Five days later.
A man wearing a white shirt, a black suit, and a white handkerchief flower on his chest walked through the wilderness and stood in front of the Black Steel Shelter.
The man raised his left hand and looked at the watch on his right hand with a smile on his face.
"It's actually half an hour early."
The man patted the dust off his clothes and waited at the door for half a minute. Then, hurried footsteps came from inside the Black Steel Shelter.
Soon, a solemn guard of honor came out of the door.
Then, Chief Molin, as the representative of the board of directors, came out with a few Rank 4 researchers.
"Ming Ming, long time no see!"
Molin walked up and shook hands with the person who came.
Molin and Ming Ming had not met many times, but they had a deep impression of each other. The first time they met was during a project conference at the Gate of Truth. Ming Ming, who had awakened his Fate Power back then, led the team and was in charge of the security of all the participants.
Only someone like Ming Ming, who stood at the peak of power, could cross thousands of miles of wilderness alone under the Mechanical King Court's lockdown.
"After so many years, Chief Molin is still so hale and hearty."
Ming Ming smiled. The chief of a laboratory was also an important person. Not to mention, Molin was also a member of the board of directors.
"I'm already old. In a few years, I'll be going to the headquarters to retire." Molin sighed.
"You came from afar. This time, you should stay at the Black Steel Shelter for a few days. Let me do my part as a host."
Ming Ming glanced at the researchers behind Molin. There were only five Rank 4 researchers, including Tanqiu, Feng Qian, and He Shou. There was no sign of the main character, Qi Yuan. He vaguely guessed something, but thinking of the Grandmaster's instructions, he did not say it in public.
"This time, I came to the Black Steel Shelter for two reasons. First, I came to see your old friend. Second, I heard that Member Cao was injured. The Grandmaster asked me to deliver a 'Source of Life'. Lastly, I came to deliver the latest issue of 'Truth' and the Leader's Medal that has been empty for five years!
Due to the lockdown of the Mechanical King Court, I will replace the Grandmaster in this award ceremony at the Black Steel Shelter, "Ming Ming said.
Although they had already guessed why the Leader's Medal would be awarded, guesses were just guesses. Now that Ming Ming had personally announced the answer, it was like a hurricane that instantly swept through the entire Black Steel Shelter.
Feng Qian, who had been maintaining a calm expression, could no longer conceal the excitement in his heart. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly.
Noticing Feng Qian's expression, Tanqiu also smiled. His smile was even more wanton, and his smile was even more brilliant than Feng Qian's.
The other level four researchers also smiled. The Leader's Medal, which had been vacant for five years, fell into the hands of the Biological and Mechanical Research Laboratory. Even if it didn't fall into their hands, they still felt honored.
Just this Leader's Medal alone was enough to make up for the damage caused by the previous explosion.
Under the contrast of everyone's smiles, only Researcher He Shou, who was forced to open for business, looked particularly awkward. He didn't want to come, but he was called out by the chief, so he had to come. He couldn't smile, but under such circumstances, he had to.
In the end, he could only force out an incomparably stiff smile that looked even uglier than crying.
Within the crowd of onlookers, the researchers of Feng Qian's laboratory had already gathered around. They didn't hide the excitement and pride in their hearts.
Their interests and future were already tied together with Feng Qian. Now that Feng Qian had soared, they naturally would also benefit from it.
The few ability users who were secretly in charge of security also had shock in their eyes, as well as a trace of longing.
What they longed for was naturally not the Leader's Medal. This was the highest award in the field of energy. For researchers, it was an unparalleled honor, but for them, this honor wasn't as important as the medal itself. It was an energy creation that was even more powerful than a mutated energy weapon, and could greatly increase one's strength.
What really made them endlessly envious was the "Source of Life" medicine that Ming Ming spoke of. This was a powerful and miraculous medicine developed by the grandmaster of the Door of Truth. It could extend one's life, strengthen one's body, heal injuries, and all sorts of other powerful effects. However, what people desired the most was that it could allow one to temporarily awaken their Fate power.
For an ability user of the sixth step, temporarily awakening their Fate power meant that they could see their future path ahead of time. The benefits of truly awakening their Fate power when they reached the seventh step were self-evident.
In the past, the grandmaster relied on this medicine to obtain the Creator's Medal of the Flesh and Blood Alliance.
"Source of Life" was a medicine that every Glory ability user of the sixth step yearned for even in their dreams!
