174: Chapter 174 Target: The Northwest Experimental Field!

The roar of the private jet's engines died down, the cabin door opened, and a dry, scorching heatwave carrying the scent of sand and soil rushed in.

It was worlds apart from the humid, industrial-tinged air of the capital.

This was the northwestern hinterland of Huaxia.

Lin Zhou walked down the gangway, his feet stepping onto the solid tarmac, and his first impression was of vast emptiness.

Looking around, the world was nothing but a murky yellow; the sky was yellow, the earth was yellow, and even the air was filled with floating yellow sand, which felt gritty and coarse when inhaled into the lungs.

There were no skyscrapers, no crowded traffic, only a few lonely rows of barracks in the distance and the wind whistling across the Gobi Desert.

"Mr. Lin! Welcome, welcome! Welcome to our Northwest 'Oasis of Hope'!"

A booming voice called out.

Several men wearing cadre jackets walked over quickly. At the lead was a middle-aged man whose skin was tanned to a shiny dark bronze. He had an exceptionally hearty smile, and his outstretched palm was rough and strong.

He gripped Lin Zhou's hand and shook it vigorously, his excitement transmitting directly through his palm.

"Minister Wang, thank you for your hard work." Lin Zhou nodded politely.

"It's not hard work! Not hard at all!" Minister Wang waved his large hand, his voice as loud as a chant echoing across the Gobi Desert. "Seeing the fruits produced by the 'Miracle Seed', we're full of energy! Let's go, the car is over there. I'll take you to see for yourself what a real miracle is!"

His enthusiasm was almost infectious enough to set someone on fire.

Beside him stood a white man wearing a black priest's robe with a cross hanging on his chest, looking quite out of place in this environment. He was the observer sent by Vatican City, Father Martin.

He bowed slightly to Lin Zhou, his gaze a mixture of awe and inquiry.

"Mr. Lin, may God bless everything you do."

Lin Zhou nodded at him without saying much. The group switched to a powerful off-road vehicle and plunged deeper into the desert.

The wheels kicked up billowing yellow sand, and the world outside the car window was so monotonous it was soporific, nothing but endless yellow.

"Mr. Lin, you have no idea," Minister Wang said, sitting in the passenger seat and turning his head, his face full of emotion. "For generations, we have fought this land, trying to make it grow something. We planted saxaul, sea buckthorn, we tried every method, but less than ten percent survived. A gust of wind, a bit of sand burial, and the next day it would go back to the way it was."

He pointed to a patch of withered saplings flashing by outside the window.

"See that? That was a green belt project from the year before last. It cost over ten million, and what happened? One sandstorm wiped it all out. The local people say this is land marked by the King of Hell, and even the gods can do nothing about it."

Minister Wang sighed, then immediately became excited again.

"But who could have imagined! Your seeds, just a little bit, three months! Just three months! And the King of Hell's circle was broken!"

The car drove on the bumpy sandy road for a full half hour.

Just as Lin Zhou's vision was about to be completely consumed by the monotonous yellow, a thin streak of a different color appeared abruptly at the end of the horizon.

It was as if someone had taken the brightest pigment and slashed a bold stroke across a yellowed, old piece of drawing paper!

As the vehicle drew closer, the green line began to lengthen and widen. Finally, without any warning, a vast, boundless ocean burst into everyone's view!

"Screech—"

The driver slammed on the brakes, and the off-road vehicle stopped at the edge of this green expanse.

The car door opened.

Lin Zhou stepped out of the car and paused in his tracks.

Beneath his feet, on one side was dry, cracked yellow sandy ground; on the other, just a step away, was fertile, moist black soil.

And before his eyes was a field of crops that stretched as far as the eye could see.

Corn and sorghum, taller than a person, stood like soldiers in formation, neatly covering the entire land!

Their stalks were exceptionally thick—sturdier than an adult's arm—and their broad leaves shone with a healthy, oily luster under the scorching desert sun.

Every corn stalk hung with two or three heavy cobs, weighing the stalks down.

The sorghum next to them was even more exaggerated, with large, red heads that looked like clusters of burning flames.

As the wind blew, the entire field rippled, green waves rolling one after another, and the fresh scent of mixed plants and soil wafted directly into his nose.

"It's... magnificent..."

Lin Zhou had lived two lifetimes and had seen countless grand scenes, but the sight before him still delivered a powerful visual impact.

