I, disguised as a white dragon, was supported by the state.

To his surprise, the person in charge of the interview was indeed of a very high rank, which finally made him more hopeful.

The dean sensed that Zhang Yu was not being sincere, but he didn't care.

When he exercises his rights arbitrarily, he inevitably faces criticism, but he has long been used to it and accepts it calmly.

This guy needs to be re-evaluated; we can't afford to be negligent.

"These two documents were sent from over there. Just sign them and you can go report for duty," he said with a smile.

Zhang Yu nodded, took the document, and frowned when he saw the title.

"The name for that place has been decided? It's called the Divine Dragon Research Lab?" he asked suspiciously.

During the earlier interviews, I was always referred to as "a certain research institute," but now I've changed it from "institute" to "room."

That's fine, but what does "divine dragon" mean? Shouldn't this be left to the religious affairs department or the literary association?

“Shenlong is probably a pseudonym,” the dean analyzed. “This research lab has a very high level of secrecy; take a look at its superior unit.”

When Zhang Yu looked down and saw the leading unit, his dissatisfaction lessened somewhat.

The fact that Director Zhang had become Chief Zhang still made him feel a sense of loss.

He glanced at the two documents briefly.

One document is the letter of appointment, and the other is a confidentiality agreement.

"Wait a minute, it says I have to report for duty tomorrow for a week of training?" Zhang Yu suddenly noticed the date on the appointment letter.

The dean peeked over and said in surprise, "There's a week of pre-job training? I didn't even notice."

Seeing Zhang Yu's pained expression, he smiled and said, "This shows that the higher-ups attach great importance to this position. There's a lot to be gained in this new role!"

Zhang Yu was helpless.

He'd already signed the papers, so there was no going back.

"I've prepared a farewell dinner tonight..." the dean said.

"No, please," Zhang Yu quickly waved his hand, "I have to go to work tomorrow, and I still need to prepare some materials when I get back tonight. Let's skip the farewell, we'll have plenty of opportunities to meet in the future!"

He hates this kind of meaningless socializing the most.

Now that we're all leaving, there's no need for pretense anymore.

"Well," the dean said regretfully, "Old Wang is about to retire. I was planning to have you succeed him. Now our institute has lost such a pillar of strength as you..."

Zhang Yu gave a perfunctory smile, thinking to himself, "Keep pretending."

Seeing his disdainful smile, the dean said seriously, "I know there are rumors circulating in the hospital, but they are all just rumors..."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yu's smile faded: "Thank you for your kind words, Dean. No matter where I go, I will always be a member of the institute."

"Good, good, good!" the dean said with a kind smile.

After leaving the research institute with the documents in his hand, Zhang Yu immediately called his teacher.

His teachers helped him secure his opportunities, including returning to China after completing his studies, entering the graduate school, and this latest opportunity.

When he told the teacher that he had received his appointment letter, the teacher happily congratulated him twice.

The other party knew nothing about the Shenlong Research Institute, but they did know a little about what the director had said.

“Just listen to what that old fox says,” the teacher mocked mercilessly. “I heard that his nephew also participated in the competition this time, but he couldn’t answer many professional questions. The leaders were very angry, and he might not even be able to stay at the research institute.”

"I almost got fooled by that old fox!" Zhang Yu thought to himself, feeling incredibly unlucky.

Clutching the document in his hand, he couldn't help but feel a strong sense of anticipation as he thought about the Shenlong Research Lab he was about to visit.

The fact that it can attract the attention of bigwigs from all sides must mean it's something truly extraordinary!

Chapter 9: Does this mean I should study dragons?

The next day.

Zhang Yu got up early, changed his clothes, and headed straight to the location agreed upon in his appointment letter.

After he presented the letter of appointment, a person quickly led him to a small conference room.

When he saw that the meeting room was not large, with only three sets of tables and chairs, a small blackboard, and a computer screen, he was a little surprised and wondered if there were only a few people participating in the training.

When it was nine o'clock, he realized he had guessed wrong.

This training was only for him!

He initially found it absurd, but upon seeing the person who then appeared in the conference room, he quickly stood up.

"Director Zhao!" Zhang Yu's tone was quite surprised.

He prided himself on the integrity of a scholar and privately complained about officials to his friends. However, when faced with a high-ranking official who frequently appeared on television and whose every move was closely watched by the audience, he was still somewhat flattered by the idea of ​​being received privately.

"Dr. Zhang Yu, is this?" Director Zhao asked with a kind smile. "I apologize for the intrusion in asking you to come here without telling you why. You must be quite puzzled, right?"

“I am a little curious,” Zhang Yu said with great insight, “but I am happy to contribute to the country, no matter what it is!”

"Good!" Director Zhao nodded in satisfaction and said, "Then for the next few days, listen carefully and study diligently. When you meet your research subject in a few days, you will naturally understand."

When Zhang Yu thought of the confidential document stating that "no contact with the outside world is allowed during the research period" and "no information about the research subjects may be disclosed to the outside world," his curiosity was aroused.

He wondered to himself if the subject of this study was an archaeological find that could overturn history.

After he agreed, Director Zhao offered a few more words of encouragement, and as usual, painted a rosy picture of "this is an opportunity to make a name for oneself in history," before leaving.

