This winter is exceptionally cold, and Washington sees snow three days before Christmas. During the first televised speech of the new president, snowflakes drift down outside the White House window. Clark Kent, dressed in a Christmas sweater, sits in front of the camera, responding to the Western world's expectations in a very relaxed manner.
"I'm delighted to meet you today. Have you bought the food for the Christmas dinner? Is the Christmas tree already inside your home? I know you are all sitting tensely in front of your televisions, not to hear these everyday greetings. But I still want to say, nothing is more important than the days you are living right now. All our efforts are just to help you focus on these mundane and trivial daily issues.
The last time you saw me, I was just a superpower user and superhero, but today I've become president. Many of you might find it hard to adjust. You worry whether I'll become like most presidents or even worse. Because you didn't vote for me, and I didn't make any promises to you. It seems not democratic at all. You're concerned that I might not care about your group, might ignore and abandon some people.
Perhaps you already know that I am not human, and precisely because of this, I don't belong to any human group. As an alien, I regard you as a whole; no group among you is more noble or inferior to me than any other. How I treat you depends on what the human race and human civilization need most.
I believe many are well aware that we are now facing the issue of Mars people infiltration. To solve the activation tower, we need to develop industry, delve into technology, and strive to progress. I have no goals beyond these. And to achieve all this, you need to remain healthy, stable, and educated.
Most people sitting in front of the television currently do not meet this standard. But this is not your fault; it's the fault of society. My work goal moving forward is to correct these errors and elevate most people to a level where they can contribute to societal advancement.
Speaking of social degeneration, this is not the fault of one or two people but a kind of inertia in social evolution. However, if we want healing, we inevitably need to cut into the errors. As an alien staying on Earth to spend Christmas with you, I certainly recognize the beautiful aspects of humanity, believing humanity is full of hope, which is why I choose to stay. So I believe you'll willingly make changes to remove society's deep-seated issues.
Christmas is just around the corner; families and friends are about to gather together. Even such heavy snowfall cannot hinder the connection between people. When you exchange gifts with your loved ones in a house warmed by the fireplace, please also think about the future of humanity. Even before the birth of the Lord Jesus, he had ample time to listen to anyone's confession. So, to prevent God from being disappointed in humanity once more, let's recite the prayer silently again and greet the new year with a fresh face."
With a click, the television was turned off. Shiller smiled and clinked glasses with the woman in front of him, saying, "It's a great speech, isn't it?"
"Somewhat... original," the woman in the dress pondered before speaking, "Other presidents wouldn't say such a lengthy new year greeting. Perhaps our newly appointed Mr. President is still not quite adjusted."
"Let's not talk about him," Shiller continued, "Is your sister's inheritance settled?"
"Ah, of course. I must say your reminder was very timely. I never expected she'd plot against our father's will right after finding a reliable husband. Fortunately, her husband, who is involved in smuggling business, has lots of enemies..."
"Will you accept her children?"
"No, no, no, I won't raise her children. Aunt Caroline might be willing; if not, they'll probably have to be sent to welfare," the woman shrugged lightly, "But she deserved it; she thought she married into a wealthy family but went on a date with Death Comes. Have you seen her corpse?"
"Yes, very unfortunate. A blow to the back of the head, and the killer left too quickly, likely done by Mars people. Oh, by the way, our President was there too."
"Isn't he also a Mars person? Why couldn't he stop it?"
Shiller laughed again, saying, "Because we're partners, aren't we?"
The woman caught on and laughed too, taking a sip of her wine, but she seemed to hear something suddenly. She turned to the man standing at the door and asked, "Amby, what's going on downstairs?"
"Uh, the tax bureau's people are here."
The woman rolled her eyes and said, "Send the lawyer to deal with them; don't cause me trouble."
"Is it okay?" Shiller asked.
"Don't worry about it; I'm using accounts from Hong Kong, they won't be able to trace them. After all, my family came over during World War II; the new tax law has no effect on us."
Shiller nodded, continuing to chat with her about her sister's situation. But after a few minutes, the noise downstairs didn't diminish but was instead followed by a series of crashing and screaming.
"What's going on?" The woman frowned, nodding at Shiller, and got up to head downstairs.
She had just gone down two steps when she raised her hands and retreated back; a golden trident shimmering with a cold light was pointing at her forehead.
"Mrs. Fapas, Arthur Curry from the Justice League Tax Special Action Team. Please cooperate with our investigation, thank you."
The woman turned pale and trembled. She turned to look at Shiller, finding him also raising his hands, saying to Arthur, "Mr. Curry, I think you can have a good talk, don't be too..."
