Chapter 18#

After returning from the book club, Qiao Jing was clearly stimulated by something.

But seeing that he was coding six thousand words a day, 008 generously decided not to ask what exactly happened.

Anyway, as long as it got reputation points, that was enough!

“That ‘Friend from Afar’ wrote another long review for you,” it lazily lay beside Qiao Jing’s mouse, countless data streams flashing through its large cat eyes. “Want to see it?”

Qiao Jing’s typing paused, but he quickly resumed coding: “Later.”

Anyway, it was probably just using various comparative analyses and tabular data to argue that he shouldn’t delay updates or take leave.

“This reader is a bit like my former thesis advisor,” Qiao Jing said, rarely speaking such a long sentence in one breath. “When he thinks what you’ve written is a pile of dog shit, he’ll only look at you with the eyes one uses for dog shit; but if he thinks you’re salvageable, he’ll start quoting classics and criticize you into worthlessness.”

Although this “Friend from Afar” didn’t criticize his writing, in terms of urging for updates, he was truly hardcore to the extreme.

So much so that now, as soon as his ID appeared in the comment section, readers would spontaneously start building floors and cheering for the big shot below.

However, there was a reason why Han Youpeng had been so excited recently.

Song of the Earth did not disappoint him. In the latest chapter, Han Youpeng finally saw the photolithography machine he had been dreaming of appear. But when he saw “1nm process” clearly written in the text, this internationally renowned crystallographer even felt like he was dreaming—

1nm, what kind of concept is that!?

The EUV 3400B photolithography machine, as the highest level of human manufacturing technology currently, can produce 5nm chips. The country has worked hard for so many years, yet can only produce 90nm chips, still a certain distance from mass production.

And each level of photolithography machine represents a disruptive milestone technology. With the current development of theoretical physics, humanity can at most produce 3nm chips. At this scale, not only will quantum tunneling phenomena affect the operation of transistors, but it also involves diffraction analysis methods of material structures at the atomic scale—because at the atomic level, all human research on circuits becomes a piece of waste paper!

This was no longer just a simple chip manufacturing or even integrated circuit industry innovation problem. The related theories proposed in Song of the Earth completely, by its own power, pulled the “third dark cloud” over the edifice of physics since the birth of relativity and quantum mechanics!

The consequences it might cause could even surpass the previous two major theories, completely subverting the foundation of the entire edifice of physics!

Han Youpeng pinched his philtrum while eagerly flipping through the update. At this moment, he even had an impulse of “if one hears the Dao in the morning, one can die in the evening without regret.”

However, he wasn’t the only one going crazy.

“Big shot, you really dare to write…”

Ji Nanqiu put down his phone, trembling.

He didn’t even need to look to know that the forum must have exploded by now.

Under his influence, this largest gathering place for military fans in the country had completely turned into a large-scale update-chasing scene for Song of the Earth. And to avoid leaking “state secrets,” he had specifically messaged the administrator to “harmonize” (censor) the original discussion thread and developed a complete set of jargon to refer to the characters in Song of the Earth. He even strictly forbade others from mentioning the author and book title in the forum.

Although Ji Nanqiu hadn’t expected this to hide the spies for long, he still didn’t expect Yan Heqing to be so bold in his writing!

“At this time, it’s our Strategic Deception Bureau’s turn to go online!” he said, rubbing his hands together. “Drag it out as long as possible. To give the country time to research and achieve results, let’s first fool those foreigners until they’re crippled!”

What, you say the country is too busy to research aerospace, chips, and nuclear fusion?

Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

Military fan: Charge, Rabbit (China)! Across the sea is Eagle Sauce (USA)!

Rabbit: “…”

The waters on the internet became increasingly muddied. And surprisingly, the actions of these military fans actually had an effect. Although there were many spies who understood Chinese, Song of the Earth was, after all, just a web novel serialized on a novel website. If you added various jargon, and mixed true and false information together, it was very normal for people to find it incredible.

Like the former CIA director, wasn’t he fooled?

Father Qiao looked at the report handed to him by his subordinate, a headache coming on: “This Yan Heqing, he really knows how to stir things up. I’m just a scholar who analyzes public opinion, and I’m already semi-retired…”

The higher-ups decided to prioritize conservatism and try to control the spread of information.

Just as the military fans thought, what the country needed most right now was time.

