C16 Formation of Hexagram to Break the Defenses
Life is like that—since resistance is futile, might as well enjoy it to the fullest. Shih Wen was particularly adept at embracing this philosophy, having lived by it from childhood. Whether in kindergarten, elementary, or junior high, the pattern was the same. By the time he reached the notorious high school years, he had perfected the art of going with the flow. College, by contrast, was a breeze.
Shih Wen came to terms with this reality without much difficulty. In comparison to his former life on Earth, he was exceedingly content with his current state. Endowed with an abundance of special energy, Shih Wen was exponentially more powerful than he ever was on Earth. He also figured out why he initially struggled with movement in this new world—the gravity here was significantly stronger, roughly double that of Earth, with a rotational period of about 36 hours. By this world's standards, Shih Wen estimated he was about 16 years old.
Observing his surroundings, Shih Wen realized he had landed in a world straight out of the fantasy novels he knew—a realm utterly unlike Earth, where humans could grow incredibly strong. The pinnacle of power was to become a Law God. Yet, the unfortunate soul Shih Wen had replaced didn't aspire to such heights; his ultimate goal was to marry his adorable junior sister.
The idea of cultivating to level up shattered when the destructive 'bomb' within the transparent light ball in his mind sapped his energy. Shih Wen stopped focusing on cultivation for power. He didn't abandon the practice but shifted his intent towards fortifying his health. With relentless training, he felt his physical condition steadily improving. He could now walk long distances with ease, a testament to his greatly enhanced vitality, far surpassing his earthly form. Gone were the days of looking gaunt and malnourished.
While unable to do much else during the energy absorption at the gate, Shih Wen revisited an unfinished Earthly endeavor—the creation of a knockoff processor. He managed to produce a rudimentary version, but it paled in comparison to the genuine article. The makeshift processor was merely a ploy to deceive those seeking a bargain, plagued by high power consumption, low efficiency, and frequent errors. Reluctantly engaging in this venture, Shih Wen knew that without it, he wouldn't earn the money needed to pursue the latest research with his mentor.
In the past, chip design faced significant limitations, constrained by the capabilities of the manufacturing facilities. With only the technology of knockoff factories at his disposal, Shih Wen's expertise was like trying to cook a meal without rice—his talent was constrained. Now, having broken free from these constraints, he can independently complete chip production, allowing his skills to truly shine.
As Shih Wen envisioned the transistor circuits in his mind, they grew increasingly complex. To his astonishment, he stumbled upon 'copy-paste' and custom plugin functionalities. Initially taken aback by the absurdity, he soon rationalized that if the mini formations he had crafted, complete with their golden halos and intricate parameters, could exist, then it was conceivable for these advanced features to be integrated into the transistor circuits he was developing. Embracing the new capabilities, Shih Wen watched as the number of transistors skyrocketed, quickly exceeding a million. This exponential growth was due to the repetitive nature of many logic modules, which, although identical, were used in different contexts to yield varied computational outcomes. These modules were exclusive and non-shareable, leading to an ever-increasing transistor count in processors, easily surpassing the billion mark, with display chips breaking through the ten billion threshold and charging toward a hundred billion.
Shih Wen had no solution for the exclusivity of these modules. Sharing them could potentially slow down performance and efficiency, a scenario dreaded by processor designers. Moreover, increasing the number of transistors significantly eased the design process. The concept of modular design was introduced precisely for those designers who preferred not to get bogged down in detailed design work. With a robust architecture, they could use modular design to churn out processors of varying sizes and price points, allowing industry giants to segment the market into numerous tiers and maximize profits.
In this new world, Shih Wen had the capability to manufacture his own chips, leveraging cutting-edge technology. He could handle everything from theoretical validation to chip fabrication single-handedly, dramatically shortening the development cycle to mere minutes or a couple of hours—far swifter than the months-long research and production cycles back on Earth. There, the shortest cycle spanned two to three months, with investments, manpower, and resources often measured in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Consequently, the process was riddled with trial and error, and with stringent oversight at every level, efficiency suffered greatly.
