I am a necromancer, and I absolutely love America.

Dusk fell.

Richard stood by the window, looking at the manor, a significant asset that Brian had painstakingly accumulated throughout his life.

However, this small estate was not considered grand by the members of parliament; in fact, it was rather shabby.

"It's too small. It can't compare to those estates that cover hundreds or thousands of acres." Brian said somewhat awkwardly.

The garden was indeed meticulously maintained, but it clearly lacked rare and ancient trees.

There is only one main building, no central parking courtyard, no extra-long private driveway, and the auxiliary buildings are just two pitiful wooden buildings.

Brian came from a humble background and only managed to accumulate tens of millions of dollars in assets throughout his life. This is the only private property he can be proud of.

The small courtyard, with its few elegant wooden houses and pure white main building, could only be considered barely respectable, revealing the frugality of a politician from a humble background.

Of course, it wasn't that he wanted to be frugal; he was genuinely poor.

"Very good." Richard smiled.

Because the main building was too small, the banquet had to be held on the lawn in the courtyard.

The lawn was brightly lit, illuminating the entire yard.

The entire dinner was handled by a high-end private party company, with a huge, fully enclosed, temperature-controlled tent erected in the center of the lawn.

This is a luxurious facility designed specifically for high-end banquets. It is completely transparent, with clean and grand lines, and a dome at least 5 meters high, making it look extremely luxurious and elegant.

Richard was also seeing it for the first time and was quite curious.

Party company staff moved about, and neatly arranged flowers and food were displayed on the carefully wiped long tables and chairs.

"The situation is very bad. Those guys in the party seem to have other ideas, and I seem to have been excluded from the plans." Brian's face was grave as he pulled out a list of important personnel:

"This banquet is very important. These are the key people at today's banquet, and if we can get their support, things will improve. The most important of them all is Theodore Bounder."

Richard checked the list.

The first line is Theodore Bowend.

Brian stood next to Richard and began to introduce them:

"Theodore has served multiple terms as mayor of New York City, but stepped down more than a decade ago due to sex scandals and corruption. In the last two years, the hype has died down, and Theodore is planning a comeback to run for mayor again. He has been deeply involved in New York City for decades and has a considerable success rate. However, if he does this, he won't have many resources to support me, and I might have to sacrifice some of my interests to make way for his goals."

Brian put it bluntly: he had nothing to hide from Richard.

Moreover, he knew that Richard probably didn't understand politics, and if he spoke too subtly, Richard might not understand.

"...I was able to become the director of the NYPD, and later climb out of the NYPD to be elected to the House of Representatives, all because I clung to Theodore's coattails."

"Another important supporter is Alger Vaughn, the current governor of New York..."

"Alger Vaughn?" Even Richard had heard of this renowned name.

The Vaughn family, the legendary kings of New York, with three generations of ancestors serving as governors and several U.S. senators, have been deeply rooted in New York State for nearly a century.

The Vaughn family owns the famous Vaughn Real Estate Group, and the YC Apartments where Richard currently lives is a subsidiary of the Vaughn Real Estate Group.

"Alger and Theodore are my biggest backers and supporters," Brian said in a deep voice.

"Especially Theodore, his downfall was a huge blow to me. As for Alger, I wasn't too close to that guy; he was too greedy, and he kept threatening me with Marty. I couldn't afford his demands."

Richard didn't ask what the price was; it was nothing more than political collusion and the exchange of political resources.

He roughly understood Brian's current situation.

In summary, it was terrible.

With two powerful backers, one of whom has already fallen from grace and is striving to make a comeback, resources should be spent on oneself, and Brian might even have to repay them.

One of them turned his back on Brian and used his political enemies to threaten him in order to extract more benefits.

No wonder Brian's situation has been so bad this year.

On the card, the name on the second line is Warren Carter, the director of HRSA (Health Resources and Services Administration).

HRSA may sound unassuming, but it is actually a powerful department that controls the allocation of hundreds of billions of dollars in resources, as well as a large amount of federal medical resources, including not only pharmaceuticals and medical devices, but also more precious umbilical cord blood, bone marrow, and various human transplant organs.

Warren Carter wields immense power over resource allocation, and even a slight bias towards any city can have a significant impact on the election prospects of local politicians.

Therefore, Warren Carter has a huge influence.

"We were college classmates, and he has always been my supporter. There are rumors that he might be promoted to the next HHS (Department of Health and Human Services) Deputy Secretary. Of course, our relationship is not just friendship; there have been many exchanges of interests. However, with his imminent appointment as HHS Deputy Secretary, our positions are becoming unequal, which is a big problem."

Brian recalled the rumors circulating that the two were close friends of decades, and a disdainful sneer appeared on his lips.

There are no absolute friends; it's all just an exchange of value.

Richard understood this perfectly.

I used to be the director of HRSA, and you were a congressman. If you called me "classmate," I wouldn't mind.

Now, I, Warren Carter, am about to become the Deputy Secretary of HHS, entering the innermost circle of federal power.

You, Brian, are about to lose your seat in the House of Representatives, so what should you call me?

The last name on the card was: Christina Shepard.

Brian explained:

"Christina, Nobel Prize laureate in Medicine, member of the National Academy of Sciences, tenured professor at Princeton University, director of the cell laboratory, reviewer and editor-in-chief of multiple top journals and review committees, a top academic figure."

"Christina is not only good at research herself, but also good at cultivating talent. Among her students is a Nobel laureate, a Lasker Award winner who is believed to be likely to win the Nobel Prize within 20 years, five academicians, more than 20 others who hold teaching positions at Ivy League schools, and three of her students' startups that have successfully gone public. Her students and their descendants are everywhere in the New York healthcare system and in the entire federal medical, biological, and pharmaceutical fields."

"You must be careful of this woman! If you want to make it in the medical system, you absolutely cannot offend her. Although she may seem like just a professor with no real power, her students and associates are spread throughout the entire Federation. No powerful figure is willing to offend such a top academic tycoon in the field of medical biology."

Richard immediately became interested.

This woman is the best candidate to study immortality!

If we can win her over, we will not only gain a powerful researcher, but also a powerful research team, and even be able to use American funds to conduct our own research.

This is far more valuable than controlling Antonio!

Richard asked:

"What's she doing here? Is she short of research funding?"

Brian said:

"They don't lack it. Cell Labs receives a whopping $10 billion in funding annually, but HRSA controls the allocation of precious medical resources. I guess Christina probably wants Warren Carter's support."

Richard immediately decided that the third servant would be Christina!

Controlling her means controlling a top-tier laboratory, with a dozen professors, dozens of senior researchers, and hundreds of research assistants.

Isn't this much easier than Richard doing it himself?

Let Christina lead the charge and draw all attention.

He could simply hide in Christina's shadow and be an inconspicuous research assistant.

Gain knowledge, advance your progress through different branches, and even obtain the secret to immortality!

Even if she does something truly shocking, all eyes will be on Christina.

Nobel laureates are born to attract all kinds of hatred.

Richard himself was safe; no one would pay attention to a mere assistant, a student from the University of Tokyo, in the team.

Of course, if Christina really makes a breakthrough, Richard will also make her keep the results hidden and never reveal them to the world.

"Arrange a private meeting for me with her, without attracting attention."

---------------Christina Shepard Reference Image---------------