Rebirth: Controlled Nuclear Fusion

Part 145：Break Through the Psychological Defenses

Three days later, a piece of news from the Dragon Country once again sent shockwaves across the world:
"Dragon Country has developed a 1-nanometer chip!"
Upon hearing this, Foster collapsed into his chair, his eyes vacant and expression devoid of its usual vitality, a stark contrast to his once energetic demeanor.
He reflected on the past month's chip battle with the Dragon Country.
At the start, the Beautiful Country had used chip sanctions to pressure the Dragon Country into surrendering its ITER magnetic material technology, almost causing an economic crisis in Dragon Country. The strategy seemed to be working well at the time, and Foster was confident of victory.
Dragon Country managed to avert the crisis, twice preparing to hand over the ITER magnetic material technology. Unfortunately, unforeseen circumstances arose.
Then, when Dragon Country developed the 7-nanometer chip, the situation reversed. The U.S. no longer demanded the ITER material technology from Dragon Country. Instead, they sought to reclaim the global chip market.
Indeed, they regained some market share with the 6-nanometer chip.
However, just as they thought they were recovering, Dragon Country struck a fatal blow by unveiling the 4-nanometer chip.
At this point, the Beautiful Country did not admit defeat but gathered its top chip experts, vowing to overcome this challenge and produce the 4-nanometer chip to prove their dominance in Blue Star's technological hierarchy.
They poured massive amounts of funds and talent into the effort, only for Dragon Country to announce once again:
"We have developed the 1-nanometer chip!"
This revelation shattered the mental defenses of every American involved.
While the 4-nanometer chip still seemed within reach with national effort, the 1-nanometer chip was far beyond the current capabilities of U.S. technology.
Realizing that no matter the effort, they could never achieve it, the U.S. decided to halt its investments in chip research. It would be far more sensible to redirect resources to other scientific fields.
At that moment, Foster recalled a remark made by Bernier:
"Dragon Country is like a sleeping beast. Do not provoke it; let it slumber."
He now understood the depth of this statement more than ever.
The U.S. government called an urgent meeting.
During the meeting, several important decisions were made:

In the short term, refrain from provoking Dragon Country. Make overtures to Dragon Country to ease tensions and secure the 1-nanometer chip. Increase investments in other high-tech sectors to ensure America's position as the global technological leader, while simultaneously blocking all relevant technologies to hinder Dragon Country's progress. Secretly send special personnel to investigate conditions in Dragon Country. Encourage U.S. students to study in Dragon Country.
These decisions made it clear that the U.S. was giving serious attention to Dragon Country.
With the conclusion of the meeting, the long month of chip warfare between the U.S. and Dragon Country came to an end. The victor was indisputable.
Countries across Blue Star witnessed the shift in the U.S.'s attitude towards Dragon Country, and many began to court Dragon Country, eager to purchase its chips.
Now, the initiative lay in Dragon Country's hands, and it laid down a series of new rules.
The 1-nanometer chip would not be sold internationally to ensure Dragon Country's continued lead in other technological fields.
The 4-nanometer chip was subject to a purchase ban for some countries, depending on their relations with Dragon Country.
As for the 7-nanometer chip, there were no purchase restrictions for friendly nations that had supported Dragon Country all along, with the prices set extremely low.
For those countries that had continuously provoked Dragon Country, however, acquiring chips from them would come at a steep price.
Dragon Country's foreign policy had always been one of maintaining global peace and promoting mutual development. However, for those who continued to provoke them, they showed no mercy.
...
At a KTV in Kyoto, a group of young boys and girls exited the venue, their faces beaming with smiles.
They gathered on the street, exchanging farewells.
One girl leaned toward another's ear and whispered,
"Xixi, about a hundred meters ahead, turn left. There's a budget hotel, you know what I mean!"
The girl laughed and, hand in hand with her boyfriend, jumped into a taxi and left.
Now, only two figures remained on the street—Jiang Fan and Chu Ruoxi.
After developing the 1-nanometer chip, Jiang Fan had taken a two-day rest at Longke University.
Today, Chu Ruoxi called him to say that one of her roommates was celebrating her birthday and had requested that everyone bring their boyfriends along.
Although Jiang Fan wasn't fond of such social occasions, he agreed for Ruoxi's sake.
Chu Ruoxi's roommate had always been curious about what her boyfriend looked like.
To be honest, when she first saw Jiang Fan, she was slightly disappointed. Though he wasn't unattractive, he didn't quite match the image she had imagined.
However, during dinner, when they were discussing a particularly challenging math problem assigned by their teacher, everyone expressed how difficult it was.
At that moment, Jiang Fan, who had been silent until then, casually mentioned two possible solutions.
This immediately stunned everyone present. Chu Ruoxi looked on, beaming with pride as they gazed at Jiang Fan in awe.
"Ruoxi, the taxi's here, let's go!" Jiang Fan said.
"Jiang Fan, how about... we walk back?"
Chu Ruoxi shyly suggested.
The words of her roommate echoed in her mind: "About a hundred meters ahead, turn left. There's a budget hotel."