2: Chapter 2 The Light Curtain and Locked Branches in the Mind

The doctor was named Chen, and he had been Lin Shen's attending physician for the past three years.

His excitement was palpable; while using trembling hands to feed Lin Shen a few spoonfuls of warm water, he babbled incoherently about "medical miracles" and the "need for an immediate, comprehensive examination."

Not long after he rushed out of the ward, the sound of rapid footsteps and muffled exclamations could be heard in the corridor.

Lin Shen did not attempt to get up immediately; he knew his current condition.

Every inch of muscle in his body was protesting with weakness and soreness, and even the simple act of swallowing made him feel exhausted.

However, his brain felt as if it had been doused in ice water—abnormally clear, active, and even somewhat... exhilarated.

That "technology tree" did not disappear just because his attention had shifted.

It existed in a semi-transparent state, constantly present in the "background layer" of his field of vision.

As long as he moved his thoughts slightly, he could instantly focus on it and see every detail clearly.

Dr. Chen soon returned with several nurses and an older department director.

The small ward suddenly felt crowded.

Various examination instruments were wheeled over: simple neurological reflex tests, pupillary light reflex, muscle strength assessment... Gaze after gaze, filled with astonishment or curiosity, fell upon Lin Shen.

"Incredible... truly incredible!" The white-haired director looked at the normalizing waveforms on the EEG monitor and shook his head repeatedly.

"The autonomic nervous system is showing clear signs of recovery, and high-level cortical activity is active... Lin Shen, can you try to say a complete sentence?"

Lin Shen licked his dry lips. His voice was still hoarse, but his words were clear: "I... feel okay, just don't have any strength."

This sentence brought smiles to the faces of the medical staff present.

Clear consciousness and linguistic ability were signs of excellent recovery.

"That's great! Little Lin, rest assured and recuperate; we will take rehabilitation one step at a time." The director patted Lin Shen on the shoulder, his tone filled with relief.

"Your parents are in the city, and Dr. Chen has already notified them; they are likely on their way. You rest first, and we will arrange for subsequent detailed examinations."

The medical staff busied themselves for a while longer, recording preliminary data before leaving one by one, leaving Dr. Chen to give final instructions.

"Lin Shen, you've just woken up, and your body functions need time to recover, so don't be in a rush to move around. If you feel any discomfort, press the call button immediately." As Dr. Chen said this, he pointed to the call button by the bedside.

"I know you must have many questions and much confusion in your mind, but the most important thing right now is your body. Everything else can wait."

Lin Shen nodded, his gaze meeting Dr. Chen's concerned eyes, feeling a slight warmth in his heart: "Thank you, Dr. Chen. These three years... have been hard on you all."

Dr. Chen's eyes reddened again; he waved his hand, said nothing more, and gently closed the door.

The ward returned to silence, with only the rhythmic, faint ticking of the monitoring equipment remaining.

Sunlight filtered through the gap in the curtains, moving a short distance across the pristine white sheets.

Lin Shen did not immediately explore the "technology tree" in his mind, but instead closed his eyes, quietly feeling the subtle changes within his own body.

The sound of blood flowing in his vessels, the rhythm of his lungs expanding and contracting, the steady, powerful beating of his heart... Everything was so ordinary, yet so precious.

He was still alive.

And, it seemed, he had brought back some kind of... incomprehensible "thing."

About half an hour later, chaotic and rapid footsteps approached from the corridor, accompanied by suppressed sobbing and a man's low, trembling voice of comfort.

The ward door was pushed open violently.

"Xiao Shen—!"

A hoarse call, filled with three years of worry and despair, struck Lin Shen's eardrums.

At the door stood his parents.

His mother, Wang Huilan, looked as if she had aged more than ten years; her temples were almost completely white, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes were as deep as gullies, and she was clutching a handkerchief that had been washed white.

His father, Lin Jianguo, had a slightly hunched back, and his originally resolute face was filled with exhaustion and the vicissitudes of life.

But at this moment, those somewhat cloudy eyes were staring fixedly at his son on the hospital bed, erupting with unbelievable radiance.

Wang Huilan practically rushed to the bedside.

She wanted to hug her son but was afraid of hurting him, so her hands hovered in mid-air, trembling.

Tears rolled down like broken beads, her lips quivering, but she couldn't make a complete sound.

Lin Jianguo followed closely behind.

This retired veteran, who had always shown himself to be strong, also had red eyes at this moment.

He gripped the hand of Lin Shen that wasn't receiving an IV drip—a hand that was rough, warm, and slightly trembling.

"...Awake... really awake..." Lin Jianguo muttered repeatedly, his voice choked with sobs.

Lin Shen looked at his parents' sudden aging over the three years, and his heart felt as if it were being tightly gripped by an invisible hand.

