3: Chapter 3 The First "Drill-Down" in the Ward
Over the next few days, Lin Shen's life was filled with a strict rehabilitation plan and various medical examinations.
The speed of his physical recovery surprised the doctors once again. His muscle strength returned at a visible rate, from being able to lift his arm on his own, to sitting up with assistance, and then to attempting to stand. Although every step was accompanied by soreness and trembling, the feeling of regaining control over his body dispelled all discomfort.
His parents barely left his side. His mother, Wang Huilan, constantly prepared varied, nutritious meals that complied with the doctor's orders, while his father, Lin Jianguo, silently took on all the errands and communication with the hospital staff. The warmth of home greatly alleviated the dazed and disconnected feeling Lin Shen had upon first waking up.
He did not devote all his energy to physical rehabilitation. Every day, when the night was quiet and his parents were fast asleep on the companion bed, or during the gaps between check-ups during the day, he would immerse his consciousness into the technology tree in his mind.
He no longer rushed to touch those high-level, dark golden nodes, instead focusing all his attention on the gray, "parsable" node: [Photonic Chip Basic Architecture]. Like the most rigorous scholar, he began to systematically "conquer" the prerequisites.
First requirement: In-depth understanding of relevant optical principles.
Lin Shen discovered that the "in-depth understanding" required by the technology tree was not merely simple rote memorization. It was more like a combination of "mastery" and "forward-looking deduction." He needed to reweave and extend the knowledge systems of classical optics, nonlinear optics, and integrated photonics in a way that served the ultimate goal of the "photonic chip."
The hospital room became his silent battlefield. He closed his eyes and leaned against the headboard; while he appeared to be resting on the outside, his consciousness was operating at high speed. Recalling his mentor's lecture notes, reviewing classic papers he had read, thinking about the optical properties of different materials, simulating the propagation and interference of photons in micro-waveguides... The knowledge he had once learned, some of which he had even forgotten, was reactivated, refined, and connected.
He even began to construct simple mathematical models in his mind, attempting to describe a new type of Photonic Crystal structure with theoretically extremely low loss. This consumed a great deal of mental energy; often, after an hour or two, he would feel dizzy and be forced to pause.
But the results were significant.
Whenever he completed an effective deep thought or theoretical deduction, the "satisfaction level" of the first prerequisite for the [Photonic Chip Basic Architecture] node would increase slightly. The gray, phantom "lock" also faded, bit by bit, at an extremely slow but steady speed.
The next day, when Dr. Chen was doing his rounds and casually asked how he was feeling, Lin Shen, in addition to answering about his physical recovery, seemingly unintentionally mentioned: "Dr. Chen, after lying in bed for three years, I feel like my brain has rusted a bit. Is it possible to get physics journals from the last few years at the hospital or nearby? Optics and materials science would be best; I'd like to take a look."
Dr. Chen was taken aback for a moment, then sighed with emotion: "You really are a researcher; the first thing you think about when you wake up is your profession. Alright, I'll try to find a way. The hospital library might have some, and if not, I'll have someone borrow them from the city library. But you have to promise me you won't overexert yourself; your health is the most important thing right now."
"Don't worry, I'll just flip through them casually, not really using my brain," Lin Shen smiled.
Soon, several domestic and foreign journals from the last two years, such as Acta Physica Sinica, Optics and Precision Engineering, and Advanced Materials, were delivered to the hospital room. Although they were not the most cutting-edge conference papers, for Lin Shen, who had been isolated from the world for three years, they were like nectar. He read them hungrily, learning about the progress, hot topics, and unsolved problems in related fields over the past three years.
This new input of knowledge greatly accelerated the "satisfaction" process for the first prerequisite. He saw new theories and methods that had emerged while he was in a coma, and also saw many bottlenecks plaguing the academic community that were coincidentally related to the "ultra-low-loss Photonic Crystal" and "sub-nanometer processing" he was trying to parse.
On the technology tree light screen, the progress bar representing the first prerequisite (as he metaphorically called it in his mind) was growing at a visible rate.
At the same time, he began to attempt the second prerequisite: the synthesis path for the key material, "ultra-low-loss Photonic Crystal."
This was much more difficult than simple theoretical understanding. Materials science is full of experimentation and randomness; many breakthroughs come from thousands of trials and errors. Lin Shen had no laboratory, and could not even access basic databases of physical property parameters.
