67: Chapter 67 Don't serve the food yet.

In the car, Chen Mu opened the system panel. The fear value on the panel: 260 million.

Moreover, it was only increasing slowly by a few hundred at a time, and it was even continuously decreasing.

This was simply unreasonable. One must know that Chen Mu had been elected Blue Star Planet Chief under a global live broadcast and had announced that he was about to open interstellar trade for Blue Star, yet the fear value had only increased by thirty million.

Chen Mu looked down at the saliva stain on his shiny leather shoes, and Sima Bei's fawning face popped into his mind once again.

"Oh no, I've become the sun!"

Chen Mu instantly figured out the crux of the matter. Now, he—and even the entire Guga Civilization he had fabricated—had been deified.

As a god, it was obvious that whatever He did was reasonable and not worth making a fuss over; naturally, there would be no shock.

Even if Chen Mu announced that he would destroy Blue Star tomorrow, these people would only feel that they had long known this day would come, and then close their eyes to wait for death without a single shred of shock.

This signified that the Blue Star populace's tolerance toward Chen Mu had been raised infinitely. Although Chen Mu could still spend a large amount of fear value to force a breakthrough of this limit, it was clearly not worth the cost. It might even result in a situation where spending a billion fear value only yielded one million.

It seemed it was time to arrange for Danzo and the new civilization to make their appearance.

——————

As the private jet accelerated on the runway, Chen Mu had already slumped into the large leather seat.

He loosened his tie and kicked the pair of leather shoes that Sima Bei had licked into a corner, sinking into the backrest as if his bones had been removed.

Outside the porthole, the New York skyline was slowly shrinking. The flag printed with the chibi Gugu Gaga was still fluttering in front of the United Nations Headquarters; even from this distance, a patch of black and white could be seen.

Maya sat opposite him, holding a tablet in her hand, which was densely packed with various data for tonight's banquet.

"This banquet is scheduled at the Hilton Hotel near the White House," Maya reported. "The number of confirmed attendees is currently three thousand."

"Besides national representatives and accompanying journalists, there are also some non-governmental representatives, mainly CEOs of major conglomerates, several tech bloggers with over ten million followers on social media, and two A-list Hollywood stars."

"Three thousand people." Chen Mu pulled his gaze back from outside the porthole. "Can the Hilton's largest ballroom accommodate three thousand people?"

"Originally no, but they tore down all the partition walls between three ballrooms and requisitioned all the adjacent meeting rooms and lounges, opening them up into a single space."

"The hotel management said this is the largest renovation in their history. From receiving the notice to completing the construction, it took a total of..."

Maya glanced down at the tablet. "Four hours. The construction crew was the Army Corps of Engineers dispatched directly by the White House."

Chen Mu smiled slightly. It seemed the White House indeed attached great importance to his inauguration banquet as the Ball Chief.

"Are there any specific arrangements for the seating of the national representatives?"

"The representatives of the Permanent Five will sit at the main table with you. Representatives of other countries are seated according to their national GDP."

Maya's finger swiped on the tablet. "The head chef has drafted three menus: French, Japanese, and Chinese cuisine, waiting for your final decision."

"Regarding drinks, a French representative privately donated twelve bottles of Romanee-Conti as a 'gift to celebrate the Ball Chief's inauguration.' Additionally, there will be a live band performance midway through the banquet. I've sent the setlist to your phone."

"You arrange it," Chen Mu said casually. "Also, tonight, our fleet's Chief of Staff will also be coming to Blue Star."

Maya's finger stopped on the tablet. "Chief of Staff? The one you mentioned before who was sent to supervise you?"

"Mhm."

"Then should I send someone to pick him up in advance? Or notify the White House to arrange the highest level of security?"

Maya chuckled, covering her mouth. "Let's not have him caught by me as a homeless man again, like last time."

Chen Mu looked at her and smiled too. "Not everyone is as easy to talk to as I am, Maya."

"I know him; his entrance will definitely be exceptionally high-profile. There's no need to worry about people not recognizing him."

Maya changed the subject. "Then do the dinner arrangements need to be adjusted? If the Chief of Staff is also attending, the seating at the main table will need to be rearranged, and his security level..."

"No need." Chen Mu raised his hand. "Just tell the kitchen to serve the food later."

"Serve the food later?" Maya blinked.

Chen Mu laughed. "When the Chief of Staff makes his entrance, it's bound to be very lively. At that time, I reckon the banquet won't be able to continue. You understand, right?"

"So," Maya used all the professional decorum she possessed, "you mean that serving the food later can save on the cost of the dishes, and the budget can be used for more..."

"The money saved will be given to you as a bonus," Chen Mu said.

"Huh?" Maya was stunned. No matter how bad she was at math, she knew this was a massive amount of money.

"You're not joking, are you?"

"What do you think?"

The plane landed at Washington Dulles International Airport. The moment the cabin door opened, a familiar wave of sound surged forward like a tsunami.

The runway was already packed with people, several times more than the crowd outside the United Nations.

Countless chibi Ninth Princess flags fluttered in the wind. The shouts of "Gugu Gaga" were deafening, and some people were even holding up a giant, hand-sewn Gugu Gaga plushie.

Chen Mu stood at the top of the air stairs, glanced down, and then simply gave a brief wave before quickening his pace to get into the waiting Cadillac armored sedan, swiftly leaving the airport and heading straight for the Hilton Hotel.

——————

The banquet was held in the three ballrooms of the Hilton Hotel that had been forcibly opened up by the Army Corps of Engineers.

Three thousand people swarmed into this makeshift giant space, like three thousand sardines stuffed into a tin can lined with gold wallpaper.

The air was filled with the scents of champagne, high-end perfume, and the subtle aroma of the mixed fermentation of power and money.

Chen Mu was surrounded by a crowd, like a social media check-in spot forced into business.

Silver trays carried by waiters drifted past him, and he didn't even have time to take a glass.

"Ball Chief! This is the CEO of Lockheed Martin! He heard you opened up the mecha technology and was so excited he hasn't slept for three days! He said he must thank you in person for your outstanding contribution to the cause of human defense!" The President eagerly introduced him to Chen Mu.

Chen Mu reached out and was grasped by a pair of sweaty hands.

The CEO's eyes were brimming with tears as he shook Chen Mu's hand up and down. "Ball Chief! The design of your mecha's power core is simply genius! Our entire R&D department studied it for three days and nights, and finally reached a conclusion: this is a miracle! Only a civilization of gods could create such technology."

Chen Mu could only smile politely.

Next were agricultural giants, energy giants, several invisible tycoons whose names he couldn't recall but who supposedly controlled half of Africa's minerals, and a short man waving a checkbook and shouting.

"Ball Chief, your banquet tickets can rise to fifty thousand dollars on the secondary market, which shows that your IP value has already surpassed any human star. I personally suggest you launch the global operation of the Ball Chief personal brand as soon as possible."

Just as the smile on Chen Mu's face was about to degrade from precise control to muscle memory, the President pulled him in front of a man who stood out from the rest.