Actually, I'm Maritime Security

That night, Lin Xu received good news from Ren Jian.

All the equipment that needed replacing had been replaced, and the orders had already been placed. Anything in stock could be delivered and installed within three days. For anything unavailable, transfers had been arranged within the industry, and everything would be resolved within a week at the latest.

At the same time, several of the most complex and advanced pieces of equipment, including the melt impregnation production line, had also been taken care of.

According to Ren Jian, all he had done was instruct the procurement staff to send out requests for quotations. Before long, replies came in from various manufacturers and various "organizations."

There was no brand-new equipment available, but considering the manufacturers' production capacity and equipment workload saturation, several manufacturers and several "organizations" were willing to provide equipment to Donghua Chemical Fiber Plant through short-term leases.

In their words, this was called "internal circulation of industry resources."

Ren Jian did not seem surprised by this kind of "internal circulation." When updating Lin Xu, he even sounded somewhat relaxed, as if this were only natural.

But Lin Xu knew that Xu Jin must have started pulling strings.

Knew I was right to go to him!

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

Two weeks would be enough.

Once the first batch of finished products came out, Donghua Chemical Fiber's financial difficulties would immediately be resolved.

By then, Skyvault Technology could enter a positive cycle directly, and the Star Traveler One project could advance rapidly as well.

In Bracelet World, this project had taken seven years to complete.

But what about now?

With everyone working together, why would it take seven years?

Three years!

I said so!

Lin Xu set down his phone with satisfaction.

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

[The Star Traveler One project is progressing smoothly and is expected to advance faster than the original schedule.]

[Need to verify whether a key milestone has been reached and whether it can already affect Bracelet World.]

As it happened, he was about to thoroughly refine the manufacturing processes for the two materials.

Now that this task had become more important, he would set aside "Find Bai Mo" and "Solve the Zhurong Mystery" for the time being. He would finish the documents first, then look for answers to those two questions once the work at Donghua Chemical Fiber Plant was on track in reality.

Plan complete! √

Lin Xu checked the time. It was only a little past eight.

Still early!

Perfect. He could enter Bracelet World and copy some process documents.

He raised his wristband before his eyes, only to find that the number on it was still just "1."

Judging by how fast the number was blinking, it would still take some time to recover to 2.

Well, damn.

He had always known that the energy he expended in reality affected how quickly his chances to enter Bracelet World recovered.

But this was the first time he had seen the impact be so great and the recovery so slow.

Then again, today had indeed been exhausting.

He had been going nonstop for more than ten hours. Not only were his limbs aching now, but his mind was also clouded by a dull fatigue.

So perhaps the wristband's core function was not to "load another world"?

Perhaps its real purpose was to "stimulate his brain, use his brain as a processor, and construct another world"?

That made way too much sense.

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

Otherwise, if the number could only recover to 1 after every day, he would have far too little room for trial and error.

—But that could wait!

I'm going in first!

Lin Xu lay down on the bed and gently touched the wristband.

His consciousness gradually drained away...

"So you..."

"Change of plans. We're going to Donghua Chemical Fiber Plant."

Lin Xu had a clear objective this time, so he did not waste words with Skullhead. He gave the order directly and headed straight for Donghua Chemical Fiber Plant.

The moment the vehicles started moving, Lin Xu glanced out the window.

Skyvault Technology outside was still in the form it had taken after he had "changed it once." That proved that the push he had made in reality had not altered Bracelet World a second time.

The key milestone had not yet been reached.

Lin Xu frowned slightly.

What exactly determined whether a milestone had been reached?

As he pondered the question, Skullhead beside him spoke up.

"We're not hitting Skyvault Technology?"

"No. We're going into Donghua Chemical Fiber. The information we need is there."

"Don't force our way in. I know a back route."

"Once we arrive, follow my command. Get in quietly, search quietly, and don't attract attention."

"Understood. Infiltration mission."

Skullhead nodded knowingly, then immediately instructed his team to adjust their tactical deployment.

