147: Chapter 147 I'm Proud of You!

The progress bar was soaring.

Lin Yuan lowered his eyes, taking in the pale blue light screen that was beating wildly in the depths of his consciousness.

Level 4 Lie.

The capacity of the confidence pool was many times larger than the third level, but the growth rate was still frighteningly fast.

Moreover, Lin Yuan knew very well that this was far from the end.

The live broadcast was just the beginning; the discussion was still spreading. Those who hadn't had a chance to watch the live broadcast would soon see all of this through news and social media.

The subsequent growth would still be considerable.

Lin Yuan withdrew his attention from the system panel and cast his gaze back to the hundreds of faces looking up at him from below the stage.

Then, his fingers resting on the microphone stand moved slightly, and he spoke again.

"I understand that half a year might sound incredible to many people."

"But the energy problem is like a sword hanging over the head of our social civilization's development."

"The sooner we solve it, the sooner we can achieve a leap in civilization."

"Since I dared to speak on this occasion, I naturally won't let down everyone's trust and expectations."

He paused for a beat, his gaze sweeping from the front left to the far right, unhurriedly.

"I sincerely hope that in the near future, every factory and every household in our Xia Country will be able to use cheap, or even free, clean energy."

"Everyone will no longer have to worry about electricity prices or be anxious about carbon emissions."

"I will do my best to accomplish this."

"Thank you!"

The last word fell from the microphone.

The hall was quiet for less than a second.

"Clap—"

In the front row, a white-haired old academician was the first to clap his hands forcefully.

Immediately after, the second, the third, the tenth...

The applause gathered into a tide, surging and echoing under the dome of the Golden Hall.

Lin Yuan bowed slightly in acknowledgement, stepped back two paces, and vacated the microphone position.

After a long while, Chen Jingshan walked back to the microphone and scanned the audience.

"Alright, now we enter the family representative speech session."

He turned sideways and raised his hand slightly toward a passageway on the side of the hall.

"Please welcome the family representative to the stage."

At the entrance of the passage, a figure walked out slowly.

It was an elderly man.

His frame was not tall, and time had carved deep gullies into his face, but his spine was held exceptionally straight, and his steps were steady.

He was wearing an old-style military uniform, washed until it had faded, but pressed meticulously.

And what first grabbed the attention of everyone in the hall, and even the hundreds of millions of viewers in the live broadcast room...

Was the patch of medals densely arranged on his chest!

Large and small, of various shapes, they reflected a heavy luster under the lights of the Golden Hall.

There were a few that were very old, the paint on the edges had worn off, but they were still polished until they shone.

Looking at these medals, an instinctive sense of awe rose in everyone's hearts.

Lin Yuan stood on the side of the podium, watching that familiar figure walk up step by step, a gentle look appearing in his eyes.

It had been over three months.

The last time they met was shortly after he had awakened the system and decided to hand it over to the country.

The old man had looked at him for a long time that day and finally said only one thing heavily: "Go."

Then, not knowing which buried phone number the old man had dug up, it wasn't long before he received a personal summons from Elder Long.

Over these three months, Lin Yuan had been working non-stop in the laboratory, and he had called many times.

But every time, the old man would hang up first, complaining that he was being long-winded, saying in a rough voice:

"Go do your proper work, don't you worry about this old man."

Meeting again was today.

The old man walked onto the podium, but instead of heading to the microphone, he faced the entire audience.

Suddenly, he raised his right hand sharply, fingers together, and gave a standard military salute.

The movement was clean and crisp.

Everyone in the hall, whether they were white-haired academicians or officials in suits, sat up straight in unison.

No one prompted them, no one gave an order; it was an instinctive respect.

A few seconds later, the old man lowered his arm, tilted his head slightly, and glanced at Lin Yuan on the side of the podium.

Just one glance.

The old man's lips were tightly pursed, he didn't smile, but in his deep eye sockets, cloudy moisture was flashing.

Then he turned back and walked to the front of the microphone.

That rough hand rested on the microphone stand, his posture still straight.

"Leaders, hello everyone."

His voice was a bit hoarse, carrying a heavy dialect accent at the end.

"My name is Lin Wen, I am Lin Yuan's grandfather."

"Standing here today, I don't know what to say to everyone."

