The Reversal of Heaven Begins with The Smiling, Proud Wanderer

This medicine, more precious than gold, will become the key to saving countless lives on future battlefields.

Regarding weaponry and equipment, Lin Mu has already begun collecting palladium.

This rare metal is found only in platinum mines, primarily in South Africa and Russia.

Lin Mu plans to directly develop the "Ark Reactor," which, if successful, will not only completely solve the energy problem but also bring a revolutionary breakthrough to mechanical power.

Aircraft equipped with this reactor can achieve uninterrupted global navigation, while tanks would be able to sweep across Eurasia.

To this end, he set up a secluded research room, moved some of the temple equipment there, and equipped it with reprogrammed artificial intelligence for assistance.

Everything is ready except for the raw materials.

Lin Mu plans to personally travel to Northeast China or Russia to explore and use his awakened metallic abilities to sense and extract underground mineral veins.

Tianjin's rapid rise finally alerted the Beiyang government.

Tianjin is only a little over 100 kilometers from the capital and has always been an important town guarding the capital region and a vital point for coastal defense.

Sun Chuanxiong, as one of the key figures of the Beiyang Army, was decisively executed by Lin Mu. In addition, Lin's army expanded rapidly and its forces were heading straight for Langfang, making the top leaders of the Beiyang government feel uneasy.

In recent days, telegrams and phone calls have been coming in one after another. The Beiyang government has attempted to negotiate with Lin Mu, while urgently transferring troops from Tangshan, Datong, Baoding, Cangzhou and other places to strengthen the defense of the capital region.

Clearly, they were starting to get scared.

After receiving another call from Prime Minister Kim, Lin Mu agreed to go to Kyoto for negotiations.

There might be a conspiracy involved, or it could be a trap, but Lin Mu didn't care.

Before his departure, he ordered Yue Qiluo and a high-level android to stay in Tianjin, while he himself, with only a few personal guards, secretly traveled by special train to Kyoto, the core of Beiyang power.

The power base in Kyoto is deeply entrenched and complex, far surpassing that of Tianjin.

Former Qing dynasty loyalists, Beiyang warlords, foreign embassies, reclusive eccentrics... all forces intertwine and vie for power here.

Lin Mu's purpose in this trip was to observe the wind direction in Beijing and Tianjin, pave the way for his strategy in the Northeast, and at the same time secretly seek out a "person of destiny" to trigger a system mission.

That evening, Kyoto's elite gathered at the Jin Mansion.

Politicians, tycoons, ministers, and military officers were all present. Under the crystal chandeliers, elegantly dressed people mingled, and amidst the clinking of wine glasses, there was nothing but power struggle and calculation.

Lin Mu wore a black suit transformed from the Black God Set. He stood tall and straight. Although he still had some youthful vigor in his eyes, his unfathomable eyes revealed an undeniable majesty.

His cold and aloof demeanor inspired awe in others.

His appearance quickly sparked whispers.

Many people have heard about the changes in Tianjin and have vaguely linked them to this extraordinary young man.

Lin Mu moved calmly among the crowd, his words and actions revealing no secrets. Instead, through the historical rewind ability of his Golden Eyes, he captured the hidden past and political leanings of many important figures, gaining a wealth of inside information.

He walked to a relatively quiet corner and sat down.

Lin Mu learned about the Crescent Hotel from one person's memories.

[I didn't expect there to be a storyline involving The Mystic Nine, but the timeline doesn't match up. Is it because of a merged timeline causing a time difference? Or is there some other reason?]

Lin Mu took a small sip of champagne and thought to himself, "Isn't Yin Xinyue also a heroine with good fortune? Perhaps we'll have a chance to meet in the future."

Just as he was thinking about meeting Yin Xinyue when he had time, a commotion suddenly broke out at the door.

Everyone looked over and saw a beautifully dressed young woman enter the hall surrounded by servants.

She wore the latest Parisian gown, her hair was full of loose curls, and the diamonds around her neck sparkled, making (Qian Wang Zhao) look stunningly beautiful, like a princess from a fairy tale.

However, the undisguised confidence and arrogance between her brows gave her beauty a touch of aloofness and coldness.

"Miss Bai has arrived."

"General Bai's daughter is indeed extraordinary."

"So beautiful! I heard she studied in the United States."

There was a constant murmur around him, and Lin Mu glanced at it.

