85: Chapter 85 Consumption After the Tumultuous Changes in New York

Inside the mall, upon hearing the figure of ten million dollars, Maya Rodriguez behind Chen Mu drew in a sharp breath.

Ten million dollars a year? When she was an NYPD detective, her annual salary was just over seventy thousand. Even if she were promoted to chief, it would take over a decade of saving every penny.

Has the housing market in New York gone this insane?

But A-Zu, after hearing this, only tilted his head slightly, his expression completely unchanged.

This made the entire presidential entourage lose confidence, wondering if they had set the price too low.

Just as everyone was privately speculating, A-Zu spoke.

"What is ten million dollars?"

For a moment, there was complete silence. The President and the Secretary of State exchanged glances, while the Secretary of the Treasury racked his brains, trying to figure out how to explain the concept of purchasing power to an alien who had arrived on Earth less than a day ago.

Seeing the Secretary of the Treasury's awkward predicament, Kara's lips curved slightly upward. Unhurriedly, she took over the conversation: "What His Highness the Prince means is, what is the monthly cost of living for an ordinary human on your street?"

Everyone fell silent again. If the previous question required some thought, this one completely stumped everyone present.

Because these high-ranking officials genuinely did not know how much an ordinary New York resident needed to spend per month in the current, post-upheaval New York.

At that moment, the President's gaze swept over the sidewalk outside the mall and suddenly fixed on a spot.

A young man with a backpack was standing outside the glass curtain wall, holding up a phone, its camera aimed in their direction. However, he seemed to be struggling with the glare on the glass, anxiously adjusting the angle.

He looked about sixteen or seventeen, wearing glasses. The collar of his plaid shirt was slightly wrinkled, as if he hadn't had time to tidy it after getting up in the morning.

"Hey, kid."

The President waved at him.

The young man looked left and right, confirmed he was being called, then hesitantly stepped sideways through the door.

"Come here, come here." A trademark smile spread across the President's face. "Young man, what's your name?"

The high school student was momentarily stunned, clearly not expecting to be called out by the President on the street. He instinctively adjusted his glasses. His eyes, behind the lenses, swept over the group before him, widening instantly when they landed on Chen Mu.

"Peter Parker, Mr. President."

His voice was a bit nervous, but his gaze kept involuntarily darting toward Chen Mu before quickly snapping back.

The President's smile widened. He pulled a crisp new hundred-dollar bill from his suit's inner pocket and flicked it between two fingers.

"Peter, do me a favor. Answer a question for me. Tell me, how much does it cost for your family to live for a month right now? Be honest."

Parker swallowed. His eyes bounced several times between the bill in the President's hand and Chen Mu. Then, taking a deep breath, he reported.

"Mr. President, because the Ball Chief said he would open up interstellar trade, supplies have actually become more abundant than before, which has caused prices to drop a bit. However, rent has increased a lot."

"If you own your own home, monthly expenses are probably around five to six thousand dollars. If you don't own a home and need to rent, especially a single room—even a small one—it could cost over ten thousand dollars now."

The President's fingers holding the bill stiffened. He quickly exchanged a glance with the Secretary of the Treasury, who lowered his head, not daring to meet his eyes.

The President turned back and continued asking, "And what do your parents do? How much do they earn a month?"

Parker lowered his head and said softly, "My parents passed away a long time ago. I live with my uncle and aunt now. My Uncle Ben is a construction worker."

He shifted his gaze to Chen Mu, who was standing to the side. Suddenly, his eyes lit up.

"All thanks to the Ball Chief. New York is in a massive development phase now. Buildings are going up everywhere, intersections are being repaired. Construction workers' wages have already risen to over twenty thousand dollars a month recently."

He spoke with an undisguised reverence and gratitude.

The President's smile froze for a second, then he suddenly laughed. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the remaining six hundred-dollar bills and shoved them all forward.

"Alright, kid, you're done here."

But Parker suddenly withdrew both his hands and stood up straight. "Mr. President! I don't want the money."

He pushed his glasses up. His gaze passed over the President, landing squarely on the silent figure behind him.

"Can... can I have an autograph from the Ball Chief?"

Maya couldn't help but smile, glancing at Chen Mu.

The President paused for a beat, then let out a hearty laugh.

He tapped his forehead with the bills, then turned to look at Chen Mu. "You little rascal. Even I don't have the Ball Chief's autograph. What do you suggest?"

The corner of Chen Mu's lips lifted slightly. He had seen too many sycophantic smiles directed at him, smiles that were nauseating.

But he could tell that Peter Parker's respect wasn't feigned; it was genuinely from the heart.

He took the black gel pen Maya handed him and beckoned to Parker. "Come here, young Parker."

Parker hurried over, rummaged through his backpack, and pulled out a dog-eared notebook. His hands trembled slightly as he offered it.

Chen Mu signed his name on an inner page of the notebook.

Looking at the line of characters, Parker's eyes suddenly reddened.

He clutched the notebook tightly to his chest as if protecting a priceless treasure.

"Here," Chen Mu tilted his head toward Maya beside him. "Take a picture of us."

Maya raised her phone.

Parker stood beside Chen Mu, holding the notebook in both hands, his smile as bright as if he'd just gotten into Harvard.

The moment the flash went off, the light in the young man's eyes reached its peak.

After the photo, Chen Mu put away the marker pen and patted his head. "Alright, kid, back to school. Today's adventure ends here."

Parker took a few steps back before turning and running out of the mall. He ran fast, looking back every now and then as if to confirm it wasn't a dream.

Before the glass door closed behind him, everyone heard his barely suppressed cheer: "Whoa!"

Watching his retreating figure, a line of ancient poetry inexplicably popped into Chen Mu's mind: "The immortal touched my crown, and I received the gift of eternal life."

Kara watched Parker's distant figure thoughtfully, her antennae tilting slightly toward Chen Mu's direction, as if analyzing something.

The President cleared his throat and turned back to A-Zu. "Alright, you heard that just now. So, about the rent?"

A-Zu didn't answer immediately. He turned his head slightly and looked at Kara.

No words passed between them, only their antennae swayed slightly in the air.

A moment later, Kara turned to face the group.

"Ten million dollars a year for rent is acceptable."

Her tone shifted. "But there's a small problem. We don't have any of your currency."

"That's simple," Chen Mu said casually. "You can take out a loan from Earth's civilization—borrow the money."

"The funds will be deposited into your account. You can use it to pay rent, buy things, and repay it later once you earn money. As for interest, we'll follow Earth's standard rates."

Kara's two antennae slowly curved into crescent moons, lightly touching the skin of her forehead. "Then we'd like to borrow fifty million dollars."

"That's not a problem," the Secretary of the Treasury immediately said. "We'll take you all to open bank accounts and handle a series of identification procedures shortly. We've already prepared a special alien processing channel. The process will be very quick."

As everyone nodded in satisfaction, the President suddenly stepped forward, clasping his hands in front of him, his thumbs rubbing against each other.

"Mr. A-Zu, we still don't know... what exactly are the goods your civilization intends to sell to Earth?"

A-Zu remained silent. Karl, standing beside him, stepped forward. He raised his right hand, bringing his thumb and middle finger together, and gave a gentle snap.

*Snap!*

A crisp sound echoed through the quiet hall. A wisp of flame emerged from his fingertip.

It pulsed gently at Karl's fingertip, expanding and contracting like a heartbeat. Each pulse stirred a faint halo of light in the air.

Karl's gaze swept over the faces of the officials, frozen in astonishment before him, and said:

"Supernatural Abilities!!!"