80: Chapter 80, Volume 1 Complete: I wanted to keep a low profile, but my strength wouldn't allow it.

It was late at night. On the terrace of Yunding Villa, the evening breeze carried a hint of early summer heat.

Jiang Chen swirled half a glass of red wine in his hand, leaning against the cool white jade railing. His gaze pierced through the neon lights of the bustling city and cast itself toward the deep, boundless night sky.

"Boss, put on a jacket. Don't catch a cold."

A simple yet powerful voice came from behind him.

Zhao Gang held an expensive handmade suit jacket in his hands and draped it gently over Jiang Chen's shoulders. This former special forces king, who once knew only how to kill enemies, had now been honed into a semi-attentive butler.

"Old Zhao, I'm not cold."

Jiang Chen tightened the jacket, a faint smile hanging on the corners of his mouth. "It's just that... all of this feels a bit like a dream."

And wasn't it a dream?

Three months ago, he was still huddled in that drafty rented room, eating instant noodles, so worried about a 500,000 loan shark debt that he wanted to jump off a building. Back then, his greatest wish was just to pay off the debt and let his mother and sister live a life where they didn't have to hide from creditors.

But what about now?

Jiang Chen looked down at his feet.

This was Villa Number One at Yunding Villa, the most expensive property in Tianhai City.

In his bank account lay a string of numbers he couldn't even be bothered to count—money paid by the Eagle Nation, and money sent by the whole world begging to buy chips.

His mother, Liu Yulan, had recovered from cancer and now spent every day at the veteran cadre sanatorium dancing square dances with a group of retired bureau chiefs' wives, with more energy than a young person.

His sister, Jiang Qianqian, had transferred to the best private school, with two plainclothes female agents following her at all times. Forget about thugs; not even a male mosquito could fly within three meters of her.

As for those who once trampled all over him...

Zhao Tianba and his gang of thugs had long since gone in to operate the sewing machines, and he heard their sentences had been extended because of poor behavior.

The Wang father and son were either repenting in prison or planting trees in the Northwest to atone for their sins.

And that ex-girlfriend, Lin Yao, who had treated him with indifference back then—she was probably hiding in some rented room right now, crying her eyes out while watching videos of his press conference.

"So satisfying."

Jiang Chen looked up and took a sip of wine, letting out a heartfelt exclamation. "This is what you call life."

"Beep—"

A soft sound interrupted his musings.

Ikaros, dressed in a maid outfit, walked over with an elegant cat-like gait. On the tray in her hand was a plate of freshly cut fruit, the knife work precise to the micron level.

"Master, according to big data analysis, your current dopamine secretion level is in the 'extremely comfortable' range."

Ikaros's emerald green mechanical eyes flickered with a faint light, and her cat ears twitched.

"It is recommended to consume high-sugar fruit to maintain this sense of pleasure. Additionally, do you need to activate the 'lap pillow' service mode?"

"Go, go, go, go play somewhere else."

Before Jiang Chen could speak, Academician Chen Shuyin, sitting on a rattan chair nearby, waved her hand with a look of disgust.

It was rare for this female academician not to work overtime tonight.

She had taken off her professional attire and changed into loose loungewear, holding a tablet and looking at some data. Hearing Ikaros's words, she couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Can some artificial intelligence have a little bit of awareness? Don't you see we are discussing serious business?"

"Hmph, stupid carbon-based female."

Ikaros retorted without hesitation, "Is your 'serious business' staring at Master's profile in a daze for fifteen minutes? According to micro-expression analysis, this is a precursor to 'being in heat'."

"Shut up!"

Chen Shuyin's face turned red, and she grabbed a throw pillow and threw it at her. "I am doing this for science! I am observing the thought patterns of a higher life form!"

Watching these two characters start their daily bickering, Jiang Chen smiled helplessly.

This was his current "team." A beautiful female scientist who was crazy but had off-the-charts intelligence, an AI maid with heaven-defying combat power but a sharp tongue, and a loyal bodyguard captain.

