Rebirth: Starting from Lighting Up the Tech Tree

Chapter 151 Setting Sail

As soon as the fireworks at the third anniversary party ended, Zuo Cheng kept the core team behind.

The meeting room was dimmer than the banquet hall, but the atmosphere was more tense. Shen Yiming, Han Lu, Chen Hao, Liu Wei, and Fang Ze sat around a round table, each with a teacup in front of them, and no one spoke. Zuo Cheng stood in front of the whiteboard, his back to them, writing something.

"Celestial Overlord, complete."

He turned around, holding a marker in his hand, and the names of the five branches on the whiteboard were neatly arranged in a row.

"Three years ago we had ten people, today we have five hundred. Three years ago our valuation was zero, today it's five billion. Three years ago we had nothing, today all five branches are lit up."

He paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping across everyone's faces.

This is the end of Volume Three.

Han Lu spoke first: "What's 'Roll Four'?"

Zuo Cheng wrote three lines on the whiteboard: Space photovoltaics. Commercial spaceflight. Brain-computer interface.

The air in the conference room was silent for three seconds.

Shen Yiming was the first to react, his eyes lighting up. Han Lu stared at the whiteboard, her lips twitching slightly, but she remained silent. Chen Hao glanced down at the table, then looked up again. Liu Wei asked directly, "Of these three areas, which one do we have accumulated experience in?"

"Yes." Zuo Cheng put down his marker. "For space photovoltaics, we have Tianqiong's experience in satellite communications, aerospace communications infrastructure, and cooperation with Xingchen Technology on neuromorphic chips. For commercial spaceflight, we studied for three years in the Tianqiong project, handling orbit control, inter-satellite communication, and payload design—we've got it all covered. For brain-computer interfaces, Xingchen already has a prototype, and we have the best chance of participating."

He walked back to the whiteboard and added a line, connecting the three directions to the word "402 Technology".

"It doesn't start from zero; it begins with five branches and grows upwards."

Shen Yiming nodded and said in a low voice, "I read papers on space photovoltaics when I was in school. The difficulties in wireless power transmission lie in atmospheric attenuation and the conversion efficiency at the receiving end."

"Yes," Zuo Cheng said, "so we won't start with the most difficult part; we'll start with microwave transmission efficiency. We have experience in this area from inter-satellite communication, and the algorithms for delay and beam control can be reused."

Han Lu looked up: "How will the capital side view these three directions?"

"One word: insane." Zuo Cheng chuckled. "But six months ago, they also said that autonomous driving was too expensive, and now car companies have prepaid 300 million yuan."

Han Lu smiled, nodded, pushed the page aside, picked up a blank sheet of paper, and began to take notes.

Fang Ze, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up: "Regarding brain-computer interfaces, if StarCraft is taking the lead, will we be the technology provider or a joint developer?"

"Joint research and development," Zuo Cheng replied, "but the boundaries need to be clearly defined. The exclusive licensing of the neuromorphic chip is our bargaining chip; we can't give it up."

Chen Hao adjusted his glasses and said, "If we push from three directions simultaneously, can we manage it with manpower? We currently have 500 people, half of whom are fulfilling existing contracts."

"So the second thing tonight," Zuo Cheng turned around, "is to discuss the architecture."

He drew a circle next to each of the three lines of text: space photovoltaics, commercial aerospace, and brain-computer interfaces, and then wrote numbers inside the circles: 30, 25, and 20.

"For each new direction, the first year will see the allocation of these personnel, half from internal transfers and half from new recruitment. The existing five business lines will remain unchanged: satellite communications, IoT, AI, unmanned systems, and new energy vehicles, each maintaining its revenue. New directions are investments, not replacements."

Chen Hao nodded, then looked up. "What about the timeline? Will the three directions start simultaneously, or sequentially?"

"Priority." Zuo Cheng rearranged the three lines of text, with space photovoltaics at the top. "Space photovoltaics is the top priority. The reason is simple: the technological reserves are the most solid, the policy support is the most recent, and once successful, the energy revenue can cover the R&D expenses for the other two directions."

Commercial spaceflight and brain-computer interfaces?

"Commercial spaceflight follows the trend of space photovoltaics. With satellites needing launches, we naturally jump in. Brain-computer interfaces are a good fit for Ying; she has theoretical background, and the research institute will build a dedicated team for her."

Liu Wei scratched his head: "Where will the money for recruitment come from?"

"Series B." Han Lu was already taking notes, without looking up. "Zuo Cheng, do you have any ideas about the Series B timeline?"

"Start within three months." He looked at her. "You'll be responsible for contacting institutions, prioritizing top domestic ones, and focusing on selecting one that can bring in strategic resources, preferably with industrial capital from the aerospace industry."

Han Lu nodded, her hands continuing to move.

Shen Yiming pushed his teacup forward and asked, "The part about cross-branch fusion, which was unlocked in the Sky Overlord rewards, I understand it to mean that it allows you to combine leaves from different branches to enhance them, right?"

"Yes." Zuo Cheng mentally confirmed the system's message; that was the meaning.

"If space photovoltaics activates the sixth branch," Shen Yiming continued, "and integrates with existing aerospace communications and the Internet of Things across branches, what will the technological leap be?"

"I estimate it's at least twice as tall as a single branch."

The meeting room fell silent again, not in silence, but as everyone digested the weight of those words.

Chen Hao slowly began, "So the goal is, among the three new directions, to first activate space photovoltaics as the sixth branch?"

"Yes." Zuo Cheng wrote a number on the right side of the whiteboard: three years. "Within three years, the sixth branch will be activated. The valuation won't be six billion then, it will be six hundred billion."

When the figure of 60 billion was mentioned, no one laughed, and no one questioned it.

Three years ago, among these ten people, would anyone have dared to say that the company was valued at 5 billion?

Fang Ze raised his head, his voice steady: "I've checked the patent barriers for space photovoltaics; there's practically no patent protection in China right now. If we start laying the groundwork now, things will be a different story in three years."

Zuo Cheng glanced at him and nodded.

Fang Ze is a man of few words, so when he said this, it meant he had thought it through and was supportive.

Han Lu closed her notebook, looked up, and said calmly, almost as if she were saying the weather was nice, "Then I'll start making appointments with agencies tomorrow."

Liu Wei slapped the table, stood up, and said, "I'm going to contact the infrastructure department; the office needs to be expanded."

Fang Ze picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said expressionlessly, "I'll take a look at the patent strategy for space photovoltaics beforehand."

Shen Yiming nodded to Zuo Cheng without saying a word, but the meaning in his eyes was clear: he believed him and followed.

Zuo Cheng didn't say anything, picked up a marker, and wrote a line of words at the top of the whiteboard.

From the five branches to the stars.

The pen cap snapped shut with a crisp sound.

Outside the window, the first snow in Hangzhou had not yet melted, and the lights reflected on the white ground, quiet and bright.

Zuo Cheng stood in front of the whiteboard, looking at the line of text, and recalled the night three years ago when he sat in his dormitory and typed his first line of code.

It was just as quiet back then.

The difference is that back then he was alone. Now, he has five hundred people behind him.

He put the marker on the tray, turned around, and said something.

"Let's begin."