Chapter 156: The Terrifying Cost of Chips

Qin Suuming was stunned, and then, like a defeated man, his gun dropped straight to the ground.

"I never imagined, I never imagined that you actually belong to the most mysterious Eighteenth Squad. I truly never imagined it!" Qin Suuming forced a bitter smile.

Long Cheng said nothing. With a wave of his hand, several men stepped forward and escorted Qin Suuming away.

"Gentlemen, my apologies for startling you!"

The men had no other thoughts at this point, looking at Long Cheng with fearful eyes.

Long Cheng rubbed his nose and smiled helplessly.

The Third Bureau of the Confidentiality Agency is a special department serving only Number One, akin to the powerful and secretive agencies like the Grand Court of Justice in ancient times.

Few people know of it, and everyone who does is reluctant to speak of it.

The Third Bureau serves Number One, but it truly operates under the direct command of the previous Number One, while the current Number One merely holds a nominal title.

When high-ranking national officials retire—provided they are not brought down for violating state laws—do they truly think they can live peacefully?

Upon reaching such high echelons, even after retirement, one holds numerous secrets, such as the locations of nuclear launch bases or certain doomsday shelters.

All retiring individuals have two choices: First, join the Third Bureau as part of the management, investigating illegal activities among domestic elites and cracking down on major crimes endangering national security.

Second, become part of the Elder Council, a legendary sphere of power.

Every single member of that department was once a head of state, premier, minister of national defense, or chief of the general staff.

A country holds many secrets. When you assume national leadership, it is impossible to know all of them. Under a system like that of the United States, the first-term president knows one-fifth of the nation's secrets. If you are re-elected to a second term, you know half of the secrets. If you manage a third term, you learn secrets that even the world cannot fathom, such as alien civilizations.

After World War II, US presidents could serve a maximum of three terms. If you attempted a fourth, an accident would certainly befall you.

China operates under a red regime, yet even upon assuming national leadership, one cannot know all secrets; others are revealed only after retirement. These are absolute top secrets concerning the survival of the nation.

It was once said that the public national leaders control only one-third of the nation's military might, while the hidden elders wield absolute, extinction-level power.

In China, the Elder Council is the most mysterious, while the Third Bureau is the most terrifying existence.

The political winds in Yanjing shifted violently. The Qin Group, which had been prosperous just yesterday, collapsed in an instant. A conglomerate spanning over a dozen countries and valued in the hundreds of billions vanished in the blink of an eye. Though the upheaval in Yanjing was immense, the news was strictly controlled, and not a single whisper regarding the Qin Group leaked out.

Yet, in the eyes of the elite, at least some news trickled through. The Qin family had crossed a fundamental red line, and the state had liquidated them.

The fate of the Qin family served as a stern warning to many. A colossal enterprise like the Qin Group collapsed overnight without the slightest warning. When the state made its move, its power was truly irresistible.

In the South China Sea, missiles streaked across the sky, accompanied by submarines, warships, simulated warfare, and anti-amphibious landing operations.

Zhu Lan said nothing, sitting quietly. Though watching the exercises, his attention was drawn elsewhere.

The drills continued for a long time. As the sun set, the South China Sea Fleet appeared magnificent in the twilight.

Zhu Lan enjoyed a maritime feast, but the fleet did not return to port; night combat exercises were scheduled for later that evening.

"Unaccustomed to it?" Li Hongjin asked, walking over to stand beside Zhu Lan outside the bridge.

Zhu Lan shook his head. "Not at all, I've simply never witnessed a modern fleet from such close quarters before!"

"Indeed! A modern fleet!"

Li Hongjin gazed out emotionally at the surrounding warships. Under the cover of night, even without all the lights blazing, the missile launchers and close-in weapon systems radiated an overwhelming deterrent force.

"Greetings, Chief!"

Zhu Lan was deep in thought when Number Two approached from somewhere unnoticed.

Number Two pressed a hand downward. "Drop that formal title; just treat me as an ordinary person!"

Zhu Lan offered a wry smile.

"Feeling a bit strange about all this?" Number Two looked at him with an ambiguous smile.

Zhu Lan made no attempt to hide it and nodded slightly.

"You did a remarkable thing—at the very least, it was a major event for the country!"

Zhu Lan pondered for a moment. "Are you referring to the Qin family?"

Number Two looked at him in surprise. "You knew?"

"Of course. Red Queen provides me with the latest world news every day. Although the state blocked information on this front, a few leaks slipped through, making it quite easy to piece together."

Number Two cast a surprised glance at Zhu Lan. "Now I'm starting to envy you a bit!"

Zhu Lan smiled without a word.

"Since you already know, let me thank you on behalf of the nation!"

Zhu Lan waved his hand. "Chief, you're going to shorten my lifespan with talk like that!"

Number Two laughed.

"You, oh you!"

"Besides, this was what I should have done in the first place. I suppose you know about the Canglong incident, Chief. I started my company merely to make money, research virtual reality technology, and perhaps secure the title of the 'Father of Virtual Reality' after my death—isn't that a wonderful thing?"

