Chapter 47 The Birth of a Ghost

The flashing avatar was a chubby man wearing a floral shirt and sunglasses, with the game ID "Brother Fortune".

This was a "peer" Lin Yuan had met back when he ran a scrapyard; his real name was Zhao Dahai, and he specialized in flipping second-hand electronic equipment and scrap parts.

Lin Yuan had often scavenged all sorts of random odds and ends from him in the past, and their relationship was decent enough—they were what you'd call drinking buddies.

"Holy crap, A-Yuan? You finally logged on? I thought you'd gone missing!"

Zhao Dahai sent a message followed by a string of exaggerated shocked emojis.

Lin Yuan looked at this message, feeling a bit sentimental.

Indeed, in the eyes of others, he, the owner of a small scrapyard, had been "missing" for several months.

They probably thought he had run off because he owed too much money.

"I didn't go missing. Something came up a while back, so I laid low for a bit," Lin Yuan replied after a moment of thought. He certainly couldn't tell the truth.

"Laid low? You're something else! Did you strike it rich?" Zhao Dahai replied instantly. "Let me tell you, that dumpy scrapyard of yours was sealed by the court last month! Everything inside was treated as trash. Those creditors of yours are out there every day, threatening to break your legs!"

Lin Yuan read this without a ripple of emotion.

Scrapyard? Creditors?

To him, those things were already a lifetime ago.

"It's fine, the debts have all been paid off," Lin Yuan replied indifferently.

"Paid off?! Holy crap! Did you really strike it rich? Did you win the lottery?" Zhao Dahai was clearly shocked. "Not bad, A-Yuan! That's not cool, man! You hit the jackpot and didn't think of your buddy? Let me tell you, I just got my hands on some good stuff—military-grade server parts from Russia. They're in great condition! You want some? For the sake of our friendship, I'll give you a 20% discount!"

Lin Yuan looked at the message and smiled.

Military-grade servers?

Everything he interacted with daily was an "alien supercomputer." In his eyes, these so-called "military-grade" items on Earth were no different from an abacus.

"No thanks, Dahai, I don't do that anymore."

"You don't do that anymore? Then what are you doing now?"

"Um… I joined a state-owned enterprise as a technical consultant," Lin Yuan said, half-truthfully.

"What the hell? Technical consultant? You? You didn't even finish middle school, what kind of technical consultant could you be?" Zhao Dahai sent a string of mocking emojis. "Stop bullshitting me! Did you hook up with some rich sugar mama?"

Lin Yuan shook his head helplessly.

He realized he no longer had any common language with his old friends.

Summer insects cannot speak of ice.

The world he was experiencing now was something a normal person like Zhao Dahai couldn't even imagine.

"Alright, Dahai, I won't keep you, I've got things to do here. Maybe we'll meet again if fate allows."

Lin Yuan found a random excuse and prepared to log off.

"Hey, don't go! A-Yuan!" Zhao Dahai was anxious. "Where the hell are you now? Let's grab a drink sometime! I'm telling you, I recently met a big boss who specifically collects strange 'extraterrestrial meteorites,' and he pays a high price! Didn't you used to like tinkering with that stuff? Should I take you to see them?"

"Extraterrestrial meteorites?"

Lin Yuan's heart skipped a beat.

He remembered what Academician Wang had said: what activated his system was a "meteorite" from thirty years ago.

"Yeah! Supposedly it's some kind of… stone with special energy. I don't really get it," Zhao Dahai replied. "Anyway, it's pretty weird. How about it? Interested?"

Lin Yuan narrowed his eyes.

He had a hunch that this matter might not be that simple.

"Alright, we'll talk about it when I have time."

He didn't agree immediately, just gave a perfunctory reply before closing the game.

He silently noted this matter in his mind.

Then, he poured all his energy back into his studies and his anticipation for scavenger three.

...

Two more months passed.

Under the stimulation of massive amounts of energy and cutting-edge technology, the construction of scavenger three inside that massive incubation chamber finally entered its final stages.

On this day, the core members of the entire scavenger project team gathered once again outside the cathedral-like construction workshop.

Everyone's faces were filled with anticipation and nervousness.

These three months, they had witnessed the birth of a miracle.

Now was the moment to verify that miracle.

Lin Yuan also stood at the very front of the crowd, his heart pounding fiercely.

This drone had poured in all his and everyone else's heart's blood, carrying the hope of the entire civilization.

