booktalesy Chapter 5 A Slap in the Face
Chapter 5 A Slap in the Face
Zuo Cheng completed the entire derivation and simulation verification of the channel modeling scheme in four days.
The final 20%—the part he deliberately omitted from the document he gave Ma Hao—is the core of the entire solution: an adaptive weight update mechanism. Simply put, it allows the model to automatically adjust the importance of each parameter as it tracks channel changes, amplifying what needs to be amplified and attenuating what needs to be attenuated, without requiring manual intervention.
He wrote this in great detail, with mathematical proofs for each step of the derivation. The simulation data was used to run three sets of control experiments, and the results all matched the theoretical predictions.
The night it was finished, the light screen popped up a notification right on time.
[Mission Complete!]
[Unlocking the Blades: Communication System Basics ✓]
[Points +5 (Current Points: 9)]
The third leaf on the technology tree glowed with a vibrant green light.
The amount of knowledge flooding into my mind was more than twice that of the previous two times—channel coding, modulation and demodulation, multiple access, spectrum allocation, the basic theoretical framework of the entire communication system unfolded like a large net, seamlessly connecting with the previous knowledge of signal processing.
Zuo Cheng closed his eyes and digested the information for a full ten minutes before letting out a long breath.
Nine points. Three leaves. Less than two weeks had passed since he traveled back in time.
But he didn't rush to submit the complete plan.
Because he was waiting for the right opportunity.
Friday afternoon, the research group's routine meeting.
Professor Lin Zhiyuan would set aside an hour every Friday to listen to progress reports from each direction. Zuo Cheng had only been in the group for a little over a week, so normally he wouldn't have the right to speak; he could just sit in the back and listen.
Ma Hao was the second to report.
He opened the PowerPoint presentation, and the title "Nonlinear Time-Varying Channel Modeling - Exploration of New Schemes" appeared prominently on the projector.
Zuo Cheng sat in the back row, expressionless.
"Recently, I've re-examined some sub-directions of channel modeling," Ma Hao said confidently, standing on the podium. Turning to the second page, he continued, "The previous two approaches each had their limitations. My current approach is to combine adaptive filtering methods with matrix factorization to construct a real-time tracking model—"
Zuo Cheng's eyelid twitched.
Isn't this the framework of his plan?
Ma Hao's PPT was beautifully designed, with clear charts and neatly formatted formulas. But the more Zuo Cheng looked at it, the clearer it became—the core of the content was exactly the same 80% of what he had given Ma Hao last Thursday. The wording had been changed, and the order of the formula derivations had been rearranged, but the core idea was identical.
But Ma Hao didn't have the missing 20%—the adaptive weight update mechanism.
The PPT was turned to the second to last page, which was on "Dynamic Adjustment Strategy for Model Parameters". The content consisted of only a vague text description and a box that said "To be improved".
This is where he can't get past it.
After listening, Lin Zhiyuan remained silent for a few seconds, then took off his reading glasses and wiped them.
"The direction is good, but the core weight update mechanism is missing. Without this, the preceding framework won't run," he said calmly. "When did you start working on this solution?"
"We started reorganizing it last week," Ma Hao replied naturally.
Zuo Cheng sat in the back row, looking down at his notebook, his expression as calm as if he were listening to a weather forecast.
Song Yuwei sat down next to him and whispered, "Isn't this the direction you've been working on?"
Zuo Cheng didn't answer, but simply put a finger to his lips, signaling her to be quiet.
The group meeting continued, and after everyone else had finished reporting, Lin Zhiyuan habitually asked, "Does anyone have anything to add?"
Zuo Cheng raised his hand: "Teacher Lin, I have something I'd like to show everyone."
Lin Zhiyuan nodded. Ma Hao's gaze swept over him instantly, and his brows furrowed slightly.
Zuo Cheng walked to the computer, plugged in his USB drive, and opened a folder. Inside, neatly arranged were—complete technical solution documents, data from three sets of simulation control experiments, handwritten scans of the derivation process, and the creation timestamps of each file.
The earliest file was created at 1 a.m. last Thursday.
This was twelve hours earlier than Ma Hao's claim at the group meeting that "we started to reorganize last week."
"Since joining the team, I've been working on channel modeling," Zuo Cheng said softly, but every word was clear. "This is my complete solution, including the framework that Senior Brother Ma just mentioned, and the core component he marked 'to be improved' in his PPT—the adaptive weight update mechanism."
