Rebirth: Starting from Lighting Up the Tech Tree

Chapter 76 Signing the Contract

A week later, Zuo Cheng took Han Lu to the headquarters of Blue Bay Communications to sign the contract.

The signing ceremony was held in the conference hall of the Sky Dome Business Unit. It wasn't large in scale, but it was of a very high standard. Zhou Henian attended in person, Lu Mingyuan presided over the ceremony, and several core managers of the Sky Dome Business Unit were present. Flowers and bottled water were laid out on the table, and a panoramic view of the Sky Dome constellation hung on the wall, with the orbits of its 480 satellites clearly visible. Zuo Cheng was alone with Han Lu. Han Lu had deliberately worn a gray business suit, much more formal than she usually was at the company.

"Mr. Zuo, Director Han and our legal team have reviewed each clause of the contract, and there are no problems." Lu Mingyuan pushed the two copies of the contract onto the table. "You can sign them after you confirm them."

Zuo Cheng flipped to the key page and glanced at it. The contract amount was 1.2 million, payable in three installments, with the acceptance standards and payment schedule for each installment clearly stated. Han Lu had previously discussed the breach of contract clauses, ownership of intellectual property rights, and confidentiality obligations with him, and there were no major flaws.

He picked up a pen and signed his name on both contracts.

Lu Mingyuan also signed the document, and then shook hands with Zuo Cheng.

"Congratulations," Lu Mingyuan said. "The third phase of the Sky Dome project is the most crucial phase of the entire constellation plan. The commercial network of 480 satellites and the ground terminal signal processing platform are the core of the entire system. Your technical solution performed exceptionally well in the bidding process, achieving a technical score of 92 points, the highest score ever received by the Sky Dome project."

"Thank you, Mr. Lu."

After the signing ceremony, Zhou Henian called Zuo Cheng to his office.

This was Zuo Cheng's first time entering Zhou Henian's office. It wasn't large, and the decor was simple, but a huge satellite orbit map hung on the wall, its densely packed orbital lines intertwined like a woven net. On the desk sat a small, exquisitely crafted satellite model, about the size of a palm.

"Sit down." Zhou Henian gestured to the sofa, then made himself a cup of tea and handed it over.

Zuo Cheng took the teacup but didn't drink it.

"The third phase is different from the second phase," Zhou Henian began. "A commercial network with 480 satellites means your system needs to support an expansion from 20,000 to 100,000 terminals. This isn't simply a matter of increasing quantity; it's a major test at the architectural level."

"I know," Zuo Cheng said. "Our distributed architecture was designed with elastic scaling in mind from the outset, and the processing capacity for 100,000 terminals has already been verified in the solution."

"Solution verification and actual operation are two different things." Zhou Henian looked at him. "Xiao Zuo, let me make this clear from the start. The delivery of the third phase cannot be handled by you alone. You need more resources and more talent. Your ten or so people alone are not enough."

Zuo Cheng remained silent for a few seconds.

"I'm expanding my team," he said, "and at the same time, I'm considering establishing deeper partnerships with universities to address the issues of talent and technology reserves."

"That's good." Zhou Henian nodded. "Huaxia University is your alma mater, and you're familiar with Professor Lin's connections, so you can make more connections there. Also, our Sky Dome Division is considering establishing joint laboratories with several universities. If you're interested, you can participate."

Zuo Cheng's eyes lit up. Blue Bay Communications has far more university resources than 402. If they could establish academic cooperation through Blue Bay's platform, it would be a huge boost to 402.

"Thank you, Mr. Zhou. I'll get back and put it into action."

Zhou Henian stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the city skyline outside. After a moment of silence, he suddenly said, "Xiao Zuo, do you know why I've always had high hopes for you?"

Zuo Cheng did not respond.

"Because you can see things that others can't." Zhou Henian turned around. "During the first phase of Sky Dome, you were just an intern, but your solutions were better than many senior engineers. In the second phase, you led a small team to achieve results that a team of a hundred couldn't. In the third phase, you demonstrated a spectral efficiency of 3.9 bits per hertz to Huaxin, and the entire industry was discussing 402."

He paused.

"But what I admire most is that you haven't let these achievements go to your head. You're still concerned about whether the team is strong enough, whether the resources are sufficient, and whether the technical reserves are deep enough. Only people like this can go far."

Zuo Cheng listened, feeling a mix of emotions. What Zhou Henian didn't know was that his success wasn't solely due to his abilities, but also to the technology tree system. The system gave him the abilities, but the path he chose was ultimately his own.

"President Zhou, I will continue to work hard," Zuo Cheng said.

Zhou Henian patted him on the shoulder: "Go on, do a good job."

It was already 3 PM when they left Lanwan Communications. September in Hangzhou still carried a lingering summer heat, and the sun felt scorching. Zuo Cheng and Han Lu parted ways downstairs; Han Lu went to handle the initial payment process, while Zuo Cheng drove back to the company alone.

Back in his office, he closed the door and opened the system panel.

The effect of the Tech Tree Growth Acceleration x1.5 is ongoing. He took a closer look at the leaf status in the "Internet of Everything" area, and compared to before, the brightness of one leaf had significantly increased.

The Internet of Everything

[Current blade count: 6/7]

[One leaf is needed to activate the branch]

[Estimated activation time: To be determined]

Just one leaf is missing. Zuo Cheng pondered to himself that if he could find a breakthrough in campus cooperation, the activation of the Internet of Things (IoT) branches might be accelerated.

163 points, the tech tree growth acceleration is still in effect, and the Internet of Things is just one leaf away from completion. Everything is moving in a positive direction.

He closed the system panel and began processing the backlog of emails. One of them was from Ying, with the subject line "Good news."

Zuo Cheng opened the email. The message was brief: "Brother, Professor Li said the university wants to jointly build a laboratory with 402. When are you free to discuss it?"

Zuo Cheng's lips curled slightly upwards, and he replied with two words: "Tomorrow."

He put down his phone, leaned back in his chair, and thought for a while. The contract for the third phase of Sky Dome was signed, and the 1.2 million yuan project was officially launched. The opportunity for campus cooperation had arrived, and the Internet of Things branch was only missing a leaf. It was time to accelerate everything.

He picked up the phone and called Chen Hao: "Notify everyone that there's a meeting tomorrow afternoon at 3 PM to discuss team expansion and campus partnerships."

"Received." Chen Hao paused for a moment. "Brother Cheng, there's something else. Han Lu said a few people submitted their resumes, and their backgrounds are all quite good. Do you want to take a look together?"

"Okay, let's watch it together."

After hanging up the phone, Zuo Cheng looked out the window. The Hangzhou skyline was gilded with gold by the setting sun, and in the distance, several high-rise buildings were under construction, their scaffolding as dense as a spider web.

The city is growing rapidly, and so is 402 Technology. And he wants to ensure that the growth rate is faster than anyone can imagine.