Chapter 184 183: Quantum Laboratory

Take facing a maze, for example.

A traditional electronic computer can only try one path at a time, using a brute-force enumeration algorithm to eventually find the correct route.

A quantum computer, however, can try all paths simultaneously. This naturally makes the process of finding the correct path much faster.

Most importantly, a quantum computer can exhibit far superior performance in the realm of intelligent AI. This is because it can accelerate matrix operations, optimizing the calculation process through its extremely high parallel processing capabilities. This helps an intelligent AI find the correct solution among countless possibilities.

Intelligent AI was a cornerstone of Li Qingsong's current industrial might.

Divine Craft, Shennong, Wukong, Lu Ban, Nuwa, Jade Emperor...

Once quantum computers were successfully developed and put into practical use, upgrades for the other intelligent AIs could be temporarily set aside. At the very least, Divine Craft AI's capabilities would see a massive boost. This way, he could achieve a substantial increase in his overall industrial power without changing the maximum number of consciousness connections. It would make building a fleet twenty times the current scale within twenty-five years a real possibility!

Facing the relentless pursuit of the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity, conquering quantum computer technology and developing a high-performance quantum computer based on his own tech tree was practically Li Qingsong's only path to survival!

A long time ago, Li Qingsong had begun researching quantum computers, referencing the technology of the Blutuk Civilization.

Although he had made a lot of progress, he was still some distance from true practical application.

Moreover, due to differences in their technological paths, the quantum computers of the Blutuk Civilization were incompatible with Li Qingsong's existing tech systems. They could only serve in an auxiliary capacity and couldn't be relied upon for critical tasks.

'So, the only question now is, with only five years, can I achieve a technological breakthrough in quantum computing?'

'Can I take the quantum computer from its current state as a "toy in the lab" to something that can be truly mass-produced and utilized?'

'But... it seems I have no other choice right now.'

'Then I won't worry about whether it can be done. I'll just do everything in my power to make it happen!'

Li Qingsong had truly made up his mind.

At that moment, Li Qingsong's industrial power roared to life at full capacity. Numerous factories immediately switched production lines to manufacture the relevant equipment and materials. A vast number of ships shuttled between the planet's surface and space, and in just a few months, they had constructed an unprecedentedly massive space laboratory.

It was an enormous, drum-shaped laboratory, three kilometers in diameter and six kilometers long.

The Quantum Laboratory!

The exterior of the Quantum Laboratory consisted of three concentric drums. Each drum was about 200 meters thick, and its rotational speed around the main axis was precisely adjustable, allowing for the creation of different levels of gravity based on varying needs.

Inside the three drums was a stationary, cylindrical main axis, which maintained a low-gravity or zero-gravity environment.

This massive laboratory was divided into over 1,000 distinct zones, covering every branch of quantum supercomputing technology. There were sections for researching decoherence, environmental interference, high-performance heat dissipation, cooling, new superconducting materials, error correction techniques, precision laser manipulation, algorithms, systems, and programming. Every single technological branch occupied its own vast space.

The total number of Clones working in this laboratory reached five million.

But this was not the entirety of the resources Li Qingsong dedicated to conquering quantum supercomputing.

On other planets and space bases, Li Qingsong had also built over 1,000 auxiliary laboratories, staffed by another two million-plus Clones.

The number of Clones working on the front lines exceeded seven million. But beyond these seven million, Li Qingsong also requisitioned the brainpower of one hundred million more Clones. These Clones did nothing; they were even fed by other Clones, their sole purpose to lie in bed all day and contemplate the various problems of the technological push.

The results of this hundred-million-Clone think tank were synchronized in real-time to the minds of the front-line Clones, allowing them to adjust the direction of their next experiments based on the new insights.

When the next experiment produced data, it was, in turn, synchronized back to the minds of the think tank Clones, supporting their next phase of contemplation.

It was a self-reinforcing, cyclical process.

At this stage, drafting a total of about 110 million Clones to tackle the quantum supercomputing project was the absolute limit of what Li Qingsong could manage.

After all, other sectors also required a large workforce.

The industrial systems had to be maintained, and Clones were still needed for research related to accumulated technological theories and spaceship performance enhancements.

But even with "only" 110 million Clones dedicated to the project, their combined research capability already far surpassed that of the former Human Civilization, as well as the Blutuk Civilization.

By a rough estimate, the research power of these 110 million Clones was at least ten times greater than the research power of the entire Blutuk Civilization combined!

The scientific might equivalent to a full ten Blutuk Civilizations was now completely focused on the single project of quantum supercomputing.

This was the foundation of Li Qingsong's confidence that he could conquer this technology within five years.

Besides going all-out on the two crucial technological pushes—quantum supercomputing and spaceship performance optimization—Li Qingsong also spared some energy to do a third thing.

He built several dozen heavy transport ships, each with a full load displacement of around 10 million tons.

The reason he didn't build them larger, or even go straight for Space-Air Carriers, was mainly for the sake of stealth.

Each of these transport ships carried ten thousand Clones in hibernation. They also carried a small but crucial set of industrial equipment, such as simple yet highly reliable chemical power generators, mining equipment, smelting equipment, casting equipment, chemical processing plants, and basic agricultural and livestock-raising facilities.

Inside every transport was a supercomputer that not only managed the ship's overall control systems but also carried all of Li Qingsong's scientific data from over the years, along with the program code for all his intelligent AIs, such as Jade Emperor, Divine Craft, and Wukong.

Afterward, under the autonomous control of the Jade Emperor AI, these heavy transport ships followed Li Qingsong's orders and flew away from the Oriental Star.

Each transport ship was headed for a different destination Interstellar System. Some of these systems were near, others far; the closest was merely a dozen or so light-years away, while the furthest was over a hundred.

'Even if I'm unlucky and some are accidentally damaged during their voyage, with so many ships, a few of them are bound to reach their destinations, right?'

This was the backup plan Li Qingsong had prepared for himself.

If things went wrong—if the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity arrived at the Oriental Star System ahead of schedule and his main fleet was annihilated—he could at least use that unknown method of connection to transfer himself to another Interstellar System and start over.