Super God-Level Top Student

Netherlands, Veldhoven, ASML Company Headquarters.

Lunin Chelsman sat quietly in his office, looking at the face on the screen opposite him and listening intently to the sounds coming through his headphones.

"According to the intelligence summary we've received, your concerns are entirely unfounded. Do you know? It's even laughable. You should believe that we can grasp any relevant dynamics in the semiconductor industry at the earliest possible time. You have to believe, no one can conceal anything from the entire upstream and downstream industrial chains, no one!"

"But that paper..."

"It's an illusion! Or to put it like the wording in that paper, everything is just conjecture. Of course, I've also consulted some experts. Yes, theoretically, based on the paper it is possible to design a new type of lithography pattern that is highly costly to dismantle and relocate. But so what? Do you know how long it would take for such a massive project to be developed from scratch?

Lunin, ten years, maybe even longer! Do you want to know what will happen in ten years?"

Lunin Chelsman didn't answer, only silently looking at the person opposite him.

Fortunately, the old man in the video didn't care about Lunin's silence and continued with his compelling speech: "In ten years, ASML will be able, with our help, to develop even more powerful products. Do you remember the products from ASML the last decade?

Trust me, Lunin, we have the world's most advanced technology reserves, and thousands of experienced engineers, and we also have the power of speech across the entire basic industry chain."

"Compared with us, Huaxia has too little! You have to believe that, from any angle, they won't be able to find alternatives for the industrial chain in the short term. It's laughable how many people have been fooled by a paper that was published and then asked to be retracted! It's too deliberate, don't you think? What's the point of retracting it after the paper has been published?

They know full well that everyone has already read it."

After a long silence, Lunin Chelsman finally spoke: "All right, so I can believe you, right? My friend?"

"Of course! We have a global intelligence network, and nothing in this world escapes our eyes. You should believe no research institution could secretly build such a massive machine without leaving any traces. You know? I don't need to remind you that this is an era of big data, and data never lies. What Huaxia is doing is nothing more than trying to pressure you, to make you misjudge!

And now, the smart you have seen through their ruse."

"Phew... Maybe. It looks like I can sleep well tonight. Do you know? I haven't had a good night's sleep in a month; we all know what would happen if everything was true."

"Yes, Lunin, get some rest early today. The actions of the Huaxia people prove that they are desperate; we have accurately hit their weak spot. Trust me, when they realize that many technologies are simply insurmountable, they will make the right choice. The losses now will lead to manifold returns in the near future.

We, who are in an advantageous position, can have more patience than the Huaxia people. You know? There's a saying in Huaxia, 'mighty on the outside, feeble on the inside.' It's quite apt to describe the current situation."

"Good, goodbye then."

"Goodbye!"

After hanging up the phone, Lunin Chelsman looked up at Schneider Brink, who had been sitting quietly across from him, and said, "Did you hear all that?"

Schneider nodded, then shook his head.

"I don't trust them."

"But there's indeed no concrete evidence."

"I know, but that's exactly what puzzles me."

"Okay, Schneider, although I don't trust the Americans much either, he was actually right about one thing, data doesn't lie. Right?"

"Maybe!"

"All right, our people are also gathering related information. They've used an entire month and haven't located this so-called laboratory base. Don't you find that funny? A simple paper, let's put it aside for now. What you need to do now is to tell the people in the engineering department not to be disturbed by external misinformation and disrupt our research and development progress."

"Don't worry, I will."

"That's it then."

...

August 29, Huaxia, Xilin University of Technology.

Hanna never imagined that after spending a month to join Qiao Ze's project team, her first task on the first day would be—reading papers.

What she found even more unexpected was that the computer in the research team came equipped with an intelligent paper assistant for her.

"Liu, how do I use this assistant?"

"Oh, you find this proof process tedious, right? If you need to simplify the steps, just take a screenshot and then submit it, describing as accurately as possible the part you need help with, like this... and then wait for the feedback... Hey, look, here comes the result."

Liu Chenfeng leaned over half his body and explained to his new colleague how to use the intelligent assistant.
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"Is this Lean?" Hanna asked in surprise.

Lean is a math proof assistant software introduced by Microsoft Research Institute in 2013. It allows mathematicians to convert mathematical formulas into code, input them into the software, and have the program verify whether a theorem is correct.

"How could it be? You've used Lean before, right? Could it be this intelligent? And Lean only supports program input, our intelligent assistant can accept direct input of images and formulas, and there's even a version that can chat with you."