"I only wanted to run a legitimate business, but unfortunately, certain people domestically always rely on their seniority to bully others, which has been quite a nuisance for me!"

"Just as General Xu predicted, you do love to stir the pot!"

Zhu Lan smiled awkwardly.

"Regardless, thank you for this matter. If not for your reminder, we wouldn't have pulled on that vine and dug up such a massive melon."

"Regarding the loan you discussed with General Xu earlier, the state has approved it. People from the Central Bank will contact you later, and you can handle it as you see fit!"

"Really? It's already approved?"

Number Two smiled helplessly. "How is your business sense again?"

"No, no!"

"One hundred billion, I always felt it was a bit too..."

"You needn't worry about that minor detail. Can't you repay it?"

"Of course I can repay it!" On this point, Zhu Lan held absolute confidence.

"Isn't that settled then?" Number Two said, gazing into the distance.

Zhu Lan froze, realizing it really was that simple.

"General Xu expressed his stance earlier, and I shall state the stance of the Central Committee as well! The nation will never mistreat anyone who has contributed to the country. On that, you can rest easy!"

"Chief, what are you saying? I haven't really done anything significant!"

"Besides, my heart is utterly devoted to the country!"

Number Two nodded with gratification. "We know that. It is precisely because we knew that we are having this conversation today, isn't it?"

Zhu Lan nodded. "I understand!"

"As long as you understand!" With that, Number Two turned and walked back into the cabin.

Zhu Lan watched Number Two's retreating figure, pondered for a moment, then chuckled and turned to gaze at the surrounding warships. "Is that so?"

Witnessing the shifting paradigms of modern warfare within the South China Sea Fleet and meeting with Number Two for an extensive conversation left a deep impression on Zhu Lan.

Upon returning to port, Zhu Lan exchanged pleasantries and got into the vehicle driven by Kong Yan, who had come to pick him up.

"Boss, welcome back!"

Zhu Lan glanced at Kong Yan. "Have you been upgraded?"

Hearing Kong Yan's tone, he sensed a subtle difference and immediately realized she had undergone an upgrade.

The nano-chips Zhu Lan had previously given to Xu Dezheng were only of one variety. Several other types of nano-chips and crystal chips he possessed were fifty to a hundred years ahead of the world, offering performance far exceeding what Kong Yan currently utilized.

Among Kong Yan, Red Queen, and Qi Te, Kong Yan undoubtedly possessed the highest baseline performance.

While Umbrella was competent, Skynet represented an agglomeration of the world's technological crystallization, and the T-1000 was Skynet's pinnacle creation.

Its chips were at least fifty years ahead of the pre-nuclear war era.

Yet, no matter how advanced, it could not alter the fundamental limitations of Earth-based manufacturing, which inherently constrained development.

Following the advent of nano-chips, Red Queen had continuously researched them. To aid her research, Red Queen had even replaced a portion of her host's chips with these higher-performance alternatives, resulting in faster processing speeds. However, hardware disparities caused a period of adaptation, occasionally leading to short circuits and burning out numerous motherboards, incurring heavy losses. Yet the results were immensely gratifying: the chips were successfully integrated into Red Queen's host system, instantly multiplying her computing power—her greatest success.

As for reverse manufacturing, nano-chips had yet to achieve a breakthrough. Although Zhu Lan had provided numerous ultra-precision machine tools and nano-fabrication devices unknown to the rest of the world, the difficulty of producing nano-chips remained formidable.

Kong Yan nodded, her eyes projecting a stream of data.

"This is the improved Nano-2 chip model. Following testing, it has now been officially integrated into my control system!"

Zhu Lan looked excitedly at the chip data. Its performance was at least three times greater than what Kong Yan had previously used, meaning her processing capacity had tripled—an extraordinary stroke of good fortune.

"Can it reach the mass-production stage?"

"Negative. For every ten thousand manufactured, only one succeeds. The production cost is exorbitant, making mass production unfeasible."

"One success out of ten thousand?" Zhu Lan was thoroughly startled. What did ten thousand to one mean? It meant the manufacturing cost of a single chip was at least half a billion, a figure so astronomical that ordinary terms failed to describe it.

Kong Yan nodded. "Indeed. Because this is a novel manufacturing method, Red Queen has yet to fully master it, and the equipment frequently fails to keep pace. Higher-performance equipment is required for production. At the current rate, the cost of a single successful unit would reach 536 million yuan."

What could Zhu Lan say to that? Nothing!

536 million—the price was simply terrifying.

"Forget it, I'll just materialize them slowly myself!" Zhu Lan decided against letting Red Queen continue production. He vividly recalled that replacing all of Red Queen's chips required 137 units. Manufacturing them independently, even if not replacing every single one, would cost over fifty billion for a hundred chips—enough to drain the life out of him. Rather than doing that, he might as well slowly materialize them using the Fantasy System. Although the success rate was terribly low, at least there was a chance of success, right? Besides, the Fantasy System didn't require money; it only demanded mental energy.