Chapter 294: Supercomputing Center

With a heavy heart, although the meal Ye Qi had prepared with her own hands was delicious, to Sun Cheng, it was like chewing wax—utterly tasteless.

Because he had things to do the next day, after dinner, he took a warm shower and went to his bedroom to sleep early.

He woke up early the next morning; it seemed Ye Qi had only gone to sleep at two or three in the morning because of her livestreaming the night before.

Sun Cheng ate some breakfast outside and bought a portion for her on the way back; in any case, there was a microwave in the apartment, so it would be fine for her to heat it up and eat it after she woke up.

After finishing these tasks, he retrieved his car from the residential complex's parking lot, but instead of heading to the company, he drove straight to Nanjing University of Technology.

While he was still on the road, Xiao Wu, whom he had casually placed on the passenger seat, squirmed for a moment before transforming back into its Decepticon form and jumping up.

"Master, you have an incoming call from the contact saved as 'Xu Chun'..."

"Connect..."

Following his command, Xiao Wu leaped up and sat on his shoulder.

On the other end of the line, Xu Chun's voice rang out immediately, "A-Cheng, have you set off yet? Don't forget about today's matter..."

Today was the day he and Shen Peiyuan had agreed to go to the Nandu Supercomputing Center together. Perhaps because he had received a more definite promise from him last time, after being delayed for nearly half a month, Sun Cheng had finally gotten his wish to showcase his company's products to this country's national supercomputing research center.

"Don't worry, Class Counselor... How could I forget such an important matter? I'm already on Binhai South Road heading toward the school; I should be there in about twenty minutes..."

"Binhai South Road, eh? That's not too far from the Nandu Supercomputing Center... How about this: you go directly to the Nandu Supercomputing Center. I will set off with the principal, and we should arrive at about the same time..."

"Alright!"

Sun Cheng thought for a moment and did not refuse his good intentions. Because of him, Xu Chun had recently become very close to the new principal of Nanjing University of Technology, Shen Peiyuan; it was rumored that he might be transferred to the administrative department next semester.

This was not necessarily a bad thing for Xu Chun. If Shen Peiyuan was willing to promote him, and he spent a few years in the administrative department learning things, he might well achieve something before the age of forty.

Xu Chun was clearly very aware of how he had obtained everything he had now. Although he wouldn't be so blatant in his words, Sun Cheng was already used to his subtle flattery.

Without further ado, after checking the navigation, he turned toward a different direction at the next intersection and drove straight to the Nandu Supercomputing Center.

The Nandu Supercomputing Center was located within the Ningjiang New City Development Zone and covered an area of nearly 124,000 square meters. Since its establishment in 1982, this national-level supercomputing research center, which was the largest in the country and even the world, had been expanded and renovated five times.

To date, the Nandu Supercomputing Center operated a total of over ten supercomputers, including six 'Poplar' 1-4 models, three 'North Wind' 1-3 models, and two 'Asia Star' 1/2 models. This number was not only second to none in the country, but looking globally, only the NCSA (National Center for Supercomputing Applications in the United States) could compare to it.

As an agency directly under the Computer Industry Department, the Nandu Supercomputing Center had very strict security checks.

It took him over twenty minutes to drive to the supercomputing center, and another four or five minutes to pass the security check and drive through the gate.

Under the guidance of a guard, he parked his car in a parking lot near the entrance specifically designated for visitors, then Sun Cheng took out his phone and dialed Xu Chun's number.

"Class Counselor, I've arrived at the Nandu Supercomputing Center. I'm currently in the A Zone parking lot. Where are you and the principal?"

"You've arrived already... Wait a moment..."

A sound of inquiry came from the other side of the phone, and soon Xu Chun's voice rose again, "Come directly to Building 4 in the D Zone. If you can't find the way, ask the guard how to get to the Commercial Application Center..."

"Understood!"

There was no need for him to be reminded; Sun Cheng had long since had ideas about the Nandu Supercomputing Center, so how could he not have inquired about its situation?

The so-called D Zone of the supercomputing center was a new area added during the fourth phase of the Nandu Supercomputing Center's construction in 2006. Unlike the first three areas built, it was a new department dedicated to solving the commercial applications of supercomputers.

The predecessor of the Nandu Supercomputing Center was the national-level supercomputing application center of China. Since it was proposed by the Computer Industry Department in the 1980s and approved by the national leadership, for a long time, this had been an official agency concerned only with how to research higher-performance supercomputers. The 'Poplar' series of supercomputers used by China's scientific and enterprise units, or the legendary 'North Wind' series of supercomputers that served the military, were all born here.

However, in recent years, with the large-scale commercial application of supercomputers domestically, especially in the United States, not only had usage efficiency been greatly improved, but some supercomputing centers had even achieved profitability.

Inspired by this, the Nandu Supercomputing Center had also made some commercial attempts.

The 'Asia Star' series had a floating-point operation speed of 25 quadrillion operations per second. Its performance could not be called transcendent, but it was said that a lot of effort had been put into energy consumption and application; it was a strategic weapon tailored by the supercomputing center for corporate giants both at home and abroad.

Unfortunately, the expensive price was still something not every enterprise could accept.

Moreover, it was better to rent than to buy. If there was a real need to use a supercomputer, many enterprises were more willing to pay to apply to the supercomputing center to perform calculations. Therefore, to date, there had been no news of any sales.

Taking a briefcase made of a special alloy from the trunk of his car, Sun Cheng carried it in his hand and walked toward Building 4 in the D Zone, which was the Commercial Application Center.

He walked at a brisk pace, and a few minutes later he had arrived at the D Zone. Before he even saw Building 4, he saw Xu Chun standing there, clearly waiting for him.

"A-Cheng, over here..."

Sun Cheng had already spotted him, nodded with a smile, and walked a few quick steps to reach him.

"Sorry, Class Counselor. I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long..."

"Not at all. We had just arrived when I took your call, but because the car drove directly to the D Zone, we saved a lot of walking! The principal is chatting with the person in charge of the supercomputing center. How are you prepared?"

Sun Cheng chuckled and lifted the briefcase in his hand, "Foolproof!"

"Alright, with your promise, I can rest easy. Let's go!"

"Mm!"

Sun Cheng made a gesture of invitation, asking him to take the lead.

Xu Chun didn't think much of it and turned around, completely failing to notice that Sun Cheng, as if inadvertently, reached into his pocket behind his back, and a thumb-sized, inconspicuous piece of metal dropped to the ground.

Sun Cheng didn't even look at it, took two quick steps to catch up with Xu Chun, and walked with him toward Building 4.

PS:

Sorry, I'm not in the flow today; there should only be one update.