Chapter 1149
The Bear Turns Against You! All Pipelines Shut Down
"Chief Engineer Su, have you... really gotten your hands on the goods?"
Su Dingping walked to the incubator, personally entered the password, and unlocked the complex biological lock. The lid slid open silently, revealing large, disc-shaped silicon wafers, gleaming with a cold, sharp, silvery-gray metallic luster, neatly stacked on specially designed shock-absorbing pads.
That perfect crystal structure, that purity that would make chip factories around the world drool, is right before your eyes!
"Got it!"
Su Dingping's voice was deep and resonant. He picked up an extremely thin, high-purity 12-inch silicon wafer and held it up to the overhead shadowless lamp. The light passed through the wafer, refracting a brilliant yet cold halo.
"This is the foundation of our Loongson processor! It's enough to get us through the most difficult technology verification phase!"
A silent sense of exhilaration filled the entire analysis room. Hope had found a tangible form.
...
However, this faint glimmer of hope, painstakingly carved out, seemed to be immediately met with an even fiercer and more brutal storm!
Just five days later, not long after Tang Ping had sent the seemingly tempting but actually deadly "core technology" back to the Eagle Tribe through top-secret channels, a top-level "strategic materials and technology embargo" jointly issued by the Eagle Chief's Mansion and the Eastern Wilderness Industrial Province swept across the entire global precision manufacturing and materials market like a tsunami carrying a Siberian cold wave.
The severity of its wording, the breadth of its scope, and the precision of its control are unprecedented! The core content clearly points to the lifeline of the supply chain of the Longxia Tribe's "Dragon Core" project and the Stellar Device project.
1. Complete ban on exports! All 12-inch and larger ultra-high purity electronic-grade silicon wafers, silicon crystal purification equipment and consumables produced in the Eagle, Eastern Wilderness and their core allies regions are prohibited from being sold or transferred to Longxia and its related entities in any form.
2. Embargo on core strategic materials for lithography! The supply chain of all high-end photoresists, precision lithography gases, and matching chemicals such as additives, developers, and rinsing solutions used in ArF excimer lasers and below has been completely cut off!
3. Technological black wall blockade! All key technologies and patents involving silicon refining and purification, photoresist synthesis, precision optical lens processing, and high-power laser manufacturing are subject to the strictest technological blockade against Longxia.
Any engineer or scientist with experience in the relevant field who seeks to join Longxia's projects will face severe sanctions and an industry ban.
This embargo is ten times more vicious than the enhanced version of the Wassenaar Arrangement! If the previous blockade was merely tightening the noose, this time it has directly shut the final crack in Longxia's chip and high-end manufacturing industry, and welded it shut!
Spokespeople for Eagle and Eastern Wilderness went even further, openly declaring at a joint press conference.
"We have concrete intelligence that the Longxia tribe is not only illegally stealing advanced global energy technologies, but also attempting to use the acquired cutting-edge strategic materials to expand its semiconductor industry in a highly threatening manner, seriously disrupting global supply chain security and the balance of the technological ecosystem!"
This is a serious challenge to the free market and technological order! This embargo is a necessary safeguard and response to international rules!
They blatantly labeled him "theft" and "threat"! Longxia overcame their fear of nuclear fusion and directly launched a devastating attack, cutting off their very lifeline!
Even more critically, this statement also struck another weak point within Longxia like a heavy hammer – the severe shortage of high-end chips!
The stellarator device was a success. The supercomputing core supporting its large-scale operation and precise control, the countless precision sensing and control modules spread throughout the massive "Tenglong-1" power plant, and even the scheduling heart of the future "Zhulong" energy network—which of these doesn't require the highest performance and most stable and reliable chips?!
From the upgrading and iteration of military weapon systems to the launch and deployment of aerospace vehicles, and the data deluge of information warfare, which "core" isn't on the front lines of critical bottlenecks?
The senior management of Longxia instantly felt a chill to the bone.
The "high-end chip artery," which had been barely sustained by imports, was instantly and completely strangled!
...
The capital of Longxia, in the war room.
The atmosphere was so tense it could drip water. Giants from various key sectors sat around the long conference table, each with a thick report and the joint embargo order from the West in front of them.
The air seemed to have stopped moving.
The top leader, seated in the main seat, had a calm and composed expression, but the storm brewing between his brows made the entire room feel suffocating.
