Long River Eternity

Feng Hao had been standing obediently by the side, quietly listening to the conversation between Lin Ding and Chu Tianxiao. When the two finished their conversation, Feng Hao ran over to Chu Tianxiao and said, "Reporter brother is right. Since coming here, I've seen many wonderful things that I've never seen or heard of before. If the people in our city were more knowledgeable, so many people wouldn't have been tricked by Dean Zhang into going to the research institute and died inexplicably. If Brother Lin and Sister Xianxian hadn't rescued me and taught me how to practice, I would have died long ago!"

Chu Tianxiao gently stroked Feng Hao's head, his eyes full of satisfaction. He turned to Lin Ding and said with a smile: "To be able to gather so many geniuses around you, maybe following you can really change some things."

At that moment, bursts of dragon roars emanated from the direction Wei Wu was training. Several people turned to look and saw the shadow of a real dragon burst forth from Wei Wu's body, circling him once before soaring into the sky like a divine dragon soaring through the air, emitting a deafening roar. A moment later, it plunged back into Wei Wu's body like lightning. Wei Wu then rose from the ground, hovering in mid-air. His eyes slowly opened, revealing a faint golden light.

He exhaled deeply in the air, the light in his eyes gradually fading as he slowly fell back to the ground. Feeling the changes in his body, Wei Wu happily said to Lin Ding, "Done! I can finally fly!"

"That's right, then you will carry Xiaohao and Laochu back." Lin Ding said with a wicked smile.

Wei Wu was about to explode when he saw Liu Xianxian standing beside him. He curled his lips and said helplessly, "Tsk, well, well, there really are some people who are inhumane to the opposite sex."

Lin Ding chuckled and soothed him, "Today is the day to celebrate Lao Chu joining our team, and also to celebrate everyone's collective breakthrough. How about we go back and have a big meal?"

"That's about right." Wei Wu agreed with a smile.

Lin Ding looked at Liu Xianxian who was still concentrating on practicing. Liu Xianxian started practicing last and it was almost over now.

Sure enough, not long after, a gleam of light flashed between Liu Xianxian's eyebrows, and she slowly opened her eyes. Lin Ding hurried forward and asked, "How is it?"

"I have broken through to the middle stage of Kaiyang Realm, but I still have no idea about the Heavenly Soul Body." Liu Xianxian said somewhat frustratedly.

"Take it slow. Haste makes waste." Lin Ding comforted her gently.

Liu Xianxian stood up, nodded, and showed a firm smile: "I understand."

"Okay, let's go back and have a big meal!" Lin Ding said to everyone, gently put his arm around Liu Xianxian's waist, took off into the air, and flew towards Zhongzhou City first.

Wei Wu looked at Feng Hao and Chu Tianxiao helplessly and said, "Let's go too."

The group didn't return to the complex, as they had to go to the research institute. Instead, they found a restaurant near the institute. The table was a mess, and except for Wei Wu, who was still wolfing down his food, everyone else leaned back in their chairs, rubbing their stomachs with satisfied expressions.

Lin Ding looked at Chu Tian and said with a smile: "You should move to the villa in the future. It will be more convenient this way."

Chu Tianxiao pondered for a moment, then readily agreed. It would be a waste not to live in such a luxurious villa.

Lin Ding continued, "I have some things to take care of these few days, so I'm going to take them back to Nanzhou. Old Chu, I'll be grateful for your help in looking after the house, and keep an eye on the news from the military department."

"No problem." Chu Tianxiao agreed without hesitation.

Wei Wu was eating voraciously when he suddenly heard that Lin Ding was going back to Nanzhou. He immediately poked his head out from the pile of bowls, his eyes gleaming with anticipation: "Are you going back to Nanzhou? Are you going back to Nanshan City?"

"Well, I plan to borrow some ancient books from Mr. Qin first, then go to Nanxi City to pay homage to Xiaohao's parents, and finally go back to Nanshan City. You all come with me. If their family members are willing to come to Zhongzhou City, they will be brought over." Lin Ding answered while looking at Wei Wu seriously.

"Great! When do you plan to leave?" Liu Xianxian's eyes lit up and she asked expectantly.

"We plan to set off tomorrow and come back quickly." Lin Ding said concisely.

After everyone finished their meal, they went to the research institute together. Lin Tiansheng and his wife were very enthusiastic when they saw everyone, especially the cute and well-behaved Feng Hao, and their love for him was beyond words.

Lin Tiansheng took Lin Ding to meet the current acting dean, a gentle, middle-aged man named Zhang Mingyuan. Zhang Mingyuan handed Lin Ding the spirit stone Mo Qingchen had left behind at the institute. It was enclosed in a palm-sized jade box. Lin Ding opened it and was pleasantly surprised to find a fist-sized spiritual essence. Although some of its spiritual energy had been lost due to transportation and storage, it still provided him with considerable support.

