226: Chapter 226 I am Lin Yuan!

Shen Changhe held the five hard drives, standing in place as his Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

He took a deep breath and turned to look at Lin Yuan, his voice extremely low yet unable to hide the tremor within.

"Academician Lin, then we now...?"

The question was asked with extreme restraint.

But the dozens of veteran experts present all understood the true meaning behind those words—

Can we start dividing the loot... no, can we start assigning the research tasks?!

In an instant, dozens of pairs of eyes were glued to the five hard drives in Shen Changhe's hands.

Lin Yuan took in the scene, let out a soft chuckle, and waved his hand.

"The materials have been handed over to everyone; I don't have anything else to do here."

As he spoke, he scanned the room with a smile, his tone relaxed.

"Seniors, please make your own arrangements. I have other matters to attend to later."

Having said that, Lin Yuan calmly nodded his farewell to everyone, his hands hanging naturally at his sides as he walked toward the door at an unhurried pace.

"Take care, Academician Lin!"

"Thank you for your hard work, Academician Lin!"

Dozens of people bid him farewell in unison, their tones respectful, standing straight with their backs perfectly upright.

"Beep— Pshhh—"

The alloy door slowly closed behind Lin Yuan.

"Click."

The sound of the door lock clicking shut reached the eardrums of everyone in the hall clearly, and then...

"Quick, quick, quick! Old Shen, give me the hard drives! The first one is for materials; give it to the materials group first!"

A silver-haired, national treasure-level veteran academician in materials science rushed forward in a few strides, grabbing Shen Changhe's wrists directly.

"Why should you get it first? Is the power system not important? It should go to our propulsion group first!"

Another titan of aerospace propulsion charged in from the side.

"Don't fight! Bring the third one for communications first! The window for the space-based satellite network won't wait. Academician Lin just said it's first come, first served!"

Surrounded by four or five old men, Shen Changhe clutched the five hard drives to his chest, dodging left and right while yelling.

"Don't grab! Let go! You old rascals, you were all acting so dignified in front of Academician Lin just now, and now you've completely dropped the act, haven't you!"

"Cut the crap! Hand over the hard drives!"

Shen Changhe bared his teeth, shielding the hard drives with his back, his face turning bright red.

"Fine, fine! Everyone gets a share, one for each group!"

"Line up! Everyone get in line!"

...

At the same time.

In Yang Tongan's simply furnished office at the Xishan Base.

Lin Yuan sat upright on the sofa, his legs naturally crossed, looking calm and composed.

Yang Tongan personally picked up the thermos, poured him a cup of steaming tea, and pushed it toward him.

"Have the arrangements for the south heaven gate project's setup been distributed?"

Lin Yuan took the teacup and nodded.

"The first batch of core materials has been fully distributed."

"The Xuannü and White Emperor Aerospace Fighters are relatively small in scale, so their manufacturing processes will be prioritized. As for the Luan Bird carrier..."

He paused and spoke truthfully.

"A hundred-thousand-ton-class aerospace platform involves too many subsystems; it requires a longer period to proceed steadily."

Yang Tongan nodded with satisfaction and took a sip from his own teacup.

"There's no rush, and no need to rush."

"With the Chengying Mecha around, no power will dare to trouble Xia Country in the short term."

"Time is completely on our side now."

Lin Yuan nodded with a smile.

Holding his teacup, he suddenly tilted his head, his tone becoming casual.

"By the way, Elder Yang, I've always remembered what I said to you back then."

Yang Tongan's eyebrows twitched slightly, feeling somewhat surprised.

"Which sentence?"

"Inviting you to go up and take a seat yourself."

Lin Yuan looked at Yang Tongan, his smile gaining a touch more sincerity.

"That day is not far off."

Yang Tongan's hand holding the teacup paused, and he froze for a beat.

Then, this old man, who had been as tough as iron his whole life, threw his head back and laughed heartily, his laughter booming.

"Good! Good lad!"

After a long while, the laughter gradually subsided.

Yang Tongan stopped laughing, and his half-closed old eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at Lin Yuan.

"Alright, stop beating around the bush with me."

He lowered his voice half a notch.

"You didn't come all this way to see me today just to report progress, have a cup of tea, and paint a rosy picture, did you?"

"Speak, what is it exactly?"

Lin Yuan set down his teacup and smiled silently.

Talking to smart people was indeed effortless; he stopped circling around and went straight to the point.

"Elder Yang should also be aware that I mentioned the concept of piloting large mechas during the live broadcast this morning."

Yang Tongan nodded slightly.

Lin Yuan held up a finger.

"At the manufacturing technology level, there are actually no major obstacles left for large manned mechas dozens of meters tall."

He paused for a beat, his tone turning serious.

"But the true core threshold doesn't lie in manufacturing."

"It lies in... the pilots."

Yang Tongan's body leaned forward slightly, his half-closed eyes opening fully.

"You mean..."

He stared intently at Lin Yuan, his gravelly voice sounding three times heavier than usual.

"You want me to step forward and formally launch a mecha pilot selection and training program across the entire military?"

Lin Yuan nodded.

"Elder Yang hit the nail on the head."

Elder Yang didn't answer immediately but gave Lin Yuan a deep look.

With his years of political sensitivity and strategic vision, he instantly grasped the deeper meaning behind Lin Yuan's action.

"Hype!"

"The south heaven gate project had been launched, and the Chengying Mecha had deterred the world, but these things were too far removed from ordinary people."

"However, 'selecting mecha pilots from the entire military' could directly transform such an ethereal national strategy into a fever of national participation!"

"This was to light another unquenchable fire across the country, and even the world!"

Yang Tongan slapped the armrest of the sofa, his voice resolute.

"Good!"

"Leave this matter to me!"

...

Half an hour later.

Lin Yuan stepped out of Yang Tongan's office.

At the corner of the corridor, Qin Meng was waiting quietly as usual.

Seeing Lin Yuan emerge, she quickly stepped forward and reported in a low voice.

"Academician Lin, as per your instructions, I have contacted the largest public opinion platform in the country."

"The real-name verified personal account has been registered and is ready for use."

Lin Yuan heard this and nodded with a smile.

"Thank you for your hard work."

...

That night, at eight o'clock sharp.

It was the peak time for internet traffic in Xia Country.

Hundreds of millions of netizens across the web were still frantically discussing that morning's epic global live broadcast on various forums, social platforms, and short video sites.

"south heaven gate project," "Aerospace Carrier," "Iron Man armor"...

These keywords dominated the trending lists on every platform, scrolling and updating non-stop twenty-four hours a day.

Right then.

Without any warning.

On the country's largest public opinion platform, an unannounced push notification appeared simultaneously on countless mobile screens.

An account with the ID "Lin Yuan," carrying the highest-level official Gold V verification, posted its first update.

The post had no pictures and no long-winded pleasantries.

There were only four simple yet heavy words—

"I am Lin Yuan!"