[Ding! You have encountered the lucky character Bai Xiuzhu, triggering the side quest: Independence and Self-Improvement.]

[Mission Requirements: Within one year, help Bai Xiuzhu become an independent and successful woman.]

[Task Reward: Randomly selected.]

Lin Mu thought to himself, "The Golden Powder Family... it really is her."

He remembered that Bai Xiuzhu in the original novel was spoiled but also adorable. She had received a modern education but was still bound by the old family traditions, and her love life was full of ups and downs.

This task is actually quite interesting.

Chapter 110: Jin Yanxi

Bai Xiuzhu leaned lazily against the carved pillars, her gaze casually sweeping across the banquet hall.

The crystal chandelier reflected dazzling light, and amidst the elegant attire and swaying hair, were familiar faces from Kyoto's high society: the son of the cabinet minister, the daughter of a banker, and a modern intellectual returning from studying abroad...

But she just found it boring.

To her, the casual conversations of these people were nothing more than a carefully rehearsed performance.

Until her gaze inadvertently swept across the French windows and suddenly stopped.

There stood a strange man, dressed in a black suit, his posture as straight as a pine tree.

He did not integrate into any social circles, but simply gazed quietly at the garden under the moonlight outside the window.

What surprised Bai Xiuzhu the most was that in this arena where everyone was vying for fame and fortune, he exuded a strange tranquility, as if the noise automatically shunned him.

For a fleeting moment, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes.

She had never seen this young man before. He looked to be in his early twenties, yet he was able to remain calm and composed in such a setting. He must have some powerful connections.

It even... made her feel a strange sense of oppression. It was an authority that existed without words, a subtle contrast to his youthful face.

[And he's even better looking than Yanxi, with such a strong aura, I wonder which family's young master he is?]

She muttered to herself.

Jin Yanxi was already a recognized handsome man in Kyoto, but the man by the window had even more striking features, with a sharp edge between his brows, and especially his eyes, which seemed to see right through people's hearts even from a distance.

Perhaps out of curiosity, Bai Xiuzhu gently put down her wine glass and walked away gracefully.

The crisp click of high heels on the marble floor caused the crowd to part as naturally as Moses parting the sea to make way.

She enjoyed the attention, but noticed that the man did not turn around when she approached.

"who are you?"

Bai Xiuzhu walked straight up to him, raised her meticulously groomed chin, and asked in her usual spoiled tone, "How come I've never seen you in Kyoto before?"

She was born into the Bai family, which, although slightly inferior to the Jin family, was still a well-known and prominent family in the capital.

Having grown up in America and been influenced by Western education, she developed a bold and open personality, and dared to love and hate.

Thinking the man was "particularly quirky," she went over and struck up a conversation.

She's such a naive and innocent girl!

Lin Mu slowly turned around, his gaze calmly falling on her face. He smiled faintly and raised his glass slightly, saying, "Tianjin, Lin Mu. It's normal that Miss Bai doesn't recognize me since I've just arrived in Kyoto."

His voice was deep and pleasant, with an indescribable magnetism.

"Lin Mu..."

Bai Xiuzhu repeated the name, her nail-painted fingertips lightly tapping her chin, a thoughtful look flashing in her eyes.

I seem to hear that name a lot lately...

Then she suddenly realized, her beautiful eyes widening slightly: "You're Lin Mu, the one who took Tianjin?"

Her voice unconsciously rose a few decibels, drawing the attention of several people around her.

Recently, her brother Bai Xiongqi has been frequently mentioning this name, sometimes with a solemn tone and sometimes with praise.

Bai Xiongqi was an ambitious young man in the Beiyang government. He studied poetry, governance strategies, and military martial arts under the tutelage of Premier Jin Quan.

In the original storyline, he skillfully leveraged Jin Quan's network of connections to transfer power, then betrayed his master and achieved a leap in his social class.

His previous efforts to push for his sister Bai Xiuzhu's marriage to Jin Yanxi were an important part of currying favor with Jin Quan.

However, recently, Bai Xiongqi's attitude has become ambiguous.

While he was analyzing the current situation in his study at home with his trusted advisors, Bai Xiuzhu overheard a few words, in which Lin Mu was mentioned.

"Although the Kim family holds the premiership, they have no real military power. In these chaotic times, the barrel of a gun is the only true force."

"Lin Mu rose to power like lightning and should not be underestimated. The Beiyang Army, with its hundreds of thousands of troops, is riddled with factions. When it really comes down to it, who can we rely on?"