For the next seven days, Zhang Yu's life was exceptionally fulfilling, with daily training sessions from morning till night, along with various in-class quizzes.

The Origin of the Dragon.

Legends about dragons in the history of the Great Xia Dynasty.

The image and symbolic meaning of the dragon.

Social etiquette for interacting with superiors.

……

Although he passed the tests with high scores every time, his doubts only grew stronger.

Why are all the daily training sessions related to dragons?

Am I supposed to study dragons?

What a joke!

If he hadn't been a staunch atheist, he almost would have actually believed that dragons existed in this world.

But this is obviously impossible.

He excelled academically from a young age, graduating with bachelor's and master's degrees from the top universities in China before pursuing a doctorate at a top university abroad, where he gained a distinguished reputation in the industry.

After making a name for himself abroad, he was invited by his mentor to return to China and join the research institute.

"Is this Shenlong Research Lab just some kind of fancy stuff like they do with qigong?" Zhang Yu's suspicions grew.

He even felt a little regretful.

But after several days of training, he was reluctant to give up now.

Seven days later.

Zhang Yu met Director Zhao again.

This time, he wasn't flattered; instead, his face showed signs of fatigue.

"Dr. Zhang, all the training instructors have given you very high praise..." Director Zhao said, offering his usual compliments, "but I know you still have many questions..."

Seeing that Zhang Yu was about to speak, Director Zhao raised his hand to stop him, saying, "No need to ask. Just get some rest tonight, and you'll know tomorrow."

"By the way, let me tell your family something," Director Zhao added, "As I said before, the preliminary work is strictly confidential, and in principle, there are no holidays for the first six months."

The words Zhang Yu was about to say turned into "I understand".

Now that things had come to this, he became even more curious about his research subject.

Could it be a fossil of some ancient creature similar to a dragon?

Wait a minute, shouldn't this be studied by archaeologists or paleontologists?

As an expert in animal physiology, he is better suited to studying living things.

Or perhaps there are living derivatives around the fossil?

He couldn't figure it out, so he simply kept his question to himself.

When Zhang Yu arrived for his report the next day, he was even more puzzled to learn that his work location was not Yancheng, but Mingqin in the northwest, where he would have to take a connecting flight.

The confidentiality agreement has been signed, and now he has no choice but to accept it.

Filled with boundless curiosity, he boarded the private jet.

The plane did not land at a civilian airport, but at a military base.

When he was transferred to a military transport plane and discovered that he was accompanied by a group of heavily armed soldiers, Zhang Yu's heart jumped again.

"Could it be that what we discovered wasn't a skeleton, but something like a dragon's lair?" he asked with curiosity.

Sitting in his seat, he flipped through the documents in his hand.

These materials are mostly stories about dragons.

Zhang Yu found it amusing, thinking to himself that he could give this to his little niece; a seven or eight-year-old child would probably like it even more.

After flipping through the pages for a while, he got bored and started looking at the other people in the cabin.

He didn't understand the meaning of those stars and stripes, but he could tell that the young man sitting opposite him was probably their superior.

Zhang Yu adjusted his glasses and asked with a smile, "Hello, what's your name?"

The young man glanced at him and said, "Lei Yao."

"Commander Lei..."

As soon as he finished speaking, several soldiers were seen suppressing their laughter.

“You can call me by my name, or Captain Lei,” Lei Yao said.

As the captain of the special forces brigade, this was the first time he had been called "commander," which made him feel strange.

“Oh, Captain Lei,” Zhang Yu said with a smile, “I forgot to introduce myself. I am Zhang Yu, the director of the Divine Dragon Research Lab.”

"Director Zhang," Lei Yao said calmly.

Zhang Yu smiled: "You can call me by my name, or you can call me Dr. Zhang."

Several young soldiers burst out laughing.

Lei Yao couldn't help but glance at Zhang Yu again.

“You guys have quite a few people,” Zhang Yu said sourly. “I’m the only one in our research lab. They said they’d let me recruit people myself after I’m familiar with the work.”

Lei Yao hummed in agreement, seemingly unwilling to say more.

"What mission are you on this time? Are you here to protect me?" Zhang Yu joked.

After he finished speaking, he suddenly noticed that everyone's expressions were unusually strange, and even Lei Yao seemed hesitant to speak when he looked at him.

This gave Zhang Yu a jolt, and he felt a tingling sensation in his buttocks.

Could it be that our destination is actually an ancient tomb, full of traps and mechanisms, just like in the movies where we face all sorts of life-or-death crises?

He suddenly remembered that there was a clause in the contract he signed a few days ago about compensation for accidental death. At that time, Director Zhao had asked him meaningfully why he didn't hurry up and find a wife so that his excellent genes could be passed on. Could he be in trouble here?

"Dr. Zhang, don't you know?" Lei Yao couldn't help but ask.

"An ancient tomb?" Zhang Yu blurted out.

Yes, isn't Qin the most famous place for its many ancient tombs?

Lei Yao asked blankly, "What ancient tomb?"

His words startled Zhang Yu, who said, "Not a fossil of some ancient creature?"

Lei Yao's lips moved, but he forced himself to remain silent.

"You know what it is, right?" Zhang Yu became even more curious.

Lei Yao shook his head: "Dr. Zhang will know soon."