Chapter 31 Hard-Won

It was a video pieced together by cutting and splicing a series of chaotic scenes.

It was clear that the editor had put a lot of effort into it. Song Han carefully observed it for a long time but found no information that could identify the time or place.

"Your second brother's academic performance is quite disappointing, but everything has been arranged. After the college entrance exam, there will be a special admission program for military academies.

As for your older brother who dropped out of school, he's now a civil servant. Once a position opens up, he'll be promoted."

On the screen, Song Han watched his family, whom he barely remembered, having a housewarming dinner in a spacious and cozy room.

The spacious house and its exquisite interior decoration on the screen made Song Han frown.

"How big is this house?"

Back then, to conceal his personal information and fearing he might implicate his family, Song Han had never sent money home.

Old Li beside him smiled and shook his head.

"It's a 300-square-meter, four-bedroom apartment. Soon, we'll arrange for a senior your older brother is familiar with to share some advice."

Old Li looked at Song Han's calm expression and explained:

"Don't misunderstand. Our principle has always been to carry on the past and open up the future, to help those in need. When a poor person suddenly becomes wealthy without enduring much hardship or forming the right values and outlook on life, it's inevitable they might make mistakes."

Song Han quietly watched the scene and couldn't help but think of his impulsive decision back then.

"This is quite good. In comparison, I only became a part of the organization by chance in my middle age. My brother can reach the destination decades earlier than I did. What more is there to be dissatisfied with?"

A century-long public service career is truly hard-won!

Old Li observed Song Han's expression. Seeing that Song Han truly had little emotional fluctuation, he let out a long sigh of relief.

Turning off the screen, Song Han looked at the blue TV screen and suddenly said:

"Although plasma TVs were mainstream for a while, the LCD industry clearly has more advantages in large-scale applications."

"TV? LCD?"

Although Old Li didn't understand the meaning behind Song Han's words, he silently committed them to memory.

...

With the establishment of the new cooperative relationship, Song Han's two-bedroom apartment gradually became more furnished.

There were severely limited smart touchscreen phones, robotic vacuum cleaners scurrying around, models of new weaponry, and, at Song Han's request, a multifunctional fitness station.

In dreams, one loses track of time. In this room, time lost its meaning. The inability to perceive the passage of time made everything feel unreal.

The already aged Old Li grew even older. His face was covered with deep wrinkles, but his back remained as straight as ever, as if time could only carve its marks on his skin.

The tightly shut door opened again. Two uniformed young men followed Old Li, whom Song Han hadn't seen in a while, each carrying a silver-gray box.

"Want to try them on?"

They were a pair of finely crafted metal prosthetic limbs, gleaming with a cold light. The soft frame followed the muscle texture of the legs, connecting upward to a fitted waist platform, securing them firmly.

The most striking feature was the pair of metal feet.

They resembled the shape of human legs and were fixed to Song Han's knee joints. Each foot had five toes that could bend and stretch freely, making the prosthetics look more natural and lifelike.

Song Han took a step. His stride was light and steady, not as heavy as he had imagined.

The fitted waist platform transmitted the power of expansion and contraction through the soft contraction frames on both sides of the thighs. Coordinated with the twisting of muscle force, it gave a strange sense of harmony.

It was as if two additional artificial muscles had been added to his thighs.

"The fitted waist platform has an external nerve signal collection device. It can interpret the lower limb nerve signals transmitted by your central nervous system. With the contraction of the electro-pulse artificial fibers and the coordinated processing of the waist platform, it can increase your lower limb strength by 1000N."

Wearing shorts, Song Han looked at the strange yet familiar figure in the mirror.

His pale face and muscular body, with long hair draped over his shoulders and casually tied at the back of his head, gave off a hint of ancient charm.

However, this trace of antiquity was disrupted by the metal prosthetic limbs connecting his lower body to his waist, adding a touch of cyberpunk flair.

Song Han touched his cheek. Why hadn't he realized he was so handsome before?

But then again, he used to be busy running around for a living every day. Now, although he had lost his freedom, everything related to his food, clothing, housing, and transportation was planned by a professional team.

He was as precious as a national treasure, carefully nurtured by others.

Putting on the uniform prepared by the team, the words "Aerospace" shone brightly.

Song Han turned his head. Old Li, standing by the door, was still standing stiffly, his back seemingly straighter than before.

"Please!"

Old Li stiffly turned his body and gestured toward the distant door.

Song Han had imagined the scene outside the door many times.

