Azeroth Universe

Virtual Laboratory.

During this period, the entire Azeroth Laboratory had been rebuilt. As part of it, the Virtual Laboratory had naturally moved into the new building. Though it was not tall, only five stories, its structure was solid and its renovations were first-rate. In every aspect, it met the standards of a world-class laboratory—

Old Wang was rich now. He did not care about such things.

Before he even entered, he sensed that there was more than one person in the room.

Not only was Skye there, but Fitz was too. The two had huddled together to study something, spouting one technical term after another. He could not understand them, but they sounded impressive.

When Skye saw Old Wang arrive, she hurriedly said, "Wang, Tony sent over the most critical core algorithm three hours ago. Then he asked me to tell you not to look for him this month. He wants to relax properly and enjoy hamburgers, red wine, and women… Hmph, why doesn’t Miss Potts keep him in line?"

The United States might have been relatively open-minded, but who could stand a man as open-minded as Tony?

The more Skye learned about Tony, the more she admired Pepper ‘Little Chili’ Potts. Her heart was truly huge. Forget holding a boat—it could fit even S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Sky Carrier. Her tolerance was on another level.

At any rate, Skye could not do it.

If Old Wang dared do something like that, then I, I…

It seemed like I couldn’t do anything to him either. Damn it, he can make clones and open portals. I can’t catch him!

In front of Skye, Old Wang promptly snorted and sternly expressed his strong condemnation and deep contempt for Tony.

Are you kidding, Tony? What are you thinking? Do you think I’d let you sit around idle? Such outstanding brainpower cannot go to waste!

Old Wang smiled faintly. "Have you looked at the algorithm? How is it?"

"Tony really is the greatest genius in the world. Without his help, it might have taken me several years just to understand all the relevant knowledge, and even longer to write the core algorithm."

For the moment, Skye ignored the playboy’s bad habits and had no choice but to admire his genius. "With the core algorithm, the next step is developing the software. What type it should be and what requirements it should meet will need to be decided by you, Wang. Also, virtual technology places extremely high demands on hardware. We might not be able to meet them."

Software?

Hardware?

I don’t seem to know much about either of those…

Old Wang rubbed his belly and asked, "What are the specific requirements? Or rather, what problems have you encountered?"

"Uh… I’ll explain this."

Fitz, who was highly proficient in both software and hardware, opened a PowerPoint presentation. As he demonstrated it, he said, "There are seven main points. Each is subdivided into four to eight subpoints, each subpoint contains five to nine key items, and each key item has several particularly important difficulties that require special attention. Now, for the first key item of the first subpoint under the first main point, the first difficulty is capacity…"

Are you giving a leadership speech, Fitz? Did you learn that from Tony or Egghead… Old Wang could not help mocking him internally as he watched intently and listened carefully.

His brow furrowed tighter and tighter.

Developing true virtual technology and creating a virtual reality world was extremely difficult. There were many problems to solve.

The first was storage.

The closer a virtual world came to reality, the higher its hardware requirements became. It required comprehensive advances in dozens of technologies, supported by rapid development across the entire industry.

If they wanted to completely fool human perception, even linking together every computer, phone, and other device in the world would not be enough to support one absolutely realistic large-scale virtual world.

Take virtual games, for example. Take World of Warcraft.

Even today’s largest games only had installation packages of around a hundred gigabytes. A barely passable virtual game would need an installation package of dozens of terabytes… at minimum. Several thousand terabytes would be perfectly normal. Did playing a game mean having to buy an entire server room?

Leaving aside the outrageous cost and how many people in the world could afford it, even those who could afford it still would not be able to use it.

Current communications transmission speeds were nowhere near sufficient.

This was still the 4G era. The fastest download speed was only around 100 MB per second, far from enough. At least 1 GB per second was needed just to barely make it workable. That required 5G technology, which, at the current pace, would not arrive for another two or three years at the earliest.

And for 5G technology to fully mature and become widely commercialized, it would take at least five years.

Did they have to wait another five years?

