106: Chapter 106 The Manifestation of Farming Talent, the Egyptians' Paranoia

After hanging up, Lin Zhou tapped his fingertips on the desk—tap, tap, tap—leisurely and rhythmically.

Miracle Seed, the team of agricultural experts.

These two things were the cornerstones of his entire plan, and the fulcrum he would use to pry open the international chessboard.

He immediately dialed the encrypted communication line to He Jun, who was far away in Bir Tawil.

"Old He, there is a new mission."

"Please speak, Head of State." On the other end of the line, He Jun's voice was steady and calm, cutting through the deafening noise of heavy machinery in operation.

"A team of thirty agricultural support experts from the country will arrive tomorrow. They are bringing our future lifeline; there is no need for me to emphasize its importance." Lin Zhou spoke in the tone of someone describing a daily routine, laying out an arrangement that was sufficient to change the fate of the nation.

"Understood. I will arrange for the highest level of security."

"Not enough." Lin Zhou cut him off. "Beyond security, you are also responsible for their logistics, accommodation, and all work coordination. From this moment on, I am appointing you as the concurrent General Manager of the newly established 'genesis Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd.', with full authority over the 'Desert Greening and Agricultural Experimental Zone' project."

There was silence on the other end for a few seconds, with only the faint hiss of the connection. It took a while for He Jun's words to come through. A police chief responsible for national security, tasked with farming?

"Head of State, this... I fear I am not up to the task. I can't even tell wheat from chives."

"You don't need to tell them apart. What you need to do is ensure that those thirty experts can, and that they work comfortably and safely. Give them whatever they need. If they need a sand dune flattened, you go and mobilize bulldozers. If they need an absolutely sterile environment, you build one for me. Do you understand what I mean?"

"...Understood. I guarantee the mission will be accomplished." He Jun did not ask any more questions. He knew that behind every one of Lin Zhou's decisions lay unfathomable depth.

The next day, a Chinese transport plane with special clearance landed on the rudimentary runway in Bir Tawil.

The cargo door opened, and thirty agricultural experts, all wearing identical white work uniforms and with an average age of over fifty, stepped down the ramp carrying various cases of precision instruments.

When they saw the complex of steel and glass buildings rising from the desert before them, they all stopped in their tracks, dumbfounded.

"My god, is this 'Oasis One'? This isn't a camp; it's clearly a small city!"

"Look at the scale of that solar power plant over there! And that big thing—that's an atmospheric water generator, right?"

The veteran Dean leading the team took a breath, the dry desert air tickling his throat, but the spark in his eyes grew brighter.

He Jun had long been waiting there with a team. He had changed into a crisp suit, the sharp, imposing aura typical of a soldier tucked away, replaced by the efficiency of a business professional.

"Welcome, experts, to the Cyber Freedom Republic. I am the General Manager of genesis Agriculture, He Jun."

After brief pleasantries, the expert team was taken directly to the completed accommodation area. With independent apartments, 24-hour hot water, central air conditioning, and high-speed satellite internet, the living conditions here were better than anything they had imagined before setting off.

"General Manager He, our equipment and seeds need to be kept in constant temperature and humidity immediately. Also, we need an experimental field of at least 500 mu..." The veteran Dean went straight to work as soon as he put down his luggage.

"Please rest assured, Dean." He Jun handed over a document. "These are the three potential experimental zones we have planned based on the requirements your side sent in advance. The land has undergone initial leveling and spraying with soil conditioner. All construction machinery and logistics personnel are on standby 24/7."

Professional and efficient.

The veteran Dean looked at the man with the resolute face before him and the disciplined team behind him, and nodded heavily.

Under Lin Zhou's remote coordination, a massive desert reclamation plan began to unfold at a visible speed.

Construction convoys carved out huge grid fields in the desert, irrigation pipes were laid out like the veins of a city, and the experts performed the final germination treatment on the seeds inside temporary mobile laboratories.

This series of unusual, large-scale actions soon caught the eye of their neighbors.

Cairo, Ministry of Defense.

General Mubarak stared at the high-definition reconnaissance photos sent back by a drone, his thick eyebrows knitted into a knot.

In the photos, the barren land of Bir Tawil showed large tracts of organized plots, with many people in white work uniforms busy at work.

"What are they doing? Farming?" An intelligence analyst offered his opinion.

"Doing agriculture in the middle of the desert? That place is so barren that not even moss grows on the rocks. Or is it true, as they say online, that Chinese people have a heart that yearns to farm at all times? This is illogical." The Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Saleh, shook his head in denial.

General Mubarak tapped his fingers on the desk. After a while, he spoke: "No matter what they are trying to do, they must not escape our sight. We cannot wait until they have succeeded to find out what it is."

He turned to Saleh: "How is the construction of our military camp coming along?"

"Reporting, General. The main structure is complete, and interior finishing is underway. The Chinese construction team is very efficient."

"Very good." Mubarak issued an order. "Under the pretext of 'supervising the construction progress of the military camp and coordinating handover matters,' send a five-person observation team. I authorize them to enter and exit the construction site freely. Keep a close watch on those people in white coats and find out exactly what they are up to."

Three days later, an observation team composed of Egyptian Military engineers and diplomatic personnel moved into "Oasis One."

Zhao Li accompanied them the entire time, beaming with smiles, fulfilling all their requests, and even taking the initiative to show them around the entire base.

"Ambassador Zhao, what project is that newly reclaimed area over there being prepared for? It looks quite large in scale." A colonel leading the Egyptian team asked, seemingly casually.

Zhao Li smiled honestly: "Oh, that is our Head of State's personal interest. He finds the desert too monotonous and wants to plant some flowers and grass, run a greening project, and improve the living environment."

Planting flowers and grass requires thirty top-tier experts? Requires such a big setup?

The Egyptian colonel didn't believe it, but he echoed: "Head of State Lin Zhou is truly far-sighted and has a strong sense of environmental protection."

He quietly took pictures of everything with a micro-camera and transmitted the information back to Cairo in real-time.

Zhao Li's report on the arrival of the "supervisors" soon landed on Lin Zhou's desk.

"Head of State, they are like flies, looking everywhere and asking about everything. Should we restrict their range of movement?" There was a hint of anxiety in Zhao Li's tone.

"No need." Lin Zhou's response left Zhao Li holding the communicator, unable to reply for a moment. "If they want to look, let them look. Some things cannot be hidden anyway. Since that's the case, let them see it openly, as long as core secrets are not leaked."

He hung up the phone, his expression unchanged.

In a card game, voluntarily revealing a hole card can sometimes make the opponent more hesitant than keeping it tightly clutched in hand.

After handling this matter, the next item on Lin Zhou's schedule was a more important event.

He looked at He Jun beside him, who had just flown back to Beijing from Bir Tawil on a private plane.

"Old He, adjust to the jet lag. Starting tomorrow, we will meet the future 'state apparatus of violence'."

At a secret location in the Beijing Suburbs, three hundred applicants who had passed the initial screening had assembled.

He Jun would conduct one-on-one final interviews with them here.

This would determine the true quality of the Cyber Freedom Republic's first armed force.