"Magnificent! That's an understatement!" Minister Wang's face was flushed with excitement. He rushed into the field in a few strides and hugged a corn stalk as if it were a child.

He casually snapped off a corn cob and peeled back the emerald green husk, revealing the golden, plump kernels inside, each one like a pearl.

"We invited the best agricultural experts in the country to measure the yield, and they measured it no less than ten times! Do you know what the result is?" Minister Wang held up one finger and then gestured a five. "Corn, 1,500 kilograms per mu! That's 3,000 jin! Sorghum, 1,200 kilograms per mu!"

"And, from planting to maturity, it only takes ninety days!" He was practically roaring. "What does this mean? It means that in the south, you could plant three, or even four seasons a year!"

Father Martin from Vatican City had walked to the edge of the field. His outstretched hand trembled slightly as he touched a thick corn leaf, then he knelt down, made the sign of the cross on his chest, and murmured repeatedly.

"Oh, my God... This is God's gift... A miracle on earth..."

A miracle?

Lin Zhou sneered inwardly.

No, this is not a miracle; it is technology.

"Our press conference will be held over there."

Minister Wang pointed to a huge white tent and a temporary platform set up on the ridge in the distance.

"Nearly a hundred mainstream media outlets from around the world—Reuters, AFP, BBC... every big name has come! Tomorrow, we will harvest it right in front of them! We'll test it on the spot!"

"We're not just going to let them see this heaven-defying yield; we're going to show them that this grain, whether in terms of heavy metals, pesticide residues, or nutritional content, meets or even far exceeds the European Union's highest food safety standards!" Minister Wang's fists were clenched tight. "I want all those Western media outlets that harp on about food security every day to shut their mouths!"

Lin Zhou's gaze crossed this ocean of life and looked toward the distant sky.

He knew very well that this press conference was by no means a simple showcase of scientific achievements.

This was a brand-new battlefield.

And their opponents were those multinational agricultural giants that controlled global grain prices from behind the scenes, using "patented seeds" and "technical barriers" to ruthlessly extract excess profits from poor countries.

Monsanto, Bayer, DuPont, Cargill...

Each of these names represented a massive commercial empire; their tentacles reached across the globe, and their power was enough to influence regime changes in small countries.

Would they just watch as the patent barriers and market monopolies they had spent decades building were easily destroyed by a "Miracle Seed" from Huaxia?

Absolutely not!

They would swarm like sharks smelling blood, using every means possible to slander, smear, suppress, or even steal this technology.

"Leader, everything is ready."

Qin Yue had appeared at Lin Zhou's side at some point. She was also wearing sharp, professional outdoor gear and holding a tablet.

"Chief Justice Zhang Zhe is leading the team personally. Our legal team has already applied for over three hundred core and peripheral patents for this technology in major countries around the world, building a patent moat they cannot bypass. Any company that attempts to steal it will face astronomical lawsuits from our Cyber Freedom Republic, and we will sue them until they go bankrupt!"

"The PR team is also in place. We have anticipated twelve angles from which Western media might attack, including 'genetic panic,' 'environmental destruction,' and 'data fabrication.' For each one, we have prepared at least three counter-strategies and a massive amount of factual evidence. As long as they dare to spout nonsense, we can smash their faces in with the truth within half an hour!"

Qin Yue spoke quickly, but every word radiated immense confidence.

Lin Zhou nodded, looking at his most capable assistant, and then at the Huaxia researchers busy in the fields in the distance; their faces were beaming with a simple and sincere joy.

A surge of ambition stirred in his chest.

He turned around and spoke to Qin Yue and the other core team members, his voice not loud, but resonant and firm.

"We are not selling seeds."

"We are providing the whole world with an ultimate solution to completely eradicate hunger!"

"For decades, agricultural giants have used patents, technology, and finance to choke the world's food supply."

"Now, let those high-and-mighty guys see clearly who truly holds the power to change the world!"

Just as he finished speaking, the tablet in Qin Yue's hand made two soft beeps.

She looked down, her expression changing abruptly.

"Boss..." She looked up, her expression exceptionally grave. "We're in trouble."

"They... have acted early."

Qin Yue handed the tablet to Lin Zhou.

On the screen was the front-page headline from the American CNN news network, a shocking, blood-red title followed by a giant question mark.

"Eastern Miracle or Ecological Disaster? An In-depth Investigation into the Cyber Republic's 'Devil Seed'!"

The press conference hadn't even started yet.

The war had already begun.