"Mr. President, here is a document from the Aerospace Satellite Monitoring Bureau."
"The director of the bureau requests your immediate attention."
In a towering, expansive white building, a man in a suit, carrying some tools, hurried into the president's office to report to the person seated in the presidential chair.
"Just put it aside."
This term's president of the Lighthouse Country was no longer young, appearing to be in his seventies but still vigorous.
At the moment, he was busy with the next election, so he simply asked the man in the suit to set the document aside.
Holding a high position meant the president had many affairs to attend to.
This document could end up being overlooked indefinitely.
The man in the suit understood this.
He also knew the urgency and importance of the matter, so he did not leave immediately but instead spoke again with a serious face: "The director of the monitoring bureau insists that you review this immediately, prioritizing it over all other matters at hand."
The president looked up at the man in the suit.
"This matter concerns the future of the Lighthouse Country and could make our nation great again."
"Mr. President, it could also help you succeed in your re-election."
Hearing the man's solemn words, especially the suggestions about re-election and making the country great again, the president of the Lighthouse Country became interested.
"You had better not be deceiving me."
He warned the man in the suit.
Then, everyone in the office was ordered to leave, and the man in the suit showed the president a short video clip lasting only a few dozen seconds.
In the boundless ocean, the space rippled like water, and then a majestic dragon emerged. It raised its head, its face filled with the inviolable majesty of a deity, and suddenly exhaled a blue ice storm. The video then abruptly ended, freezing at a frame filled with the color of frost.
Looking at the short video clip, the president's expression changed from calm to shocked, and then from shocked to slightly angry.
He pointed his chubby finger at the lifelike colossal silver dragon frozen on the screen and complained, "Is this a movie being filmed by Hollywood?"
"The effects are very realistic, but what movie has anything to do with my re-election and making the country great again?"
The president slammed the table, dismissing the man in the suit: "Don't waste my time."
After a pause, as if remembering something, he added, "Who's the director of this movie? Arrange a cameo role for me."
The man in the suit, feeling helpless, said, "Mr. President, this is not a movie video."
It was too hard to believe, and the president was a movie enthusiast, so the man in the suit could understand the president's reaction.
He took a deep breath and said, "This is real footage captured by our monitoring satellites over our national waters. Six staff members witnessed this dragon descending in a way we cannot comprehend."
Pausing, the man in the suit's tone became grave: "This dragon is real."
"And it's most likely still in our national waters right now."
The president was momentarily stunned.
Then, his wrinkled face became excited.
Upon understanding that the silver dragon was real, the president immediately realized its significant strategic, commercial, and public opinion values, among others.
"God bless the Lighthouse Country!"
"Immediately convene the Department of Defense, the Biological Research Department, the Bureau of Anomalous Creatures Investigation..."
Commands were passed down.
Soon, the high-ranking individuals who controlled various aspects of the country arrived at the white building on private planes, gathered together to discuss the video data from the monitoring bureau.
"This is an opportunity for the Lighthouse Country to be great again!"
"Everyone, what are your thoughts?"
After confirming the authenticity of the matter, the president of the Lighthouse Country stood up, leaning on the table, and asked.
"Instead of establishing contact, try to communicate with this creature first."
"There must be worlds beyond Earth! We absolutely cannot let this creature take information about our planet back with it, or else we might face an invasion from an army of dragons."
"..."
"My God, dragons really exist, then what about angels and demons, or even God?"
The room buzzed with discussions.
"Mr. President, please order the military to capture this dragon. It will be the greatest discovery of the 21st century."
"It's over sixty meters long, possesses long-range attack capabilities, and seems to have some defense. But our country's firearms are enough to destroy the world, capturing it won't be a problem."
The national defense minister, a man with a rigid face and dark skin, confidently said.
A sixty-meter-long dragon seemed quite terrifying, but, let alone just sixty meters, even a majestic mountain could be easily destroyed if they wished. In this world without elemental energy, their military's destructive power was not weak.
An aircraft carrier alone was hundreds of meters long and tens of meters wide, weighing hundreds of thousands of tons.
They had no reason to fear a mere dragon of several dozen meters.
"We don't understand the power of this creature, attacking rashly isn't appropriate."
Someone objected.
The national defense minister scoffed, then seriously said, "Do you know the attack range of an intercontinental missile, how much land it can destroy, how many creatures it can kill?"
"If we weren't trying to capture it alive, this would be a matter easily resolved by a missile."
His words lacked even a shred of awe for the unknown.
Meanwhile, the president of the Lighthouse Country was moved, sensing the enormous value of capturing a dragon possibly from another world for research.
As for friendly talks, cooperation, and the like, the Lighthouse Country has always been skeptical of these, preferring to believe that military might is the ultimate truth, a result already proven by history.
"Horald, how much military force do you think is needed to capture this dragon alive?"
The president pondered for a moment and asked the national defense commander.
"To be on the safe side, one air force wing should suffice."
Immediately.
The Lighthouse Country's military joined the conversation, showing great interest in this mission.
An active-duty air force wing, comprising sixty-eight fighter jets of various models, quickly prepared at a base. Under the command of a current air force general, they set off for the sea area where the silver dragon was spotted. Along with satellites operating in the sky and various ground detection equipment, they searched for the dragon's traces together.
Such a large-scale operation was hard to hide from other countries on this planet.
After all, although the Lighthouse Country was on the decline, it remained the hegemonic power of this planet, with many eyes watching its every move.
But the Lighthouse Country didn't care much.
They blocked the news, claiming it was just an exercise.
In reality, it was a crucial operation code-named [Dragon Hunt].
Because it might be censored, this part was written as a separate chapter with relatively short content.
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