5: Chapter 005 A billion-dollar order, you're using this to test your cadres?

Dead silence.

In the alley, it was as if even the wind had vanished.

Zhao Zhenhua and his team of elite agents stood frozen in place, as if under a paralysis spell. The way they looked at Lin Mo was filled with unspeakable shock and awe.

Tanking a ten-thousand-ton nuclear explosion!

This analysis result was like an invisible giant hammer, shattering the materialist worldview they had built over more than twenty years!

This could no longer be described by the term "black technology."

This was a miracle!

It was a true dimensional strike!

Zhao Zhenhua took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, forcing himself to calm down.

He knew that from this moment on, the way they treated Lin Mo had to fundamentally change.

Interrogation? Coercion? Mandatory measures?

They had all become a joke.

How could you threaten an existence capable of casually pulling out "nuclear-blast-proof armor"?

If you dared to touch a single hair on his head, who knew if he might pull out a planet-destroying cannon from his backyard warehouse that could blow up the moon in one shot?

"Mr... Mr. Lin."

Zhao Zhenhua spoke again, his address changing from "Lin Mo" to the respectful "Mr. Lin." His voice even carried a hint of dryness and nervousness that he hadn't noticed himself.

"Just now, I was presumptuous. On behalf of The Ninth Division of the Ministry of State Security, I express my apologies to you."

He bowed slightly toward Lin Mo.

This action made the eyes of the proud agents behind him almost pop out!

Their boss, the iron-fisted figure of The Ninth Division of the Ministry of State Security, Zhao Zhenhua, had actually... bowed his head to a young man in his early twenties?!

Lin Mo saw this and just waved his hand lazily: "Ignorance is no crime. Now, can we talk business properly? Mr. Zhao, my time is very precious, and running a shop also has costs."

Zhao Zhenhua's mouth twitched again.

Big brother, your crappy shop has free water and electricity, what costs could you possibly have?

But he didn't dare to question him further and immediately nodded like a garlic masher: "Of course, of course! Mr. Lin, the country... needs your help!"

He quickly adjusted his mindset and entered the role of a "customer."

"To tell you the truth, in the field of cutting-edge chip manufacturing, our country has always been 'choked' by foreign technology alliances. Especially regarding the most core lithography machines; even with the power of the entire nation, we have been unable to break through the final technical barriers."

Zhao Zhenhua's expression became incredibly heavy; these words came from the bottom of his heart.

"This poses a fatal threat to our country's technological development, information security, and even national defense security."

He stared intently at Lin Mo, his eyes filled with hope.

"Therefore, I would like to place the first order with you on behalf of the country... Mr. Lin, do you... have any lithography machines for sale?"

When he asked this, Zhao Zhenhua's heart was in his throat.

He didn't even dare to hold too much hope.

After all, bulletproof vests and lithography machines were two completely different fields. The former was materials science, while the latter was the industrial crown that combined countless cutting-edge technologies such as optics, chemistry, and precision manufacturing.

However, Lin Mo's answer refreshed his understanding once again.

[Ding! Detected national-level strategic demand: Cutting-edge semiconductor manufacturing equipment!]

[Demand assessment: Extremely complex, extremely high value! Generating product plan... Performing transition upgrade...]

[Plan generation complete!]

After hearing Zhao Zhenhua's request, Lin Mo frowned slightly, showing an expression that seemed a bit troubled.

Seeing this expression, Zhao Zhenhua's heart instantly went cold.

As expected... was it still too wishful thinking? Something like this, even for him, couldn't just be conjured out of thin air, right...

"Lithography machines..." Lin Mo smacked his lips and said slowly, "Those ancient relics that use light to 'carve' chips are too technologically backward. Their production efficiency is low, the precision is poor, and the yield rate is at the mercy of the heavens. They were eliminated by me long ago."

Zhao Zhenhua: "???"

Back... backward?

Ancient relic??

Big brother, that thing is the top industrial pearl on Blue Star! You call it an ancient relic?!

Countless top scientists around the world haven't even fully grasped it in their entire lives, yet to you, it's become obsolete junk?

Are you testing the cadre with this stuff?

Just as Zhao Zhenhua's worldview was on the verge of collapsing again, Lin Mo changed the subject.

"However, you want equipment that can make high-end chips, right? I do have an upgraded substitute here."

Zhao Zhenhua suddenly raised his head, his breathing stopping!

He has it!

He actually has it!

"What... what is it?"

Lin Mo cleared his throat and said in a tone as if he were introducing cheap street goods: "[Quantum Crystallization Molecular Printer]. Desktop-grade, just plug it in and use it. You input the design drawings, pour the raw materials (which is just a pile of sand) into the raw material bin, and it can 'print' the chip for you directly at the atomic level."

"What 7 nanometers, 3 nanometers, they are all too low-end. This thing starts at 0.1 nanometer precision and theoretically can print any molecular structure. Oh right, absolute 100% yield rate. Printing a latest flagship chip takes about... three minutes."

"..."

"..."

"..."

The scene once again fell into a deathly silence.

Zhao Zhenhua felt like he wasn't talking to a person, but listening to a fairy tale.

Atomic level... printing?

0.1 nanometer precision?

