Chapter 38: Develop a Picometer-Scale Lithography Machine Within a Month

Zhang Fan raised his hand and slapped Logan across the face!

*Smack!*

The sound was so sharp and resonant that everyone present was struck dumb. Logan’s bodyguards stood frozen for a long moment, unable to process what had just happened. After all, across the entire world, no one had ever dared to slap a young master of the Rothschild family—not yet born, anyway. But Zhang Fan, a mere delivery driver from China, had actually done it!

A bright red handprint appeared on Logan’s face. He turned beet red, roaring, screaming, and spiraling into a frenzy. Yet, having finished the deed, Zhang Fan stood as calm as if nothing had happened, speaking in a steady, composed tone under the gaze of the astonished crowd.

"Even hitting you feels like dirtying my own hands. Let me repeat myself: the marriage between Xiao'an and me is not for a foreigner like you to meddle with, understand? No matter who you think you are, you are on Chinese soil. Do you get it? Now get out!"

Logan was so furious he felt as if his heart and lungs might stop. He pointed a trembling finger at Zhang Fan and cursed wildly.

"What are you all just standing there for! Get him! Kill him! I will take responsibility for all the consequences!"

The four bodyguards prepared to strike. Zhu Changshan’s expression darkened, and he barked, "I’d like to see who dares!"

"You four dogs of the Rothschild family, listen well! I may not be able to kill Logan, but I certainly have the nerve to kill you—and I have plenty of it! If you dare to make a move, none of you will leave the Zhu estate alive."

Before he even finished speaking, dozens of bodyguards emerged from the shadows, all fully armed. Every one of them pulled out their weapons and aimed them at Logan’s men. The four bodyguards turned pale with fright, no longer daring to lay a finger on Zhang Fan.

Logan, burning with humiliation, clutched his swollen cheek and glared at Zhu Changshan. "Are you sure you want to back a delivery driver? I’m warning you, if you truly let Zhu Qing'an marry him, everything I just said will come to pass. Starting tomorrow, no enterprise in China will receive a single chip! Your mobile phone industry will grind to a halt, and your military industry will suffer a devastating blow."

Zhu Changshan gritted his teeth. The stakes were incredibly high. The upstream and downstream sectors of the mobile phone industry alone affected the livelihoods of tens of millions of people—from programmers at internet giants down to factory assembly line workers.

Before Zhu Changshan could respond, Zhang Fan let out a cold laugh. "It’s just chips, isn't it? If the Netherlands and the United States can produce lithography machines, why can't we Chinese do the same? Are you trying to make me laugh? Get lost!"

Logan sneered viciously. "Fine, fine, fine! I’ll be waiting! I want to see what you’ll use to build a lithography machine and develop your own chips once you’re cut off from Western capital."

With that, Logan turned and left. Even as he departed, he didn't dare to retaliate against Zhang Fan. The dozens of armed guards from the Zhu family were no joke.

The moment Logan stepped out, a system notification chimed in Zhang Fan’s mind.

[Ding! Detected that the host has stood his ground against a Rothschild heir. Reward: 10 billion!]
[Current Balance: 13 billion]
[Ding! New task triggered: Cripple Logan to receive blueprints for a picometer-level lithography machine!]

Picometer-level! That was a technology even more advanced than the nanometer-level lithography machines currently controlled by the United States and the Netherlands. The chip manufacturing industry required global cooperation; no single country could build a chip entirely on its own. It required the combined technology of nations across the globe—not even the U.S. could do it alone. This technology was arguably the pinnacle of human scientific achievement, and a lithography machine was the very foundation of chip production.

Currently, China’s technology in this field was indeed far behind the Western powers led by the U.S. But if he could build this picometer-level machine, that gap would narrow by leaps and bounds! With just a little more effort, China could become the only country in the world capable of manufacturing chips independently—and the best ones at that! Countless Western investors would likely betray the U.S. and flock to China’s embrace!

Zhang Fan grew excited. Beat him! He had to beat him! He lunged forward, caught up to Logan, and blocked his path.

Zhu Qing'an saw his threatening demeanor and covered her mouth in shock. "Brother Fan, what are you... what are you doing?"

Zhu Changshan was equally baffled by Zhang Fan’s actions. Logan frowned, touching his bruised face and grinding his teeth. "Zhang Fan, what more do you want?"

