National destiny: Global tower climbing skills have decreased by 10,000 times.

In an underground parking garage somewhere in China.

There were no lights in the corner, only the green indicator light for the emergency exit glowing dimly.

A man leaned against the wall, looking down at his phone. Beneath his hat brim, a tattoo of a large blue bird on the side of his neck revealed his identity—a blue owl with outstretched wings and a beak as sharp as a blade.

—He is Xuan Niao, the captain of the Dragon Kingdom's Green Owl Team.

Xuan Niao was wearing a dark gray jacket with his hat pulled low. His fingers were aimlessly swiping across the phone screen, as if he were looking at something, or perhaps just killing time.

He would occasionally glance up in the direction of the garage entrance, then look back down.

Footsteps came from around the corner.

Unhurriedly, the soles of his leather shoes clicked against the cement floor, producing a crisp echo.

A tall, thin figure appeared in the shadows.

Wearing the same black hoodie, black baseball cap, and black face mask, with the brim of the cap almost completely covering half of his face.

In the few uncovered areas, the exposed skin was very white—not a sickly pale white, but a rosy, healthy white.

He was very tall, more than half a head taller than the Black Bird, and stood in front of me like a slender flagpole.

He glanced at the black bird from a distance, then looked around as if to confirm something, before walking towards the black bird.

The two men exchanged a glance, and the man removed his mask, revealing a polite smile—a face with a yellow beard.

"Hey, Parker, long time no see!" Xuan Niao waved to him gently, making a handshake gesture.

"Hey, sir! It's great to see you again, Master." Parker also extended his hand and shook hands with him.

Parker spoke slowly, in a not-so-fluent Mandarin, but he was confident and poised.

Xuan Niao reached behind her and pulled a dark envelope from the inside pocket of her jacket. The envelope was sealed with a wax seal and looked very carefully sealed.

Without hesitation, he handed it over.

Parker took the envelope, but without opening it, he ran his fingers through the seal and smiled with satisfaction.

He knew that it was neither Chinese currency nor an eagle's knife, but...

—National Fortune Certificate.

The World Bank's National Currency is a globally circulating international currency, issued uniformly by the World Bank, with a face value much larger than that of any other country's currency.

The difference in face value varies depending on the country's national strength and ranking, ranging from thousands to tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of times.

Compared to the Dragon Kingdom Coin, the National Fortune Coin has a face value of approximately two to three thousand times.

In other words, the small letter that Xuan Niao just gave us might have a face value equivalent to tens of thousands of Chinese Yuan.

And this National Fortune Ticket is the prize for the annual Spire National Fortune Competition!

Each year, countries pay a uniform number of national fortune tickets to participate in the competition. The higher the ranking of a country, the more national fortune tickets it receives, while the lower the ranking, the more likely it is to lose money.

Because national fortune notes have a very large face value, are limited in quantity globally, and circulate globally, top-ranking countries often use them to promote their domestic production and develop their economies.

At the same time, national debt also serves as an important reserve tool, relating to a country's trade capacity and ability to withstand risks.

Therefore, national debt is also a kind of national strategic resource. Even countries with low rankings will try their best to reserve some, which is of great significance.

The country ranked first can set the rules for international trade for the following year, allocating influence and status based on each country's ranking.

This is why every country is scrambling to develop its own top-tier esports industry.

The Dragon Kingdom knows this, and the Eagle Kingdom, a long-standing e-sports powerhouse, is no exception.

He didn't count them carefully; he just touched them, smiled politely, folded the envelope, and put it in his pocket.

"Aren't you afraid I'll be short of numbers?" the Black Bird asked.

"No need." Parker's Chinese was heavily accented, and his pronunciation was somewhat stiff.

"I, the fortune teller, have a good eye on you, Xuan Niao. You're a regular customer of mine."

He pulled a small USB flash drive from his hoodie pocket; it had a silver casing and no markings.

He held it between his thumb and forefinger, wrapped it in a box, and handed it to the Black Bird. It looked exceptionally precious.

"The video you requested, the third-generation combat style of the Eagle Nation's isolated robots, in full, uncut."

Xuan Niao took the box, held it in its palm, and looked up at Parker with a scrutinizing gaze:

"Are you sure this is the 'third generation'? The latest one?"

Parker opened his mouth and smiled, revealing his white teeth. The smile was so natural that there was no trace of artificiality.

"Of course it's the third generation, my friend. This is the most authentic gameplay video of our top professional player from the Eagle Nation."

"We went through a lot of trouble to get our hands on it."

His tone was resolute, and there was not a flicker in his azure eyes:

"Didn't your first two batches of Qingxiao products work very well? I've seen them, and this batch is of even higher quality."

Xuan Niao nodded, put the USB flash drive case into his inner pocket, and carefully zipped it up.

Parker took a step back, put his mask back on, and lowered his voice:

Parker took a step back, put his mask back on, and lowered his voice:

"Captain Xuan Niao, remember not to forget our promise."

The black bird raises its head.

"Next year, at the Spire National Games, China cannot be ranked in the top five."

Parker's tone was soft and his intonation awkward, but he enunciated each word clearly:

"This is the order from above. I, Shi Yi, hope that you Chinese people are trustworthy."

Xuan Niao smiled and patted his shoulder: "I know, I know."

"The usual rule!"

"It's not just about knowing." The man in black extended his index finger, tapped his temple, and made a shooting gesture:

"Remember this. Keep it firmly in mind."

He turned around, took two steps, then stopped, turned his head to the side, and said in a low voice:

"By the way, your friend in prison, Zixia, seems to be acting rather restless lately. She's been poaching people everywhere."

The black bird did not respond.

"But it's not about US-China relations." The man in black pulled his hat down further, his tone even.

"Even if Zixia digs again, she won't find anything. My current opponents are no match for you."

He gave a meaningful smile, then turned and walked into the shadows.

"It's a pleasure working with you!"

The footsteps faded into the distance, disappearing at the end of the garage.

Meanwhile, at the entrance of Ye Fei's home in a residential building in Longguo.

A man wearing a light purple jacket stood in front of the door, holding a piece of paper with an address written on it.

The jacket had a cloud pattern printed on the back, with two large characters below it—Zixia.

He checked the door number repeatedly to make sure it was correct, and then reached out and knocked on the door.

"Thump, thump, thump!"

no respond.

"Is nobody here?"

He knocked three more times, but still no one answered.

"Is he not home?" the man muttered to himself, stuffing the note back into his pocket and taking out his phone.

He pulled out his memo, clicked on a number, and dialed it.

"Beep...beep..."

"Hello, your phone is not being answered..."

"Ugh! What bad luck, why did it have to be at a time like this?" He sighed, left a note in the crack of the door, and turned to go downstairs.

Just then, Ye Fei, who was in the training room, felt his phone vibrate slightly in his pocket.

However, the vibration was very small, but the outside noise was loud. Ye Fei was focused on operating the screen and did not notice the phone ringing in his pocket.

A few seconds later, the noise stopped, and he successfully reached the second floor.