Chapter 13 The Exclusive "Cockpit"

Over the next few days, Lin Yuan experienced the most "magical" time of his life.

He became the most special and leisurely person in the base.

His daily life consisted of eating, sleeping, and watching movies or playing games in his luxury suite.

His three meals a day were brought to him by a pretty nutritionist in a white coat, who would smile as she watched him finish and carefully ask what he wanted for his next meal.

He just casually mentioned he wanted to eat the mutton paomo from his hometown, and the next day at noon, a steaming bowl of authentic mutton paomo that almost made him cry was placed in front of him.

Later, he found out that for this bowl of paomo, the base had specially used a helicopter to bring over an old chef from Xi'an along with his family's ancestral soup stock.

This extremely luxurious life made Lin Yuan very uncomfortable at first.

As someone used to living a hard life, he always felt uneasy.

But after a few days, he slowly got used to it.

After all, who would turn away a good life?

While he was enjoying this "corrupt" life, the entire "scavenger" base was operating at astonishing efficiency.

Academician Wang, leading over a hundred top experts from various fields, formed more than a dozen research groups, working day and night to analyze the black armor plate, which was only the size of a washbasin.

They used all the cutting-edge equipment the country could provide, from high-energy particle colliders to quantum microscopes, trying to pry open a corner of this "fragment of god."

Meanwhile, another team led personally by Chen Weiguo was preparing for Lin Yuan's next salvage mission.

That morning, just after Lin Yuan finished running in the gym and returned to his room covered in sweat, Chen Weiguo's secretary came to his door.

"Mr. Lin Yuan, your exclusive 'connection room' has been built. Director Chen and Academician Wang would like you to go over and inspect it."

"Connection room?" Lin Yuan paused, stunned.

"It is a room specially prepared for when you perform salvage operations."

Lin Yuan followed the secretary to a newly built room next to his living area.

Pushing open the heavy soundproof door, Lin Yuan was stunned by the scene before him.

The room was not big, about fifty square meters, and in the center sat a silver-white seat that looked extremely sci-fi.

The shape of the seat was completely ergonomic, looking more like a pilot's cockpit seat.

Surrounding the seat were circles of complex robotic arms and various probes that Lin Yuan couldn't understand.

The walls, ceiling, and floor of the entire room were made of spliced display screens, which were currently emitting a soft white light.

Chen Weiguo and Academician Wang were standing next to the seat. Seeing Lin Yuan enter, Academician Wang immediately waved at him excitedly.

"Comrade Xiao Lin, come quickly! Look at the new 'cockpit' we prepared for you!"

Lin Yuan stepped forward and curiously touched the seat; it felt cold and smooth.

"Academician Wang, what is this used for?"

"This is a 'deep-dive neural interaction system'," Academician Wang introduced proudly. "According to your description, every time you perform a salvage, your consciousness leaves your body and enters a state of 'soul projection.' This process places a huge burden on your body, especially your brain. The mental backlash last time is proof of that."

"Therefore, we built this system for you." Academician Wang pointed to the dense array of probes on the seat. "When you sit here to perform salvage, these bio-electrode probes will automatically connect to your head and spine. They will monitor your brain waves, heart rate, blood pressure, neural signals... all physiological indicators in real-time."

"Once your physiological indicators show abnormal fluctuations, such as early signs of mental backlash, the system will immediately alert you. If the situation is critical, it can even forcibly terminate your 'connection' and pull your consciousness back into your body."

Academician Wang pointed to the surrounding screen walls.

"These panoramic screens will synchronize with your 'system' interface. Although we cannot see your subjective perspective, we can simulate the scene you are seeing here through the visual signals fed back by your brain. In other words, whatever you see in the 'Cosmic Graveyard,' we can also see a rough approximation here."

Lin Yuan was dumbfounded.

In other words, in the future, when he was "driving," he would have a large group of top-tier experts acting as "co-pilots," watching the road for him at all times, and they had even installed "active braking" and "panoramic imaging" for him?

This safety factor was instantly maxed out!

"That's... that's awesome!" Lin Yuan exclaimed sincerely.

"This is just the beginning," Chen Weiguo added calmly from the side. "Our goal is to build a 'firewall' between you and the system. Ultimately, we want all mental backlash to be borne by this device, so that you yourself will not suffer any harm."

Lin Yuan was deeply moved. The country was treating him like a national treasure among national treasures.

"Thank you, Chief, thank you, Academician Wang!"

"This is what we should do," Chen Weiguo waved his hand. "The equipment is ready. Now, we need to discuss your second salvage operation."

He signaled for everyone to sit down in the adjacent meeting area, and a virtual star map unfolded on the table.

"Based on your description, we have conducted an initial risk assessment and area zoning for 'Novice Zone 001 - Silent Star Sea'," the Minister of Intelligence Analysis, a capable-looking middle-aged man, began his report.

