115: Chapter 116 Tap Water Explodes Over the Peerless Wafer! Microscopic Replica of the Six-Core King Kong

Shen Du stood outside the shockproof glass, his gaze locked onto the test wafer inside the chamber.

In this subversive process,

there was no pungent photoresist, nor was there any need for expensive traditional photomasks.

This prototype was releasing magnetic resonance waves of a specific frequency,

directly penetrating the base material of the wafer to perform exquisite physical interference and reorganization on a microscopic level.

Accompanied by the low-level data frantically poured out by Linus and the others,

a massive, complex web of nanoscale circuit diagrams, like a three-dimensional cyber city folded out of thin air into the microscopic world,

was precisely, frantically, and unreservedly "carved" directly into the interior of that high-purity silicon wafer!

Just a few minutes later, the low mechanical rumble ground to a halt, and the eerie blue cold light died out.

Everything happened too fast—so fast that it even defied the common sense of the modern semiconductor industry.

However,

what happened next made the corners of Shen Du's eyes twitch, despite being a multi-billionaire CEO who had seen his share of grand spectacles.

Once the chamber door opened, Watanabe Toru—who was usually sensitive to even a speck of dust and had severe OCD—

reached in directly and pulled out the test wafer that had just undergone "magnetic resonance carving."

He didn't use any anti-static tweezers, nor did he place it into an expensive vacuum isolation box.

Instead, he swaggered over to the nearby sink,

turned on the faucet, and washed that priceless treasure directly with ordinary tap water!

Under Shen Du's astonished gaze,

Watanabe Toru finished rinsing, grabbed a quick-drying rag from the workbench, and roughly wiped the wafer a couple of times.

With a snap,

this cutting-edge wafer, which would have been enshrined like an ancestor by countless semiconductor giants in the outside world,

was casually tossed onto the testing stage of the high-powered electron microscope nearby.

"Mr. Shen,"

Watanabe Toru casually explained without looking up, as he deftly adjusted the focus of the microscope.

"This is just a test wafer used for underlying logic and physical interference verification.

We only care about the formation of the internal structure, so we don't need to go through those tedious and pretentious dust-free packaging processes."

As the lens of the high-powered electron microscope zoomed in and focused,

on the giant wall-mounted projection screen nearby,

a microscopic schematic, resembling an aerial view of a futuristic super-metropolis, instantly appeared.

"Mr. Shen, what you are looking at now is our masterpiece from just moments ago."

Arthur Pendleton, sporting dark circles under his eyes, walked up to the screen.

Pointing his laser pointer at the dense, breathtakingly precise transistor arrays,

his voice carried an unmasked arrogance and pride:

"This is what we achieved using QW-SOI.

That is, the Quantum Well Fully Depleted Silicon-on-Insulator architecture, perfectly simulating the chip core on the underlying physical level."

Speaking up to this point, Arthur paused deliberately, grinning with a cocky smile:

"As for its logical prototype, it is the top performance beast on the market today.

Intel's pride and joy, the six-core king: Intel Core i7 Edition!"

Hearing this name, Shen Du's pupils contracted sharply.

His gaze immediately shifted from the projection screen to the actual wafer on the microscope testing stage.

Although Arthur had explained earlier that because of this completely different new underlying architecture,

and to balance extreme physical interference with power efficiency,

the theoretical area of this test die was about twice as large as Intel's original chip.

But under Shen Du's naked eye,

even if it were cut out individually, this core was still outrageously small.

In the stereotype of ordinary people, the reason computer CPUs seemed bulky and heavy

was merely because they were encased in a thick metal copper lid packaging for protection and heat dissipation.

Stripping away that disguise, the actual core housing billions of transistors was often only the size of a fingernail.

Looking at this exquisite creation before him, an uncontrollable wave of shock suddenly surged in Shen Du's heart.

A terrifying idea exploded in his mind!

With the absolute low heat and low power consumption brought by the QW-SOI architecture,

coupled with such a tiny size, this thing could do far more than just fit inside a bulky desktop computer.

Even if they only slightly redesigned the motherboard layout,

stuffing it directly into a palm-sized smartphone would present absolutely no physical space barrier!

Stuffing one of the most powerful desktop-grade six-core king chips on Earth into a future smartphone?

If that day really came,

it would be an absolutely brutal massacre for the world's existing semiconductor giants!

Carefully studying the microscopic structure on the screen, which looked like a work of art,

Shen Du suppressed the shock in his heart and nodded with great satisfaction.

"Since we can now directly produce core chips of the Intel Core i7-980X level,"

Shen Du turned around, looked at the eager geeks in front of him, and pitched a bold internal consumption plan:

"As it happens, Jiyuan Technology and Meituan under my command are in a phase of rapid business expansion,

requiring a massive array of servers to support the huge data streams."

"For your testing during this period, you can try to directly produce a batch of top-tier server-model chips.

I'll have someone secretly modify the motherboard sockets.

We can put these finished products directly into my absolute core server room for a period of high-pressure real-world testing."

Hearing the words "server models" and "real-world testing,"

the top hacker who had been tapping away on his keyboard, Linus Vandenberg, suddenly spun his gaming chair around.

A fanatical smile instantly appeared on his pale, somewhat neurotic face.

"Hehe, Mr. Shen, if you're talking about that, then you're entering my absolute area of expertise!"

