The issue of robot-related crime was still stirring up debate. As with all emerging technologies, society needed time to adapt.
Aside from a brief official response, the Marching Ant Company had not made a formal statement. Instead, they continued posting daily animations and videos of their robots, trying to steer public attention back to normality.
Inside a quiet government conference room, Shi Jingyun sat calmly in his chair. The atmosphere was heavy, even stifling. Aside from a middle-aged man seated at the head of the table—also wearing a calm expression—everyone else looked tense and silent, unreadable.
This wasn't the first time such an issue had occurred in China, but for these officials, it was the first time it had landed so close to home.
Two minutes later, a red-faced man in his fifties walked into the conference room. As he entered, everyone's gaze fell on him—some eyes filled with pity, others with quiet disappointment. The weight of the moment hung thick in the air, making him hesitate mid-step.
Just as he was about to speak, Shi Jingyun stood up, retrieved a document, and placed it in front of him.
"Comrade Feng Jianfei, please come with us and cooperate with the investigation."
The man froze.
Before he could respond, two younger staff members approached and blocked his exit.
Feng Jianfei's face turned ashen in an instant.
"My apologies for the interruption, Director Liu. Comrades," Shi Jingyun said calmly, nodding to the officials in the room. With that, he gestured for the others to escort Feng Jianfei out.
Back at the Marching Ant Company, Xiao Yu entered Chen Mo's office, holding a pair of documents.
"Two pieces of good news today," she said, handing them over. "First, the Donghai Public Security Bureau sent their report—the robots retrieved from the Free Club aren't considered complicit in any crimes. Second, the Quality Inspection Bureau just confirmed: we passed the product inspection."
Chen Mo flipped through the files, nodding slowly.
He'd already heard that Feng Jianfei had been dealt with. With Yao Yi watching over the quality inspection, no one would dare to tamper with the results. Passing the inspection was expected.
While the media still buzzed about the implications of robot crimes, Chen Mo wasn't particularly worried. The public in China was highly adaptive—especially when it came to technology. They had embraced online shopping, mobile payments, and the sharing economy at a remarkable pace.
In his view, robots would be no different.
This was simply a transitional period. As more people encountered robots and became familiar with them, acceptance would follow. The buzz would die down, and society would move forward.
Technology always moved in waves. Intelligent robots were inevitable. All Chen Mo had done was accelerate the arrival of that era.
After reading through the reports, he set them aside and looked at Xiao Yu with a faint smile.
"What is it?" she asked, catching the look in his eyes.
"The day after tomorrow is your birthday. Let's go home, visit your parents—and then stop by the Civil Affairs Bureau to register," Chen Mo said calmly.
"Huh?" Xiao Yu blinked, caught off guard. When she realized what he meant, her cheeks turned crimson. "You mean… that?"
"Yes."
"…Okay," she said shyly, her voice soft.
Seeing her flushed expression, Chen Mo couldn't help but smile. Xiao Yu quickly turned away, flustered.
"This is the office. We should talk about this at home. I—I'm going back to work!" she stammered before quickly escaping from the room, her joy still visible despite the embarrassment.
Chen Mo chuckled to himself. Her happiness warmed his heart.
Later that day, Yao Yi's visit caught Chen Mo by surprise. He had originally planned to visit Yao Yi himself—but the official had shown up first.
When Chen Mo walked into the reception room, he found Yao Yi in an animated conversation with Zhao Min. Sitting next to him was a well-dressed, dark-skinned man—likely a secretary or aide.
"Ah, it's rare to see our genius in person," Yao Yi joked upon seeing Chen Mo.
Chen Mo offered a polite smile. "You're too kind, Secretary Yao. I was actually planning to visit you. Didn't expect you to beat me to it."
"I remembered your intention to visit," Yao Yi replied. "But this time, I came on official business."
"Oh? Then please, go ahead."
"The first reason is simple—I wanted to check in on the development of our city's star enterprise," Yao Yi began.
"How's it looking?"
"Very well. Bursting with vitality," Yao Yi smiled. "The second reason relates to the smart city initiative we discussed previously."
Chen Mo nodded. "Yes, I remember."
"We've finalized the preliminary draft and are preparing to take action. This time, we're hoping to collaborate with your company on a few projects."
"Let's hear it," Chen Mo said.
Yao Yi didn't beat around the bush.
Across the globe, many cities had attempted to implement "smart city" concepts—but few had succeeded. With Marching Ant leading the world in artificial intelligence, Yao Yi felt optimistic about doing it right in Binhai.
"Our initial focus will be on smart transportation. We'd like your company's help in developing the city's central AI system—a city brain."
Chen Mo and Zhao Min listened attentively. The concept was clear: using surveillance systems, traffic signals, and real-time road condition data, the AI would analyze and optimize traffic flow, reducing congestion by dynamically controlling intersections.
It was similar to Alibaba's eT City Brain project, but this time, they wanted to bet on a local powerhouse—Marching Ant.
"No problem," Chen Mo said. "It's doable."
"Excellent. We also want to implement autonomous public transportation—especially unmanned buses," Yao Yi added.
"That's under Zhao Min's purview," Chen Mo said. "She can fill you in."
"We're entering the road-testing phase for autonomous vehicles," Zhao Min explained. "We'll be submitting the necessary paperwork in two days. Once approved, we can start test runs. If the tests go well, we're fully onboard with supplying unmanned transport solutions."
Autonomous vehicles were essentially just mobile robots. With their existing AI framework, the development had been rapid.
Chen Mo had intentionally left these projects to the engineers—his focus was always on breakthroughs, not day-to-day implementations.
"This is just the first phase," Yao Yi explained. "We want to solve foundational issues first—traffic, transport, and urban logistics. Then we'll move on to stage two, depending on the city's evolving needs."
Chen Mo nodded. "Sounds good."
"Then we'll move forward with both items," Yao Yi said. "We'll finalize the partnership details and schedule a strategic cooperation signing ceremony."
"Agreed," Chen Mo replied.