What exactly would it look like?

"Incubation chamber energy supply stopped."

"Internal environment depressurization started."

"Preparing to open the hatch."

Academician Wang stood at the control console himself, issuing a series of commands.

"Hum—"

Accompanied by a faint sound of depressurization, the massive incubation chamber, which looked like an inverted glass bowl, slowly rose upward.

A faint, fresh scent, like grass after rain, drifted out from within.

A brand new "drone," beyond everyone's imagination, appeared before them.

The moment they saw it, everyone lost their voices.

No one could connect the thing before them with that previous, bulky, mechanical-looking scavenger no. 2.

It hovered silently in mid-air, its entire body presenting a deep, matte black that seemed to absorb all light.

Its shape was no longer any traditional aircraft design, but a perfect, streamlined form filled with biological aesthetics. It looked like a falcon ready to strike, and also like a shark lurking in the deep sea, full of power and a deadly elegance.

Its surface had no seams, nor any visible engine nozzles or mechanical joints.

That layer of Adaptive Lattice Armor, under the illumination of the lights, seemed to be slowly "breathing," with streams of light flashing across its surface from time to time, full of the aura of life.

"Is… is this what we built?" a young engineer muttered to himself, unable to believe his eyes.

"It… it's a work of art," Li Na also stared, dumbfounded.

Lin Yuan felt his throat go dry.

This was… his new "ride"?

This is fucking cool!

"Comrade Lin Yuan." Chen Weiguo's voice woke everyone from their shock. "Go ahead. Meet your new partner."

Lin Yuan nodded, took a deep breath, and walked into the brand-new connection cockpit that had been prepared specifically for him.

This cockpit had also undergone a comprehensive upgrade, making it more comfortable and safer.

The moment he sat down, the sci-fi-looking helmet slowly descended.

"Connection initiated."

"Hum—"

There was no dizziness or discomfort at all.

Lin Yuan felt his consciousness like a drop of water, instantly merging into the ocean.

When he opened his "eyes" again, he discovered that he had become that incredibly cool black "Ghost".

This feeling was completely different from controlling scavenger no. 1 and scavenger no. 2 before.

Before, he felt like he was "driving" a car.

But now, he felt this black body was his own body!

He moved his mind.

"Swish—"

The black "Ghost" vanished from the spot instantly, and the next second, it reappeared silently a hundred meters away.

Fast!

Fast to the extreme!

Moreover, there was no sound, and no trace of energy!

He tried turning his "body" again.

The "Ghost" instantly completed a ninety-degree right-angle turn without a hint of hesitation or buffering.

"Inertialess maneuver! It's real!" An exclamation erupted in the Command Center.

Lin Yuan's playfulness surged, and he started "racing" wildly in this massive underground cavern.

Like a black lightning bolt, he sometimes flew close to the ground, sometimes climbed vertically, and sometimes performed an elegant yet deadly "ballet" in the air.

He even tried activating the Spatial Lens Force Field.

The "Ghost"'s body distorted in the air, and then it just vanished into thin air.

Neither the naked eye nor radar could capture its trail anymore.

"My god… it's actually invisible!"

"This… how are you supposed to fight this? You can't even see it!"

Feeling this unprecedented, ghost-like power, Lin Yuan was filled with ecstasy.

With this thing, let alone the Void Devourer, he felt he could even take a stroll around the aliens' home planet!

Just then, the system's notification sound arrived late in his mind.

【New drone detected and connected.】

【Designation: "scavenger three - Ghost".】

【Level: LV4.】

【Energy Reserve: 10000 / 10000.】

【Payload Limit: 500kg.】

【Stealth: Extremely High (Spatial Lens Force Field).】

【Functions: High-Dimensional Penetration Scanning, Nanite Plastic Tool Arms, Subspace Storage, Lattice Self-Repair...】

【Defense System: Kinetic Deflection Field.】

【Salvage Zones: No. 001 "Silent Star Sea" (10% explored), No. 002 "Ghost Route" (5% explored)...】

【New Zone Unlocked: No. 003 "giant beast skeleton".】

Seeing this brand-new, dazzlingly luxurious attribute panel, Lin Yuan's heart was once again filled with immense joy.

On the Command Center's large screen, this panel was also displayed simultaneously.

Everyone's gaze was locked tightly onto that last line of text.

"A new zone… is unlocked!"

"No. 003… 'giant beast skeleton'!"