He opened the solution document, turned to the chapter on the weight update mechanism, and showed the derivation process and simulation results page by page.
The meeting room was so quiet you could hear the air conditioner humming.
Lin Zhiyuan took the document and flipped through it page by page. He was an expert in this field and could recognize good stuff at a glance. The derivation of the weight update mechanism was rigorous and complete, and the simulation results matched the theoretical predictions with extremely high accuracy. More importantly, after this mechanism was added, the entire scheme truly became a working closed loop.
"Zuocheng." Lin Zhiyuan put down the document, his tone more serious than ever before. "If this plan proves to be effective, it can be submitted as one of the core outcomes of the project."
"Thank you, Teacher Lin. I am confident that my abilities will stand the test."
"Then let me ask you a question." Lin Zhiyuan's gaze shifted from Zuo Cheng to Ma Hao, then back again. "Did you independently complete the overall framework and concept of this plan?"
Zuo Cheng glanced at Ma Hao.
The glance was brief and carried no hint of provocation.
"Yes."
Behind Lin Zhiyuan's reading glasses, his eyes saw through everything, but he didn't pursue the matter on the spot. He simply said, "Alright. This direction will be pursued primarily by Zuo Cheng; Ma Hao, you will assist."
The five words—"Ma Hao, you assist"—are like a soft knife, drawing no blood but cutting deep every time.
Ma Hao's expression froze for a moment, his lips turned white, but he didn't react and just nodded.
After the group meeting ended, the way the other graduate students looked at Zuo Cheng completely changed. As Song Yuwei passed by him, she gave him a slight thumbs up.
Zuo Cheng carefully put away the USB drive and walked out of the conference room at a leisurely pace.
In the corridor, Ma Hao caught up from behind.
"Zuo Cheng." His voice was low, a smile still on his face, but his eyes were devoid of warmth. "You handled today's matter very cleverly. But let me remind you—a research group can't stand on its own with just one plan. The road ahead is long, don't rush."
Zuo Cheng stopped and turned to look at him.
"Brother Ma is right, there's still a long way to go." He spoke sincerely, even with a hint of respect from a junior to a senior. "That's why I want to produce results as soon as possible, so that things don't get unclear later."
This statement, neither too soft nor too hard, hit the nail on the head precisely—the four words "it's hard to explain" have already made the matter clear.
Ma Hao's smile finally crumbled; he froze for a moment, then turned and left.
Zuo Cheng watched his figure disappear at the top of the stairs before turning his gaze away.
This person will cause trouble later, but that's not something to worry about now. The document timestamp is already there, and Professor Lin is well aware of that. If Ma Hao wants to stay in the research group, he won't do anything else in the short term.
My phone vibrated; it was a message from Zhang Lei.
"Brother Cheng! Big job! The simulation system in a lab in the Materials Science department crashed, and the professor is frantic. He's offered a 10,000 RMB reward on the forum for anyone to fix it within a week! I've sent you the link to the post. See if our 402 lab can handle it?"
Ten thousand yuan.
Zuo Cheng clicked on the link and glanced at it—the problem with the simulation system lay in the interface between the signal acquisition module and the data processing flow, which happened to fall within the scope of his existing knowledge.
He replied with a message: "We're having a meeting in the dorm tonight, we'll take this job."
Then open the system panel, and a new notification is quietly floating on the screen:
[The technology radar has cooled down.]
[A new scannable target has been detected within a 10-meter radius of the host...]
Zuo Cheng paused for a moment.
He stood in the lobby of the main building of the School of Telecommunications Engineering. There were many people coming and going—students, teachers, and a few unfamiliar faces in suits carrying briefcases. Next to the bulletin board in the lobby was a poster that read "Huaxia University - Xingchen Technology Industry-University-Research Cooperation Exchange Meeting - This Saturday".
Zuo Cheng glanced at the name tags on the chests of the men in suits.
Star Technology.
It's the company that implanted the nanopatch in his brain.
Meanwhile, the radar was flashing wildly at one of the people.
[Target: Unknown Personnel B]
Mastering Technology: Nanoscale Neural Interface Design (Expert Level)
[Copying costs: 4 points]
Four points.
There are now exactly nine Zuocheng.
He stared at the words, his pupils contracted slightly, and his heart skipped a beat.
Nanoscale neural interface—isn't that the core technology behind the patch on his head?
If he replicates this technology, will he be able to figure out exactly how the system is activated?