Enjoying such convenience, Shih Wen naturally set out to devise his own unique architecture. Although the core structure was essentially a clone of an existing one, he infused it with a plethora of his insights and designs, imprinting it with his distinctive signature.
The grand blueprint gradually took shape in his mind. Shih Wen envisioned a processor that integrated memory and flash storage, boosting efficiency and speed. His design featured a single-core processor with roughly a million transistors, and despite its complexity, Shih Wen embraced the challenge. He employed a cutting-edge supertransistor circuit, a single-digit, three-dimensional nanoscale transistor circuit that was not only space-saving but also material-efficient. The only trade-off was a somewhat intricate wiring system, but complexity was hardly a deterrent for Shih Wen. Far from shying away from intricacies, he aspired to create a processor so complex it would baffle anyone else, showcasing the designer's brilliance. However, just as he completed the mental construction of the processor architecture, the energy within the gate was fully depleted, and Shih Wen regained his mobility.
Designing an all-in-one chip was a time-consuming endeavor, one that Shih Wen couldn't afford to focus all his efforts on, as it would take years. He was adept at prioritizing tasks. Once free, he immediately began using a special energy to examine the control chip within the gate. Quickly, he mastered the control mechanism, which featured a triple-lock system of remote control, fingerprint, and password, limited to three attempts before automatically locking for a year.
Shih Wen skillfully circumvented the chip, locating the module that powered the gate. To prevent any mishaps, he severed the spiritual force supply to the chip and set about modifying it. He then crafted a simpler chip to replace the original, enabling full remote control with three frequency reception—a far more secure solution than any password. After tweaking the remote control and powering it with spiritual force, the seven-meter-thick gate silently ascended. A triumphant smile spread across Shih Wen's face as he was met with a wave of cheers from the soldiers behind him, who were thoroughly impressed by his capabilities.
Turning around, Shih Wen's gaze fell upon the soldiers, all half-squatting on the ground behind him. In that moment, he felt a surge of affection for these men. Despite having discarded nearly all their gear, each soldier still clung to a short sword. It struck Shih Wen that it was high time to arm them with modern weaponry, like submachine guns. But then he remembered the tower shields they carried—thicker than door panels, made of solid metal, coupled with their heavy armor. Even with submachine guns, they'd be ineffective. Not even a heavy machine gun could penetrate those shields.
Was it right to let his soldiers persist with such archaic armaments? Shih Wen's mind raced. Spotting three boxes of alchemy books nearby, he eagerly began to scour them, hoping they contained the blueprints for superior weapons. He might not have the knack for design, but his ability to replicate was unmatched.
As Shih Wen leafed through the tomes, searching for something he couldn't quite name, the soldiers remained beyond the gate. Before them lay an underground plaza, soaring over a hundred meters high, resembling an inverted bowl with a diameter of five hundred meters. Encircling the space were sealed gates, and above, a brilliant light ball cast a daylight glow over the plaza. The area was verdant with flora, more akin to a garden than a square. Amidst the overgrowth of weeds and wildflowers, one tree stood out, its crown nearly brushing the ceiling of the plaza. It was unclear how long it had been since anyone had set foot here. The history books spoke of the War God's most illustrious age, some forty thousand years prior, when he nearly unified the entire continent and the Orc Empire was a grand duchy within the human dominion—a testament to the War God's might. The War God Temple, now just a memory, had once presided over these plains.
The decline of the War God Temple began with the deity's ascension to the Celestial Realm. Not long after the War God's rise, the temple fell to an Orc insurrection, leaving nothing but ruins. These soldiers, educated in academies and schools, knew well of humanity's golden age. Such resplendent history was etched into their hearts and immortalized in the annals of time, undiminished by the passage of forty millennia.
