Apocalypse Rebirth: 3000 million won at the beginning

Chapter 2096 Semiconductors

Bengbu.

A group of ragged survivors hid in a dilapidated building, gazing at the vehicles in the distance with curiosity in their eyes.

"Hey Dog, what do you think those guys are here for?"

The man known as "Dog Bro" stared thoughtfully at the large camphor tree logo on one of the cars.

"A helicopter also flew in a while ago, and it had a big tree symbol on it, so I guess these two groups are together," Dog Brother pondered.

"I remember, I remember!"

A thin man said excitedly:

"That helicopter had previously hung a banner on the Huijin International Building. I think it said something about a place called Big Camphor Tree, saying it was absolutely safe and reliable, and could provide safe housing and food to accept all survivors."

"Heh!" A scarred man beside him sneered and said coldly:
"Skinny Monkey, what time is it? Still playing these tricks? Do you really think we're those stupid idiots?"

Another older man, with graying temples, sighed:

“Indeed, we’ve been to these kinds of gathering places before, and they’re all scams.”

As experienced post-apocalyptic survivors, they have witnessed numerous natural and man-made disasters and seen all sorts of tricks and schemes.

They naturally wouldn't believe such a propaganda tactic as the "Big Camphor Tree".

But deep down, they still yearn for a safe haven.

After so many years of wandering, without a stable place to live, they had to worry about other survivors, natural disasters, and zombies all the time.

Like duckweed on the water, drifting aimlessly.

Unfortunately, they felt that it did not exist in reality.

When Skinny Monkey heard that Scarface and Uncle Zhao both thought there was something wrong with the big camphor tree, a hint of regret flashed in his eyes.

Dog Brother remained silent.

He was wearing a baseball cap, and the brim of the cap was pulled down very low.

By doing this, it's difficult for others to see his facial expressions and eyes, but he can see others.

Suddenly, Dog Brother saw the two cars drive into the plaza in front of Sensor Valley.

Then, we drove directly onto the lawn and entered the sensor valley.

He frowned, then his eyes flickered, and he said to the people behind him:
"Stop talking, let's go see what they're up to in Sensor Valley!"

"go!"

After he finished speaking, he moved with great skill and quickly disappeared into another building.

The other four, Scarface, Uncle Zhao, Skinny Monkey, and Coconut, quickly followed.

This shows that this "Dog Brother" is the leader of this five-person team.

Four men and one woman moved at lightning speed. They seemed very familiar with the area and quickly reached the Sensor Valley.

Before the apocalypse, Bengbu Sensor Valley was one of Bengbu's pillar industries.

It is a sensor manufacturing base.

Before the apocalypse, it gathered more than 200 companies, including 59 large-scale enterprises and 69 high-tech enterprises, and had 4 wafer production lines and multiple R&D platforms.

They once boasted the slogan: to become a smart sensing industry with independent control, the most chips, the most complete range, the widest application, and an output value of over 100 billion yuan in the field of sensing.

In end-user applications, many companies are using sensors in fields such as smart cities, smart homes, and smart equipment.

In addition, there are related industries, involving the deep integration of integrated circuit design, 5G applications, artificial intelligence and other sensor industries.

but!

This is the apocalypse!

For Dog Brother and his fellow survivors, the semiconductor chips and so-called smart devices inside were completely useless.

Without electricity, the contents inside are no different from a pile of scrap metal.

Even scrap metal is so heavy.

Dog Brother was very curious about what these people were doing coming all the way to Bengbu.

He had contacted more than a dozen survivor groups of all sizes in Bengbu, and none of them would come to such a pointless place to collect supplies.

They were very familiar with the Sensor Valley. When the group arrived inside, the people in the two cars had already gotten out.

However, two people remained in the car, leaning against the side and smoking.

Not far away, Dog Brother and the others lay on the edge of the green belt. All the trees in the green belt had died, but the weeds were tenacious.

Over the years, without anyone managing them, these weeds have grown to be more than half a person tall.

Brownish-yellow weeds swayed in the wind.

Dog Brother and the others stared at the two cars parked less than twenty meters away from them in front of the Sensor Building.

"Brother Dog, if we had these two cars, we'd be rich!" Skinny Monkey said greedily.

Dog Brother whispered:
"What's the use of stealing a car? It won't last many trips without fuel!"

Scarface watched the two men smoking by the car, swallowed hard. He was a heavy smoker and hadn't smoked for six or seven years.

I've already given them all up.

However, when he saw someone smoking in front of him again, his craving for cigarettes itch like a worm.

"Brother Dog, should we take them out?" Scarface asked in a somewhat fierce tone.

The survivors who have made it this far are either robbing each other or robbing each other.

This is the law of survival.

The weak eat the strong.

If you get robbed, you can only blame your bad luck.

