110: Not for gold or silver, but for a glimpse of the shadow.

"A garden? My dear brother, do you have a fever?" Wang Dalong's voice rose an octave in the room. "We're currently being watched by wolves from all over the world. Instead of building a steel fortress, you want to build some nonsense garden? Is that thing bulletproof? Can it stop a rocket launcher?"

He felt that Lin Feng must have muddled his brain while editing videos.

"The most dangerous place is the safest place." Lin Feng leaned back against his chair, his voice steady. "What does a secret base full of high technology look like on a satellite map? It's a target that says 'Come investigate me.' The intelligence agency of any country would not overlook such an abnormal target."

He paused and continued to explain his logic.

"But what about a classical garden? In a place like Quanzhou, it would only be another new private residence, a place of elegance for a wealthy person. It can perfectly blend into the local environment and culture without drawing attention."

Lin Feng's fingers slid across the tablet, pulling up a structural diagram.

"On the outside, it's traditional pavilions, terraces, towers, small bridges, and flowing water. But beneath this skin, the walls can be made of the highest-grade composite materials, the glass can be top-tier bulletproof specification, and deep safety rooms and server rooms can be excavated underground. All security systems can be hidden in the rockeries, trees, and ponds in the least conspicuous way."

He looked up at Wang Dalong and summarized, "This is called 'the great hermit hides in the city.' What we want is not a fortress, but a home cloaked in culture. A place that makes all prying eyes automatically ignore it because of its 'ordinariness.'"

Wang Dalong's mouth hung open for a long time.

He ran through Lin Feng's concept in his mind, and the more he thought about it, the more his scalp tingled.

Using an exquisitely elegant Suzhou-style garden as a disguise, while hiding a modern fortress armed to the teeth inside. This kind of move, this kind of thinking, was simply... incredibly slick!

"Brilliant! Brother Feng, truly brilliant!" He slapped his thigh, completely won over. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's find a designer! We have to find the best in the country!"

No sooner said than done.

Wang Dalong immediately began searching online for top-tier domestic classical garden designers. Soon, a name surfaced at the very top of all the shortlists—Bai Jingshan, known as "Old Bai."

This old gentleman was a national-level intangible cultural heritage inheritor and the last remaining master of the "Landscape Bai" school. Every garden he personally designed had become a landmark cultural heritage site. It was said that he had long since retired and no longer accepted any commercial projects.

"He's the one," Lin Feng decided.

Wang Dalong felt a bit uncertain: "Brother Feng, a national treasure-level master like this is said to have a very strange temper, and the design fee is likely astronomical. Can we even hire him?"

"Let's try."

Through special channels, they contacted Old Bai's studio.

Initially, the assistant who answered the phone was very formal, even somewhat cold. When they heard that Wang Dalong wanted to invite Old Bai to come out of retirement to design a private garden, the other party declined directly.

"I'm sorry, Old Bai no longer takes private jobs, especially commercial projects. His health also doesn't allow him to undertake such a large-scale creation."

Wang Dalong's heart sank, but he still braced himself to add, "Um... could you just mention to Old Bai that the client... is 'the wind speaker'?"

There was silence on the other end of the line for a full five seconds.

Then, the assistant's voice suddenly changed, taking on a tone of unbelievable excitement and uncertainty.

"You're saying... you're from 'the wind speaker' team?"

"Correct."

"Please wait! Definitely don't hang up!"

What happened next made Wang Dalong feel like he was dreaming.

In less than ten minutes, an aged but vigorous voice came through the phone.

"Hello? Is this... the gentleman from 'the wind speaker'?"

It was Old Bai himself!

Wang Dalong's palms were sweating from nervousness as he quickly gave a brief explanation of their situation and concept.

On the other end of the line, Old Bai got more excited as he listened. It wasn't because of the project's scale or funding, but because of the three words "the wind speaker."

"Amazing! Truly amazing!" Old Bai exclaimed with deep emotion over the phone. "I watch every episode of Mr. Lin's videos! Especially 'The General's Return.' As an old man nearly eighty years old, I watched it with tears in my eyes! That is the strength of our China! That is the root of our culture!"

He didn't wait for Wang Dalong to finish before deciding on the spot.

"I'll take this garden project! Even if it costs this old man's life, I will create the artistic conception Mr. Lin wants!"

Wang Dalong was overjoyed and cautiously mentioned the design fee: "Old Bai, regarding your compensation..."

On the other end, Old Bai laughed heartily.

"Compensation? Does Mr. Lin make those videos for money? Does he offer those national treasures to the country for money?"

The laughter stopped, and Old Bai's voice became exceptionally serious.

"Tell Mr. Lin that I, Bai Jingshan, will not take a single cent! I only have one request, or rather, one wish."

"Please say it!"

"When the garden is completed, I want to visit in person and have a cup of tea with Mr. Lin in the garden, listening to him tell the stories behind those histories. Then... I'll shamelessly ask for a photo together."

The call ended.

Wang Dalong held his phone, standing dazed in place for a long time.

He turned his head to look at Lin Feng sitting at the computer, his gaze extremely complex, as if he were meeting him for the first time.

"Feng Zi... do you have any idea... what kind of existence you are out there now?"

Lin Feng didn't look back.

He looked at the black computer screen, which reflected his own pale, thin face. There was not the slightest ripple in his eyes, only a deep, bottomless sense of bewilderment.

Fame.

Wealth.

These things surged in like a tide, yet they made him feel increasingly unreal. He just wanted to quietly explore those stories buried by time.

When did he become a "legend" in the eyes of others?