Bitterness and guilt surged, almost drowning him.

He wanted to say "I'm sorry," wanted to say "I made you worry," but his throat was too constricted.

In the end, he just squeezed his father's hand back tightly, looked at his mother, and tried hard to force a smile.

"Dad, Mom... I'm back."

This simple sentence made Wang Huilan unable to control herself any longer; she collapsed by the bedside and burst into tears.

It was the release of emotions that had been suppressed for far too long.

Lin Jianguo turned his head away and quickly wiped his eyes.

The family of three, in this ward filled with the smell of disinfectant, quietly immersed themselves in the immense joy and sorrow of being reunited.

There were not many words; the tightly clasped hands and flowing tears were everything.

His parents stayed for a long time, carefully asking Dr. Chen about his condition and giving Lin Shen detailed instructions about everything.

It wasn't until the nurse came in to remind them that the patient needed rest that they left reluctantly, saying they would come back first thing tomorrow morning.

The ward quieted down again.

The sky outside the window had darkened, and the city lights lit up one by one.

The exhaustion of his body surged again, but Lin Shen's spirit had no sleepiness.

He knew it was time.

He concentrated and cast his consciousness completely toward the floating "technology tree."

This time, he looked more carefully.

The main structure of the tree was extremely complex but clearly layered.

In the bottom-most "root" area, those nodes emitting stable white light corresponded precisely to the foundational science and general technologies that humanity had already mastered.

[Basic Physics], [Chemical Principles], [Elementary Mathematics], [Metal Smelting], [Internal Combustion Engines], [Introduction to Semiconductors]... These pieces of knowledge were like the cornerstones of civilization.

And the several main branches extending from the trunk represented different directions of technological development: Information and Computing, Materials and Energy, Biology and Genetics, Aerospace and Deep Space, Dimensions and Basic Theory...

Each main branch was incredibly thick, extending toward the unknown.

He "looked" at the [Information and Computing] branch.

On a small branch based on [Introduction to Semiconductors], he saw nodes like [Silicon-based Chip Design (Mature)] and [Integrated Circuit Optimization (In Progress)].

Further up, the branches began to become sparse, and many paths were blocked by heavy gray "locks."

One of the paths extended outward, and the node was exactly the [Photonic Chip Basic Architecture (Resolvable)] he had noticed earlier.

"Resolvable?" Lin Shen thought silently.

As his intention focused on that node, more information streams emerged:

[Photonic Chip Basic Architecture]

Status: Technology Lock (Gray) - Attempt to Resolve

Pre-requirements:

Host needs a deep understanding of classical optics, nonlinear optics, and integrated photonics principles. (Status: Partially Met - Host possesses relevant advanced knowledge framework, but some details need updating/completion)

Needs to obtain or deduce the synthesis path for the key material "Photonic Crystal" with ultra-low loss. (Status: Not Met)

Needs theoretical support for sub-nanometer precision micro-machining processes. (Status: Not Met)

Resolution Difficulty: Medium

Estimated Impact: After unlocking, it can provide a theoretical framework and core component design blueprint with computational potential more than 1000 times the limit of current silicon-based chips, significantly promoting the progress of the civilization's "Information Processing" branch.

Resolution Pathway: The host can satisfy pre-requirements through deep thinking, knowledge integration, simulation deduction, etc., to gradually light up the node. External related technological breakthroughs can also provide "resolution."

Lin Shen's heart rate accelerated again.

It wasn't giving him the finished product directly, but providing the possibility of "resolution," requiring him to possess the corresponding knowledge base himself and solve the key bottlenecks.

This was more like... a guidance system? Or rather, a super database possessing massive future technology blueprints that required specific keys to open?

He tried to cast his intention toward a higher point, a node marked [Curvature Engine Theory] that flickered with a seductive dark golden luster.

Information stream popped up:

[Curvature Engine Theory]

Status: High-level Technology Lock (Dark Gold) - Currently Not Resolvable

Pre-requirements:

Host civilization needs to master [Unified Field Theory] as a whole (Status: Not Mastered)

Needs to verify the existence and properties of [Negative Energy Density Matter]. (Status: Not Verified)

Needs the [Dimensions and Basic Theory] branch to reach the "Primary Interference" level. (Status: Not Reached)

Resolution Difficulty: Extremely High

Estimated Impact: After unlocking, it will provide the theoretical basis for faster-than-light travel, and the scope of civilization's activities will expand from the stellar system to the interstellar scale.

Warning: Forcing resolution or attempting to understand without meeting pre-conditions may lead to cognitive disorder in the host.

The dark golden lock looked even sturdier, and the requirements were as absurd as a fantasy.

