Chapter 104: Chip Manufacturing

Rebuilding Civilization

In the post-apocalyptic world, chip manufacturing—though seemingly a high-tech field—had actually become quite widespread. Of course, this so-called ubiquity referred mainly to civilian or relatively common chips. The chipsets used in many large-scale devices, even in the years before the apocalypse, were monopolized by a few giant corporations in a handful of countries. As an international metropolis, Skyview City boasted seven or eight large manufacturing plants, three of which were capable of producing these common chipsets.

Xie Han had no idea how Xu Qiang had managed to acquire a chip manufacturing production line, but it was undeniably thrilling news. The production line was stored within a military experimental base. Given the unique nature of the post-apocalyptic company, Xu Qiang, as the highest authority of the temporary camp at that time, allocated a six-story building inside the base to the company. All employees of the post-apocalyptic company worked there, with the production line naturally housed on the first floor.

Xie Han had been busy planning the construction of the entire base. Aside from the command building and the officers’ quarters where he lived, he had barely ventured elsewhere and knew next to nothing about the military experimental base. He was aware this might seem neglectful, but he had simply been too busy lately. Besides, with Xu Qiang’s obsession with weaponry and equipment, he was sure the production line was already well-organized and ready—likely intended as a surprise for a special occasion.

The civilian base and the military experimental base had long agreed on a unified name for the entire complex: New City. The name carried dual meaning—both a symbol of salvation and a promise of rebirth for the future. Hence, it was also known as the City of Salvation, the City of Tomorrow.

Though New City appeared to be a single system, it was actually managed separately by the civilian and military bases. Xie Han naturally served as the highest administrative commander of New City, with Chen Liu as his deputy. The civilian base’s highest official was Qi Feiwu, an experienced manager, with Chu Tianhe as deputy. Xu Qiang held the top command of the military experimental base, assisted by Amu as deputy commander. Distinct from the peculiarities of the post-apocalyptic company, management rights were gradually handed over to Wu Donglin, who was appointed vice president, while Xie Han simultaneously served as the company’s president without engaging in day-to-day operations.

Upon arriving at the company’s building within the military experimental base, Xu Qiang, Wu Donglin, and Zhang Shiduan, the research director, had already come outside to greet Xie Han. Both Wu Donglin and Zhang Shiduan deeply admired the young man—not only for his decisiveness but also for his courage. In a world where simply surviving and finding food was a struggle, who else had the bravery to establish a company that was unlikely to generate immediate profits? In their hearts, Xie Han was undoubtedly the most respected figure in the scientific community, and his post-apocalyptic company would be the cradle for preserving and advancing human technology.

Out of respect for the core scientific team, Xie Han maintained a courteous attitude. With a hint of awkwardness, he said to Xu Qiang, “Qiangzi, I’m not some outsider. There’s no need to send someone out just to welcome me.” Xu Qiang merely smiled and replied, “Putting aside your title as the highest commander of New City, you’re still the president of the post-apocalyptic company. We had to come out and welcome you.” His real intention was to emphasize the superior-subordinate relationship, which would facilitate future implementation of New City’s reward and punishment system.

Wu Donglin, still awed by his first impressions of Xie Han, said, “President, we actually wanted to welcome you to show our gratitude for bringing us here ahead of time from the Skyview Base.” Zhang Shiduan was even more emotional, thinking that without Xie Han, his entire family might have been lost in the sea of zombies. “President, thank you for saving my whole family…” He didn’t say more; such debt of gratitude was enough to keep in his heart. His only way to repay Xie Han was through hard work.

Feeling a bit embarrassed by their praise—especially since he had been somewhat harsh and even selfish initially—Xie Han said, “This isn’t really a matter of saving lives.” To change the subject, he added, “Let’s take a look at the production line.”

This reminder brought everyone back to the purpose of the visit.

The company’s building had originally been used by the military base to store supplies. Floors one through three were open spaces, making them ideal for conversion into factory floors.

The production line occupied the first floor and had already been assembled under Zhang Shiduan’s leadership by the manufacturing staff. What Xie Han saw was a fully installed setup. Surprisingly, the 12-inch chip production line took up about as much space as a DVD assembly line. However, unlike a DVD line, the chip production line consisted of numerous high-end, interconnected devices—appearing bulky and complex.

Xie Han had some understanding of 12-inch chip production lines. In the modern era, they represented the pinnacle of manufacturing technology. For example, countries in Europe and America had imposed embargoes on China, which could only import and cooperate through South Korea. Moreover, it was rare for Chinese personnel to access the core operational layers.

But to Xie Han’s surprise, 12-inch lines were quite common in the post-apocalyptic world. Over decades of development, 18-inch chip production lines had even been introduced. The 12-inch lines were nearing obsolescence. Yet, the post-apocalyptic 12-inch lines differed from their modern counterparts—they not only achieved leaps in quality but also shrank from massive machines to the compact and refined setup before him.

“Can this production line manufacture core chipsets for rice cookers?” Xie Han asked immediately after inspecting it, as this was his chief concern.

At Wu Donglin’s signal, a bespectacled middle-aged man stepped forward and nodded politely at Xie Han. Wu Donglin introduced him, “When it comes to chips, our company’s authority is Engineer Qin Sinan. Let him answer your question.”

Qin Sinan explained, “The core chips used in rice cookers are produced with 14-inch technology, whereas our line can only produce 12-inch chips.”

Xie Han’s heart sank. Was his plan in the modern world now a joke? “So you’re saying this line can’t produce the core chips needed for rice cookers?”

Seeing Xie Han’s distress, Qin Sinan nodded and said, “Unfortunately, yes. But…” Hearing that there was a ‘but,’ Xie Han asked eagerly, “But what?”

Qin Sinan replied, “We can ask the technical department to modify the production conditions from 14-inch to 12-inch. The consequence would be a reduction in chip power, causing some changes in data.”

Xie Han breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn’t the worst outcome. As for data changes, he had no concern, since his competition wasn’t within the post-apocalyptic world but back in the modern era. Even with some variations, the technology would still be far ahead of the outdated modern equipment. “If modified to 12 inches, what’s the expected monthly output?”

Qin Sinan answered, “If raw materials are sufficient, theoretically, the annual yield could reach 100,000 units. However, we must consider two issues: operator availability and raw material supply. Currently, very few personnel are familiar with operating such automated equipment, and raw material supply is highly unstable. Realistically, I estimate a maximum monthly output of about 2,000 units.”

“Only 2,000 units per month?” Xie Han found it hard to believe. Such a low output was insufficient. At his modern electrical appliance factory, after adjusting production lines, monthly output for rice cookers was at least 20,000 units. This meant a severe chip shortage could cripple the appliance factory.

Suddenly, an idea dawned on Xie Han, and his heart lightened. Since the chip technology could be modified to 12-inch specifications, it meant he could produce these chips back in the modern world.

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