Just like the nuclear weapons back then, even if they had to tighten their belts, they had to develop them!

“However, if one day I really get to see this thing go into space, then I truly will have no regrets dying.” Father Qiao looked at the projection on the wall, which was playing a CG image of an aerospace carrier based on the “Luanbird” prototype from Song of the Earth, produced by the intelligence department.

In the video, the cold, sleek steel body cut through the sky, its massive wings casting a shadow on the ground, bringing a trembling sense of oppression.

According to the book’s description, this was a super behemoth with a wingspan of 682 meters, an empty weight of 47,000 tons, carrying two nuclear fusion reactors, 38 composite engines, and 12 force field propulsion units. It was an unrivaled sky overlord of the future era!

In addition, the aircraft carrier was escorted by several small cruise missiles and fighter jets. These were unmanned aerospace combat aircraft named “Xuan Nü,” capable of ensuring the country’s air superiority in future battlefields and completely suppressing targets with firepower.

“If it’s not put into practice, a novel will always just be a novel,” the higher-ups said after watching this video, remaining silent for a long time. “Let Yan Heqing write freely; we will make it a reality.”

In this world, there must be both pioneers who transcend their era and practical doers who work diligently.

—And when the state machinery of a superpower operates at full capacity, the tide of the times will crush all obstacles in its path of development with an irresistible force.

When 008 told Qiao Jing that it had collected 200,000 reputation points, less than half a year had passed since Song of the Earth began serialization.

“You’re really amazing,” the little black cat exclaimed sincerely. “To have collected so many reputation points in such a short time is unprecedented even in the history of headquarters.”

Qiao Jing sat cross-legged on the grass in the virtual space, looking up at the solar conversion architecture and steel jungle that covered the sky above. His expression was as calm as if he hadn’t heard 008’s praise at all.

The design named “Project Sun Chaser” gradually took shape in his mind. The virtual space, in his imagination, transformed into a bizarre future world centered around highly developed computer technology.

But the scene before him, which could instantly kill any special effects blockbuster, made Qiao Jing’s brows furrow deeply.

He was currently simulating the protagonist Yang Liu’s thoughts. As the chief engineer of the future world, this was Yang Liu’s imagined future era.

Digitalization, technological sense, thought networks, information explosion, artificial intelligence.

—But it wasn’t the result Qiao Jing wanted.

“No, completely wrong,” he instinctively felt that something crucial was missing from this world, which made Qiao Jing feel anxious. “What exactly did I overlook?”

But until Qiao Jing left the virtual world, he still hadn’t figured out the answer.

—And when Jing Xinglan pushed the door open and came in, what he saw was the black-haired young man lying dejectedly on the floor, motionless as if dead.

“What’s wrong with you!?”

He was startled, but after learning the reason, Jing Xinglan immediately showed a “didn’t know whether to laugh or cry” expression: “So it’s just because the author under you has writer’s block? I thought something serious had happened; you didn’t even close the door.”

Qiao Jing hadn’t forgotten his ostensible profession as a web editor, but he really had no time to bother with Jing Xinglan right now. His mind was still full of the question of what he had overlooked.

“I downloaded a Liuliu Web app,” seeing Qiao Jing not speaking, Jing Xinglan was used to it. He found a spot on the sofa and sat down, saying with a somewhat complex tone, “How should I put it… it feels like discovering a new continent.”

Such a poor website, is it really not a shell company opened specifically for money laundering?

“But there are indeed some very well-written books,” Jing Xinglan recalled Song of the Earth and sighed. “I’m very picky about what I read. After Jing Hua Shui Yue terminated his contract, I haven’t found a novel worth reading for a long time.”

Qiao Jing wasn’t worried about his identity being exposed.

He was famously versatile in writing styles, and Song of the Earth was a genre he had never tried before. Let alone Jing Xinglan, even Wang Cheng hadn’t discovered that Yan Heqing was actually his alternate account.

So upon hearing Jing Xinglan’s words, he merely lifted his eyelids and gave an noncommittal “Mm.”

“So, if you have any questions about web novels, you can also have that author talk to me,” Jing Xinglan continued. “I’ve read novels for so many years; maybe I can give him some inspiration.”

Qiao Jing was silent for a moment, then suddenly looked up at him:

“Do you have any wine at home?”