Duan Ya shot Gu Xichen a look of pure disgust. He spoke with palpable impatience! "The Yin Continent Mechanical State Special Service Bureau. That’s the Special Management Committee! However, the Special Management Committee is the name used externally. The Federal Special Service Bureau is its official designation among the many departments and agencies of the Federation. Let me introduce myself: I am Uriah, Director-General of the Federal Special Service Bureau. The code name for the Special Service Bureau—"

"Please wait a moment!" Gu Xichen cut off Uriah before he could continue. He tapped a few keys on the console of the desk, inputting his identity code and access password. A flood of data concerning the Federal Special Service Bureau illuminated the optical screen.

The Federal Special Service Bureau, designated Agency 11 internally within the Federation, operated five subordinate bureaus, externally referred to as the First through Fifth Departments of the Federal Special Management Committee. All members of the Special Service Bureau held the title of Investigator, yet in reality, every member possessed a formal rank within the Federal Military, all being active-duty soldiers of the Federation. Unlike departments such as the Military Intelligence Bureau, the Special Service Bureau’s authority rested not with the Ministry of War, but directly with the Federal Congress. Yet, because all members maintained active military status, the Special Service Bureau enjoyed a transcendent position within the Federation’s structure.

The Special Service Bureau’s First Department was responsible for intelligence gathering and investigation, tasked with monitoring the Federation’s fifty billion citizens and identifying all populations possessing the potential to spontaneously manifest supernatural abilities.

The Second Department handled research and development of equipment, as well as procurement. Weapons such as the Cryo-Ray Cannon were jointly developed under the purview of the Second Department.

The Third Department managed armed actions and clean-up operations. They were responsible for neutralizing ability users and martial artists who endangered Federal security, scrubbing the evidence from all forms of emergent incidents, and silencing the mouths of the Federal media. They concealed any secret they deemed unfit for Federal citizens to know.

The Fourth Department served as the internal security arm of the Special Service Bureau, responsible for cultivating and monitoring discovered ability users, while simultaneously investigating the loyalty of members within the Bureau itself. They were colloquially known as the Jinyiwei of the Special Service Bureau.

The Fifth Department was the general affairs division. They were tasked with cleaning up the messes left behind by registered Realm Masters who got into trouble—handling the tedious administrative tasks of the Bureau. If a Realm Master dined and dashed, assaulted a police officer, robbed a bank out of sheer boredom, or if an office printer’s ink cartridge ran out, these matters all fell to the Fifth Department to resolve.

As Joanna had described, the Special Service Bureau maintained its own armed forces, which even included two massive-scale military bases housing five divisions of Federal-level special operations forces, totaling 150,000 personnel, along with five publicly documented Realm Masters and twenty-seven secretly registered Realm Masters.

The Bureau's surveillance network blanketed the globe and every colony world. All official Federal medical units functioned as branch offices for the Special Service Bureau. Every infant underwent a comprehensive physical examination upon birth, and any infant exhibiting physical or psychic capabilities beyond the norm would be subjected to tracking and investigation for over eighteen years. Sometimes, the intensity of this investigation extended to three generations of the infant’s immediate lineage.

According to Federal propaganda, all Realm Masters possessed legal immunity. However, the Special Service Bureau wielded a sharply contrasting, special enforcement authority. Any Realm Master deemed a threat to Federal security would be hunted down and eliminated by the full force of the Special Service Bureau, requiring no adjudication from any judicial body.

The so-called legal immunity of Realm Masters was nothing more than a joke in the face of the Special Service Bureau’s special enforcement power!

Uriah, Director-General of the Special Service Bureau, held the rank of Colonel. The five Department Heads were Lieutenant Colonels. Direct commanders of operational teams and subordinate units held the rank of Major. The investigators within the Bureau ranged in rank from Major down to Second Lieutenant, but the lowest rank held was always Second Lieutenant. Uriah’s rank might not appear high, but the power he commanded surpassed that of any Field Marshal in a major Federal military region, perhaps even exceeding it, because no Field Marshal commanded such a large contingent of both overt and covert Realm Masters and ability users.

“A rather formidable organization.” After a cursory understanding of the Special Service Bureau’s structure, division of responsibilities, powers, and authority, Gu Xichen shut off the optical screen and clapped his hands once, sharply.

“It is indeed a formidable organization!” Uriah sneered without a hint of modesty. “The Special Service Bureau was formed on the very day the Federation’s first naturally-awakened ability user appeared. Since then, we have always maintained independent judicial authority and independent financial approval rights. I, or rather, we, do not appreciate having others dictate terms above us.”

Gu Xichen recalled Du Lengding and Hardman, who had resigned immediately after taking office. He finally understood the motivation behind their actions. Faced with such an overbearing department, who would genuinely dare to interfere with the Special Service Bureau’s affairs? Seeing it laid bare was genuinely startling; the Special Service Bureau was a veritable den of monsters. Good heavens, the Federation publicly acknowledged only about two dozen Realm Masters, yet the Bureau itself housed thirty-two!

