"When will this game be released?"
After playing for quite a while, Jiang Hai finally removed the connector from his ear and asked Shauna Boone, still reluctant to part with it.
To be honest, he genuinely enjoyed it.
More importantly, the experience felt incredibly real. If it were officially released, it would probably explode worldwide overnight.
Back in the day, Jiang Hai had gone through a bit of a chuunibyou phase—full of unrealistic fantasies and heroic delusions. He used to dream about those fully immersive virtual game pods from online novels.
Those probably didn't exist yet.
But this AR technology?
It already felt unbelievably close.
Wasn't it basically like Yu-Gi-Oh!?
Right now it was Pokémon GO. Maybe one day there would be an AR Yu-Gi-Oh! too. Two players meeting on the street, raising their devices and shouting, "Duel!"
Just imagining it made his blood boil with excitement.
That old chuunibyou spirit still hadn't completely died.
Shauna Boone smiled at his enthusiasm.
"This device won't be available for at least two or three years," she said. "It's built on Google Glass technology, and each unit currently costs around ten thousand dollars. Even if production costs drop, it'll still be over three thousand. Three-thousand-dollar glasses are still too expensive for most consumers."
Jiang Hai nodded.
That made sense.
People shouldn't be fooled by the number of Apple fans in China. iPhones weren't originally outrageously priced. Even ordinary families could afford one with some saving. Low-end models cost around six thousand yuan, and better ones maybe seven or eight thousand.
With China's living costs, even someone on an average salary could tighten their belt for a month or two and buy one.
Six thousand yuan was only about a thousand dollars.
But three thousand dollars?
That was nearly twenty thousand yuan.
How many people would really buy something like that just for gaming?
Reality was cruel.
Unless Google could lower the price to around a thousand dollars, mass adoption was unlikely.
Thinking about it, Jiang Hai smacked his lips in regret.
What a waste of such amazing technology.
Still, he remained optimistic.
Recalling the virtual world he had just seen, he couldn't help feeling a faint itch of anticipation.
But those weren't things he needed to worry about.
For now, it was just fun to experience.
He followed Shauna Boone out of the research center, though his thoughts were still stuck in the game.
Soon, she led him to Larry Page's office.
Although Eric Schmidt served as chairman, everyone knew that Larry Page and Sergey Brin were the true decision-makers at Google.
So for matters like verifying shareholdings, naturally you met the top bosses directly.
Stopping at an office door, Shauna knocked lightly.
A middle-aged man's voice answered from inside.
They pushed the door open.
The office wasn't large, and the furnishings were simple and clean.
Behind the desk sat a dark-haired white man who didn't look like a typical billionaire or celebrity. He was neatly dressed but gave off a slightly plain, almost scholarly air. His thick eyebrows made him look faintly comical.
Yet no one here would ever underestimate him.
This was Larry Page, one of Google's founders.
Across from him sat another middle-aged man with somewhat Slavic features. Compared to Larry, he looked more handsome, with a faintly graying beard that added a mature, charismatic charm.
Sergey Brin.
Jiang Hai hadn't expected to meet both founders just to confirm his shares.
"Hello, you must be Mr. Jiang Hai," Larry Page said, standing up with a smile and extending his hand. "I'm Larry Page, CEO of Google. This is our shareholder, Sergey Brin."
Jiang Hai shook hands with both men, exchanged pleasantries, and then sat on the reception sofa opposite the desk.
Only the three of them sat.
Even in America, where hierarchy wasn't emphasized, status still mattered sometimes.
Since only they were speaking, Shauna Boone and Moses Adams stood to the side, while Azalina and Allerzara waited outside.
"Mr. Jiang, you're here to verify your shareholding, correct?" Sergey Brin asked with a friendly smile. "Besides that, do you have any suggestions or ideas for the company?"
Hearing this, Jiang Hai's heart skipped slightly, but his expression remained relaxed.
Something important was clearly being tested here.
He coughed lightly before answering.
"I'm mainly here to verify the shares. As for suggestions… honestly, I don't have any."
He spread his hands helplessly.
"I know nothing about IT. Don't laugh, but I used to be a farmer. I only got these shares by coincidence. So please don't expect professional advice from me—I really can't offer any. As for how my shares are arranged, I'll leave it to you. I'm just here to make money, nothing more."
The moment they heard this, both men visibly relaxed.
As long as he wasn't meddling or hiding an agenda, everything was easy to handle.
If not an enemy, then a friend.
"That's good to hear," Larry said with a smile. "Shauna gave you a tour earlier, right? What do you think of the environment here?"
"It's great," Jiang Hai replied honestly. "If I were in IT, this would probably be my dream workplace. And the technology here… it's really eye-opening."
Even if he hadn't understood half of it, praising them cost nothing.
The two founders laughed.
"He also ordered our global intelligent system earlier," Shauna added.
Both men raised their eyebrows slightly.
"That system is quite mature," Larry said slowly, "but it's also extremely expensive. Ten million dollars isn't a small amount for anyone. Even for me, it's not easy to pull that much cash at once."
Jiang Hai smiled.
"You might not know me well. I don't run listed companies or invest heavily in large construction projects. I spend my profits myself. Maybe my total assets aren't that impressive globally… but in terms of cash?"
He shrugged.
"I should rank pretty high."
Larry nodded.
In today's world, cash might depreciate sitting in banks—but people with cash were still the most reliable clients.
He assumed Jiang Hai probably had billions on hand.
Jiang Hai's self-deprecation just sounded like typical Eastern modesty.
"Since you're our shareholder," Larry said after a moment of thought, "I'll make a decision. Your client intelligence level will be upgraded from basic to advanced."
"Oh?" Jiang Hai blinked. "There are levels?"
"Of course," Larry explained. "The basic version handles simple dialogue and parameter settings. The advanced version can't think independently, but it uses language association. In terms of intelligence, it's second only to AlphaGo."
Sergey Brin leaned forward slightly.
"Would Mr. Jiang be interested in deeper cooperation with us?"
They preferred partners like him—wealthy, but not interfering with management.
Jiang Hai chuckled.
"I'm not really interested in anything complicated… but that AR technology?"
His eyes lit up.
"That part—I'm very interested."
(To be continued.)