Chapter Nineteen: The Price of a Plane Ticket

"W-what? What did you say? How much money do you need?"

"The price of a plane ticket?!"

"Are you sure you heard that right?!!"

Upon hearing the amount Lin Yang quoted, Zhao Zizhen was struck dumb on the spot. When he had asked how much money he needed, Lin Yang’s response had been a simple, straightforward sentence: "The price of a plane ticket from the Eagle Country to the Cherry Blossom Country!"

The price of a single ticket!

At that moment, Zhao Zizhen really wondered if something was wrong with his ears. This man was asking for nothing more than the cost of a plane ticket! He was deeply, utterly stunned.

Inside the Bureau of Extraordinary Management, Ye Guhong and the others, who were monitoring the call, were equally bewildered. Like Zhao Zizhen, they had all assumed that Lin Yang’s late-night call for money meant he had encountered some catastrophic trouble and needed an astronomical sum. They never imagined he only needed the price of a flight—less than ten thousand units of currency.

A strange silence descended upon them. Someone capable of obtaining lithography machine blueprints from the Windmill Country and smuggling cultural relics out of the Eagle Country’s museums—could such a person really be short on money for a plane ticket? They were all utterly confused.

Zhao Zizhen, in particular, felt more than just confusion; he felt profound regret. If he had known it was just for a ticket, he would never have reported it to Ye Guhong immediately. He could have paid it out of his own pocket!

"My dear ancestor, why didn't you say so sooner?!" Zhao Zizhen’s heart was bleeding. Of course, he could only scream this internally; with the call being monitored, he dared not speak out of turn.

Lin Yang, hearing the silence on the other end, paused as well. *Could the Academy of Sciences really be unwilling to lend this much?* he wondered. *But I helped them secure that lithography machine! This shouldn't be happening!*

He didn't understand why Zhao Zizhen had gone silent, but not wanting to overthink it, he continued with his original plan: "I’m not asking for a handout; I will pay it back. I have something with me that I can trade for it. If that doesn't work, consider this the proceeds from a sale. Of course, if you're really unwilling, then forget I said anything, and—"

"No! No, no, no!"

Before Lin Yang could finish, a frantic Zhao Zizhen cut him off.

"No, no! Please, don't misunderstand! How could we be unwilling? Forget one ticket—even ten, a hundred, a thousand, or ten thousand wouldn't be an issue! I was silent because the amount you requested was so different from what I expected. I thought you were in some kind of trouble and needed a massive sum of cash. I never imagined you only needed the price of a ticket! Please, do not think for a second that I was hesitating to lend you the money!"

"Just give me your account number, and the money will be there immediately!" Zhao Zizhen explained frantically. He was terrified. *Not a handout? Will pay it back? Forget it if you're unwilling?* Good heavens, what a disaster! He had almost caused a misunderstanding.

"Oh... is that so?" Lin Yang blinked. So he had overthought it. They weren't unwilling; he had just asked for too little. That was awkward.

"Of course! You’ve done so much for us. Even if you needed a thousand or ten thousand times more, it wouldn't be a problem. Please, you must not misunderstand our intentions!" Zhao Zizhen wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, emphasizing his point again. He was terrified that if he had reacted even a second later, Lin Yang would have said goodbye and hung up.

"Oh... alright then. Send the money to this anonymous account." Lin Yang provided an account number—one set up with the help of the system, ensuring no one could trace its ownership or details.

*Ding.*

"Your bank account ending in 888 has received a new transfer of 10,000,000.00. The current balance is..."

Almost the moment Lin Yang gave the number, he received a text notification. The transfer was for exactly ten million!

"T-ten million? Why so much?" Lin Yang was stunned again. He only needed the price of a ticket! Once he reached the Cherry Blossom Country, he had plenty of ways to make money. But they had transferred ten million without a second thought.

"Ahem, you are abroad, and the cost of living is quite high. This is just a small token of our appreciation. I hope you don't mind," Zhao Zizhen said, not knowing what else to say. Who would believe a man like this only wanted the price of a ticket? But they couldn't just send the price of a ticket, could they? That was impossible. While ten million seemed like a lot, compared to his contributions, it was truly just a small token.

"Then... thank you. I will pay it back later." Lin Yang pondered for a moment and didn't refuse. First, money made the world go round; having some emergency funds wouldn't hurt. Second, he could tell this was a genuine gesture from his homeland, and he couldn't bring himself to reject it.

"Please, do as you wish. There is no rush to pay it back," Zhao Zizhen replied. He had wanted to say "no need to pay it back," but that felt inappropriate, so he changed his phrasing.

Then, prompted by a gesture from Ye Guhong, he asked, "If I may ask, do you have any business in the Cherry Blossom Country? If there is anything we can help with, please don't hesitate to ask. We will provide all the support we can!"