Chapter 46: A Bundle of Old Cats' Fur-Proteger o Parque Nanshan(Tianrui Fala dos Presságios)

1047 borrowed one of the empty spare workshops as the venue. The workshop was fully equipped, with two robotic arms standing by. Shen Jiang acted as the operator for the Calculation Bureau, while the Operation Bureau was represented personally by Shang Lu. Since both of them were off-site, Wang Xiangbing and 1047 were in charge of the physical location.

Wang Xiangbing and 1047 inspected the status of the two robotic arms respectively. Engineers from the Calculation Bureau along with Li Wenxuan, Zhang Zhong, and others ensured that the communication and control links remained flawless. Meanwhile, Bai Shu skipped over, happily snatched the megaphone from the director of the Engineering Bureau, took off her hat, waved it vigorously, and smiled brightly at the burly men of the Engineering Bureau, shouting, "Everyone, will you follow my commands?"

"Yes—!" The roar from the Engineering Bureau was full of vigor.

The director of the Engineering Bureau was dumbfounded: These scoundrels switched sides and defected right in front of a cute girl without even blinking.

On the other hand, the engineers from the Calculation Bureau were shocked and disgusted by the shamelessness of the Operation Bureau. How could they resort to such a foul and cheating external tactic—dispatching a pretty girl to strike directly at the soft underbelly of those rough men? Simply unforgivable! Are we devoid of any value for subversion? Why not come and strike at our soft underbelly?

"Thank you, everyone!" Bai Shu smiled like blooming peach blossoms.

1047 and Wang Xiangbing finished inspecting the two robotic arms respectively, confirmed that everything was in order, and then affixed labels to the outer casings of the robotic arms.

Robotic Arm No. 1 was controlled by the iEEG-BCI system. The engineers from the Calculation Bureau set up a workbench in the workshop, brought out a laptop, opened it, and began typing furiously on the keyboard.

Robotic Arm No. 2 was controlled by the MEG-BCI system. Li Wenxuan and Zhang Zhong from the Operation Bureau also set up a workbench, burying their heads beneath their computer screens.

"Xiangbing, ready," 1047 made an OK gesture.

"Ready," Wang Xiangbing nodded.

Both robotic arms possessed seven degrees of freedom and five fingers, serving as precision tools that completely mimicked the structure of a human arm. In project 151, such robotic arms were referred to as "white models." Standing nearly as tall as a person when placed on a table, theoretically, any movement a human could perform, they could perform too—including picking up pebbles, throwing darts, and embroidering on orange peels.

"Director, can you see me?" Wang Xiangbing waved in front of the camera.

A faint buzzing sound arose from inside the robotic arm. It nimbly twisted its wrist and then made an OK sign.

The massive and heavy MEG-BCI system could not be moved at will, so the operator had to remain inside the shielded room. At this moment, Shang Lu was seated in an armchair, with the scanner lowered and fitted over his head, shielding half of his face.

"Supervisor, shall we make a bet on something?"

The other operator, Shen Jiang, sat right across from him. Sitting with her legs crossed and a laptop resting on her thighs, the EEG signal receiving equipment of the iEEG system was vastly lighter by comparison—merely a helmet. Once Shen Jiang put on the helmet and opened the laptop, she could manipulate the robotic arm located in another workshop far away.

"What do you want to bet on?"

"Hmm..." Shen Jiang pondered for a moment, "The winner has to sing Wang Feng's songs at the New Year's Eve party, a whole medley of them."

Shang Lu was momentarily stunned, thinking to himself: Big sis, you really seem to have a personal grudge against Wang Feng.

"Alright then, you win, Leader. I concede defeat right now."

"The loser has to be the backup dancer for the winner," Shen Jiang said.

Holy crap.

"How about it?" The girl's pretty and sharp eyes flicked upward, carrying a hint of provocation, glowing brightly in the dim light. Unfortunately, Shang Lu's eyes were covered by the MEG scanner, preventing him from seeing her expression. Through the glass lens inside the scanner, he was staring fixedly at a pile of pebbles in front of the robotic arm.

"Since the leader has spoken, I shall gladly accompany you to the bitter end," Shang Lu sighed, "Machine Number Two, ready."

"Machine Number One, ready."

"Do you know how to play knucklebones?" Shang Lu asked.

"I played it when I was a kid, and I specifically reviewed it these past two days," Shen Jiang said. "Don't underestimate me, I'm an expert."

