a fifteen-billion-dollar valuation.

Selling APIs really doesn't cover our expenses. Chen Zhi closed the report, walked over to the sofa, sat down, and lit a cigarette.

Pei Ningxue frowned but didn't stop him. She simply sat down next to him.

So what do we do? Go for Series B funding? In the current market, if we can't present a decent profitability model, our Series B valuation will be suppressed miserably.

Chen Zhi exhaled a puff of smoke. His gaze, piercing through the haze, looked somewhat profound.

A profitability model isn't found; it's created. Although we're the ones who lit the current fire of AI, many traditional industries are still watching from the sidelines or even resisting. They are afraid of being replaced, so they instinctively refuse to integrate Moss.

Pei Ningxue turned her head to look at him. Then what do you plan to do?

Since they think the fire isn't big enough, we'll just have to make it burn brighter.

Chen Zhi stubbed out his cigarette, his eyes growing sharp.

Starting tomorrow, tell Mr. Dai's team to slow down the upgrade pace of Moss's underlying large model. The current Moss is already two or three years ahead of the rest of the world. There's no need to blindly chase parameter scale anymore.

Pei Ningxue was taken aback. Slow down the upgrades? That's our core competency.

Core competency only matters when it's converted into cold, hard cash. Chen Zhi waved his hand. We need to shift our R&D efforts to the AI application layer. Specifically, AI driving, AI logistics, and AI finance.

You want to do autonomous driving? Pei Ningxue was startled. That's Tesla's territory. The investment required is even more terrifying than large models.

No, we aren't doing hardware. We are only building the brain.

Chen Zhi stood up and slowly paced around the office.

The reason current autonomous driving sucks is that their visual algorithms are too stupid, and their logical reasoning capabilities are practically zero. But Moss is different. Moss has multimodal understanding capabilities. We are going to develop a universal AI driving suite and sell it directly to traditional automakers who want to transition but lack the technology.

Chen Zhi stopped pacing and turned to look at Pei Ningxue.

Then there's express delivery and takeout. Current dispatch systems are still based on simple route planning. If they plug into Moss's decision-making model, efficiency can increase by at least 30%. That 30% efficiency translates to a market worth tens of billions.

With AI, our costs for training unmanned driving, unmanned takeout delivery, and unmanned express delivery will be lower than theirs, while our efficiency will be dozens of times higher.

Pei Ningxue fell deep into thought. She was a smart woman and quickly grasped Chen Zhi's logic.

You want to completely ignite the concept of AI, transforming it from a chatbot into social infrastructure?

Exactly. Chen Zhi smiled. When everyone realizes that if they don't use our AI they'll be crushed by their competitors, they will come crying and begging to give us their money. When that time comes, we won't need to beg venture capitalists at all. They'll be fighting tooth and nail just for a ticket to get in.

Watching Chen Zhi's spirited and confident demeanor, the tense strings of Pei Ningxue's heart loosened a bit.

She had to admit that Chen Zhi possessed an almost monstrously sharp strategic vision.

Alright, you're the boss. What you say goes.

Pei Ningxue stood up, walked over to Chen Zhi, and reached out to straighten the collar of his down jacket.

However, Boss Chen, strategy is strategy. You just said you were going to compensate me. How exactly do you plan on doing that?