74: Upon hearing the news, the stock prices of the Western Alliance chip consortium collectively plummeted!

When that question, full of anticipation and the spirit of "the more chaos, the better," clearly echoed in the assembly workshop filled with celebration and pride.

Lu Chen smiled.

He looked at the excited face that was practically screaming, "Stir up trouble! Stir up trouble! Stir up big trouble!"

Then, he glanced at the two generals beside him, who also looked like they "feared the world wouldn't be chaotic enough."

He couldn't help but sigh helplessly in his heart.

It seems stirring up trouble is a racial talent engraved in the bones of every Xia citizen.

"A counter-attack?"

Lu Chen stroked his chin, a look of youthful cunning and mischievousness, typical of a young man his age, appearing on his face.

"What do you think..."

"If we send Mr. Winningk of ASML an uncensored, high-definition photo of our 'new toy' right now, and include a message..."

"'Thank you for the motivation'."

"Do you think..."

"He might be so excited he gets a cerebral hemorrhage right there?"

"Hahahaha!"

"Good kid!"

"You're trying to kill someone and destroy their spirit!"

"I like it!"

...That afternoon.

Just as all the mainstream media in the Western Alliance were overwhelmingly mocking Xia's overambitious "chip dream."

Just as Winningk, the CEO of ASML, was confidently declaring to the entire world that "Xia people will never be able to manufacture high-end chips."

A brief news flash, personally released by Xia's highest-level official media outlet—[Voice of Xia].

It was like a supernova that detonated across the entire Solar System!

Instantly illuminating the entire global internet!

The content of the news flash was simple.

There was only one photo and one sentence.

The photo showed a massive, brand-new lithography machine, resembling an ancient behemoth, filled with violent aesthetics and a sense of future technology!

Below the photo, a terrifying line of text, conspicuous in blood red, was marked—text that was enough to suffocate every chip industry professional worldwide—

[Warm congratulations on the official rollout of our nation's first 3-nanometer EUV Lithography Machine with complete independent intellectual property rights!]

Boom!!!

This was no longer just news!

This was a black lightning bolt capable of splitting the entire history of technology!

In an instant!

The entire world's network completely crashed!

Everyone who saw this news flash, whether they were ordinary onlookers.

Or professional chip industry practitioners.

Their immediate reaction was surprisingly uniform—disbelief!

They wouldn't believe it, even if they died!

[Holy crap! Is this real?! The Xia people actually produced an EUV Lithography Machine?!]

[It must be Photoshopped?! This image is definitely doctored! Xia people are experts at this kind of false propaganda!]

[Exactly! Three months ago, they couldn't even handle 14-nanometer DUV! Three months later, they jump straight to 3-nanometer EUV?! Do they think they're cheating?!]

[Disperse, disperse! It's just another collective fantasy by the Xia people.]

Yet, just as the entire world was immersed in widespread mockery and doubt directed at Xia.

An "official confirmation" that stunned everyone suddenly emerged from within the Western Alliance!

The "tech fanatic" who had just stood on stage for the "Golden Crow" battery at the Pangu Technology press conference—

Musk!

He was the first one to jump out!

He actually retweeted this official news flash from Xia on his personal Twitter account!

And accompanied it with an extremely concise yet incredibly showy comment—

[The future is now. And, the future, is made in CHINA (The future has arrived. And the future is Made in China.)]

Boom!!!

If the previous official news flash was just a depth charge.

Then Musk's tweet, filled with the scent of a "traitor"!

Was the ultimate nuclear bomb that detonated the entire Western Alliance financial market!

In an instant!

The entire Western Alliance capital market went insane!

All "chip" related stocks acted as if they had acrophobia!

Plummeting wildly in a terrifying, near free-fall!

ASML!

Stock price plunged 30% within three minutes of opening! Directly triggering three circuit breakers!

Intel!

Stock price plunged 40%!

Qualcomm!

Stock price plunged 50%!

The entire "Chip Alliance," painstakingly built by the Western Alliance and claimed to be indestructible!

At this moment, it was completely shattered by an eighteen-year-old Xia youth using just a small photo!

Wails of distress filled the air!

Trillions of US dollars in wealth were completely evaporated within minutes!

Countless greedy Wall Street capitalists lined up to leap from the top floor of the Empire State Building!

The scene was, for a time, extremely spectacular!

...And, at this moment.

ASML Company Headquarters.

Winningk stared blankly at the shocking blood-red K-line chart on the screen.

Listening to the wails of despair and bankruptcy echoing in his ears.

The face that had always been full of arrogance and confidence showed confusion and fear for the first time.

He suddenly raised his head, his blue eyes filled with unbelievable horror!

He stared intently at the steel behemoth on the screen, which was full of violent aesthetics!

That familiar appearance!

That damned, advanced design concept!

All felt like the sharpest daggers!

Stabbed fiercely into his heart!

"No, this... this is impossible!"

He slumped onto his chair, muttering distractedly.

"This is clearly the concept map for our next-generation 1-nanometer lithography machine, which ASML had only just entered the theoretical design stage for!"

"How did they..."

"How exactly did they get this?!"

"And how on earth did they..."

"Manufacture it?!"

He didn't know.

While he was baffled and on the verge of collapse.

Far away, ten thousand miles away.

In the nation he had called one that "would never be able to manufacture high-end chips."

An eighteen-year-old youth.

Was calmly looking at the rows of vibrant green stock earnings, filled with the joy of a great harvest, calculated in real-time by heavenly craft on the light screen before him.

[Reporting, Master.]

heavenly craft's ethereal, floating virtual figure slowly materialized beside him.

[Our total profit from shorting all stocks in the Western Alliance Chip Alliance is...]

[One point three trillion]

[US dollars.]

"Mhm."

Lu Chen nodded calmly.

As if he had only earned 1,300 yuan in pocket money.

"Got it."

He picked up the teacup beside him and took a gentle sip.

Then, under the admiring gaze of heavenly craft, he slowly spoke a sentence that would make every capitalist in the Western Alliance so angry they'd wish they could come back to life.

"heavenly craft."

"Yes?"

"Tell me..."

"Haven't we found a way to get rich that's even more profitable than selling batteries..."

"A path to fortune?"