Mu You tapped his fingers lightly on the table. After pondering for a moment, he asked a very practical question. "What benefits would I get if I joined you?"
Zhang Yang paused, not having expected Mu You to ask so bluntly.
Still, this was a good sign. His willingness to ask meant he was at least not entirely uninterested; he simply needed a more convincing reason.
Zhang Yang considered his wording before speaking. "First, if you join the Anomaly Investigation Bureau, I'll arrange for you to come aboard as an external special operative. Mind you, that external status isn't a disadvantage, but an advantage. As an external operative, your relationship with the state would be a partnership. You'd only answer to me personally. That means you wouldn't have to accept mandatory missions from headquarters. You could decide for yourself whether to accept any mission. Any spoils you obtained during missions would also count as your personal property, without having to be turned over and redistributed. On top of all that, you'd still enjoy all the benefits of a full member..."
Mu You was taken aback. "Your Anomaly Investigation Headquarters would accept that kind of arrangement?"
Going by Zhang Yang's explanation, this external operative could enjoy every resource while refusing orders. That practically made him a privileged member of the bureau!
"They wouldn't have before, but they will now," Zhang Yang said.
"Oh? How so?"
Zhang Yang smiled wryly. "Right now, it might look like the country prepared for everything well in advance and has handled every storm of this superpowered age beautifully. In reality, undercurrents are already stirring everywhere, and the higher-ups have their hands full. To put it plainly, the experts may have run their simulations, but this is still everyone's first time putting things into practice. Every country