"Everyone."
He spoke slowly, each word sounding as if it had been rolled out of lead.
"The Eagle of the Eastern Wilderness has now brought their knife directly to our hearts. Just as the heart of our energy system was beginning to beat stronger, they joined forces to try and crush the neural chip that controls our brain! Could anything be more vicious?"
His gaze swept across the entire room.
"Being choked by chips used to be painful, but now it's suffocating! Our Zhulong Project, our modernized national defense, and our economic lifeline are all waiting for that one grain of rice to be cooked!"
This time, they cut off all our supplies, including rice, pots, and even kindling!
An elderly man in a military uniform, with a general's star on his shoulder, slammed his hand on the table, making the teacup vibrate.
"This is intolerable!"
This isn't competition; this is trying to kill us!
The head of the energy sector sounded anxious.
"Commander, the core of our first batch of Tenglong-1 power plant reactors is progressing smoothly, but the high-end chip inventory for the supporting control system is running low, and the subsequent mass production needs are astronomical!"
If domestic alternatives cannot be achieved at the control end, the power plant is built but uncontrollable, it's just a pile of scrap metal! If the Russians found out, they'd probably try to make the whole world believe this technology scam!
A military information expert added.
"It's not just energy; our next generation of weapons—whether it's hypersonic aircraft, smart munitions, or the brains of information collaboration networks and electronic warfare—are all stuck on chip manufacturing processes! 350nm chips are worthless, not even as good as toys! If the eagles use 130nm chips to fight us, it's like using cannons against the Stone Age!"
"We can no longer afford to take any chances!"
The chief concluded decisively, his gaze like a torch.
"They've already overturned the table and are pointing their fingers at you, calling you trash! Now there's only one way—self-reliance and fight to the death! Sell everything you own and get this lifeline open! Three years!"
He held up three fingers, his tone resolute and unwavering.
"Let's set a tough goal for our comrades on the front line of technology."
Within three years, we must catch up with the Eastern Wilderness tribes in core chip manufacturing technology! We must completely eliminate the fatal threat of having the technology but lacking the core components! Comrade Su Dingping and the Longxin Laboratory he leads are the frontline command center for this crucial battle!
When the mission of "catching up with the Eastern Wilderness in three years," which carries the future destiny of the entire tribe, was transmitted to the Dragon Heart Laboratory through encrypted communication, the core members of the entire "Dragon Heart" project team were summoned to the conference room.
Professor Yuan Tao held the photocopy of the high-level resolution telegram, his hands trembling slightly.
He looked around at the veteran experts and young technical backbones present. Every face was filled with solemnity and anger, but even more so with endless anxiety and a sense of powerlessness.
"Three years..."
An elderly optical systems expert with gray hair took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes wearily.
“We understand the leaders’ determination, but… the gap in reality… Donghuang’s 130nm process is already in mass production, and their labs are on the verge of a breakthrough with 90nm! What about us?”
With those 12-inch silicon wafers obtained through special means, it would be a miracle if they could even replicate the 240nm process accumulated in Longji on an 8-inch line! Every leap from 240nm to 130nm represents the ultimate challenge in precision manufacturing! Not to mention they've now blocked access to the most critical photoresist and precision chemicals…”
Yuan Tao flipped through the heavy folder on the desktop, filled with a list of technical challenges and required external equipment, and added in a hoarse voice.
"It's not just a design barrier. The core component needed for lithography machines—high-end lenses—is completely monopolized by Donghuang and German companies. Currently, only Xiong Ying can make high-precision light source systems."
High-end photoresist, Donghuang holds over 70% of the global market share, and now not a single drop will seep in! And those ultra-high purity specialty gases, ultra-precision control system servos, ultra-flat worktables… Longxia currently has a complete blank in these areas, or only the most primitive substitutes! Three years… this…”
His next words choked in his throat; it was a sigh of despair.
The atmosphere in the entire conference room plummeted to freezing point.
A tragic despair permeated the air. The gap between reality and expectations was like an insurmountable chasm, stretching across everyone's hearts.
Three years? To catch up with, or even potentially reach, the 90nm stage, with a powerful eagle pushing it forward from behind? This doesn't sound like a mission; it sounds like a fantasy.
