94: Chapter 94: The 19.9 yuan USB drive scared the top academician into fainting.

That cheap USB drive, the kind that costs 19.9 yuan with free shipping on Taobao, lay casually on the coffee table.

If it were thrown on the roadside, I'm afraid even a scavenger wouldn't bother to bend down to pick it up.

But in the eyes of Director Wu Zhenguo, this thing was heavier than the medals on his shoulders.

The old man's hands, which had signed countless top-secret official documents, were now trembling uncontrollably.

He didn't dare to pick it up directly; instead, he gave a look to the person beside him.

The old man beside him, with thinning hair and glasses as thick as beer bottle bottoms, practically lunged at the coffee table.

Wang Weimin, the pillar of China's semiconductor field, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

A man who usually remained calm even if Mount Tai collapsed before him was now cradling that USB drive as if it were a fragile, priceless treasure.

Security personnel quickly set up a ruggedized military laptop and cut off all wireless signals.

The interface was plugged in.

After a slight hum of electricity, the screen lit up.

Lu Li leaned back on the sofa, twirling a strand of Qingxue's hair in his hand, and nonchalantly spat out a string of numbers.

Password accepted.

The originally black screen was instantly filled with dense streams of data.

Wang Weimin pushed up his glasses, which had slid to the tip of his nose, his gaze scanning the rows of complex parameters.

At first, his expression was one of scrutiny, carrying the characteristic rigor and pickiness of an expert.

Ten seconds later.

His pupils contracted sharply, and the veins on his neck began to bulge.

"This... is this the fluid dynamics model for an immersion Lithography Machine?"

"No! This light source wavelength... 13.5 nm? How is it possible to stabilize the power at this value?!"

Wang Weimin's voice shifted from confusion to horror, and finally, it cracked.

His withered fingers tapped the keyboard frantically, calling up one blueprint after another.

The synchronization control scheme for the dual-stage system, the aberration correction algorithm for the objective lens system, and even the core photoresist formula...

Every single item was a blade held at China's throat by Western powers.

And now, these blades had been dismantled by Lu Li into their most primitive component diagrams, displayed on the screen without reservation.

This wasn't just technical data.

This was a "cheat sheet" that stripped the Western semiconductor industry bare!

"Crazy... simply crazy..."

Wang Weimin was almost pressed against the screen, muttering incoherently, his spit spraying all over the monitor.

"This aspheric lens polishing process is theoretically impossible to achieve... Wait!"

He flipped to the next page, seeing the specific process parameter flow.

It was a brand-new path that completely subverted existing physical common sense, yet was logically perfectly self-consistent.

It was like a higher-dimensional being casually drawing a circle in front of lower-dimensional beings, solving a knot that had plagued them for a century.

Director Wu Zhenguo watched his old friend's crazed state and actually already had an answer in his heart.

But he still needed a definitive answer.

"Old Wang, how is it?"

Wang Weimin didn't answer.

He seemed to have been drained of all his strength, suddenly collapsing backward onto the sofa backrest, his chest heaving violently, as if he had just finished a marathon.

Two lines of turbid tears slid down his wrinkled cheeks.

"Elder Wu..."

Wang Weimin's voice was hoarse, filled with a heart-wrenching ecstasy.

"It's real! It's all real!"

"With this thing, what ASML, what technical blockades—they're all jokes!"

"Give me three years... No! Give me one year!"

"I can make China's chips fill every corner of the world!"

Before the words even faded, this sixty-something-year-old academician suddenly rolled his eyes, his body went limp, and he fell straight over to the side.

Blood pressure spiked, brain hypoxia.

The stimulation was too great.

"Old Wang!"

"Academician Wang!"

The accompanying military doctor rushed up instantly, pinching his philtrum, taking his blood pressure, and feeding him quick-acting heart-saving pills; the living room was instantly in chaos.

Lu Li sat opposite, the hand holding the teacup pausing slightly.

He understood the old man's excitement; after all, he had experienced it in his previous life, but he hadn't expected him to actually faint.

He had even deleted some 3nm technical schemes, fearing it would scare them.

