Chapter 47: Welcome, Looking Forward to Meeting You

Chapter 47: Chapter 47: Welcome, Looking Forward to Meeting You

"I can’t make the call on that," Director Lu said with a wry smile. "But... if Perfected Shen really wants one, it shouldn’t be a big problem."

Compared to a Golden Core expert, a fighter jet was just slightly more expensive than a tank. As long as he didn’t want to use a battleship as a yacht, or collect an aircraft carrier or a nuclear bomb, it really wouldn’t be a big deal.

"Alright, thanks for your hard work." Shen Yun patted the tank again, feeling somewhat expectant. He wondered, "What kind of monster will it turn into upon Enlightenment? Will it be one of those cute tank girls from Japanese anime? Also, how am I supposed to cultivate a relationship with it?"

This tank’s factory release date was just a week ago; it was essentially a newborn.

"Right, there is one more thing." Director Lu seemed to recall something. "Perfected Shen, have you paid attention to that Black Mage from the West?"

"John?" Shen Yun didn’t know why he brought this person up so suddenly.

"Yes. Director Wei should have already shown you those videos. Did you notice anything?" Director Lu was indeed on a mission during this visit.

Shen Yun’s peak Golden Core strength far exceeded that of an ordinary Golden Core Cultivator. Previously, he had easily discerned the existence of the Otherworld. This time, however, Shen Yun simply shook his head. "I only know that, fundamentally, it’s also a way to wield Spiritual Power. Its style is just different from our Huaxia’s legacy. Aside from that, I couldn’t see much else..."

"I see... Then do you support him coming to Huaxia to participate in the upcoming Global Cultivator Tournament?" Director Lu asked again.

"It’s not really a matter of support or not. After all, he hasn’t even reached the Golden Core stage." Shen Yun genuinely held an indifferent attitude toward this.

"There is something you don’t know, Perfected Shen," Director Lu said, revealing a bitter smile once more. "The current world is far from being as peaceful as it appears on the surface. To use an analogy, it’s like the eve of World War II. It has slowly turned into a powder keg, just waiting for a fuse to be lit."

"It’s that serious?" Shen Yun was somewhat surprised. Right now, a few small countries were indeed in complete chaos, and even major powers were dealing with various issues. But fundamentally, they were all handling internal affairs. There didn’t seem to be that oppressive atmosphere of an impending great war. Rather, it had felt peaceful and quiet for quite a long time.

"One of the major ways Western countries resolve internal conflicts is by shifting focus to external ones," Director Lu explained with a serious expression. "Originally, with the existence of nuclear weapons, the major powers were all trying hard to restrain themselves. However, the reshaping of the Heavenly Dao and the emergence of Golden Core experts have given the entire world a heavy push toward the precipice of war. What if, in a few more years... experts emerge who can completely ignore nuclear weapons?"

As the weapon sitting at the pinnacle of humanity’s destructive pyramid, nuclear weapons had always strenuously maintained the baseline balance of peace. But if an even more powerful weapon appeared—if even nuclear weapons couldn’t withstand it or could be easily intercepted—that balance of peace would be shattered in an instant.

"The rate at which a Cultivator’s strength develops does indeed far exceed the pace of scientific advancement..." Shen Yun fell silent for a moment before asking, "And then? What does this have to do with John?"

"This John currently wields increasingly strong influence in Western Society. Most importantly, he is unequivocally calling for peace," Director Lu explained. "Even though all his actions are aimed at promoting the idea that ’Magic legacies surpass Huaxia’s Cultivation legacies,’ it really does serve as an excellent pacifier."

Shen Yun understood. It made sense; without the backing of plutocrats or powerful factions, there was no way John could have amassed such tremendous prestige in such a short period. He was a beacon of hope. A hope that would allow them to spur their horses to catch up with Huaxia, preventing Huaxia from becoming the absolute hegemon of this era.

He thought, "For some reason... this feels inexplicably satisfying."

"Then let him come. I also want to meet this guy and see if he’s truly the United States’ real-life Captain America," Shen Yun laughed. "Anyway, as long as we guarantee his safety, everything will be fine, right? I understand. I will assist you as much as possible."

Director Lu coming to ask Shen Yun was naturally to test the waters. Just in case Shen Yun turned out to be a radical nationalist—if there was some verbal conflict and he straight-up slapped their beacon of hope to death—then war would truly be the only outcome. Fortunately, Shen Yun wasn’t that kind of person. After all, who would actually want war to break out?

"In that case, we’ll be counting on you." Director Lu breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "I’ll go back and report this. We’ll see if we can really get you a fighter jet after the tournament ends."

"Can I get a J-20?" Shen Yun’s eyes lit up.

"Well, about that..." A drop of cold sweat rolled down Director Lu’s forehead. "I’ll try my best. I’ll try."

The J-20 was a fifth-generation fighter jet. Now that the gift had been signed for and his questions answered, Director Lu hurried away without even stepping inside for a sip of water. He was genuinely a bit worried. What if Shen Yun suddenly decided he wanted a Sovremenny-class destroyer next?

After the large military transport truck departed, Shen Yun and Xiao Jiu circled the tank a few more times. Their gazes were not looking at a collectible, but rather a new future companion.

"I’ve decided." Shen Yun clapped his hands together. "If you turn out to be female, you’ll be called Xiao Tan, as in ’deep pool.’ If you’re male, you’ll be called Ah Tang, as in ’broth.’"

"Master..." Xiao Jiu held back her laughter. "You truly have a gift for naming things."

"Right?" Shen He rubbed his head, actually feeling a tiny bit smug. Tan and Tang were both homophones for the first character in the Chinese word for tank. They rolled off the tongue and sounded nice.

"However, this tank’s armor is really quite thick." Xiao Jiu’s Divine Thought swept over the entire vehicle. "The front appliqué armor is actually over a meter thick. Those scenes in the movies where they explode the moment a rocket hits them are totally fake after all... If it gains Enlightenment and becomes a monster, it will definitely be able to protect Master well."

Because she had experienced it once herself, Xiao Jiu understood it better. She knew the joy of gaining life, as well as the deep affinity one felt for the person who bestowed that life upon them.

"Alright, let’s put it away for now. We’ll go back and make dinner, then come back to study it properly after we eat," Shen Yun said.

"Mhm." Xiao Jiu leaned a little closer to Shen Yun. With a slight shift of her Divine Thought, a Tripod Cauldron flew out from Shen Yun’s person and absorbed the tank inside. Even though there was no one around, she was constantly careful to maintain the disguise over Shen Yun’s true strength.

"Also, post some information on my microblog account." Shen Yun turned around, speaking as he walked. "Attach John’s video from this morning and just say, ’Welcome, looking forward to meeting you.’"

"Understood." Miao Yun nodded. "It’s already done."

Currently, the number of followers on Shen Yun’s account had already reached a staggering seventy million. The moment this piece of information was posted, a massive wave of replies flooded in immediately.

"Perfected Thunder, you’re back!"

"Where did you go for the past half month? A secret base?"

"I thought you ran away because you didn’t dare to fight Celestial Master Zhong Han for your daughter."

"John? That guy who plays with corpses?"

"..."

Basically, domestic netizens didn’t pay too much attention to John; instead, they were much more focused on the great battle to snatch his daughter. However, this piece of information was screenshotted and uploaded overseas in the shortest amount of time possible. Accompanied by translations, the information began spreading at an astonishing speed.