Chapter 42: Chapter 42 Signing Ceremony_1
Zhou Ning and Mr. Liu shook hands, a gesture captured by the journalists.
Instantly, the room was filled with the sounds of flashing lights and shutters, as Mr. Liu expertly turned slightly to the side. Zhou Ning mimicked his movement, slightly turning as well.
Then, under the personal guidance of Doctor Lu, he walked to the front row, sat down in front of his name tag, removed his down jacket, revealing a police uniform beneath. This outfit was immaculate, after all it was brand new.
Doctor Lu stepped up to the podium and began to introduce the software development concept, as well as its future applications, essentially reiterating Zhou Ning’s original proposal.
Next, a city official took the stage to speak, offering support from economic backing to data collection, with a straightforward commitment that left Zhou Ning somewhat surprised.
Then it was time for the signing ceremony. Zhou Ning felt none of the nervous tension he experienced earlier at the conference room door. After all, everything was in his head, and he just needed to go through the motions of signing, shaking hands, and posing for photographs.
After these formalities, came the question-and-answer period with reporters. Doctor Lu gave Zhou Ning a nod, who in turn waved his hand; he had enough glory for the day. Merely a junior forensic doctor in a local police precinct, Zhou Ning knew better than to speak too much. Mistakes are made that way. It was better to let Doctor Lu handle it.
Doctor Lu did not decline and smoothly addressed the journalists’ inquiries. Though a chemist by training, he showed that he had done his homework in dealing with these matters.
From the application of artificial intelligence in this software to the tiered design and testing of the application, Doctor Lu’s explanations were both engaging and entertaining.
Zhou Ning couldn’t help but give a thumbs up, thinking that Doctor Lu’s eloquence was truly impressive.
After more than an hour, the signing ceremony concluded. Mr. Liu stood up, gave a slight bow to the reporters at the back, and smiling, spoke into the microphone:
"There’s one more thing I’d like to ask of you all. Regarding Doctor Zhou’s information, I hope you can keep it confidential. After all, the project settled here at Qindao University is not only our pride but also the glory of Qindao City and Ludong Province. It demonstrates our city’s strength in high-tech fields.
I can foresee that the software’s promotion and application will revolutionize our forensic and even archaeological breakthroughs, allowing for the re-investigation of many difficult and pending cases.
So, I ask that you conceal Doctor Zhou’s name and blur his face in images. Otherwise, I’m afraid he might be headhunted by other provinces before the project collaboration is even completed. If city leaders panic, don’t say I didn’t warn you."
The entire conference room laughed instantly.
Such a kindly reminder was not lost on anyone; they got the message. Apart from those who had been to Zhou Ning’s office, few among the attendees knew his identity. They merely knew him to be a young and handsome forensic doctor.
After the signing ceremony ended, Zhou Ning was escorted out of the conference room by Doctor Lu, not having a moment to glance back at the two men in suits he had seen earlier. Arriving at Doctor Lu’s office, the older man immediately wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Doctor Zhou, I really must thank you. Just ten minutes before your arrival, I was informed by the university about turning the signing into what it was. I hope you don’t mind!"
Zhou Ning smiled and waved his hand. He knew in his heart that Doctor Lu might have been aware of this earlier, but had not informed him, knowing Zhou Ning preferred to avoid hassles. If he had known about the grandeur beforehand, he might have indeed chosen not to come.
"Doctor Lu, you’re too polite. You handled all the preparations, and I just had to follow a few steps. There’s nothing to thank me for. But speaking of which, now that the project team is established, we can start working soon, right?"
Doctor Lu took off his tie and threw it on a chair.
"Now that the contract is signed, there’s no point in hiding it from you. The project team has already started working. Last week, the equipment, staff, and funds were in place, with preliminary operations underway. The day you sent me your project proposal, we began the design work, and the initial data collection for the database was started."
Zhou Ning’s mouth fell open slightly at the rapid progress, catching him off guard.
