Chapter 556: Announcing Pangu

"I have only one request," Department Head Zhang said half-jokingly, "once your network is built, you must let me be the first user."

Li Mingyuan laughed, "Of course, Department Head Zhang. But I must warn you, don't get addicted to the wonderful content on it when the time comes and neglect your work."

"Is it that fun?" Department Head Zhang asked curiously.

A flash of cunning crossed Li Mingyuan's eyes as he thought of the elderly people in the 21st century who were addicted to short videos, "It's a hundred times more wonderful than you imagine."

Three weeks later, Penglai Base.

Li Mingyuan stood in a temporarily converted studio, surrounded by busy technicians and photographers who were making final preparations for the upcoming global technology launch event.

"Dim the lights a bit more, we need to highlight the silhouette of the central workstation," Li Mingyuan directed, "Lower the camera angle, make the Longxin-III look more solemn and mysterious."

This was a carefully orchestrated "performance"—leveraging the sensation caused globally by the "Kunpeng" and "Sea Eagle" incidents, the Long Country authorities announced they would hold a "Technology Achievement Exhibition," inviting global media to watch via television broadcast or recording. Once this news broke, major global media outlets immediately boiled over, and countless reporters scrambled to secure attendance credentials.

Department Head Zhang walked into the studio, followed by several Advanced officials. He looked around and clicked his tongue in wonder, "Lao Li, you've really put on quite a show here."

"It's necessary," Li Mingyuan smiled mysteriously, "This isn't just a technology demonstration; it's a strategic psychological war. We want the whole world to see Long Country's determination and strength to lead the future."

"Is that the Longxin-III?" Department Head Zhang pointed at the equipment in the center of the stage.

It was a square computer case with a simple appearance, about half the size of an ordinary office desk, paired with a square monitor and a strange little device—a mouse. At the time, mainstream computers globally were behemoths that often occupied entire rooms, were complex to operate, and slow to start. The size and appearance of this Longxin-III simply seemed to come from another era.

"Yes, this is our secret weapon," Li Mingyuan patted the case lightly, "A secret weapon even more lethal than the Kunpeng."

"More powerful than the Kunpeng?" Department Head Zhang was somewhat incredulous, "That is a monster capable of hitting 350 knots on the sea surface."

Li Mingyuan said meaningfully: "The Kunpeng can change the military landscape, but the Longxin-III and the Pangu Operating System will change the course of the entire human civilization."

On the day of the launch, the studio was packed, with reporters and diplomats from countries all over the world crowding every corner. Television cameras were aimed at the stage, ready to broadcast this historic moment to every part of the world.

"Still nervous?" Department Head Zhang asked Li Mingyuan backstage.

Li Mingyuan straightened his collar, "It would be a lie to say I'm not nervous. After all, I'm about to show off and slap faces in front of the whole world; this is the ultimate dream of a transmigrator." Of course, he only muttered the last half of the sentence to himself.

"Remember, be confident, but don't be too arrogant," Department Head Zhang cautioned, "We want to awe, not provoke."

Li Mingyuan nodded, took a deep breath, and walked onto the stage.

Dazzling lights illuminated his figure, and countless flashes flickered. Li Mingyuan scanned the audience below, seeing countless expectant, curious, and skeptical gazes, and even several "scientists" who were clearly sent by the Star-Spangled Country and Beijixiong Guo, staring intently at the equipment in the center of the stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Li Mingyuan opened in fluent Star-Spangled Country language (this was another small detail that shocked the foreign audience—that this Long Country scientist's foreign language was so fluent), "Thank you all for coming to the Long Country technology launch. Today, I will demonstrate a technology that may change the future of humanity."

He paused deliberately to give the translators time to work and to let the anticipation build in the hearts of the audience.

"Over the past few months, everyone has been very concerned about our country's 'Kunpeng' and 'Sea Eagle'. But today, what I am going to show is not a weapon system, but a more peaceful and revolutionary technology."

Li Mingyuan walked to the center of the stage and stood next to the Longxin-III.

"This is the Longxin-III personal workstation, powered by our independently developed 'Pangu' Operating System."

Someone in the audience whispered, asking what a "personal workstation" meant, but they were soon stunned by the demonstration Li Mingyuan performed next.

"First, let's look at the boot speed."

Li Mingyuan pressed the power button, and at the same time, the monitor's image was projected onto the big screen so that all the audience could see it clearly. Traditional computer startups usually took several long minutes, accompanied by a series of complex manual operations.

However, the Longxin-III completed its startup in just a few seconds, and a clean and beautiful interface appeared on the screen—this was a graphical user interface, a concept unheard of in the computer world at the time.

A wave of surprised murmurs immediately broke out in the audience.

"As you can see, the Longxin-III adopts a brand-new way of interaction," Li Mingyuan said calmly, as if this were perfectly normal, "There is no longer a need to memorize complex command lines; anyone can operate it easily through this graphical interface."

He picked up the mouse and clicked easily on the screen to open a folder. Another gasp went through the audience—this kind of intuitive operation was simply as incredible as magic at the time.

"This little device is called a 'mouse'; it allows the user to point and select content directly on the screen, which is more intuitive and efficient than typing commands on a keyboard."

Li Mingyuan then demonstrated opening and switching between multiple windows, which was pure fantasy in the computer world of that time. He switched easily between a word processor and a spreadsheet, entered data, and performed simple calculations, all with smooth and natural movements.

"The Pangu Operating System has built-in utility programs, including word processing, spreadsheets, simple drawing, and other functions," Li Mingyuan introduced, "Users do not need professional computer knowledge to complete complex work."

The Star-Spangled Country reporters in the audience were already dumbfounded; they had never seen such a "futuristic" computer system. The representatives from IBM and Bell Labs were even more ashen-faced—they knew what this meant.

"Finally, and most importantly," Li Mingyuan pointed to another computer and a printer in the corner of the room, "The Longxin-III supports network connectivity to achieve resource sharing."

He clicked a few times, sent a document to the other computer, and instructed the assistant there to print it out. A few seconds later, the printer began to work, and a sheet of paper was slowly ejected.