Chapter 564: Hard to Catch Up

Li Mingyuan took it and scanned it quickly. Every report was covering the same news: the "Chinese Barrier" of the Longxin-III had caused Western tech giants and intelligence agencies to hit a collective wall.

"'The Impenetrable Eastern Labyrinth,'" Li Mingyuan softly read the headline of a Star-Spangled Country newspaper, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly, "'Chinese Programming: Long Country's Secret Weapon,' it seems our little trick has been discovered."

"Not just discovered, it has practically detonated the entire Western world," Secretary Zhang said, "The Wajiaobu just sent word that representatives from at least seventeen countries are already lined up waiting to negotiate technology licensing with us. Even more interestingly, even Beijixiong Guo has sent secret envoys, hoping to obtain the full version of Longxin through 'special channels'."

A sharp glint flashed in Li Mingyuan's eyes: "Beijixiong Guo? It seems they have already begun to fracture internally. Tell me, when will Minister Zhang return?"

"This afternoon. He went to the capital to attend an emergency high-level meeting to discuss how to respond to this sudden 'Longxin fever'."

Li Mingyuan nodded: "Very good, I need to discuss the next steps in detail with him. Right now, the global chessboard is being reshuffled, and we hold the most critical pieces."

Washington D. C., White House.

Inside the Tuoyuanying Bangongshi, the atmosphere was as heavy as lead. The President of the Star-Spangled Country looked grim as he listened to a special briefing from the National Security Council.

"So," the President said slowly, "you are telling me that our best scientists and intelligence personnel have been completely defeated by a bunch of Chinese square characters?"

Secretary of Defense Wilson nodded with difficulty: "Yes, sir. The genius of the Long Country people lies not only in creating technology that is at least twenty years ahead of us, but also in their clever use of a cultural barrier as a protective layer. Unless we can train a large number of experts who are both proficient in Chinese and familiar with cutting-edge computer science, it is almost impossible to crack their technology in the short term."

"Is this a joke?" the President slammed the table and stood up in anger, "It's the end of the fifties, we are about to send a man to the moon, yet we are defeated by a few Chinese characters?"

The Secretary of State said softly: "Sir, the severity of the problem far exceeds our initial expectations. The emergence of the Longxin-III and the Pangu System is not just a technical challenge, but a shock to our entire world order. Many traditional Zhongli Guo have already begun to lean toward the Long Country, hoping to acquire this technology. If we let this trend continue..."

"What will happen?" the President asked sternly.

"The rules of the game in the information age will be set by the Long Country," the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency took over the topic, "Whoever controls the flow of information controls the future. If Longxin and the Pangu System become the global standard, we will be at an unprecedented disadvantage in the new Cold War."

The President was silent for a moment, then turned to the National Science Advisor who had remained silent in the corner: "Is there any hope for the 'Prometheus Project'? Can we catch up to them?"

The Science Advisor hesitated for a moment: "In the long run, yes, we have enough resources and talent. But in the short term... I'm afraid it's difficult. The Long Country people seem to have skipped several stages of technological development and directly achieved multiple breakthroughs that we are still at the theoretical stage for. To catch up with such a lead, even with massive investment, will take several years."

"Then what should we do?" a rare hint of helplessness appeared in the President's voice.

The Secretary of State cleared his throat: "We may need to consider some more pragmatic options. For example, establishing limited technical exchanges with the Long Country to at least obtain partial licensing rights for Longxin. At the same time, we must accelerate our own research and development process to prevent the gap from widening further."

"Compromise with the Long Country?" the President looked at him in disbelief, "I would rather..."

"Sir," the Secretary of Defense interrupted, "we must face reality. Intelligence shows that Beijixiong Guo has already begun secret contacts with the Long Country, seeking technical cooperation. If they establish a connection first, we will be in an even more disadvantageous position."

The President's face turned even gloomier. He stood up, walked to the window, and stared at the White House lawn: "Give me three days to consider. At the same time, I want to see all possible options, including the most extreme ones."

Moscow, Kremlin.

"This is a disgrace! An absolute disgrace!" Minister of Defense Gromov slammed the report onto the conference table, "We should take action immediately and teach the Long Country people a lesson!"

The First Secretary Koriakin ignored his outburst and turned to the President of the Academy of Sciences: "Comrade Kravchenko, your assessment?"

Kravchenko carefully organized his words: "From a technical perspective, the Longxin-III does indeed represent a revolutionary leap in computer science. They are not only ahead of us in hardware, but have also created an entirely new software system. What is most worrying is that we cannot even determine how much leading technology they possess, because the Chinese Barrier has blocked our avenues of analysis."

"Then what are our options?" Koriakin asked calmly.

"I believe there are two paths," Kravchenko said, "One is to go all-out on independent research and development, investing maximum resources to catch up with the Long Country. This path is difficult and long, but it ensures our technological independence. The second is to seek cooperation with the Long Country in exchange for partial technology transfer or usage rights. This path is faster, but implies a certain degree of dependence."

"Cooperation? Cooperate with those who betrayed the revolution?" Gromov roared, "We should obtain the technology in a more direct way!"

Koriakin's sharp gaze swept toward him: "Are you suggesting military action against a socialist country that possesses nuclear weapons, Comrade Gromov?"

Gromov was speechless, but still unwilling to give up: "At least we should consider special operations to conduct precision strikes to obtain the technical data."

"And then what?" the Minister of Foreign Affairs interjected, "Even if we successfully steal all the data, who will crack those Chinese codes? We have very few technical experts in our country who are familiar with Chinese, and most only understand basic Chinese; they would be unable to understand professional technical terminology at all."

Koriakin pondered for a moment and made a decision: "We need a two-pronged approach. On one hand, accelerate independent R&D, and on the other, secretly contact the Long Country to explore the possibility of limited technical cooperation." He turned to Gromov, "At the same time, maintain surveillance on Penglai Base, but do not take any military action unless I personally approve it."

"Comrade First Secretary," the Intelligence Department Head said cautiously, "according to the latest intelligence, the Long Country seems to be considering establishing some kind of technical standard and licensing framework to open Longxin technology to certain countries. If the Star-Spangled Country gets there first..."

A flash of alertness appeared in Koriakin's eyes: "Arrange it immediately, I want to meet with the Long Country ambassador personally. Tell him that Beijixiong Guo is willing to engage in the highest-level dialogue regarding Longxin technology."