Chapter 264: Olympics Link: Accessibility App Upgrade

Zhao Chen's hand still rested on the wheelchair armrest, her fingertips slightly cool. She had just heard three knocks, the sound coming from the iron pipe above, clear as if someone were speaking into her ear. But now sunlight warmed her face, the scent of pancakes drifted from a nearby stall, and everything seemed utterly ordinary.

Zhao Xing pushed her forward, the wheels rumbling over the grass in the tile cracks with a soft squeak. "Getting some fresh air would be nice," he said. "If we stay cooped up indoors, we'll go moldy."

Zhao Yang walked beside them, holding a tablet in his hands, its screen lit up showing the newly updated app interface. "He Yushui said a new feature goes live today; let's try it out at that smart restaurant on the corner."

Zhao Chen didn't speak, just gave a slight nod. She didn't want to think about those sounds anymore. She wanted to see if the people before her could live a little better.

At the corner restaurant's entrance stood an old man with a cane, wearing a washed‑white blue cloth shirt. He stood before the ordering machine, raising his hand then lowering it back and forth several times without pressing anything. The machine announced the menu aloud, which he couldn't hear, and the sliding options on the screen were incomprehensible to him.

"He's deaf‑mute," Zhao Yang whispered.

He Yushui came out of the restaurant holding a tester, her hair slightly tousled by the wind. Seeing the triplets arrive, her eyes lit up: "Perfect timing! The new version of the accessibility app just went live; all we need now is real‑world testing."

She quickly walked up to the old man and greeted him with a gesture. He stared for a moment, then slowly returned a polite motion.

He Yushui opened the tablet, activated the camera aimed at the old man. The screen popped up a prompt: 【Sign‑language recognition module loading】. A few seconds later, text appeared: "I want a bowl of braised beef noodles, no scallions."

The ordering machine immediately responded, voice announcing: "Order received; please choose a pickup method."

The old man stared at the screen, his expression changing. He slowly lifted his hand and made a few gestures in the air.

The system recognized again: "This is the first time I can order food without anyone's help."

Zhao Xing couldn't help laughing: "Done!"

Zhao Yang raised his fist and shouted softly: "YES!"

Zhao Chen sat in her wheelchair, the corners of her mouth lifting as well. She watched the old man lower his head, pull out his phone, and open an old photo album containing a picture of him when he was younger, with a woman and a little girl beside him. He pointed at the photo and then made a "thank you" gesture.

The app translated the text: "If my daughter saw this, she would surely be delighted."

Several passersby stopped to watch; at first no one spoke. Then a young man pulled out his phone, recorded a clip, and said quietly: "This kid is really amazing."

Another elderly woman came over and asked He Yushui: "Can this thing be taught? My grandson is learning sign language but can't find a practice partner."

He Yushui smiled and nodded: "It can connect online for matching, and later you can even enter virtual scenes to practice conversation."

After receiving his meal ticket number, the old man didn't leave right away. He stood in place for a moment, then suddenly turned and bowed deeply to the triplets and He Yushui.

Zhao Yang quickly waved his hands: "Don't do that, you're being too polite."

Zhao Xing pushed Zhao Chen a step forward: "Grandpa, whenever you want to eat something, just come and try it."

The old man nodded, his eyes a little wet. He walked away slowly, his back straight, his steps much steadier than when he arrived.

"System prompt," Zhao Xing suddenly said.

"What?" Zhao Yang asked.

"Something just rang in my head," Zhao Xing said, closing his eyes to recall. "It said…… earned 【social contribution points】, which can be exchanged for rare materials."

Zhao Chen said softly: "We helped someone."

"No kidding," Zhao Xing grinned. "It's far more fun than doing experiments."

He Yushui packed up her equipment, wiped the sweat from her forehead: "This version still has plenty of little bugs—for example, the recognition speed is half a beat slow, and complex gestures are easy to misjudge. But at least we've gotten the first round running."

"How about adding expression‑assisted recognition next time?" Zhao Yang suggested. "Some signs only make sense with the right facial expression."

