246: Chapter 246 So that's how it's calculated

The night was already deep.

In the villa bedroom, only one bedside lamp was left on, its warm yellow glow spreading quietly, dyeing the entire room with a soft hue.

Outside the window, the wind was very light, occasionally brushing against the treetops and bringing up a faint, rustling sound.

Lu Li leaned against the headboard, his gaze fixed on the light screen in front of him, his expression showing little fluctuation.

On the light screen, the latest test-firing footage leaked from abroad was paused.

The silver-gray gun body and the blue-white electric arc that exploded instantly during electromagnetic acceleration were indeed very eye-catching.

Especially after it was fired, the effect—almost no recoil like traditional gunpowder weapons, yet possessing obvious penetrating power—could no longer be summarized by the word "advanced."

Once this thing matured, the landscape of individual thermal weapons would indeed be changed.

Lu Li stared at the footage for a few seconds, his fingers tapping lightly on the bed surface, but there was not much shock in his eyes.

Strong, it was certainly strong.

Placed in this era, one could even say it was a bit out of the syllabus.

But to say it scared him, that wasn't the case.

He had even gotten his hands on that Iron Man suit.

What really concerned him was never any single emerging technology, but the line behind it.

The pace of progress abroad was even faster than he had originally estimated.

This was the most troublesome part.

Lu Li narrowed his eyes slightly.

It seemed he had been a bit too optimistic before.

The cards he held were certainly numerous enough, so many that throwing out any single one could overturn a corner of the table in this era.

But the system's mission was there, and the rewards were there; wanting to take them down wasn't as simple as just "technological leadership."

Make the country reach the top on Blue Star.

These four words looked clear on the surface, but when broken down and pondered, they were actually quite vague.

What exactly counted as reaching the top?

Was it military suppression? Was it total economic volume? Was it technological strength?

Or perhaps, did he have to fight a fierce battle and beat everyone into submission?

Thinking of this, Lu Li's brows furrowed imperceptibly.

If it really came to that step, things would be huge.

Between modern nations, especially major powers, there was no such thing as a casual "let's fight and see."

If they really opened fire, it would be a fight to the death.

Going deeper, nuclear weapons were like a steel needle hanging over their heads; no one dared to truly pierce that layer of skin.

This path had too high a cost and was too stupid.

At least, it shouldn't be the optimal solution.

As he was thinking, the void in front of him flickered slightly.

The familiar system panel popped out.

[Detected that the host has questions about the judgment criteria for the main mission, providing supplementary explanation.]

Lu Li's eyes focused, and his attention was instantly pulled back.

The next second, a new line of text slowly appeared.

["National Top Status" final judgment dimension: Comprehensive evaluation of Dragon Country by the public of major global nations.]

[Reference items for comprehensive evaluation: technological perception, cultural identity, institutional impression, sense of security, desirability, willingness to cooperate, and public opinion favorability.]

[Current comprehensive evaluation ranking: Second.]

Lu Li looked at those lines of text, quiet for two seconds, then the corners of his lips slowly curled up slightly.

So it was this.

It wasn't about who shouted the loudest.

Nor was it about who said a few polite words in official settings.

What the system looked at was the real perception of ordinary people in other countries.

It was the impression that popped into their minds first when they mentioned Dragon Country.

Whether they felt it was strong, reliable, advanced, worth cooperating with, or whether they felt it was strange, conservative, and needed to be guarded against.

This standard was softer than he had imagined.

But when it came down to it, it was actually harder.

Because hard power could be built up through technology after technology, product after product, factory after factory.

But things like human hearts were never won by shouting slogans.

It had to be seen with one's own eyes, felt personally, and even acknowledged voluntarily.

Lu Li leaned back, finally truly relaxing a bit.

This made sense.

In other words, what he had to do next was not just push Dragon Country to a "strong" position, but also turn "strong" into a globally perceptible, tangible, and communicable reality.

Technology must be leading.

Products must be overwhelming.

The imagination at the institutional level must also keep up.

It would be best if it could make those ordinary people abroad, while marveling, unable to help but think—

Why was this kind of thing made by Dragon Country first?

Why was this country different from their impressions?

Thinking of this, Lu Li's eyes gradually deepened.

This was much more interesting than simply winning a technology race.

And it was more to his taste.

A very light movement suddenly came from the bedside.

Lu Li turned his head and saw Su Qingxue turn over slightly in the quilt.

She had probably just fallen asleep not long ago; her hair was a bit disheveled, with a few black strands sticking to her fair cheek, her breathing light and even.

The silk nightdress on her body draped softly along her figure, revealing a slender, rounded lower leg, which looked dazzlingly white under the warm yellow light.

Perhaps sensing that the person beside her was not yet asleep, she closed her eyes and frowned slightly, but her hand subconsciously reached out and rested on Lu Li's waist.

The movement was very light, carrying a bit of half-asleep dependence.

Lu Li looked down, and his gaze, which had previously held a hint of coldness, instantly softened.

He reached out to tuck her scattered hair behind her ear, his movements careful to the point of tenderness.

Su Qingxue hummed dazedly, her eyelashes fluttering, but she didn't open her eyes, just snuggled closer to him, as if shrinking her whole self into his scent.

Lu Li looked at her and suddenly felt like laughing.

Those people outside were all talking about technology, order, and the big picture, as if they couldn't wait to overturn the world.

But in the end, everything he had started doing was just to keep this easy life, and by the way, to let the people around him live peacefully.

As a result, before he knew it, the business had grown bigger and bigger, and he even ended up carrying national missions.

He raised his hand to gently pinch the space between his eyebrows, but his heart was already completely sorted out.

Since the system's judgment criteria was the comprehensive evaluation of Dragon Country by the public of other global nations—

Then the next step was very clear.

Continuing to simply hide his cards no longer had much meaning.

What should be revealed, must be revealed.

What the world should see, must be allowed to see.

Military industry was one part, but it couldn't be only military industry.

What could truly change public impression would always be those most intuitive things.

Mobile phones, Robots, Virtual Helmets, smart cities, Anti-gravity Vehicles...

Even more exaggerated civilian technology in the future.

As long as these things were leading enough, shocking enough, and popular enough, the perception of ordinary people abroad would definitely be rewritten.

By then, many things would not need Dragon Country to explain them itself.

They would speak for Dragon Country.

They would marvel for Dragon Country.

They would redefine "future" for Dragon Country.

A faint glimmer of sharpness flashed in Lu Li's eyes.

Su Qingxue seemed to be sleeping more soundly, her fingers unconsciously tightening, gripping the fabric at his waist through her thin nightdress.

Lu Li looked down at her, his gaze softening a few degrees.

No matter how things changed outside or how the situation overturned, this woman was ultimately the one he had first marked within his protection range.

Whoever dared to touch her, would have to die.

On this point, there was never anything to discuss.

He leaned down and gently planted a kiss on Su Qingxue's forehead, then looked up at the system panel still suspended in mid-air, his voice so low it was almost just a breath.

"Second, huh..."

"Fine, then I'll take the first place."

The virtual light screen extinguished silently.

The bedroom became quiet again.

Only the warm lamp by the bedside remained on, keeping the night outside the window.

...

Meanwhile.

Thousands of miles away, in an airport in the United States, in the international flight terminal, the broadcast was sounding over and over again.