Dog Brother was clearly a cautious person, and whispered:

"We're not in a hurry, so let's not act rashly. Let's observe for a while first."

As he spoke, he told everyone to lie down a little to avoid being discovered.

Time passes.

An hour later, they saw four men carrying boxes down from the sensor building.

The box was labeled "[8-inch MEMS wafer]".

This thing?
They came all this way just to find this thing?

Everyone's patience was wearing thin.

"Brother Dog, there are six of them. Me, Skinny Monkey, and Coconut can take care of three of them with our crossbows. As for the remaining three, you guys can quickly approach and take them down too."

Scarface gripped the crossbow tightly and said in a deep voice:
"Let's do it, Dog Bro!"

Dog Brother glared at him, his tone carrying a hint of command.
"Without my order, who dares to lay a hand on me!"

Scarface looked at Dog Brother in astonishment upon hearing his tone, and was immediately taken aback when he saw the murderous aura in Dog Brother's eyes.

He put down the crossbow in his hand.

Dog Brother explained in a deep voice:
"We said to observe first. We've searched the Sensor Building multiple times, but we haven't found anything of value."
"What's the point of these people carrying all these wafers? Any power that can use these wafers must be a super-large power. Coconut, explain to them what wafers are."

As the only woman in the team, she was also a professional in the field of microelectronics before the apocalypse.

She naturally knew everything about wafers, and explained:

"Wafers are the key materials for manufacturing semiconductor integrated circuits. Semiconductor technology is the technology of using semiconductors as materials to make components and integrated circuits."

"What is a semiconductor?" the skinny monkey asked.

Everyone looked at Skinny Monkey; they were all over thirty years old.

Having lived for over twenty years before the apocalypse, I must have heard about semiconductors in the news.

Coconut sighed and explained:
"Let me put it this way: before the apocalypse, the processors, baseband chips, and memory chips in mobile phones, the graphics cards and memory in computers, and the main control chips in tablets were all made of semiconductors; the small chips in Bluetooth headsets and smartwatches also relied on semiconductors to process audio and record data—without semiconductors, these devices could not work."

"Even the control chips for air conditioners and washing machines rely on semiconductors."

LED bulbs, also based on the "semiconductor light-emitting diode," emit light when electrons and holes combine when current flows through them, making them more energy-efficient and longer-lasting than traditional bulbs.

Both Scarface and Uncle Zhao, who were standing next to him, were somewhat embarrassed.

Although they had heard of semiconductors, they didn't really understand what a semiconductor actually was.

The application area was always thought to be mobile phones.

But I didn't expect it to cover such a wide area.

Coconut could tell that these people didn't quite understand, and just as the group in the distance finished loading the boxes onto the car and ran upstairs, she continued to whisper to the crowd:

"Semiconductors have a wide range of applications, including mobile phones, home appliances and smart homes, as well as automotive electronics, industrial and medical fields, communications and infrastructure."

For example, traditional gasoline vehicles rely on semiconductors to make the "engine control unit (ECU)" to regulate fuel consumption; the battery management system (BMS) of new energy vehicles and the lidar/camera modules for autonomous driving all require semiconductor support. Ordinary gasoline vehicles use 500-1000 semiconductor devices, while intelligent electric vehicles use more than 3000.

Electric vehicles have a particular need for semiconductor-grade devices, which are one of the key materials!

"The CNC machine tools in the factory rely on semiconductors to control precision, and the pressure/temperature sensors on the production line are mostly made of semiconductor materials."

In the medical field, electrocardiographs, blood glucose meters, and MRI machines also rely on semiconductors to record signals.

As Coconut talked, she also remembered the profession she used to have before the apocalypse, and she couldn't stop talking.

Back then, microelectronics professionals seemed to have a sense of mission. When faced with Ah Meilika's blockade, they all felt a sense of national responsibility and were determined to catch up.

The skinny monkey next to him kept asking questions.

"Isn't a semiconductor just a chip?"

"No."

Semiconductors are "materials", and chips are "products made from semiconductors", much like the relationship between wood and furniture.

"Alright, stop talking!" Dog Brother whispered to Coconut.

Although he wanted to hear more from Coconut, he didn't know much about it.

However, now is not the time to go on and on about this.

The people on the building came down again, but this time they were carrying some chips.

One of them complained with a dejected look:

"Damn it! After searching for ages, all we found were these few boxes of chips. What the hell are they worth?!"

The other person also looked unwell.
"The windows were all shattered by the wind, and everything inside the house was blown out. Sigh. Let's go look in other buildings."

The man in the lead lit a cigarette, looked at the seven or eight boxes of chips on the truck, and said:

"Don't be discouraged, everyone. This is just the beginning. There are still so many buildings ahead, there must be a lot of chips there. Third brother, show me that list. We're all roughnecks, we don't recognize these things."
When you find them, make sure you check the names carefully so you don't get the wrong ones!