"The density of wreckage in this area is relatively low, energy fluctuations are gentle, and the frequency of 'Void Devourer' appearances is also relatively low, which is indeed suitable for a beginner. However, we have discovered an issue."

He pointed to an area on the star map.

"The location where you salvaged the 'oracle-grade armor' last time is here. And the location where you encountered the 'Void Devourer' is here. The distance between the two is very close."

"We have reason to suspect that high-value items, or items with stronger energy reactions, are inherently more likely to attract 'Void Devourer's. It's like in the ocean, where the smell of blood attracts sharks."

Lin Yuan nodded; he had experienced this deeply.

"Therefore, we have planned several relatively safe salvage routes for you." The Minister of Intelligence Analysis drew several green lines on the star map. "These routes all lead to areas with gathering wreckage that has weak energy reactions. For example, structural fragments of ordinary warships or the remains of abandoned space stations."

"Our suggestion is that before we fully understand the behavioral patterns of the 'Void Devourer,' your first few salvage operations should prioritize 'safety' above all else. First, salvage some 'ordinary trash' that isn't of high value but can help us build a database."

This proposal was very prudent and scientific.

But when Lin Yuan heard this, he frowned.

"Minister, do you mean for me to go specifically to pick up worthless junk?"

"From a scientific perspective, yes. We need a large number of samples for data analysis," the Minister of Intelligence Analysis nodded.

"But..." Lin Yuan hesitated, but still voiced his thoughts. "System upgrades require energy and rare materials. If I go to salvage that scrap metal and bring back a pile of it, it might not even be enough energy to repair the drone, let alone upgrade it. Without upgrades, my drone will always be this piece of junk, with poor stealth and low carrying capacity. If I really run into danger, I won't be able to run away."

"I think we still need to 'take a gamble.' High risk brings high reward. I almost died last time, but didn't that plate I salvaged charge the system with so much energy and upgrade the drone?"

Lin Yuan's thinking was very direct and also very "utilitarian." This was the habit of thought he had formed over a long time as a scrapyard owner—pursuing the highest cost-effectiveness.

His words caused the scientists present to fall into silence.

They were accustomed to starting from theory and data, pursuing absolute certainty. Lin Yuan, on the other hand, started from practice and results, believing that "fortune favors the brave."

Two ways of thinking collided here for the first time.

Academician Wang pondered for a moment and said, "Comrade Lin Yuan has a point. We cannot use laboratory thinking to guide a real and dangerous 'war.' The system has its own rules, and we must seek the optimal solution under its rules."

He looked at Lin Yuan and asked, "Xiao Lin, so what are your thoughts? What do you want to salvage next time?"

Lin Yuan's eyes lit up. He was afraid this group of experts would be too rigid and not listen to him.

"Academician Wang, I upgraded 'stealth' last time. Although it was only a 'small improvement,' I want to test the effect. Besides, last time in that place, besides that black plate, I also saw something!"

"What thing?" Everyone perked up.

"It was in the command cabin of that destroyed 'oracle-grade raider ship'," Lin Yuan tried hard to recall. "I only glanced at it at the time, but I seemed to see something plugged into a console... a small gadget emitting a faint blue light, like a USB drive."

"A USB drive?" Academician Wang's breathing instantly quickened. "A data storage unit?!"

"Yes! That might be it!" Lin Yuan slapped his thigh. "That ship was so awesome, the things stored in its 'USB drive' couldn't be bad, right? Maybe it's the design blueprints for that ship, or some interstellar navigation chart!"

"Hiss—"

The sound of people gasping filled the conference room.

Green light like a wolf's eyes appeared in the eyes of all the scientists.

A single armor plate had already kept them busy and showed performance beyond their era. If they could obtain the technical data for an entire "oracle-grade raider ship"...

That picture was too beautiful; they dared not imagine it!

"Risk! The risk is too high!" The Minister of Intelligence Analysis immediately raised an objection. "That place has been confirmed to have had a 'Void Devourer'; going back there again is tantamount to pulling teeth from a tiger's mouth!"

"But the rewards are also great!" Another young scientist retorted. "A complete alien civilization technology database! Who can resist this temptation?!"

"We must be responsible for Comrade Lin Yuan's life!"

"How can there be scientific progress without taking risks!"

The conference room instantly turned into a chaotic mess.

Everyone looked at Chen Weiguo, waiting for him to make the final decision.

Chen Weiguo was silent for a long time. He didn't look at the arguing scientists but instead cast his gaze toward Lin Yuan.

"Lin Yuan, you are the only executor. Your opinion is the most important." He spoke slowly. "Tell me, what are your chances of success?"

Lin Yuan met Chen Weiguo's gaze; he knew this was both trust and a test.

He took a deep breath and held up five fingers.

"Fifty percent."

"If it's just to bring the item back, I have a fifty percent chance. But..."

Lin Yuan's eyes became sharp.

"If you count this 'active braking' system you installed for me, I think I can add at least another twenty percent!"