All eyes, subconsciously, carrying the last vestiges of lingering expectation and an almost crushing weight, converged on the young figure at the end of the conference table who had remained silent throughout—Su Dingping.
He sat alone in a chair with his back to the projection screen, his body slightly turned to the side, seemingly gazing out the window at the massive mechanical outlines of the "Tenglong No. 1" power station foundation being rapidly constructed further into the base.
The noise from the construction site outside was filtered into a low vibration by the soundproof glass, just like the silent heartbeat inside the Longxin Laboratory at this moment.
He heard Yuan Tao's desperate analysis, heard the heavy sighs of the veteran experts, and felt the suffocating pressure of the silence.
I don't know how much time passed; it might have been only a few seconds, or it might have been an eternity.
Su Dingping finally turned around slowly.
He didn't speak, nor did he even look at the resolution telegram in his hand or the heavy list of technological gaps.
His gaze calmly swept over the faces that were anxious, bewildered, or filled with resentment, finally settling on the center of the conference table.
Then, under the breathless gaze of everyone, he extended his palm.
"Snapped!"
It wasn't smashing, it wasn't slapping.
Instead, it carried a sense of power that was heavy to the extreme and then burst forth with ultimate determination. His palm, with the weight of his body leaning forward, pressed steadily, slowly, yet with unwavering resolve onto the cold alloy tabletop.
The sound wasn't loud, but it struck everyone's heart like a heavy drum, shattering the dark cloud of despair that had just hung in the air.
He raised his eyes, his gaze like a red-hot iron, instantly igniting the temperature of all the oxygen around him!
There was no fear of difficulties, no submission to reality in those eyes, only a crazy, absolute belief to tear the impossible apart!
"Three years?"
Su Dingping's lips seemed to crack upwards with a cold, almost mocking arc. His voice was steady, yet carried an overwhelming power.
"You leaders are too kind! You underestimate me, Su Dingping, and my abilities, Long Xin!"
His words were startling, each one clear and distinct, like a resolute declaration.
"To catch up with that 130nm technology in the Eastern Wilderness that only deserves to scavenge the leftovers of eagles?"
"not enough!"
"Even the Eagle itself is now making every effort to reach the 90nm threshold?"
"behind!"
Su Dingping's chest heaved, and the suppressed energy, like the breath of a silent volcano about to erupt, burst forth.
"What I want is not to catch up! What I want is to surpass! To surpass in a revolutionary way!"
"One year!"
"Just one year!"
His voice suddenly rose, filled with unquestionable madness and determination, like a sharp sword cleaving through the deathly silence of the conference room, and also cleaving through that seemingly insurmountable technical barrier!
“Give me a year! I, Su Dingping, representing Longxin Lab, will produce a real 7nm chip and slam it onto their table! I will show the Eagles, the Eastern Wilderness, and all those bastards in the world who want to laugh at us and strangle us—”
What does it mean to say—
Su Dingping's body tensed up at this overwhelming declaration, and his hands pressed hard on the table again, as if he wanted to brand his burning determination onto the cold metal.
"Dragon Summer Core Soul!"
Dead!
Absolute silence!
7nm!
These three letters, like a nuclear explosion code, were thrown into the conference room.
Yuan Tao was stunned!
The veteran experts' eyes were so wide they almost popped out of their sockets!
All the young technical backbone members lost all color in their faces in an instant, leaving only extreme shock and disbelief!
Su Dingping's declaration, as explosive as a volcanic eruption, was: "One year! Give me one year! 7nm!"
—The last echoes still reverberate on the cold, hard alloy walls of the conference room.
But instead of applause and cheers, he was met with deathly silence. A thick layer of doubt hung in the air, like an impenetrable black fog, weighing heavily on the chests of every attendee.
Professor Yuan Tao's weathered hands gripped the edge of the table tightly, his knuckles drained of color from the excessive force, turning a chilling bluish-white.
His lips trembled, and his throat made hoarse sounds, but he couldn't utter a single word.
It's not that I don't want to refute it, it's just that the impact is too great! 7nm!
These three words were like a red-hot branding iron, directly searing into his lifelong understanding of semiconductors.
This isn't a dream, it's a myth! It's a tall tale straight out of Arabian Nights!
The optics expert standing nearby, the retired professor who had been urgently recalled, felt dizzy and disoriented. (End of Chapter)