Chapter 49 Actually, I Am the Coast Guard

That same evening, Lin Xu received good news from Ren Jian.

All equipment requiring replacement had been ordered. The items in stock would arrive and be installed within three days, while those out of stock had been sourced through cross-industry deployment, resolving the issue within a week at the latest.

Simultaneously, several of the most complex and advanced pieces of equipment, including the melt-impregnation production line, had also been secured.

According to Ren Jian, he had simply instructed the procurement department to issue an external inquiry, and quickly received responses from various manufacturers and "units."

Brand-new equipment was unavailable, but taking into account the manufacturers' production capacities and equipment operation saturation, several manufacturers and "units" were willing to provide equipment to the Donghua Chemical Fiber Plant through short-term leasing.

In their own words, this was known as "internal circulation of industry resources."

Ren Jian did not seem surprised by this "internal circulation," and even spoke with a sense of "matter-of-fact" ease when updating Lin Xu.

However, Lin Xu knew that this must be the result of Xu Jin exerting his influence.

He knew he couldn't go wrong by turning to him!

Now that the issues concerning equipment and experts had been resolved, all that remained for the future was to recruit some skilled workers and technicians to push the trial production forward.

Two weeks would be more than enough.

Once the first batch of finished products rolled off the line, Donghua Chemical Fiber's financial predicament would be immediately resolved.

By then, Tianqiong Technology would directly enter a positive cycle, and the Star Voyage One project could be rapidly advanced.

In the bracelet world, this project had taken seven years to finally complete.

What about now?

With the concerted efforts of multiple parties, how could it possibly take seven years?

Three years!

My word is final!

Lin Xu put down his phone with satisfaction.

He opened his computer and added a new entry to the "Clues" document.

[The Star Voyage One project is progressing smoothly, expected to outpace the original schedule.]

[Need to verify whether the critical node has been reached and whether it can already exert an influence on the bracelet world.]

As it happened, his next task was to completely refine the manufacturing processes for the two materials.

Since the importance of this task had increased, he would temporarily put aside the tasks of "finding Bai Mo" and "solving the Zhurong riddle," focus on completing the document, and wait until the work at the Donghua Chemical Fiber Plant entered the right track in reality before seeking answers to those two questions.

Plan checked!

Lin Xu glanced at the time; it was just past eight o'clock.

Still early!

It was the perfect time to enter the bracelet world and copy the process documentation.

He raised his hand and brought the bracelet before his eyes, only to discover to his astonishment that the number on it was still just a "1."

Judging by the flashing speed of the digit, it would take some time before it recovered to a "2."

Good grief.

He had always known that his physical energy consumption in reality would indeed affect the recovery rate of his entries into the bracelet world.

However, this was the first time he had witnessed such a massive impact and such slow recovery.

Of course, thinking about it, today had indeed been quite exhausting.

Working continuously for over a dozen hours left not only his limbs aching, but also filled his brain with a hazy sense of fatigue.

So, perhaps the core function of this bracelet was not actually "loading another world"?

Its true purpose might actually be "stimulating one's own brain, using one's own brain as a processor, and constructing another world"?

Could it be that reasonable?

If that were the case, he would need to carefully manage his rest time in the future.

Otherwise, if the number could only recover to "1" after every passing day, his margin for trial and error would simply be too small.

----But never mind that for now!

Get in there first!

Lin Xu lay back on the bed and gently touched the bracelet.

His consciousness was gradually drained...

...

"So you..."

"Plan changed, heading to the Donghua Chemical Fiber Plant."

With a clear objective this time, Lin Xu did not waste any unnecessary words with Skull Head, directly issuing the command and heading straight for the Donghua Chemical Fiber Plant.

The moment the vehicle started, Lin Xu glanced out the window.

Tianqiong Technology outside the window remained in its "altered once" state, which proved that his push in reality had not yet triggered a second change in the bracelet world.

The critical node had not yet been reached.

Lin Xu frowned slightly.

What on earth constituted the judgment of a node?

As he pondered this question, Skull Head by his side spoke up:

"Not hitting Tianqiong Technology anymore?"

"Not anymore. We're infiltrating Donghua Chemical Fiber; the data we're looking for is there."

"Don't go in guns blazing. I know a side path we can use to get in."

"Follow my orders upon arrival. Infiltrate as quietly as possible, search as quietly as possible, and don't attract attention."

"Understood, stealth mission."

Skull Head nodded knowingly and immediately instructed his team members to adjust their tactical deployment.

