Morning sunlight spread across the glass walls of Tianyu Technologies' temporary headquarters, illuminating rows of desks and large monitors that displayed streams of data.
The office, once empty and silent only days ago, had begun to feel alive.
Developers sat in front of their computers writing code.
Servers hummed quietly in the corner room.
Whiteboards were filled with diagrams of AI architecture.
At the center of it all stood Lin Tianyu.
He had arrived early again.
For the past few days he had been spending nearly every waking hour here.
Aurora AI had crossed one million users.
That milestone should have been a moment of celebration.
Instead—
A storm had arrived.
The News
The office conference room was unusually quiet.
Zhao Ming connected his tablet to the screen on the wall.
A large logo appeared.
NovaTech Systems
Beneath it was a product announcement.
NovaMind AI Platform
Wang Hao leaned back in his chair and groaned.
"Please tell me that's not what I think it is."
Zhao Ming crossed his arms.
"It's exactly what you think."
He tapped the screen.
A promotional video began playing.
A polished user interface appeared.
Scheduling tools.
Task management.
Predictive productivity suggestions.
It looked suspiciously familiar.
Chen Xiaoyu frowned.
"They copied Aurora AI."
One of the engineers nodded quietly.
"They studied the market."
"And reacted quickly."
The video ended.
The room fell silent.
NovaTech wasn't a startup.
It was a major technology company.
Thousands of employees.
Huge marketing budgets.
Massive server infrastructure.
And now—
They were entering the same market.
Zhao Ming's Analysis
Zhao Ming walked toward the whiteboard.
"NovaTech has advantages."
He wrote three words.
Capital
Infrastructure
Marketing
"They can deploy thousands of servers overnight."
"They can hire hundreds of developers."
"And they can advertise everywhere."
Wang Hao sighed dramatically.
"So basically…"
"We're dead."
One of the engineers chuckled nervously.
Chen Xiaoyu looked at Lin Tianyu.
"You're unusually quiet."
Lin Tianyu had been standing near the window the entire time.
Looking out at the city skyline.
Then he finally turned around.
"They're late."
The room blinked in confusion.
Wang Hao scratched his head.
"Late?"
Lin Tianyu walked to the whiteboard.
"NovaTech copied Aurora AI's idea."
"But they copied the first version."
He wrote two words beneath NovaMind.
Version 1
Then he drew another box beside it.
Aurora AI Version 2
Chen Xiaoyu's eyes widened slightly.
"You already prepared an upgrade?"
Lin Tianyu smiled faintly.
"Of course."
System Activation
Inside his mind, the familiar blue interface appeared.
SYSTEM STATUS
Host: Lin Tianyu
Technology Points: 1,280
Unlocked Systems:
• Economic Network
• Corporate AI Management
• Technology Tree
Another panel opened.
TECHNOLOGY TREE
Aurora AI Optimization Framework
Unlock Cost: 120 Technology Points
Lin Tianyu selected it instantly.
A flood of knowledge rushed through his mind.
New AI models.
Behavior prediction algorithms.
Adaptive neural learning systems.
For a moment he closed his eyes.
When he opened them again—
He already knew what to do.
The Upgrade
Lin Tianyu picked up a marker and began drawing on the whiteboard.
"Aurora AI will evolve."
He drew three large boxes.
Productivity Engine
Behavior Analysis Engine
Decision Intelligence System
Wang Hao leaned forward.
"That sounds complicated."
Lin Tianyu nodded.
"It is."
He wrote several examples beneath the system.
Aurora AI Version 2 features:
• intelligent decision suggestions
• predictive lifestyle management
• adaptive work optimization
• project planning assistance
Chen Xiaoyu stared at the board.
"You're turning Aurora into a personal intelligence assistant."
Lin Tianyu nodded.
"Yes."
Instead of just scheduling tasks—
Aurora AI would help users make decisions.
Career planning.
Study strategies.
Project management.
Life organization.
The engineers began whispering excitedly.
One of them spoke.
"That's far beyond NovaMind."
Zhao Ming crossed his arms thoughtfully.
"If we launch this upgrade…"
"…we win the competition."
Lin Tianyu corrected him calmly.
"No."
"We end the competition."
Meanwhile — NovaTech Headquarters
Across the city, inside a sleek corporate skyscraper, the atmosphere was equally intense.
Executives sat around a long conference table.
At the head of the table sat Liu Zheng, NovaTech's CEO.
A large screen displayed Aurora AI's user statistics.
1,120,000 users
One executive frowned.
"That growth is abnormal."
Another added:
"The developer is a new company called Tianyu Technologies."
Liu Zheng leaned back slightly.
"Startup?"
"Yes."
"Founder is a university student."
The room became quiet.
A young manager spoke cautiously.
"Should we attempt acquisition?"
Liu Zheng shook his head.
"No."
He tapped the screen.
"Competition is more interesting."
He looked at another executive.
"Launch NovaMind immediately."
Wang Jun's Revenge
Not far from NovaTech headquarters, inside a luxurious penthouse apartment, Wang Jun stared at his phone.
Aurora AI's growth chart continued climbing.
His jaw tightened.
"How is this possible…"
One of his friends looked nervous.
"You already filed a complaint against the app."
Wang Jun nodded.
"Yes."
"But that's not enough."
He leaned back slowly.
"NovaTech contacted me yesterday."
His friend blinked.
"What for?"
"They want information about Lin Tianyu."
A slow smile appeared on Wang Jun's face.
"And I'm happy to help."
Night — Development Begins
Back at Tianyu Technologies, the office lights remained on long after sunset.
Rows of developers typed rapidly.
Code filled the monitors.
Servers trained new neural network models.
Aurora AI Version 2 was already under development.
Chen Xiaoyu sat beside Lin Tianyu reviewing algorithm results.
"You don't seem worried at all."
Lin Tianyu smiled slightly.
"Why should I be?"
"We're competing with a billion-yuan company."
Lin Tianyu leaned back.
"They're competing with the future."
Chen Xiaoyu laughed softly.
"You sound like a supervillain."
Lin Tianyu shrugged.
"Maybe."
The Announcement
Around midnight, Wang Hao suddenly shouted from across the office.
"You need to see this!"
Everyone gathered around his laptop.
A news article appeared.
NovaTech Officially Launches NovaMind AI
Marketing campaigns had already started.
Advertisements.
Press releases.
Tech media coverage.
NovaTech was moving fast.
Chen Xiaoyu looked worried.
"That's aggressive."
Lin Tianyu studied the article quietly.
Inside his mind, the system displayed another message.
SYSTEM NOTICE
Corporate Competition Phase Active
Recommended Strategy:
Accelerate Aurora AI Evolution
Lin Tianyu smiled faintly.
"Good."
Zhao Ming raised an eyebrow.
"Good?"
Lin Tianyu closed the laptop.
"Yes."
"Because now…"
"…everyone is watching."
Outside the office windows, the city lights shimmered like stars.
Aurora AI.
NovaMind.
Two competing platforms.
And the first real corporate war had begun.