Chapter 2: A fall from grace
*THWACK!* I huge lighting could be heard as the heavy rain intensified. It has been such a long time, that Zhang Wei could hardly know how long it had been since he tried to fall asleep. The coldness of the night wrapped around his body, as if welcoming him into the darkness. He could barely keep to himself, as drops fell from his eyes into the futon.
*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK* At that moment, a heavy knock could be heard at the door. It was so loud that not even the heaviness of the rain could dampen it.
However, Zhang Wei seemed to not have heard, as his dead eyes looked into the depths of the dark seemingly thinking about something.
*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK* "Zhang Wei, I know you are there!" I gentle but quivering voice could be heard at the door. It was so sweet that it could be believed if someone said it was the voice of a fairy.
Zhang Wei's eyes twitched upon hearing this; however, he just covered himself with the blanked that was so small that it left his feet uncovered when he lifted it up to cover his face.
"Please Zhang, open the door, I'm worried about you". The angelic voice was heard once again, this time cracking to the point that one could tell, whoever was behind it, was about to cry.
Upon this, Zhang quivered in response, he was depressed to no end, and he didn't want to do anything but lie on this place and hope for the darkness of the night to envelop him for eternity. At least that's what he felt, as what was on his mind continued to pester to no end.
However, the emotions on the voice calling from outside were intense enough to reach into the depths of his soul. He awakened from his thoughts and quickly got up to receive the visitor that was waiting at the door.
He opened the door, and at that moment, he saw her. It was a beauty to behold. A short woman with light pink hair and sparkling blue eyes was standing at the door. She had pale skin and a small nose and thing lips. Her figure was so perfect that it was a if she was sculped by a god. Putting the efforts of a lifetime would not be enough to make justice to the girl who had an hourglass figure and a delicate body that emitted an aura of cuteness a beauty that was indescribable.
"Zhang Wei... " The pink haired laid said, starting to sob. She was covered by the rain, so it was impossible to tell if the water on her face was from nature or herself. The eyes had a red tint to them, which gave away the source, however.
"Li Nan... " Zhang Yue said upon seeing her covered by the rain. He was shocked. She was Li Nan, his childhood friend. If he could describe her as anything. He would call her irreplaceable. They shared memories and knew each other far before he could even remember. They were neighbors, and they quickly became friends during childhood. She was such a such girl that nobody could resist her charm as far Zhang Weir was concerned. She was like his family and was always there for him. Zhang never really thought about it, and he might have taken it for granted. However, as he saw her at his door, he felt a warmth build up inside of him. He felt cared for, and during such a time, the thought came to his mind that she has always been there for him.
"What are you doing here Li Nan?" He snapped out of it. As he realized that she was looking at him with such eyes, he felt sadness build up within him. Sadness and shame.
"I'm here because I'm worried about you!" She spoke. "It's already been 3 months since the incident, and you are still like this... What am I supposed to do?" She said as she started to sob and rub her eyes with the back of her hands.
"Hey, don't cry" he said as he brought her inside. His eyes building up droplets of their own, they also started to redden.
"You don't... *sob* understund *sob* since you stopped responding to my me.. *sob* messages a week ago..." She said between tears. "I imagined the worst... *sob*"
At that moment, Zhang took her into his arms and gave her a hug. "Is okay, I am fine" At that moment, Zhang Wei felt a revolting feeling build up in his throat. He felt like crying, but he did not. He knew he shouldn't. Not right now. He felt sad and depressed, but above all else, he felt shame and anger.
His eyes squinted as he recalled the memories that had him so lost just a moment ago and he could not help but feel hot as the anger built inside him. It was all their fault, if he hadn't been so naive, nothing would have happened. But alas, there he was, standing in the darkness of defeat, as those who brought him to this state were probably enjoying themselves in success.
It all started to go wrong that night. If only he had been smarter... I guess one will always have a soft spot for those that one thinks a trusted. I all started the night Chen Jie took Zhang Wei out for drinks. It was one hell of a night, and he enjoyed himself. He was worried about the future, and as such, he decided to take a break to enjoy life before the big day.
