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

Everyone present was stunned by these words.

What does that mean?

The true dragon that has protected China for two thousand years is now asking them what they need.

Propaganda Minister Zhao Wenjin frowned, feeling that something was off about the logic.

According to the normal procedure, shouldn't it be the real dragon making the request, and them trying to fulfill it?

Why is it reversed?

"What do you mean by that?"

Wang Yijun spoke up; being a soldier, he was straightforward and outspoken.

What do we need?

"My meaning is very simple."

Li Chen's voice echoed in everyone's minds.

"What you can do, I can do too."

"What you cannot do, I can do as well."

"From the most basic level of controlling the wind and rain, to ensuring favorable weather for a region."

"Until a tsunami occurs and a volcano erupts."

"Or even, to wipe a country off the map altogether."

"This is my strength after I have recovered."

The temperature in the conference room plummeted.

It's not the air conditioner that's the problem; it's the chill brought on by those words.

To wipe a country off the map?

Foreign Minister Zhang Jian's hand trembled slightly, and the pen fell to the table with a crisp sound.

He worked in diplomacy for thirty years, witnessed all kinds of grand occasions, slammed his fist on the table during negotiations with the Americans, and broke ties with Western powers.

But this one in front of me...

This is something even nuclear weapons can't do!

Even the most powerful nuclear weapons can only destroy a country's cities, but cannot sink an entire country to the bottom of the sea!

"You mean...?"

Zhang Jian swallowed hard; his throat felt dry.

"Can you make a country disappear physically?"

"right."

Li Chen's answer was concise and powerful.

"Of course, I would not do that."

He then changed the subject.

"I have protected China for two thousand years and have never indiscriminately killed innocent people."

"But if anyone dares to invade China, I will show no mercy."

Wang Yijun suddenly stood up and braced his hands on the table.

"So, what level are you capable of doing right now?"

"Now?"

Li Chen remained silent for a few seconds.

"The dragon soul is weak; it can barely stir up a tsunami or trigger an earthquake."

"But the price is that I will fall into a deep sleep and it will take at least six months to awaken."

"so……"

His voice became low.

"I need to recover as soon as possible."

"And the key to recovery lies in the power of incense offerings."

Chen Dong pondered for a moment, then looked up.

"How much incense offering do you need?"

"The more the better."

Li Chen said.

"If I could make 1.4 billion people across the country know of my existence and believe in my existence..."

"Then it will only take me three months to regain the abilities I have demonstrated."

Three months!

Everyone present began to breathe rapidly.

Three months from now, China will possess an invincible true dragon!

At that time, who would dare to provoke China?

The U.S. aircraft carrier strike group?

One after another, they sink!

Military exercises in Japan?

Let their island sink!

Wang Yijun suddenly spoke up.

"But how can we convince the people?"

His voice was clearly filled with confusion.

This veteran minister, who had served in the military system for over twenty years, was clearly finding this problem difficult to solve.

"We live in a scientific age, and everyone receives a materialistic education from a young age."

Wang Yijun rubbed his temples with his fingers.

"What does our textbook say? Matter determines consciousness, and the world exists objectively."

"What does our evening news broadcast? 'Strengthening the nation through science and technology, and seeking truth from facts.'"

"Now you want me to tell 1.4 billion people that our country has a dragon..."

He shook his head with a wry smile.

"Let alone ordinary people, even I myself wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen the tsunami with my own eyes and heard the sound with my own ears."

Silence fell over the meeting room.

This is indeed a dead end.

To convince the entire nation of the existence of dragons, we must provide evidence.

But once the evidence is presented, it will trigger panic.

What's more troublesome is that once the news gets out, foreign powers will definitely get involved.

At that point, all sorts of conspiracy theories and fake news will spread everywhere, which will only make the situation get out of control.

"That's your problem."

Li Chen's voice rang out again, his tone as calm as if he were asking what to eat today.

"I am only responsible for protecting China. As for how to make the people believe me, that is your concern as officials."

"I'm not here to help you govern the country."

Wang Yijun was stunned for a moment.

Goodness, this dragon is quite good at shifting blame.

But thinking about it carefully, what they said isn't wrong.

Dragon only cares about fighting; propaganda work is their responsibility.