And that was merely the number the Bureau declared outwardly. Who knew how many more monsters lurked within its five departments? The specific yield of Christo Crystals on Pluto remained a highly classified secret. Even with only a three percent survival rate, no one knew how many Christo Crystals Pluto produced annually, did they?

“Remarkably formidable,” Gu Xichen frowned. “It seems I have been played.” He looked at Uriah with complete frankness.

Uriah offered a slight, triumphant smile. “Precisely. Everyone who occupies your position initially feels that way. Given that we have reached an understanding now, how about we come to an amicable arrangement?”

Gu Xichen settled back into his chair and gestured for Uriah to speak freely.

The terms Uriah proposed were quite generous. Gu Xichen only needed to sign the necessary documents on schedule, ensuring the Special Service Bureau’s budget and various resources flowed unimpeded, and refrained from interfering with the Bureau’s operations in the Federal Congress. In return for Gu Xichen’s cooperation, the Special Service Bureau absolutely would not apply its special enforcement authority against Gu Xichen or those close to him, nor would it monitor their activities.

Regarding this last point, Uriah confided sincerely to Gu Xichen: All publicly documented Realm Masters in the Federation resided under the Bureau’s surveillance, including the 'Food King' who established the culinary empire. These Realm Masters appeared to hold immense status, yet a sharp sword hung over their heads. Every move they made, down to the moment they visited the latrine, was recorded. They could not obtain sufficient Zakkla crystals to aid their cultivation, receiving only a fixed allocation of ten cubic meters of Zakkla crystals from the Bureau annually.

If Gu Xichen accepted Uriah’s proposal, then Gu Xichen, Siren, and Aredia would truly possess legal immunity—or rather—

Uriah leaned both hands onto Gu Xichen’s desk, grinning at him. “Or rather, I am gifting you and those close to you genuine legal immunity!”

A gift? Or perhaps better described as a benefaction? Uriah’s tone easily conjured up words like ‘bestowal’ or ‘grace.’

Mo He snorted, instantly closing the distance behind Uriah and reaching for the man’s throat.

Gu Xichen watched Mo He’s move but remained silent; he wanted Mo He to gauge Uriah’s strength.

Uriah merely smiled. He flicked his right hand casually backward, intercepting Mo He’s arm precisely. A force akin to a tidal wave slammed into Mo He’s body, shoving him back a dozen paces. He staggered, spinning a few times before finally managing to steady himself.

“Your strength is quite decent. But Jupiter-level warriors? We have plenty of those in the Special Service Bureau.” Little Uriah smiled down at Gu Xichen, not even sparing Mo He a direct glance.

Gu Xichen’s face twitched. After a moment of deep thought, he extended his hand.

Uriah smiled and clasped Gu Xichen’s hand, nodding. “Excellent. You agree to my terms?”

Gu Xichen nodded, still not uttering a word.

Uriah looked at Gu Xichen’s impassive face, and a strange, unwelcome premonition suddenly struck him. He studied the hand he held for a moment, then stated formally, “I personally wish to maintain a good friendship with you, for you have an exceptionally powerful teacher, do you not? However, the Special Service Bureau is the Special Service Bureau!”

Taking a deep breath, Gu Xichen smiled. “I understand. The Special Service Bureau is the Special Service Bureau.”

Uriah nodded, releasing Gu Xichen’s hand with a smile. “You have a fine teacher, but it is said that after the Second Religious War, those mysterious powerhouses reached the Edict of Seclusion with the Federation. They will not intervene in Federal internal affairs. Any party that rashly interferes will face collective reprisal from the other powers. The Federal Congress is the Federal Congress; the Special Service Bureau is, well, the Special Service Bureau.”

Uriah fixed Gu Xichen with an intense gaze.

Gu Xichen returned the gaze just as piercingly. After a long pause, he gave a slight nod.

Uriah turned toward the door, satisfied. “That is ideal. It was worth waiting here since yesterday for you to finally take office.”

Passing by James William, Uriah casually kicked him, remarking flatly, “James has Vatican background; the Fourth Department’s internal investigation confirmed this. All his actions targeting you and your subordinates were his own initiative and have no bearing on the Special Service Bureau. I am officially discharging him; you are free to dispose of him as you see fit.”

James William had just regained consciousness from a prior blow. Hearing Uriah’s words so abruptly, he swooned again in despair.

Uriah gently opened the door and stepped out, politely closing the room behind Gu Xichen.

Gu Xichen placed both hands on his desk. After a long while, the desk suddenly softened, collapsing into a pliable mass.

“A show of force, was it?”

“Initially, I had little interest in the Special Service Bureau, but now? I find myself very interested in interfering within it.”

“It’s just that my current strength is insufficient; I must endure for a while longer.”

Gu Xichen suddenly smiled, a wicked, chilling expression that terrified the two helicopter pilots, who had just woken up, into fainting once more.

Build high walls, hoard ample provisions, and slow to claim kingship.