Lin Ding carefully put away the jade box, and then told Zhang Mingyuan that Wei Wu had killed a Thousand-Tongue Ice Toad of the Yuheng Realm in the woods north of the city. If the corpse was needed for research, it could be processed now.

Zhang Mingyuan shook his head slightly after hearing this. "The demon beast corpse won't be of much use to the Archaeology Department, but the medical team of the Civil Affairs Department and the Military Department might be interested. I'll notify the relevant person in charge to come and deal with it."

After finishing these matters, Lin Ding found Lin Tiansheng, took out the mysterious metal he found from Ruins No. 5, and asked, "Dad, does your research institute have this metal?"

Lin Tiansheng examined the metal, pondered for a moment, and said, "This metal lab does have some, but many instruments and equipment require this metal to provide energy. These metals were collected from some ruins and cannot be mined, so every bit is precious. What do you plan to use it for?"

"We accidentally discovered this metal in Ruins No. 5, and accidentally found the energy to be extracted from it for cultivation." Lin Ding replied with excitement in his eyes.

"Extracting energy from metals?" Lin Tiansheng's face lit up with excitement. "The research institute needs high-end equipment to extract the energy used for research from these metals. What method do you use? If this technology can be popularized, it will be a huge contribution!"

"Um... that..." Lin Ding was a little embarrassed. "I'm afraid this won't be widely available. We extract it manually, and only Xianxian has this ability."

Lin Tiansheng looked at Liu Xianxian in surprise. After a moment of silence, his expression turned serious. "Xianxian's abilities must not be revealed to others. We must be on guard against others."

"I understand." Lin Ding nodded solemnly. He knew this truth.

"This metal is of great value to the institute, but the quantity is extremely limited, so we cannot provide it to you. However, when you follow the pioneering team on missions in the future, if you find undeveloped ruins, you can go in and look for them. You may find something useful." Lin Tiansheng said.

"I see. By the way, what is the name of this metal?" Lin Ding asked curiously.

"We now call it 'nuclear gold'," Lin Tiansheng replied.

After leaving the research institute, Chu Tianxiao said that he would go back to his residence to pack up his belongings and prepare to move to the villa, so he took the lead in saying goodbye to everyone.

On the way back, they bought a lot of things to use when they go back home or as gifts to bring back to their families, and returned to the villa feeling satisfied.

Shortly after entering the door, everyone was still taking stock of what to take back tomorrow when there was a knock on the door.

"Old Chu is back so soon?" Wei Wu said as he walked towards the door.

Wei Wu opened the door and saw that the person standing outside was not Chu Tianxiao, but a strange young woman with a heroic appearance. Wei Wu asked in confusion: "Who are you...?"

"Hello, I'm Zhan Wushuang from the Military Department's Logistics Team," the woman introduced herself. "Excuse me, does Lin Ding live here?"

Lin Ding heard the noise and came out of the house. He found that he didn't recognize the woman in front of him at all. He asked in confusion: "I am Lin Ding. What do you want to talk to me about?"

"Hello, the Thousand-Tongue Ice Toad you killed outside the city has played a huge role in the research of monsters by the medical team of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the logistics team of the Ministry of Military Affairs, so the two ministers have decided to reward you. Here is ten thousand yuan, please keep it." Zhan Wushuang handed over a thick envelope and looked at Lin Ding seriously, but there was a hint of imperceptible admiration in his eyes.

When Zhan Wushuang saw Lin Ding accept the bonus and express his gratitude, he bowed and said goodbye, turned around and left quickly.

Wei Wu watched Zhan Wushuang leave and complained to Lin Ding in a low voice, "Really? I was the one who killed the Ice Toad, so why would she give you the bonus? And I feel like she's looking at you in a weird way. Is she attracted to you?"

Zhan Wushuang obviously heard Wei Wu's words, and his forward steps paused slightly, then he quickened his pace and left the community.

"What nonsense are you talking about!" Lin Ding punched Wei Wu and secretly glanced at Liu Xianxian in the room. Fortunately, no one heard it.

Back in the house, Lin Ding handed the money to Liu Xianxian and told her what happened outside. Liu Xianxian said happily, "I was just about to tell you that after buying this train ticket, we don't have much money left, and I wanted to ask if you wanted to go hunting monsters in the wild. I didn't expect the money to come to us."

"It seems that I can continue this life of eating and drinking. It's great." Wei Wu said with a smile.

"You only know how to eat." Liu Xianxian teased.