73: Chapter 73 A Moment to Witness History!

That afternoon, near the end of the workday.

The official website of the Xia Academy of Sciences quietly updated with a new post.

There was no long-winded press release, no tedious data, only a short forty-five-second video.

Less than five minutes after the video was posted, the official client of the Xia Country Daily and its full-platform matrix accounts all forwarded it in unison.

In an instant, this video was pushed to the mobile screens of hundreds of millions of people.

Clicking on the video, the first thing that hit the ears was a stirring melody familiar to countless Xia people; the drumbeats were urgent, representing extreme speed, passion, and a do-or-die breakthrough.

In the footage, a racing car painted bright red wove frantically through gaps in traffic like a bolt of lightning on a track so crowded it was nearly stagnant.

It successively overtook several rival cars that had once been far ahead and had tried to maliciously cut it off.

Even more blood-pumping was that at the moment it crossed the finish line, the red racing car didn't slow down at all.

Instead, the steering wheel was jerked hard, the nose of the car lifted, and it actually changed lanes, forcibly charging onto a brand-new highway that appeared out of nowhere, leading toward the horizon.

The video stopped abruptly there.

On the black screen, a line of small text appeared:

[On a new track, we define the rules ourselves!]

As soon as the video came out, the entire Xia Country internet was like a deep-water bomb being dropped; it completely exploded!

"Holy crap, Initial D?! Xia Academy of Sciences, you really know how to hint! With this BGM paired with these visuals, I've already buckled my seatbelt!"

"Haha, I feel like the point isn't the overtaking, it's changing lanes to the highway right after overtaking! What does this mean? It means we're not just going to break the blockade, we're going to perform a dimensional strike in a brand-new field!"

"The official trolling is the deadliest! I just want to ask one question now: has our Xia Country's Photolithography Machine had another major breakthrough?"

"I'll bet a pack of spicy strips that within half a month at most, there will definitely be world-shattering big news!"

While domestic netizens were collectively excited, this video with its strong metaphorical overtones also spread to overseas social platforms at an extremely fast speed.

After all, the topic of the 'half-year Photolithography Machine' was still hanging on the trending lists of multiple global platforms; any slight movement related to the Xia Academy of Sciences would be captured by countless sensitive eyes.

The tech section editors of several major global media outlets noticed the video as soon as it began to spread.

But their reactions were surprisingly consistent: they were all dismissive, even finding it laughable.

A well-known tech media outlet even posted a specific tweet, accompanied by a screenshot of the racing video, with only a condescending line of text below:

"A short racing video can make an entire country cheer; this is probably what they call 'spiritual victory,' isn't it?"

Below the tweet, the comment section was filled with cynicism and ridicule.

"Interesting performance art, but where is their Photolithography Machine? I only see a racing car."

"They started filming promotional videos as soon as the sanctions took effect; very efficient, but unfortunately used in the wrong place."

"Stop rushing them; they're most likely worrying about where to buy special materials, hahahaha!"

...

While the outside world was in an uproar and the online vitriol was enough to flip the heavens.

But inside Research Building No. 7, it was a completely different scene.

On the evening the video was released, when the last truck of components required for the full machine integration arrived at the dedicated assembly room, the final assembly work officially commenced.

Lin Yuan personally oversaw the entire process on-site.

The entire Class 1000 clean assembly room was brightly lit; for a whole night, the lights never dimmed for a moment.

The next morning, at exactly six o'clock.

With the perfect coordination of two high-precision robotic arms, the final silver-gray alloy cover plate was slowly pushed into its slot.

"Click."

An extremely crisp, subtle sound of metal interlocking echoed in the workshop, which was so quiet that only the sound of breathing could be heard.

But this soft sound was like a heavy hammer, smashing hard against the heartstrings of everyone present!

It was done!

The full machine, final assembly complete!

A silver-gray behemoth with cold, sharp lines stood quietly in the center of the workshop.

Looking at it, it wasn't particularly tall, but it occupied a vast area. Countless pipelines, like the blood vessels of a silver dragon, flowed orderly from various subsystems into the depths of the machine, exuding an ultimate industrial beauty.

This was a national treasure!

This was the performance monster that was about to overturn the global semiconductor hegemony!

All the researchers involved in the assembly held their breath, watching with burning eyes as the machine was connected to power and the indicator lights lit up in sequence.

No-load joint testing.

This was the first step of the phased testing.

A Photolithography Machine is only truly considered completed after it has undergone all phased tests.

Time passed minute by minute.

On the large screen, data from various subsystems refreshed frantically like a waterfall; the screen was full of green, without a single red error report.

Perfect!

Eight o'clock in the morning.

"Pshhh—"

The airtight door of the final assembly workshop slowly slid open from the outside, and a steady, powerful set of footsteps broke the silence within the workshop.

Lin Yuan turned his head.

Chen Jingshan walked at the front, followed by Lin Jixian.

And between them was a man wearing a dark blue jacket, possessing an air of natural authority.

Chen Jingshan was the first to step forward quickly. He looked at the silver-white beast, then at Lin Yuan, his eyes unable to hide his excitement:

"Incredible, you've created another miracle."

Lin Yuan smiled slightly but didn't pick up on that comment.

Lin Jixian stepped out quickly from beside Chen Jingshan, rubbing his hands together with a familiar, warm smile on his face.

"Brother, we aren't late, are we?"

"You've come just in time."

Lin Yuan replied, his gaze then falling on the man with the authoritative air, his eyes calm.

"And this is...?"

Lin Jixian slapped his forehead and quickly stepped aside to introduce him.

"Look at me, I was just too excited."

He stepped back half a pace, raised his hand to introduce him, his voice filled with respect.

“Zhou Ping, Director Zhou. He's in charge of our country's entire industrial system and strategic resource allocation.”

He lowered his voice and added with a smile.

"That technical data on material preparation processes you provided is being deployed nationwide under Director Zhou's personal leadership."

Hearing this, Lin Yuan took a step forward and proactively extended his hand with a steady motion.

"Hello, Director Zhou."

Zhou Ping reached out with both hands and gripped Lin Yuan's hand tightly with great force.

He looked up and down at this young man who was only twenty years old but had single-handedly stirred up global affairs, his eyes filled with unabashed admiration.

"Comrade Lin Yuan, I have heard much about you!"

Zhou Ping let go of his hand, took half a step back, and nodded toward the silver-white Photolithography Machine.

"I came here today for no other reason."

"I just wanted to see history being witnessed with my own eyes."

Witnessing history!

These four words coming from a heavyweight like Zhou Ping, who managed the country's industrial lifeblood, carried the weight of Mount Tai!

The backs of all the researchers present straightened unconsciously, and a hot surge of emotion churned wildly in their chests.

Events that could make someone of Zhou Ping's level specifically come to 'witness' could be counted on one hand in the entire Xia Country!

The pleasantries ended there.

Lin Yuan didn't engage in any more formalities. He turned to face the entire final assembly workshop and spoke in a clear voice.

"Final assembly is complete. All module self-test procedures have passed."

"Power supply, optical path, robotic arms... all systems are green light."

"Even the no-load test has been running for two hours without any data fluctuations or error reports."

Lin Yuan scanned the scene, giving no one time to continue processing the shock.

"Next step, begin trial etching of a single wafer."