76: Chapter 76 The US Embargo? That's it? I'll smash you through with my junkyard!

"The cancer of industry..."

President Liu Qianghua chewed on these four words; his cloudy eyes reflected the cold machine model on the screen, filled with bitterness.

"Engineer Su, you are right."

"This 'Atomic Layer Deposition and Etching Integrated Equipment,' which The Eagle calls 'Genesis,' signifies the Hand of God that initiates silicon-based civilization."

He extended his withered finger and pointed to the core component of the model.

A nozzle thinner than a strand of hair.

"It is this thing, the 'High-Energy Particle Beam Nozzle.'"

"The Eagle's Lam Research, in collaboration with Sakura Country's Ida Electronics, spent twenty years and iterated through tens of thousands of versions to finally create it."

"Its nozzle must precisely eject an energy-uniform particle beam within microseconds, with an error margin not exceeding a single atom."

"To achieve this precision, they used the world's top-tier materials, the most precise transmission bearings, and the most stable energy controllers..."

President Liu Qianghua's voice grew lower and lower, as if narrating a history of blood and tears for the Dragon Country's semiconductor industry.

"We spent over a decade trying to replicate it, pouring in enough money to build three aircraft carrier strike groups."

"And what was the result?"

He smiled self-deprecatingly.

"The nozzles we made either burned out after a few minutes, or the particle beams they sprayed were scattered like flowers falling from the sky. Forget engraving 3 nanometers; if we could engrave 300 nanometers accurately, we would have to pop champagne to celebrate."

Lieutenant General Peng's fists had clenched tightly at some point.

This was not a technical problem.

This was a national strength problem, a generational gap in the entire semiconductor industrial system.

They are using college calculus to build Gundams, while we are still using multiplication tables. How can we catch up to that?

Despair.

A despair even deeper than when the Southern Gate project was shelved fifteen years ago once again enveloped the entire laboratory.

"Who said we were going to replicate it?"

Su Che's voice broke the deathly silence.

At some point, he had walked over to the giant tactical board, holding a black marker in his hand.

"Their path was wrong from the very root."

Lieutenant General Peng and President Liu Qianghua looked up abruptly at Su Che's back.

They saw Su Che pop off the pen cap with a "snap" and draw an extremely simple... circle in the center of the pristine white tactical board.

"Using machinery to pursue atomic precision is, in itself, a form of stupidity."

He then drew two smaller semicircles next to the circle, looking like two ears.

"Why use a 'spray'?"

"Why don't we just let the atoms... walk over there themselves?"

Walk... themselves?

President Liu Qianghua and Lieutenant General Peng were completely bewildered.

Do you think atoms are dogs you keep as pets, that will come wagging their tails when you call them?

This kid is talking nonsense again.

Su Che ignored their expressions and continued sketching on the tactical board.

His strokes were extremely fast, the lines simple, and even somewhat sloppy.

The drawing didn't look like high-tech equipment; instead, it looked like a... rice cooker?

"Use an ultra-high-frequency electromagnetic field to construct a 'Quantum Potential Well.'"

"Sieve the atoms that need to be etched into this well."

"Then, use another set of phase-shifting electromagnetic fields to 'transport' these atoms precisely to the designated positions on the silicon wafer, like taking an elevator."

"There is no physical contact or mechanical wear throughout the entire process; only fields and particles interacting."

"Isn't this more advanced and cost-effective than that broken nozzle of theirs?"

Su Che finished the last stroke, threw away the marker, clapped his hands, and looked relaxed.

It was as if he hadn't just solved the industrial cancer that had plagued the Dragon Country for decades, but had simply designed a new type of kitchen appliance.

"..."

"..."

Lieutenant General Peng and President Liu Qianghua had completely lost the ability to speak.

They stared intently at the sketch on the tactical board that looked remarkably like a "rice cooker."

Their brains were frantically trying to comprehend what Su Che had just said.

Quantum potential well?

Phase-shifting electromagnetic field?

Letting atoms take an elevator?

This...

This wasn't treating cancer anymore.

This was just swapping the patient's species entirely!

Just then, the alloy door of the laboratory was pushed open violently, and a young staff officer with the rank of Captain rushed in, holding an encrypted document with a livid expression.

"General! President!"

"The White House just held a global press conference!"

The officer handed over the tablet in his hand.

On the screen, President Trump's iconic face filled the entire frame as he spoke to the camera with spittle flying.

The headline was incredibly glaring.

— [The Eagle Signs the "Final Technical Barrier Act," Uniting Allies to Impose the Strictest Comprehensive Embargo on Semiconductor Equipment Against the Dragon Country!]

In the news content, one name was highlighted.

— Sakura Country, Ida Electronics' parent company, Ida Heavy Industries.

As The Eagle's most important technical ally in Asia, the president of Ida Heavy Industries, Ida Yuji, publicly clamored at the press conference:

"We will cut off all spare parts supply and technical support to all semiconductor enterprises in the Dragon Country!"

"Any attempt to bypass the ban will be regarded as a challenge to the free world order!"

"The industrial system that the Dragon Country people take pride in is, in our eyes, nothing but a pile of scrap metal that can be powered down at any time!"

"Boom!"

Lieutenant General Peng could no longer suppress his anger and slammed his fist onto the nearby alloy tabletop, producing a deafening bang.

"This is bullying!"

"Those sons of bitches!"

President Liu Qianghua's face instantly turned livid, and an irrepressible rage surged up.

This was the daggers drawn after the map was unrolled.

They didn't even want the last shred of decency; they just wanted to kick us back into the agricultural age.

However, Su Che didn't even turn his head.

He just stared quietly at the "rice cooker" he had drawn, as if admiring a work of art.

"General."

He suddenly spoke.

"Don't be angry."

"There's no need to argue with a species that is about to be eliminated."

He turned around, his face devoid of anger, only a calmness that saw through everything.

"They want to close the door and block us off."

"Then we will tear down their wall and dig up their foundation while we're at it."

He walked to the control console and pulled up a blank material list.

His fingers tapped rapidly on the keyboard.

[Material List]

1. Superconducting magnetic confinement coils (second-hand dismantled parts are fine, the more the better)

2. Industrial-grade microwave oven magnetrons (the higher the power the better, we need as many as possible)

3. Gradient coils from discarded CT machines

4. High-purity quartz glass (crush it before use)

5...

A long list appeared on the main screen.

Lieutenant General Peng and President Liu Qianghua leaned in to take a look, their eyes nearly popping out.

What kind of stuff is this?!

Superconducting coils, magnetrons, gradient coils...

How is this material for building the Hand of God?

This is clearly just... a purchase order for a junkyard!

President Liu Qianghua looked at the list, pointing to the "Industrial-grade microwave oven magnetron" item.

"Su... Engineer Su..."

"Are you sure you want to use this... to transport atoms?"