Master, What's Happening?

The cheering from the home world side probably lasted less than half a minute. Then, soon after. The communication channel signal was clear, and another voice came through: "Comrade Lin Yi, hello, this is Zhou Jianmin." Zhou Jianmin? Lin Yi blinked, but quickly recalled the other person's identity: the first official leader he had ever communicated with, the overall director of the National New Domain Situation Awareness Center, very high-ranking. Not to exaggerate. If not for those words from Zhou Jianmin back then, Lin Yi's mindset might not have held steady until now—hardly chicken soup for the soul, but it had indeed given Lin Yi some strength. So toward Zhou Jianmin, Lin Yi felt grateful: "Director Zhou, I truly thank you and the state this time." "No need for thanks, Comrade Lin Yi," Zhou Jianmin's tone remained as gentle as ever, "you and I are fellow Huaxia countrymen; lending a hand in times of trouble is only natural, nothing to thank." "Besides, this assistance process verified many conjectures that had previously only existed in theory, and it's been a great help to the state's research in spatial matters. One result even directly helps a major project at Xi'an Aircraft Industry Corporation." "If thanks are really due, then it's us who should thank you." In the two completed batches of material transmission. Leaving aside the unresolved issues that still need continuous research, just the related results already proven are enough to produce three to five top-tier Nobel Prizes in Physics. After all. These days, the Nobel Prize is increasingly tied to politics, and biases are growing more pronounced, but the prestige of top Nobel results remains very high. Almost every time such a result appears, it means the framework of physics has been completed by at least one more floor. Of course. Talk is talk, but our side wouldn't be foolish enough to actually trade away results for awards... However, listening to Zhou Jianmin's gentle voice over the receiver, Lin Yi shook his head slightly. It wasn't calculated that way. Zhou Jianmin might have his own logic and views. But from Lin Yi's perspective, this time he owed the state far too much. To help him, the state had invested a huge amount of manpower and material resources, even bringing out Elder Sun and the rotating experts from the Think Tank. And back then, how likely was success to begin with? One could say the state sent the materials prepared for them to be wasted, and now that the experiment succeeded, those results were nothing more than corresponding returns no matter how you put it. But for Lin Yi and Guihua Sect, it was genuine life-saving grace. However, Lin Yi was not someone who liked to wear his emotions on his sleeve, so he didn't speak up to refute Zhou Jianmin; he simply kept this gratitude silently in his heart. Time would naturally prove all intentions. "Comrade Lin Yi," however Zhou Jianmin seemed to guess something from Lin Yi's silence, and soon spoke up on his own, "you really don't need to burden yourself with too much psychological pressure." "You are indeed the key node in the exchange between the two worlds, and the state does hope to gain more information about the Tianling Realm... or rather, the cultivation civilization through you—that's nothing to deny." "But on the other hand, that doesn't mean the state will coerce you into doing certain things; win-win development has always been our principle." These were Zhou Jianmin's sincere words. After all, gratitude can be used for a time, but not for a lifetime. If they held the idea that Lin Yi owed the state a debt of gratitude to make demands or even squeeze him, there would eventually come a day when the relationship grew distant. Given our side's wisdom, they would certainly not do such a one-shot deal. Only by using fellow countrymen's affection as a bond, seeking points of mutual benefit that benefit both sides, could this relationship remain stable and long-lasting. This was a conclusion already reached by the higher-ups, not just Zhou Jianmin's personal idea. It's just that currently the home world's understanding of the Tianling Realm is relatively limited, and the specific direction of cooperation still needs further judgment to be known. After Zhou Jianmin paused for a moment, he continued: "Comrade Lin Yi, how about this?" "Now that Guihua Sect has just weathered the great calamity, there must be many things within the sect that need you to handle the aftermath. The home world side also needs to do some advanced processing on the transmigration point, plus the light ring currently cannot transmit large items..." "How about we end this communication for now, and talk properly again after 24 hours? What do you think?" "No problem," Lin Yi looked up toward the Sect Meeting Hall, where two figures could be seen flying over rapidly in the distance. "I'll contact you in 24 hours." "Rest assured, I will collect the materials from these two Golden-Eyed Crimson-Scale Beasts and send them back to the home world for research." "Also, unless the state has arrangements, I won't tell anyone about the existence of the home world." Now that he and the home world had established a stable communication signal through the wave packet protocol sent by Pan Yongnian, he could hang up the phone with confidence at any time. Even if we put it another way. Even if communication failed, Lin Yi could still continue to communicate with the home world through the light ring—it was just a more troublesome process, like passing notes back and forth in school. Afterward, Lin Yi ended the communication, and a hint of expectation faintly appeared in his eyes. Now that the great calamity had passed. The second communication in 24 hours would surely focus on various information about the Tianling Realm... or rather, the cultivation civilization. He finally had a simple opportunity to give back to his country. Whoosh— Not long after Lin Yi ended the communication, the two figures from the direction of the Sect Meeting Hall landed on the ground one after another. They were Zhao Ping and Su Qing. "Master!" After landing, Zhao Ping led Su Qing to bow to Lin Yi, then his gaze immediately fell on the two carcasses not far away, his expression horrified: "Master, this, this is..." Su Qing beside him was also struck speechless: "V..." Not long ago, after parting with Master at the Grand Elder's Hall. Zhao Ping and the others, while suppressing their inner grief, gathered the sect disciples, planning to split up and flee once the grand array was broken. Zhao Ping had even prepared to actively stay behind and sacrifice himself. But they had only brought the disciples into the secret passage behind the mountain leading from the Sect Meeting Hall for a short while when they heard two loud bangs from the sect gate, yet the sect grand array remained undamaged. So Zhao Ping immediately brought Su Qing to investigate. As Foundation Establishment cultivators, the two understood what had happened the moment they landed. But precisely because of that, they were all the more shocked. After all. Master's spiritual root aptitude was not outstanding, and the cultivation classics he studied were of ordinary quality; among cultivators of the same realm, he belonged to the most ordinary tier. Plus the realm gap. Even the weakest of those Golden-Eyed Crimson-Scale Beasts could easily deal with seven or eight peak-stage cultivators. Let alone that he was now advanced in years, his qi and blood nearly exhausted, his realm severely declined, and normally even Su Qing could surpass him by half a notch. If risking his life to delay two demon beasts for a moment still had theoretical possibility, but killing them and then standing here like nothing happened... Unless... Just then, Su Qing standing beside Zhao Ping suddenly thought of something, her eyes lighting up: "Master, could that terrifying 'this child' you mentioned when you were telling stories at the storytelling hall... actually refer to yourself?"