53: Chapter 53 A Divine Man Offers a Picture! The Mastermind Who Hand-Draws US Dollars Has Emerged!

The design drafts in the inbox were varied and numerous, totaling tens of thousands.

It took Lin Zhou a full two days to browse through them roughly.

Among them were no shortage of exquisite works by professional designers—composition, color, and symbolism were all impeccable—but Lin Zhou always felt they lacked a bit of "soul."

Of course, most were just the nonsensical scribbles of "trolls."

Someone photoshopped Lin Zhou's head onto a banknote, with "Believe in the Head of State, gain eternal life" written next to it.

Someone designed a stamp with the theme of planting potatoes in the desert.

Others designed currency using various internet memes, such as the 100-yuan bill featuring "Wang Jingze's Law of True Fragrance" and the 50-yuan bill featuring "Coffin Dance."

Lin Zhou didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and had to admire the imagination of this generation of netizens.

Just as he was about to get aesthetic fatigue, a special submission caught his attention.

This submission had no fancy renderings, only a few photos of hand-drawn drafts.

But it was these few photos that instantly made Lin Zhou's eyes light up.

It was a complete design for the "Liberty Dollar."

The level of detail in the drawings was astounding. Whether it was the hair of the figures, the texture of the background buildings, or the subtle anti-counterfeiting patterns, everything was drawn meticulously, comparable to printed material.

More importantly was the design itself.

The front of the hundred-yuan note was not the portrait of a leader, but a group portrait titled "The Sower." In the image, a scientist was handing a seed to an engineer, surrounded by farmers, workers, and doctors. Their background was a desert just beginning to show hints of green, with the embryonic city in the distance.

The back featured the national emblem of the Cyber Freedom Republic, along with a complex background pattern composed of code and gene chains.

The entire design was filled with idealistic romance and the sense of power from the industrial age, perfectly fitting Lin Zhou's vision for the country.

And the design of the stamps was even more ingenious.

Five stamps, respectively named "The Proclamation," "Cornerstone," "The Dawn," "The Torrent," and "The Oasis."

The first one, "The Proclamation," depicted the live-streaming scene of Lin Zhou raising the first cup of water in the desert.

The second, "Cornerstone," was the moment Chen Fan's team developed a new material in the laboratory.

The third, "The Dawn," was the dawn when the first bulldozer left track marks on the desert.

The fourth, "The Torrent," was the expression of shock and awe on the Egyptian general's face after drinking that cup of water.

The fifth, "The Oasis," was an imaginary picture depicting a future Bir Tawil with towering buildings and lush green trees.

A set of stamps was a condensed history of the nation's founding.

"This is it!" Lin Zhou made the decision without hesitation.

He clicked on the submitter's information; the ID was "A Niu Who Draws Counterfeit Notes," and the bio read "An ordinary art enthusiast."

Lin Zhou felt the ID looked familiar, so he opened Bilibili and searched for it.

As a result, an uploader with millions of followers popped up.

This uploader's video content was very hardcore, consisting of live-streaming hand-drawing banknotes from various countries, especially US dollars. The counterfeit dollars he drew were so detailed they could fool most bill counters, leading fans to jokingly call him "The Artist Walking on the Edge of Criminal Law."

He hadn't expected this god-like figure to actually be one of his "citizens."

Lin Zhou immediately contacted this "A Niu" through the backend.

The other party didn't expect to actually be contacted by the Head of State personally and was a bit incredulous when replying to the message.

After confirming Lin Zhou's identity, A Niu was very excited.

Lin Zhou didn't waste words and directly expressed his intentions.

"Mr. A Niu, we are very satisfied with your design. I formally invite you to serve as the Chief Currency Designer of the Central Bank of the Cyber Freedom Republic."

On the other end of the phone, there was a silence for a full ten seconds.

"Head of State... you're not joking, are you? I... I'm just a painter." A Niu's voice stammered a bit.

"Your drawings are enough to become the symbol of our country." Lin Zhou's tone was serious. "I need your talent to design the most unique business card in the world for our nation."

"I..." A Niu was clearly stunned by this sudden appointment.

"The salary and benefits will follow the standards of top international designers. Additionally, as a reward for your outstanding contribution, I will grant you the hereditary title of 'Founding County Earl'." Lin Zhou threw out his bargaining chip.

County Earl!

This was two ranks higher than the Baron previously offered as a reward.

A Niu's breathing became rapid.

He had spent his whole life drawing "counterfeit notes," and his biggest dream was to one day design a set of real notes of his own.

Now, this dream was not only realized but also came with an incredibly noble-sounding aristocratic title.

"I'll do it!" he almost roared. "Head of State! Don't worry, I guarantee I'll design our 'Liberty Dollar' into the most difficult-to-forge artwork in the world!"

"Very good." Lin Zhou smiled. "Report to Beijing as soon as possible. I'll have the Central Bank coordinate with you."

Hanging up the phone, Lin Zhou was in a great mood.

Another special talent had been brought under his command.

This makeshift operation was becoming more and more vibrant and successful because of these extraordinary talents from all walks of life.

He returned to the temporary office building.

He found that the legal team led by Zhang Zhe had ended their holiday early and thrown themselves into their work.

In the new year, everyone was full of energy.

Just then, his assistant Su Qing walked in, holding an exquisite wooden box.

"Head of State, the batch of medals you ordered earlier has arrived."

Lin Zhou opened the wooden box.

Inside, beautifully crafted medals lay quietly.

The highest-ranking "freedom star medal" was made of pure gold, with a brilliant diamond set in the center, representing the Morning Star and symbolizing guiding the direction for the country.

Lin Zhou picked up the top-tier medal, his eyes flashing.

It was time to grant the glory that belonged to them to the founding elders who had followed him earliest and made great contributions to the birth of this country.

He was going to hold the first decoration ceremony of the Cyber Freedom Republic.