*Does this kid realize the gap between us now? Does he understand that if his words and actions lead the Rothschilds to impose a chip embargo on China, it will cause a massive blow to the country? Is he afraid of taking that responsibility? Hmph! It must be that!*

Thinking this, Logan sneered, extended his leather shoe, and looked at him with disdain. "Regretting the slap, are you? It’s not too late to beg for mercy! Come, lick my shoe! If you lick it, I’ll forgive you!"

Zhang Fan spat a thick glob of phlegm directly onto Logan’s face. The move left Logan wide-eyed and stunned. Before he could react, Zhang Fan slapped him again.

*Smack!*

Without a word, he grabbed Logan's arm and snapped it.

*Crack!*

Logan let out a shrill, agonizing scream. His four bodyguards rushed to help, but with dozens of guns trained on them, they dared not move. They could only watch helplessly as Zhang Fan broke Logan’s limbs!

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully obtaining the picometer-level lithography machine blueprints!]

Logan, driven to madness, threw his head back and roared, "When I get back, I’ll order an immediate ban on all chip exports! You Chinese will never get another chip! Never!"

Zhang Fan laughed mockingly. *I have the blueprints for a picometer-level machine, which is even more advanced than nanometer tech. Now that I’ve beaten you, I’ve gained 10 billion. Can’t I build a lithography machine? A top-of-the-line nanometer machine only costs two or three billion to make.*

He grabbed Logan by the hair, his eyes filled with contempt. "Do you think I’m afraid of you?"

"Hurry up and ban the exports; I’m practically begging you to do it. Within a month, my company will be providing China with picometer-level chips!"

Logan’s eyes were bloodshot; he had never suffered such humiliation. "You’re crazy, you’re absolutely insane! Let go! Get off me!"

Zhang Fan kicked him squarely in the face, knocking him unconscious, then turned his gaze to the four white bodyguards. "Why haven't you taken your master and gotten out of here yet?"

The four men were too terrified to speak. They swallowed hard, trembling. It was unimaginable what kind of horrific retaliation their young master would unleash upon Zhang Fan once he woke up. They hastily carried Logan away.

Once they were gone, a worried Zhu Changshan approached Zhang Fan, his expression complex. "Zhang Fan, you should postpone the wedding with my daughter. Logan will definitely ban all chip exports to China. This will be all over the headlines within a day, and you..."

He didn't know what else to say. He felt that while Zhang Fan was mysterious, he was still far too impulsive for a young man.

Zhu Qing'an also felt Zhang Fan had been reckless, but out of her love for him, she couldn't help but plead, "Dad, you’ve always supported me. You never stood in the way of me marrying Brother Fan. Why are you..."

Zhu Changshan sighed helplessly, shaking his head. "Once we lose access to high-end chips, the entire Chinese mobile phone industry will take a massive hit. Millions will be unemployed, and all the blame will fall on Zhang Fan. Xiao'an, I don’t want to see you standing at the center of this storm. Furthermore..."

He didn't want to be too harsh in front of Zhang Fan. After hesitating, he shook his head again. "Zhang Fan, did you just say you’d build a picometer-level lithography machine within a month? Do you have any idea how much money our country and the Zhu family have spent trying to build one without success? Our current technology is mature enough, but it has always been stuck at the tens-of-nanometers stage. You want to jump straight to picometers, and in a month? This is..."

Finally, Zhu Changshan let out a sigh and issued a firm order. "Your marriage is to be put on hold for the time being."

Zhu Qing'an tried to protest, but under her father’s orders, the bodyguards forcibly led her back into the villa. As the heavy gates began to close, Zhang Fan remained unruffled. He offered a slight smile to the teary-eyed Zhu Qing'an.

"Xiao'an, wait for me! If I say I can build it, I will!"

He turned and walked away, filled with confidence. Only a few hours later, the incident of Zhang Fan beating Logan exploded on the trending lists, along with the news of Logan’s threat to ban chip exports to China!

Inside the chairman’s office of the Zhang Group, a dozen high-level executives from Hai City stormed in like madmen. One middle-aged man in a suit, despite meeting Zhang Fan for the first time, was burning with anxiety.

"Zhang Fan, Chairman Zhang, have you lost your mind? Do you know what you’ve done? The entire internet, the whole country, they’re all cursing you! Do you have any idea how much damage you’ve caused to China? Oh my god!"

"Even the top leaders in the capital are displeased with you! You... what am I supposed to say now?"