118: Chapter 118 The Golden Dragon of National Fortune

The Capital, Supreme Military Science Academy.

Late at night, the laboratory on the third underground floor remained brightly lit.

This was the most core classified area of the Dragon Kingdom.

At this moment.

A group of white-haired old academicians were gathered around a massive holographic projection table.

Their eyes were bloodshot, a state of intertwined extreme excitement and exhaustion.

Floating on the projection table was a mechanical schematic so complex it made one's scalp tingle.

It was the blueprint for the S-Rank Individual Exoskeleton Mecha submitted by Lin Fan.

"The 382nd simulation verification has concluded."

The cold, mechanical voice of the main control computer echoed in the deathly silent laboratory.

"Power transmission system logic... Passed."

"Energy core compatibility... Passed."

"Neural link latency... 0.01s, Passed."

"Comprehensive feasibility determination: 100%."

As the final green data point flickered.

An old professor in his seventies suddenly slammed the recording tablet in his hand onto the table.

Smack.

That crisp sound acted like a signal.

"It's done, it's actually done!"

"A perfect closed loop; this design surpasses the current technology of Blue Star by at least fifty years!"

"That energy circuit folding technique is simply the work of a genius!"

A group of national treasure-level scientists, who usually wouldn't blink even if Mount Tai collapsed before them, were now acting like children who had just received candy.

Some held their heads and wept, while others danced with joy.

General Ye Canglan stood in the center of the crowd.

His hand tightly gripped the mecha design blueprint that Ye Fan had submitted to the military.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm his heart which felt like it was about to burst out of his chest.

He picked up the red secure telephone on the table and dialed the number that led directly to the highest authority.

"Chief."

General Ye Canglan's voice was hoarse, carrying a hint of a tremor.

"This is General Ye Canglan."

"The verification has passed."

"The Dragon Kingdom's individual combat system is about to undergo a revolution."

The other end of the line was silent for a long time before a two-word reply came through.

"Equip them."

At the exact moment those two words were spoken.

Boom!

The clouds above the capital suddenly churned violently.

In the originally pitch-black night sky, a flash of golden light appeared without warning; it wasn't lightning.

Rather, it was an even more grand and majestic aura.

Roar!

The vast, ancient roar of a dragon exploded in the depths of every Chinese person's soul.

The sound couldn't be heard with ears, yet it could be clearly perceived.

It was the roar of the national destiny.

Across the entire territory of China, whether in bustling cities or remote villages.

All the flowers, plants, and trees swayed gently at this moment.

The free-floating spiritual energy particles in the air seemed to receive a summons.

The concentration began to slowly rise.

Though the increase was slight.

For the scale of an entire country, this was undoubtedly a miracle.

...

Tianjiao Camp, Villa Jiazi.

Lin Fan was sitting cross-legged on his bed.

In front of him were piles of various supply manifests and point cards.

He was counting his money; as a qualified businessman, tallying assets every night was a mandatory task.

"Five thousand points, plus what I earned from selling blind boxes before..."

"If I converted it all into cultivation resources, it would be enough to reach the Grandmaster Realm directly."

However, these resources were far inferior to the mountain of resources accumulated in the system space returned by the system.

Lin Fan was simply enjoying the pleasure of counting money, humming an unknown tune under his breath.

Just then.

That dragon roar from the depths of his soul suddenly arrived.

Lin Fan's fingers paused; he keenly felt the surrounding air become fresher.

His pores automatically dilated, greedily inhaling and exhaling these free-floating energies.

"The spiritual energy concentration has increased?"

Lin Fan walked to the window.

He pushed the window open.

And looked in the direction of the capital.

Despite the great distance, he seemed to see a golden giant dragon churning amidst the clouds.

[Ding]

[Detected that the host has submitted a strategic-level blueprint, significantly boosting China's national destiny]

[Spiritual energy concentration within China has increased; rewarding special blind box: Prosperous National Destiny]

The system's cold notification voice suddenly rang in his mind.

Lin Fan's pupils shrank abruptly.

A special blind box?

This was the first time the system had mentioned anything being 'special'.

