78: Chapter 78 The Announcement That Shocked the World

"You've also done a bit of research?"

Chen Jingshan's hand, holding the teacup, remained suspended in mid-air.

The warm tea was delayed from reaching his lips.

If these words had come from anyone else, he would have treated them as mere polite modesty or the arrogant boast of an ignorant youth, and laughed it off.

But coming from Lin Yuan's mouth...

The corners of Chen Jingshan's eyes twitched uncontrollably and violently twice.

A sense of shock known as "muscle memory" surged from his spine to the crown of his head.

In this young man's vocabulary, the weight of the phrase "a little bit" had been repeatedly verified time and again over the past two months.

Every single time, it turned out to be ridiculously significant.

Chen Jingshan took a deep breath, slowly placed the teacup back on the desk, and his mind raced at that moment.

Actually, in the final assembly workshop earlier today, when Lin Yuan had calmly imported that 10nm precision test layout, Chen Jingshan had already sensed something.

A 10nm layout.

Looking across the entire Xia semiconductor industry, to this day, not a single company or research institution could produce a layout of this precision level.

This meant that in the extremely precise field of chip layout design, Lin Yuan was also a unique existence in the country.

Of course, Chen Jingshan also knew that there was a significant gap between a test layout and a PDK used for actual commercial mass production.

But ultimately, the only person in the country currently touching the 10nm threshold was Lin Yuan.

Because of this, Chen Jingshan had thought about quickly filing a report to form a top-tier national team, led by Lin Yuan, to fill this final gap as soon as possible.

But he never expected.

Lin Yuan nonchalantly told him that he had also done some research on PDKs.

Chen Jingshan leaned forward with his hands on the desk, his eyes staring intently at Lin Yuan.

"When you say 'a bit of research'..."

He paused deliberately, his wording more cautious than ever before.

"Exactly... to what extent?"

Lin Yuan was in no hurry to answer.

He picked up the cup of tea in front of him, took a slow sip, set it down, and casually traced a circle along the rim with his finger.

"Let's put it this way, Dean Chen."

His voice wasn't loud, but his pronunciation was extremely clear.

"From the 28nm process currently in trial production internationally, to the 10nm used for testing today."

"I have a few small research results for all of them."

After Lin Yuan finished speaking, the office fell silent for several seconds.

"Are you sure?"

Chen Jingshan's voice was kept extremely low.

He had to confirm it one more time.

Because the weight of Lin Yuan's words was simply too heavy.

From 28nm to 10nm.

This wasn't as simple as drawing a blueprint; it was an entire PDK system covering multiple process nodes.

The moment after Chen Jingshan asked this question.

Deep in Lin Yuan's consciousness, a pale blue light screen silently emerged.

[Current Lie: I have mastered a full set of commercial PDKs from 28nm to 10nm.]

[Lie Level Determination: Level 2 (Involves cutting-edge scientific theory, but does not involve physical matter transformation)]

[Current total confidence: 5%]

[Host, please work hard to make more people believe your lie!]

Looking at the jumping confidence level on the light screen, a faint, hidden curve appeared at the corners of Lin Yuan's lips.

Precision test layouts were no longer a secret in his past life.

Even for the 3nm EUV Photolithography Process, plenty of public technical papers and architectural materials could be found online.

After the third lie became reality, his photographic memory had already integrated all the information he had scanned in his previous life, down to the finest detail.

However, considering the technological gap in this current parallel world, he didn't plan to achieve everything in one step.

10nm was already enough to deliver a dimensionality reduction strike against those The Other Side of the Ocean.

As for commercial PDKs?

Those were the truly precious things.

A full set of process parameters, design rules, device models...

These core data points were considered confidential by any foundry in his previous life; high-precision PDKs were never officially released online.

But Lin Yuan didn't care at all.

Because he had the system!

The lie had just been locked in, and based solely on the precision test layout shown this morning, combined with the god-tier credibility he had accumulated during this time.

Chen Jingshan alone had pulled up a starting confidence of 5%!

Once this news spread among the old-school scientists in the Lithography Machine Special Task Force and other groups, filling that progress bar would be a matter of minutes.

When the time came, the system would pour a complete commercial PDK system into his brain in its entirety.

This was much faster than forming a research team and spending time figuring things out from scratch.

"I'm sure."

Lin Yuan put down his teacup and met Chen Jingshan's gaze, answering crisply and decisively.

He paused and added another sentence, giving the other man a buffer and leaving himself time for the system's conversion.

"However, the specific technical documents and underlying code are far too massive. I need to go back and do a systematic organization and proofreading."

"It should take... about a day or two."

A day or two?

Chen Jingshan stared at him for a few seconds before slowly leaning back against the chair.

That feeling of helplessness—of "having my understanding refreshed by this kid again"—surged in his chest before finally turning into a low exhale.

"Alright."

He nodded heavily, his tone firm.

"Then I'll wait for your documents."

No redundant questioning, no repeated confirmation.

This heavy trust wasn't built out of thin air; it was something Lin Yuan had hammered out with his god-tier performance over the past two months.

Seeing this, Lin Yuan stood up and patted the non-existent wrinkles on his trousers.

"Then Dean, I'll head back and prepare."

He walked to the door, placed his hand on the handle, then suddenly stopped and turned his head.

"By the way, Dean Chen."

"Hmm?" Chen Jingshan looked up.

"The machine has been built, and the PDK will be ready soon."

Lin Yuan leaned against the doorframe and chuckled.

"So, the next step of announcing our follow-up plans to the world..."

"I'll leave that to you, then?"

Chen Jingshan was slightly taken aback, then immediately understood Lin Yuan's meaning.

A sharp light flashed in his eyes, and without the slightest hesitation, he agreed.

"Don't worry."

"I'll arrange it."

Lin Yuan gave him a slight nod, showing a meaningful smile, then turned and pushed the door open.

The sound of footsteps in the corridor gradually faded away.

Chen Jingshan sat alone in his office, picked up the now-cool tea, and took a small sip.

The tea went down his throat; he set the cup aside, grabbed the red landline on the desk, and dialed a series of numbers.

"Connect me to the Publicity Department."

"Yes, now, immediately, right away!"

...

That night, at exactly eight o'clock.

On the official website of the Xia Academy of Sciences, a new announcement was quietly posted.

The next moment, all major official media matrices in Xia synchronized their reposts, instantly pushing this announcement to the top of the trending searches across the entire network.

The wording of the announcement was extremely brief, but the amount of information was so massive that it made everyone who saw it feel their scalp go numb.

According to the announcement, the Xia Academy of Sciences would hold a press conference at the International Convention Center at 10:00 AM in three days.

At that time, the detailed technical parameters and test results of the domestically produced Photolithography Machine would be officially announced.

And the final line of this announcement, though short, carried the weight of a thousand tons—

"At the same time, we sincerely invite domestic and foreign semiconductor companies to participate..."

"...to conduct on-site negotiations regarding chip business cooperation."