It might be a long passage deep in the mountains, or an elevator ascending from deep underground.

Or perhaps just a common residence in a high-rise building.

Taking a step forward, as Song Han passed Old Li, Old Li noticed Song Han's body trembling slightly.

But he said nothing, simply watching quietly as Song Han stepped out of the door that had been closed for 22 years.

Following the guidance of the team, after walking through a not-so-long passage, everything suddenly opened up.

Bright sunlight, natural breeze, a towering rocket launch pad in the distance, and the orbital spacecraft carried by the chubby rocket.

Everything felt so real.

Song Han turned his head. Behind him was a sealed steel structure factory building. Among the many large and small steel structure factory buildings around it, it was inconspicuous.

Even on the factory building, there was a banner hanging, just like the others:

"Warmly Celebrate the Successful First Test Flight of the Bluebird High-Orbit Spacecraft!"

The empty launch site had no staff, only fully enclosed heavy-armored guards standing watch on the side.

They stood with one hand holding a massive firearm nearly two meters long. Beside each of them stood a ferocious mechanical dog as tall as a warhorse, reminiscent of the Iron Pagoda Cavalry that conquered the world with the "Whip of God" centuries ago, exuding solemnity and danger.

"The fully enclosed exoskeleton armor, combined with the rapid movement of the mechanical dog and the immense power of the Gauss rifle, can be applied to any ground scenario currently.

However, there are still some flaws in the control of the electromagnetic stabilization system of the current Gauss rifle. A longer barrel is needed to control the dispersion of kinetic energy bullets.

This experimental heavy-armored cavalry unit will return to participate in this year's military exercises after completing your escort mission.

If all goes well, they will become our ground heavy-armored force, replacing traditional tank armor in the future."

Cyberpunk-style heavy-armored cavalry.

The development of science is indeed like that fashionable striped woven bag that never goes out of style, repeating its cycle.

"Where are you sending me?"

"To the space station!"

"Our rapid development over the past twenty years has greatly compressed the living space of some countries. For hundreds of millions of people to prosper, it requires the selfless dedication of some nations. But currently, it seems they haven't realized the need for dedication. So we need to find a way to get what we need ourselves."

"Is a war about to start?"

Old Li pointed at the people standing on the field and said calmly:

"Actually, the war has already begun!"

"We are always prepared. When we no longer need to prepare, it means we are already capable of facing the challenges of war with the whole world in terms of conventional weapons."

At that moment, a soldier wearing fully enclosed exoskeleton armor walked up, holding a solemn gift box.

Opening the box, the golden badge inside shone brightly in the sunlight with its unique shape.

Old Li took the delicate chain of the medal and carefully hung it around Song Han's neck.

"I was the one who sent you in back then, so it's only right that I should be the one to send you out."

"Salute!!"

A loud shout made Song Han's ears ring.

Including Old Li, everyone on the field opened the face helmets of their fully enclosed exoskeleton armor and saluted Song Han solemnly.

Song Han waved his hand indifferently, took the badge out of his mouth, and looked at the row of neat tooth marks on it. He nodded in satisfaction and, without hesitation, turned and walked toward the towering rocket launch platform in the distance under the solemn gaze of everyone.

"It's pure gold. Such a big piece is worth a lot of money."

"Under the war, the space station will be the safest place in the world. With your help, we are already able to face all the challenges in the world.

And in space, unless your enemies can find aliens, you will be the safest.

Your information control will also be relaxed there.

However, the future is unpredictable, and you still need to be cautious about many things."

"Why is it so sudden?"

"Your existence has been discovered by foreign countries. The lair of the Zhulong is like Area 51, attracting the attention of the whole world.

Our country's rapid development over the past twenty years has created too many miracles, and these miracles cannot withstand scrutiny.

And there have been many defense loopholes in your long-term transfer operations. To prevent increasingly obvious special attack operations and to stop the enemy from taking desperate actions, the space station is currently the safest option.

Since it has been completed, it's time to welcome its master."

"Take care of yourself!"

Before he had walked far, Song Han heard the words carried by the breeze into his ears. He didn't say anything but simply waved his hand.

Accompanied by tremors on the ground, earth-shattering roars resounded everywhere, and the rocket gradually lifted off amidst the noise.

"First-stage rocket separation, second-stage rocket engine ignition!"

"Second-stage rocket separation, Bluebird main engine ignition!"

"Ignition successful, Bluebird is all normal!"