Linus rubbed his hands together like a master thief about to rob the Federal Reserve vault.

He boastfully patted his chest and assured his financial backer:

"Don't you worry, you want the absolute best server hardware, right?

Give me a few days, and I'll go raid the core databases of Intel and NVIDIA!"

He arrogantly pushed up the black-rimmed glasses on his nose, his tone dripping with contempt for global network firewalls:

"I guarantee I'll 'borrow' their most cutting-edge,

unreleased server CPU and GPU architecture data still in the labs,

and bring the whole set back to you completely intact!

We'll build a supercomputer system that is perfectly compatible and can run at full power directly inside your server room!"

Hearing Linus's completely reckless,

and frankly, law-trampling hacker rants that spat in the face of international intellectual property laws, Shen Du's eyelid couldn't help but twitch.

Facing this group of enthusiastic and audacious geniuses,

Shen Du didn't pour cold water on them to dampen their enthusiasm.

Instead, he nodded generously. "Stay safe. If you need anything, just ask Xu Hao.

Go ahead and make the test chips boldly. Mess around with them however you like."

But then, his tone shifted.

His previously easygoing voice instantly became as cold and hard as steel, laying down an insurmountable rule for this bunch of madmen:

"But there is one thing you must understand.

These chips, which carry the intellectual property of other companies' architectures, can only be consumed and tested within this lab and my internal server rooms.

I will absolutely never sell them as commercial products, let alone use them to make a profit in the market."

Shen Du's sharp gaze swept over everyone as he declared his business bottom line word by word:

"Testing is only to verify the performance of this Lithography Machine.

In the future, when all tests are completed and we are ready to officially begin commercial mass production,

I will personally hire the world's top architecture teams, or simply buy legal architecture licenses with heaps of cash.

You must remember:

Every future step of Jiyuan Technology must be absolutely flawless, both commercially and legally!"

These words served both as a warning to the geeks and as a keynote for their future strategy.

It wasn't until he finished instructing them and turned to leave the eerie blue underground core area

that Shen Du maintained his composure on the surface, looking as if he wouldn't blink even if Mount Tai collapsed before him.

But deep down, his mind was already in complete turmoil.

Walking down the empty underground corridor, Shen Du felt a chill run down his spine as he thought about it.

He still hadn't figured out

what kind of potion the mysterious system in his mind had fed these six people

to make them completely uninterested in external temptations, and so intensely, even desperately, dedicated to research and development.

It had only been a single month!

In this underground fortress in the middle of nowhere, this group of madmen rejected by mainstream science

had not only pieced together a prototype of a maskless Lithography Machine that existed only in theory,

but could also casually replicate the world's most cutting-edge flagship chips as if they were playing with clay!

But what the underlying principle was didn't matter to Shen Du at all anymore.

What truly mattered was that the machine, capable of upending an era, had successfully fired up.

Shen Du let out a long, heavy breath.

He didn't dare to imagine, nor did he need to.

If even a fraction of this news from beneath Sheshan leaked out,

what kind of unprecedented chaos and terrifying tsunami would instantly engulf the global semiconductor market, currently monopolized by Western giants!

When he stepped out of the underground fortress's private elevator and returned to the surface,

the cold wind from the depths of Sheshan blew against his face, gradually calming Shen Du's heart, which had been racing from the shock.

Walking up to the black mercedes-benz g55, Shen Du didn't open the door immediately.

He stopped, turned around,

and stared solemnly at Xu Hao, the general manager of the base who had escorted him all the way out.

"Xu Hao, after what you saw down there just now,

you should be very clear in your heart about exactly what this bunch of 'madmen' blacklisted by the world have built here."

Shen Du's voice was very low, but in the cold wind, it carried a heavy, unquestionable authority.

Xu Hao's Adam's apple bobbed as he subconsciously swallowed, his expression turning more solemn than ever before.

"What they've built is a Lithography Machine capable of choking the global tech giants by the throat!

And the most cutting-edge architecture chips in the world today!"

Shen Du reached out and patted Xu Hao heavily on the shoulder.

The force was immense, as if he were handing over a top-secret trust involving the nation's destiny:

"So, for a long time to come, you must still guard this place closely, without leaving for even a single step."

He looked straight into Xu Hao's eyes, issuing his final supreme directive word by word:

"Before we get formal involvement and protection from the highest levels of the state,

this underground fortress capable of turning the world upside down—

its safety is entirely entrusted to you today!"

Facing this staggering trust, heavy enough to crush an ordinary person,

not a single trace of retreat or fear flickered in Xu Hao's eyes.

From a poor student struggling at the bottom to the now multi-millionaire vice president of Jiyuan Technology,

Xu Hao had always adhered to a simple yet fanatical principle in his bones:

By following Mr. Shen, they could even bring down the Beijing Circle capital; there was absolutely no money they couldn't make, and no destiny they couldn't rewrite!

Since Mr. Shen dared to entrust his life and fortune to him, Xu Hao dared to put his life on the line.

He suddenly straightened his back:

"Understood!"

"Mr. Shen, you weather the storms outside, and I'll keep this door locked tight for you.

As long as I, Xu Hao, still draw breath,

let alone a person, not even a fly with ulterior motives will manage to slip past these high walls!

Leave this place to me, and rest completely assured!"