"You should at least give me some hints, right?"

Wang Yijun spoke up, his military character making him direct in his speech.

"You can't just say you need the power of incense offerings and then do nothing else."

"hint?"

Li Chen remained silent for a few seconds.

"I can demonstrate some power when the time is right."

"But the premise is that you have to lay the groundwork first."

"Otherwise, if I suddenly appear, the people will only think that it is an alien invasion or some secret weapon of the Ugly Kingdom."

Everyone present nodded in agreement with these words.

Indeed, without any prior warning, if a dragon suddenly appears, the first reaction of ordinary people will definitely not be "We have a guardian deity now," but rather "Holy crap, what happened?"

More likely, various conspiracy theories will emerge online.

Alien invasion, genetic weapons from the Ugly country, holographic projection technology... I just wouldn't think of a real dragon.

After all, who believes in this stuff these days?

"I have an idea."

Propaganda Minister Zhao Wenjin suddenly spoke up.

All eyes turned to him.

Zhao Wenjin worked in the propaganda system for more than 20 years, and his specialty was guiding public opinion.

It's definitely the most suitable person to leave this kind of thing to him to figure out a solution.

"We can first build a place to offer incense to Mr. Long."

Zhao Wenjin spoke slowly, clearly organizing his thoughts as he spoke.

"The official claim is that it promotes the traditional culture of the Chinese nation."

Wang Yijun frowned: "That's it?"

"Of course not." Zhao Wenjin waved his hand.

"We can package this as a cultural renaissance project."

He picked up the pen on the table and quickly wrote something in the notebook.

"Isn't the country constantly promoting traditional culture these days? The Hanfu craze, the Guochao craze, cultural and creative products... these are all very popular."

"We can certainly go with the flow and build a dragon culture museum in Beijing first."

"Let's exhibit all the bamboo slips and artifacts unearthed from the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor and let the academic community discuss them first."

Chen Dong's eyes lit up. "Go on."

"We will gradually release more evidence once public opinion has developed to a certain extent."

Zhao Wenjin's thinking became clearer and clearer.

"For example, we can find historians to verify the historical events recorded on those bamboo slips."

"The mysterious fire during Emperor Wu of Han's northern campaign against the Xiongnu, the sudden torrential rain during the An Lushan Rebellion, the tornadoes encountered by the Mongol cavalry as they marched south..."

"These are all recorded in historical documents, but everyone used to take them as coincidences."

"Now we're connecting these things together and guiding public opinion to think of it as a 'guardian angel'."

Zhang Jian added, "That way, even if the truth is eventually revealed, the public won't be too shocked."

"right."

Zhao Wenjin nodded.

"Moreover, we can also observe the reactions of foreign powers during this process."

"If they make any moves, we can prepare in advance."

The meeting room was silent for a few seconds.

Everyone is digesting this plan.

"But won't that take too long?"

Wang Yijun spoke up, "Those steps you just mentioned, they'll take at least six months, right?"

"Won't."

Zhao Wenjin shook his head.

"We live in the information age, and public opinion can develop very quickly."

"If we handle it properly, we can make the whole country aware of this within a month."

"The rest of the time is spent helping them go from 'knowing' to 'believing'."

Chen Dong pondered for a moment.

"Let's do it that way."

He made the decision: "Minister Zhao, this matter is entirely your responsibility."

"Just tell me what resources you need."

"clear."

Zhao Wenjin stood up. "I'll make the arrangements right away."

"etc."

Li Chen's voice suddenly rang out.

"I have a request."

Everyone stopped moving.

"What are your requirements?" Chen Dong asked.

"Building temples is fine, but don't make them fancy or frivolous."

"What golden statues, what incense burners, what bells and drums... I have no need for them."

"What I want is the people's genuine faith, not just superficial gestures."

Zhao Wenjin was taken aback.

Wow, this dragon actually has some principles.

"What do you need?"

he asks.

"One monument is enough."

Li Chen said.

"Engrave on it my origins, and my deeds in protecting China for two thousand years."

"Let future generations know that the Chinese nation has a dragon, which has never left."

That's enough.

Silence fell over the meeting room once again.

This time, it was a respectful silence.