But he had the "direction" provided by the technology tree.
This direction was very vague, more like a set of constraints: the material was required to have a nearly perfect photonic bandgap in a specific frequency band (corresponding to the chip's operating wavelength), the material itself needed to have absorption and scattering losses below a certain limit, it had to have good process compatibility with silicon-based substrates, and it might also need to possess certain nonlinear effects to support optical modulation...
Lin Shen began to use the information on existing material systems he saw in the journals, combined with his own knowledge of materials science, to conduct a large amount of elimination and combination deductions. He was like a prospector groping in the dark; the technology tree had given him an extremely simple map that only marked areas where "there might be ore," and he needed to use his own knowledge to judge where it was more likely, and to conceive a path (synthesis method) to reach it.
He tried improvements based on silicon, considered heterogeneous integration of new two-dimensional materials (such as transition metal dichalcogenides), and envisioned using ion beam irradiation to induce Photonic Crystal structures... For every idea, he simulated its possible structure, energy bands, and loss mechanisms in his mind, comparing and correcting them against the various material properties reported in the journals.
This was an exceptionally tedious and mentally draining process; countless ideas were proposed, only to be rejected because they conflicted with known physical laws or process realities. Sometimes, a seemingly viable approach would hit a dead end after deep deduction.
Several times, Lin Shen felt deeply frustrated. It was simply like trying to design a revolutionary new material out of thin air, all by using his imagination.
But whenever this happened, he only needed to "look" at those higher, more brilliant, and more unreachable nodes on the technology tree—[Antimatter Preparation], [Strong Artificial Intelligence], [Curvature Engine]—and the flame in his chest would reignite. If he couldn't even take this first step, then this technology tree would be nothing more than an unreachable dream for him.
Furthermore, he was not completely without progress.
During one deduction of a special topological Photonic Crystal structure, when he considered a rare earth element doping scheme combined with molecular beam epitaxy growth technology, he clearly felt that the "cognitive model" of the possibilities for this material in his mind suddenly became clearer and more self-consistent.
At the same time, on the technology tree light screen, a status change appeared for the first time after the second prerequisite for the [Photonic Chip Basic Architecture] node:
[Prerequisite 2: Need to obtain or deduce the synthesis path for the key material "ultra-low-loss Photonic Crystal." (Status: In Deduction (1%))]
Although it was only a negligible 1%, it greatly lifted Lin Shen's spirits. This meant his direction was correct! The technology tree recognized his "mental deduction" as an effective "parsing" method!
He had found the correct way to "interact" with this mysterious technology tree.
A week later, Lin Shen was already able to walk slowly around the ward with assistance. His complexion had improved significantly, and his eyes had regained their former sharpness and focus, though deep within them was a layer of quietly burning fire that only he knew about.
That afternoon, his father, Lin Jianguo, went out to handle some paperwork, and his mother, Wang Huilan, was carefully peeling an apple for him. The wall-mounted TV in the ward was on with the volume turned low, playing the news.
"...The Federal Department of Commerce updated its Entity List yesterday, adding seven Longguo high-tech enterprises and research institutions, involving the fields of artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, and semiconductor manufacturing equipment. A spokesperson claimed that this move was to prevent the technology from being used for 'military end-use'..."
"...The President of Star Ring Technology responded today, stating that the company's reserve of key chips can still support existing product lines for six months, but the research and development of the next-generation flagship product has stalled due to the inability to obtain the latest foundry services. Industry analysts say this sanction will further exacerbate tensions in the global chip supply chain..."
"...The Imperial Academy of Sciences announced that the 'Next-Generation Computing Alliance' it leads has made 'milestone progress' in the development of photonic computing prototypes, with computing speeds increased by a hundred times compared to traditional electronic chips..."
The news anchor's calm voice was like cold needles piercing into the warm air of the hospital room.
Wang Huilan's hand, which was peeling the apple, stopped, and she looked at her son with worry. She knew her son used to study this.
Lin Shen's gaze fell on the TV screen, watching the familiar company logos and the grim industry analysis charts. His face showed no expression, but his fingers tightened slightly, gripping the thin blanket covering his legs.
Three years had passed; the blockade had not eased, but had instead intensified. It had spread from a simple ban on chip sales to a comprehensive containment of equipment, software, and even talent exchange. And the opponent was already charging toward the next generation of technology.
