Chapter 127: A Familiar Feeling

If one looked closely, they would notice that Lu Yuan’s pupils were different from those of an ordinary person; they leaned toward a deep brown, as if covered by a thin film.

Under normal circumstances, this anomaly would go unnoticed, but the moment Cao Fusheng saw him, he detected the strangeness in his eyes. It was very likely a surveillance device—just a high-end one. It made sense; such a critical matter would surely be monitored by more than just Lu Yuan. Behind him, others were undoubtedly watching the developments here at all times.

Cao Fusheng said playfully, "No, I only asked if Minister Lu was aware of this extraterrestrial material; I never said I possessed it."

Lu Yuan’s face darkened immediately. He was now certain that the man before him was simply playing games. At the same time, the expressions of the other ministers in the conference room grew grim.

"There is no point in watching further. The war outside has already begun. I am leaving first; contact me immediately if there are any changes here," Bian Qiu said, standing up to leave without bothering to watch what would happen next.

After the departure of the powerful Bian Qiu, the others could hardly sit still, though they lacked his stature and the valid excuse that he could not abandon the situation outside. The primary reason they remained was that the Boss had not spoken; none of these ministers dared to act rashly. If they stood up and walked out, where would they leave the Boss's dignity?

"Minister Lu, do not doubt my determination to save you. Saving you is saving myself. Now, I am going to begin the rescue; please... oh, no, please all of you step aside," Cao Fusheng said nonchalantly.

Lu Yuan’s expression shifted, and he demanded, "Is Mr. Cao not being a bit excessive? I am afraid I cannot satisfy this request. I must remain here to watch you."

What a joke. No one in their right mind would make such a decision. Even if they trusted that the reactor's materials were indestructible, this was a matter of responsibility for those in charge; they could not abandon their posts before receiving orders.

Cao Fusheng stepped closer to the refined, middle-aged man, almost pressing against him, and stared deeply into his eyes. "I ask you: do you choose to trust me, or will you let those people outside die in vain? Personnel of the action units must be very precious; unless necessary, you wouldn't want them to suffer heavy casualties."

"It is very simple now. Either you trust me, and I guarantee that the Pillar’s energy will be restored in the next moment, or you do not, and you gamble on a future that has no tomorrow. And this decision isn't even that difficult; a vital area like this cannot be without surveillance equipment. You will still be able to see everything that happens here."

Lu Yuan stared back at Cao Fusheng, refusing to yield. As a department leader and one of the heads of the Eight Pillars, he had long held a position of authority and would not be intimidated into backing down.

"Minister Lu, grant his request."

The voice of the virtual figure arrived, causing Lu Yuan to heave a sigh of relief. This decision was indeed not one for him to make. He let out a cold snort and said, "I hope Mr. Cao knows how to behave himself. I will not be accompanying you any further!"

With that, he stepped through the security door and left. Cao Fusheng was left alone in the scorching, high-temperature reactor hall.

In the conference room, the virtual figure felt uneasy. Through the feed from Lu Yuan's eyes, she had the distinct illusion that the man was speaking directly to her, staring fixedly at her.

"Time to work."

Cao Fusheng stretched and walked alone toward the reactor's loading port. The people in the conference room widened their eyes, staring at the reactor hall, which had now switched to a surveillance feed.

Cao Fusheng glanced sideways at the smooth walls. The entire hall was silver-bright; with that level of smoothness, even Spider-Man might struggle to climb it. The surveillance devices were clearly pointed toward this spot from every direction; it could be said that the entire reactor hall had zero blind spots. This was enough to show the importance the Pillar placed on this location; it was arguably the most heavily monitored area in the entire facility.

But while these facilities could be installed on the outside, one couldn't exactly install them inside the furnace, could they?

Heh.

Cao Fusheng stood on a platform several meters high, facing the massive loading port where staff members usually stood to feed metal into the system. He slowly extended his hand into the opening until it was submerged, hidden from the view of the outside world.

"Is he trying to end it all? A mortal body cannot replenish the Pillar's energy," Xun Xin exclaimed. Usually, those who violated the Pillar's laws of survival were executed by being thrown into the reactor, where they turned to ash in an instant.

Cao Fusheng slowly closed his eyes and tapped into his dimensional space. With his palm facing downward, a massive pile of metal rained down into the furnace.

"!!!"

Lu Yuan stared in shock at the real-time energy monitor and hurriedly reported to the conference room: "It’s rising! The energy index is climbing! It went from 2% to 10% in less than thirty seconds! It’s still rising! We’re saved! We’re saved!"

"What!?"

"Is this guy a magician? Where did he learn such tricks!"

"Giggle, how interesting! I’m so interested in this man now; I like him." This was naturally the voice of the enchantress Ruan Luoluo. She intentionally modulated her tone between mature and coy, making the men present feel weak in the knees.

The entire conference room fell into chaos as they stared in disbelief at the man performing magic, racking their brains to figure out what method he was using to make the energy index soar.

The virtual figure was equally astonished but remained calm. "Switch the view to a close-up. I want to see his facial expressions with perfect clarity!"

"Understood."

The electronic voice echoed in the room as the image slowly zoomed in.

"This is... is he asleep? And he’s smiling. He looks like he’s having a pleasant dream," someone remarked.

Because Cao Fusheng’s eyes were closed, he appeared relaxed and at ease, as if he were merely resting his mind.

Bai Qingchu, the Minister of the Scientific Research Department, stared deeply at the man on the virtual screen, thinking to himself that if there were an opportunity later, he must make contact with this man. Perhaps he could conduct some research...

The virtual figure frowned as she stared at Cao Fusheng, whose skin pores were now visible on the screen. She felt as though she had fallen into a memory; she was certain she had never seen this man before and did not know him. Yet, he felt so familiar, and... so intimate.

Why was this so strange?

Cao Fusheng’s attention was entirely focused on his dimensional space. He watched as the metal was continuously released into the furnace, the pile already nearing its end. The metal his four-person, one-dog team had spent nearly two months scavenging, along with the metal brought out from the Isolated Land gathering area, was about to be exhausted.

But having reached this point, it proved that their efforts had not been in vain.

He withdrew his hand, turned around, and with a smile, glanced at the surveillance camera before walking out through the security door.