Twenty custom-engineered vehicles clad in matte-black Nine-Palace alloy armor idled in two columns across sub-level three beneath the Taichu Sanctuary Sky-Tower as Commander Tie Niu inspected the lead Maybach command SUV.
Fitted with bulletproof run-flat tires, reinforced steel push-bumpers, and roof-mounted satellite dishes, the convoy gleamed under the halogen floodlights of the ten-thousand-square-meter subterranean staging yard.
Behind them stood six heavy tactical logistics vans. They were packed with emergency tools, replacement parts, spare wheels, and dry rations.
Bringing up the rear were four forty-foot refrigerated cold-chain freight haulers. Their stainless-steel refrigeration units were polished to a mirror finish.
Master Lu Jian stood beside the lead hauler, tapping the heavy composite battery casing beneath the chassis with a steel wrench. Above his head, his Goodness Score shone in an honest green: 92/100.
“Chairman Lin,” Master Lu said, his voice full of pride as he patted the side of the truck. “Lin Xiaoxiao and Chen Yu’s solid-state graphene batteries have been installed in every single vehicle in this fleet. A four-minute supercharge provides twelve hundred miles of continuous range, even through freezing blizzards and steep mountain climbs. The refrigeration units can hold steady at minus forty degrees for two weeks without external power.”
Beside Master Lu stood Tie Niu, wearing his dark tailored suit with the eighty-pound Ancient Cold-Iron Heavy Sabre strapped across his broad back. Tie Niu checked the winch cables with his thick hands, nodding with deep satisfaction.
“No truck in this province has armor this thick, Chairman Lin,” Tie Niu said. “Even if an armored personnel carrier rams these haulers, our paint won’t even scratch. We could drive straight through a concrete roadblock without spilling a cup of tea.”
In front of the twenty vehicles, two disciplined ranks of men stood at absolute attention.
Fifty men stood in formation.
Twenty-five of them were veteran reconnaissance scouts who had served along the western border, their faces weathered and scarred by desert winds and winter frosts. The other twenty-five were master cold-chain heavy-truck drivers who had navigated the treacherous mountain passes of the northern provinces for twenty years without a single accident.
Above the heads of all fifty men, clean, brilliant green scores glowed between 86/100 and 92/100.
The lead scout was a tall, lean man in his late forties named Captain Gao. Above Captain Gao’s short-cropped hair shone an honest Goodness: 91/100.
When Lin Mo stepped into the staging yard alongside Su Wan, Captain Gao snapped his boots together, raising a sharp, crisp salute.
“Fifty reconnaissance scouts and master cold-chain drivers reporting for the Tianhai Provincial Expedition, Chairman Lin!” Captain Gao barked, his voice echoing off the concrete pillars. “Every man has passed medical clearance, drug testing, and physical vetting! We are ready to roll at your command!”
Lin Mo walked slowly down the front rank of men.
He looked into their clear, steady eyes. He saw the calluses on their palms, the disciplined posture of their spines, and the quiet courage in their breathing.
These are men who drove supply trucks through mountain blizzards and guarded borders without asking for praise, Lin Mo thought, deeply satisfied. The Four Tycoon Clans of Tianhai think they can intimidate us with their fancy Rolls-Royces and arrogant butlers. They have never seen what real working men look like when they stand together.
Lin Mo stopped in front of Captain Gao, returning the salute with a slight nod.
“Captain Gao,” Lin Mo said, his tone warm and respectful. “You and your brothers are leaving Jiangcheng to enter the provincial capital. The Four Tycoon Clans have already issued an embargo. They will try to block our trucks, freeze our berths, and test our resolve.”
Captain Gao smiled, a cold, sharp gleam in his scarred eye.
“Chairman Lin,” Captain Gao replied in a steady gravelly voice. “We drove military fuel trucks through artillery zones on the western plateau twenty years ago. Four spoiled tycoon clans in business suits do not scare us. As long as we have your medicine in our cargo beds, not a single wheel will stop.”
The other forty-nine men slammed their fists against their chests in unified, thunderous agreement.
“Well said,” Lin Mo smiled.
He turned toward Su Wan.
“Su Wan, open the executive terminal.”
Su Wan stepped forward, tapping the screen to unlock the expedition deployment fund.
“What are your orders, Chairman Lin?” Su Wan asked.
“Ten million yuan flat,” Lin Mo commanded in a clear, resonant voice. “Five million yuan to equip all fifty men with custom lightweight bulletproof silk-alloy armor vests, encrypted satellite communicators, and tactical emergency medical kits. The remaining five million yuan will be divided equally among all fifty guardians as an immediate family settling-in and hazard bonus. That is one hundred thousand yuan in cleared cash wired to each family before we turn a single wheel.”
The fifty hardened scouts and veteran drivers stood frozen in disbelief.
One hundred thousand yuan in cash upfront, just for a standard supply run.
Captain Gao’s lips twitched with deep emotion. He lowered his salute, looking at Lin Mo with wide, moist eyes.
“Chairman Lin... that is too much,” Captain Gao whispered. “We haven’t even crossed the city limits yet!”
