Chapter 188: Semifinals
The judge’s words sent shockwaves through the crowd.
No one had expected that China actually had technology they could patent!
At this thought, the news reports they had all laughed off—about China successfully filing a patent—suddenly sprang to mind.
Faced with everyone’s skepticism, Xie Changning and her team remained calm.
They had anticipated this scene from the very beginning.
Xie Changning stood her ground as several reporters surged forward, hounding her with questions about the patent.
What was the specific content of the application? How long ago had it been filed?
How confident were they?
Xie Changning answered each of the reporters’ questions politely, embodying the poise of a great nation.
No matter what anyone on the outside said, no matter how much the audience doubted, China was in the semi-finals. That was a fact nobody could change.
The matter was settled. No amount of protest from the audience or incitement from United States officials could sway the judges’ thinking.
The International Technology Competition was all about cutting-edge technology; it was about technological supremacy!
How could they possibly allow any country to fix the results?
They wouldn’t allow it!
Xie Changning was somewhat surprised by the judges’ integrity. ’I thought some of them would be biased.’
’But it turns out they’re all completely upright and honorable!’
After thanking the judges, Xie Changning led her team back to the hotel. She told everyone to get a good night’s rest, recharge their batteries, and prepare for the semi-finals tomorrow.
All the competition tasks were decided on the night before.
Furthermore, they were decided by the judges in discussion.
There was no possibility of anyone else finding out ahead of time.
So, everyone listened to Xie Changning. They didn’t try to guess the next day’s content; they just went to get a good night’s sleep and wait for the competition.
While the others went to sleep, Xie Changning returned to her room and looked over the data she had.
The preliminaries tested a team’s overall level, while the quarter-finals focused on improvisation, so...
’The semi-finals tomorrow will likely test our design capabilities and the team’s overall skill.’
Xie Changning doodled in her notebook, beginning to design the item for tomorrow’s competition: a prototype cellular phone.
Time was short and the task was demanding, so Xie Changning didn’t overcomplicate the features.
She just made a few modifications to the design of a pager.
But it was also different from a pager.
This was all just Xie Changning’s prediction; it didn’t mean the judges would definitely use this as the task. However, Xie Changning felt there was no harm in designing it anyway.
’If the cellular phone comes out early, it could seize a significant first-mover advantage.’
The cellular phone’s functions were simple to begin with, and since Xie Changning had no intention of adding extra features, this model had only one function: making and receiving calls.
There were no other features.
After finishing the design schematics, Xie Changning made a few more revisions before putting them away in her suitcase, hidden from sight.
With these preparations complete, Xie Changning finally went to sleep.
「The next day.」
Xie Changning was woken up by her team members. They were already dressed and ready, just waiting for her to come out.
Xie Changning hastily washed her face, brushed her teeth, and then led her team toward the semi-final venue.
Thankfully, they weren’t late.
Upon entering the competition hall, the judges instructed each team to go to their station and set up their necessary materials.
Once everything was ready, a judge checked the time and announced the start of the competition.
Only after the competition began was the task revealed.
It was just as Xie Changning had predicted.
They were required to design something new.
Hearing the task, the members of the China team turned their heads to Xie Changning, waiting for her translation.
After Xie Changning finished translating, everyone stared at her with hopeful eyes.
Of everyone on their team, only Xie Changning had design skills.
They couldn’t rely on anyone else for this; their only hope was Mr. Xie, their director.
Understanding what they were thinking, Xie Changning didn’t hesitate. She sat down, picked up the A4 paper and pen provided by the organizers, and began to draw.
Drawing from her memory of last night, she sketched out the entire design from her mind.
When they first saw the shape, the team members thought Xie Changning was designing another pager.
It wasn’t until the complete schematics were drawn that they realized the device she had designed was similar to a pager, but wasn’t one.
"Director, what is this?" Cheng Jinghao asked humbly.
"A cellular phone."
Xie Changning told them the name and then assigned them their tasks.
When Xie Changning finished assigning the tasks, she glanced around and noticed the other teams were still in the drawing phase.
Xie Changning had been too fast...
Xie Changning rubbed the tip of her nose, feeling a little regretful.
’I shouldn’t have drawn it so quickly.’
This semi-final round was scheduled to last for two days. Because it involved design, the time allotted was longer.
For Xie Changning, the time was sufficient.
So, she refocused her attention and moved on to the parts preparation stage.
The cellular phone’s design was more complex than a pager’s, and it required many more components. Even with the team members working together, it would take them half a day just to prepare everything.
Many of the small parts were difficult to make, consuming even more time and effort.
Everyone’s spirits were high. Even though they had never made this device before, they were determined to give it one hundred percent of their effort in this competition.
Especially with Xie Changning leading them, they felt an inexplicable confidence.
’We’ve already made it to the semi-finals, so how far can the finals be?’
’How far can first place be!’
Xie Changning didn’t focus on making any single part herself. Instead, she stood by and guided her team members, all while using a piece of sheet metal to fashion the casing for the cellular phone she needed.
In reality, a cellular phone’s casing should be made of ABS plastic.
But it wasn’t realistic to get that material in the competition venue.
It was better to just hand-craft one from sheet metal.
As Xie Changning hand-crafted the casing while giving instructions, her actions did not go unnoticed by the audience and judges.
The spectators who came to watch this competition were, naturally, not complete novices.
So, when they saw what Xie Changning was doing, they knew that they had severely underestimated her skills, as well as the skills of the technicians from China!
They had to face reality: China had produced an incredibly formidable contestant.
Amid the flurry of activity, time flew by.
In the blink of an eye, a day had passed.
Normally at this time of day, everyone would be feeling drowsy and wanting to sleep.
But right now, in the competition hall...
...the technicians were like soldiers on a battlefield. Every single one of them was alert and focused on the work at hand.
The members of the China team, in particular, were as energized as if they’d been shot up with adrenaline.
Every one of them was full of drive!
The spectators in the audience were growing weary, yawning from time to time, yet the technicians from the China team didn’t show even a hint of drowsiness.
They were like warriors cutting a path through thorns and brambles, forging bravely ahead.
Xie Changning stayed by her technicians’ side, feeling a wave of emotion.
Even though she knew that workers in history were like this, experiencing it firsthand was a completely different feeling.