Rebirth: Starting from Lighting Up the Tech Tree

Chapter 94 Nationwide Layout

The press conference exceeded everyone's expectations.

Within a week, 402 received cooperation intentions from 15 cities across the country. Han Lu ranked the 15 cities according to priority and finally selected three cities as the first batch of expansion targets: Ningbo, which is next to Hangzhou; Suzhou in Jiangsu Province; and Xiamen in Fujian Province.

"Three cities, three provinces, with a budget of 3000 to 5000 million for each city," Zuo Cheng said enthusiastically at the strategy meeting. "Adding the maintenance revenue from Hangzhou and the payments from Tianqiong, 402's revenue next year is conservatively estimated to be over 4 million."

"4 million?" Liu Wei's eyes widened. "Our revenue last year was just over 1 million. It's quadrupled in one year?"

"It's not just about quadrupling revenue; the team also needs to triple," Zuo Cheng said. "We're expanding from the current 40 people to 120. Without enough people, we can't do anything."

"Where are the people?" Chen Hao asked. "With construction starting simultaneously in three cities, each city needs at least five people stationed on-site. Adding the headquarters support team, we'll need at least 30 more people."

"We're already hiring," Zuo Cheng said. "Hanlu is hiring 40 people this month, including 10 field engineers, 5 pre-sales consultants, 10 R&D personnel, and 15 operations support staff. The money raised isn't just for show; we'll spend it when necessary."

Liu Wei raised his hand: "I also need more people for logistics. I can't manage the equipment procurement, warehousing, and logistics for three cities all by myself."

"I'll add two more people for you," Zuo Cheng said. "Logistics support can't be a bottleneck. You need to develop a standardized process for equipment procurement and logistics scheduling in the three cities, and then we'll use that process for every new city we open."

Liu Wei nodded: "I understand. Standardization, replication. The same approach as when we worked on the Sky Dome project."

"Yes," Zuo Cheng said. "402 needs to become a company that can be scaled up and replicated, not just a project team that relies on sheer numbers."

After the meeting, Zuo Cheng returned to his office and opened the system panel. He checked the progress of the technology tree and noticed a new change.

On the branch of the Internet of Things, one leaf shines brighter than the others. Zuo Cheng clicks on it and sees it's the "IoT Security" leaf. The leaf's detailed description shows that it supports two core capabilities: "end-to-end encrypted communication" and "device authentication."

Zuocheng hadn't explored these two capabilities in depth before, but with nationwide expansion, IoT security is becoming increasingly important. Systems in different cities need to communicate with each other, and if security vulnerabilities are exploited, the consequences could be disastrous.

He compiled a technical document outlining the key security capabilities for the Internet of Things (IoT) and handed it to Chen Hao: "Add these two security capabilities to the national standard solution. End-to-end encryption and device authentication are basic configurations, not optional features."

Chen Hao glanced at the document: "Brother Cheng, when did you start researching IoT security? How come I didn't know?"

"I've been watching it in my spare time these past few days," Zuo Cheng said. "Safety is the bottom line; we can't afford any accidents."

Chen Hao nodded and didn't ask any further questions. He was already used to Zuo Cheng occasionally coming up with new technological ideas, although he didn't know where these ideas came from.

Zuo Cheng closed the system panel and looked out the window. 402 was transforming from a regional company into a national enterprise, a process fraught with countless problems and challenges. But the technology was growing, the team was expanding, and funding was plentiful. He only needed to keep a firm grip on the direction and ensure everything progressed in the right direction.

In the afternoon, Tang Xu brought good news.

"Mr. Zuo, the beam switching latency issue is resolved!" Tang Xu's voice trembled with excitement. "Your architecture optimization solution was amazing! After adding the scheduling middleware, the latency dropped from 120 milliseconds to 45 milliseconds, even lower than the design value of 50 milliseconds!"

"45 milliseconds?" Zuo Cheng was secretly delighted, but remained calm on the surface. "Did it pass the full simulation?"

"It passed the test! All 480 satellites were online simultaneously, and the latency was no more than 48 milliseconds even in the most extreme scenario. It fully meets the acceptance standards!"

Zuo Cheng took a deep breath. Beam switching delay was the biggest technical vulnerability in the third phase of Sky Dome, but now that it's resolved, delivery is a certainty.

"Okay. Organize the acceptance materials and prepare to submit them to Blue Bay Communications for delivery review," Zuo Cheng said. "Also, the experience in architecture optimization needs to be documented and used as a technical standard for subsequent projects. We can't rely on flashes of inspiration to solve problems every time."

Tang Xu nodded earnestly: "I understand. I'll add comments to the middleware code, and the architecture documentation will be updated accordingly. New projects can reuse it directly."

Zuo Cheng patted him on the shoulder with satisfaction: "Go on, well done."

After Tang Xu left, Zuo Cheng picked up his phone and sent Ma Hao another message: "Is the technical solution for AI ready?"

Ma Hao replied, "It's being written; it will take another three days."

"No rush, focus on thoroughness. Quality is more important than speed."

Zuo Cheng put down his phone. AI is the next area that 402 needs to tackle, and it's also the fourth branch on the technology tree. But now is not the time to activate the AI ​​branch. He needs to first stabilize the nationwide layout of the Internet of Things before fully shifting his focus to AI.

"clear!"

After Tang Xu left, Zuo Cheng opened the system panel and glanced at the [Distributed System Architecture Optimization] blade. The scheduling middleware that Tang Xu mentioned was the core technology provided by this blade. Zuo Cheng had simply drawn a box on the architecture diagram, marking the key parameters of the middleware, and Tang Xu had implemented the complete engineering solution based on that.

The technology tree provides direction, while the team is responsible for execution. Only through the collaboration of both can the impossible be turned into the possible.

He closed the system panel, picked up his phone, and sent Yu Ying a message: "The beam problem is solved, 45 milliseconds, below the design value."

Yu Ying replied instantly: "That's great! You're amazing, bro!"

Zuo Cheng smiled and sent another message: "Are you free tonight? Let's have dinner together to celebrate."

"Of course I'm free! I'll wait for you downstairs at your company in a bit."

Zuo Cheng put down his phone and looked out the window. The Hangzhou skyline was bathed in a warm glow from the setting sun, and the distant skyscrapers appeared exceptionally magnificent in the twilight. 402 was accelerating, and each technological breakthrough brought him one step closer to his ultimate goal.

What was that goal? He himself couldn't say for sure. Perhaps it was to build an intelligent network that covered everything, perhaps it was to unravel the mystery of the origin of the technology tree system, or perhaps it was simply to prove that he would not lose again in this life.

No matter what it is, he's on the road. And the scenery along the way is far more magnificent than he imagined.