Unified Field Theory? Negative energy matter? These were far from the fields that current human physics could reach.

Lin Shen calmed down.

He understood the basic logic of this "technology tree": It presented a complete, possible map of technological development, but unlocking it required a step-by-step approach.

His (or rather, human civilization's) current knowledge level and technological strength determined the height he could reach.

Those gray locks represented next-stage technologies that were "possible" to break through with existing conditions; while those dark golden or other colored locks meant that more fundamental, revolutionary breakthroughs were needed to reach them.

His gaze fell back onto the gray "Resolvable" node of [Photonic Chip Basic Architecture].

The first pre-requirement, he partially met.

Before the coma, he was a Ph.D. student in condensed matter physics at a top science and engineering university in Long Country, specializing in new energy materials, but he also had a quite deep understanding of the nearby fields of photonics and chip design.

Three years of coma had disconnected him from the academic frontier, but the basic framework remained.

The second, key material "Photonic Crystal" with ultra-low loss.

This was a blank spot in his knowledge system, but since it pointed out the direction, he had a target for research.

The third, sub-nanometer machining process.

This was also a current cutting-edge difficulty, but not without clues; some top laboratories at home and abroad were already exploring related technologies.

Most importantly—"The host can satisfy pre-requirements through deep thinking, knowledge integration, simulation deduction, etc., to gradually light up the node."

Lin Shen took a deep breath and closed his eyes, but the technology tree light screen in his mind remained clear.

He began to recall the optical theories he had learned, recalling the fundamental differences between photons and electrons, recalling the basic principles of integrated photonics...

Those pieces of knowledge that had been silent for three years were like pearls dusted off, emitting luster again.

At the same time, he mobilized all his logical thinking and imagination, targeting "Photonic Crystal with ultra-low loss," and tried to perform theoretical deduction and combination.

This was a wondrous experience.

His thinking speed seemed faster and clearer than before the coma.

Various formulas, models, and material property parameters danced, collided, and recombined in his consciousness.

He was not creating out of thin air, but using his existing knowledge system to "fill in the blanks" and "connect" under the guidance of the vague direction given by the technology tree.

Time passed quietly.

The night outside the window grew deeper.

After an unknown amount of time, Lin Shen felt a surge of intense mental exhaustion, but at the same time, he "saw" that on the technology tree light screen, the status after the first pre-requirement of the [Photonic Chip Basic Architecture] node flickered slightly, seemingly becoming a bit brighter.

[Pre-requirement 1: Host needs a deep understanding of classical optics, nonlinear optics, and integrated photonics principles. (Status: Satisfaction Level Increased)]

And the node itself, the phantom of the gray "lock," seemed to... very slightly, fade a little bit, almost imperceptibly.

It really works!

A huge excitement surged in Lin Shen's heart.

Although he was mentally tired, a feeling of unprecedented fulfillment and goal-orientation filled his whole body.

This was not a hallucination, not a delusion.

This was a real path leading to the future!

Just as he was about to rest and digest this astonishing discovery, the ward door was knocked on gently.

Dr. Chen walked in with a tray, a smile on his face: "Still not asleep? Your parents told me to keep an eye on you. I brought you some nutritional liquid food; this is all you can eat right now."

Lin Shen withdrew from his immersed state, looked at Dr. Chen, and nodded.

Dr. Chen chatted casually while helping him adjust the bed: "By the way, the hospital leaders also came to see you just now, but they didn't disturb you while you were resting.

You were the treasure of our hospital back then, a talent for national key projects, and this coma... sigh, let's not talk about that.

It's good that you're awake; there's a long life ahead."

He paused, seemingly a bit hesitant, but still whispered: "There is one thing... during your coma, your original research institute account would still receive a basic allowance every month, and the project team also seemed to have kept your student status and position for you...

Of course, none of this matters right now; you should nurse your health first."

Lin Shen's heart stirred.

The research institute's account? The project team?

After Dr. Chen left, Lin Shen slowly ate the liquid food, but his thoughts drifted far away.

The existence of the technology tree was his secret alone, and it must remain a secret.

But to promote resolution, especially to satisfy those "pre-requirements," especially in aspects like materials and processes that required actual verification and resource input, relying on himself to work behind closed doors would not work.

He needed information, he needed resources, and he needed to return to that scientific research world that he was familiar with yet felt like a stranger.

And the first step, perhaps, was to reconnect with that "research institute account" and understand what changes had happened outside over these three years.

Especially... just how cornered was Long Country in the field of chips?

He looked at the deep night outside the window, his exhaustion gone, leaving only calm contemplation and the first glimmer of fire.

Photonic Chip... let it start from here.

This beam of light must first pierce through the technological clouds hanging over Long Country.