The procedures for a stealth mission and a surprise attack were entirely different, and the reason Lin Xu made this adjustment was the optimal choice he had made after discovering that Skull Head had other deployable equipment and alternative tactical packages at his disposal.

The two briefly communicated about the equipment and tactics needed during the assault, and Skull Head was almost dumbfounded by Lin Xu's professionalism and efficiency.

"Buddy, have you really never been in our line of work?"

"Seriously, your understanding of our tactical package is practically on par with mine!"

"Of course I haven't."

Lin Xu replied casually.

----Although I haven't, I've watched you do it.

At this moment, the convoy was still fifteen minutes away from the Donghua Chemical Fiber Plant. Lin Xu was unwilling to waste this precious time, but he had no communication device connected to the outside network to look up information, so he turned his attention to Skull Head.

"So you previously participated in an overseas mission in Nabuk, right?"

"Right. What about it?"

A flash of surprise crossed Skull Head's eyes, though he wasn't overly astonished.

After all, it was common for employers to investigate the background of operational team members. If this man opposite him had completely zero knowledge of his past combat record, that would truly be ghost-like.

"Do you still have memories of that operation?"

"I mean, who hired you, and before hiring you, did they explain the specific combat mission to you?"

"No."

Skull Head shook his head.

"I was just a lowly PMC employee back then; I couldn't touch upon high-level matters."

"Besides, even if I were high-level, my understanding of the combat mission wouldn't be much greater."

"PMC missions have a very high degree of unpredictability... Just like this time, after receiving the mission and until seeing you, we didn't even know the specifics of the mission, nor did we know you existed at all."

"We only received a relatively vague, even abstracted mission simulation briefing."

"When we got here, we found out you wanted to hit Tianqiong Technology."

"This is for the mutual safety of both parties. You can understand that, right?"

"I can."

Lin Xu originally wanted to pry some information out of Skull Head about "how he found them," but now it seemed that this thread was still broken.

So he stopped dwelling on it and continued:

"Let's get back to the Nabuk operation."

"In that operation, your ultimate objective was to protect the returning Zhurong probe. You know that, right?"

"I know."

Skull Head nodded.

"Then do you know what kind of organization the Planet Reincarnation group that attacked you actually is?"

"No idea----I didn't have much contact with them, and I wasn't interested."

Skull Head answered honestly, then countered with a question:

"You're interested in this? Are you a member of Planet Reincarnation? Or do you want to join them?"

"Of course not."

Lin Xu shook his head.

Then, as if struck by a sudden flash of inspiration, he said:

"I'm with Maritime Security."

"Maritime Security?!?"

Skull Head was dumbfounded.

"You're with Maritime Security... Where's your ID??"

"Are you out of your mind? Have you ever seen Maritime Security show you an ID?"

Lin Xu looked at Skull Head as if he were an idiot, and continued:

"When I revealed my identity to you, I already proved my identity, didn't I?"

".......That makes a lot of sense......."

Skull Head looked thoughtful.

"So, your hunt for Planet Reincarnation is still ongoing? I heard you've been wreaking havoc in the Middle East for a long time. Hasn't it ended yet?"

"That's not something you need to worry about."

Lin Xu's voice was low.

He could tell that Skull Head had basically believed his cover identity.

With that established, it would be much easier for him to ask whatever else he wanted.

Thinking of this, after a slight pause, Lin Xu continued:

"Even if you don't understand the Planet Reincarnation organization, you should have grasped some information during that attack."

"Do you have any idea why the Planet Reincarnation organization went out of their way to seize that probe?"

As his voice trailed off, Skull Head frowned.

"That question..."

"If you're asking about the official news released by your side, then I have nothing to say."

"But actually....... I feel like they were rather strange......."

"Strange in what way?"

Lin Xu's spirits lifted.

He had finally managed to dig out something different.

Skull Head coughed, hesitated for a moment, and replied:

"You know, I participated in the frontline combat at that time."

"Many Planet Reincarnation believers died right in front of me."

"And several of them, right before they died, kept repeating something about...... the Sun Ring."

"I didn't know what that meant at first."

"But after the battle ended......."

"The Sun Ring actually appeared."

"So, could their attempt to seize the probe be related to the Sun Ring?"

As those words left his mouth, Lin Xu's gaze instantly shifted.

The Sun Ring?!

The very same Sun Ring that he and Jiang Xingye had seen?

Indeed.

A celestial phenomenon like this was definitely not simple!