75: Chapter 75 The US: We Must Sanction China's Chips!

Across the ocean, Washington, D.C.

In the press hall of the Eagle Nation Department of Commerce, strobe lights flashed like chaotic lightning, illuminating the podium in a stark, pale white.

The air was thick with a suffocating, murderous atmosphere, like a final verdict before an execution.

Department of Commerce spokesperson Pete stood before the microphone, his typical Anglo-Saxon face wearing a hint of undisguised arrogance and coldness.

He held that thin document in his hand, yet it felt as if he were clutching the throat of Dragon Country's tech industry.

"Ladies and gentlemen."

Pete's voice, transmitted via satellite signal, instantly reached every corner of the globe, cold and devoid of any warmth: "In view of Dragon Country's recent 'savage growth' in the field of technology, and its serious challenge to the international security order, in order to maintain the technological advantage of the free world, and following unanimous approval by Congress..."

He paused, his eyes turning sharp as knives, and he slammed the document in his hand down toward the camera: "We have decided to initiate the ultimate sanctions order, codenamed 'Iron Curtain'!"

"First, effective immediately, we are comprehensively banning the export of any high-end chips of 7 nanometers and below to Dragon Country! Whether it's mobile phones, computers, or servers, not a single one is allowed!"

"Second, EUV Lithography Machines and their core components are placed on the absolute embargo list! Any company that dares to supply them privately will face the Eagle Nation's global long-arm jurisdiction and devastating fines!"

"Third, and most importantly—" Pete's mouth curled into a cruel smile, the smug look of a hunter watching prey fall into a trap: "We prohibit any wafer foundry that uses Eagle Nation technology, equipment, or software from producing chips for Dragon Country enterprises!"

"Whether it's TSMC or Samsung, as long as they use even a single screw of ours, they must cut off supply to Dragon Country!"

Boom!

This series of combo punches was not meant for restriction, but for slaughter. This was intended to completely cut off Dragon Country's path to a digital future at the root.

"We do not wish to see this happen," Pete shrugged hypocritically, though his tone was full of mockery, "but unfortunately, this is what Dragon Country brought upon itself. If you are willing to hand over that 'Gravitational Wave Technology,' perhaps we can sit down and talk."

Once the news broke, the globe was shaken.

Although Nasdaq tech stocks briefly surged due to the 'good news,' they immediately plummeted—because everyone knew that losing the massive market of Dragon Country was a case of killing a thousand enemies while suffering eight hundred casualties oneself.

Meanwhile, inside Dragon Country, there was a chorus of wailing. Major tech forums and social media were instantly submerged in a mood of despair.

"It's over... This time it's really over."

"A 7-nanometer blockade? And they won't even allow OEM? Isn't this killing us? How are we supposed to make phones and cars in the future?"

"Even if we have the blueprints for the Lithography Machine, it's useless! Our manufacturing process can't keep up, our raw materials are being throttled—this is a dimensional strike!"

"This is what happens when you're backward; you get beaten! Our tech tree had just sprouted, and they've pulled it out by the roots!"

Countless CEOs of tech companies were smashing cups in their offices, their hair falling out in clumps. Stock prices hit circuit breakers, orders were canceled, and the entire industrial chain was shivering in this man-made winter.

Everyone felt that apart from bowing their heads in apology and ceding territory and paying indemnities, Dragon Country had no other path left to take.

Yunding Villa, Villa No. 1.

In front of the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, Jiang Chen was curled up in a lazy sofa, holding a crystal-clear piece of "broken glass" that looked like it had been knocked off some window.

On the TV, the spokesperson named Pete was still incessantly showing off Eagle Nation's technological hegemony.

"Tsk, tsk." Jiang Chen pursed his lips, looking at the TV with a face full of disdain. "This guy is so dramatic. Isn't it just refusing to sell chips? Is it really necessary to act like it's a declaration of war?"

"This isn't acting," Academician Chen Shuyin said, sitting beside him with a cup of freshly ground coffee. Although her expression was relatively calm, her brow showed a hint of gravity. "This is drawing the firewood from under the cauldron. Jiang Chen, although we have the blueprints for the Lithography Machine, it will take at least five years to establish a complete silicon-based chip industrial chain."

"Five years..." She sighed. "In five years, the opportunity will be long gone. Electronic products update so quickly nowadays; a six-month supply cut could drag a giant to its death."

"Silicon-based chips?" Jiang Chen toyed with the piece of "broken glass" in his hand, shaking it against the sunlight.

The object refracted a mesmerizing, colorful halo in the light, as if countless flowing galaxies were sealed inside it, so beautiful it didn't look like something of this world.

"Who said we were going to make silicon-based chips?"

Jiang Chen laughed, laughing like an adult watching a fool play with mud. "That stuff generates a lot of heat, consumes power quickly, and requires using that so-called EUV Lithography Machine to carve flowers—isn't it exhausting?"

"Modern technology is all about being eco-friendly and efficient."

He casually tossed the "glass" to Academician Chen Shuyin. She caught it in a fluster, terrified of dropping it. "Be careful! This is..."

"It's fine, it won't break."

Jiang Chen stretched and stood up from the sofa, his tone lazy yet permeated with a haughty arrogance that looked down upon the world.

"Eagle Nation wants to blockade us? Then let them blockade us."

"They hold those chips made of sand like treasures, but we're going to play with something more advanced."

"For example..." He pointed to the object in Academician Chen Shuyin's hand: "Light."

Academician Chen Shuyin looked at the "glass shard" in her hand. Although she had personally dismantled it from the warship's main control computer and reverse-engineered it, every time she saw it, she still felt a shudder from the depths of her soul.

[Photonic Crystal Computing Core].

No Lithography Machine needed, no complex etching processes required; it only needed to grow optical paths via laser induction in a special crystal growth environment.

The computing speed was a thousand times that of a silicon-based chip, while the power consumption was one-thousandth. This was true—god-tier technology.

"Prepare for it." Jiang Chen took out his phone, opened Weibo, and typed a line of text with a flurry of taps.

"Hold a press conference. Since they want to beat us back to the Stone Age, then we'll let them see what is called... the Interstellar Age."

One minute later. A Weibo post with only a single short sentence appeared out of nowhere amidst the wails of despair across the entire network, instantly igniting the whole internet.

Blogger: [Chenxing Technology - Jiang Chen]

The content was simple and brutal, and the attached image was exactly that piece of "broken glass" that looked plain and unremarkable:

"Is that it? With such a big fanfare, I thought you were going to blockade the sun."

"I'm already prepared to use light, and you're still playing with electricity?"

"If you're backward, you get beaten. I'm returning these words to you. @Eagle Nation Department of Commerce"