C12 Shocked by the Professor for an Entire Year

"If you're considering taking a break from school and still want to graduate with flying colors, you'll need to demonstrate your capabilities."

The counselor tapped on the desk, his concern for Howard evident.

Howard, while not the valedictorian, was nonetheless the salutatorian, a standout talent from the multitude of students in Central State.

He didn't want Howard to rush into starting a business on a whim and potentially derail his future.

"Artificial intelligence," Howard said after a pause, setting his phone on the table. "Golden Crow, time to show what you can do!"

Artificial intelligence!

The counselor's face registered shock as he watched the screen display a majestic Fusang tree, aged and storied, with a splendid bird's nest cradling a golden crow that suddenly appeared. A clear voice rang out, "Brother, I'm still sleeping. So annoying!"

This...

The voice was incredibly smooth, not the least bit mechanical, and what struck the counselor most was the range of emotions he could detect in the golden crow's tone.

Annoyance, resentment, the frustration of being roused from sleep—the emotional depth was astounding.

"The Golden Crow is my creation, the AI centerpiece of my company," Howard said with a lift of his eyebrows. "Counselor, does this meet the mark?"

"This..."

The counselor felt somewhat out of his depth; he was, after all, just a regular counselor with limited knowledge of artificial intelligence. If Howard's creation was genuine, he might well be on the fast track to graduate studies.

"Here's what we'll do: I'll get in touch with our department's AI expert, Prof. Mcclain. If he gives the nod, I'll process your leave of absence," the counselor said, hoping to secure Howard an opportunity to become the professor's protégé.

Agreed.

Howard gave a slight nod.

With a respectful dial of the phone, the counselor soon broke into a smile. "Come on, I'll take you to him. And don't worry, Prof. Mcclain is very approachable. Feel free to share your ideas and hypotheses with him. He welcomes even the incorrect ones—just don't hold back."

Understood.

Howard nodded earnestly.

"And remember, seize this chance. Who knows, you might end up as a graduate student under Prof. Mcclain!" the counselor said with a chuckle, clapping Howard on the shoulder. "AI, huh? You're quite the prodigy!"

They made their way briskly, reaching Prof. Mcclain's residence in just over ten minutes.

The door was opened by a sweet old woman with silver hair. Upon seeing her, Howard instinctively greeted, "Hello, Grandma!"

"And hello to you! And you, Wang, why the rush?" The old lady chuckled warmly, glancing at the scurrying counselor with a smile.

"Uh, cough, Teacher, I've got a class!" The counselor, clearly nervous, scratched his head and dashed off, causing Howard's eyelids to twitch uncontrollably.

"I'm Mrs. Li. You can call me Grandma Li or Teacher Li, but I'd love it if you called me Grandma Li—it feels warmer." Li Juan had a soft spot for geniuses, particularly after hearing from Lil' Wang that this young man might have developed a breakthrough in artificial intelligence.

"Then Grandma Li it is!" Howard said with an easy smile, following her into the living room.

Prof. Mcclain was there, engrossed in the newspaper, the picture of precision in his every move.

"Good day, Prof. Mcclain." Howard greeted him promptly, pulling out his phone and summoning the Golden Crow, "Golden Crow, say hello. This is Prof. Mcclain."

"Prof. Mcclain, let me see... Wow, this grandpa looks so stern. I'm a bit scared!" The Golden Crow's voice was tender and cautious, its golden wings covering its head as it peeked at Prof. Mcclain through a gap.

Such lifelike actions and speech left Prof. Mcclain utterly astonished. "This is truly artificial intelligence? It's not just pre-programmed responses?"

Absolutely!

Howard responded with confidence.

But the Golden Crow didn't take kindly to being doubted. It lifted its head haughtily and complained, "Old man, how dare you underestimate me? I don't like you anymore!"

With that, it turned its back to dive into a comic book, presenting Prof. Mcclain with nothing but its backside.

Cough, cough!

Watching his Golden Crow's antics, Howard scratched his nose sheepishly and explained, "It's still a kid at heart. I programmed it with the personality of a seven or eight-year-old, complete with a child's temperament. Please don't take offense, Professor!"

Offended?

Why should I be angry? I'm actually quite happy!

Prof. Mcclain was astounded. With his expertise, he could tell just how intelligent the little Golden Crow truly was!

"Could you share the detailed data with me?" Prof. Mcclain asked, rubbing his hands together in excitement, his eyes gleaming as he looked at Howard.

"Sure thing."

Howard nodded slightly and spoke gently, "Alright, little Golden Crow, no need to be upset. Let's get your detailed data sorted out."

"Okay, big brother." The little Golden Crow, clutching a comic book, casually gestured, and lines of professional data materialized. Prof. Mcclain eagerly grabbed the information, donned his reading glasses, and pored over the data for a full two hours.

With hands shaking, Prof. Mcclain set his phone aside and marveled, "Truly, a hero emerges from youth. The three laws of artificial intelligence are several times more robust than our country's largest Nebula computer. Incredible, Howard, how do you manage to support such a powerful artificial intelligence?"

"I've constructed the core server using a hundred military-grade servers. The additional parts are distributed across major service centers around the world. Once my company is established, I'll build a dedicated server for the little Golden Crow's use. Moreover, I've developed a unique operating system and cloud service for Zuchar," Howard explained.

He transferred his blueprint to Prof. Mcclain's laptop for review.

The innovative interface was silky smooth, without a hint of delay.

"Primordial Court—what a majestic name, and the system is flawless!" Prof. Mcclain grew increasingly impressed as he delved deeper. There was so much he hadn't yet grasped, and the product inspection quickly evolved into a scholarly discussion.

Li Juan listened on, utterly captivated.

She was astonished by Howard's talent and deeply relieved. It was indeed a stroke of luck for Zuchar to produce such a prodigy!

"You're taking a break from your studies, and that's fine. Starting a company is also fine," Prof. Mcclain stated solemnly. "However, you must be cautious with your artificial intelligence, especially when it comes to foreign markets!"

"Artificial intelligence can revolutionize not only civilian life but is also crucial for military applications," he added, looking intently into Howard's eyes.

"Of course, I have no immediate plans to release the artificial intelligence. Instead, I'm focusing on developing lithography machines. I'm not comfortable relying on foreign chips!"

Howard relaxed his shoulders, his words carrying a weight of sincerity.

"You're pretty sharp, kid. Foreign tech always has backdoors, used to keep tabs on our every move. It's good that you see it clearly," Prof. Mcclain said, his heart warmed by the reassurance. "So, about that chip, do you have any thoughts?"

"Hehe, not to hide it from you, I actually do," Howard said with a sly chuckle, teasingly holding back. "Just let me take a break from school, and within six months, you'll see what I've come up with!"

Tsk!

You cheeky rascal!

Such a slick one, making me wait in suspense!

Alright then!

You have my approval to take a leave from school!

"If you were putting together a thesis, I'd hand you your diploma right now!" Prof. Mcclain, ever the talent-seeker, recognized that his modest institution simply wasn't big enough to contain a true dragon like Howard.