The Elves Had an Ulterior Motive

The corner of Lin Mo's mouth twitched. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

So after all that, the entire nation's hopes came down to me, its one and only survivor?

"So... my superhuman physique is a one-of-a-kind, discontinued model?"

Academician Liu Chengen nodded reflexively.

"Based on our current data, yes."

The words "this defies science" were practically written all over his face.

"We've tried every method available. The way that life essence was converted... lies beyond our understanding."

"All we can say is that it... it's very magical!"

"Got it." Lin Mo snapped his fingers.

"I'm a humanoid monster now. You're not planning to slice me up later, are you?"

His joke immediately lightened the heavy atmosphere.

Just then, Zhao Gang's steady voice rang out.

"Although we can't replicate it directly, that doesn't mean it's worthless."

He walked over and looked at Lin Mo, his eyes bright.

"At the very least, we've confirmed that the Terra Continent has miraculous substances powerful enough to overturn our fate."

"Being unable to do it now doesn't mean we'll never be able to. Once we develop our extraction processes over there, bringing it back will only be a matter of time."

Everyone's eyes lit up.

"That's right!"

Zhao Gang approached Lin Mo, his gaze intent.

"Now, let's discuss something else."

He glanced at the medical staff around them and said in a low voice:

"Come on. Let's go to the conference room."

Several military staff officers were already waiting in the conference room. Clearly, Zhao Gang had arranged this beforehand.

Zhao Gang went straight to the point.

"Lin Mo, on the surface, the Elf Queen's invitation is meant to thank us for helping."

"But I believe that's merely a pretext. After all, she's already rewarded you with the most precious thing she has, a Life Fruit."

Lin Mo immediately picked up his train of thought.

"So she has an ulterior motive."

"Exactly." Zhao Gang nodded.

A female staff officer added:

"The Queen wants to meet you, a visitor from another world, as well as those you represent-us, Great Xia."

"This is both a probe and an opportunity."

Another staff officer, a man, took over.

"Our compound bows and crossbows have given them a taste of the benefits of a technological gap."

"The Queen likely hopes we'll provide more technology, whether for logistics or weaponry, to help them fight the Demon Clan."

"This is a crucial step toward establishing close cooperation with the Elves."

He walked over to the enormous holographic map and pointed at the ever-expanding red shadows covering Blue Star.

"Blue Star's rotation is still slowing. The weakening of its magnetic field and the loss of its atmosphere are accelerating."

"The Ark Plan is only a temporary reprieve."

"We need seeds from the world tree."

"Once Blue Star's rotation stops completely, we could propagate world trees along the day-night boundary and rebuild the ecosystem."

"In fact, even in our current underground cities, a single world tree could sustain a complete ecological cycle of plants and animals."

"It could also stabilize the ground and reduce earthquake damage, greatly lowering the technical difficulty of building underground cities."

As Lin Mo stared at the alarming red on the map, the weight of it instantly crushed his flippancy.

"This really is an excellent opportunity," Zhao Gang continued.

"Your task is to use this opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the Elves, the world tree, and the entire magic system of the Terra Continent."

"As our sole point of connection, every interaction you have could open a new door for us."

"Understood. So I'll go scout things out?" Lin Mo asked.

"Yes." Zhao Gang nodded.

"With your current abilities, you can handle most risks. Stay alert, but don't be afraid to make contact. If you're unsure about anything, come back and discuss it with us first."

Lin Mo nodded solemnly.

"Don't worry. I'll gather information carefully and find out what they want while I'm at it."

"Sounds good!"

Zhao Gang smiled, nodded, then waved a hand.

"All right, that's it for the meeting. Get some rest first. There's no need to rush. Steady progress is what matters most."

Lin Mo nodded, turned, and left the conference room.

After returning and finishing the lavish meal delivered to him, Lin Mo couldn't fall asleep just yet, and he wasn't in the mood to pass the time playing games either.

After all, experiencing another world firsthand was far more real and interesting. It rather outclassed the worlds on a screen.

"Maybe I'll look around this underground base and get familiar with it. I've been here so long, but I've never explored it."

"I can check how far the underground city's construction has come, too."

Back when he'd lived in his rented apartment, he'd scraped by doing odd jobs and manual labor around the outskirts of the underground city.

To see how the construction looked overall, he would need a high vantage point.

He opened the door and wandered down the corridor. As he passed through an alloy door, the two familiar guards silently fell in behind him.

Lin Mo turned around.

"Huh? What are you two doing here?"

One of the guards replied in a subdued voice:

"Sir, we're your guards."

"Whenever you leave the designated area, we follow you to keep you safe."

"My name is Wu Suowei. He's Wu Jiandao."

Lin Mo: "???"

"'Whatever' and 'Infernal Affairs'?"

"Those names of yours... are you serious?"

Wu Suowei: "..."

"Sir, it's suo as in 'lock' and wei as in 'guard'!" Wu Suowei stressed.

Lin Mo pointed at the other man.

"What about him?"

Wu Suowei said, "Him? His surname is also Wu. His father loved watching Infernal Affairs, so that's what he named him."

Lin Mo helplessly pressed a hand to his forehead.

"All right. With you two around, I somehow feel less safe."

Wu Suowei: "..."

Wu Jiandao: "..."

"Rest assured, sir. We're professionals."

Lin Mo said, "Unless you can't help yourselves?"

The two men looked baffled. "Can't help ourselves with what?"

Lin Mo smiled, waved a hand, and turned around.

"Nothing, nothing."

"It just reminded me of a movie!"

He had no idea where Zhao Gang had found these two.

Maybe he'd figured Lin Mo would find them amusing, given how his mind jumped around?

In any case, having guards along was definitely better. They could prevent a lot of unnecessary trouble.

As for protection... Lin Mo reckoned he could take on more than ten guards himself.

Lin Mo took another two steps forward, then suddenly looked back.

"Oh, right. I want to see how far construction on the underground city has come. Could you show me the way?"

Wu Jiandao nodded.

"I know where to go. I'll take you there right away!"

"Mmm." Lin Mo nodded in satisfaction.

As he followed behind him, he marveled inwardly.

Who would've thought I'd live to see the day people called me 'sir'...

Suddenly, he looked down.

"Huh? Why are my hands clasped behind my back? And why am I walking with my feet turned out?"

Wu Suowei: "..."

Wu Jiandao: "..."

This chief didn't seem very serious!