After the spiritual energy was restored: Goddess girlfriends came knocking.

Enter the conference room.

There were more than a dozen people sitting inside, including Xu Su, Qin Su, and Cheng Yuan.

As soon as Lin Chu stepped inside, she saw Lu Qingyuan sitting at the head of the table, nodding to her.

"Chief," Lin Chu said, somewhat surprised, "You're attending this meeting too?"

Lu Qingyuan smiled and said, "Let's see the first minister of the new department officially take office for the first time."

Lin Chu smiled and sat down in the main seat.

The conference room lights dimmed, and a satellite projection of the blue planet appeared on the screen.

Lu Chenghong stood up, picked up the remote control, and began to report on the current situation.

The situation in Yingzhou is currently the most dire.

There is ample evidence to suggest that external forces have indeed secretly taken control of some of Yingzhou's high-ranking officials.

The giant bear that invaded the border last time was their doing.

"And the most troublesome thing is," Lu Chenghong pushed up his glasses, "that the Prime Minister of Yingzhou seems to be cooperating with them. Last time, that giant bear also caused a lot of damage in Yingzhou, but the authorities did not react at all."

Xu Su snorted coldly: "Expect them to protect their own people? What a joke."

Immediately afterwards, a set of surveillance footage from Yaohui City appeared on the screen.

On a dimly lit street late at night, a lone commuter is swallowed by shadows at the alley entrance.

The timestamp in the lower right corner of the screen is ticking at an extremely fast speed.

"In just one month, the number of people missing in Yaohui City has exceeded three thousand, but the official response from the United States of Radiance..." Lu Chenghong paused, "...is almost nonexistent."

"It's almost certain that this was also the work of cultivators from outside the region," Qin Su interjected, her voice cold.

"Our colleagues in the United States of Radiance have reported that more than one underground blood pool has been discovered in the suburbs of Radiant City, which resembles some kind of sacrificial ritual."

"The intelligence agencies in the United States of America wanted to investigate, but each time they were stopped halfway through."

There was a moment of silence in the meeting room.

"To what extent has it been infiltrated?" Cheng Yuan asked.

Qin Su shook her head: "It's hard to say, but judging from the current signs, at least the high-level decision-making chain has been affected."

The meeting then presented intelligence from several other countries.

A colossal ice dragon, hundreds of meters long, was discovered deep within the icy plains of the Winter Federation. It moved freely on the ice, and military aircraft tracking it had their signals jammed.

"In addition, signs of strange beast activity have been found in at least a dozen small and medium-sized countries, and three of these countries have formally requested assistance from the international community."

Lin Chu's gaze swept across the various scenes.

Lu Qingyuan spoke up: "The situation in Great Xia is relatively stable at present. On the one hand, it is because the powerful figures of Longting and Tushan have a deterrent effect within the territory. On the other hand, it is because we started our cooperation with external forces earliest and most deeply."

"In this respect, Minister Lin's contribution is irreplaceable."

Everyone present looked at Lin Chu.

Lin Chu waved her hand: "It's my duty."

Lu Qingyuan nodded slightly and continued looking at Lin Chu: "Minister Lin, as you have seen, you may need to make a formal public appearance in a few days."

"On the surface, it's announcing the formal establishment of the Department of Foreign Affairs and its subsequent work arrangements, but in reality, it's also about reassuring the public."

Then Lu Qingyuan glanced at Xu Su.

Xu Su cleared his throat and took over the conversation: "A lot of people have become more aware in the army recently. The number of people transferred from various war zones alone has formed a reinforced regiment."

"Some of these young people are indeed very talented, but they are also quite wild and difficult to manage."

"Although everyone has started training, Awakened Ones are born with special abilities, and ordinary soldiers can't do anything about them. Sometimes even the instructors' words don't have much effect."

He looked at Lin Chu, his tone somewhat helpless: "So I would like to ask Minister Lin to come in person, so that they know there are mountains beyond mountains."