"Oh, the more data collection sites the better. Just the major hospitals in Qindao might be somewhat limited since people from different regions of the country vary in appearance."
Doctor Lu nodded with a smile and poured a cup of tea for Zhou Ning.
"I’ve already thought of that. I contacted several old classmates and got fifty-seven hospitals from all over the country on board to collect data. You don’t need to worry about that."
Hearing the number, Zhou Ning was even more astonished.
"So many hospitals, Doctor Lu, aren’t you a chemist?"
Doctor Lu lifted his chin, his face wrinkling with prideful laughter, like a child who had been praised.
"Looking down on me, huh? We have our own circles. Our industry is very closely connected with pharmaceuticals; this data collection stuff isn’t difficult at all."
"We don’t even need to send people, just remotely install the collection software and you’re good. We originally estimated six months to finish the first part of the software design, but based on my observations these past few days, we might shorten that timeframe."
Zhou Ning nodded vigorously; he remembered that a version of CCK had been released at the end of 2011, featuring the function to perform face combination simulation based on verbal descriptions.
If he could get ahead of the game, it would naturally be easier to set a precedent in people’s minds.
"Then we’ll have to rely on Doctor Lu. If there’s anything I need to do, let’s communicate online."
Doctor Lu didn’t keep Zhou Ning for long since all his thoughts were on software development. After all, having a doctor of chemistry spearheading this project, the level of his dedication was beyond Zhou Ning’s imagination.
"Alright, I’ll have the driver take you back."
Zhou Ning waved his hand and stood up.
"No need for that, I’ll just take the bus. But Doctor Lu, those two men in suits I saw at the conference room door earlier, who are they? Are they teachers at our school, or members of the software design team?"
Doctor Lu was taken aback.
"I thought you knew each other since you were talking. Those two are from your system; the older one is Mr. Peng from the city bureau’s technical department, and the younger is Cui Haibin, the head of the city bureau’s forensic department."
Zhou Ning was stunned. Theoretically, these were his superiors, but the encounter just now wasn’t pleasant, to say the least, from their point of view.
"What’s wrong with Zhou Ning?"
Zhou Ning waved his hand; he wasn’t thinking about a promotion. In the future, he’d just have to skirt around them when going to the city for meetings.
"Nothing, I’ve only been on the job for four months, and I just don’t recognize them. They asked me for directions at the door, mistook me for a student, didn’t say anything inappropriate."
Doctor Lu paused to think for a moment.
"Don’t worry, if there’s any issue, tell me and I’ll have Mr. Liu communicate with the city bureau. After the first generation of our software is complete, I imagine your job will need some adjustments."
Zhou Ning was taken aback; this was something he hadn’t considered. Where would a job adjustment take him? To Qindao University?
"Job adjustments?"
Doctor Lu nodded.
"That will depend on what you want. Of course, we hope you will continue working at the city bureau as it would be more convenient for you to participate in some of the software’s testing later on, especially since the city leaders expressed their support today."
Zhou Ning didn’t even know what he had said afterward. While sitting on the bus, he found it hard to believe everything that had happened that day. Four months ago, he couldn’t have dreamed of such a day.
Everything was because of the forensic training system he’d received. Without it, he would’ve just been a nobody, drifting through his days.
With his skills, not only solving those difficult cases would’ve been out of reach, but even completing a single full autopsy would’ve been challenging, let alone receiving the attention of Liu Yongxin, Xu Dayuan, and Doctor Lu.
Reflecting on this, Zhou Ning couldn’t help but sigh.
Just then, his phone rang. The caller was Liu Yongxin, and without hesitation, Zhou Ning answered, knowing that Liu Yongxin would be concerned since he was aware of the signing.
"Hello, Master, I’m about to arrive...."
Liu Yongxin’s usually composed voice was replaced with an anxious tone, interrupting Zhou Ning’s greeting.
"Get in a taxi now, head to the intersection of Xinhai Expressway and Hong Kong Road, hurry!"