"Already in the works," He Yushui nodded. "The next version will incorporate micro‑expression analysis and can also assess emotional state."

Zhao Xing patted his sister's shoulder: "You two just can't sit still."

Zhao Chen looked up at the electronic screen on the restaurant's outer wall, which was rolling the Olympic countdown. "Three months left until the opening," she said.

"What about the Olympics?" Zhao Yang asked.

"This app," Zhao Chen said slowly, "could we add real‑time multilingual translation? When foreign athletes arrive, we could help them too."

He Yushui's eyes lit up: "You mean expanding the accessibility service into an international version?"

"Hmm," Zhao Chen nodded. "It wouldn't just be for the hearing‑impaired; people with language barriers or mobility issues could use it too."

Zhao Yang immediately pulled out a sketch: "I can design a metaverse reception lobby where users put on lightweight headsets to enter a virtual service station."

"Is the funding enough?" Zhao Xing asked.

"The kind that doesn't cost money," Zhao Yang chuckled. "We can carve out a region on the existing servers and make an open‑shared platform."

He Yushui pondered for a moment: "Technically feasible; the key is keeping the review mechanism and privacy protection up to speed."

"Then let's add a credit rating system," Zhao Xing said. "Anyone who spreads false information gets downgraded, and serious offenders get kicked out."

As they talked, their excitement grew. A few passing students stopped to listen, and one bespectacled male student asked: "What project are you working on? Can I sign up as a volunteer?"

He Yushui handed him a QR code for an electronic business card: "Scan to join the group; we have an online meeting tonight at eight, lacking front‑end developers."

The male student took a look and laughed: "The name is pretty cool—'Future Wings'?"

"Just came up with it on the spot," Zhao Yang scratched his head. "We haven't officially registered a company yet."

"You should register sooner," the male student said seriously. "This kind of project will definitely get state support."

The crowd gradually dispersed, sunlight slanting across the ground and casting the shadows of four people. Zhao Xing squatted down to be level with Zhao Chen: "How do you feel? Tired?"

"Not bad," she said. "What just happened makes me feel…… that what we're doing now is actually useful."

"Of course it's useful," Zhao Xing said, standing and stretching. "Come on, let's go home and eat. Once Sha Zhu finishes cooking, I'll let him be the first to try the new ordering system."

"You're just trying to mooch a meal again," Zhao Yang laughed.

"This is called user‑experience research," Zhao Xing declared firmly.

He Yushui packed up her bag, ready to leave, and glanced back at the ordering machine. The screen still showed a line that hadn't been cleared: 【User feedback: Thank you for making me feel I'm not a useless person.】

She stared at those words for a long time, then lightly pressed the delete key.

The screen cleared and returned to standby mode.

Zhao Yang suddenly called out to her: "He‑sis, do you think this app of ours could eventually roll out nationwide?"

"Let's start with this street," He Yushui replied with a smile. "Step by step."

Zhao Xing pushed the wheelchair back home; passing a convenience store, the TV at its entrance was airing news. The footage showed the Olympic venue construction site, workers bustling under the scorching sun.

Below the TV, a scrolling ticker flashed a message: 【Our city will fully upgrade public accessibility facilities to welcome international guests.】

Zhao Chen glanced up at it, then said nothing.

Zhao Xing followed her gaze and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I'm thinking," she said, "if everyone could be seen, be heard, would the world be a little quieter?"

Zhao Yang tilted his head: "Shouldn't it be louder?"

"Not the same." Zhao Chen shook his head, "The noise now is because many people can't speak out. Once they can all speak, it will actually become calm."

Zhao Xing smiled: "So does that now count as you having spoken out?"

Zhao Chen gazed into the distance, nodding lightly.

The wind made the small flag by the road rustle, a leaf fell onto the Tablet Screen. Zhao Yang reached out to brush it away, his finger just lifting—

The Tablet suddenly popped up a new notification: 【Detected high-priority task request, source: Municipal Disabled Persons' Federation Service Center】.