3: That legendary red telephone!

"Hand... hand it over to the state?"

Li Xiumei was stunned.

She completely didn't expect her son to say such a thing.

In her simple worldview,

if her son got such a great treasure, shouldn't he hide it, use it well, and live a good life? Why hand it over?

She opened her mouth to say something,

but was stopped by Su Jianguo's look.

Su Jianguo stared intently at his son.

In those eyes, slightly clouded by age,

a sharp light burst out at this moment.

He didn't state his position immediately but asked in an extremely serious tone:

"Xiao Yuan, do you know what you're saying? Do you know what it means to hand this thing over?"

"I know."

Su Yuan's answer was firm.

"It means I might lose my freedom and be sent to a place where no one can find me for protection and research. It means I can no longer live like an ordinary person. It means I might face many unknown risks."

"But, Dad, I also know what it means if I don't hand it over."

Su Yuan's gaze swept across his parents' worried faces, and his voice lowered.

"It means the Dragon Kingdom might miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and fall behind others in the future competition of National Fortune."

"It means those 20 chosen compatriots might sacrifice their lives in the dungeon for nothing due to lack of information."

"More importantly, it means that I, and our whole family, will become targets for all intelligence agencies worldwide. We don't have the ability to protect this secret; once exposed, the consequences would be unimaginable."

"This thing is like a nuclear button."

"In the hands of an ordinary person like me, it will either blow me to pieces or I'll just watch it rust and fail."

"Only by handing it to the state can it become the strongest weapon to protect all of us!"

His words were powerful and resonant.

As Su Jianguo listened to his son's clear and logical analysis, the sharp light in his eyes slowly faded, replaced by a complex emotion.

There was shock, relief,

and a deep sense of pride.

He hadn't expected his son, who usually seemed a bit childish,

to have such awareness and responsibility when facing a choice that could change his fate.

He remembered what his Old Squad Leader said to him while patting his shoulder back when he was in the army:

"Jianguo, remember, as soldiers, we must always have the country and our family in our hearts. Sometimes, the country is the 'big family,' and the home is the 'small family.' Only when the big family is stable can the small family be happy."

Yes, country and home have always been inseparable.

Su Jianguo was silent for a long time. He slowly lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and exhaled heavily.

Amidst the swirling smoke,

his gaze became incredibly firm.

"Good."

He only said one word.

But this one word was as heavy as a thousand pounds.

Li Xiumei grew anxious and pulled her husband's arm:

"Old Su! You..."

"Xiumei."

Su Jianguo interrupted her, took her hand in his, and said in a deep voice:

"Our son has grown up; he knows what he's doing. He's doing the right thing."

Li Xiumei's eyes instantly turned red.

How could she not understand these principles?

But she was a mother first.

At the thought of the danger and lack of freedom her son might face,

her heart ached as if cut by a knife.

"But... but he'll be in so much danger!"

Li Xiumei's voice carried a sob.

Su Yuan walked to his mother's side, knelt down, and looked up at her.

"Mom, staying with the state is the safest. Trust me, and trust our country."

His voice wasn't loud,

but it was filled with a convincing power.

Li Xiumei looked at her son's young and determined face, then at her husband's unquestionable gaze.

Finally, all her worry and reluctance turned into a long sigh.

She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and said with a choke:

"I don't ask for you to be rich or powerful, I only ask for you to be... safe and sound."

"I will be, Mom." Su Yuan nodded heavily.

Within the family, their opinions were unified.

Su Jianguo stubbed out the cigarette, stood up, his expression serious to the extreme.

"Since we've decided, we can't delay any longer. In such matters, every minute's delay could lead to variables."

He glanced at the clock on the wall.

The cold countdown in his mind was still ticking.

Less than five minutes left.

He had to contact the state before the player list was announced!

But... how should he contact them?

Call 110?

Tell the operator his son awakened a system and wants to hand it over to the state?

He'd likely be treated as a lunatic or a prank caller.

Su Yuan also thought of this problem and frowned.

This was indeed a difficult problem.

They were just an ordinary family. His father was a veteran, but that was twenty years ago.

Just then, Su Jianguo seemed to remember something and slapped his thigh.

"I've got it!"

He walked quickly out of the room,

rummaging through an old wooden Cabinet in the living room.

Soon, from beneath a pile of discharge papers and certificates of honor,

he pulled out a small notebook wrapped tightly in red cloth.

He carefully unwrapped the red cloth,

revealing a deep red telephone book.

The cover of the book had faded a bit, but the gold-stamped characters on it were still visible.

Su Yuan and Li Xiumei both leaned in.

"Dad, what's this?" Su Yuan asked curiously.

Su Jianguo took a deep breath, a hint of reminiscence and solemnity in his eyes.

"This was given to me privately by my Old Commander... when I was discharged."

"He said it's best never to call this number in one's life. But if you truly encounter an emergency that affects national security and you can't solve it, call this number."

He slowly opened the phone book; there was only one page inside,

with a short and special number written in pen.

No area code, only seven digits.

Below the number, there was a line of small characters.

"Direct to the Cabinet, Level One Dedicated Line."

Su Yuan's heart skipped a beat.

Although he didn't know exactly which department "the Cabinet" referred to,

just by the name, he knew it was definitely one of the core power centers of the Dragon Kingdom!

He never imagined that his father,

a seemingly ordinary veteran,

would actually have such a direct line to the top!

"Dad, you..."

Su Jianguo waved his hand, interrupting his son, his expression incredibly grave.

"Don't ask. My Old Commander said the existence of this number itself is top secret."

As he spoke, he took out his old-fashioned mobile phone from his pocket,

and with trembling hands, he entered the special number digit by digit.

Li Xiumei nervously covered her mouth, not even daring to breathe.

Su Yuan also held his breath, staring fixedly at his father's phone screen.

He knew that when that call button was pressed, the fate of their family,

and even the fate of the entire Dragon Kingdom, would reach a new turning point.

After finishing this, Su Jianguo

looked up at his son,

his eyes full of encouragement and trust.

Then,

with the most solemn strength of his life,

he pressed the green call button.