Invasion of the United States

In fact, there's no need to think hard about it, the hottest topic in recent years is the semiconductor ban. This includes advanced chips, software, and related materials.

For example, NVIDIA's AI chips, with the NVL72 supercomputing system built around the B200, have a whole machine price of up to 3 million US Dollars.

Let's compare it with the domestically produced Ascend 910C.

In terms of performance, the FP16 computing power of the B200 is about 31 times that of the Ascend 910C, and the memory bandwidth is more than 10 times greater.

The B200 has already seen mass shipments, whereas the production of the Ascend 910C is still limited, and the domestic market mainly uses the less powerful Ascend 910B.

Such a huge gap cannot be narrowed by simply increasing quantities. What others achieve in one year of computing would take you ten or twenty years, the efficiency disparity is too great.

Although the DS of the Eastern Great Power has innovations in algorithms, the explosive growth of AI and big data applications means the demand for computing power will only increase.

The AI industry readily sets up thousand-card clusters, and IT giants place orders worth tens or hundreds of billions of US Dollars without seeing the end of this demand in the foreseeable future.

Thus, given the ban, any related products sourced from abroad in recent years can always be sold domestically, it's just a matter of markup.

Supercomputing systems are just large cabinets, expensive yet very easy to smuggle. If delivered through the US Military system, they are not subject to customs restrictions or tariffs.

Leveraging her connections in the Department of Homeland Security, Monica assured she could source the products.

However... Zhou Qingfeng is vexed about spending money and now vexed about finding clients. But he has no clue where to start, the only person he can turn to is... Marco, who just arrived yesterday.

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"Looking for me?" Marco had actually planned to return home after meeting Zhou Qingfeng.

As the vice president of 'Holy Light,' Kelly would go with him to inspect the specific capabilities of 'Electric Flight.'

"President Zhou, you can get AI chips banned from export by the United States? That stuff indeed has a guaranteed market."

In China, AI has already become a trend, much like 'quantum' from two years ago, 'lithography machine' from five or six years ago, and 'nano' from more than ten years ago...

Now even the elderly are using AI for fortune-telling. Various AI projects are emerging all over the country, with numerous AI products flooding out to scam the naive.

"President Zhou, I can help you find clients domestically, but clearly this stuff can't be imported through normal channels, how do you plan to deliver?"

Zhou Qingfeng didn't dare say he would have it delivered by the US military; instead, he asked Marco where would be suitable for the handover?

He thought maybe Hong Kong would be convenient, being closer to mainland China.

But Marco objected, for a simple reason: given the strained Sino-US relations over the years, Hong Kong is a notorious spy hub in the Far East, teeming with people and under the gaze of countless informants.

Zhou Qingfeng thought to himself: "Right, having the US military deliver to Hong Kong would likely stir up big trouble." Being an amateur in this field, he decided to try a different approach.

"How about this, I'll ask my logistics company if they can offer offshore delivery options? Like using helicopters to transfer cargo between two ships in international waters."

"Using helicopters for offshore delivery?" Marco found this quite novel, something straight out of a movie, "President Zhou, can your logistics company manage that?"

"Pretty good, pretty good, among the top-ranked logistics enterprises globally." Zhou Qingfeng reckoned the US military's logistics capabilities should be quite decent.

"Which one? UPS, FedEx, DHL..." Marco couldn't think of a logistics company offering offshore helicopter delivery services.

"Uh... that's confidential for now, it's smuggling after all, can't disclose too much."

Marco still shook his head, "President Zhou, isn't offshore delivery too risky? You're selling high-end goods worth three million dollars a unit.

Three million is the FOB price; the cost would likely double when transported to the mainland. Damaging a single unit would be a massive loss. A more reliable delivery method would be better.

No rush, I'll first inquire around; surely, there are safer and more efficient delivery methods available." Marco decided to first look for connections, as there are professionals in this field domestically too.

"Okay, okay, you go ahead and ask, but make it quick, my logistics company won't wait."

"No problem, I'll ask right away."

