Chapter 50: The Despair and Retribution of the Windmill

The next second.

Netizens across the nation of Shangxia swarmed into the official account's comments section almost in a chaotic frenzy, desperately inquiring whether this news was actually true!

This was a 0.1-nanometer lithography machine!

Previously, they didn't even possess a moderately decent piece of equipment, but now they suddenly owned a super lithography machine featuring technology generations ahead of the times. This made every single netizen tense to the absolute extreme!

They were genuinely terrified that this was just the official department messing around for laughs!

Meanwhile, after recovering their wits, the fellows from the Western nations burst into direct mockery!

"Hahaha, people of Shangxia, have you all lost your minds? A 0.1-nanometer lithography machine? You really dare to brag!"

"Exactly, even the Netherlands' most advanced lithography machine is only three nanometers. I think your official account is getting a bit too full of itself to dare make such a joke. If this isn't an intentional prank, I'll eat shit doing a handstand!"

Upon initially hearing the official Shangxia account announce the successful creation of a 0.1-nanometer lithography machine, Westerners had indeed been quite shocked.

Yet after a brief moment of reflection, it was obvious that this news had to be a joke meant to amuse people!

Shangxia's lithography technology had been blockaded by Western nations for so many years, unable to produce even slightly sophisticated equipment, yet now they claimed to have directly manufactured a 0.1-nanometer one. If this wasn't a joke, what was it?

Such taunts instantly provoked the dissatisfaction of Shangxia netizens.

Although they also felt the matter was utterly unbelievable, facing the ridicule, they fired back one by one.

"You Westerners, whether we can build it or not is none of your damn business!"

"Exactly, if you guys can't build it, it just means you're incompetent!"

"Heh, we can even build the classmate-class missiles, is building a 0.1-nanometer lithography machine really that hard?"

Netizens retorted in droves. Whether the official account was joking could be put aside for the moment, but the provocation from the Western fellows was something they simply could not tolerate!

The comment section beneath the official account instantly turned into a battlefield of mutual verbal abuse!

Just as domestic netizens and the Western fellows were arguing fiercely and inconclusively, the official account of the Grand Academy of Sciences suddenly updated with a fresh notice!

"First of all, thank you all for your attention. Upholding the principle of win-win cooperation, we welcome chip manufacturers from all over the globe to come forward starting today to place chip pre-orders and engage in various other multi-faceted business cooperations!"

The content of the new notice was very simple, seemingly crafted specifically to respond to the skepticism from netizens and various Western nations.

However, brief as the text was, it was accompanied by a short video lasting just over ten seconds.

The video showcased an incomparably sophisticated and high-end chip!

This single instant made it abundantly certain that Shangxia had indeed successfully researched and developed a 0.1-nanometer lithography machine.

Otherwise, they would never have made statements welcoming global chip manufacturers to place pre-orders and cooperate.

Especially given the chip displayed in the video, its level of precision was such that even those with little professional knowledge could tell the manufacturing craftsmanship had reached an artistic level!

"This, this..."

"I'm numb, I am truly numb. This is actually real? They actually built a 0.1-nanometer lithography machine?!!"

"Holy crap, holy crap! At this very moment, I only have one sentence to say: My country is awesome (with a cracked voice)!!"

In a split second, netizens who saw this new announcement were left speechless by the shock!

A 0.1-nanometer lithography machine!

This was a 0.1-nanometer lithography machine!

The netizens tingled with a wave of exhilarating goosebumps!

As everyone knew, the development of high-end scientific research was fundamentally inseparable from high-end chips. Previously, they had been held by the throat in this regard by various Western nations, forced not only to pay hundreds of billions in various patent fees annually but also to endure the mockery and suppression of Western powers.

Now, the Grand Academy of Sciences had quietly unleashed such a massive trump card, directly bypassing the technological blockade to achieve a counter-kill, and elevating the technical difficulty of lithography machines to a level that Western nations could not hope to catch up with for centuries!