Photonic computing... this was precisely the direction indicated by that gray node on the technology tree.
An unprecedented sense of urgency, mixed with cold anger, rose in his chest. This was not academic competition; this was a technological war concerning the fate of the nation and the future. And his motherland was being choked by technical chains, with others trying to strangle its development.
"Xiao Shen..." his mother called him softly, handing over the peeled apple.
Lin Shen took the apple and took a bite; the sweet, crisp juice melted in his mouth. He looked at his mother and gave her a reassuring smile: "Mom, I'm fine. News, you know, always reports the bad news and not the good."
But he knew in his heart that this was not just "bad news"; it was the Sword of Damocles hanging over their heads.
He had to be faster.
That night, while his parents were asleep, Lin Shen asked the duty nurse to help him retrieve an old but well-sealed waterproof bag from his personal belongings. Inside were his wallet, an almost worn-out campus card, and a... small metal USB drive with physical password buttons.
This was the "backup drive" he habitually carried with him before he fell into a coma, containing some of his unpublished calculation notes, summaries of experimental data, and important references. The USB drive itself had hardware encryption.
He carefully entered the password (fortunately, muscle memory was still there) and connected the USB drive to an old but usable laptop he had talked the nurse's station into lending him—using the excuse of "wanting to look at old photos and family videos."
The computer was slow, but it still worked. He quickly browsed through the contents of the USB drive, looking for potentially useful information. At the same time, he tried to connect to the ward's Wi-Fi (the hospital provided a limited guest network).
The network was slow and had many restrictions; many research databases and academic websites were inaccessible. But he successfully logged into one of his former private encrypted cloud accounts. This account was linked to his previous research institute's internal email, used to sync some non-classified literature summaries and work memos.
The inbox was full of unread emails, mostly system notifications, journal subscriptions, and advertisements. He screened them quickly.
Suddenly, an email from the "Longke Academy Frontier Interdisciplinary Research Institute - Fusion Project Team" caught his attention. The sender was the project team's administrative assistant, and the date was one year ago. The title was "Notice Regarding Account Maintenance and Data Archiving for Long-term Sick Leave Personnel."
The content of the email was very official, roughly stating that according to regulations, his status as an associate researcher for the project team and basic permissions had been retained for him. His personal research materials had been encrypted and archived according to regulations, and the associated internal literature query account (limited to the basic library) had been retained due to his special circumstances, but access logs would be monitored, and so on.
Attached at the end was a complex temporary login link and a string of one-time verification codes.
Lin Shen's heart skipped a beat.
A literature query account! Even if it was just the basic library, it meant he could access the massive amount of academic resources within the Longke Academy, including many papers, reports, and basic data that were not fully open to the public!
This was worth more than ten times the public journals he had been looking at before!
He did not click the link immediately. The network environment in the hospital room was too unsafe; the hospital's Wi-Fi was likely monitored. Logging into the internal system using this network would be tantamount to self-exposure.
He wrote down the link and the verification code, cleared the browser history and cache, then logged out of all accounts and unplugged the USB drive.
The faint light of the computer screen reflected on his calm face.
With this internal account, his channels for obtaining information would be greatly expanded, which would undoubtedly be a huge help for "deducing" material synthesis paths and process difficulties. But how to use it safely was a problem. He needed a more covert and reliable network access point.
Also, theoretical deduction and internal materials alone were not enough. To truly "parse" a usable blueprint, he would eventually need experimental verification, resources, and a team.
Alone, trapped in this hospital room, how far could he go?
Lin Shen's gaze turned once again to the technology tree in his mind. The gray on the [Photonic Chip Basic Architecture] node seemed to have faded a little more. The "satisfaction level" of the first prerequisite was approaching 80%, and the "deduction" progress of the second had also climbed arduously to 3%.
The progress was slow, but it was real.
He closed his eyes and began a new round of "deduction." This time, combining the urgency brought by the news he had just heard and the possibility of gaining access to the internal database, his train of thought became clearer and more targeted.
Outside the window, the night was deep, and the city lights were still bright. In this quiet hospital room, a silent technological breakthrough war, existing only in one person's mind, was reaching a critical moment.
What was being deduced was not just the blueprint for a chip.
It was also the initial and most firm determination of a person who, after sleeping for three years, was attempting to leverage the gears of the era with his own strength.