As it turned out, it still scared one into fainting.

Su Qingxue sat beside Lu Li, completely numb.

She was covering her mouth now, her eyes wide, filled with shock, wonder, and an intense, almost overflowing admiration.

She knew Lu Li was amazing, but she had never imagined that Lu Li was amazing to this extent.

A casual USB drive could actually scare a national-level chip titan into fainting.

This was too absurd.

A few minutes later, Wang Weimin slowly came to.

The moment he woke up, he shoved the military doctor away, his murky old eyes bursting with a wolf-like green light, staring fixedly at the USB drive on the table.

"Keep it safe! Keep it safe!"

"That is the nation's destiny! That is China's lifeline!"

Director Wu Zhenguo quickly gripped the USB drive in his palm, nodded solemnly, and then turned to Lu Li.

This man, who had experienced the vicissitudes of life, stood straight at this moment.

He straightened his collar, his expression solemn, and gave a slow salute to the lazy young man.

That was a salute on a national level.

This young man was able to develop a 5nm Lithography Machine; he didn't even bother to ponder how it was developed.

Just the fact that the other party was willing to donate it to the country was enough to make him unable to hold back his tears.

This technology, if placed abroad, would be worth trillions, but the other party donated it to the country without a word.

This could be called a national scholar; it was no different from the contributions of Elder Yuan and Elder Qian.

"Comrade Lu Li."

Director Wu Zhenguo's voice was steady and powerful, echoing in the luxurious living room.

"On behalf of the country, on behalf of the thousands of scientific researchers, thank you."

This bow was as heavy as Mount Tai.

Lu Li didn't dodge, but he didn't show any signs of being flattered either, just nodded calmly.

"Just a transaction, each getting what they need."

Director Wu Zhenguo straightened up, his gaze burning.

"This is not just a transaction."

"Lu Li, the position of Dean of the National Semiconductor Research Institute has been vacant."

"As long as you nod, you will be the uncrowned king of China's technology world. If you need people, the country will assign them to you; if you need money, the doors of the national treasury will be open to you."

"This is not just an honor, it is a responsibility."

Everyone's eyes were focused on Lu Li.

Su Qingxue's heart was pounding wildly.

Dean of the Semiconductor Research Institute... what an illustrious status? That was a position standing at the true pinnacle of power and glory!

As long as Lu Li nodded, Guanghui Technology could instantly become the number one giant in the country, and no one would dare to provoke them.

However.

Lu Li just yawned lazily, leaned against Su Qingxue, and buried his head in his wife's soft embrace.

"Not going."

Two words, crisp and clear, without the slightest hesitation.

Director Wu Zhenguo was stunned.

Wang Weimin was stunned.

Even Su Qingxue was dumbfounded.

"Why?" Director Wu Zhenguo couldn't help but ask, "Are there any concerns? If it's a security issue..."

"It's not a security issue."

Lu Li rubbed against Su Qingxue's embrace, finding a more comfortable position, his voice muffled but clear:

"Elder Wu, do I look like someone who can get up at eight in the morning to clock in for work?"

He pointed at himself, then at the blushing, bewildered Su Qingxue.

"My wife is beautiful, right?"

Director Wu Zhenguo nodded subconsciously.

"My family is rich, right?"

Director Wu Zhenguo looked at this mansion worth hundreds of millions and nodded again.

Lu Li spread his hands and said righteously:

"With a wife, children, and a warm bed, and eating soft rice is so delicious, why would I want to go to work so miserably?"

"Doing scientific research? Too tiring."

"My biggest dream in this life is to be a salted fish waiting to die."

"As long as the country doesn't let those blind flies bother me, like this kind of USB drive..."

Lu Li pointed at the USB drive that Director Wu Zhenguo was gripping tightly, a playful arc curling at the corner of his mouth.

"If I'm in a good mood, I'll churn out a few more for you."

The whole room was deathly silent.

Wang Weimin opened his mouth wide, his jaw almost dislocated.

If I'm in a good mood... churn out a few more?

Do you think this is scrubbing yourself in the bath?!

That's a Lithography Machine! It's the pearl on the crown of industry!