30: Chapter 30 Returning Home in Glory? No, it's a red-eye flight plus economy class!

The roar of the airplane engine was like a rusty file, repeatedly grating against Lin Zhou's eardrums.

The cramped economy seat stripped away all dignity; his knees pressed firmly against the backrest in front.

The air was thick with the scent of braised beef instant noodles, mixed with the smell of salted fish from the uncle's feet sitting next to him.

Lin Zhou unscrewed a bottle of mineral water and took a sip, his chapped lips slightly soothed.

Who could have imagined that five hours ago, he was still in a state guesthouse in Cairo, signing a nation-building fund worth one billion US dollars.

Now, he was just an unremarkable, red-eyed passenger on China Southern Airlines flight CZ328.

The air conditioning in the arrival hall of Baiyun Airport was cranked up as if it were free.

Lin Zhou dragged his suitcase, which was missing a wheel, moving along with the crowd.

He avoided any gaze that might expose his identity, pulling his hat brim low, like a fugitive on the run.

The humid heat of the south instantly enveloped his entire body, and sweat trickled down his spine into his underwear.

He habitually took out his phone, his fingertips hovering over the Didi ride-hailing interface for three seconds.

The balance displayed: 12.5 yuan.

Lin Zhou stared at the number, his mouth twitching slightly as he let out a short, self-deprecating laugh.

The tens of thousands of yuan he had prepared when going abroad were all that was left; money really didn't last long.

"Hmph! Hmph! I'm a tycoon with 1 billion US dollars!" Lin Zhou muttered to himself. "Even if the nation-building fails, those tens of thousands in severance pay at home can still keep me living comfortably for a while."

He put away his phone and turned to walk towards the airport bus ticket counter.

"One ticket to Tianhe."

The ticket seller didn't even look up, handing over a crumpled slip of paper.

The bus bumped along in the night, the neon lights outside the window blurring into a single line.

Lin Zhou leaned against the window, watching his own reflection.

His stubble was messy, his eyes hollow, looking just like every other office drone struggling in Guangzhou, drained dry by life.

Yet, in his mind, he was rapidly deducing the constitutional amendments of the Cyber Freedom Republic.

This extreme mental wealth and material poverty gave him a sense of almost pathological pleasure.

The alleys of the urban village were still narrow and cramped, with utility poles plastered with ads offering large rewards for pregnancy.

Lin Zhou dragged his suitcase, stumbling along the bluestone road flowing with sewage.

"Yo, isn't this Linzi? Back in the country?"

Landlady Auntie Wang was fanning herself with a cattail-leaf fan, cooling off at the alley entrance, her sharp eyes sweeping over Lin Zhou's crumpled suit.

Lin Zhou didn't speak, just nodded and quickened his pace.

"Don't blame me for not reminding you, if you don't pay the rent next month, I'm throwing your stuff out!"

Auntie Wang's voice echoed behind him, like a resounding slap in the face.

Lin Zhou pushed open the slightly ajar wooden door, and dust danced wildly in the light.

The room was as cold and desolate as a tomb, and the stack of resignation compensation agreements on the table had curled at the edges. He glanced at it; that severance pay of several tens of thousands was still lying quietly in another bank card, the last insurance for his return to an ordinary life, which he had never touched.

He threw himself onto the moldy single bed, the ceiling fan creaking and rattling as if it would fall off at any moment and slice his head off.

His phone started vibrating violently beside the pillow.

A landline number from Beijing, with all zeros at the end.

Lin Zhou stared at the screen for five seconds before pressing the answer button.

"Mr. Lin Zhou, welcome back to the country."

The male voice on the other end was steady and calm, showing no emotion, yet carried an unquestionable sense of penetration.

"I am Lin Zhou."

He sat up, his back straight—a habit he had developed at the negotiation tables in Egypt.

"This is the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We have confirmed your safe arrival in Guangzhou. It's just that the way you chose to return... caught us a bit by surprise."

The other party's phrasing was very deliberate; there was no sarcasm, only a calm statement of fact.

"The country advocates frugality, and I am simply responding to the call."

Lin Zhou's voice had no inflection, his fingers unconsciously picking at a hole in the bedsheet.

"Very good awareness. Then, three days from now, in Beijing, at the South Building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. There are some matters that need to be discussed with you in person, mainly concerning your series of activities in Cairo, as well as the subsequent impact of the fund you initiated."

This was not an ultimatum, but a peer-level meeting, yet the weight of it was even heavier.

"I will be there on time."

Lin Zhou hung up the phone and tossed it aside.

He knew that those old foxes had already begun to seriously evaluate his value.

Going to Beijing costs money.

Plane tickets, hotels, and a decent outfit.

He couldn't possibly go meet those directors and ministers wearing this suit reeking of instant noodles. Use that severance pay? No, that was money for "Lin Zhou," not for "Leader Lin."

He rolled out of bed and opened his old laptop, its fan spinning wildly.

The light from the screen reflected on his young but exhausted face.

In the backend of the Cyber Freedom Republic official website, data streams cascaded like a waterfall.

On the "hall of honor" page, the ten Earl medals had all turned gray, displaying "Sold Out."

Lin Zhou stared at the "10/10" number, his fingers typing rapidly on the keyboard.

Deep in the code, he forcibly inserted a line of instruction.

[Update titles_count SET limit = 11 WHERE level = 'Earl';]

He pressed the Enter key.

The website frontend refreshed instantly.

Lin Zhou logged into the official Twitter and posted a message with a nonchalant tone:

"Just got off the plane, the air in Guangzhou is very familiar. By the way, the technical department reported a logic overflow in the backend, resulting in one extra Earl seat. Let fate decide."

After posting, he picked up the half-cup of overnight cold water on the table and downed it in one gulp.

Less than thirty seconds later.

A golden notification box popped up in the backend:

[Order confirmed! User "Capital Rich Kid" paid 50,000.00 RMB and obtained the title of "Founding Earl."]

Lin Zhou looked at the balance that popped up in his personal account and let out a long sigh of relief.

Fifty thousand yuan.

Enough to buy a first-class ticket, enough to stay one night at The Peninsula Beijing.

He shut down the computer, lay flat on the bed, and stared at the cracks on the ceiling.

Using money from selling official titles to conduct diplomacy—this is probably the most absurd Leader in human history.

Meanwhile, in Beijing.

In an office at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that was lit all night.

"Boss, he just sold an Earl title and made fifty thousand."

A young official stared at the surveillance screen with a strange expression.

"He used this money to buy a first-class ticket to Beijing, China Southern CZ3101."

The middle-aged man sitting behind the desk put down the file in his hand and rubbed his temples.

The first page of the file featured a photo of Lin Zhou shaking hands with military bigwigs in Egypt.

"A person who can leverage one billion US dollars out of thin air and make the Egyptian government make concessions, actually has to rely on such means to raise travel expenses to return home?"

The middle-aged man's eyes were full of inquiry and deep thought, yet a smile appeared on his lips.

"Interesting. Tell the comrades picking him up, don't take the Hongqi car, take a regular Audi."

"I want to see how many more surprises this 'Leader Lin' has in store for us."

Outside the window, the night sky over Beijing was sparse with stars, and an unprecedented game was unfolding.