Chapter 245 The behemoth is about to make its appearance!
Upon hearing Elder Qin's words, Su Chen was completely stunned.
His eyes widened, and his face was filled with disbelief.
He lowered his voice and spoke urgently, "No way, Elder Qin?"
"It is the public expectation for you to go on stage yourself!"
"Why are you asking me to go up there?"
"You know I don't have any experience. What if something goes wrong in front of this massive crowd and I make a fool of myself? It wouldn't just be my face on the line!"
Su Chen instinctively refused. Good grief, only some of the high-ranking officials in the Dragon Kingdom knew him; no one else did. What qualification did he have to go on stage? No, wait, he had the qualification, but the audience didn't know who he was!
Seeing that Su Chen was still reluctant, Elder Qin chuckled and continued to speak in a low voice, "Make a fool of yourself?"
"Once the Aerospace Carrier makes its debut in a moment, I doubt anyone will have the heart to laugh!"
"Alright, stop dawdling, get on stage quickly."
Elder Qin's eyes held an unquestionable firmness, as if everything were under his control.
Su Chen shrugged helplessly. Although he was still a bit uneasy, he knew he couldn't refuse at this moment, so he had to bite the bullet and say, "Alright then."
Anyway, you asked me to go up; if anything goes wrong, you'll have to take the fall!
Then, he slowly stood up.
This scene left the Secretary of State stunned. Puzzled, he turned his head and asked his assistant, "Who is this young man?"
"Why is he able to be a representative at this important ceremony?"
"Such an honor is not something a mere greenhorn like him should enjoy!"
The assistant was also at a loss and shook his head, indicating that he knew nothing about it either.
Just as the Secretary of State was still feeling bewildered by Su Chen's appearance, Elder Qin looked at him with a smile and made a gesture of invitation, his posture elegant and polite.
The Secretary of State was taken aback and asked uncertainly, "Me too?"
Elder Qin replied with a smile, "Of course, you are our honored guest!"
The Secretary of State had not expected that he would also have the qualification to participate in this segment. After a moment of thought, he felt there seemed to be no harm in it—perhaps he could even glean some valuable information—so he followed along onto the stage.
At this moment, all the cameras were aimed at the three of them. The bright lights and focused lenses instantly made this stage the center of global attention.
The audience in front of their televisions was also stunned when they saw this scene.
Everyone could understand why Elder Qin and the Secretary of State were on stage!
But what was the deal with that young man?
What right did he have to stand on this stage, which symbolized such great significance?
Offstage, Commander Liu Chengzhi had also been invited to attend this year's Spring Festival Gala.
He frowned, looked at General Zhao Yong, and said with a worried expression, "General Zhao, putting Su Chen on the big screen like this, exposing him to the world's gaze, wouldn't that be a bad idea?"
"This will trigger domestic public opinion, and then conspiracy theories and the like will rear their heads again!"
"These are fine, but I'm mainly worried about Su Chen; it won't be good if he gets targeted by people with ulterior motives!"
General Zhao Yong grinned and reassured him, "Don't worry! Su Chen is the student representative in name!"
"He symbolizes the rising sun of our Dragon Kingdom's future!"
"At this critical moment, when a new era is about to begin, he represents the young sun leading our Dragon Kingdom toward this new era. What a wonderful implication this is!"
"Besides, think about it: at such a critical moment, do you think it would be appropriate not to let Su Chen participate?"
Commander Liu Chengzhi nodded without hesitation, "Indeed, it would not be appropriate!"
He paused for a moment and then asked with a puzzled look, "Then why let the US Secretary of State participate as well?"
General Zhao laughed even more happily. He pointed to the button shining in the center of the stage and said, "You don't get it, do you?"
"That button symbolizes the beginning of our Dragon Kingdom's move toward a new era, but once pressed, doesn't it also symbolize the countdown to the decline of a certain country?"
As he spoke, he cast a meaningful look at the Secretary of State, who was still on stage grinning from ear to ear.
Commander Liu Chengzhi was stunned at first, then realized what he meant, and couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Just then, a camera happened to be pointed at them!
The two immediately wiped the smiles off their faces and put on an expression of serious discussion.
Su Chen, Elder Qin, and the Secretary of State walked onto the stage slowly.
Just as Su Chen was preparing to yield the center position and step aside, he was immediately stopped by Elder Qin.
Elder Qin looked at him with a firm gaze and said, "You stand in the center!"
Su Chen widened his eyes slightly and said in a flustered manner, "Elder Qin, this is the C-position!"
"How can I stand here?"
"I want to keep a low profile!"
Elder Qin looked at him, his eyes filled with kindness and solemnity, and said softly, "Little Su, forgive us for not being able to vindicate you right now!"
"We cannot openly disclose your identity!"
"Consider this as compensation from our country to you: you shall be the one to open our country's... new era..."
Su Chen was slightly stunned. He saw sincerity in Elder Qin's eyes—it was a sense of immense trust in him.
He took a deep breath and nodded!
Then, he slowly placed his hand on the button.
Elder Qin subsequently placed his hand on it as well.
The Secretary of State was on the side, still trying hard to eavesdrop on what the two were saying, but they were speaking in the Dragon Kingdom's language, mixed with some strange dialects, and their voices were so low that he couldn't hear clearly at all.
At this moment, Elder Qin and Su Chen looked at him, and the Secretary of State immediately understood that this was an invitation for him to place his hand on it as well.
He hesitated for a moment, then reached out his hand.
Finally, the three of them pressed the button together.
Instantly, it was as if the surroundings had been electrified; the light flared up suddenly, and the intense brilliance was like an exploding sun, causing everyone to instinctively squint their eyes.
The Secretary of State was blinded by the sudden strong light and couldn't quite open his eyes. While adjusting to the light, he looked around and thought to himself, "Electrified???"
"Is this button really the switch for the Dragon Kingdom's power grid?"
"That means the Dragon Kingdom is truly caught in an energy crisis and has to rely on external energy to survive! Hahaha, as expected, our guess was right!!!!"
He clenched his fist inwardly, a smug smile appearing on his face, feeling that this was truly an exhilarating piece of good news!
"Although I didn't obtain any other useful intelligence, being able to confirm this makes those 300 billion US dollars well spent!"
However, just as this thought emerged, a massive sound of mechanical opening and closing suddenly rang out behind him. The sound echoed in the silent night sky like the roar of an ancient beast awakening.
He instinctively turned around to look, only to see the massive factory ceiling behind him!
It was slowly opening like a giant iron box!
The movement of each metal plate carried a sense of heavy power.
And immediately after, it seemed as if some massive machine was slowly rising from within. Its enormous body was revealing its true form bit by bit, just like a mysterious mountain peak gradually emerging from the seabed.
The Secretary of State's previously slightly upturned mouth froze instantly at this moment!
The smug look in his eyes also vanished without a trace!
It was replaced by a face full of astonishment and fear!
He stared blankly at the colossus appearing before him, his mind completely blank, utterly stunned and at a loss by the scene before his eyes...