“You leave families behind in Jiangcheng,” Lin Mo answered gently. “A man cannot drive with a steady hand if he is worrying about his children’s grocery money. In Taichu, we secure the family before we fight the storm. Take the bonus, wire it home, and drive with an easy heart.”
Tap.
Su Wan swiped Lin Mo’s Black-Gold Sovereign Benevolence Card across the console.
BEEP.
A grand, celestial chime rang out deep in Lin Mo’s consciousness:
[Ding! Detected spending of ¥10,000,000.00 RMB on Expedition Guardian Equipment & Family Settling-In Grants!]
[Target Beneficiaries: Captain Gao (Goodness: 91/100) & 50 Specialized Expedition Guardians (Goodness: 86–92/100)!]
[Purpose: Custom silk-alloy tactical armor, encrypted satellite locators, and direct family hazard bonuses (¥100,000 each)!]
[Pure Altruistic Intent Verified: Securing frontline labor safety, honoring veteran service, and protecting dependent families!]
[Triggering 100x Pure Benevolence System Refund!]
[Cash Refund Received: +¥1,000,000,000.00 RMB!]
[Funds deposited directly into Host Personal Liquid Vault!]
[Personal Liquid Vault: ¥106,000,000,000.00 RMB!]
[Benevolence Merit Points: +1,000,000 BMP | Total BMP: 198,949,528 BMP!]
[Good People Network Expanded: 10,000 Verified Righteous Allies (+50 specialized guardians formally integrated — 10,000 Milestone Achieved!)]
One billion more in cleared cash, Lin Mo thought, watching his liquid vault climb to one hundred and six billion yuan. A hundred and six billion in cash. Spending ten million to protect fifty families, and earning a billion in profit.
Ding. Ding. Ding.
Across the two ranks of men, fifty mobile phones buzzed inside their jackets.
The hardened drivers and border scouts looked down at the cleared bank alerts on their screens. Many of them wiped tears from their eyes, their chests heaving with fierce, unshakeable devotion.
“Thank you, Chairman Lin!” the fifty men roared in unison, their voices echoing like thunder through the subterranean hall.
BONG! BONG! BONG!
At that exact moment, an earth-shaking, celestial bell chime exploded inside Lin Mo’s soul.
It was not a normal system alert.
It sounded like the strike of a ten-ton golden bell cast in the imperial heavens, reverberating through every bone, muscle, and meridian in his body.
The air in the subterranean garage seemed to shimmer with gold dust.
Giant, three-dimensional golden characters blazed across Lin Mo’s consciousness:
[DING! CONGRATULATIONS TO HOST!]
[TEN-THOUSAND PURE-HEART NETWORK MILESTONE PERMANENTLY SOLIDIFIED!]
[CORE BENEVOLENCE THRESHOLD ACHIEVED: 10,000 VERIFIED RIGHTEOUS ALLIES SECURED!]
[SYSTEM TIER EVOLUTION COMPLETE: MORTAL MUNICIPAL TIER -> PROVINCIAL SOVEREIGN TIER!]
[SOVEREIGN BMP CONVERSION: 100 TIER-1 MUNICIPAL BMP -> 1 TIER-2 SOVEREIGN BMP (1,989,495 SOVEREIGN BMP / 198,949,528 LEGACY BMP)]
[GLOBAL KARMA HARMONIZATION: UNLOCKING SUPREME SPIRITUAL VISION MODULE...]
Lin Mo’s breath caught in his throat.
A sudden, intense surge of pure, warm golden qi flowed up from his dantian, rushing along his conception vessel straight into his optic nerves.
FLASH!
Lin Mo closed his eyes as a searing, blissful heat radiated behind his eyelids.
When he opened his eyes again, his vision was transformed.
Deep within Lin Mo’s dark pupils, a miniature, nine-petaled golden lotus flower had bloomed. The golden lotus spun slowly, emitting a faint, ethereal luminescence that penetrated through walls, distance, and spiritual illusions.
[Ding! Special Ability Unlocked: [Cultivator Halo Detection & 20km Provincial Distress Radar]!]
[Vision Capability Enhanced: Host can now perceive the hidden spiritual halos of martial masters, hidden daoists, and immortal cultivators!]
[Perception Expanded: Spherical Radar Range Reaches 20 Kilometers across Provincial Territories!]
Lin Mo blinked, adjusting to the newfound divine clarity.
When he looked at Tie Niu, he no longer saw only his green morality score.
Surrounding Tie Niu’s broad shoulders was a vibrant, shimmering Bronze-Gold Shield Halo, shaped like an ancient defensive temple bell, pulsing with the dense kinetic power of his perfected Bronze-Bell Iron Body!
When he looked at Su Wan, a delicate, translucent Silver-White Wisdom Halo drifted above her head, reflecting her supreme executive intelligence and strategic vision.
When he looked at Master Lu Jian, a sturdy, dark-amber Mountain-Forge Halo hovered around his hands, representing his mastery over structural engineering and architectural geomancy.
Ding.
The freight elevator doors at the far end of the staging yard slid open.