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Marco took Zhou Qingfeng's request to heart.

One day later, he flew back home and, upon landing, immediately arranged for Kelly to tour 'Electric Flight.'

At the same time, he pulled out his phone, dialing a few familiar numbers, trying to feel out the 'import' routes for banned chips.

Who to look for?

For something like this, you have to find the national team to be reliable.

"Low-altitude economy" is a burgeoning industry heavily supported by the nation, and although 'Electric Flight' isn't large in scale, it's a key enterprise on the local municipal radar.

Having mingled in political and business circles for years, Marco had amassed some connections. He dialed a few contacts among the city's officials, probing the situation.

In less than an hour, his phone rang.

The caller ID displayed an unfamiliar number. Upon answering, the caller announced himself as Director Xiao from the 'Provincial Science and Technology Department,' his tone steadied and carrying a hint of bureaucratic formality:

"Mr. Ma, I heard you just returned from Miami? A company called 'Holy Light' claims they can help procure banned products for domestic use?"

Marco was taken aback; he hadn't expected the news to travel so fast. This chapter was made possible by the MV_LEMPYR community.

He briefly explained the situation, mentioning his experiences in Miami, especially how he was greeted at the airport by a bulletproof 'Cadillac.'

There was even an eagle badge of the United States Department of State on the dashboard.

On the other end, Director Xiao's voice suddenly grew low, as if weighing something. He asked detailed questions, even somewhat prying:

"That car... was it from the United States Department of State? Are you sure?"

Marco could sense a tinge of caution and prudence in Director Xiao's tone. He couldn't help but feel tense, realizing this issue might be more complex than he had imagined.

"Yes, it had the eagle badge, and the driver said it was a non-sale item, gifted through connections."

Marco answered truthfully, but began pondering how many layers of connections this phone call involved.

Director Xiao was silent for a few seconds before slowly saying, "Mr. Ma, we need to handle this matter carefully. If it's convenient, could we meet in person to discuss it?"

"Of course, of course, this indeed should be handled with caution. Actually, we also have some doubts about that 'Holy Light' company and President Zhou... not sure if he's just boasting."

Marco was about to throw in a few courteous remarks, but Director Xiao interrupted, "Are you available this evening?"

"This evening?" Marco thought, "I just flew back after a ten-hour flight, was planning to hit the sack early tonight."

But considering Director Xiao was at least an official, Marco agreed anyway.

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After hanging up the phone, Xiao Jinlang furrowed his brows. He was a 'director,' but not from the 'Provincial Science and Technology Department.'

A week ago, a well-known academic research team from a domestic university suddenly reported an issue.

They said a foreign company proactively sought collaboration on biomedical research, offering five million dollars in startup funds without any in-person interaction, even sending over several terabytes of materials.

Upon reviewing the information, the team was floored.

The data contained a wealth of classified information, all either stamped with the 'Pentagon' watermark or the seal of a confidential US military laboratory.

Any outsider could tell something was off, and the insiders were even more alarmed—there was abundant data on human experiments, and the research results were nearing completion.

For instance, viruses developed targeting Asian genes, as well as body enhancements effective only for Caucasians.

Fortunately, there's no reproductive isolation among different human populations, so viruses specifically targeting one race do not exist.

However, the body enhancement biopharmaceuticals were indeed on the brink of success—once subjected to large-scale testing and screening, specific genetic targets could definitely be identified.

There's no denying the immense depth of pharmaceutical research in the United States, and the sheer scale of the leak left the domestic team dumbfounded.

Given the high level of secrecy, ordinary police couldn't handle it, thus the issue was escalated. Consequently, national security got involved to investigate.

Since the collaborator didn't hide their identity, it wasn't hard for Director Xiao to trace it back to the newly established 'Holy Light.'

This was precisely Zhou Qingfeng's consideration—professionals should handle professional matters. He didn't understand biopharmaceuticals, but he knew how to cause trouble!

As soon as Kelly, in her role as Vice President of 'Holy Light,' took off, Director Xiao received the notice.

Could they be coming to make contact?