As though something had suddenly occurred to him, Liu Chengen slapped his thigh and stared at Lin Mo with shining eyes. His gaze made Lin Mo's skin crawl.
"I have an idea! It's a little... a little challenging, but theoretically, it should work!"
"Talk," Zhao Gang said curtly.
Rubbing his hands together, Liu Chengen said excitedly,
"We could... put it inside Lin Mo's belly!"
"Pfft-"
Lin Mo spat out the water he had just drunk.
Put it inside... my belly?
Do you fucking think I'm a kangaroo?!
"Outrageous!" Academician Qian Zhenhua also thought the idea was far too insane.
"No, I'm not being ridiculous!" Liu Chengen explained urgently.
"What I mean is, we use minimally invasive surgery to make an incision into Lin Mo's abdominal cavity, carefully place the seed inside, then dress the wound!"
"The abdominal cavity has enough room for an object the size of a soccer ball."
"Once he comes back, we'll operate immediately and take the seed out!"
"We'll use the country's finest surgical team, along with the best equipment and medication, to minimize the risks throughout the procedure!"
The conference room fell utterly silent.
Everyone was stunned by Liu Chengen's idea, which was so bold it bordered on madness.
Surgery, then traveling to another world to stuff something the size of a soccer ball into his belly, then coming back for another operation to remove it?
That sounded less like science and more like a cult sacrifice.
Just as Zhao Gang was about to reject it on those very grounds, Lin Mo spoke up.
"I... I'll do it!"
His words detonated like a bomb in the conference room.
Every gaze converged on him, filled with astonishment, admiration, and a trace of anguish.
Zhao Gang frowned and looked at Lin Mo.
"Lin Mo, you don't have to do this. Your safety comes first!"
"I've thought it through." Lin Mo raised his head with a wry smile.
"It's just stuffing a ball into my belly, right?"
"What's the big deal? Back when I played soccer, I even used my stomach to trap the ball."
He wanted to ease the tension with a joke, but no one could bring themselves to laugh.
Zhao Gang stared at him for a long time, then gave a firm nod.
"All right! On behalf of the people and the nation, thank you!"
"Rest assured! I'll personally oversee everything and mobilize the country's best medical resources to make sure nothing goes wrong!"
"When you return with the seed, I'll personally recommend you for honors as a national hero!"
Lin Mo gave a crooked grin.
He didn't care whether he became a hero. Right now, he only hoped the surgeon operating on him wouldn't be that lunatic Liu Chengen.
He feared that the moment the anesthesia kicked in, the man would pick up a scalpel and drool while muttering, "My precious."
Back on the Terra Continent, Lin Mo felt as though even his gait had become strange.
Although the "ball" hadn't been put inside him yet, the psychological effect had already made him unconsciously stick out his belly like a woman three months pregnant.
He went straight to the Elf Royal Court.
Queen Ellari and the elders had clearly finished their emergency meeting as well.
Both sides took their seats again, and the atmosphere was even graver than before.
"Sir Lin Mo," Queen Ellari began, her expression solemn and her emerald eyes resolute.
"We have discussed it. We agree to your terms."
Lin Mo felt a surge of delight.
"However," the Queen continued, changing tack,
"We also have one condition."
Lin Mo gestured for her to continue.
"Please, go ahead."
The Queen rose and walked over to a huge map of the Terra Continent. Her slender finger pointed to a city northeast of the Elven capital.
"Emerald Leaf City."
"It was once our richest territory and our most important defensive barrier in the east."
"Two years ago, it fell to the Demon Clan. Countless members of our people died horribly there."
"Now, it has become the Demon Clan's forward base for attacks on our heartland. They are mining and hauling away vast quantities of ore, and the World Tree is suffering terribly at their hands."
The Queen turned around and fixed Lin Mo with an intense gaze.
"My condition is that Great Xia must help us retake Emerald Leaf City!"
It was a perfectly reasonable condition, and Lin Mo agreed on the spot.
"No problem."
"We accept the condition of retaking Emerald Leaf City."
With a preliminary agreement finally reached, the atmosphere in the royal court eased somewhat.
A smile returned to Queen Ellari's face.
"Wonderful! Sir Lin Mo, your decisiveness is admirable." She sat back down on her throne.
"Then, when will your civilization... be able to send an army to support us?"
Her eyes were full of anticipation.
The humans Lin Mo had described the previous night were all very weak, and even Lin Mo's own physique was barely better than an Elven toddler's.
If not for the enhancement provided by the Life Fruit, she suspected a gust of wind could blow him away.
Still, no matter what, the involvement of a new civilization would bring a new source of strength.
Especially... recalling the bow and crossbow blueprints Lin Mo had given them, along with the improved arrows and production processes, she felt that this thing called technology would have more surprises in store for her.
Yet Lin Mo's answer left them all stunned.
"We can begin at any time," Lin Mo said confidently.
"But Your Majesty, you may have misunderstood. Great Xia will not send troops directly."
"What?"
Queen Ellari's smile froze.
"You won't send troops?" The hot-tempered Elder Valerius erupted on the spot.
"What kind of aid is that if you won't send troops? Sir, are you making fools of us?!"
The other elders also grew agitated.
To them, paying an enormous price and handing over their most precious World Tree Seed only to receive no troops in return was nothing short of fraud!
"Of course not."
Lin Mo rebutted Elder Valerius's accusation outright and looked at Queen Ellari on the throne.
"Your Majesty, please let me explain."
"Great Xia wants to send troops to help you. Please, you must believe that we are sincere!"
Lin Mo spread his hands.
"But the problem is, I only got here because I accidentally fell into spatial turbulence."
"I can only contact Great Xia through sleep, too. Our army genuinely cannot get here. Can you understand that?"
"But that doesn't mean we can't do anything! We can provide a complete warfare solution that will let the Elves themselves crush the Demon Clan into the dirt!"
He rose, ready to explain the "three-step" strategy Zhao Gang and the think tank had tailored for the Elves overnight, from overhauling production lines to introducing new tactical doctrines.
But the Queen had already sunk into profound disappointment.
She heard only the beginning before raising a hand to interrupt Lin Mo.
"So, Sir Lin Mo," the Queen said, her voice turning cold,
"Do you mean that Great Xia's so-called aid amounts to having you teach us how to whittle bows and arrows, read books, and play with sand tables?"
"Rather than... sending a real army?"
The air in the royal court froze, and the temperature plummeted.
The Elven elders' expressions darkened. Elder Valerius had already laid his hand on the sword hilt at his waist, producing a faint scraping sound.
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