Chapter 288: AI Legend Master: Chen Yansen Is My Godfather! Wang Zihao: Still Couldn

"Chen Zong, can you make a profit at this price?"

Lei Yi turned back, his eyes blazing with anger, confronting Chen Yansen.

"Hardware doesn't earn much—I plan to profit from software. Didn't Xiaomi and 360 phones do the same?"

Chen Yansen smiled modestly, dismissing it with a wave.

The screen, chip, and memory used in the Qingcheng D1s are actually quite average; the specs look luxurious, but the material cost per unit is just over five hundred yuan, with unnecessary sensors like the gyroscope and magnetometer completely cut.

The battery is supplied by Desai, the screen by Jingdongfang; leveraging his status as a shareholder and major client, Chen Yansen secured the lowest possible prices.

As for MediaTek's MT6573 processor, Orange Tech's willingness to purchase it is a favor to MediaTek.

Currently, very few domestic phone manufacturers still choose MediaTek chips.

Either Qualcomm, or NVIDIA and Shanxing—MediaTek chips are the backup of backups, commonly found in low-end and ultra-low-end smartphones.

"I doubt 360 Phone can sell 600,000 units again next month," Zhou Hongyi swallowed hard, silently planning his new model—he must avoid Orange Phone's price range.

Ding Li frowned, then relaxed again.

NetEase Phone's hardware specs are slightly better than the Qingcheng D1s, and as an internet phone brand already focused on 'fans,' sales would be hit but not severely.

The most grim-faced were representatives from Lenovo, ZTE, and Ku Sect—once the Qingcheng D1s launched, their mid-range models would likely become unsellable.

Low-end models are blocked by Orange D1, high-end models by Orange C2 and Orange C3; above that, the 4,000-yuan-and-up segment is entirely dominated by Apple, Shanxing, and HTC.

"Fuck! If you've got the guts to sell at 4,999 yuan, go take on Apple!"

Chen Yongming, who had chatted amiably with Chen Yansen at the Xiaomi launch, now had a dark expression, silently cursing inside.

Lei Yi listened to Chen Yansen's explanation, opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

For a moment, the faces of all major phone manufacturers' representatives were filled with complex expressions.

Their minds held only one thought: slash prices!

Go back and develop a thousand-yuan phone, teach Chen Yansen a harsh lesson!

In supply chains, production lines, and cost control, how could these industry giants lose to Orange Tech?

It's just a matter of whether they want to or not!

Wang Teng stood on stage, taking in the expressions below, then smiled faintly and said, "Now let me introduce the development team behind Mo Si Voice Interaction Engine—give them a round of applause!"

Competitors were still lost in the happy fantasy of "developing a thousand-yuan phone → launch and sell 5 million units → crush Qingcheng D1s → Orange Tech begs for mercy," ignoring Wang Teng's words entirely.

Media and fan groups responded promptly, erupting in thunderous applause.

It wasn't out of respect for Wang Teng—it was because the 999-yuan price won everyone's respect.

Daniel and Zhou Chuangxi walked onto the stage; Wang Teng stepped aside, handing the stage to them.

"Hello everyone, I'm Zhou Chuangxi, Chief Scientist of Orange Tech's Artificial Intelligence Lab."

"Hello everyone, I'm Daniel Bové, Chief Scientist of Orange Tech's Artificial Intelligence Lab."

Daniel's Chinese had improved rapidly; though he still couldn't communicate flawlessly, giving a simple self-introduction came easily to him.

The audience didn't look particularly surprised upon seeing Daniel—they'd already seen Orange Tech's AI lab team in the promotional video.

Half of them were foreign employees!

Daniel began speaking slowly, sharing his academic and R&D journey, while Zhou Chuangxi translated in real time.

IBM Research, Senior Engineer in Computer Speech Recognition.

Microsoft Research, creator of the Hidden Markov Statistical Model, developer of the Kaldi speech recognition software.

Johns Hopkins University, Associate Professor at the Center for Language and Speech Processing.

This guy is undeniably a legend in the AI field!

Only now did media and fans realize that the middle-aged, seemingly shy glasses-wearer on stage had such an impressive background.

"Is this real?"

"Isn't he just an actor hired from Hengdian?"

"Search online—you'll find real news about Daniel Bové. He's a genuine top-tier AI expert."

Reporters and fans whispered among themselves; after confirming Daniel's identity and academic achievements, they grew excited.

Reporters felt they'd found another news bomb.

Fans believed the influence of Mo Si Voice Interaction Engine and Mo Si Smart Speaker had been severely underestimated.

As Daniel spoke his final sentence, he looked earnestly at Chen Yansen and said: "Since coming to China, my technical skills have grown rapidly, mostly due to my boss's influence—he's far superior to me in speech recognition, natural language processing, and speech generation. In my heart, he is my mentor and my godfather."

Zhou Chuangxi froze slightly, glancing instinctively at Daniel, his eyes asking: "Is this too flattery? Should I translate it?"

Seeing Zhou Chuangxi silent, Daniel nudged his mouth, urging him on.

Zhou Chuangxi ignored him, turning his gaze to the boss.

Chen Yansen gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head, signaling Zhou Chuangxi not to translate that line.

After receiving the instruction, Zhou Chuangxi took the microphone from Daniel and shifted to discussing the development of speech analysis tools, then the challenges in natural language processing and speech generation.

He also briefly introduced his own background.

Computer prodigy from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Ph. D. in Electrical Engineering from UIUC, expert in computer vision, image processing, and speech recognition, student of the "Father of Computer Vision" in the Land of the Beacon.

The audience below sat stunned, while the two hundred-plus members of Orange Tech's AI lab mostly possessed comparable elite talents.

