I, the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon, am being kept by the state.

Thirty days.

For cultivators, it's just a fleeting moment of seclusion and meditation.

But for the infrastructure legion of the Dragon Kingdom, these thirty days were seven hundred and twenty hours of burning their lives to create miracles.

At the summit of Yufeng Mountain, the east is already bright.

The first rays of morning sunlight pierced through the clouds and shone on a massive, ring-shaped structure.

It resembles a crystal necklace, suspended above the sea of ​​clouds, encircling the mysterious island in the middle of the lake.

The entire structure is 3,000 meters long and is made of aerospace-grade high-strength transparent alloy. It has no support columns and relies entirely on anti-gravity magnetic levitation technology to connect with the mountain anchor points.

This is Guanlongtai.

Standing on the plank road, with a bottomless abyss below and a vast sky above, and ahead... the abode of the gods.

"All data indicators are normal."

"Load-bearing test complete. Current load margin: 400%"

"Laser defense network self-test complete, no blind spots."

Inside the command center, Chen Dong listened to the reports coming through his earpiece, and a flicker of emotion finally appeared in his bloodshot eyes.

He hadn't slept for three whole days.

"Old Zhao."

Chen Dong turned to Zhao Wenjin beside him, who also looked exhausted but was full of energy. "How's the situation on the perimeter?"

Zhao Wenjin gave a wry smile and pointed to the monitoring screen.

On the screen, the highway entrances, train stations, and airports of Longcheng were densely packed with people, like a swarm of army ants migrating.

"He's gone mad, completely mad."

Zhao Wenjin pulled up a set of data: "As of 6 a.m. this morning, Longcheng has a permanent population of 5 million, and now a full 3 million tourists have poured in."

"All the hotels, guesthouses, and guesthouses in the city, even bathhouses and internet cafes, were fully booked two weeks ago."

"Now, park benches, KFC tables, and even under overpasses are full of people sleeping."

Chen Dong frowned. "What about order? There are so many people, we absolutely cannot let anything go wrong."

"Minister Liu, rest assured."

Zhao Wenjin pointed to the aerial footage in the corner of the screen, "We have to thank our 'national guardian beast' for this."

Although the crowd was large, there was no pushing or shoving or chaos in the footage.

Although everyone's face showed fatigue, their eyes revealed a kind of pilgrimage-like piety.

Someone tried to cut in line, and without even police intervention, the spittle of the surrounding crowd could drown him.

"No one dares to act recklessly under the feet of the gods."

Chen Dong exclaimed, "The crime rate has dropped to an all-time low; even thieves have switched to selling Red Flags."

Zhao Wenjin nodded and turned his gaze to another screen.

What was shown there was a temporary campsite at the foot of Yufeng Mountain.

Rows of neat military green tents stretch for miles; these are temporary shelters hastily set up by the authorities.

"Who lives there?"

Chen Dong asked.

"The first batch of lucky winners, and..."

Zhao Wenjin paused, his tone becoming somewhat strange, "There are also some foreign tycoons and princes who couldn't book hotels."

The camera zooms in.

There was a blond old man wearing a custom Armani suit, sitting on a folding stool, eating a bucket of instant noodles with great relish.

Beside him was a high school student from China wearing a school uniform, gesturing animatedly to the old man about something.

"Is that... the CEO of a European energy giant?"

Chen Dong squinted and tried to make out the details.

"Yes, his net worth is in the tens of billions of euros."

Zhao Wenjin shrugged. "Yesterday he wanted to spend five million to buy the high school student's tent location, but he was refused."

The student said, "In the Dragon Kingdom, seeing the Dragon God depends on fate and sincerity, not on one's social status. You might want to first understand why we were able to summon a real dragon."

"and then?"

"Then the old man understood, obediently went to get a bucket of instant noodles, and chatted with the student about Chinese mythology all night."

Chen Dong's lips twitched slightly.

The scene was surreal, yet strangely plausible.

"Oh, right."

Chen Dong's expression turned serious. "Have those old gentlemen arrived yet?"

"arrive,"

Zhao Wenjin's smile faded, and his expression turned solemn. "The special train just pulled into the station ten minutes ago, escorted by police cars and the state guest security team. It's heading up the mountain now, and Lao Wang is over there too."

Chen Dong took a deep breath and straightened his slightly wrinkled collar.

"Let's go greet them. They are the real protagonists today."

……

At the foot of Yufeng Mountain, outside the warning line.

The previously noisy crowd suddenly fell silent when they saw the slowly approaching Hongqi convoy.

There were no cheers, no screams.

Only the crowds receding to both sides like a tide, and countless pairs of eyes watching.

Because everyone knows who's in the car.

That was the achievement of developing the mushroom bomb, the Foolish Old Man who turned the desert into an oasis, and the backbone that supported the hope of the mountains with chalk.

The car door opened.

Mr. Qian Youmin walked down the stairs, his steps unsteady.

He was wearing a faded Zhongshan suit with the bright red national emblem pinned to his chest.

Behind him were elderly people with white hair, some sitting in wheelchairs and others leaning on canes.

Their backs may no longer be straight, but their eyes are clearer than those of young people.

"salute--!"

The armed police commander in charge of security shouted.

"brush!"

Thousands of armed police officers raised their right hands at the same time, their movements perfectly synchronized, like a steel forest.

Someone in the crowd started clapping.

The applause started sparsely, but soon it exploded like thunder and lasted for a long time.

It even drowned out the sound of the wind in the mountains.

Many young people had tears in their eyes, held their phones high, and pointed the cameras at those white-haired figures.

Mr. Qian stood by the car, looking at the dark mass of people in front of him, at those young faces, his eyes welling up with tears.

He raised his hand and waved it gently.

"Don't do that, it's what I should do."

Chen Dong and Zhao Wenjin quickly stepped forward, and both of them bowed deeply at the same time.

"Mr. Qian, and all the other gentlemen, thank you for your hard work."

"It's not hard work."

Old Qian waved his hand, his gaze passing over the two men and looking towards the distant, cloud-shrouded mountaintop. "For us old bones to be able to see a real dragon before we die is a blessing."

He paused, his voice trembling slightly.

"I've spent my whole life studying atoms and nuclear fusion, and I thought I understood the laws of this world."

Mr. Qian took off his reading glasses and wiped the lenses with a handkerchief. "Now I realize that we were only seeing the tip of the iceberg."

"You flatter me."

Chen Dong supported Qian Lao's arm, "If the Dragon God knew you were here, he would be happy too."

"Happy?"

Old Qian smiled, put his glasses back on, and said, "I'd like to ask that Dragon God whether the energy essence of nuclear fusion is related to the spiritual energy of the cultivation world."

Chen Dong was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing.

This old gentleman, even at his age, still can't shake his habit of doing scientific research.

"Mr. Qian, this way please."

Zhao Wenjin pointed to the VIP area specially prepared at the foot of the mountain, "Tomorrow is the day to climb Guanlongtai, so please get some rest."

"It's alright, we have patience."

Qian Youmin smiled and said, "When it comes to scientific research, the one thing we have in abundance is patience."

After speaking, the old gentleman turned around and, led by his assistant, headed to the rest area.

Looking at that hunched back, Zhao Wenjin suddenly felt a lump in his throat.

These elderly people dedicated their lives to the country, yet in the end, they still couldn't let go of their research.

"Director Chen, do you think Mr. Li might...?"

"Yes."

Chen Dong interrupted him, "Although Mr. Li is a dragon, he is also Chinese."

"He will see the spirit of these old gentlemen."