313: Chapter 306: Production Line Arrival, Three-Day Tour of Jinshui Town Begins, and New Channels Opened

The great Peng spread its wings, and every stall and every face on the open ground was shrouded in shadow.

They all instinctively stopped what they were doing, staring blankly together at the Peng in the sky that blotted out the sun. Even as the wine cups in front of them overflowed, they remained completely oblivious.

The great Peng was clearly very satisfied with the reaction of the people on the ground. It wasn't until a resonant bird cry echoed through the sky that they finally began to move again, and the stagnant air flowed once more.

Amidst the noisy exclamations, when a young man's girlfriend uttered the word "Kun," he subconsciously followed up with, "I used to really admire the Kunpeng."

His girlfriend, who didn't often encounter internet memes, looked puzzled: "And now?"

"Uh... I admire it even more." The young man looked up, "It's so huge; how badass would it be if it took flight?"

"I told you to read more books; that's called 'magnificent'!"

"Fine, fine, magnificent it is." The young man gave a perfunctory reply. Hearing the constant clicking of shutters around him, he finally reacted, pulling out his Mobile Phone and aiming the camera at the sky.

The Director at the top of the hill saw them all taking photos and couldn't help but hold up his Mobile Phone as well, clicking away.

"Director," Zhao Qi called out to him from behind.

"Wait a second, almost..."

"A call from Kyoto."

"Ah?" The Director was startled and hurriedly put away his phone, turning his head. "What did they say?"

"The supplies for the exchange stones are almost here."

As the top person in charge of the base, the Director had to personally handle important tasks.

The supplies used to exchange for 'stones' this time, aside from a large amount of common industrial goods—including but not limited to weapons, multi-purpose tools, and even snacks—

Also included a few of the most cutting-edge, classified technological products that had not yet been publicly announced.

Undoubtedly, if anything happened to this batch of supplies, the Director's life would likely be forfeit. Thus, he couldn't spare time to watch the Peng and hurriedly led Zhao Qi back to the temporary airport outside the base.

Shortly after arriving at the control tower, a transport plane lowered its altitude overhead and landed smoothly on the runway.

The Director instructed Zhao Qi to find Lin Miao and have her contact the Kunpeng to prepare to open the gate.

He himself ran to the side of the transport plane to supervise the staff unloading the cargo, ensuring no mishaps would occur during the process.

Watching the wooden crates being hauled away, the Director mused that when the delivery was made later, he must solemnly express his gratitude to Immortal Xu.

He had previously been curious if the Mountain Gate took these things, which were useless to them, just to let them gather dust in a warehouse or to destroy them directly, so he had asked Immortal Xu.

The answer he received was that there were also children within the Mountain Gate, raised after the Mountain Gate disciples became Dao companions.

These "toys," such as firearms, could be given to the children to play house, used for entertainment and leisure.

The Director was shocked at the time; bullets have no eyes, what if someone got killed?

Immortal Xu explained with a smile, "No matter. Although the young children have not yet begun cultivation, they have Dharma treasures provided by their parents for protection. Your toys... weapons will not harm them."

The Director marveled in his heart that he was indeed an immortal who had lived for thousands of years; look at that sense of propriety.

As his thoughts drifted, all the supplies were neatly piled on a concrete area at the edge of the airport. The person in charge who came with the plane found the Director and asked where the trucks for loading the cargo were.

"Loading what cargo?"

The person in charge looked blank: "The crates. There are so many; if we don't use trucks, are people supposed to carry them on their shoulders?"

"Heh, how ignorant."

The Director remembered him. Back when the Mountain Gate had not appeared and the Special Investigation Bureau was on the verge of being disbanded, this fellow had frequently mocked him. However, the tables have turned, and now it was his time to shine.

After a petty moment of disdain, the Director folded his arms across his chest and slightly raised his chin: "Just wait."

The person in charge scratched his head, thinking that staying with him would only lead to more gloating, so he simply ran further away, gazing at the Kunpeng and the others with a look of novelty.

About ten minutes later, he was surprised to find the stationary, hovering Kunpeng slowly lowering its head, its deep, massive eyeballs looking toward the airport from afar.

Feeling himself being watched, he suddenly felt as if a great mountain was pressing down on him. His knees went weak, and he nearly knelt directly on the ground.

"Don't be nervous." The Director, from a distance, didn't actually let him make a fool of himself. "The Kunpeng Immortal is here to collect the goods."

Collect the goods?

Is it going to land?!

Can I see it up close? Can I touch its feathers? But... it's so big, will it squash me flat if it's not careful?

With excitement and panic intertwined in his heart, the person in charge didn't know for a moment whether he should stay away for safety or get closer to seize the once-in-a-lifetime chance to touch the Kunpeng.

The idea was beautiful, but he soon realized he was overthinking it.

The great bird in the sky did not flap its wings to land; instead, it opened its massive mouth, which looked like an abyss.