"When?"

"It depends on Minister Lin's schedule."

"No problem, I'll contact you then."

The meeting lasted until evening, with each topic being finalized one by one. Lin Chu listened for most of the time, occasionally speaking a word or two, but every word she uttered was given special attention.

End of the meeting.

Lu Chenghong accompanied him towards the teleportation array.

"Minister Lin, that young man Sun Hu is quite good; he deserves special attention and training."

"Zhao Qing is very capable at work, but she has a somewhat eccentric personality. Please be more tolerant of her."

"Su Ming is a talented person. His sensitivity to spiritual energy is indeed very high. We can make more use of him for intelligence analysis in the future."

Lin Chu listened attentively and nodded.

……

The teleportation array lit up.

When I opened my eyes again, I was in a stone pavilion on the back hill of a villa in Shenzhen.

He had just stepped out of the array when a red light streaked towards him from the direction of the villa.

Ruoshui landed in front of him, grabbed his hand, looked up at him, and her fox eyes sparkled.

"My husband."

She rarely calls him that.

Lin Chu looked completely bewildered.

As she pulled him into the villa, Ruoshui stood on tiptoe and covered his eyes with both hands.

"No peeking."

Lin Chu was helpless; she wondered what the point of covering it up was.

But we still cooperated and moved forward.

After walking a dozen steps, Ruoshui let go of her hand.

Lin Chu opened her eyes and was stunned for a moment.

The hall was filled with colorful, luminous lanterns, each one suspended in mid-air and slowly rotating, its wicks glowing with a soft, dreamlike light.

On the table was a huge multi-tiered cake, with intricate golden patterns drawn on the cream surface using spiritual runes. In the very center stood several small figures formed from spiritual energy. Upon closer inspection, the figures were indeed his likeness, holding bows and arrows and shooting them into the sky. In the direction the arrows pointed, a cluster of pale golden spiritual light fireworks exploded.

Several dishes made with spiritual ingredients were also laid out around the dining table, including braised fish, lamb chops, and sweet flower-stuffed chicken.

The air was filled with the aroma of delicious food, mixed with the refreshing scent of lantern flames.

Lin Chu remembered what day it was today.

Today is his birthday according to the Gregorian calendar.

I rarely celebrate my birthday. The last time I celebrated my birthday was when my roommates organized one in college.

"How is it!" Ruoshui took his arm, her fox tail swaying excitedly behind her. "We prepared it together!"

Cang Yao stepped forward, her voice gentle: "Husband, happy birthday."

Caiwei held a neatly folded new Taoist robe in her hands. The robe was embroidered with extremely fine array patterns in gold thread, which she had sewn herself.

She handed over the Taoist robe, looked up at Lin Chu, and said with a hint of expectation in her eyes, "Happy birthday. I wonder if it fits."

Lin Chu took the Taoist robe, put it into his storage ring, and nodded seriously to Caiwei: "It will definitely fit perfectly."

"You haven't tried it yet."

"It was made by Caiwei; you know it will fit perfectly without even trying it on."

Caiwei's ears turned slightly red, she lowered her eyes, but the corners of her mouth curled up.

Xiao Xiao stood to the side, holding a jade pendant high in both hands. The pendant was carved with a cute turtle, its head raised and gazing at the sky, looking lifelike.

"Brother Lin Chu! This is a talisman I carved using the breath of the Black Tortoise. It's infused with a wisp of my sister's true dragon power. It will automatically activate when in danger, blocking one fatal blow, and more!"

She flipped it over and pointed to the turtle.

"I carved this turtle myself! Isn't it cute?"

Lin Chu looked at the lifelike and adorable little turtle on the jade pendant.

He took the jade pendant, looked down at Xiaoxiao's smug expression as if she were showing off a treasure, and reached out to ruffle her hair: "Cute, I like it very much."

Xiao Xiao squinted her eyes and rubbed her hand against his palm.