As the only Dragon Country national nominated for the Bernor Prize in 2023, Yang Lin's trip to Shàwěi Station was naturally met with significant attention.
Ningnan Satellite TV even dispatched a film crew to document Yang Lin's every moment.
After nearly 30 hours, Yang Lin, accompanied by the film crew, finally arrived on a small island named Scallop Island, located within the beautiful country's Shàwěi Archipelago.
The moment he disembarked, Yang Lin was deeply impressed by the lively and prosperous scene before him.
Compared to the recently developed Dolphin Island, this tropical island named after scallops showed more signs of artificial development, with numerous modern buildings of artistic style lining the streets.
Of course, this was not the most important aspect. The most crucial part was the scantily clad young women from all over the world.
Their figures were incredibly attractive, and their attire was quite revealing.
"As expected of the free and beautiful country. If I had known the island would be like this, I would have come a week earlier."
"This time, I must stay here for a few more days to experience the local customs and traditions."
Having said this, Yang Lin, whose eyes didn't know where to look, turned his gaze to the film crew behind him.
"Don't just film me. Let the people of our homeland also experience the customs and traditions of this tropical island."
"I'll also use this opportunity to learn from their tourism development model."
Hearing Yang Lin's words, the three members of the film crew, who had been following him like shadows, nodded frantically.
The cameraman involuntarily began to shift the lens to the side.
At this moment, under a parasol not far away, a bearded man wearing an earpiece unconsciously turned his gaze over.
"Target has landed. No combat equipment, no bodyguards. Shall we proceed now?"
"Understood!"
...
At this moment, Yang Lin was completely unaware that he had been targeted. His attention was entirely focused on the island's scenery.
It wasn't until someone claiming to be an organizer found him that he was led by a staff member to a luxurious resort hotel located in the very center of the island.
This hotel would soon be the main venue for the Bernor Prize award ceremony.
At that time, hundreds of nominees from around the world would gather there, representing the pinnacle of Blue Star humanity.
As soon as he entered the hotel, Yang Lin's gaze was drawn to a white-haired elder.
"Oh, isn't that the scientist from England? He's nominated this time too?"
"And the one next to him is the great writer from the Bear Country."
"That one looks like the writer Tree Monkey Wildman from the Little Sun Country."
"Wow, they're all impressive figures."
...
Looking at the distinguished guests from various fields, all dressed in formal attire and with exquisite makeup, and then looking at himself in a floral shirt, beach shorts, and flip-flops, Yang Lin suddenly felt less like he was here for the selection and more like he was here on vacation.
However, this doubt only lasted for a moment before he cast it aside, as he was indeed here on a subsidized trip.
"Director Yang, would you like to go and greet them? This is a rare opportunity."
A cameraman accompanying him whispered to Yang Lin.
Upon hearing this, Yang Lin first thought carefully, then shook his head.
If it were in the past, he might have gone to take a group photo and post it on his social media.
But now, there was no need for that. These people were kings in their respective fields, and Yang Lin was also a king in his own domain.
Just as he was about to dismiss engaging in such useless social interactions, someone proactively approached him.
Under Yang Lin's puzzled gaze, a thin Asian man wearing glasses walked up to him.
He initially thought the other person was a fellow countryman traveling here and was coming over to say hello, until the other person spoke.
"Hello Director Yang, I am Serizawa Ichiro from the Institute of Paleontology in Kyoto, Neon Country. I have long admired your reputation and am finally able to meet you in person today."
Listening to the other party's heavy accent, Yang Lin knew his nationality without him even introducing himself.
But what surprised him was that he actually had fans in Neon Country.
"Uh... what did you say?"
"Serizawa, Director Yang can just call me Serizawa," the bespectacled man said humbly, bowing as he spoke, almost to the point of kneeling.
Afterward, Serizawa proactively handed over his business card.
Looking at the words "Institute of Paleontology" on it, Yang Lin was a little confused about the other person's purpose in approaching him.
Perhaps sensing this, Serizawa immediately made a welcoming gesture and led Yang Lin to a water bar nearby.
Once seated, Serizawa finally revealed his intention.
"It's like this, Director Yang. I was fortunate enough to read your 'Běimíng Travelogue' and was very curious about the giant beasts you wrote about in the travelogue. Therefore, I would like to discuss with you some ideas about giant beasts and biological evolution."
As soon as he finished speaking, Yang Lin's expression immediately became vigilant.
"I don't know much about giant beasts. I just happened to see the carcass of a giant beast under the Arctic Ocean. As for biological evolution, I know even less."
Seeing that Yang Lin seemed unwilling to say much, Serizawa immediately took out a thick notebook from his briefcase.
"I know Director Yang doesn't quite believe me yet, so let me first share some of the information I have about giant beasts."
"To be frank, my father began researching giant beasts in his generation."
As he spoke, he flipped open the first page of the notebook, and an abstract pencil sketch appeared before Yang Lin.
The sketch depicted some kind of deformed monster with six legs.
With a single glance, Yang Lin confirmed that this was a depiction of an ancient giant beast.
"My father discovered this on a mural in a certain deep mountain. The giant beast depicted on it is exactly the same as the giant beast skeleton discovered in our Neon Country not long ago."
As soon as he finished speaking, he turned to the second page, which still contained a drawing.
The drawing still depicted a giant beast, and it looked very similar to the first one.
"This one comes from the Monkey Country in Nanyang. A Neon Country veteran stole it from one of their temples."
"The giant beast depicted here can basically be confirmed to be the same species as the one in our Neon Country. My father named this type of giant beast 'MUTO'."
Upon hearing this, Yang Lin could no longer remain calm.
However, Serizawa's narration was clearly not over.
"Besides these two MUTOs, there should be another giant beast at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. It was this one that sank an inner island of the Monkey Country a few days ago."
"At that time, its opponent was likely one of the revived MUTOs. If I'm not mistaken, this giant beast will sequentially visit other giant beasts on Blue Star..."
Before Serizawa could finish his sentence, a gunshot suddenly rang out in the hotel lobby.
Instantly, the hairs on Yang Lin's arms stood on end.