Although the production of "Source of Life" required a lot of precious materials from the red and even black regions, as well as the cores of high level insects, the production was extremely low. Only the Door of Truth, Armory of Doom, and Flesh and Blood Alliance headquarters had the ability to produce it. However, this didn't stop ability users from thirsting for "Source of Life".
Because it symbolized Fate!
Although there were some people who doubted the effects of the "Source of Life" medicine, statistics showed that ever since the "Source of Life" medicine was released, the number of ability users who awakened their Fate power had clearly increased. Those who doubted it slowly shut their mouths.
With the Black Steel Shelter's strength ranking, there was at most a quota of one "Source of Life" medicine per year. Now, the grandmaster of the Door of Truth actually sent someone to personally deliver one to Member Cao.
In the eyes of these ability users, Cao Yansheng, who only had the strength of the fifth step and didn't have much fighting ability, using the "Source of Life" to recover from his injuries was a complete waste of natural resources. If this medicine was given to other ability users of the sixth step, although it might not necessarily be able to create a Fate powerhouse, even if there was just a trace of hope, it was still better than purely using it to recover from injuries.
However, although they were envious, they also knew that this "Source of Life" medicine wouldn't fall into their hands no matter what. Just like the Black Steel Shelter's annual quota, apart from an extremely small number of people, no one knew whose hands these medicines ultimately fell into.
Under Molin's accompaniment, Ming Ming first went to the laboratory to pay his respects to Cao Yansheng who was still recovering from his injuries, and delivered the "Source of Life" medicine into his hands. Afterwards, he and the chief went to the board of directors' hall together.
The rest of the people were all waiting outside the board of directors' hall.
Of course, there weren't many people who were qualified to wait outside. In addition to a few level four researchers, there were only a dozen or so level three researchers who came here, followed by a few guards in charge of security.
According to the convention of other shelters, since the Leader Medal was awarded in the shelter, it would naturally be chosen in the board of directors' hall, which symbolized the highest authority, but this process was different.
Sometimes, the process of awarding the medal would allow many onlookers to participate, but sometimes, there would only be a few people present.
Experimental research was always lonely. For many researchers who were used to being alone, they didn't even want to marry or have children. When awarding the medal, they also didn't want to be surrounded by too many people. Every time an award was given, the wishes of the recipient would be fully considered.
In the board of directors' hall, the theme was red and black. It looked solemn and dignified. A long table surrounded by eleven high back chairs stood quietly in the center of the hall.
After Ming Ming and Molin walked into the hall, the soft light sprinkled down, making the whole hall not very bright, but also not too dark.
Ming Ming handed the latest copy of "Truth" to Molin and said slowly,
"In order to decide the ownership of this Leader Medal, the Grand Master and several members of the review board held a special vote. Although I'm also very surprised by this result, I think the Grand Master and the rest must have their own reasons for doing so."
Molin nodded slightly. There was a golden Leader Medal logo on the page of "Truth", which meant that one of the papers inside had won the Leader Medal.
He had already heard about the recent rumors, but Cao Yansheng and Tan Qiu had also vaguely revealed Qi Yuan's paper.
Molin was also a little confused about the ownership of this medal, but to him, whether it was Qi Yuan or Feng Qian, the winner was the same. Both of them were researchers in the laboratory.
Molin opened the page and looked around the table of contents. The first two papers belonged to Qi Yuan and Feng Qian, respectively. This was the recognition of "Truth" to the two of them. The most important paper would always be at the front.
However, the biggest difference between the two papers was not the first and second place, but the name of Qi Yuan's paper was in gold, and there was a Leader Medal logo at the back of the paper.
Molin did not read the contents of the two papers in detail. He only glanced at the title of the paper and slowly closed "Truth" in his hand.
"Today, it's been less than half a year since Qi Yuan stepped into the Black Steel Shelter. I didn't expect him to bring such a surprise to the laboratory!" Molin exclaimed.
As the chief, Molin himself had never touched the three major awards. Although it was because he was too occupied with the management of the laboratory and the daily affairs of the board of directors, it was enough to prove the difficulty of these awards.
"All the frontline soldiers will thank Qi Yuan for this contribution. He has saved the lives of many soldiers!" Ming Ming said.
"I've already brought the Leader Medal. How about we award the medal to Qi Yuan first?"
Molin nodded.
"I'll immediately send someone to inform Qi Yuan. As for the others, don't let them come in."
Ming Ming nodded to show that he understood. Feng Qian probably already saw this Leader Medal as his. If he were to come and witness the award being given to Qi Yuan, he would probably lose his composure and do something crazy.
"Grandmaster wants me to ask if there are any problems with the advancement of that project in the laboratory?" Ming Ming asked in a low voice.