Even with those S-Rank Talents, it hadn't called them special.

"I'm going to be rich."

Lin Fan rubbed his hands together, his breathing becoming rapid.

Something that the system treated with such solemnity was definitely no ordinary item.

As the light faded.

A jagged black fragment floated quietly within the system space.

It looked unremarkable.

Like a piece of charred charcoal.

But with just one glance, Lin Fan felt a stinging pain in his eyes.

It was as if it carried some kind of law that could not be looked upon directly.

[Item Name: dragon vein amplification reactor (Fragment)]

[dragon vein amplification reactor]

[Type: National Destiny-level Strategic Building]

[Effect: Built upon a national dragon vein node, it can absorb free energy from the universe and convert it into high-concentration spiritual energy, permanently increasing the spiritual energy concentration within the reactor's coverage area. Under long-term operation, it can subtly improve the physical constitution of the citizens and increase the probability and level of talent awakening in newborns.]

[Remarks: This is a cornerstone of the nation, a foundation for defying heaven and changing fate. Collect ten fragments to obtain the complete construction blueprint.]

Gulp.

Lin Fan swallowed hard.

Wasn't a fragment rewarded before for killing someone from Sakura Country?

And now a second one was opened so quickly.

This was clearly a nuclear bomb.

No.

It was ten thousand times more terrifying than a nuclear bomb.

If S-Rank mechas could make the Dragon Kingdom invincible in conventional warfare.

Then this thing would give the Dragon Kingdom the confidence to flip the table in the future struggle for supremacy among the myriad races.

"Dragon Vein Augmentation..."

Lin Fan muttered to himself.

He reached out, wanting to touch the fragment.

But the moment his finger was about to touch it, he pulled back.

Too hot to handle.

Way too hot to handle.

This thing was a ticking time bomb right now.

If the myriad races or those traitorous organizations found out he had such a thing.

Tomorrow, it probably wouldn't be assassins coming for him.

They would just drop nuclear bombs and glass the area.

"System, you're really setting me up here."

Lin Fan gave a bitter laugh.

But a crazy light flickered in his eyes.

The greater the risk, the greater the reward.

That was the businessman's creed.

"Store."

With a thought from Lin Fan.

He threw the fragment, which was enough to drive the world mad, into the deepest part of the system space.

Only after doing all this did he breathe a sigh of relief.

He sat back down on the bed.

By now.

The sky outside was starting to brighten, and the camp's wake-up call hadn't sounded yet.

But Lin Fan no longer felt sleepy.

He had an intuition.

The vibration of the national destiny last night would certainly trigger reactions from all parties.

As the instigator, his days ahead probably wouldn't be peaceful.

Beep beep.

The communicator on the bedside table suddenly lit up; it was a mass notification from the camp management office.

[Emergency Notice: A 'Special-Grade Supervisor' dispatched by the Ministry of Education will arrive at Tianjiao Camp this morning to inspect student training and oversee the 'Physical Constitution Enhancement' project. All students please be prepared.]

Lin Fan looked at the line of text on the screen.

His brow furrowed slightly.

A Special-Grade Supervisor from the Ministry of Education?

They didn't come earlier or later, but chose to come right now?

And they're in charge of 'Physical Constitution Enhancement'?

Lin Fan's fingers lightly tapped the edge of the bed.

Producing a rhythmic 'da-da' sound.

This was his habitual movement when thinking.

"Physical Constitution Enhancement..."

"It sounds like a benefit."

"But..."

Lin Fan's gaze landed on the words 'Special-Grade'.

At this sensitive point in time.

Any change from above was worth considering.

Especially for someone like him who had just caused such a huge commotion.

Was this a reward, a test? Or... some kind of targeting?

Lin Fan stood up.

He walked to the mirror.

"Whether you're here to bring gifts or to find trouble."

"Since you've entered my territory."

"If you're a dragon, you'd better coil up; if you're a tiger, you'd better lie down."

"Want to pluck a feather from Lin Fan?"

"Then you'd better be prepared to have a layer of skin peeled off in return."

He straightened his collar.

He turned and walked out of the dormitory.