49: Glory and the attention behind the scenes

Three days later, Chengdu.

The conference hall of the Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau was brightly lit, the atmosphere solemn yet enthusiastic.

A giant red banner hung above the rostrum—'Old Crow Mountain Site Archaeological Results Press Conference and Commendation Ceremony'.

Below the stage, reporters from all over the country packed the venue to the brim, their telephoto lenses and cameras aimed at the rostrum as the sound of shutters and the flash of bulbs merged into an ocean of light and sound.

Wang Dalong, dressed in a brand-new suit, sat stiffly in the third row of the guest section.

This outfit was something Lin Feng had specifically told him to buy, costing him nearly half a month's salary. Now, however, he felt constricted all over, especially by the tie, which felt like a noose.

He was so nervous his palms were drenched in sweat, and his back was already soaked through.

"Oh my dear mother..." Wang Dalong lowered his voice, muttering to the air, "Brother Feng is really putting me on the hot seat! If I'd known the scale would be this big, I wouldn't have come even if it killed me..."

A staff member wearing glasses nearby overheard and comforted him with a small smile: "Don't be nervous, Mr. Wang. You are the representative of a hero; everyone respects you. Just go up on stage, accept the award, and say a few words from the heart."

Representative of a hero?

Wang Dalong's lips twitched, feeling even more like a fraud. He was just a sidekick; how could he be considered a hero?

He subconsciously pulled out his phone, wanting to send Lin Feng a message for comfort, only to find the words "No Service" glaring on the screen. The signal was being blocked.

Game over. His only life-saving straw was gone.

At this moment, a leader from the Cultural Relics Bureau on the rostrum was giving his final concluding remarks, his voice loud and full of passion.

"...The major discovery at the Old Crow Mountain site has not only filled an important gap in our research of the late Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's history, but has also revealed a tragic past buried for a hundred years to the world! Here, on behalf of the National Cultural Heritage Administration, I would like to express my most sincere thanks and highest respect to Mr. Lin Feng, who made a decisive contribution to this discovery, and his partner, Mr. Wang Dalong!"

As soon as he finished speaking, thunderous applause erupted from the audience, continuing for a long time.

"Next, with the most enthusiastic applause, let us invite Mr. Lin Feng's plenipotentiary representative, Mr. Wang Dalong, to the stage to receive the award!"

Wang Dalong jolted, feeling the gaze of the entire room instantly focus on him. He took a deep breath, recalling Lin Feng's words—'Don't embarrass me'—and stood up with grim determination.

Under the watch of countless eyes, he moved his somewhat weak legs and walked onto the rostrum step by step.

The spotlights hit his face, making him dizzy from the heat.

The leader greeted him with a beaming smile, handing him a heavy rosewood certificate and a sealed check.

"Young man, well done! Please convey our respect to Mr. Lin Feng; he is a hero of the nation!" The leader shook his hand firmly, his palm broad and strong.

"I will! I'll definitely convey it!" Wang Dalong took the certificate, his hands shaking so much he almost dropped it. The check felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.

"Say a few words to everyone." The leader patted his shoulder, gesturing for him to go to the microphone.

Wang Dalong shuffled to the microphone. Looking at the dense crowd below and the countless flashing lenses, his head buzzed, and his mind went blank.

He completely forgot the speech he had prepared.

"Uh... that... hello everyone, my name is Wang Dalong. I'm Lin Feng's... I'm Brother Feng's partner."

A slight commotion and some well-meaning laughter came from the audience.

Wang Dalong's face heated up, and he decided to just let it all out: "Uh, actually, for finding the treasure this time, ninety-nine point nine percent of the credit goes to Brother Feng. His brain, seriously, I don't know how it's built, it's just... just like a computer. Me, I'm just an assistant, responsible for carrying things and shouting '666' for him..."

"Hahaha!"

The reporters in the audience laughed, and the atmosphere instantly relaxed quite a bit.

Wang Dalong scratched his head, feeling less nervous. His words began to flow more smoothly: "Brother Feng, you guys know him—he doesn't like to talk, and he likes being in the spotlight even less. He spends all day and night reading a bunch of old books; I even wondered if he was studying for his master's. But he truly loves these old things, he loves our history."

