Becoming the Plan's Supreme Leader

"Who is it?" Lin Mo opened the door. It was Zhao Gang.

A warm smile appeared on Zhao Gang's face as he offered his hand.

"Comrade Lin Mo, how is it? Have you settled in here?"

Being addressed as "comrade" startled Lin Mo, and he hurriedly reached out to shake his hand.

"Thank you for arranging this, sir. I really like it here."

"Good. Glad you like it. If you need anything, just let us know." Zhao Gang entered and gestured toward the sofa.

"Have a seat. No need to be nervous."

Lin Mo politely replied, "You should sit first, sir."

Zhao Gang said, "It's fine. You first."

Lin Mo said, "I couldn't possibly. Please, sit."

Lin Mo couldn't keep standing there trading stares with him, so he braced himself and sat down.

Only then did Zhao Gang take a seat.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the room froze.

"I know your head must be a mess right now," Zhao Gang began.

"Your new role, the change in your surroundings, and your uncertainty about the future."

Lin Mo paused. His tense body unconsciously relaxed a little, and he nodded.

"Yes, a little... I haven't quite processed it all."

"That's normal." Zhao Gang smiled faintly.

"Any ordinary person would feel lost if they were suddenly told that the future of a civilization rested on their shoulders."

He looked straight into Lin Mo's eyes and said earnestly:

"But the fact is, what you brought back has already been verified by the National Supreme Academy of Sciences."

"You, Lin Mo, are the only ray of hope our civilization has managed to grasp amid the apocalypse."

"So, your country needs you... human civilization needs you!"

Lin Mo fell silent.

All the jumbled thoughts in his head-promotions, raises, reaching the pinnacle of life-were suddenly swept clean by those words.

A heavy feeling surged through him, almost enough to crush him.

It was the sense of responsibility that came with being needed.

He raised his head, his gaze turning serious.

"What should I do?"

At last, something close to relief appeared on Zhao Gang's face.

He didn't want a pawn who passively accepted orders.

He wanted a warrior willing to shoulder an entire civilization.

"To support your operations, the leadership has passed a resolution."

"A new project will be established, with the highest priority above every other plan. Its codename is 'New Hope.'"

Zhao Gang stood, his expression solemn, and actually bowed slightly to the seated Lin Mo.

Lin Mo was so startled that he nearly sprang off the sofa.

"This project."

"It will have only one central figure, one commander-in-chief."

Zhao Gang's gaze burned with intensity, his voice firm and forceful.

"And that is you, Comrade Lin Mo."

"I, Zhao Gang, will serve as deputy commander of the New Hope Plan, responsible for mobilizing every resource in the country to support you and work with you in carrying out all operations on the Terra Continent."

"From this moment onward, your will is the supreme directive of the New Hope Plan."

Lin Mo's mind buzzed and crashed.

"As your deputy, I have three recommendations for our next operations on the Terra Continent. Would you like to hear them?"

Lin Mo nodded instinctively.

"Please, go ahead."

His brain was mush right now. A little guidance was exactly what he needed.

Zhao Gang raised a finger.

"First, stay alive. Under all circumstances, your safety is nonnegotiable. It is our highest priority."

"Second, find a way to obtain world tree seeds. You can try establishing a formal, trustworthy partnership with the Elves, then work toward that goal gradually."

"Third," Zhao Gang's tone became exceptionally solemn.

"Gather as much intelligence on the Terra Continent as possible. Especially on the Demon Clan. We need to understand what abilities they possess and whether they might be able to invade our Blue Star."

At that last point, Lin Mo's heart lurched.

That's right. Fendona said the Demon Clan came from a hell in another world. If they could reach Terra, what if they could follow the internet connection all the way to Blue Star?

Then we'd really be... screwed.

Zhao Gang added:

"Of course, throughout this process, whether it's technology, supplies, knowledge, tactics, or anything else, whatever you need, we'll provide."

"All of Great Xia will be your strongest backing."

Having finished, he stepped back, snapped to attention, and gave Lin Mo a crisp military salute.

"Comrade Lin Mo, supreme leader of the New Hope Plan!"

"Your orders, sir!"

Lin Mo stood stunned for two seconds before hurriedly jumping off the sofa and returning the salute.

At that moment, he felt a weight called "civilization" converge from every direction and finally land on his shoulders with a clang.

"I..."

Lin Mo opened his mouth. A thousand things crowded his throat, but in the end, he managed only that single word.

Seemingly noticing his predicament, Zhao Gang lowered his arm and changed the subject with a smile.

"I've already submitted your compensation details and bank account number. Money will be deposited automatically every month. You don't need to worry about your salary. I guarantee you'll never have to worry about food or clothing again."

Lin Mo's eyes instantly lit up.

Forget asking how I'm doing-send me a huge payment!

The heavy sense of duty he'd just felt instantly took tangible form as a glittering "¥" symbol.

"Thank you, sir!"

Zhao Gang smiled faintly.

"You can call me by my name, or just call me Old Zhao. Big Brother Zhao works too."

"Big Brother Zhao!" Lin Mo readily took him up on the offer, the words rolling smoothly off his tongue.

Zhao Gang acknowledged him and gestured toward the door.

"Come with me. Let's meet your team."

"My... team?" Lin Mo was taken aback.

"The New Hope Plan's think tank," Zhao Gang explained.

"It consists of the finest experts in every field. From now on, they'll work exclusively for you."

Lin Mo was led into an enormous circular room. Rather than a conference room, it looked more like an operations command center from a movie.

Dozens of massive screens covered an entire wall, displaying streams of data, three-dimensional models, and analytical charts that refreshed at a dizzying speed.

In the center of the room, more than a dozen people with distinctly different demeanors were already waiting.

There were elderly men with graying hair but eyes sharper than a hawk's.

There were refined-looking middle-aged scholars wearing gold-rimmed glasses with lenses as thick as the bottoms of beer bottles.

There were also several people with keen gazes and an unmistakable "keep your distance" air, clearly top military staff officers.

The instant Lin Mo entered the room, more than a dozen pairs of eyes snapped toward him.

Those gazes held a mixture of curiosity, scrutiny, and an almost feverish desire to investigate, along with anticipation.

"Comrade Lin Mo."

A white-haired elderly man stood first. It was Academician Qian Zhenhua of the Great Xia Academy of Sciences.

He hurried over to Lin Mo and adjusted his thick glasses, his voice trembling with excitement.

"Our preliminary assessment suggests that this miraculous life-form, the world tree, may involve a localized reversal of 'entropy'!"

"This is an unbelievable miracle. Could you tell me about it?"

Lin Mo: "???"

What the hell?

Entropy? What's that? Something to do with IQ?

Lin Mo looked utterly bewildered.