This was an ultra-luxury team built by the world's top AI experts—no wonder the 199-dollar Alexa smart speaker sold a terrifying 2 million units in Europe and America. Chen Yansen's marketing strategy mirrored that of Haojixing, 8848 Phone, and Xiao Guan Tea.

Xiao Guan Tea partnered with eight master tea makers; Mo Si (Alexa) Smart Speaker partnered with over two hundred AI experts.

Is 799 yuan expensive?

These are all the R&D achievements of AI experts!

The tactic is crude, but the effect is powerful.

Before the launch event ended, columnists from Huxiu, iHeima, Toutiao, Sohu, Penguin, and NetEase had already published detailed illustrated articles highlighting Orange Tech's AI lab and Mo Si Smart Speaker.

"AI Legend Master: Daniel Bové and Orange Tech—The World's First Smart Speaker!"

"Daniel Bove, top scientist of the United States: Chen Yansen is my mentor, my godfather!"

"Earned 400 million US dollars overseas—Alexa smart speakers shouldn't be buried!"

Netizens flooded the comments with discussions; some users who had purchased Mo Si smart speakers left messages: The performance of Mo Si smart speakers doesn't match their price—they deserve a higher selling price!

"Why buy a speaker? Just buy Sister Chengzi C3!"

"Sister Chengzi phones keep getting pricier—next model will probably hit 3,000 yuan!"

"You can't possibly be ignoring the existence of Sister Chengzi C1, Sister Chengzi D1, and Green Orange D1S?"

"Go to Sister Chengzi Shangcheng's official website—links for Sister Chengzi C3 and Green Orange D1S are already live!"

Sister Chengzi Tech's official microblog and Chen Yansen's Weibo account both reposted the promotional poster for the new Sister Chengzi phone at 4:00 p. m.

The comment section instantly filled with netizens come to watch the spectacle.

The article where Daniel Bove called Chen Yansen his godfather was soon dismissed by netizens as fake news.

Who doesn't know Chen Yansen is a liberal arts student who studied journalism? How could his AI expertise surpass Western and European AI gods? Impossible!

On the other side.

After the launch event ended, Chen Yansen saw Ma Wenteng, Yu Chendong, Lei Yi, and others off into their cars, then let out a light sigh.

"Boss, it's still early—I'll go home and make you brown sugar rice wine with glutinous rice balls and tofu pudding, want…?" Ye Qiuping walked over and asked.

Before she finished speaking, Chen Yansen interrupted her: "I don't like sweet drinks."

Hearing this, Ye Qiuping froze, her delicate eyebrows furrowed, silently cursing in her mind: Who was the dog that drank two bowls this morning!

Then Chen Yansen got into the back seat of the Ghost car and told Xiao Li to return to the tech park.

The acquisition of Nuomi. com still required communication with Pei Yi and Gao Weilin to confirm timelines, pacing, and draft preliminary takeover steps and plans.

Nuomi. com's organizational structure was rigid, decision-making inefficient, its ground promotion team small, coverage weak, with only about 1,000 employees total—the fewest among top-tier group-buying websites.

Pei Yi needed to restructure its organizational framework and ground promotion model to activate its combat effectiveness.

Chen Yansen's plan was to abolish the agent system in third- and fourth-tier cities, fully transition to direct operation, and establish a three-tier ground promotion structure: "Regional Manager—Area Manager—City Manager," to enhance cohesion.

He knew the true nature of those agents all too well.

Demanding bribes and kickbacks from local merchants was basic practice; some even fabricated nonexistent merchants to sign contracts and exploit platform promotions for subsidies.

The timid made a few hundred thousand a year; the bold made a few million.

It wasn't hard to imagine how much of Chen Yizhou's monthly losses of over three million US dollars had been siphoned off by agents and regional managers working together.

Half an hour later, Chen Yansen returned to the tech park, first summoned Gao Weilin, then initiated an online video conference with Pei Yi and Kang Guodong to discuss Nuomi. com's acquisition.

Meanwhile.

Shen Boyang, upon receiving the boss's notice, immediately prepared the corresponding financial and business data for Shenlian Capital's personnel to review.

"Boss Shen, is the company really being sold?" the assistant asked curiously.

"Yes, the buyer is Shenlian Capital. Don't make any mistakes during this period—warn the team below, stay sharp."

Shen Boyang said firmly, his expression serious.

He wanted to use this chance to join Shenlian Capital, to get a new boss.

Compared to Chen Yansen, Chen Yizhou was ten thousand miles behind—people climb upward, water flows downward; Shen Boyang also wanted to advance further.

"Understood, Boss Shen." The assistant nodded, opened the door, and left to carry out Shen Boyang's instructions.

An hour later, the news that Nuomi. com was about to be sold spread throughout the headquarters.

"Sigh, if Baidu had acquired us—it's at least one of the BATs."

"So what if it's a BAT? Baidu bought Lashou. com and never improved employee benefits. I say Shenlian Capital is more reliable."

"Dong Ge is right! Shenlian Capital treats all its subsidiaries—including employees of acquired companies—equally: base salary, overtime pay, quarterly bonuses, housing subsidies—all maximized!"

"No way, really?"

"What do you mean 'really'? Then quit if you don't believe it!"

"You think I'm stupid?"

In the office, voices buzzed with lively discussion.

In the corner, Zhang Xuhao gave a bitter smile—after all this back-and-forth, he had become Chen Yansen's employee again, working under Pei Yi.

At that moment, his phone rang—the caller ID showed a familiar number.

Zhang Xuhao sighed and pressed answer: "Wang Yuan, looks like we'll be colleagues again..."

(End of Chapter)