Chapter 9 On behalf of the nation, I formally extend an invitation to you.

The moment Lin Yuan issued the command, the black metal plate that had been lying quietly on the ground seemed to come alive.

The flowing, water-like patterns on its surface began to emit a faint, visible blue glow. The glow pulsed like breathing, brightening and dimming, filled with a certain mysterious rhythm.

"My god! It's glowing!" a young researcher exclaimed involuntarily.

"Everyone quiet! Turn on all recording equipment! Full-spectrum monitoring!" Academician Wang barked, his eyes fixed intently on the metal plate, afraid of missing a single detail.

Inside the scrapyard, dozens of cameras and sensors of various models were all aimed at the glowing metal plate.

Lin Yuan could feel an invisible energy being slowly drawn out from the metal plate and, through a method he could not comprehend, poured into the "deep space salvage system" in his mind.

On the system interface before him, the numbers in the 【Energy Reserves】 column began to jump rapidly.

【Energy Reserves: 5 / 100】

【Energy Reserves: 15 / 100】

【Energy Reserves: 35 / 100】

【Energy Reserves: 70 / 100】

【Energy Reserves: 100 / 100】

In just a few seconds, the energy was full!

But the absorption did not stop.

【Energy Reserves: 150 / 100】

【Energy Reserves: 300 / 100】

【Energy Reserves: 500 / 100】

The numbers were still soaring wildly, and soon they broke through the one-thousand mark!

Lin Yuan was dumbfounded.

He had originally thought it would be good enough if the energy in this plate could just repair the drone, but he hadn't expected it to be such a "super power bank"!

Meanwhile, the scientists outside also observed an astonishing phenomenon.

"Report! The target's energy density is dropping exponentially!"

"Report! The target's mass is decreasing! This does not conform to the law of conservation of mass! Its matter is disappearing out of thin air!"

"Report! Weak disturbances in spatial parameters! An energy transfer phenomenon we cannot understand is occurring!"

Various alarming reports came in from different monitoring stations and converged on Academician Wang.

Listening to these reports, Academician Wang clenched his hands into fists.

Mass disappearing out of thin air?

Spatial disturbances?

This was completely beyond the scope of everything he had learned in his life. This was a higher-dimensional technology, a technology that was near "divine"!

The absorption process lasted about a minute.

When the energy reserve number on the system interface finally stopped at 【2350 / 100】, the glow on the surface of the metal plate slowly faded, and it returned to that deep black color once again.

However, its size had clearly shrunk. The plate, originally half a meter square, was now less than the size of a washbasin, and its thickness had also decreased significantly.

【Energy absorption complete.】

【Drone "scavenger no. 1" beginning automatic repair...】

【Repair progress: 10%... 50%... 100%】

【Repair complete.】

【Detected large amount of redundant energy, proceed with drone upgrade?】

A series of system prompts sounded in Lin Yuan's mind.

"It can be upgraded?" Lin Yuan felt a surge of joy.

He immediately told Academician Wang the news.

"Upgrade! Upgrade immediately!" Academician Wang said without hesitation, "We want to see what the growth potential of this so-called 'system' really is!"

Lin Yuan nodded and issued a command to the system in his mind: "Upgrade drone!"

【Please select upgrade path:】

【A. Engine (increase speed and mobility)】

【B. Stealth Coating (reduce probability of being discovered by "Void Devourer")】

【C. Energy Core (increase energy cap, extend salvage time)】

【D. Robotic Arm and Payload (increase gripping force and payload capacity)】

Four options appeared before Lin Yuan.

He thought for a moment and chose B without hesitation.

No matter how fast it was, it wouldn't be faster than that thing. No matter how large the payload, it would be useless if he didn't live to enjoy what was salvaged. Only surviving was the most important thing. The shadow that the "Void Devourer" had cast over him was truly too great.

"I chose B, stealth," Lin Yuan said to Academician Wang.

【Confirm selection of "Stealth Coating" upgrade.】

【Energy consumed: 500 points.】

【Rare materials consumed: None (This upgrade will analyze the "Oracle-class Raider Armor" structure and automatically generate a basic stealth coating).】

【Upgrade starting...】

【Upgrade complete.】

【Salvage Drone - "scavenger no. 1"】

【Level: LV2】

【Energy Reserves: 1850 / 100 (Increased)】

【Payload Capacity: 50kg】

【Stealth: Low (Slightly improved)】

【Functions: Basic Grabbing, Basic Scanning】

Lin Yuan looked at the upgraded panel, somewhat surprised. The energy cap had actually increased as well? Although it wasn't written on the panel, he could feel that the drone's energy core seemed to have become more powerful.

He told Academician Wang the data after the upgrade.

After hearing it, Academician Wang paced back and forth in excitement.

"It can upgrade! It really can upgrade! And it can even analyze the materials we provide and automatically perform technical conversion! My god... this is no longer a simple cheat; this is a... this is an engine of civilization! An accelerator of technology!"

The way he looked at Lin Yuan could no longer be described as looking at a "treasure."

It was looking at a "god."

Or rather, looking at a mortal who had grasped the "authority of gods."

"Academician Wang, what... what should we do now?" Zhang Wei asked in a low voice from the side, his voice also trembling slightly.

The development of events had completely exceeded the imagination of these field personnel. This was no longer a simple "special incident"; this was a "first contact" capable of changing the nation's destiny, or even the course of human civilization!

Academician Wang took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

He knew that from this moment on, everything surrounding Lin Yuan and this "deep space salvage system" would become the highest level of state secret.

He walked to the side and picked up the red encrypted phone that could connect directly to the highest command center.

His hand was trembling slightly, but his voice was incredibly firm.

"Connect to the central office, this is Wang Zhiyuan."

"...Yes, emergency communication."

"Report to the Chief, the 'Nuwa Project'... can be initiated."

"No, it's even... even ten thousand times more important than we anticipated!"

"We didn't find a key... we found... the door to the kingdom of gods directly!"

On the other end of the phone, there was a long silence.

Academician Wang hung up the phone, turned to look at the bewildered Lin Yuan, and his expression became incredibly solemn.

He adjusted his collar, as if facing an important foreign guest.

"Comrade Lin Yuan," he said in an unprecedentedly serious tone, "I am now, on behalf of the country, formally extending an invitation to you."