84: Chapter 84 The table is overturned!

"The question from this gentleman of the press is likely a doubt shared by many people present today."

Lin Yuan scanned the room unhurriedly, casually switching the microphone from his left hand to his right.

"How can you build chips without specialty materials?"

He repeated the foreign reporter's question, enunciating each word clearly.

Every word, amplified through top-tier audio equipment, struck precisely into everyone's eardrums.

Below the stage, thousands of pairs of eyes were fixed intently on him.

The domestic entrepreneurs in the middle and back rows gripped their armrests, veins bulging on the backs of their hands, not even daring to breathe loudly.

The torrent of comments in the livestream suddenly slowed down at this moment; behind the dense text were the heartbeats of millions of people suspended in their throats.

The foreign reporter who had asked the question now stood with his back straight, a victor's smile appearing on his face.

However...

Under the scrutiny of the crowd, Lin Yuan was in no hurry to answer.

He suddenly tilted his head, gave a light chuckle, and asked a question in return.

"Before answering that question, I have a question I'd like to ask this gentleman of the press."

His gaze fell on the reporter's face, a smile playing on his lips that was impossible to read.

"You said that without specialty materials, chips cannot be made, right?"

"Then—"

Lin Yuan drew out the last syllable, his clear voice echoing through the massive venue.

"Can specialty materials be made without raw materials?"

The second those words left his mouth...

It was as if an invisible electric current had instantly surged through the entire hall!

The domestic entrepreneurs who had been filled with worry felt their pupils contract in unison, followed by their eyes widening in shock.

Several elderly semiconductor CEOs even stood up in shock, completely unaware that their knees had bumped into the backs of the seats in front of them.

Holy crap!

What does Lin Yuan mean by that?

They didn't dare think further, yet they couldn't control their brains from racing wildly along that logic!

What did he mean by 'can specialty materials be made without raw materials'?

The subtext of those words was practically slapping the opponent across the face!

The preparation of specialty materials naturally required basic raw materials, and those rare metals, Specialty Minerals...

A senior tech reporter in the front row suddenly lowered his head to flip through his notes, his pen leaving a jagged mark on the paper as his hand shook.

In the livestream, after a full three seconds of dead silence, the comments exploded at a near-frenzied speed.

"Damn! What does he mean? What exactly does he mean by that!"

"Brothers, did you catch that? I think I get it, but I freaking don't dare believe it!"

"Rare Earths! Specialty Minerals! High-purity basic raw materials! Who has the most? Whose reserves are number one in the world? Is that even a question! It's all buried under our Xia Country soil!"

"I get it, he's flipping the table, right? You don't give me high-end materials, so I'll just cut off your raw materials?"

The foreign reporter who asked the question stood frozen on the spot, his mouth opening and closing, unable to organize any words to respond for a moment.

He naturally understood Lin Yuan's words.

But he also didn't know how to respond.

Because once he followed this logic, the question he thought was so sharp—the one he thought had caught Xia Country's weakness—would instead become a self-defeating joke.

Meanwhile, The Other Side of the Ocean.

Inside that luxurious top-floor office.

The blonde man slammed his palm onto the solid wood desk with such force that an expensive pen holder bounced high into the air before rolling to the edge and falling to the floor with a 'clack'.

"How dare he!"

He sprang up from his seat, trembling all over, every syllable squeezed from his throat carrying a raspy anger.

"Raw materials?"

"What is he implying? He actually dares to publicly threaten us at a press conference broadcast globally?!"

Dr. Harrison, standing nearby, kept his head bowed low and didn't say a word, cold sweat already soaking through his back.

...

At the press conference venue.

Seeing the foreign reporter drenched in sweat and frozen there, unable to squeeze out a single word for a long time, Lin Yuan didn't rush him.

He moved the microphone a few inches away from his mouth, giving the man—and the entire audience—some time to fully digest the implications.

After a full ten seconds, he brought the microphone back to his lips, his tone as steady as if he were making small talk.

"Alright, if you can't answer, then forget it. Don't be nervous."

Lin Yuan raised a hand and made a slow gesture in the air.

"Actually, regarding the issue of specialty materials, you don't need to think of it as something so complicated."

"As everyone knows, our Xia Country is the world's largest holder of rare earth and critical mineral resource reserves."

"From rare earth purification to high-purity metals, from basic precursors for specialty gases to core raw materials for chemical reagents..."

"Raw materials are something we have never lacked."

These few sentences were spoken calmly, stating nothing more than a fact the whole world was well aware of.

But now, coming from Lin Yuan's mouth and coupled with that meaningful counter-question from before, every word carried a different weight.

The corporate representatives below the stage had unconsciously leaned forward to their limit, making the backrests behind them useless.

Everyone was waiting.

Waiting for this twenty-year-old young man to drop the other shoe that would truly decide the global technological landscape.

Lin Yuan paused for a beat.

"So, regarding the issue of the embargo on specialty materials raised by this reporter."

He glanced at the foreign reporter who was still frozen in place, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly.

"The solution is actually very simple."

"Since others won't sell to us, we'll just produce them ourselves, won't we?"

Produce them ourselves?

As these words landed softly, the audience was once again visibly stunned.

A balding Western reporter in the front row instinctively extended his recording pen, his jaw opening and closing slightly like a fish out of water.

Several domestic entrepreneurs in the middle and back rows looked at each other, their eyes filled with shock and disbelief.

Was he telling the truth?

Could Xia Country produce semiconductor-grade specialty materials on its own?

After all, the preparation process for these things involved such deep interdisciplinary overlap, such insane precision requirements, and such harsh processing windows that few entities in the world could manage it.

You say you'll produce it just like that?

In the livestream, the comments had become completely incoherent.

"Wait, wait, wait, is this plot developing too fast? I haven't even recovered from the shock of the ten-nanometer chip yet!"

"Build it ourselves? Good heavens, others are choking you, and not only did you break free, you even turned around and raided their home base?"

"If anyone else said this, I'd immediately report and block them! But this is Chief Engineer Lin speaking..."

Just as the shock in the hall continued to ferment and countless people were doubting if something was wrong with their ears...

Lin Yuan's next sentence followed immediately.

"As it happens."

He tilted his head, a smile appearing on his face that everyone present was incredibly familiar with, yet every time they saw it, it made their hearts skip a beat.

"Regarding the preparation technology for specialty materials related to Photolithography Machines..."

"Xia Country has already developed it."