Chapter 55: Enemy’s Tracks Emerge

“I would need equipment that’s nearly on par with Siemens’ machining centers to make a fair comparison. No matter how capable the software is, it can’t eliminate the huge gap between hardware capabilities.”

Du Qiu wasn’t being arrogant. Siemens’ CNC machining centers have long dominated the high-end sector, while the Japanese company Fanke mainly occupies the mid-range market domestically and can only cede to Siemens in the high-end market.

Currently, few companies in China can produce high-end CNC machining centers, and even though there have been breakthroughs, none can shake Siemens’ position.

Nowadays, with the manufacturing industry fully entering the era of Industry 4.0, unmanned flexible manufacturing is becoming a trend, and Siemens’ automation control systems have again captured the high ground.

A few years ago, there were one or two domestic companies that wanted to compete, but they all fell apart due to various reasons.

After Zhongbu Data developed a mid-to-high-end CNC control system, the reason Du Qiu still insists on pursuing this path is that his target isn’t solely focused on CNC machine tools.

In Du Qiu’s vision, intelligent machinery should cover all industrial fields, with all intelligent machines being interconnected.

That is to say, the “Tianqing System” is not a stand-alone version, but a network operating system for the industrial field.

Since Du Qiu started developing the CNC control system on his own, Siemens has always been his ultimate competitor, but as they say, one must eat one bite at a time.

Leinsoko nodded and said, “Then you really should buy a Siemens CNC machining center and modify it with your software to see how it performs.

You know about Hanmer Company, right? Their machining centers are highly precise because they modified Siemens equipment with their unique components, such as grating rulers, angle encoders, etc. The precision is simply…”

Leinsoko grew more excited as he spoke, gesturing with his hands, and suddenly he slapped his forehead, “I almost forgot, didn’t you ask me to be a consultant?

How about I make this modification my first order of business? I can guide your employees in modifying Siemens’ equipment.”

Du Qiu gave Leinsoko a flat look, “You’re thinking too beautifully. Does buying equipment not cost money? My company has just started and there are expenses everywhere.”

“No, no, you can’t think like that,” Leinsoko shook his head, “If this equipment is successfully modified, it will serve as a model!

You can have your sales people bring clients to check it out. We can tell the customers that for less than the price of Siemens’ original equipment, they can get equipment that matches or even exceeds its processing precision.

Siemens has a full range of products from low to high-end with significant price differences. If we modify mid-range equipment to achieve the precision of mid-to-high-end equipment…”

“Alright, you’ve convinced me,” Du Qiu slammed the table, “I’ll notify the procurement department to source a mid-range Siemens original CNC machine. Once it’s delivered, you must come and help out.”

“Absolutely,” said Leinsoko, “Your software has already drawn me in. I’m definitely taking on this advisory role.”

Leinsoko was right; having such a model would greatly facilitate sales of the software.

Additionally, Du Qiu planned to start trial production of waste sorting equipment, and the production line would need such equipment as well. It made sense to purchase it sooner rather than later.

Du Qiu’s planned waste sorting equipment production line would also be unmanned, serving as a model project for the “Tianqing System” transition from a CNC control system to a complete production process automation control system.

If you want to know how good something is, you should try it yourself first.

“By the way, where has He Ren gone? I haven’t seen him post in his Moments for a long time,” Du Qiu suddenly remembered another foreign friend.

“You forgot; he plans to travel around Tang Country before graduation. Recently, it seems like he went to the Snowy Plateau, where the signals are probably weak, so he can’t post in his Moments.”

“He must have gone to some uninhabited place again. Otherwise, he would definitely have a signal.”

After chatting for a while, they ended their meal and parted ways.

Du Qiu wanted to visit his mentor, but the babysitter answering the phone at home said his mentor was away on a business trip.

Checking the time, Du Qiu decided to head to the “Style” coffee shop earlier than planned.

This was his life’s first blind date, and although it lacked a sense of mystery, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of anticipation.

Du Qiu didn’t drink at lunch as he would be driving, and moreover, he wouldn’t want to meet someone while reeking of alcohol for a blind date in the afternoon.

Leinsoko, in front of Du Qiu, still seemed very strong, seemingly unaffected by the failure of his international romance, claiming that he wanted to do research in the afternoon and therefore also abstained from drinking.

It was already late April, and Magic City’s late spring was already warming up.

Du Qiu, dressed in a light blue shirt and black trousers, looked rather tall and handsome.

Just as he settled into his car, Du Qiu checked the Antiterrorism Network app on his phone.

If the “Wolf’s Kiss” had their eyes on him, they would likely take action since his car had been parked outside the school gate for so long.

As soon as the app opened, it emitted a “beeping” alert sound.

Clearly displayed on the screen was a red dot at the lower right-hand rear side of his car, which from the signal discrimination appeared to be a bug.

Du Qiu’s lips curled into a cold smile. The enemy had finally shown itself.

He continued to review the car’s Antiterrorism Network video footage, hoping to glimpse what the enemy looked like.

The footage quickly fast-forwarded; several people had approached the car, but alas, none of them had carried out the action of installing that red dot device.

This was impossible—clearly, the device had been placed under the car during this timeframe. It couldn’t have attached itself on its own.

Du Qiu watched the footage again, and at last found a new clue.

40 minutes ago, a group of people walked past his car when a child ran from the opposite side of the frame, crawled under his car, and later emerged holding a ball.

It appeared that the little boy had gone under the car to retrieve the ball, but the spot he crawled into was exactly where the red dot had been installed.

Had the enemy actually employed a child for this task?

After some thought, Du Qiu clipped that segment of the video and sent it to Su Jianming, along with a message.

“Big fish on the hook. The boy in the video stuck a bug under my car. The video was recorded in the parking lot outside Shanghai University’s gate around 12:52 pm. I suspect the child was used by the big fish. You might want to have someone check out the situation.”

After sending the message, Du Qiu turned on the navigator, started the car, and headed towards the “Style” coffee shop.

En route, Du Qiu casually took the elevated road, ran a stretch along it, then descended toward his destination without making any elaborate countermovements, having already confirmed there was no tailing vehicle.

It seemed that the enemy’s little device under the car could also track his location.

He switched his phone’s navigation screen back to the Antiterrorism Network app, and sure enough, he saw the red dot was actively transmitting a location signal.

Knowing the opponent didn’t need to tail him, Du Qiu didn’t bother with stealthy maneuvers and drove directly to the destination.

He still had half an hour until the planned 3 p.m. meet-up.

Du Qiu parked the car and, carrying a shoulder bag, walked into the “Style” coffee shop, which had a layout similar to an “L” shape.

Turning left upon entering was the bottom end of the “L,” with floor-to-ceiling windows facing the street, allowing customers to enjoy the street view over coffee.

Naturally, they themselves could also be seen as part of the view by the passersby.

Walking down this row of seats along the window to the end and turning right brought him to the other side of the “L,” where the seating was divided by high partitions, making each spot seem private and quiet.

Since it was mid-afternoon, the seats along the window were already full.

Du Qiu had to settle for a slightly outer seat where if he turned his head, he could barely see the entrance.

That way, he could at least see Ning Shuangshuang come in or notice if any suspicious individuals entered.

He ordered a glass of pure water and, under the baffled gaze of the waiter, sat unmoved, casually opening the Antiterrorism Network app.