"One wrong step and the whole game is lost. The Bai family... needs to make plans soon."

Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.

Even Bai Xiuzhu, a well-bred young lady who didn't care about politics, vaguely understood this principle.

The handsome young man before them was actually a representative of a new force that his brother and many important figures in Kyoto secretly feared.

Just as she was about to ask something else, a warm and familiar male voice suddenly came from the side: "Xiuzhu, so you're here. I've been looking for you for a long time."

Everyone turned around and saw a well-dressed, elegant young man approaching with a smile.

He was handsome, with his hair neatly combed and a warm smile on his lips. His demeanor exuded the composure of a young master from a prominent family. He was none other than Jin Yanxi, the seventh son of Prime Minister Jin Quan.

"Brother Yanxi!"

Bai Xiuzhu immediately smiled sweetly, her tone coquettish, and subconsciously took a step closer to him: "Why did you take so long? I've been waiting for you for ages."

Her gaze swept quickly between Lin Mu and Jin Yanxi, and she unconsciously began to compare them in her heart.

While Yanxi is handsome and dashing, he seems to lack the kind of mature strength that Lin Mu possesses.

Jin Yanxi's gaze passed over Bai Xiuzhu and landed on Lin Mu. He smiled and said, "And this gentleman is? He looks unfamiliar."

"He is Lin Mu."

Bai Xiuzhu answered first, her tone carrying a hint of pride that she herself was unaware of, as if Lin Mu was some new discovery of hers: "He just came from Tianjin."

Jin Yanxi had indeed heard this name from his father, Jin Quan, recently.

Every time the topic comes up, my father's brow furrows, and the smoke in his study is thicker than usual.

In his imagination, the one who could stir up trouble in Tianjin should be a rough and tough martial artist or a shrewd and old-fashioned person. He never expected that it would be such a young and handsome man. Apart from the undeniable majesty between his brows, he looked more like a student who had returned from studying abroad.

Out of the refinement expected of someone from a prominent family, Jin Yanxi suppressed his surprise and extended his hand with a smile: "So it's Mr. Lin. I've long admired your name. I am Jin Yanxi."

His attitude seemed polite, but his eyes carried a subtle scrutiny and a sense of distance.

As the son of the Premier, he was naturally aware of the recent changes in Tianjin. However, he had never liked these trivial military and political affairs involving fighting and killing, and instead indulged in the world of romance, love, and freedom.

Lin Mu reached out and shook his hand, his tone calm and indifferent: "Young Master Jin, it's a pleasure to meet you."

He certainly knew that Jin Yanxi was a famous romantic and talented man in Kyoto, the male protagonist of "The Story of a Noble Family," and one of the key figures in the future downfall of the Jin family.

However, in Lin Mu's view, this young master was nothing more than a flower carefully cultivated in a greenhouse, a spoiled brat relying on his family background, without any real talent or learning. His so-called romance and talent were no match for him in the chaotic world.

[Ding! You have encountered the auspicious figure Jin Yanxi, triggering the side quest: Finding True Love.]

[Mission Requirements: Within one year, help Jin Yanxi find a girl he truly loves.]

[Task Reward: Randomly selected.]

Lin Mu glanced at the system interface that only he could see and found it somewhat absurd and funny.

This system has a pretty wide range of services; it even takes on matchmaking jobs?

He knew what kind of woman Jin Yanxi would like. It was definitely not the spoiled rich heiresses around him, but rather the aloof, scholarly female student, like Leng Qingqiu.

Jin Yanxi is a classic example of someone who is all show and no substance.

He squandered his family's wealth, yet pretended to be aloof and championed love and freedom.

(cdbh) Without the Jin family as a powerful backer, he is utterly useless and has no ability to survive.

In the original storyline, when his father Jin Quan lost power and fell from grace, this seventh young master was still ignorant and even thought that his father's retirement was a good thing to enjoy. His lack of political acumen was astonishing.

When his family fell apart and they were left to starve, he immediately abandoned all romantic pursuits and disregarded the fact that his father had actually been angered to death by Bai Xiongqi. He then turned around and humbly begged Bai Xiuzhu, whom he had abandoned in the past, to reconcile with him, revealing his spineless nature.

A typical spoiled brat, both incompetent and fond of playing games.

However, such people are often the easiest to control.