There was no brilliant light, nor any distortion of space. The neatly piled wooden crates rose into the air out of nowhere and quickly flew into the bird's mouth.

"It... it ate them?!" The person in charge instinctively took a few steps back, worried that he was also within the range of the "immortal power."

"The Kunpeng Immortal's belly is so big, what does this little bit of stuff matter?" The Director didn't miss any opportunity to belittle him.

Damn it, he's showing off again!

Coming to his senses, the person in charge knew the Kunpeng was in control and wouldn't accidentally hurt him. While breathing a sigh of relief, he cursed the Director in his heart.

He figured if he stayed, he'd be finished, so he'd better retreat quickly.

He even painfully gave up seeing more of the supernatural, unwilling to let the Director continue acting superior: "The handover is complete. I'm leaving now."

"Don't go yet. You haven't seen Immortal Xu, have you?"

Immortal Xu?

The videos of the immortal he had watched countless times surfaced in his mind. The person in charge was somewhat moved, but he hesitated, thinking that if Immortal Xu really came, this bastard would probably start with the sarcasm again.

"He's here."

Before the person in charge could reach a decision, a light gate opened in the distant sky. Through the gate, one could vaguely see dense mist and mountain peaks standing above the clouds.

"A fairyland!" Over at the event site, everyone was nearly breaking the record buttons on their Mobile Phone screens.

The person in charge here also uttered the same shock: "A fairyland?!"

"It's the Mountain Gate."

Crap, he's showing off again!

After a moment, a white figure familiar to most but never seen in person flew out from the gate.

He did not ride a sword; he simply flew through the air with his physical body toward the Kunpeng's back.

With their view blocked by the Kunpeng's vast belly, everyone speculated on what Immortal Xu was doing.

"Pick up the token at Qingfeng Hall on another day." A voice as smooth as jade drifted into everyone's ears.

Because the transaction with the Mountain Gate was top secret, the person in charge only had some guesses upon hearing this, while the Director naturally understood what it referred to.

"Alright, stop guessing and get back quickly." The spaceship was just waiting for materials to start work; the Director had no mind to mess with him anymore.

"Then, see you later."

The person in charge turned toward the plane but stopped after just two steps because of the leisurely tone drifting from the sky.

"Since you all have come for this grand occasion, I, Xu, should add to the fun. Senior Brother."

The Kunpeng tilted its head slightly, and a single feather detached from its right wing, swaying as it fell toward the ground.

No one knew what use the Kunpeng's feather had, but since it was something belonging to an immortal, grabbing it was the right move.

The cheers from the event grounds were clearly audible even at this end of the airport.

It would take a while for the feather to land. The Director was glad he still had time to rush over. He was about to sprint when he glimpsed the person in charge standing still in place, so he stopped again: "Aren't you leaving?"

"Heh." He smiled, "This was bestowed by the immortal. He didn't say I couldn't compete for it, right?"

The Director's expression froze. He suddenly raised his hand and pointed toward a distant mountain peak: "Look, what's that?!"

"What?" The person in charge thought another immortal had appeared and hurried to look. As a result, there was nothing. He turned back intending to question what the hell he was doing, only to see the Director's figure already darting into a car.

"You bastard!" He stopped pretending and cursed as he chased after him.

The battle for the feather was intense. By the time the two arrived, they couldn't even squeeze into the crowd. They could only stare longingly at the sky from the periphery, hoping the feather would fall toward them.

"The first to touch it shall have it; do not scramble and cause an incident." Immortal Xu left these words and flew into the light gate.

Although the tone of these words was flat, everyone still sensed the warning. They didn't dare push those beside them anymore, and all held their hands high, trying to rely on their height advantage to defeat their opponents.

Under the hopeful gazes of ten thousand people, the feather finally neared the ground.

Regrettably, the landing point was in the center of the crowd. The Director and the person in charge on the edge were out of luck.

The feather fell closer and closer, and everyone got excited, trying hard to stand on their tiptoes.

By now, one could roughly judge where it would land. Among the crowd directly below, the tall ones looked around and, seeing themselves standing head and shoulders above the rest, couldn't help but show a winner's smile.

However, a short old man nearby took a different approach.

He first lay in wait patiently, inconspicuously lowering his hands to give the illusion of giving up, making his competitors ignore him. When the wide feather, as big as a single bed, blocked the sunlight overhead, he suddenly erupted—hoisting his daughter onto his shoulders.

As the saying goes, when father and daughter are of one mind, their strength can break metal. The little girl, who still had some baby fat on her face, pressed one hand on her father's head and desperately raised the other high under his encouragement.

This series of maneuvers caught the others off guard.

In their stunned gazes, the little girl's chubby fingers touched the feather.

"Wow! I got it!"

"Damn, how insidious!"

"What a cheat! I saw him put his hands down and thought he didn't want to compete anymore!"

