In New China, a mafia overlord called Lao Xu obtained a cure for ageing. Also, he stole mind and body cloning technologies from other countries, and used them to become immortal by memory transfer.

After that, he founded the Laoxist Church, proclaiming himself as blessed by the gods. Through faked death ceremonies, he showed his immortality to the people and used his political influence to give favors to politicians who supported his cult.

More than 200 years later, Laoxism became China's most adopted religion, and his political power became absolute, until a Catholic Nun's martyrdom began crumbling his grasp on several regions of China. To prevent a collapse, Lao Xu modified his cult to be inclusive, so that Catholics could worship both him and the Christian god.

Currently, China is divided between Catholicism and Laoxism, with Laoxism being present (at least formally) in Mafia-led businesses.

Lao Xu's temple is a gigantic tower in Beijing, called the Dragon Tower. Around it lie all the shady businesses of Beijing, established in three concentric circles. The middle circle has grown so much that it became an official center of commerce for all international companies, legal or otherwise, and is now known as Dragon City.

The inner circle is used to host international mafia meetings, and is controlled by Lao Xu's female android army.

The outer circle is where all low quality informal businesses reside. It's filled with all kinds of markets, from stolen cybernetic parts to pirated virtual goods to cyborg death matchs to adult events, where smuggled android prostitutes participate in humiliating contests to earn money for their owners.

Lao Xu is considered a threat to world peace, but killing him is practically impossible due to his influence on the Chinese senate, his reclusion in the Dragon Tower and his cloning capabilities.