"I have nothing to talk about with someone using illegal means for tax evasion. Ma'am, you now have two choices: either pay the owed taxes immediately, or come with us."
"I'm not evading taxes!" The woman screamed, "The tax bureau has already checked, and my capital flow is normal! You have no evidence!"
"We don't need evidence," Arthur shook his head, "We only need 95% of your assets. Now go settle them immediately, or sign the will; we'll talk to the heirs."
"You all..."
"Madam! Madam!" Shiller quickly shouted. He hurried to the woman's side and lowered his voice, saying, "The Justice League members are superpower users. If they kill you and destroy the evidence, the police won't find anything. Once you're dead, they can modify the will at will."
"This is outrageous!" the woman screamed in despair, "Why is no one protecting us!"
"Sorry, but I've stepped down as the head of A.R.G.U.S.," Shiller sighed, "For now, we need to hold them off."
Then he turned to Arthur and said, "Mr. Curry, 95% of the assets is too outrageous. Can we negotiate?"
"It's the requirement of the New Tax Law: part of it is back taxes, part is late fees, and part is the handling fees for asset liquidation, plus the labor fees of the Justice League for tax retrieval. Even if you find the best actuary, it would still be 95%."
"No, no, no, I mean, can we reconsider the scope of the asset delineation? This lady has many charitable funds and overseas assets and trusts..."
"There are no overseas assets anymore," Arthur pointed the golden trident at the woman's head, stepped up the stairs, and then gave a look to the tax staff behind. The other party directly took out a document.
Shiller carefully reached out to take it, glanced at it, then took a gasp of surprise, and walked to the woman's side, whispering, "It's the data from a bank in Asia."
"Damn it! How could they..."
"Hard to say, madam. After all, they had technical cooperation before to pull out the nails, and the tax bureau can negotiate terms with them."
"...Only in Asia?"
"Also Switzerland and Belgium."
The woman's face became even more unsightly. She gritted her teeth and said, "The property in Switzerland belongs to my husband, I can't give it to them."
Shiller looked at Arthur again and said, "I think we shouldn't provoke marital disputes at this time to destroy others' families. Can we consider letting go of the overseas assets in Switzerland..."
"The cash must be fully handed over," Arthur said, "and I won't give you time to transfer it. It must be immediately transferred into my department's account. In that case, I might disregard the physical assets in Europe."
Shiller breathed a sigh of relief and said to the woman, "That's the only way. If you don't give it, and they reach an agreement with the European government and directly confiscate the real estate, it will be even more troublesome."
"But that's almost all my assets! I have over ten billion US Dollars just in the transaction accounts..."
Before she finished speaking, the golden trident pointed forward, and a chilling wind brushed past the woman's forehead. She could only tremble and say, "Don't, don't do this, I'll authorize the transactions right now..."
The woman shakily signed all the documents. Arthur glanced at Shiller and then said, "Come with me, we need to discuss the issue with the president."
Shiller gave the woman an apologetic look, then followed Arthur. After leaving the villa, Shiller pursed his lips, showing a disdainful expression, and said, "I thought it was a big catch, but it turns out the main assets were on her husband's side. Miscalculation."
"Over a hundred billion US Dollars in cash for transactions is not big enough?" Arthur asked in shock.
Shiller shook his head and said, "He just inherited the estate from her sister and her sister's new husband. I thought these things would remain in his hands, but it turns out they were transferred."
"Transferred to her husband? Should we go find him?"
"Her husband is one of the industrial giants who monopolized the shipbuilding industry in All America. The family has been around since WWII, with a solid foundation. I'll send someone to probe first..."
Before he finished speaking, Shiller's phone rang. He picked it up and said, "Mr. Fapas? Yes, it's me. You want to contact the president? Is there something up?"
"Ah, I just heard. I'm sorry about your wife. Do you want the president to advocate for you? What? Voluntarily handing over?!... I see, okay, I'll report truthfully to the president. He's sure to be pleased with your support of his new policy. Alright, goodbye."
"What happened?" Arthur asked, "Isn't her husband going to complain to the president?"
"Quite the opposite, her husband voluntarily surrendered almost all the cash in his financial accounts and transferred shares of hundreds of factories in the industrial chain to the state account."
"Why?!" Arthur asked in surprise, "That must be worth tens of billions of US Dollars! Is he just willing to give it up like that?"
"It's not about being willing; it's about being smart," Shiller said. "This kind of fishing method is only effective on some young upstarts. It's useless against these old foxes. They know their entire wealth and life depend on Mr. President now. As a ransom, this is not enough."
Shiller took out his phone, sending messages as he said, "Have Victor check again and get a detailed report on overseas assets, then negotiate terms with them. At the very least, we need to secure the shares of several major shipyards."