This state of mind, this excitement, was simply beyond the power of language to express!

As for the fellows from the Western nations, upon seeing this announcement, their scalps practically exploded with shock!

While domestic netizens were thrilled, excited, and overjoyed, the Western fellows were completely different. Looking at the sophisticated chip displayed in the video, they fell into panic and terror!

Shangxia had unexpectedly and quietly produced such an unimaginable lithography machine!

This was something the people of the Western nations found impossible to accept, and even less willing to believe!

"No! This is impossible! This is definitely a video synthesized by you Shangxia people! It is absolutely impossible for you to be stronger than us, and utterly impossible for you to build a 0.1-nanometer lithography machine!"

Some Western fellows completely lost their psychological defense!

"Heh, the facts are right before your eyes, yet you still refuse to believe them. Simply laughable."

"Exactly, you claim this is synthesized by us, then may I ask what the purpose of synthesizing such a video would be? Could it just be to mess with you? Are you guys that bored?"

"Stop paying attention to them, let these Westerners have their mental breakdowns on their own!"

"Indeed, there's no need to waste words with them. From now on, we'll have our own cutting-edge chips. With them losing so many patent fees all at once, it's only natural for them to lose their minds!"

"Haha, well said upstairs. Before I go, I'd like to ask: is the person who said they'd eat shit still here? Surely they didn't run away in a mental breakdown?"

"..."

Countless domestic netizens were now excited to the absolute limit, while the fellows across the Western continent wore gloomy expressions one and all.

Especially the people of the Netherlands!

A short while ago, their technology for the three-nanometer lithography machine had been stolen, and now Shangxia had directly announced the invention of a 0.1-nanometer lithography machine.

This made them feel that there had to be a connection between the two events; they even suspected that Shangxia must have taken their three-nanometer lithography technology to develop the 0.1-nanometer version.

However, the technological gap between a three-nanometer lithography machine and a 0.1-nanometer one was wider than a heavenly chasm, making it hard for even themselves to believe such a claim.

"Damn it, our technology was definitely stolen by those damn Shangxia people! They must pay the price for this!"

Certain high-ranking officials of the Netherlands cursed angrily, proposing to publicize the earlier theft of their lithography technology to subject Shangxia to condemnation!

However, this proposal was ultimately vetoed.

On one hand, Shangxia now had the classmate-class intercontinental missiles backing them up. Even if publicized, other nations would not blindly follow along in condemnation without concrete evidence!

On the other hand, the lithography machine industry was the pillar industry of the entire Netherlands. Now that Shangxia had developed a 0.1-nanometer lithography machine, one could easily imagine that a massive wave of chip enterprises would defect to Shangxia, and the Dutch chip industry would soon face unprecedented blows!

If they were to announce at this juncture that even their most crucial lithography technology had once been stolen, it would undoubtedly cause the remaining enterprises—those unable to afford the high price of Shangxia's 0.1-nanometer lithography machine—to lose trust in them as well!

Such a consequence was something they simply could not bear!

At the mere thought of this, everyone in the Netherlands felt a sense of utter despair.

After years of painstaking efforts to blockade Shangxia's technology, retribution had finally arrived!

While the Netherlands was suffering to the absolute extreme, the domestic front was brimming with jubilation!

Because the Grand Academy of Sciences had initiated yet another livestream to address some of the circumstances behind the manufacturing of the 0.1-nanometer lithography machine.

The question asked most frequently was:

Why was the lithography machine also named after the classmate-class!

When the host posed this question, the entire internet fell into a brief silence once again.

Especially the people of various Western nations, who felt an ominous premonition rise within them!

Could it be that this 0.1-nanometer lithography machine was also successfully researched and developed with the help of that so-called mysterious classmate?

Premier chapter on the shelves, hoping older brothers can give plenty of support!

The next chapter is even more exciting!

(End of this chapter)