A call from the mayor

"Good heavens, what am I seeing!"

"Mom, come out and look at Superman!"

"Hello, is this Big Goose News? I have a tip for you. I saw Superman here at Big Kid Amusement Park in Xinzhou City... What? I'm absolutely not joking... You're the lunatic! Your whole family's crazy!"

"Could immortals really exist in this world?"

"No, he's my grandpa!"

"Right, he's my grandpa too! My grandpa's amazing. He even said that when I grow up, I can be just as amazing as him."

The people in the amusement park who had been desperately fleeing actually stopped in their tracks for a moment because of Zhang Hongxing's move. Those who had already reached safety all turned their eyes toward the sky.

Aboard the train, Zhang Hongxing moved with incredible speed.

There had not been much fire to begin with, and he quickly put it out. The entire process took less than a minute and a half.

"Professor, the fire's out."

Lin Mo's eyes brimmed with excitement. Coming back from the brink of death like this was almost too much to bear.

"I know."

Professor Yang's voice trembled slightly too, but his movements did not slow in the slightest. He had made all the preparations the moment Zhang Hongxing entered the train.

Now, all he needed to do was press the final activation button.

He pressed it without hesitation.

"Beep, beep, beep..."

"Professor, what's going on?"

The excitement in Lin Mo's eyes instantly turned to terror. In less than two minutes, the train would plunge straight into the ground. There was no need to spell out what a failed startup meant at a time like this.

"There's a red button at the front of the train. Tell Zhang Hongxing to press it right now! This is our last chance!"

Professor Yang roared, his eyes bloodshot.

Zhang Hongxing had already noticed that something was wrong and immediately answered Lin Mo's call. Then, in three bounds, he reached the front of the train. The conspicuous red switch was easy to find.

He slapped it without hesitation as well.

At the last possible moment, the Maglev Train's control system finally came back online. Just before it struck the Amusement Park's buildings, it climbed back into the sky and ultimately crashed into an uninhabited mountainside.

Boom!

The violent explosion resounded across the sky, even triggering a localized magnitude-three earthquake.

Fortunately, no one died.

Most of the injuries were not serious either.

The instant Professor Yang saw the Maglev Train crash into the mountainside, tears streamed down his face. Their Maglev Train research had finally been saved.

"Xiao Wu, please keep up the good work. From now on, you'll be leading the Maglev Research Center."

"Professor, what are you doing? Haven't we already made it through this crisis?"

"Yes, we've made it through the crisis, but the consequences won't be so easy to erase. I'd love to stay here, but... ah, let's leave it at that. It's settled."

"Professor!"

"Professor Yang!"

"Professor!"

Everyone knew Professor Yang's character and his ability as a researcher, but the incident had already happened. As the person in charge, there was no way he could escape responsibility.

Rather than wait for someone else to punish him, he might as well take the initiative.

That way, at least he could let someone he trusted, someone who truly loved magnetic propulsion research, take over.

In the end, Professor Yang left, his departing figure looking rather forlorn.

Lin Mo left with him.

Back at Big Kid Amusement Park, Zhang Hongxing had leaped out before the train made its dramatic ascent and hurried back to Lele and Wenwen.

He would never entrust the lives of these two precious children to Professor Yang and his team.

Even if the train had ultimately been unable to avoid crashing into the Amusement Park, he would have ensured Lele and Wenwen's safety.

That was the confidence of a powerhouse at the peak of the Golden Core Realm.

It was also the confidence befitting someone who had once been an Immortal Venerable.

"Grandpa, you're amazing! They all admire you!"

"Grandpa, Grandpa, all these boys and girls said they want to learn kung fu from you with me!"

Lele and Wenwen's eyes shone with pride. A group of children stood behind them, the oldest in their teens and the youngest seven or eight. Their eyes were all filled with longing.

Compared with the children, the adults were much more reserved.

Quite a few of them wanted to learn too, but none felt comfortable asking outright.

"There's nothing much to learn from my kung fu, and I don't have that much time or energy to teach. If you really want to learn, join the military. They teach everything I know there."

Naturally, Zhang Hongxing could not take on so many disciples. With no other option, he could only bring up the military.

Besides, he was not lying.

He knew that his younger son, Zhang Bing, was promoting the Immortal Cultivation Method throughout the military.

After leaving the Amusement Park, Zhang Hongxing took the two little darlings by the hand and headed to the zoo. The Maglev Train incident had been nothing to him.

The two children, Lele and Wenwen, were not shaken in the slightest either.

When they heard they were going to the zoo, each tried to jump higher than the other.

This time, their trip to the zoo finally went smoothly. The grandfather and his two grandchildren enjoyed themselves from beginning to end. No one came looking for trouble, nor did any flying trains, missiles, rockets, or anything of the sort come hurtling at them.

If another train came flying through the sky, Zhang Hongxing figured he would have to go home and do some serious divination.

At six that evening, Zhang Hongxing and the two children finally returned home.

Piping-hot dishes were being brought to the table just then.

Since Zhang Hongxing had said he would be home at six, the family had prepared dinner and waited to eat with them.

The more people there were at home, the better the food tasted.

That was an eternal truth.

If they could eat with someone else, no one would want to eat alone.

Humans were social creatures, after all.

"Dad, you really made a name for yourself today."

As usual, Zhang Jun started the conversation. He had long since abandoned the fine tradition of not speaking during meals.

"Word spread that quickly? Has this affected our family at all?"

"How is that quick? Just look at the times we live in. Everyone has a smartphone now. It's nothing like your day."

Just as Zhang Jun was getting carried away, he caught the meaningful look in Zhang Hongxing's eyes and immediately changed his tune.

"Uh, Dad, I wasn't looking down on your era. What you did today brought honor to our whole family. Even the mayor called our house personally."

"Oh? What did he say?"

"Not much, really. He just asked a few things about you, then asked after the whole family. Oh, right, he also mentioned building some kind of Research Base. He said to call him back when you have time.

"Dad, aren't you into Immortal Cultivation? Since when did that have anything to do with scientific research?"

"Just eat your dinner."

Watching his eldest son act increasingly "foolish," Zhang Hongxing felt rather helpless.

"Oh, right. Did you hand in the thing I told you to submit?"

"I did. I gave it to Mayor Liu of our town right after lunch today. If I'd known the city mayor would contact us, I would've saved it for him."

"It's fine. As long as it's been submitted, it doesn't matter who gets it."

After offering that casual reassurance, Zhang Hongxing began thinking about the construction of the research base. Clearly, that was what the mayor's call today had been about.

The earlier call from Minister Wang Desheng had clearly been no joke.