Locke: I rely on intelligence to dominate the world and ensure the survival of my nation.

"Fireworks, the final burst of flame."

The fourth flame eruption.

The fireworks display had reached a state of high excitement.

Flame energy surged within it, like a volcano about to go out of control.

It opened its mouth, and the column of fire it spewed was more intense than ever before.

The pillar of fire pierced through the bouncing flower's body.

The bouncy flower let out a mournful cry.

The emerald green light completely faded.

Its massive body swayed twice before crashing to the ground.

A cloud of dust rose up.

The battle is over.

Three rounds. No damage taken.

Roland remained silent for a long time.

He crouched down and gently stroked the unconscious Bouncy Flower.

It's like comforting a child who has been wronged.

The bouncy flower trembled slightly in its sleep, then fell silent.

Roland stood up and looked at Lin Chen.

"Your tactics, your teamwork, your execution—these things can't be explained by luck."

He took out a grass-type badge from his pocket and handed it to Lin Chen.

"China is fortunate to have you."

Lin Chen accepted the badge.

Just then—

That cold, mechanical voice resounded across the globe once again.

Global Announcement: Lord Lin Chen of China is the third person globally to clear the Grass-type badge!

"China receives a national fortune boost: the nation's agricultural resources double, lasting for 72 hours."

"The national fortune rankings have been updated. Current rankings: America is 1st, England is 2nd, and China is 3rd."

Northern drought-stricken areas.

The first drop of rain falls.

Then came the second drop. The third drop. Countless drops.

The cracked earth was soaked by rainwater.

The withered crops straightened up again after being nourished by the rain.

The farmers rushed out of their houses and knelt on the ridges of the fields.

He let the rain soak him all over, crying, laughing and shouting.

"It's raining! It's raining!"

Rice paddies in the south.

Golden waves of rice rippled in the wind.

The rice ears were fuller than usual, bending low with their weight.

Each grain of rice was almost twice the normal size.

Agricultural experts stood by the field, staring in disbelief at the data displayed on the instruments.

Production doubled – this is not an exaggeration, it is doubled literally.

An invisible energy fluctuation covered the entire land of China.

A warm current surged through the body of every Chinese person.

Some people feel that they have become stronger.

Some people feel better mentally.

Some people have found that minor ailments that they've had for years have suddenly disappeared.

The number of patients in the hospital's emergency room dropped sharply in the following hours.

The physical fitness of the nation has improved slightly but in a real way.

The trending topics were completely dominated within ten minutes.

#LinChenHuaGuoZhiGang# surged to number one at an explosive speed.

Its popularity is more than ten times that of the second place.

"China is awesome! Lin Chen is awesome!"

"I'm in the north, and it's raining! It hasn't rained for three months!"

"I'm in the south, and I've personally witnessed the rice ears double in size!"

"My lower back pain suddenly stopped! What kind of miracle is this?"

"From today onwards, Lin Chen is my father!"

Beijing. Inside an unassuming gray building.

An elderly man with gray hair sat in the main seat of the conference room.

On the giant screen in front of me, the numbers on the national fortune rankings are changing.

China's name jumped from 17th to 3rd place.

The leaping arc, like a bolt of lightning, illuminated the face of everyone present.

"Lin Chen," the old man uttered the name.

The voice wasn't loud, but in the quiet conference room, every word was clearly audible.

"Find out all the information about this person. I need to see him by tomorrow."

The middle-aged man sitting to his right nodded and picked up the red phone on the table.

Outside the window, the rain is still falling.

On the terrace, the wind blew through Roland's robe.

He watched Lin Chen and the other two leave until their figures disappeared outside the tower gate.

I looked down at the still unconscious Bouncy Flower.

She sighed softly.

"Seven badges remain."

Lin Chen put away the Grass-type badge and turned to walk down the tower.

Su Muxue followed behind him and closed the notebook.

Wang Hao picked up the phone and patted off the dust.

"Brother Chen, where's our next stop?"

"Water-type Badge"

Lin Chen's voice came from the stairwell, as steady as a block of iron.

Outside the tower, the text of the global announcement had not yet completely faded from the sky.

The name of the United States is prominently displayed at the very top.

But Lin Chen knew that this was just the beginning.

The real race has only just begun.

Three days after the trending topic went viral, Lin Chen received his first message from an official source.

It wasn't a private message, nor was it a phone call.

A middle-aged man wearing a black jacket appeared directly at the entrance to the leveling spot in the Plata Grasslands.

"Mr. Lin Chen?" The middle-aged man's voice was steady, carrying a sense of propriety unique to those within the system. "Would it be convenient for us to speak privately?"

Lin Chen glanced at him.

Black jacket, dark trousers, and leather shoes covered in prairie mud.

The pet badge on the waist is the most basic style and not of a high level.

But this person stood there with his back straight and his eyes clean and direct, unlike those casual players wandering around the grasslands.

"Who are you?"

The middle-aged man took out a dark green ID card from his pocket, opened it, and handed it over.

"Zhang Guodong, Director of the Locke National Transportation Administration."

The national emblem on the certificate reflected a dazzling light in the sunlight.

Lin Chen took the document and examined it carefully. The anti-counterfeiting mark, the embossed seal, the serial number—every detail matched.

Three days after the Locke national destiny binding incident, the Chinese government quickly established a special national destiny management agency, a fact he was already aware of through the intelligence system.

He never expected that the bureau chief would come to see him in person.

"Did Director Zhang want to see me about something?"

Zhang Guodong put away his documents, glanced at Wang Hao and Su Muxue who were leveling up not far away, then looked at the row of glittering pet badges on Lin Chen's waist, and took a deep breath.

"Lin Chen, I'm not going to beat around the bush with you."

His tone was frank, even tinged with weariness.

"The current situation of land reclamation in China is not optimistic."

Lin Chen remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

"A total of 36,000 lords were sent into this territory nationwide. Three days have passed, and less than 2,000 have completed the initial pet evolution, and less than 100 have unlocked the entry qualification for William's Castle." Zhang Guodong's voice was very low. "And our competitors—the United States, Japan, and Germany—their top players are at least two levels ahead of us."

"If we don't achieve a good ranking in the William Castle Purification Battle, no one can bear the consequences of the divine punishment."

Lin Chen nodded. He also had this data in his intelligence system, but hearing it from the official sources gave him a completely different feeling.

"So, you came to find me."

"Yes." Zhang Guodong looked straight at him. "Lin Chen, on behalf of the Locke National Development Administration, I formally invite you to join us. Your position is Chief Pioneering Advisor of China."

"What you need to do is provide us with basic information and strategies for pioneering the land, and guide the lords across the country to develop more efficiently."

"In return, the Administration will provide you with nationwide player coordination authority, priority resource allocation rights, and—" he paused, "to block all negative public opinion against you."

Lin Chen raised an eyebrow slightly.

The last point is clearly aimed at the propaganda war surrounding Li Kai. The official intervention to block negative public opinion means that from now on, people like Li Kai will have no way to gain attention by smearing him.

"I need to think about it," Lin Chen said.

Zhang Guodong didn't urge him. He took out a dark green card from his pocket and handed it over.

"This is my direct contact code. Contact me anytime once you've made up your mind."

He turned around, took two steps, then stopped without looking back.

"Lin Chen, I'm not asking you for help."

"I am pleading with you on behalf of the 30,000 lords of China and on behalf of 1.4 billion people.

Lin Chen held the card, standing still for a long time.

An hour later, he dialed Zhang Guodong's contact number.

"Director Zhang, I agree."