Chapter 4: Let's do it! Hand it over!

Night fell, and the suburban scrapyard was silent, save for the low chirping of unknown summer insects in the corners.

Lin Yuan sat beside that black metal plate, smoking one cigarette after another. The ground was already littered with cigarette butts.

His face, which usually looked somewhat weary from the daily grind, was now etched with complex emotions.

Excitement, agitation, lingering fear, confusion, and a trace of indescribable heaviness.

He stroked the cold metal plate over and over, feeling its texture that defied imagination.

This thing could no longer be described as merely "hard."

It was practically the embodiment of absolute defense.

Lin Yuan's mind was a mess. He was a small-time nobody whose greatest dream was to pay off his debts, open a small restaurant, marry a wife, and live a peaceful life.

But now, he was clutching something capable of overturning the world.

What should he do?

His first thought was to sell it.

If this thing could be sold, how much would it be worth? A hundred million? A billion? Or even ten billion?

Lin Yuan was startled by his own thought. The most money he had ever seen in his life was the string of numbers on a bank loan contract.

But the problem was, who would he sell it to?

Sell it to some domestic tycoon or a large corporation? Would they recognize its value? Even if they did, would they dare to take it? There was no way to explain where it came from.

Sell it abroad? Through the black market?

The moment this thought surfaced, Lin Yuan snuffed it out himself.

Are you kidding me!

Though he was poor and sometimes liked to take small advantages, he still had a line he wouldn't cross. This thing was clearly technology beyond the era, a strategic treasure capable of shifting the balance of national power. Selling it to foreigners—wouldn't that make him a traitor? His family had been poor peasants for three generations, with deep roots and a clean record; he couldn't do such a thing.

Moreover, did he even have the channels or the ability? He'd likely vanish from the face of the earth before the item was even sold. He still understood the principle that "a common man is innocent, but treasuring a jade ring makes him guilty."

Then... keep it for himself?

Lin Yuan looked at the black plate, then at his dilapidated scrapyard, and gave a bitter laugh.

Keep it for what? As a family heirloom?

In his hands, he couldn't even scratch the surface of this thing; it was useless except for taking up space. Besides, this thing was like a time bomb. What if it had some unknown radiation? What if there was some alien virus or tracker hidden inside?

He recalled the terrifying claw marks on the warship wreckage in the "Cosmic Graveyard" and that "Void Devourer" that almost cost him his life, and his heart skipped a beat.

A civilization that could use this kind of armor definitely wasn't one to be trifled with. Its enemies were even more unimaginably terrifying existences.

For a scrap collector like him to hide such a thing at home—wasn't that just seeking death? If aliens ever followed the signal to his door, not just him, but the entire Earth would be finished.

Lin Yuan the more he thought about it, the more cold sweat broke out on his back.

He realized that what he had fished out wasn't a golden meal ticket, but a hot potato—a Pandora's box that could tear a hole in the sky.

The value and danger of this thing were far beyond what he could handle personally.

If he couldn't handle it, then who could?

In Lin Yuan's mind, images of the mighty army from the news, the silently dedicated scientists, and the fluttering Five-Star Red Flag involuntarily surfaced.

"Thinking it over, it seems the only one who can handle this treasure is the state..."

He murmured to himself.

Once this thought appeared, it could no longer be suppressed.

Yes, only the state—only this powerful, efficient, and trustworthy collective—had the ability to study it, utilize it, and bear all the risks it might bring.

By handing it over to the state, not only could he rid himself of this massive trouble, but he might even receive a generous reward. The prize money would surely be substantial, more than enough to resolve his current debt crisis. Moreover, this would be a great service; he would be someone who had made a special contribution to the country, and he could walk with his head held high anywhere.

Most importantly, safety!

Once handed over, he would transform from an unlucky guy "treasuring a jade ring" into an important figure protected by the state. If the sky fell, the state would be there to hold it up.

At this thought, the confusion and fear in Lin Yuan's heart vanished, and his mind instantly became clear.

Right, let's do it! Hand it over!

Once the decision was made, his entire being felt much lighter.

But a new problem arose.

How to hand it over?

Call 110 directly?

"Hello, Officer? I picked up a fragment of an alien spaceship, could you come and collect it?"

Even Lin Yuan felt that saying this made him sound like a lunatic; it would be a miracle if he weren't arrested for making a false report or being mentally ill.

Go to the local government? It would likely be the same; the guards at the gate wouldn't even let him in.

He needed a channel that could directly contact "Specialized Departments." A channel that could understand what he was saying and had the ability to handle the matter.

Lin Yuan paced back and forth, desperately searching through his memory.

Suddenly, he remembered someone.

It was a few years ago, not long after he started the scrapyard, when he acquired a batch of decommissioned equipment from a certain military unit. The person who came to handle the handover was an old squad leader named Li. He was very kind and, seeing that it wasn't easy for a young man to start a business, had looked out for him a bit.

The two of them got along well and became acquainted over time. Once, while drinking, the old squad leader had too much and, patting him on the shoulder, half-jokingly and half-seriously gave him a phone number.

"Little Lin, take down this number. This is the unit an old comrade of mine went to after retiring; they specialize in handling things that... well, are hard to talk about publicly. You must never call it normally, and don't tell anyone. But if—and I mean if—you encounter something that can't be explained by common sense, something so outrageous it makes you feel like your worldview is collapsing, then you can call this number. Remember, it must be something on the level of the sky falling before you call!"

At the time, Lin Yuan just thought the old squad leader was bragging while drunk and casually saved the number in his phone under the contact name "Squad Leader Li's Awesome Comrade." He hadn't thought of it since.

But now...

"Something on the level of the sky falling..." Lin Yuan looked at the black armor plate at his feet and murmured, "If this isn't the sky falling, then what the hell is?"

He immediately pulled out that old smartphone he'd used for years, its screen marred by several cracks.

He flipped through his contacts, his finger scrolling for a long time before finally finding that entry at the very bottom.

He looked at that string of unfamiliar numbers, and his heart began to pound wildly again.

Once this call was made, his life might never return to the way it was.

He would go from a small scrapyard owner worrying about tens of thousands in debt to being swept into an unimaginable vortex at the highest levels of the state.

He took another deep breath, his gaze becoming incredibly resolute.

There's no going back, so move forward!

It's better than guarding this pile of scrap metal and being hounded to death by debt collectors!

He pressed the dial button.

"Beep... beep... beep..."

A dull and monotonous waiting tone came from the phone. Every ring was like a heavy hammer striking Lin Yuan's heart.