One every three minutes?

A young agent behind him, due to excessive shock, had his brain crash, rolled his eyes, and fell straight backward, only to be caught by his companion in a panic.

Crazy!

This world has gone completely crazy!

Zhao Zhenhua forced himself to break free from his petrified state, his voice trembling uncontrollably: "Then... then this... printer, how... how much does it cost?"

Lin Mo held up one finger.

"One billion, Longguo currency."

One billion?!

This number stunned Zhao Zhenhua, but what followed wasn't shock, but a burst of ecstasy!

It's too cheap!

This is basically giving it away for free!

A top-tier EUV lithography machine from ASML costs over one billion, and they have all sorts of restrictions against selling it to you. Yet this "divine creation" before him, which could rub an EUV machine into the ground countless times, only costs one billion?!

"Buy! We'll buy it!" Zhao Zhenhua didn't even think about it and made the decision on the spot, "I will apply to the higher-ups right now! Money is not an issue!"

"Don't be hasty." Lin Mo waved his hand, "Money is only part of it."

He looked at Zhao Zhenhua and revealed a meaningful smile.

"My rule is equivalent exchange. The more important your need is, the more special the reward I require. Besides one billion in cash, I want two other things."

"First, this shop of mine needs to obtain the highest level of national security immunity. That is to say, regardless of what I sell or what I do, no one, no force, may interfere for any reason. My shop is an absolute extraterritorial zone."

"Second," Lin Mo's gaze became deep, "What I want is not money, nor technology, but something more ethereal—I want you to pay with 'National Destiny'."

"National Destiny?" Zhao Zhenhua was completely confused; this was the first time he had heard such a mystical term.

"How to pay?"

"It's very simple." Lin Mo pointed to the printer about to be sold, "After you receive this machine and the full set of technical data that comes with it, you must unconditionally use it for the development of Longguo itself. Every bit of value you create with it, every blockade you break, every bit of international prestige you win, a portion of it will automatically be converted into the 'reward' paid to me."

"This is my equivalent exchange."

Zhao Zhenhua was stunned.

He finally understood.

What Lin Mo wanted wasn't to become a businessman with wealth rivaling a nation.

He wanted to bind himself completely and deeply to the rise of the entire nation!

The stronger Longguo becomes, the more benefits he gets!

This... what a terrifying open plot!

This is a "sweet trap" that cannot be refused, one that even makes Longguo willing to jump into it!

Zhao Zhenhua didn't hesitate any longer; he took out his encrypted communicator and directly dialed the number he never dared to imagine he could actively call in his entire life.

The call connected, and he used all his strength to report everything that had happened here.

On the other end of the line, there was a long silence.

So long that Zhao Zhenhua thought the signal had been lost.

Finally, an aged but incredibly majestic voice came from the receiver, with only a short sentence.

"At all costs, meet all his requirements!"

Having received authorization, Zhao Zhenhua put down the phone, stood at attention solemnly toward Lin Mo, and gave a standard military salute!

"Mr. Lin! The country agrees to all your conditions!"

"Pleasure doing business with you." Lin Mo snapped his fingers.

He turned around and walked again toward the nondescript yet incredibly mysterious backyard warehouse.

This time, he didn't come out in five seconds like last time.

A full minute passed.

Just as Zhao Zhenhua and the others were straining their eyes waiting, Lin Mo pushed a... cart and walked out slowly.

On the cart sat a block covered with a dust cloth, about the size of a microwave oven.

Lin Mo walked up to Zhao Zhenhua and flipped off the dust cloth.

A silvery-white metal creation full of futuristic sci-fi aesthetic lay there quietly. Its shell was smooth as a mirror, with only a small touch screen and two slots, one labeled "Design Drawings" and one labeled "Raw Materials."

"Here, the [Quantum Crystallization Molecular Printer]."

Lin Mo patted the machine's shell, as if introducing an ordinary printer.

"The full set of production line technical data, as well as hundreds of terabytes of user manuals and related theoretical foundations, are all on this USB drive. The machine comes with its own power source, ready to use out of the box, three-year warranty, remember to give a five-star review, dear~"

Saying this, he casually tossed an incredibly cheap-looking plastic USB drive to Zhao Zhenhua.

Zhao Zhenhua scrambled to catch the USB drive, feeling that what he had caught wasn't just a USB drive, but the future of the entire Longguo.

He looked at the machine before him, which was more sci-fi than any sci-fi movie prop, and then looked at Lin Mo's harmless face, his brain completely shutting down.

Just at this moment, an untimely sound suddenly rang out in the silent alley.

It was Lin Mo's second-hand smartphone sitting on the counter.

He hadn't turned off the livestream!

Everything that had just happened, although there was no video, but the sound... seemed to have been transmitted out intermittently!

Even worse, a prominent SC (Super Chat), with a provocative tone and in broken translation-speak, appeared on the livestream's screen.

[Freedom Eagle (SC): Mr. Shopkeeper, heard you can sell anything? I'm very interested in your goods. May I ask... do you have a controllable nuclear fusion reactor for sale here? We are willing to pay in USD, name your price!]

As soon as this SC appeared, Zhao Zhenhua's face turned pale in a "whoosh"!