He paused, remembering what Lin Feng had said in the cave, and his voice unconsciously became serious.

"Brother Feng said something that I remember very clearly—'These things don't belong to me, nor do they belong to any individual. They belong only to history, to this country, and to all the people.' That's why we had to hand them over to the state."

"In the future, the two of us will keep at it, continuing to search for those treasures forgotten in corners. Not for money, and not for fame, but just so more people know how awesome the things our ancestors left behind are, and how profound our history is!"

As his voice fell, the entire hall was silent for a second.

Then, a burst of applause erupted, more enthusiastic than any before!

...Meanwhile, far across the ocean in South America.

Deep within the equatorial Rainforest, in an isolated modern manor, the air conditioning in the study was set extremely low.

On a giant LCD screen, the live broadcast of the Chengdu press conference was playing without a second's delay.

A man wearing a black silk dressing gown leaned back in a leather sofa, his slender fingers holding a wine glass. The deep red liquid inside swirled gently. He watched Wang Dalong's nervous yet sincere face on the screen, his lips curling into an amused arc.

"Interesting. This Lin Feng is even smarter than I thought, knowing how to hide his brilliance."

The study door was pushed open silently, and a secretary with an upright posture walked in, bowing respectfully.

"Boss, the results of the deep investigation into Lin Feng are out."

"Speak." The man didn't look back, his gaze still locked on the screen.

"Lin Feng, 23 years old, orphan, simple social relations. A Bilibili uploader, he initially made history science videos which were neither hot nor cold. Six months ago, his style changed abruptly, transitioning to 'treasure hunting' live streams. He has successively and precisely located 'Wang Mang's Hidden Gold,' 'William Kidd's Treasure,' and the 'Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Treasure'."

The secretary swiped on the tablet in his hand, his tone carrying a hint of confusion.

"His knowledge reserve and reasoning ability have already exceeded the scope of a genius. We analyzed all his public video materials; his logical chain and information integration methods don't look like those of a 23-year-old at all, but more like a veteran scholar who has spent a lifetime in research. Our behavioral analysis team believes he likely possesses some kind of... special information channel that we cannot understand."

The man finally turned around, revealing a face with sharp features. He looked to be only in his early thirties, with deep-set features and bottomless gray-blue eyes.

It was Osiris.

"Golden Mural..." He whispered the name, a hint of coldness in his tone. "That group of self-proclaimed top-tier wastes in the organization held the complete mural rubbings and used all resources to study them for three whole months, yet they couldn't even find a shadow of El Dorado. But this Lin Feng could find another country's treasure from a pile of broken clues."

He took a sip of red wine, his gaze becoming sharp.

"Such a talent shouldn't be wasted on looking for scraps of copper and iron."

The secretary asked in a low voice for instructions: "Boss, do you need me to send someone to China to contact him?"

"No." Osiris shook his head. "He is China's darling right now. Contacting him now would be like poking a hornet's nest. Besides, someone like him is proud and arrogant; forced recruitment would only be counterproductive."

He put down his wine glass, walked to the desk, and pressed lightly on the surface. A hidden compartment slid open quietly.

He took out a document with a gold-embossed cover and threw it to the secretary.

"Give him a little taste of something sweet."

The secretary took the document. With just one glance at the title, a flash of shock crossed his face: "The 'World Cultural Heritage Protection Foundation' Annual Grand Prize? Boss, this... this award has always only been given to highly respected archaeologists or large institutions. There has never been an individual precedent, let alone a young uploader..."

"Controversy?" Osiris laughed. "I want controversy. The greater the controversy, the greater the fame. You think he's truly indifferent to fame and fortune? No, he just looks down on these small-time domestic affairs. For a man who can find treasures, his ambition will only be larger than we imagine."

He walked to the giant floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the dark green Rainforest outside that was too thick to see through.

"This award is the ticket to the world stage, the highest honor that all practitioners dream of. He, a young man in his twenties, cannot remain indifferent when faced with temptation of this level."

Osiris's gaze seemed to pierce through time and space, landing on that young man far away in the East, his voice low and full of anticipation.

"Go, build the momentum as much as possible. Let the whole world know that a treasure-hunting genius has emerged in the East."

"Lin Feng, I look forward to... you coming personally to find El Dorado for me."