61: Chapter 61 Five-Star Card in Hand! Finally, I'm someone with status!

News of the trip to Vatican City continued to ferment on a global scale.

Meanwhile, Lin Zhou, who was at the center of the storm, had locked himself in his office, declining all media interviews and unnecessary meetings.

He knew very well that no matter how much he said now, it wouldn't be as persuasive as presenting actual results when the time came.

He was making the final preparations for this historic visit.

The diplomatic team led by Qin Yue was engaged in intensive communication with Vatican City regarding the schedule, topics of discussion, protocol arrangements, and other details of the visit.

Zhang Zhe's legal team was working overtime to study Vatican City's legal system and various international law cases regarding state recognition, preparing contingency plans for any legal issues Lin Zhou might encounter.

The entire makeshift administration was operating at high speed, revolving around this visit.

Just then, there was a knock on the office door.

The assistant, Su Qing, walked in, holding a red velvet document box.

"Head of State, someone from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs just delivered this, saying Director Zhou asked for it to be handed to you."

Lin Zhou was a bit surprised and took it.

Opening the box, an exquisitely crafted card lay quietly inside.

The card had a deep blue background with an embossed pattern of the Great Wall on the front. In the center were five gold-stamped pentagrams.

Below that, a line was printed: Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card of the People's Republic of China.

On the back were Lin Zhou's personal information and an ID photo.

Name: Lin Zhou.

Gender: Male.

Nationality: Cyber Freedom Republic.

This was the legendary 'five-star card'.

A tiny card, yet it represented the Chinese government's de facto recognition of his foreign status as the 'Head of State of the Cyber Freedom Republic'.

Although legally this was not equivalent to diplomatic recognition, on a practical level, this card granted Lin Zhou rights within China almost equal to those of a Chinese citizen. Whether it was travel, accommodation, finance, or medical care, everything would be seamless.

More importantly, it solved an identity problem that had been troubling Lin Zhou.

He was no longer an 'undocumented person' in a nationality gray zone.

He was now a legitimate foreign head of state holding a Chinese 'green card'.

"It came just in time."

Lin Zhou put the card away, a great weight lifting from his heart.

This card was like an amulet, giving him much less to worry about when handling domestic affairs.

Lin Zhou looked at the passport on the desk. It was a CFR passport produced in a rush. He had originally thought that for a country with only two citizens, there was no need to hurry with passports.

As it turned out, this step was indispensable, especially when he needed to go abroad himself. It seemed that after returning, he would have to gradually complete the rest of these national documents.

After dealing with this matter, Lin Zhou called over the Minister of Finance, Chen Yuan.

"Old Chen, how is the national treasury faring?"

At the mention of money, Chen Yuan's perpetually serious face finally showed a hint of a smile.

"Thanks to you, the situation is very optimistic."

He handed Lin Zhou the latest financial report.

"The first patent dividend from Wang Tao's side, 6.4 million dollars, has been received in full. The one million in broadcasting fees from your streaming platform has also been transferred. Plus the 50 million dollars in donations received recently."

Chen Yuan pointed to the last line of the report: "After deducting recent expenses, including holding the ceremony for establishing diplomatic relations and paying the relocation allowance for the new Ambassador, our treasury's available funds currently stand at over 130 million US dollars."

"Most importantly," Chen Yuan's tone carried a hint of excitement, "our Central Bank account has been officially activated. This money is now deposited in international banks under our own country's name. We have our first truly meaningful sovereign foreign exchange reserves."

Lin Zhou nodded. Though it wasn't much, this step of going from zero to one was crucial.

"How is the printing of 'Liberty Dollar' progressing?"

"Very smoothly," Chen Yuan said. "The Central Bank is pushing it forward as a key project. They've deployed the best engravers and printing equipment. The first batch of commemorative banknotes is expected to be delivered before your visit to Vatican City."

"Excellent." Lin Zhou was very satisfied with the progress. "And the stamps?"

"The postal system has also reached a cooperation agreement with the largest domestic stamp printing factory. The first edition of the 'genesis' commemorative stamps will be delivered at the same time as the banknotes."

Chen Yuan paused and raised a new question.

"Head of State, once the banknotes and stamps are printed, how do we sell them? We can't have you personally hawking them online, can we? We need an official sales channel."

This was indeed a problem.

Lin Zhou thought for a moment. "How about establishing a national-level e-commerce company specifically responsible for selling our official souvenirs, such as currency, stamps, medals, and even various cultural and creative products in the future?"

"That works," Chen Yuan nodded. "But this requires professional operation. We are currently lacking a talent who understands business, especially e-commerce."

"Talent..." A name instantly flashed through Lin Zhou's mind.

He took out his phone and dialed a number he hadn't contacted in a long time.

The phone rang for a long time before it was picked up.

"Hello, who is this?" On the other end of the phone came a slightly decadent and weary voice.

"Wang Dong, it's me, Lin Zhou."

The other end of the phone fell into a long silence.

For Wang Dong, the founder of Shanyue Technology, this name was nothing short of a nightmare.

Ever since he had publicly mocked Lin Zhou at the annual meeting and ended up getting slapped in the face in return, his company had fallen into a series of troubles.

First, several major investors had heard about the incident from somewhere and called one after another to question him why he would offend a mysterious figure who could get in touch with the Egyptian Military.

Following that, several important projects the company was negotiating also fell through for no apparent reason.

The company's stock price plummeted, nearly being cut in half.

Wang Dong was overwhelmed with anxiety but could never find the cause. He vaguely felt that he had kicked an invisible iron plate.

And now, this iron plate had taken the initiative to call him.

"Mr... Mr. Lin," Wang Dong's voice carried a hint of imperceptible trembling. "What... what can I do for you?"

He lowered his posture significantly.

Lin Zhou didn't waste words with him and got straight to the point.

"I've looked at your company's recent financial reports. The situation doesn't seem very good."

Wang Dong's heart sank abruptly.

"I have an opportunity here that can bring you and your company back to life." Lin Zhou's voice carried an irresistible magic. "Are you interested in working for me?"