The procedures for an infiltration mission and a raid were different. Lin Xu had made this adjustment only after discovering that Skullhead had other equipment he could deploy and other tactical packages available.

The two briefly discussed the equipment and tactics they would need during the operation. Skullhead was nearly stunned by Lin Xu's professionalism and efficiency.

"Man, have you seriously never worked in our line of business?"

"Honestly, you know our tactical packages almost as well as I do!"

"Of course I haven't."

Lin Xu answered casually.

I haven't done it, but I've watched you do it.

The convoy was still fifteen minutes away from Donghua Chemical Fiber Plant. Lin Xu did not want to waste this precious time, but he had no communications equipment that could connect to the outside network and look up information. So he turned his attention to Skullhead.

"So you took part in an overseas operation in Nabk before, right?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

A flicker of surprise crossed Skullhead's eyes, but he was not overly shocked.

After all, it was common for employers to investigate the backgrounds of their action team members. If this man knew nothing about his past record, that would have been truly strange.

"Do you still remember the details of that operation?"

"What I mean is, who hired you? Before hiring you, did they explain the specific combat mission?"

"No."

Skullhead shook his head.

"I was just a low-level PMC employee back then. I couldn't get access to much high-level business."

"But even if I had been management, I still wouldn't have known much about the combat mission."

"PMC missions are highly unpredictable... just like this one. After we accepted the job, we didn't know the specifics until we met you. We didn't even know you existed."

"We only received a relatively vague mission simulation briefing. You could even call it abstract."

"Only after arriving here did we learn that you wanted to hit Skyvault Technology."

"It's for both sides' security. You understand that, right?"

"I do."

Lin Xu had originally hoped to extract some information from Skullhead about how he himself had contacted them, but it seemed that lead was still dead.

So he stopped dwelling on it and continued asking.

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

"In that operation, you ultimately protected the returning Zhurong probe. You know that, right?"

"I know."

Skullhead nodded.

"Then do you know what kind of organization Planetary Reincarnation, the group that attacked you, actually was?"

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

Skullhead answered honestly, then asked in return.

"You're interested in that? Are you a member of Planetary Reincarnation too? Or do you want to join them?"

"Of course not."

Lin Xu shook his head.

Then, as though inspiration had struck him, he said, "I'm Maritime Security."

"Maritime Security?!"

Skullhead stared at him in shock.

"You're Maritime Security... Where are your credentials?"

"Is something wrong with your brain? Have you ever seen Maritime Security show credentials to people like you?"

Lin Xu looked at Skullhead as though he were an idiot and continued, "The moment I revealed my identity to you, I had already proven it, hadn't I?"

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

Skullhead looked thoughtful.

"So your pursuit of Planetary Reincarnation is still ongoing? I heard you've been slaughtering people throughout the Middle East for ages. It still hasn't ended?"

"That is not your concern."

Lin Xu's voice was low.

He could tell that Skullhead basically believed his identity now.

That would make it much easier to ask whatever he wanted next.

After a brief pause, Lin Xu continued.

"Even if you don't understand Planetary Reincarnation, you must have learned some things during that attack."

"Do you know why Planetary Reincarnation went there to seize that probe?"

At those words, Skullhead frowned.

"That question..."

"If you mean the official information you people released, then I have nothing to say."

"But actually... I thought they were pretty strange..."

"How strange?"

Lin Xu's spirits lifted.

Finally, something different.

Skullhead cleared his throat and hesitated for a moment before answering.

"You know, I was on the front lines back then."

"A lot of Planetary Reincarnation believers died in front of me."

"And several of them, before they died, kept repeating something... Solar Ring."

"At first, I didn't know what that meant."

"But after the battle ended..."

"The Solar Ring really appeared."

"So could their attempt to seize the probe have had something to do with the Solar Ring?"

The instant those words left his mouth, Lin Xu's expression changed.

Solar Ring?!

The same kind of Solar Ring Jiang Xingye and he had seen?

Just as expected.

There was absolutely nothing simple about this so-called celestial phenomenon!