Seven 'Xiao Jia' twin-rotor helicopters zipped through the seven skies of New York, and inside one of the choppers, Gu Xiechen reclined comfortably on a sofa, lazily watching the smog-choked cityscape outside the viewport.

In this era, the sprawl of New York City hadn't expanded much from three centuries prior, yet it crammed sixty million souls within its five boroughs. The surface was a mosaic of small, gridded apartment blocks reaching over two hundred stories high, and beneath the ground lay at least fifty more levels of these communal towers. Naturally, the further from the surface, the cheaper the rent became; many units were even provided free by the Federal Government.

Every skyscraper was blanketed in a layer of solar tiles, turning the entire city a deep, signature sapphire blue.

Sparse patches of green were incredibly rare amidst the tumorous, congested urban sprawl. Looking down from high up, wherever green existed, it was choked with dense crowds of people moving like swarms of ants.

"A terrifying city," Gu Xiechen pursed his lips, smiling wryly at Banruo, who sat silently beside him. "But the New York in my memory isn't like this."

"Oh?" Banruo looked at Gu Xiechen with curiosity.

"Mmm, the New York in my memory had spacious manors, sheepdogs, and brilliant sunshine; also, gray-white laboratories, researchers with stern faces, and production lines thick with the smell of metal." Gu Xiechen shrugged, squinting with a smile. "Occasionally, there was also the scent of stacks of checks and cash. Can you believe it? When I was eight, I could distinguish which bank issued a check purely by its smell. Just by listening to the friction of the banknotes, I knew whether they had been in circulation for one month, two months, six months, or a year."

"Gulp, gulp." Mohe, squatting in a corner of the cabin, raised his liquor bottle and took a few long pulls of strong spirits. He let out a hearty burp and chuckled, "So, Boss, you were born in a good place. Hey, that’s the memory from when you were a kid, right?"

"Yes!" Gu Xiechen nodded lightly.

"Damn it! My elder brother and I back then!" Mohe’s face darkened completely. He sighed with unbearable recollection, "That old bastard—if the Federal Court had any jurisdiction over him, I’d sue him for child abuse. When my brother and I were only five or six, we had to haul stones weighing several thousand pounds to hunt for Qiangyang on the Himalayas in fifty-degree-below-zero temperatures."

Banruo’s mouth twitched, and he clasped his hands together, silently reciting a Buddhist invocation.

"That cursed place!" Mohe sighed deeply. "When I was fifteen, I peeked at the native women bathing there, and I had nightmares for three solid months! The black, thick sludge that ran off her body—ugh, it nearly turned me gay! After I got down the mountain, it took me a full year before I dared to go near a woman. Heavens above."

Banruo coughed lightly, glaring fiercely at Mohe. Mohe waved his hand dismissively, lifting his bottle and vigorously flexing his well-developed pectoral muscles. The elastic muscles collided, producing a crisp slap-slap sound. Mohe chuckled triumphantly, "Later on, I took down thirty women in one night, and that finally cleared out my psychological shadows."

Gu Xiechen silently extended a thumb, showing his supreme respect for Mohe. Siren and Arethusa, curled up intimately on another sofa in the cabin, shot Mohe looks of disdain. Arethusa narrowed her eyes and remained silent, while Siren nervously looked down at her own private area.

With a swish, someone connected to Gu Xiechen's communicator. Upon accepting the call, Jian Qiao’an appeared on the light screen, beaming.

"What I promised you last time, I've managed to arrange," Jian Qiao’an said to Gu Xiechen with a broad smile. "A position of real authority, responsible for overseeing the budget and daily administration of a powerful department. This entire department possesses independent judicial procedures, its own armed forces, and its own internal oversight mechanism. Its annual budget is a staggering figure. This department answers directly to a supervisory panel composed of three elite Federal Councilors. You, sir, will be the absolute overlord of this powerhouse."

An overlord? Such a wonderful thing? Gu Xiechen eyed the smiling Jian Qiao’an, feeling that something was definitely amiss.

"Uh, which department exactly am I overseeing?" Gu Xiechen frowned.

"Ah, well," Jian Qiao’an chuckled evasively, "Little Sir, you must understand, a Councilor with real authority is different from a regular Councilor. Ordinary Federal Councilors only exert power when the Federal Assembly convenes, but the position of a Councilor with real authority—the kind you requested—means wielding Federal power even in peacetime. Such a post is hard to find."

Counting on his fingers, Jian Qiao’an sighed as he listed the roles for Gu Xiechen: "Federal Financial Budget Supervision Committee—full capacity; Federal Military Budget Supervision Committee—full capacity; Federal Health Ministry Budget Supervision Committee—full capacity; Federal Education Ministry Budget Supervision Committee—full capacity. In short, among all the positions meeting your requirements, only this supervisory panel currently has an opening. Er, this position offers quite excellent benefits, too. You will have your own private office in the Federal Building, the Federation will assign you two secretaries and eight subordinate officials, transportation costs will be covered by the Federation, and if needed, a high-speed vessel will be at your beck and call twenty-four hours a day."

Pausing, Jian Qiao’an continued calculating, "If an emergency arises, you will possess Federal-level privilege to mobilize local judicial systems and up to one regiment of Federal-level garrison troops to assist your operations. The fifteen laboratories and one hundred ninety-five global branches under the jurisdiction of the department you oversee will also be under your supervision; you can inspect their work at any time!"

Exhaling deeply, Jian Qiao’an beamed at Gu Xiechen, "This is a position of great influence and power, Councilor Gu Xiechen!"

"But, which department am I overseeing exactly?" Gu Xiechen widened his eyes in surprise. "The Federal Intelligence Bureau? Which branch?"

"Uh, no. Not the Federal Intelligence Bureau," Jian Qiao’an shrugged. "That’s Chairman Du Lang’s turf. The Federal Council doesn't have the authority to monitor the Bureau’s operations. What you will be responsible for is the Federal Special Affairs Committee!"

The Federal Special Affairs Committee!

Gu Xiechen’s face twitched violently. Infuriated, he pointed at the grinning Jian Qiao’an on the screen, feeling a sudden urge to curse his ancestors.

Yes, the Special Affairs Committee had independent judicial procedures, its own armed forces, and its own oversight mechanism. It essentially existed outside the Federal administrative system—a department that both the military and political factions of the Federation eyed covetously but were hesitant to touch. This damned department was specifically responsible for dealing with the Jieshi registered legally by the Federation. And currently, there were barely two dozen Jieshi legally registered with the Federation. In reality, the Special Affairs Committee was merely a logistical support department cleaning up the messes made by those two dozen Jieshi!

The Federal Special Affairs Committee—everyone should be familiar with that name, right?

Mmm.

Interfering, stirring the pot—that’s where the real profit lies!