Chapter 7: Informatics Lv.11

A single person can only do so much... I need to accelerate the progress of the Jarvis Project. This thought crossed Jiang Chen's mind. After all, this studio is entirely his own, and he couldn't trust anyone else to handle the acceptance work. Simply verifying the various parameters of the supercomputer center had taken him nearly a month. If he had a mature, reliable artificial intelligence assistant, the job would take less than a day. In many respects, AI is vastly more efficient than humans.

Though Jarvis is only a rudimentary artificial intelligence, it's more than capable of handling repetitive mechanical tasks in place of Jiang Chen, or assisting with basic duties. However, even this basic form of AI is dauntingly difficult to create. True artificial intelligence isn't a mere copy-and-paste machine like ChatGPT, which simply echoes search engine results, but something capable of genuine self-reflection and learning. In a sense, it could be regarded as a living entity. With extensive learning and the passage of time, there's a possibility it could evolve into a true intelligent life form, like Babata.

The design requirements for Jarvis revolve around two core demands. First, a supercomputer with powerful enough computational capacity to serve as the AI’s “brain.” If the processing power is insufficient, even the most basic AI cannot function. Fortunately, in this area, what’s lacking in quality can be compensated for in quantity. For Jarvis, it isn't about the sophistication of individual components, but their sheer number. Even obsolete single-core processors, eliminated before the Great Nirvana, can meet the requirements if enough are stacked together. With the supercomputer center established, this criterion has already been satisfied.

The second core requirement is the “knowledge” Jiang Chen himself possesses. Most fields don’t demand much, but mathematics and informatics must reach level 11 to comprehend Jarvis’s complex source code architecture and adapt it as needed. Currently, Jiang Chen’s panel shows mathematics at level 10 and informatics at level 9. This was only achieved after he decided to push forward with the Jarvis Project, dedicating himself to improving informatics, his weaker subject.

At the current pace, if he spends every moment outside of eating and sleeping in the system’s library, it will take two or three months to meet the blueprint’s unlocking requirements. In reality, even though the two major undertakings are complete, Jiang Chen still has many tasks. The production line for the Ripper has found its rhythm, but occasionally Chief Engineer Chen and his team encounter minor issues only Jiang Chen can resolve.

The supercomputer center needs staff as well. Operating and maintaining such a facility is more than Jiang Chen can manage alone. Security, cleaning, and other miscellaneous jobs require numerous hands. While Li Dawei’s connections could help, Jiang Chen doesn’t want his studio to become a military outpost; he prefers to do things himself.

If only I had a squad of robots or synthetic personnel... The thought of recruitment gave Jiang Chen a headache. Forget future plans—even the current projects on the agenda involve technology far beyond what Earth presently knows, and are bound to attract outside interest. Hiring externally raises the thorny issue of preventing leaks. It’s vexing, but necessary.

Security and cleaning staff only need to be kept away from the server rooms, so they can be hired freely. As for those maintaining and operating equipment—AI is the ideal operator. Once Jarvis is complete, only a handful of engineers will need to handle hardware maintenance inside the facility; operators won’t be required at all.

Still, even hiring a few hardware engineers requires considering confidentiality. Moreover, most highly skilled professionals already have steady jobs. Persuading them to switch would require a hefty financial incentive.

If I have to spend more, so be it. Once contact with the universe is established, Earth’s currency will be meaningless anyway; it’s pointless to hoard it. Loyalty is a minor headache... but I'll just take it one step at a time.

With a sigh, Jiang Chen bypassed Lu Gang and Li Dawei, opting instead to approach the largest headhunting agencies in Jiangnan Base City, posting job openings through their channels. For security and cleaning roles, a simple ad on recruitment platforms with slightly better pay would suffice—there would be no shortage of applicants.

Although the headhunters assisted, Jiang Chen insisted on conducting the final interviews himself, which inevitably took up some time. Still, it was necessary; time and effort invested now would save much more in the future.

Jiang Chen had little interest in expanding his influence—at least for now. But as the resources he controlled grew and the fields he touched became more complex, helpers were needed.

Recruitment and interviews did not interfere with his progress in absorbing knowledge from the system library. Time continued to pass.

One day, Jiang Chen was deep in the system library, engrossed in a book titled "Multidimensional Matrix Algorithms," when suddenly a system prompt sounded in his ear.

"Informatics has increased to level 11; your rank has been raised."

"Current rank: Zero-tier, Level Five."

"You have gained +10 to all attributes. You have received 10 free attribute points."

"You have received 33 specialty points."

"Leveled up?"

Jiang Chen was stunned. Of all disciplines recognized by the system, or “knowledge categories,” his mathematics level was the highest, having long since reached level 11. Recently, to meet the requirements of the Jarvis blueprint, he had crammed informatics, raising it from level 7 to level 11 within a few months.

With this accumulation, his system evaluation had finally advanced to zero-tier, level five.

He casually allocated the ten free attribute points to "Intelligence," and his panel changed once again.

—

Name: Jiang Chen
Race: Earth Human
Tier: Zero-tier, Level Five
Attributes:
Strength 57, Agility 56, Constitution 57, Intelligence 79, Spirit 79, Mystery 68
Free Attribute Points: 0
Knowledge:
Mathematics Lv.11, Informatics Lv.11, Physics Lv.8, Chemistry Lv.8...
Specialties: [High Focus], [Telekinesis]
Specialty Points: 78