Chapter 559

"Advancing according to plan; the hardware installation for the nodes in the first five cities has been completed, and debugging is currently underway."

"Very good," Li Mingyuan stood up, "Tell Engineer Wang that I want to personally supervise this round of debugging. This is far more important than dealing with those reporters."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ocean, in a secret conference room at the Pentagon in the Star-Spangled Country, the atmosphere was so heavy it could almost drip water.

"Gentlemen," Secretary of Defense Wilson scanned the room, "We have invited the nation's top electronics and Computer experts. Please tell me, is the Longxin-III real or fake?"

The Chief Scientist of IBM, Johnson, cleared his throat: "Theoretically speaking, the functions demonstrated by the Longxin-III are completely impossible. The density of the Integrated Circuit, the processing power of the graphical interface, the system boot speed—each item is at least ten years ahead of us. Simply put, it is either a smoke screen, or..."

"Or what?" Wilson asked sharply.

Johnson swallowed with difficulty: "Or they have indeed achieved a technological leap at some secret base, in a way we are completely unable to understand."

"Nonsense!" A general at the Pentagon slammed the table and stood up, "That backward agricultural country was still fighting a civil war a few years ago; how could they possibly be ahead of us in Computer technology? It must be a smoke screen!"

The representative from Bell Labs mused: "We need to see the actual product with our own eyes and operate it ourselves to reach a conclusion. All current analysis is based on the recordings and photos from that press conference; these can all be faked."

Wilson nodded: "The intelligence agencies are already in action. I want to see a real Longxin-III on this table within a week. No matter how much it costs or what methods are used, I want to know the truth."

At the Kremlin in Beijixiong Guo, a similarly urgent meeting was also underway.

"I don't believe this is real," the First Secretary Koriakin roared, "That bunch of people in Long Country don't even have a proper industrial foundation; how could they possibly build something like this?"

The President of the Academy of Sciences, Kravchenko, said cautiously: "But, Comrade First Secretary, our experts analyzed every frame of the press conference and found no obvious signs of fakery."

"Analyze my foot!" Koriakin slammed his fist on the table, "I want the real thing! Send people immediately, through all channels, to get a Longxin-III. In addition, strengthen surveillance on Penglai Base; I want to know what the hell is going on there."

One week later, Penglai Base, Li Mingyuan's office.

Minister Zhang pushed the door open and entered, his face carrying an irrepressible smile: "Lao Li, the show has begun! The first batch of Longxin-III commercial prototypes has been shipped through special channels to several 'friendly' countries and those Western buyers who won the bids."

Li Mingyuan put down the work blueprints in his hand: "What is the reaction?"

"Crazy, everyone is crazy!" Minister Zhang laughed, "The Chief Engineer of the Swedish National Institute of Technology was stunned on the spot. That guy is a top student who graduated from MIT in the Star-Spangled Country; after seeing the Longxin-III boot up, he pinched himself three times to confirm he wasn't dreaming."

Li Mingyuan chuckled: "This is just the beginning. Only after they test it in depth will they truly understand what 'dimensional reduction strike' means."

"There's something even funnier," Minister Zhang lowered his voice, "According to reliable sources, agents from the Central Intelligence Agency of the Star-Spangled Country and the KGB of Beijixiong Guo are frantically fighting over our prototypes in a Zhongli Guo. The originally set price was fifty thousand dollars per unit, but it has already been bid up to two hundred thousand on the black market!"

Li Mingyuan raised an eyebrow: "Only two hundred thousand? Too cheap."

"You guy," Minister Zhang scolded with a smile, "Do you know what two hundred thousand dollars means right now? It's enough to buy half a small city!"

"No," Li Mingyuan smiled mysteriously, "For those who truly know their stuff, the Longxin-III is worth much more. That is not just a Computer, but the key to the future."

Sweden, Stockholm National Institute of Technology.

In the laboratory, over a dozen top scientists surrounded a Longxin-III, their expressions dazed, as if they had just witnessed the resurrection of Jesus.

"This is impossible..." Chief Engineer Eriksson muttered to himself for the fifth time, "I saw it with my own eyes, operated it with my own hands... this fucking thing is impossible!"

"The Integrated Circuit density is at least thirty times that of our laboratory prototype," one electronics engineer murmured, "The memory capacity is fifty times that of our most advanced Computer, yet the volume is only one-tenth..."

"But the most incredible thing is the operating system," another software expert said, "The real-time response of the graphical interface, multi-tasking, network connectivity... these are concepts we have only just begun to discuss in theory, and they have already realized them."

Eriksson picked up the phone: "Call the embassy of the Star-Spangled Country and tell them the Longxin-III is real, one hundred percent real. This is not magic, not a smoke screen; this is a truly existing technological miracle."

Embassy of the Star-Spangled Country, encrypted communications room.

"Urgent intelligence, top-secret level. Longxin-III confirmed to be real, performance matches official claims. The Swedish National Institute of Technology has completed preliminary testing, and the results are shocking. Recommend immediate action to acquire more prototypes and technical details at any cost. Repeat, at any cost."

The telegraph operator's hands were shaking; he knew what kind of earthquake this news would cause at the Pentagon.

Meanwhile, intelligence agencies around the world received similar confirmation reports. The Longxin-III was not a hoax, but a real technological breakthrough, and far more advanced than imagined.

A war without smoke broke out instantly. Governments of various countries issued the same death order to their diplomats and agents stationed in Long Country: "At any cost, buy the equipment!"

On the black market, the price of the Longxin-III soared like a rocket. Two hundred thousand, five hundred thousand, one million... There are rumors that a certain agency in Beijixiong Guo even offered a sky-high price of three million dollars just to get a complete version without any usage restrictions.

Penglai Base, late at night.

Li Mingyuan stood in front of the window, looking at the flickering lights outside the base wall in the distance. Those were agents and intelligence personnel from various countries, monitoring this mysterious base day and night, trying to peek at the secrets within.

"It seems our Longxin-III has completely ignited the world's intelligence community," Li Mingyuan said to Minister Zhang behind him, "Intelligence agencies estimate that at least two hundred foreign agents have flooded into the surrounding area in the past week."

Minister Zhang sneered: "Let them watch; they won't see anything anyway. But what about those black market transactions—should we do something about them?"

Li Mingyuan shook his head: "No need to worry, let them fight over it; the higher the price is bid, the better. Remember, what we are selling are all strictly restricted commercial versions; the core technology hasn't been revealed at all."