The cafe name was called 92 degrees, and it was located on a street corner not far from the convention center.
There wasn’t a lot of traffic nearby and the decor of the cafe was quite elegant. The plants hanging from the ceiling were quite jungle-like.
“… The ground coffee is immersed in the water at a temperature of 91 to 94 degrees. This temperature allows for the most amount of flavor extraction. If the temperature is lower than this, the coffee becomes acidic and sour, if the water is near boiling, it tastes woody and burnt. This is the magic of third-wave specialty coffee.”
Lu Zhou: “I don’t know what that means but okay.”
Ye Nan smiled and said, “No worries, I’ll show you the ropes. Can you tell me what coffee you usually drink?”
Lu Zhou wasn’t interested in talking about coffee, so he casually said, “Just instant, anything that has caffeine in it.”
“… Instant?” Ye Nan was stunned. He coughed and said, “Instant… has a unique coffee taste. Generally, people that like instant coffee prefer a darker roast…”
Lu Zhou looked at Ye Nan and smiled.
I have no idea what this guy is talking about.
Ye Nan reminded Lu Zhou of people who weren’t interested in academics, only interested in money.
“I just like to live a simple life, I don’t like to waste time on boring specifics…” Lu Zhou looked at the barista and politely said, “Can I get a mocha, please?”
“Yes, sir.”
The barista nodded and wrote down Lu Zhou’s order.
Suddenly, Lu Zhou’s phone began to ring.
“Let me take this.”
Ye Nan looked at Lu Zhou and quickly spoke.
“Sure, go ahead… Um, I’ll have a Japanese style iced coffee.”
“Yes, sir.”
The barista smiled and began walking toward the espresso machine.
After Ye Nan waited at the table with the cups of coffee for a few minutes, Lu Zhou came back from outside.
Ye Nan put on a warm smile and asked, “So, who was that?”
“People from the Academy of Engineering.”
Ye Nan said, “Is it urgent?”
Lu Zhou casually said, “Not really, it’s someone affiliated with the IEEE asking me for something, don’t know how they got my cell number.”
Ye Nan broke out in sweat.
That’s not urgent?
You might not think so, but I’m sure they’re going crazy.
However, because he was Chinese, he couldn’t sympathize with IEEE, a foreign organization.
At most, he was surprised.
He didn’t know Professor Lu, who was often referred to as easy-going, had a dark side.
Ye Nan knew this was someone he shouldn’t offend.
Lu Zhou took a sip of coffee and asked, “So, what are we here for?”
“Oh, right.”
Ye Nan realized he only had five minutes, so he immediately began speaking.
“… The Huawei product launch just now really inspired me. The strategy to take over the internet of things really resonated with me!”
Ye Nan took a sip of his coffee and spoke.
“I feel like I can already see in my mind where the next investment should be!”
Lu Zhou didn’t know why this was related, but he still asked out of politeness, “Where?”
“Computer networks! Whether it’s the Internet or the internet of things, the technology that connects all of us will be the future!”
Lu Zhou: “…”
Is this guy…
Brain damaged?
It’s 2022, for god’s sake! Maybe this was relevant three decades ago.
The man thought Lu Zhou was touched, so he continued complacently, “Of course, I’m speaking in broad terms, but that’s the gist of it.
“I’ve been thinking about this for the last few days. I’ve gone to all kinds of cutting-edge research reports and commercial product launches, but I could never find any good ideas.
“That was until now, when the Huawei chief product strategy officer talked about breakthroughs in smart homes, smart wearables, and reality-enhancing technologies. I suddenly realized something.”
Seeing how Ye Nan paused again, Lu Zhou was a little annoyed, but he still asked, “What did you realize?”
“Have you seen a movie called ‘Ready Player One’?”
Lu Zhou: “…?”
Ye Nan spoke with excitement.
“It’s fine, I can explain the plot to you.”
Seeing how excited Ye Nan was, Lu Zhou had a headache, and he said, “Wait, no, just cut to the chase.”
Ye Nan said, “VR! This is what Huawei is missing! This is where I think investments should go!”
“Just because they didn’t announce anything doesn’t mean they ignored it. Maybe they didn’t think it was worthy enough to mention. Also, VR is something that has been around for years.”
Even though Lu Zhou wasn’t in the VR field, he still knew a little about it. Back then, a “small company” made a VR device, then when it was time to go public…
Regardless, it was now 2022, VR was not a new concept.
Ye Nan anxiously said, “I’m not saying that kind of VR! The helmet design is trash! I’m talking about a true sense of virtual reality!
“The carbon-based chips significantly improve the processor’s performance, right? Can the carbon-based chips handle the kind of VR in Ready Player One?”
Lu Zhou took a sip of coffee and put down the cup. He said, “I roughly understand what you mean. You’re saying to directly connect the computer to the nerve and simulate electrical nerve signals to the brain… Is that correct?”
Ye Nan excitedly said, “Yes!”
Lu Zhou looked at how confident Ye Nan was and sighed. He then said, “I have to remind you that the carbon-based chip isn’t the solution to all electric technology problems. The virtual reality you talked about isn’t just a matter of computation power—”
Ye Nan immediately said, “I have money, I can invest! I can invest hundreds of millions of yuan! If we create this technology, we will become the richest people in the world! Amazon doesn’t stand a chance.”
Lu Zhou: “…”
Who do you think I am?
Lu Zhou could tell that Ye Nan probably inherited most of his wealth from his parents, and he was the type of person to waste his parents’ money.
Not just that, but Ye Nan even set up a venture capital company to waste his parents’ money.
Maybe Ye Nan did have a good vision, but Lu Zhou felt like he had a few loose screws.
“There are some things money can’t solve.”
Lu Zhou paused for a second and spoke.
“Also, do you really think I need your money?”
Ye Nan suddenly remembered about a rumor on East Asia Energy that circulated the investment field, and he scratched his head in embarrassment.
“Um… I guess not.”
Lu Zhou smiled and shook his head.
The theory of diminishing returns not only applied to the field of economics, but also in the field of scientific research. For advanced scientific research, having too much money with nowhere to spend could often be frustrating.
However, the virtual reality technology equipment he mentioned intrigued Lu Zhou.
Of course, he was just interested in the technology itself, not the research behind it.
What if I can really transfer my consciousness into a computer…
Lu Zhou looked at the time on his watch and finished his cup of coffee. He stood up and spoke.
“Five minutes is up.
“As for the things you talked about, I am interested, but unfortunately, I can’t help you.
“But if I have new ideas, I will call you.”
Ye Nan stood up and spoke.
“Please do.”
Lu Zhou nodded and bid farewell.
After he left the cafe, Wang Peng was already waiting for him in the parking lot.
Lu Zhou took out his phone as he walked toward his car.
“Xiao Ai, download Ready Player One for me.”
Soon after, a text bubble popped up.
[Okay, Master! φ(≧ω≦*)]