With these people around, even if the sky fell, it didn't seem like such a big deal.

"Alright, stop arguing."

Jiang Chen handed the empty wine glass to Ikaros, signaling her to refill it, and then turned to look at Academician Chen Shuyin.

"Old Chen, how is the situation with the 'Sun'?"

Mentioning business, Academician Chen Shuyin's expression instantly became serious.

She pushed up her glasses and tapped open the holographic blueprint on her tablet.

"The foundation for the West Suburb Base has been laid. Dean Zhong has brought in the best construction team in the country, working in three shifts, twenty-four hours a day without stopping."

"I have completed the reverse design of the reactor's core ignition device based on that 'Coke bottle formula' you gave me. Although the materials are still a bit of a stretch, theoretically... it can work."

Speaking of this, Academician Chen Shuyin paused, her eyes becoming somewhat complicated.

"Jiang Chen, have you really thought this through?"

"Once this 'Artificial Sun' ignition is successful, it won't just be a commercial issue. It means humanity will completely break free from the shackles of energy and enter an era of infinite energy."

"By then, what you face might not just be the Eagle Nation. The world's old energy giants will all view you as a thorn in their side."

After hearing this, Jiang Chen was not afraid; instead, he smiled even more happily.

He walked to the edge of the terrace, opened his arms, and faced the night breeze, the arrogance carved into his bones released completely at this moment.

"A thorn in their side?"

"Then let them try to pull it out!"

"Old Chen, remember this. When you are only one step ahead, others will be jealous of you and will try to trip you up."

"But when you are one hundred steps ahead, or even flying directly in the sky..."

Jiang Chen pointed at the vast starry sky above his head.

"All they will have left is to look up, and kneel."

"What I want to do isn't to fight them for a bowl of rice. I want to flip the table and take everyone to eat a banquet!"

"And..."

His voice lowered, and a flash of tenderness and urgency that only he understood crossed his eyes.

"And, I also need this 'Sun' to bring someone home."

One billion energy points.

That wasn't just a number.

That was the promise Jiang Wanqiu made while standing in the cold wind of the Wasteland, waiting for him with anticipation. It was the travel fare home for the girl who was willing to block a nuclear bomb for him, willing to wear black silk for him, and even willing to break through dimensions for him.

"I promised her."

Jiang Chen touched the phone in his pocket and muttered to himself, "I will not only be the king of this world, I will also be the god of that world."

Just then, a streak of extremely bright light suddenly cut across the pitch-black night sky.

It was not a meteor.

Its speed was extremely fast, its trajectory stable, drawing a straight silver line that seemed to connect to the future amidst the starry sky.

"Look!"

Zhao Gang pointed at the sky and shouted excitedly, "That's the... 'Sun Chaser' satellite mentioned on our news broadcast!"

That was the first experimental satellite equipped with the full suite of 6G communication modules from Chenxing Technology.

It was also another loud slap in the face from Jiang Chen to the Eagle Nation's technological hegemony.

"It's truly beautiful."

Jiang Chen watched the satellite, lifted the freshly refilled red wine glass in his hand, and toasted the starry sky and the unknown future from afar.

"Honestly, I really wanted to keep a low profile."

"Just go fishing, bask in the sun, and be a rich man living a life of leisure—wouldn't that be nice?"

He sighed, his face showing a "how lonely it is to be invincible" kind of humblebrag expression, and downed the wine in his glass.

"It's a pity... my capabilities just won't allow it."

"Since I can't keep a low profile, then..."

Jiang Chen suddenly crushed the wine glass in his hand, the glass shards turning into powder in his palm and drifting away with the wind.

His gaze instantly became as sharp as a knife, pointing straight at the firmament.

"Then let this fire burn even brighter!"

"Our goal is the sea of stars!"

(Volume One: Rise from Humble Beginnings and Heavy National Machinery · End)