fanmtl Chapter 656: The AI Prototype and Debt Collectors at the Door
Chapter 656: The AI Prototype and Debt Collectors at the Door
"I'm such an idiot."This was Sha Ye's two hundred and first time expressing such an emotion.
The student beside him, while tapping on the keyboard, stared intently at the screen in front of him. A moment later, he immediately looked up at Sha Ye. "Teacher, the rendering of the latest clip has been successfully completed! This AI assistant is really amazing. I can't even imagine the huge sensation it will cause if this software is widely rolled out later."
Sha Ye smacked the student's forehead hard. "What are you yelling about? Now that this task is done, start the next one! Don't act like you've never seen anything before!"
"Oh..."
The student pouted and began muttering under his breath as he continued his operations, "But wasn't it the teacher himself who originally decided to take on the 'Super Spacetime Confrontation' project because of this AI? So why are you still acting all reluctant now?"
"You were clearly the one who, when you first saw this software, wouldn't let anyone touch it. You had to tinker with it yourself and produce a few finished results before starting the actual work..."
"Thump!"
"Ouch!"
The next moment came the sound of a fist hitting the top of a head, followed by the student's exaggerated yelp after being struck.
"I'm wrong, I'm wrong, Teacher! I won't badmouth you anymore!"
"Less talking, more working. Otherwise, I'll hit you again."
"Fine, fine."
The student, looking wronged, went back to his work.
After dealing with his troublesome student, Sha Ye sat back down in his office chair. Then, staring blankly at the AI notification window on his computer screen showing the completed rendering, he propped his chin on his hand and let out his two hundred and second exclamation: "I'm such an idiot."
In a moment of folly, tempted by the AI technology that brat Xiao He had provided, he had jumped headfirst into the big pit that was "Super Spacetime Confrontation." And then he had to deal with Director He, who showed up at their studio every single day, practically acting as a live-in supervisor.
The special effects requirements for "Super Spacetime Confrontation" were extremely high, and Director He was a nitpicky guy. He watched every frame with eagle eyes, demanding immediate fixes whenever a problem appeared. This forced Sha Ye, someone who hadn't been competitive in a long time, to start working around the clock, day and night.
And the main thing was, with such a powerful and convenient AI technology as a work aid, he simply couldn't muster any thought of going on strike. His mind was completely occupied by the AI's capabilities. As soon as a render was done, he couldn't help but want to use the AI to start the next part...
Sigh, how had he been so dazzled back then?
Sha Ye sighed again, but his hands never stopped moving. He did take a moment to check the time and asked curiously, "Is Director He not coming today?"
He even laughed at himself for asking.
How pathetic! When the guy came every day, he found it annoying. Now that he wasn't coming, he had to ask about it.
"I heard that Xiao He and the others came to Beijing for an audition, so Director He went to check on them. He won't be coming today."
"What? That brat Xiao He is in Beijing right now too?"
Sha Ye slammed the table.
Before this, when Xiao He and his team had come to Beijing for promotional tours, they had been busy with work, and he hadn't felt right about bothering them. But this time, he had finally caught a moment of free time!
Sha Ye didn't hesitate. He immediately left the studio to grab Xiao He, determined to squeeze more detailed information about the AI software out of him.
Oh, right—he couldn't forget the work manual.
Sha Ye stopped in his tracks, turned back, and looked at his student. "Compile the bugs you've encountered and some of the issues that need improvement, then send them to my email. Also, go ask the others. Make it quick, got it?"
"Huh? Oh, okay."
The student was confused but nodded in agreement.
...
So, when Xiao He was still eating and had just slurped up a piece of beef from his bowl, the door to their private room was suddenly slammed open.
Xiao He: ?
Everyone else: ?
All of them looked up in shock, only to be met with Sha Ye's middle-aged, balding face.
"Teacher Sha?" He Jinnian asked, utterly stunned. "How did you get here?"
But Sha Ye didn't say a word. His gaze swept around the room first, and finally locked onto Xiao He, who was holding a bowl with a piece of beef hanging from his mouth.
"Xiao He! I've finally caught you!"
Sha Ye bellowed.
They had only ever been teacher and student online, never having met face-to-face before this. When he taught the special effects course, they rarely chatted, so their relationship was actually average.
However, perhaps it was the student DNA etched into his bones, but Xiao He was still startled by Sha Ye's excited shout, causing the beef to fall from his mouth.
"Huh?"
The voice was familiar, but it carried that same ominous feeling of impending doom.
"When are you going to fix this crappy software of yours?!"
Sha Ye strode over and pressed the documents he had prepared onto the table in front of Xiao He.
"Earlier, this AI of yours was painfully laggy. The modeling would always freeze halfway through generation. When I tried to push it to do more, it just straight-up went on strike, claiming the server was busy. Even though it's fine now, can you please change the naming sequence in your AI program? No matter what instructions we give it, it refuses to listen. It's as stubborn as a mule. And also..."
Sha Ye rattled off a long list of complaints, and Xiao He finally understood the situation.
Ah, so it was because the half-finished product had technical bugs, and someone had come knocking to collect the debt.
Uh, this was a bit awkward.
Xiao He gave an embarrassed smile. "Teacher Sha, you should know that it was the Spring Festival period not too long ago, right? The servers are the hardest to maintain during that time, so there would naturally be some impact on your usage... But as you said, it was fine right after the holiday, so it really doesn't affect usage at all."
"And—" Xiao He asked cautiously, "the production team wasn't working overtime during the Spring Festival, were they?"
Forcing employees to work during the Spring Festival would be utterly inhuman.
Sha Ye's expression stiffened.
"Cough, cough, cough. It's just that after going back for the Spring Festival, I met up with some old classmates, and I wanted to discuss the prospects of this AI with them..."
He quickly explained in a fluster.
Okay, the truth was, he saw great potential in this AI for special effects development. So when he went back home, he couldn't resist showing off a bit to a few old classmates.
And incidentally, during the idle time of the Spring Festival, he used this AI to whip up some other works. It was both practice and an attempt to delve deeper into the AI's other functions and test its development potential.
He just hadn't expected that the computer he brought back wasn't up to par, the network wasn't good, and the AI happened to be failing too.
That rare moment when Sha Ye wanted to be the ultimate competitor, he was ultimately forced to back down.
Sigh—
One look at Sha Ye's face, and Xiao He knew the whole story.
But still, having tricked an entire team into working for him with a half-finished AI software, this evil capitalist boss did feel a brief pang of conscience—but not by much.
"Cough, cough. Teacher Sha, have you eaten yet?"
He chose to first divert the other's attention. As he asked, he pulled out the chair next to him, and the others present were quick on the uptake, signaling the waiter to bring an extra set of tableware.
Fortunately, their private room was spacious enough that Sha Ye, who had arrived unannounced, could easily sit down with them.
It was only then that Sha Ye, belatedly realizing there were other people present, suddenly felt embarrassed. He took the initiative to apologize to the others. "Sorry about that. I was just too excited. I interrupted your meal."
"It's fine, it's fine."
Liu Rulan smiled as she helped Sha Ye set up his tableware. Meanwhile, He Jinnian across from him chimed in teasingly, "Speaking of which, we were just talking about you, Teacher Sha. I'm really satisfied with the special effects your team produced. If it weren't for Xiao He's introduction, we might have missed out on such a top-tier production team."