One Hundred Twenty-Two: Open to Negotiation

"Swallow" was the codename used by the Soviet KGB for female intelligence agents embedded within foreign organizations. The girl was one such agent, ordered to infiltrate Wei Hua's laboratory. Her mission was to acquire the lab's high-conversion solar cell technology for the Soviet Space Agency, but she was discovered just as she was about to steal the data. After learning what had happened, Wei Hua sat in his chair, contemplating for a moment before waking the girl and speaking to her:

"Miss Basha Kuravlyov! You may leave now. If your Soviet superiors desire the high-conversion solar cell technology from my lab, have someone with the authority to make decisions come to Hong Kong to negotiate with me. I am a businessman; my goal is to make money. I have no interest in the conflict between capitalism and other ideologies—only in profit. I believe that most things in this world can be sold as commodities, so there should be no insurmountable differences between us, wouldn't you agree?"

"What did you do to me? How do you know my true identity? I haven't used the name Basha Kuravlyov in ten years; I had almost forgotten it myself!" Basha stared at Wei Hua with a look of terror, as if he were a man-eating demon.

"That is not important, Miss Basha. Given your identity and your actions in the lab, I believe you are no longer suited to work here. You may go to the personnel department to complete your resignation procedures now. And remember what I told you." With that, Wei Hua stood up and left the small room. Basha stood dazed for a moment before following him out. Once outside the warehouse, Wei Hua spoke to Bank, who had been guarding the entrance:

"Miss Basha is no longer suitable for work in the lab. Take her to the personnel department to process her paperwork. Also, ensure her salary is paid in full. Since she did not cause any actual damage to the lab, I have decided not to pursue the matter further. Do you understand?"

"I understand, boss! I will do as you say!" Bank, who had been guarding the door out of concern for Wei Hua's safety, rushed forward as soon as he saw Wei Hua emerge unharmed, quickly assuring him of his compliance.

Wei Hua stayed at the laboratory for several more days. The current research focus was MPEG compression technology—the core technology for future video products. Mastering this was equivalent to owning a money-printing machine. In Wei Hua's original timeline, the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) began developing this technology in 1988. They proposed the draft standard in 1990, and in 1992, it was formally adopted as the international standard ISO/IEC 11172, known as MPEG-1.

MPEG-1 was designed as an industrial standard suitable for various bandwidth devices, such as CD-ROMs, Video CDs, and CD-Rs. It was the international standard for coding moving images and associated audio for digital storage media at data rates below 1.5 Mbps. It allowed for the storage of synchronized, color-moving video on CD-ROMs, optimized for medium resolution. At its optimal mode, using the SIF standard format, it compressed images at a transmission rate of 1.5 Mbits/sec, capable of playing 30 frames per second with picture quality comparable to VHS tapes, reaching 240 lines of resolution. Wei Hua remembered that Sony seemed to be a member of the MPEG standardization organization; now that he held this core technology in his hands, he wondered how Sony would manage to remain a member of that body.

After providing the research staff with the correct direction and methodology, Wei Hua flew back to Hong Kong with Ruan Wenyong, Ding Peng, and the meteorite iron he had retrieved from the Amazon rainforest. It was mid-July when he arrived. Back at Qi Garden, Wei Hua impatiently went to the basement he had specially prepared for artifact refinement. He had his staff move the crate containing the nuclear fusion generator from his bedroom to the basement and summoned his butler, David Scorsese.

"David! I have work to do over the next few days. Do not disturb me for any reason. As long as I am in this room, do not let anyone enter. You don't need to prepare food or water. Inform the Madam as well. That is all; you may leave. I am beginning now."

"I understand, sir!" David Scorsese bowed and left the basement. Wei Hua opened the crate, activated the nuclear fusion generator, and connected the leads to his own body. His consciousness entered the strange dimension where Sophia resided. He needed to notify her, as he required full control over the power supply for the next few days and could not have her absorbing it. He had only found this one piece of meteorite iron; if he ruined it during the refinement process, he would have nowhere to turn for comfort.

He quickly met with Sophia. She was clearly displeased that he hadn't been feeding her energy for such a long time and spoke to him in a huff; her personality was becoming increasingly like that of a child. Wei Hua smiled and said to her:

"Sophia! I am about to begin refining a spatial ring. The process must be completed in one go, so I need sufficient power. Could you please refrain from absorbing the external energy for a while?"

"Fine! But after you successfully refine the spatial ring, the time you spend feeding me energy must be doubled!" Sophia replied flatly.

"Double the time? That would leave me no time to do anything else! That won't work—it's too long! You know I have many things to attend to. I can extend it by three hours at most!" Wei Hua bargained.