The people around expressed their anger, but the old man wasn't flustered at all. What, you dare to snatch it? Careful the Kunpeng doesn't slap you to death with a wing!

He triumphantly put his daughter on the ground and cupped his hands to all sides: "I've won this round, I've won this round."

It was indeed as he speculated; no one had the guts to steal it. But how could they feel at ease watching an immortal object fall into someone else's hands without getting a little piece of the action?

"Brother, let me touch it to get some immortal aura, just once!"

Feeling that the feather was very light, the old man held it up with one hand: "Fair enough. Come, come, line up. One touch per person, no touching more than once!"

Shrouded by the shadow of the Kunpeng's body, the crowd didn't dare act out. They very consciously formed a long queue that stretched into the distance as if it had no end.

Some people, bored while waiting, held up their Mobile Phones to film the grand occasion and then posted it to websites to chat with netizens who couldn't come, thus passing the tedious wait.

As soon as the video was uploaded, it spread rapidly abroad, with Ying Country being the most attentive.

Ever since the match between Immortal Xu and Dumbledore, there had been constant discussion among the public in Ying Country about just how large the gap was between their own Headmaster and China's Immortal Xu, as well as between Hogwarts and the Mountain Gate.

These people were roughly divided into three groups. They gathered on network platforms and launched fierce debates on various aspects of both sides.

One group was the rationalists; they believed that based on the news broadcast that day, Hogwarts was far weaker than the Mountain Gate.

One group was the emotionalists; they maintained that Hogwarts was a partner of Ying Country and was by no means inferior to the Mountain Gate.

There was also a group of fence-sitters; they stated that as long as Dumbledore defeated Immortal Xu, he would be stronger than the opponent, and vice versa.

The latter group spread these correct but useless platitudes everywhere, which only served to muddy the waters. This successfully provoked the dissatisfaction of the first two groups, who temporarily set aside their differences to join forces and suppress them.

The fence-sitters were fearless, picking up their keyboards and passionately arguing with them in the comments section until the video of the lucky draw activity was forwarded to Ying Country, at which point the three parties finally called a temporary truce.

They had a more important goal now.

Setting aside who was stronger between Hogwarts and the Mountain Gate, the other side was so generous, giving away tourism slots and bestowing feathers. Why was there no movement at all from their own side?

The three groups reached a unified opinion and, under the organization of elected leaders, launched a disciplined protest to the Royal Family.

The slogan was—We want tourism, we want feathers!

Feathers were simple enough; Wino had mentioned that he got along well with several Owl seniors. It shouldn't be hard to ask for a feather as a gift.

But how to handle the tourism?

One must know that during the few days of observing classes, because of the nameless students' practical combat lessons, there was simply no chance to go to Hogsmeade Town to experience the local customs.

You want to go, and I want to go myself.

Of course, the public would definitely not accept this reason.

Equally intense was the reaction in America, far across the ocean.

They prided themselves on being the beacon of the world, the number one power on the blue planet, the center of this planet that the whole world watched.

Now, seeing other people's supernatural beings frequently appearing and everyone's eyes focused there, while there was no movement at all on their own side, as if they had become a marginalized character being neglected, they finally couldn't resist petitioning the authorities.

Stop hiding it; show your hand and quickly bring out our supernatural beings.

The authorities, blocked at the entrance of the office building by the gathered crowd, were beyond having a headache.

Supernatural? If I had any, would I need you to urge me?

They had no choice but to truthfully announce—we have no supernatural beings.

The protesters believed this was a cover-up and refused to disperse.

Having the main gate blocked tight every day was no small matter, so the authorities could only have the firefighters use water cannons to drive them away.

This really made people furious.

They pulled scarves from their backpacks to cover their faces, brought in public facilities from the roadside to set up a defensive line, and launched a confrontation with the firefighters.

As the situation gradually became chaotic, some people developed ill intentions, left the protest crowd, and ran to nearby shops for some "zero-dollar shopping."

Reporters filmed it and sent it back to the headquarters to be broadcast on the TV station.

The news was intended to advise them not to commit crimes, but who knew that a large number of people, seeing the chaotic scene, thought that such a good opportunity could not be missed and rushed over to participate.

While the authorities were exhausted from dealing with the mess, the three families that had been in contact with Zhang Mu sat firmly in their positions. They all stayed at home and did not go out, making no move to come forward and resolve the situation.

After Zhang Mu learned of this through his Mobile Phone, he felt that the opportunity had come.

Ying Country provided weapon exchanges, but its national strength was declining day by day, and its capacity was limited.

China indeed had sufficient quantities, but with Lake's side to supply, there was still a gap in the total amount.

Lake was about to face a war of attrition; not only did the existing legion need to be equipped, but the inventory also needed to be replenished.

His own munitions factory was busy with the production of magic-conducting weapons. To satisfy national-level battles in the future, Zhang Mu figured he still needed to find new sources.

America, whose annual military spending far exceeded that of other countries, was clearly a suitable target.