222: Chapter 222 Full Launch?

Lin Yuan stared at the cloudless sky outside the window for a moment before slowly withdrawing his gaze.

After the emotional turbulence passed, his thoughts quickly returned to their usual state of calm.

In his mind, the vast technical data for the full "south heaven gate project" had become as firmly established as a steel seal.

From the molecular formulas of extreme materials for near-space to the vector nozzle parameters of aerospace composite propulsion;

From the underlying logic of directed-energy weapons to the closed-loop ecological life support system of a 120,000-ton Aerospace Carrier...

Every sub-technology’s classification index, underlying logic, and mass production process path were organized clearly within his memory palace, like a top-tier database ready to be accessed at any time.

Now that the blueprint was in place, there were no theoretical obstacles to the subsequent manufacturing and implementation stages.

Given the terrifying execution power displayed by the national machine of Xia Country when running at full capacity—enough to make the whole world tremble—he only needed to accurately distribute this technical data.

The rest was simply a matter of time before a miracle arrived.

Pulling his thoughts away from the dry technical details, Lin Yuan naturally recalled the livestream from that morning that had set the world ablaze.

He picked up his phone and glanced at the major social media platforms, which were already on the verge of collapsing.

He watched as countless netizens frantically spammed outrageous concepts like "Space Elevators," "Genetic Serums," and "Dyson Spheres"...

Lin Yuan remembered the promise he had made so effortlessly in front of the camera.

"Highly upvoted ideas have a chance of being researched."

"You handle the imagination; I'll handle the realization."

And then there was that sentence, enough to send any mecha fan's blood pressure soaring and make them scream their lungs out—

"If we're going to pilot something, it definitely has to be one of those massive, dozens-of-meters-tall mechas."

At this thought, the corners of Lin Yuan's mouth curled up into an extremely confident, even somewhat deviously calculating smile.

Not a single one of those words had been spoken on a whim.

They were all carefully cast long-line bait, intended to continuously harvest the confidence of all humanity.

As long as these "promises" remained at the top of the Blue Star internet.

The attention, discussion, and expectations of billions worldwide—even that fanatical cult of personality—would turn into a steady stream of nourishment, firmly bound to the system's progress bar.

Netizens across the globe would become his free idea providers and most loyal progress bar laborers.

However, one must take things one step at a time.

Getting the hardware production lines for the core south heaven gate system up and running was the real priority.

As for the subsequent operations to harvest confidence, they could be advanced simultaneously during the gaps in the production cycle.

Lin Yuan's gaze fell on the drawer by his bed, and a faint smile couldn't help but appear on his face.

...

That afternoon.

Xishan Base, Core Meeting Hall.

Cool white shadowless lights poured down from the towering dome, illuminating every detail of the hall, which was large enough to hold hundreds of people.

By now, dozens of experts representing the pinnacle of Xia Country's military industry, aerospace, materials science, high-energy physics, and other fields had already arrived half an hour early.

The hall was bustling with people; experts gathered in small groups, the hum of their conversations rising and falling.

Their topics never strayed far from the epic global livestream that morning.

"Exhilarating! It's so damn exhilarating!"

A silver-haired titan of dynamics, who had once led Xia Country's manned spaceflight program, slapped his thigh in excitement, laughing until tears nearly came to his eyes.

"When Academician Lin appeared wearing that Individual Combat Armor, my heart almost jumped out of my chest!"

"Those bastards from The Other Side of the Ocean usually rely on a few crappy movies to push their cultural exports on us every day."

"Today, Academician Lin literally wore their superhero on his body and slapped their faces in front of the whole world!"

"Let's see how they dare to be so arrogant in front of us from now on!"

Beside him, a national treasure-level expert in materials science nodded repeatedly, his face flushed with excitement, his graying beard trembling along with him.

"The best part was that word 'reference'."

"I heard that things are a total mess over on The Other Side of the Ocean right now. Several Hollywood sci-fi blockbusters have been shut down immediately for fear of providing Academician Lin with more inspiration."

"Hahaha! Being a thief and becoming afraid of being stolen from by the original owner—what kind of magical realism is this?!"

"Really? They don't even have the guts to film a sci-fi movie now? Does that mean they can only film medieval horse battles? Hahaha!"

Hearty, uninhibited laughter echoed through the meeting room, dispelling the decades of frustration these veteran experts had felt under technical blockades.

However, as time passed, the conversation inevitably shifted to this afternoon's sudden emergency summons.

"Everyone, Academician Lin just announced the framework of the south heaven gate project to the world this morning, and now he's brought us all here this afternoon..."

"Do you think... the south heaven gate project is finally about to start full-scale construction?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the breathing of several elderly academicians nearby grew heavy in unison.

One white-haired titan of aerodynamics turned his head and strode over to Shen Changhe, who was standing at the very front.

"Old Shen!"

"Stop holding out on us!"

"What exactly is Academician Lin going to do this time? Did he give you any inside info beforehand?"

Before he could finish, with a "whoosh," three or four more white-haired old men and military industry bigwigs swarmed around, countless eyes staring intently at Shen Changhe.

Shen Changhe was cornered by this group of normally highly respected old colleagues, with nowhere to run.

He helplessly spread his hands, shaking his head with a wry smile.

"Don't look at me."

"I only received Academician Lin's call half an hour ago. He just told me to gather everyone here; he didn't say another word!"

He paused, his Adam's apple bobbing hard, his eyes also flashing with irrepressible feverishness and anticipation.

"As for the specific details..."

"We'll know once Academician Lin arrives."

Upon hearing this, the atmosphere in the hall, far from cooling down, became even more intense, as if a ladle of hot oil had been poured onto it.

Dozens of experts simultaneously turned their gazes toward the closed alloy doors.

The entire hall fell completely silent, so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.

There was only the sound of heavy breathing and the occasional faint scuff of leather shoes shifting restlessly on the floor due to nervousness.

Everyone was waiting.

Waiting for the man who was bringing a new era.

"Beep—Hiss—"

Accompanied by the indicator light turning green and the dull sound of air pressure being released, the heavy metal doors slowly slid open to both sides.

Under the gaze of dozens of extremely intense eyes.

Lin Yuan, wearing a crisp Zhongshan suit, had that black canvas bag—so familiar to everyone—slung over one shoulder.

His pace was neither hurried nor slow.

With his usual calm and composed smile, he stepped into the hall.