Chapter 509: Computer Press Conference

Three days later, Penglai Base, reception hall.

Top computer experts and famous technology reporters from countries all over the world gathered together. Among them were Professor Hansen from MIT in the Star-Spangled Country, Academician Ivanov from the Academy of Sciences of Beijixiong Guo, a computer scientist from Oxford University in John Bull's land, an electronics engineering expert from France, and reporters from top international media such as The New York Times, The Times, and Le Figaro.

The atmosphere was both tense and excited; members of the various national delegations whispered to each other, their eyes filled with anticipation and skepticism.

Professor Hansen of the Star-Spangled Country "ran into" Academician Ivanov of Beijixiong Guo. The two pretended to meet for the first time and exchanged pleasantries, but in reality, they exchanged a knowing look.

"I think we have both come with the same purpose," Hansen said in a low voice, using the code they had agreed upon at the Geneva science conference, "to expose this farce."

"Of course," Ivanov nodded imperceptibly, "Easterners always like to exaggerate. I am very much looking forward to seeing how they explain that so-called 'Integrated Circuit'."

The two exchanged a tacit smile, as if they had already foreseen the scene where the Long Country's technological lie would be exposed.

At ten o'clock sharp in the morning, Minister Zhang appeared at the front of the hall and announced a welcome to the guests from various countries. After a brief speech, he introduced today's protagonist: "Next, please allow me to introduce the Chief Engineer of the 'Pangu Project', Comrade Li Mingyuan."

Li Mingyuan walked forward, dressed in a simple dark blue Zhongshan suit, forming a sharp contrast with the formal wear of the Western scientists present. He looked around at everyone and revealed a calm smile:

"Friends who have come from afar, welcome to Penglai. Today, we will not have a long-winded discussion; we will go directly to visit Core No. 1 Factory and let the facts speak for themselves."

The short and powerful opening remarks won the favor of the reporters present, who one after another recorded their first impressions of this mysterious scientist: confident, direct, and unpretentious.

The group followed Li Mingyuan through layers of security checks and arrived outside Core No. 1 Factory. The factory building looked plain and unremarkable, far from the image of high-tech facilities in the Western imagination. Many reporters showed expressions of disappointment on their faces, seemingly feeling that this ordinary industrial building could not possibly give birth to any revolutionary technology.

"This is the core base of the 'Pangu Project'?" a reporter from The New York Times whispered mockingly, "It looks like an ordinary warehouse."

Professor Hansen, standing beside him, did not let his guard down: "Appearances are often deceptive; stay focused."

The large door slowly opened, and the group followed Li Mingyuan into the interior of the factory. As the last person entered, the door closed, all the lights went out, and the entire space plunged into complete darkness.

"What kind of trick is this?" someone asked nervously.

In the darkness, Li Mingyuan's voice sounded calmly: "Sometimes, to see the future clearly, we need to first cast off the shackles of the past. Everyone, please prepare yourselves mentally; what you are about to see will completely change your understanding of computer technology."

As soon as he finished speaking, the lights suddenly all turned on, and the intense light forced everyone to squint. When their vision gradually adjusted, the scene before them made everyone instantly hold their breath.

Inside the huge factory building, thirty silver devices were neatly arranged. Each was indeed the size of a household refrigerator, with a simple and elegant surface design. In front was a display screen, a set of control buttons, and a small device similar to a telephone receiver. Most striking of all, each device had a series of indicator lights flashing rhythmically; from a distance, these points of light looked like a flowing galaxy, beautiful and mysterious.

Even more shocking was that dozens of staff members in the factory were working intently in front of these devices; some were operating screens, some were analyzing data, and some were debugging programs. The entire scene was orderly and full of high-efficiency modernity.

"This..." Professor Hansen's voice was hoarse with shock, "This is..."

"Everyone," Li Mingyuan announced proudly, "this is the working environment of the 'Pangu-III' Integrated Circuit Computer system. Each device possesses the capability equivalent to one thousand mathematicians calculating continuously for one hundred years. They are connected through an internal network to form a powerful computing cluster, supporting our scientific research, engineering, and military projects."

The entire room was deathly silent; everyone was too shocked by the scene before them to speak. Compared to the behemoths they were familiar with that occupied entire rooms and relied on vacuum tubes to operate, these small, elegant, and obviously more powerful machines seemed to come from another world.

The reporter from The Times broke the silence first: "Doctor Li, may I ask if these machines are really... all functioning computers? They aren't models or props?"

Li Mingyuan smiled slightly: "Of course they are real, working computers. In fact, these 'Pangu-III' units have been running continuously for three months without a single failure. Please follow me, and I will demonstrate their actual working conditions."

He led the group toward one of the slightly more special "Pangu-III" units. This device was placed on a slightly elevated platform, with an observation area set up around it.

"This is a display unit we prepared specifically for today," Li Mingyuan explained, "its configuration is exactly the same as the other machines, but for the convenience of your observation, we have made special arrangements."

He stood in front of the device and gently lifted the dust cover of the casing, revealing the internal structure. Everyone eagerly pushed forward, wanting to catch a glimpse of the true face of this mysterious device.

The scene inside shocked everyone once again—completely different from the complex circuit boards, dense vacuum tubes or transistors, and massive cooling systems of Western computers, the interior of the "Pangu-III" was surprisingly simple, with only a few palm-sized circuit boards, some neatly arranged small boxes (later confirmed to be Storage Units), and an extremely sophisticated power system. The volume of the entire core part was actually only about 0.5 cubic meters!

"This is impossible!" Professor Hansen shouted out of composure, rushing forward and reaching out to touch the machine's casing, "The temperature is almost at room temperature! Where did the heat generated by such a computational load go? This kind of cooling efficiency is impossible to achieve!"

Academician Ivanov also stopped pretending, kneeling on the ground to carefully examine the machine's interfaces and connections, suddenly roaring: "This violates the laws of physics! Such a small volume cannot possibly contain enough computing components!"

Li Mingyuan stood to the side, calmly watching the near-out-of-control reactions of these two "experts," then said softly: "Gentlemen, science never violates the laws of physics; it only constantly expands our understanding of the laws of physics. Integrated Circuit Technology is exactly like this—it does not simply shrink components, but changes the basic architecture of electronic devices."

He walked to the console and pressed the start button: "Now, please allow me to demonstrate the true capabilities of the 'Pangu-III'."