27: Chapter 27 The Game Between Rational Indicators and Potential

Deep within the cavern.

Lin Ye watched for two seconds before a slight aching sensation radiated from deep within his left eye.

He decisively deactivated the Eye of Destiny.

His mind cooled down.

His clothes were soaked through, his physical energy was overdrawn, and his right shoulder throbbed with pain.

The fact that those dozen or so red dots were clustered together meant there were dangerous creatures near the golden light.

Rushing over in his current state would absolutely be like delivering takeout—and he'd be bringing his own utensils too.

"Playing it safe is the way to go; you only have output if you're alive."

Dismissing the thought of seeking death, he decisively turned and walked toward the edge of the underground river.

He raised his right arm.

The Wind-Chasing Claw shot out, its hook sinking into the debris from the cave-in floating on the water's surface. With a few tugs, he pulled back several branches.

He pulled out his dagger, shaved off the twigs and dead leaves, and set up a tripod stand next to the campfire.

Then, he stripped off his soaking wet shirt and pants.

He used both hands to wring the clothes dry and spread them over the wooden rack to dry.

The orange-red firelight flickered constantly.

Light and shadow played across Lin Ye's bare upper body, illuminating the lines of his muscles with total clarity.

It wasn't the exaggerated bulk built from protein powder in a gym, but a well-proportioned and lean physique.

A few red marks from fresh abrasions marked his skin, which, combined with his nonchalant temperament, was exceptionally striking.

The livestream room, which had been sweating over his narrow escape, suddenly underwent a change in tone.

[Brother Eye isn't just good at playing it safe; his physique is top-tier too!]

[Slurp slurp... I wasted my tears earlier; now they're all leaking out of the corners of my mouth!]

[Sorry, the screen is a bit dirty, let me lick it clean first out of respect!]

[You female fans in the front, show some restraint! Your 'abacus beads' are bouncing off my face!]

[Is there a moderator? Someone is being suggestive in this livestream room, ban them immediately!]

[What happened to the hardcore survival? You bunch of perverts have had enough!]

The screen full of joyful, silly comments diluted the despair and oppression brought about by the previous cave-in.

...

At the same time.

Disaster Prevention Administration, Command Center.

The doors were pushed open with a loud "bang."

Lu Chen, clutching his encrypted hard drive, strode quickly through the busy workstations and headed straight for the main command console.

"Director Wei, I have a matter regarding the National Destiny to discuss with you."

Lu Chen went straight to the point without beating around the bush.

Director Wei Tiejun looked up, his brow furrowed into a deep frown.

He knew something about this lead researcher of the Third Research Group.

His emotional intelligence was basically zero, but his professional ability was a perfect score—he was a pure scientific genius.

Right now, the situation on Blue Star was critical, and the front lines of the National Destiny Challenge were even more perilous.

Wei Tiejun was coordinating the overall situation under high pressure every day; what he wanted now was solid tactical judgment, not vague theoretical data on paper.

Therefore, he didn't hold much hope in his heart regarding whatever Lu Chen had discovered in the livestream.

"Make it short," Wei Tiejun said in a cold, hard tone.

Lu Chen ignored the other's impatience and opened fire directly:

"Has the candidate for our off-site resource delivery opportunity been finalized?"

Wei Tiejun's gaze darkened.

"It's finalized. It's going to Soldier King Xu Haifeng on the Level 3 Floating Island."

"Why?" Lu Chen pressed.

"For stability."

Wei Tiejun's brow furrowed even deeper, but he still answered patiently:

"Xu Haifeng's indicators and individual combat qualities are the best among all of Great Xia's Challengers."

"He just reached a high-resource area. If we give him the supplies, they can be immediately converted into combat power, bringing back a stable supply of resources for Great Xia every day."

Lu Chen sneered and threw out two words: "Short-sighted!"

Zhou Jianping, who was standing nearby, sucked in a breath of cold air.

Did this bookworm eat gunpowder today?

He really dares to blurt out anything!

Lu Chen, however, had no qualms and retorted at a rapid pace:

"Giving the opportunity to Xu Haifeng is at most icing on the cake, getting a bit more of the usual stuff."

"But Lin Ye is different! He is the walking National Destiny!"

Wei Tiejun's expression darkened, and his tone became stern:

"Lu Chen, do you think the National Destiny Challenge is child's play?"

"The fact that Lin Ye has lived until now is a miracle, and his hundred-thousand-fold critical hit has indeed solved the country's urgent needs."

"But don't forget, he has a fatal flaw!"

Wei Tiejun reached out and pointed to his own left eye.

"He's missing an eye!"

"In the early stages, he might be able to scrape by with cleverness and luck, but the dangers of the Void Sea are increasing every moment!"

"By the later stages, this kind of disability and defect will be infinitely magnified!"

"Great Xia cannot afford to lose. I absolutely cannot take the country's precious opportunity to gamble on the luck of a disabled person!"

Facing Wei Tiejun's roar, Lu Chen took a step forward.

He leaned his hands on the command console and looked the other man straight in the eye.

"Disabled?"

"You amateurs are all staring at his blind eye!"

"You haven't understood at all that Lin Ye's strongest ability is hidden in that very eye!"

Wei Tiejun was startled to hear this, then immediately warned sternly:

"Lu Chen, do you know what you're saying?"

"This is the command center; there's no room for your madness!"

"The military and the Administration have verified Lin Ye's files three times. His left eyeball was completely removed."

"The medical evidence is as solid as a mountain. Wake up!"

"To hell with your medical evidence!"

Lu Chen did not back down at all, holding up the encrypted hard drive in his hand and slapping it twice.

"On the day that so-called 'supreme will' descended, the laws of physics on Blue Star all became scrap paper!"

"The things in here are enough to overturn all medical records."

He turned his head to look at the dim image on the main screen.

"This kid just escaped a cave-in and a giant beast only to be trapped underground; right now is when he needs a lifeline the most!"

"If he dies underground, Great Xia will forever lose its bargaining chip to flip the table!"

The two men confronted each other across the table, neither yielding.

This genius, who was usually indifferent to worldly affairs, now revealed a near-manic fervor and confidence.

Wei Tiejun felt a chill in his heart; he could see that Lu Chen was not joking.

This bookworm might have actually caught onto some world-shaking secret.

He fell silent for a moment, then gritted his teeth and made a decisive call.

"Fine!"

"As long as the things in your hand can convince me, this name will be changed to Lin Ye immediately!"

Lu Chen let out a long breath and pushed up his glasses: "There are too many eyes and ears here. Find a clean room."

Wei Tiejun did not hesitate and turned to look at Zhou Jianping beside him:

"Old Zhou, you come too."

The three of them avoided the countless curious eyes in the hall and strode into a fully enclosed meeting room.

As soon as they stepped inside, Old Zhou grabbed the door handle behind him.

Click!

The door was locked tight.

Then he pressed the red button on the wall.

A full suite of the highest-level anti-eavesdropping and interference systems activated, isolating everything from external detection.

Wei Tiejun pulled out the chair at the head of the table and sat down, crossing his hands on the tabletop as he waited for Lu Chen to reveal the answer.

Lu Chen walked to the front of the conference table and connected the encrypted hard drive to the large screen's playback equipment.

The screen lit up.

The images were all frozen screenshots and slow-motion replays of Lin Ye's livestream.

Along with dense data charts and behavioral analysis annotations.

Lu Chen pushed up his glasses, his voice low.

"Open your eyes and look closely."

"Now, I'm going to take you to reshape your understanding of the world."