The third brother found the list and handed it over.

"Brother, how many points do you think we can earn if we can fill the car to the brim this time?"

The leading man laughed:
"At least 200 points, and after deducting fuel consumption, we can earn 150 points on this trip."

After we make a couple more trips, we'll go to the oil city and buy another car.

At this rate, we'll be rich sooner or later!

After listening, the fourth brother said with some concern:

"This place must absolutely not be discovered by other scavengers."

The eldest brother reached into his crotch and straightened out the position of the little bird.

It's so hot. The little bird is sticking to the right side of my thigh, and it's a bit uncomfortable.

"Fifth Brother, did you see anyone coming over just now?" the leader asked.

The fifth brother who had been standing by the car was actually one of them who stayed there to keep watch.

Survivors these days are more terrifying than zombies.

However, now that they've joined the Big Camphor Tree, things are alright.

After all, if food can be obtained relatively easily through legitimate channels, no one wants to fight tooth and nail with others for it.

The fifth brother shook his head and said:
"No, this place is very desolate."

The leader nodded, took out some food from the car, and distributed it to everyone.

"Let's have something good to eat today, multigrain pancakes with scallions."

"Green onions!"

Everyone was somewhat surprised; fresh scallions were a rare commodity.

The eldest brother laughed:

"The second transport team just delivered these yesterday. They must have been harvested right there in the oil city; they're still quite fresh!"

Without hesitation, the third brother tore the multigrain pancake in half, then rolled up a scallion in the pancake and took a bite.

chew.

Tsk!
This smell!
That's absolutely authentic!

The third child is from Shandong Province and loves to eat scallion pancakes.

This multigrain pancake is not as good as a regular pancake because it's too thick, but it's still a pancake!
"Big brother, this is delicious!"

"Brother, these scallions taste great!"

The leader chuckled as he looked at their behavior and pulled a plastic bottle out of his canvas bag.

The plastic bottle had a label that read: "Big Camphor Tree Brand Sweet Bean Sauce".

The packaging even included the production date, ingredients, and other details.
When the third brother, Zhang Bo, saw the sweet bean sauce, his eyes widened.

A scallion pancake roll must be served with a sauce; sweet bean sauce is best, followed by fermented bean paste.

If you use both sauces together, the flavor will be even richer.

"Brother, how many points does this bottle of sauce cost?"

The eldest brother, Zhao Di, raised an eyebrow, held up the sweet bean sauce in his hand, and sneered:

"This stuff is really expensive!"

"One bottle cost me 6 points!"

"It is a bit pricey." The people around were somewhat surprised.

The eldest brother, Zhao Di, is a foodie, even in the apocalypse.

However, there was hardly anything to eat, which really put him in a bad situation.

Now that we've finally tied ourselves to the big camphor tree (a local financial organization), and have points in hand, we can finally buy delicious food.

"Brother, can you please stop holding that up? Let everyone dip their sauce in it!" the third brother complained.

The eldest brother chuckled, "Hehe, come on, everyone, eat sparingly."

He watched as the third brother opened the bottle, and the third brother smelled the sweet bean sauce with a look of utter delight.

Watching the brothers eat with such relish, each holding a pancake in one hand and a scallion in the other, dipping it in sauce every now and then, was truly delightful.

He was somewhat proud.

"Brothers, if you follow me, I won't say anything else, but when it comes to food, I definitely won't skimp on you. As long as you work hard, once we've accumulated enough points, we'll go to the trading market and visit Tingfeng Tower!"

"Brother is mighty!"

"Big brother is awesome!"

"Big brother, that's awesome, Pro Max!"

"Big brother, mmm, it's delicious."

Zhao Di ate a multigrain pancake rolled with scallions and sauce, and the feeling of fullness and satisfaction made him groan with pleasure.

Especially when you take another big gulp of water.

Let out a loud burp.

That felt so good!
not far away.

Dog Brother and the others, hiding among the weeds in the green belt, watched Zhao Di and the others eat with unwavering eyes.

Live food broadcast.

What pain could be more painful than this?

Dog Brother and his gang were starving all year round, their eyes practically glowing with hunger. But now, the people in front of them were brazenly eating pancakes with scallions and even dipping them in sauce!
Grass!

The skinny monkey couldn't stop drooling.

"Sla!" He swallowed hard.

He swallowed hard.

"Brother Dog, let's get started! If we don't, they'll eat all our biscuits!"

Scarface watched the group eat their pancakes intently and offered some words of advice:

"Yes, let's get started! They ate it, which means the cakes are definitely safe!"

Dog Brother was also incredibly tempted, but his intuition told him otherwise.

These people in front of me seem easy to take down, but something seems off.

(End of this chapter)