"Hey Zhang, here, take this beer!"
"Here take this, you will enjoy the night better like this!"
"Here man, you need to lighten up, tomorrow is the big day, so you need to relax!"
Chen Jie kept of giving and giving. Zhang Wei kept on partying and partying. He felt happy. He felt happy to have what he had, and to have such a great best friend that he could confide in.
Chen Jie was Zhang Wei best friend. They met each other at the University, and they quickly hit it off. Chen Wei was the son of Chen Ming, head of the Chen family, who was highly influential in the city of Beijing. However, this did nothing to influence their friendship, as their difference in status was not a matter that they cared for. While Zhang Wei was a physics major, Chen Jie was a business major. As such, they decided to start their company together as partners, and they managed to create a new AI model for language that was far beyond anything out in the market at the time. This catapulted their success and nailed them many contracts with big tech companies.
"Chen Jie, I'm happy to have you as friend, hehe" Zhang Wei said as he passed out cold. He could barely see Chen Jie smirk devilish back as his vision became blurry.
The next morning, Zhang Jie woke up abruptly as he was being kicked.
"Hey drunkard, wake up! Get the hell out of here!" said someone in a deep voice.
Zhang Wei opened his eyes to view of an old man wearing a chef's attire. He was confused as he looked around and saw himself in the middle of an alley. It seemed that the old man was trying to throw something into a dumpster, but Zhang Wei was in the middle.
Zhang Wei quickly got up; he was confused as he started to recall the previous night. Then, he remembers that he had an important meeting to attend today, so he quickly ran out of the alley and to his house as he looked at the watch on his wrist, it was 8:30AM, and his meeting was at 9AM.
"Sigh... some people need to get their life together; I pity the young man..." said the old man as he threw the leftovers from the day before and got back into the restaurant.
It was 9:30AM by the time Zhang Wei managed to reach the building of the government agency he was meeting with. It was supposed to be a big meeting with the Reseach and Development Division of the Army. He was not clear about the terms yet, but he was wary of the terms, as he knew well the dangers that it posed to have his technology fall under the hands of the military. He had discussed this previously with Chen Jie and even had a falling off. He knew Chen wanted the deal as it was a lot of money, but his conscience would not allow it if the terms were not to his liking.
At this moment, he opened the door, and the sight he viewed had him confused to no end...
There he was, his best friend, and his... girlfriend?
"And as such, we believe that the introduction of this technology will allow for next-generation autonomous weapons systems. It can be implemented immediately as our preliminary tests show promising results in the areas of air combat, marine strategy, combat strategy, and he even have early results on an autonomous combat unit. At our company DeepBrain, we believe in progress, and we believe that AI is the next step in progress," said the blonde man.
What? What is he talking about? DeepBrain? Our company is called OpenIntelligence, is he confused? Thought Zhang Wei upon hearing Chen Jie.
"Umm... Chen Jie? What is going on? And Zhou Yun, what are you doing here?" he said, as everyone suddenly looked at him confused.
"Young Chen, Mis Zhou, who is this?" said a man in a suit standing at the front.
Zhang Wei's heart began to race as he realized that he had stumbled upon something he was not meant to see. He felt a knot form in his stomach as he watched Chen Jie and Zhou Yun exchange a knowing look.
"Ah, Zhang Wei, you're here," Chen Jie said with a fake smile. "We were just discussing business. I didn't expect you to come."
Zhang Wei tried to keep his composure as he surveyed the room. It was filled with unfamiliar faces, all of them wearing suits and carrying briefcases. He felt a sense of unease wash over him as he realized that this was no ordinary business meeting.
"What kind of business?" he asked, trying to sound casual.
Chen Jie's smile grew wider. "We're discussing a new contract, one that will put DeepBrain at the forefront of the AI industry."
Zhang Wei's heart sank as he realized what was happening. Chen Jie had stolen his technology and was now presenting it as his own to a government agency. And Zhou Yun, his girlfriend, was helping him do it.
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