Dr. Gu Qinghe stepped out into the bright halogen light, carrying his wooden medicine chest. Beside him walked Grandma Chen, holding the small hand of six-year-old Little Guo’er. Behind them came Shen Qiaoqiao, pushing a stainless-steel service cart loaded with thermal containers.
Lin Mo shifted his golden-lotus gaze toward the newcomers.
Surrounding Dr. Gu Qinghe floated a gentle, soothing Emerald-Herb Life Halo, hovering around his acupuncture pouch with the sweet scent of medicinal herbs.
Grandma Chen radiated a warm, glowing Silver-Cotton Hearth Halo, steady and bright with seventy years of selfless grandmotherly love and domestic care.
Then Lin Mo looked down at Little Guo’er.
Above the little girl’s head, an exquisite, translucent Pure-Lotus Spirit Halo drifted in the air. But its delicate petals were frayed and faint, flickering erratically like a candle flame trembling against a freezing mountain gale.
Her Innate Pure-Lotus Spirit Root is struggling to hold itself together, Lin Mo thought, his eyes narrowing with fierce determination. Without the Millennium Nine-Heart Lotus Seed from the Tianhai Provincial Herb Expo, her spiritual foundation will collapse before autumn ends. No matter who tries to block our path in Tianhai, that lotus seed is coming home with us.
“Uncle Mo!” Little Guo’er called out happily, running across the concrete floor in her warm padded coat. She held up a small paper box tied with red twine. “Grandma Chen and I woke up at four in the morning to make fresh red-bean buns for everyone!”
Lin Mo crouched down, catching the little girl and patting her head gently.
“Thank you, Little Guo’er,” Lin Mo said with a warm smile. “We will pack these in the lead command SUV. With your buns to protect us, our journey will be smooth and peaceful.”
Grandma Chen walked over with a cane, her eyes soft with maternal warmth.
“Chairman Lin,” Grandma Chen said softly. “You carry so much weight on your shoulders. Please take care of your health on the road. Do not skip your meals.”
“I promise, Grandma Chen,” Lin Mo replied, bowing respectfully to the elderly woman.
Shen Qiaoqiao parked her stainless-steel cart beside the third command SUV. She unloaded three heavy insulated soup urns and two large crates of vacuum-sealed provisions. Above Shen Qiaoqiao’s head, a lively Golden-Honey Hearth Halo sparkled with cheerful domestic warmth.
“Chairman Lin,” Shen Qiaoqiao reported with a bright grin. “I packed sixty liters of hot ginger-tangerine soup, three hundred steamed pork buns, and four hundred vacuum-sealed herbal beef rolls. Even if the Four Tycoon Clans close down every roadside restaurant between here and Tianhai, our drivers will eat like kings on the highway.”
Lin Mo looked at the mountainous stacks of food containers and shook his head with an amused smirk.
Three hundred buns and sixty liters of soup for a five-hour highway drive, Lin Mo thought, his inner voice deadpan and dry. Qiaoqiao prepares for a provincial journey like an anxious mother packing for a five-year voyage across the Arctic Ocean. But on a contested highway, warm soup and hot beef rolls win loyalty faster than a speech from a billionaire.
“Excellent work, Qiaoqiao,” Lin Mo said aloud. “Secure the provisions in the logistics vans. Ensure Captain Gao’s drivers have hot thermoses in every cab.”
“Right away, Chairman Lin!” Shen Qiaoqiao beamed, turning to direct two logistics workers.
Lin Mo stepped back, looking through the ceiling concrete with his newly awakened spiritual sight.
His twenty-kilometer provincial distress radar expanded outward like an invisible sphere of golden sonar. The golden ripples swept across the entire municipal basin of Jiangcheng, brushing over the high-speed rail lines, the cargo docks, and the northern mountain tollgate.
He could perceive every moving vehicle on the expressway. He could sense the vitality of every pine tree in the northern hills. He could track the heartbeat of every citizen across twenty miles.
Tie Niu noticed the faint, magnificent golden lotus spinning in Lin Mo’s eyes and stepped forward, bowing his head respectfully.
“Chairman Lin,” Tie Niu said, his voice full of reverent wonder. “Your eyes... they look like the eyes of an ancient immortal.”
Lin Mo smiled faintly, letting the golden lotus sink back beneath his pupils.
“It is just a clearer way of seeing the world, Tie Niu,” Lin Mo said softly.
Lin Mo looked at the twenty armored vehicles lined up in the subterranean garage.
The engines were humming smoothly. The graphene batteries were fully charged. The cold-chain refrigeration units were purring at optimal temperatures. Fifty brave, well-equipped guardians stood ready at their posts, their new silk-alloy vests fastened tight.
Lin Mo pulled his dark coat around his shoulders, his voice calm, decisive, and commanding.
Before giving the order to roll out, his gaze settled on Master Lu Jian, young Chen Yu, and Clinic Director Fang standing near the dispatch elevators.
“Hold the engines for two minutes, Tie Niu,” Lin Mo said, turning toward his Jiangcheng branch directors. “Before we cross the municipal border, there is one final defensive lock to place on our home sanctuary.”