"Grandmaster, please don't worry. With this bottle of 'Source of Life', Yan Sheng's injuries will recover quickly. The advancement of the project will not be affected at all!" Molin said.
"If this project succeeds, our high-level combat power will be able to fight against the high-level mechanical apostles of the Mech Dynasty. Together with Qi Yuan's annihilation weapon, we should be able to defeat the Mech Dynasty head-on!"
"I hope so!" Molin said.
"If we weren't held back by the Mech Dynasty, our exploration of the wilderness wouldn't be so slow. I hope that we can see the Mech Dynasty defeated in our lifetime."
As a member of the board of directors of the Black Steel Shelter and the head of the laboratory, Molin had already used the 'Source of Life' medicine. He had already tried all methods that could extend the lifespan of a physical body. If he wanted to extend his lifespan, he would have to try transferring his consciousness to a mechanical body.
However, as a non-mechanic, the success rate of transferring his consciousness to a mechanical body wasn't high. Molin himself didn't want to give up on his physical body and live forever.
Just as the two were chatting, Feng Qian, who was waiting outside, suddenly felt a faint sense of uneasiness. As an ability user of the Glory rank, he could vaguely sense something, just like the ability of the Mysterious Territory.
This feeling wasn't that of his life being threatened or that danger was about to come. Instead, it was that something bad was about to happen, as if he was being targeted. This vague feeling made Feng Qian feel inexplicably uncomfortable.
Now, he was about to receive the Leader Medal and take over the position of the head of the laboratory. He would then enter the board of directors and become one of the most powerful people in the Black Steel Shelter. Who could stop him? Why did he have this bad feeling?
Feng Qian glanced at He Shou, who was standing beside him. His face was gloomy, as if it could drip water. This was the despair of failure.
However, Tan Qiu, on the other hand, was somewhat incomprehensible. Not only did Tan Qiu not show any signs of despair, she even had a smile on her face, as if something good had happened.
Would Tan Qiu be happy about receiving the Leader Medal?
Of course not!
Then why did she have a smile on her face?
Just then, the sound of footsteps came from behind him. Feng Qian instinctively turned around and saw a familiar face.
Qi Yuan!
Why is he here?
Many thoughts flashed through Feng Qian's mind. He suddenly thought of a possibility that he had occasionally thought of but quickly rejected.
Impossible!
This is impossible!
Feng Qian kept comforting himself in his heart.
Perhaps it was because he felt Feng Qian's gaze, Qi Yuan turned to look at Feng Qian and gave him a gentle look.
Thank you for the method of breeding the Tree of Oblivion!
Qi Yuan thanked Feng Qian with his gaze!
Although Qi Yuan didn't say it out loud, the unpleasant feeling in Feng Qian's heart became even more intense.
Then, Feng Qian saw Qi Yuan walk to Tan Qiu's side.
"Congratulations!" Tan Qiu said.
Of course, Qi Yuan didn't come at this time to witness Feng Qian receiving the award. He must have been informed by the head of the laboratory to come and receive the award himself.
Qi Yuan smiled slightly and didn't say anything.
Feng Qian's expression froze. What did Tan Qiu mean by that?
Then, Feng Qian saw Qi Yuan walk past the few people and continue walking forward.
If he walked any further, he would be at the door of the board of directors!
The two guards standing in front of the door of the board of directors seemed to have received instructions beforehand. Not only did they not stop Qi Yuan from walking forward, they even took the initiative to open the heavy door for him and gestured for Qi Yuan to enter.
Seeing Qi Yuan's back view disappear behind the door without anyone informing him to enter, Feng Qian's face suddenly turned pale.
"How could this be … how could this be …"
Feng Qian's eyes were empty as he muttered to himself. He never thought that he would actually lose to Qi Yuan again, and it was in the fight for the Leader's Medal.
Beside him, He Shou, who originally had a solemn expression, slowly regained his senses.
Feng Qian didn't enter the board of directors' hall, but he let Qi Yuan in!
So, it was Qi Yuan who received the Leader's Medal?
Although He Shou felt that this conclusion was extremely ridiculous, everything in front of him told him that this was the truth.
He Shou glanced at Feng Qian's empty and hopeless expression, and the gloominess in his heart was swept away. He suddenly had the urge to laugh out loud.
Feng Qian had actually failed at the most crucial moment, and he had failed at the hands of Qi Yuan!
He really should thank Qi Yuan properly. After this failure, not only did Feng Qian not get any closer to the position of the head of the laboratory, he was even further away!
He still had a chance!