"I'm just an ordinary commoner, I haven't read many books in my life, and I don't have much culture."

"Even the name Lin Yuan was something I asked the village teacher to help choose while I was holding pork."

Hearing this, a very light laughter came from the audience, full of kindness and respect.

The old man didn't notice, continuing to speak on his own, his eyes filled with the vicissitudes of memory.

"Lin Yuan has been smart since he was a child, but there are many smart children, and I never dared to imagine he could reach this point today."

"To tell the truth, when people get old, they all like to have their children and grandchildren around to enjoy the liveliness."

His tone shifted, and his volume rose suddenly.

"But since my grandson is capable now and has great skills, and the country needs him."

"Then he should decisively hand it over to the country!"

These words landed without any profound philosophy, only the simplest awareness.

"Our country has suffered before and has been bullied by others."

"Now that we finally have the conditions, we can stand tall."

"Therefore, as long as this child can contribute to the strength of our country, and can make us Xia Country people not have to bow our heads outside."

The old man looked at the hundreds of top scholars in the audience, enunciating every word.

"This old bone of mine will be completely satisfied."

"Thank you, everyone!"

He lowered his hand, nodded to the audience, and turned to walk back.

From beginning to end, it took less than two minutes.

Not a single word of unnecessary nonsense.

Lin Yuan stood on the side, watching the old man walk over, his hand under his Zhongshan suit clenched slightly and then released.

The applause exploded again, even more enthusiastic and longer than before.

In the live broadcast room, the barrage went completely out of control.

"Damn, I'm a grown man and I'm crying..."

"If it should be handed over to the country, then hand it over to the country. This old man is someone who has truly lived through that era!"

"An old hero with a chest full of medals, and the grandson he raised is changing the fate of the country. This family has a straight backbone!"

After the applause died down.

Elder Zhang stood up from his seat and walked slowly to the podium.

He first turned to the old man, bowed slightly, and then faced the audience.

"There is a country before there is a home."

Elder Zhang's words were steady and powerful, suppressing the lingering echoes in the hall.

"It is precisely because there are predecessors who shed blood and sacrificed like Old Hero Lin, and successors who pioneer and innovate like Academician Lin Yuan."

"The relay of generation after generation is what has forged the confidence for us to stand here today."

"The country will never let down any sincerity."

His gaze swept over Lin Yuan with very high expectations.

"The task of Controlled Nuclear Fusion is very heavy, the burden is very deep, and the whole world is working desperately on it."

"But I believe that Academician Lin Yuan can lead us to be the first to push open that door to the new era."

"To achieve this goal, Academician Lin Yuan, just ask for whatever support you need."

"The entire Xia Country will be your backing!"

After speaking, Elder Zhang nodded slightly and stepped back.

Chen Jingshan stepped forward again to announce that the award ceremony had ended.

The lights in the hall returned to full brightness, the solemn atmosphere slowly dissipated, replaced by the murmurs and footsteps one after another.

Lin Yuan walked down from the podium, nodded briefly to everyone, and walked directly along the side passage into the family rest area at the back of the hall.

He pushed the door open.

The old man was sitting on a chair by the window, the medals on his military uniform reflecting the sunlight.

Standing next to him were Lin Yuan's parents.

His father, Lin Jianguo, was in a suit, but his tie was crooked, and he was frantically trying to straighten it.

His mother, Zhou Xiulan, was holding a tissue, her eyes still red.

They hadn't seen each other in over three months.

Lin Yuan stepped in, his mouth opened, but the words that came to his lips were blocked by his mother's action of pulling him over.

Zhou Xiulan grabbed his arm, looking him up and down, muttering.

"Hey, why have you lost weight again? Have you not been eating well lately?"

Lin Jianguo was rubbing his hands together on the side, wanting to say something several times, but finally squeezed out only one sentence.

"You did... well."

Lin Yuan smiled, letting his mother hold his arm, his gaze passing over his parents and landing on the figure by the window.

The old man stood up from the chair.

He walked over, his steps still steady.

When he reached Lin Yuan, the old man stared at him for a few seconds, then, a rough, calloused hand patted Lin Yuan's shoulder heavily.

"Little Yuan."

A smile of immense pride bloomed on the old man's face.

"Well done!"

"I am proud of you!"