Playing knucklebones was a mini-game that severely tested hand-eye-brain coordination. Using it to test a BCI system was considered a high-difficulty task; most clumsy people couldn't even grab pebbles with their own hands, let alone remotely control a robotic arm to do so. Upon hearing that the competition event was playing knucklebones, all the colleagues from the Operation Bureau tried out the mini-game themselves, and apart from Bai Shu, all the grown men utterly failed.

The eldest uncle had said, "Director, it's not that we don't want to help, but this is truly beyond our capabilities. Next time you hold a rubber band skipping competition, come find me, and I'll jump for you the whole summer long."

"Ready—" Bai Shu shouted while holding the megaphone.

The burly men of the Operation Bureau took a deep breath. The director was among them, standing right in the first row. Since he couldn't beat them, he chose to join them—who could resist the charm of a cute girl?

The two robotic arms lowered simultaneously, effortlessly grabbing the pebbles on the table.

The index finger and thumb pinched one pebble, while the other four pebbles were cupped in the palm—this was the opening posture of the game.

Wang Xiangbing and 1047 stood on either side with their arms crossed, their brows furrowed tightly. 1047 had confidence in Shen Jiang's proficiency, but Wang Xiangbing had no idea what Shang Lu was truly capable of.

"First round, old cat's grab!" Bai Shu commanded.

"First round, old cat's grab—!" The Engineering Bureau roared back in unison.

The two robotic arms moved simultaneously, flipping their wrists to toss the pinched pebble high into the air. The two pebbles traced closely matching parabolic arcs, reaching their peak before descending. Even before the pebbles began to fall, both Arm No. 1 and Arm No. 2 had already slapped the remaining four pebbles on the table down onto the surface, and then steadily caught the descending pebbles.

Wang Xiangbing marveled at the exquisite precision of Shang Lu's control. To be able to control a robotic arm remotely as if it were his own arm—Shen Jiang was a heavy mech pilot, so it was no surprise that she could pull this off, but Shang Lu exhibited control precision close to hers, and he was using the non-invasive MEG-BCI system to boot.

1047's expression turned somewhat grim. An expert reveals their skill the moment they make a move; the proficiency just displayed was already far beyond his imagination.

They had no time for further thought, as Shang Lu and Shen Jiang had already moved on to the next step. The two robotic arms tossed the pebbles high into the air once more, scooped up the four pebbles on the table in one swift motion, and finally caught the falling pebbles.

So steady it was astonishing.

"Second round, grab three!" Bai Shu shouted again.

"Second round, grab three—!" Shouting this time were not just the comrades from the Engineering Bureau, but also the onlookers leaning against the work surface.

Wang Xiangbing looked up and glanced around. Unawares, the workshop had filled with quite a few spectators who were watching the excitement with great relish.

The difficulty of the second phase obviously increased. Neither of them succeeded on the first try; Shen Jiang missed grabbing one pebble, while Shang Lu failed to catch the pebble tossed into the air.

"Second round, grab three!"

As Shen Jiang and Shang Lu committed consecutive errors in the second phase, Bai Shu didn't rush to urge them on. Instead, she turned around to wave at the Engineering Bureau and began chanting, "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven!"

"Malan blooms twenty-one!" The men roared like thunder.

"Two, five, six!"

"Two, five, seven!"

"Two, eight, two, nine, thirty-one!"

Wang Xiangbing quietly leaned over to speak with 1047, "1047, do you think this event is too difficult? Neither of them can handle it."

1047 glanced at him sideways, "I believe Shen Jiang can handle it. This kind of test isn't hard for her, but your director on the other hand..."

"Is there any need to doubt our director's skill?" Wang Xiangbing humned.

"It's not that I'm doubting him; anyone would doubt it. After all, the MEG-BCI system is a system that has long been sentenced to death," 1047 said. "From a professional standpoint, it's simply impossible for it to suc—"

"He succeeded!" Wang Xiangbing pumped his fist in excitement. He saw Machine No. 2 steadily catch the last falling pebble, then turn around, beaming with joy as he patted 1047 on the shoulder, "1047, you are so professional!"

The onlookers burst into enthusiastic applause and cheers.

1047 stood stunned for a long time. How could reality turn out so differently from what was seen from a professional standpoint? Could it be that all those research materials and literature he meticulously studied were fake?