Time was money. The faster they moved, the more initiative they could seize. Old Wang did not want to miss this opportunity.

Moreover, developing a sufficiently good virtual platform first required developing the core programs, and programming alone would take a long time.

The scale was simply too vast. Even if they hired hundreds or thousands of programming experts, it could not be done in less than one or two years—

And that did not even include the time needed for training.

The difficulty of programming a virtual platform was far beyond that of current programs. Tony and Skye had even invented an entirely new language. The more he looked at it, the more it resembled the rune markings used by mages. Just one glance made his head spin.

What should he do?

Old Wang tapped the table and asked, "I remember Director Fury sent over equipment worth hundreds of millions of dollars, including quite a few server rooms. Their quality was pretty good, right?"

"Uh, Mr. Stark helped us build a super server room next door."

Fitz understood what his boss was getting at. He also knew perfectly well that his boss understood nothing and had never even visited a server room, so he hurriedly explained:

"While it cannot support an ultra-large virtual world, it would definitely be enough if we only built part of one. For example, a relatively small specialized platform, a virtual Forbidden City, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, or something like that."

Old Wang smiled.

Would that not solve it?

For the time being, no one had said they needed to create an incredibly realistic virtual world. Rather than targeting the public first, they could focus entirely on government agencies, the military, or certain large corporations with special requirements, developing products they needed.

For example, a virtual platform for military training. Under incredibly realistic conditions, it could reduce training casualties to zero. Not only would it save on medical bills and compensation payments, but it would also reduce ammunition and explosives consumption as well as weapon wear and tear. Egghead, General Ross, and even the president would surely like it.

Or smaller forbidden games that could never pass review by the relevant authorities—favorites among certain wealthy people.

These were all powerful people with deep pockets. He would squeeze them for all they were worth.

With that in mind, Old Wang looked at Skye. "If we only develop a small platform, not too large, about the size of a sports field or Tiananmen Square, at most one Forbidden City or a small mountain, how long would it take?"

Skye thought for a moment before answering, "Wang, I’m developing an artificial intelligence similar to J.A.R.V.I.S., but more advanced than the current J.A.R.V.I.S. The AI will help me develop the core programs, so we will not need to hire too many people, though training will also take time… It should be completed within six months."

Very good, that solved another problem… Old Wang nodded. "If we are not targeting the public for now, we can bypass the internet and avoid relying on wireless transmission. We can use fiber optics directly… I remember fiber-optic transmission speeds being very fast?"

"Uh, if we do not consider cost, speeds of over a hundred gigabytes per second will not be a problem."

Without even thinking, Fitz replied, "They can go even higher. Laboratories have already achieved more than two hundred terabytes per second. I’ve actually wanted to purchase related equipment from major laboratories for a long time, but it was too expensive, so I kept hesitating."

"Don’t hesitate. Ask Skye directly for however much money you need. So that solves the third problem too?"

Old Wang spread his hands. "Then that’s settled. Skye will develop the artificial intelligence and software programs. Fitz will handle the transmission interface, head-mounted display, omnidirectional treadmill, VR bodysuit, haptic gloves, neural connector, emotional regulator, and so on. Any other problems?"

"Uh… Actually, none of those are necessary."

Fitz hesitated for two seconds. "The user experience of those things is not very good. Since we already have Brain Mapping and Memory Upload technology, we only need to modify it a little to alter the nervous system, achieve human-machine interfacing, temporarily put the body into hibernation, and let the brain control a virtual body… Boss, an improved helmet alone will be enough."

Old Wang’s face darkened.

Why the hell didn’t you say so earlier? Were you deliberately making a fool of me?

Skye’s eyes darted about, and she quickly raised her hand to change the subject. "Wang, what we are building will be the world’s first true virtual world. It should have a name that will go down in history. Have you thought of one?"

A name?

Second World?

Perfect World?

Heaven on Earth?

Pangu, Nuwa, the Immortal Realm, the Heavenly Court?

OASIS?

Forget it. Something simpler would be better… Old Wang thought for a moment, then said:

"Azeroth Universe."