Chapter 55: Outdoor Testing

[Attention, there is a raised brick one meter ahead, please be careful.]

At the same time, a short vibration came from the handle.

Because the prompt voice was played out loud, Zhou Yun and the other person walking with her could hear it too. They looked ahead of Lin Wei, and sure enough, there was a protruding brick. If one were not paying attention, they might actually trip over it.

With the prompt, Lin Wei's footsteps paused instinctively, and her white cane probed forward, indeed sensing the raised spot.

Carefully stepping over the raised brick, she continued walking forward.

Zhou Yun recorded notes on his phone from time to time.

After walking for about another fifty meters, a pedestrian was walking toward them from not far away.

[Please note, there is a pedestrian slowly approaching two meters to the front left, you can take one step to the right to yield.] After walking a few steps, the prompt voice sounded again.

Following the prompt voice, Lin Wei took a step to the right and then continued walking forward.

Not only them, but the pedestrian ahead also heard the voice.

"What is this thing?" The pedestrian stepped aside to leave enough space, then looked with some curiosity at the white cane in Lin Wei's hand.

"An intelligent white cane," Zhou Yun replied simply.

"Looks pretty interesting." The person just nodded and asked no further questions.

After all, there was no blind person with him; he merely found the gadget quite novel, which was why he had asked.

[The pedestrian has moved away, the way ahead is clear.]

The prompt voice updated its status in a timely manner, accompanied by a slight vibration of the white cane.

Walking another hundred meters or so along the tactile paving, the prompt changed.

[Please note, there is an obstacle on the tactile paving ahead, about one meter wide, it is suggested to detour to the left.]

Lin Wei's cane tip probed forward and touched a circular object; soon she recognized that it should be a shared bicycle.

She did not feel any particular way about this, as she was already used to it.

Only Zhang晓 muttered softly nearby, her tone carrying dissatisfaction, "Why do these people park everywhere at random? Don't they know parking is not allowed on tactile paving?"

Following the prompt, Lin Wei began to control the white cane to probe toward the left side, preparing to make a detour.

Just as she took a step to the left and shifted her body weight slightly—

[Warning! A vehicle is approaching on the left, distance is about ten meters! Please stop moving immediately!] This was followed by continuous vibrations from the white cane.

The step Lin Wei had just taken was pulled back, and she stood in place, not daring to move at all.

Zhou Yun also saw it; a food delivery worker ahead was riding a bike and rapidly approaching.

The electric scooter sped past almost grazing the edge of the pedestrian walkway, accompanied by a sharp honking sound, and the wind it kicked up fluttered the hem of Lin Wei's skirt.

"These delivery guys really, can't they ride a bit slower?! Using the horn as a brake, are they in such a hurry to rush to their deaths?" Zhang Xiao looked angrily at the electric scooter that had already driven away.

Zhou Yun also sighed, "They have to make a living too. Although there are problems, we can't blame everything entirely on them."

Such delivery workers were commonly seen near schools, and their behaviors included, but were not limited to: using the horn as a brake; not braking when turning; riding one-way streets as two-way streets; and ignoring red and green lights alike—as long as there were no cars, it was a green light.

Zhou Yun detested these behaviors immensely; not only did they disregard their own safety, but they also easily knocked into others.

However, he also knew that this could not be blamed entirely on the delivery workers; the exploitation by the platforms was the root of all this.

After the small episode, the white cane returned to calmness.

[The vehicle has moved away, please make a quick detour to the right.]

When she returned to the tactile paving, Zhou Yun moved the shared bicycle that was blocking the way and continued to follow behind Lin Wei.

The prompt voice sounded again.

[Tactile paving has resumed, the way ahead is safe.]

The testing lasted all morning, and the three of them wandered through quite a few places.

Zhou Yun also recorded some details on his phone that needed optimization.

At noon, the three of them came to a restaurant, chose a quiet table against the wall and sat down. Zhou Yun originally wanted to split the bill, but Lin Wei decisively refused, stating that she would treat them.

The waiter brought the menu, and Zhang Xiao naturally took it, skillfully starting to read out the dishes to Lin Wei.

As for Zhou Yun, he took the white cane, pulled the computer out of his bag, connected the data cable, and began to do some optimizations while checking if any other problems had arisen.

These adjustments and checks were very simple and took about ten minutes to complete. Once finished, he packed away his laptop and placed the white cane back beside Lin Wei.

"Lin Wei, thank you both so much for today. The test data is extremely useful. Now it seems that some of the basic functions should be fine, and at least safety is well guaranteed."

Lin Wei shook her head, a slight, healthy flush of exertion on her face. "I should be the one thanking you. It has been a very, very long time since I walked such a long distance alone with peace of mind."

"Really? As long as it's useful to you."

Being able to create something that truly helped people in need made Zhou Yun very happy.

"Zhou Yun, can you sell this white cane to us? Any price is fine; Weiwei really needs it so much," Zhang Xiao chimed in from the side.

Hearing this, Lin Wei also looked somewhat expectant. If she had such a white cane, it would be much safer when she went out alone in the future, and at least she wouldn't have to live in fear every couple of steps.

Zhou Yun smiled helplessly and shook his head. "Sorry, I'm afraid that really won't do. This is a prototype, and subsequent optimizations and adjustments all require it. I'm afraid I can't sell it to you."

"Ah? Not even for any price? Ten thousand? Twenty thousand?" Zhang Xiao offered a high price.

However, Zhou Yun still refused, "I'm sorry, really, this won't work."

Putting everything else aside, all the programs inside this prototype were unencrypted. Any engineer with a bit of technical knowledge could directly reverse-engineer and replicate it.

Although he didn't care how much money this thing could make him, he couldn't just let others benefit for nothing, right?

Even though he didn't think Lin Wei would sell it, it was always best to be cautious in everything.

Lin Wei also understood the difficulty involved and had no choice but to pat Zhang Xiao's hand. "Alright, Xiao, it's fine. Without this white cane, don't I still have you?"

Zhang Xiao had a carefree personality by nature, and upon hearing this, she completely abandoned the idea of buying the white cane.

"But you can rest assured, my original intention in making this thing was to help the blind community like Lin Wei. Once all aspects are mature, it will definitely be put on sale. When that time comes, you won't need to buy it; I'll gift one to you."

"Alright then, I'll be waiting for that! But you don't have to gift it, I'll definitely pay!"

"Okay." Zhou Yun nodded with a smile and agreed.

At this moment, the waiter began serving the dishes. While eating, he asked about some of their experiences using it during the morning, and Lin Wei provided some very constructive suggestions, all of which Zhou Yun recorded on his phone.

After the meal, Lin Wei insisted on paying the bill, and Zhou Yun did not put on false modesty.

In the afternoon, the three of them wandered further away from the school until eight o'clock in the evening, when they finally parted ways and returned to their respective hotels.