In this cyberpunk era, why are you still playing the traditional villain?

They have all witnessed Xiao Xu's methods, and the chances of him to tolerate them are very low.

If I had known, I would have preferred to have someone else pledge allegiance earlier.

One wrong step can lead to eternal regret; aren't they no different?

……

"So, young master, you're essentially forcing Lin Wenhua to betray you, aren't you?"

On the other hand, after the meeting, Su Lin returned to her office and asked Xu Shi a question.

"That's not the right word, my Miss Su Lin."

Xu Shi shook his index finger. "The old man was never loyal to me, so what's the point of talking about betrayal?"

"Of course, it's true that we should push him a bit. After dragging this out for so long, it's time to take another look, isn't it?"

To be honest, from a superficial point of view, his previous "reprimand" of Lin Wenhua at the meeting was actually rather insignificant—randomly selecting a few of the other party's confidants to be targeted, plus a verbal warning, was hardly a serious blow, let alone a serious one.

But it's important to listen carefully to the underlying meaning and attitude. Given Lin Wenhua's level of expertise, he wouldn't be so smug as to think he's escaped unscathed, would he? I bet the old man is already considering his next move.

"For example, take the newly produced chip data to Long Tianding and negotiate some terms."

Anyway, he has already restricted his path. "Dragon City" is the only relatively good option. However, it is possible that Lin Wenhua might make another choice if he has a sudden change of mind. But if that happens, it will be even easier to deal with him.

"I think it's not just about chips. Lin Wenhua has been running the business for so long, he must also have access to some other confidential data within the company."

Su Lin understood his meaning, but she couldn't help but have some concerns, "If these things are leaked out, wouldn't it also...?"

"It didn't have much of an impact. If I remember correctly, it was just some military data from two or three generations ago?"

Xu Shi wasn't worried. "We've got the latest parts firmly under our control anyway, and Lin Wenhua isn't stupid. He's not going to hand over everything at once."

"It's good that you've considered it."

Su Lin remained noncommittal, "But I still think it would be better for me to just... end it all, wouldn't it?"

She made a throat-slitting gesture.

"Killing him would be easy, wouldn't it? Keeping him alive until now means he's useful, you know?"

Xu Shi smiled and said, "Firstly, I want to use Lin Wenhua to test Long Tianding's attitude. Secondly, I also want to use him to lure out another person."

"...That's right, it was my oversight."

Su Lin thought for a moment and knew he was talking about Shen Qin—from her perspective, if Lin Wenhua really had second thoughts and betrayed her, it would be an opportunity, it just depended on whether she was willing to seize it.

Even so, Director Su still had a feeling that even if the three of them joined forces, they couldn't beat the young master... But then he thought, if that were really the case, it would be a win-win-win situation if they could take them all down at once.

They would even pack themselves up so that Xu Shi could easily cut them clean with a sickle.

"Have you figured it out yet? Looks like you still understand me."

Xu Shi smiled and said, "Wouldn't it be the easiest way to catch them all in one go? I hate trouble the most."

"Of course, this is just one of my little quirks."

He then added, "It's quite interesting to watch these people try their best even though they know the chances are slim."

"Especially when you fail after trying your hardest, that's even more interesting."

It's no fun to kill someone with a single blow; it's more interesting to torture them slowly... Xu Shi always felt that his villainous mindset was becoming more and more deeply ingrained. Oh, I always was, so never mind.

"...You really are incredibly wicked."

Su Lin sighed. She was quite familiar with the young master's perverse sense of humor. Wasn't "Spark" manipulated by him in the past? It's just that now the scale is bigger, the profits he can seize will be greater, and he will feel more accomplished, right?

"It's not a good habit to openly criticize your boss like that."

Xu Shi gave her a mock glare, saying, "Your salary isn't enough to cover the deductions."

"So, young master, are you going to fire me?"

Su Lin didn't care about this kind of harmless threat, and even dared to talk back to him.

"So the young master wants you to get moving."

Xu Shi's gaze suddenly turned serious. "Give the order that the second-generation chip is about to be launched on the market, but don't actually launch it. Just make it look like it is."

"I understand."

Su Lin knew, of course, that this was Xu Shi's way of secretly urging Lin Wenhua to take action, but in reality, whether or not it was actually launched made little difference... This was to make sure that the promise made to Xie Qingyan was fulfilled, so that the other party's "sublimation" could open up the market more smoothly?

"You have to keep your word sometimes."

Xu Shi nodded slightly. He couldn't make enemies of everyone; that would be exhausting. Especially considering Xie Qingyan's importance and goodwill, he had already removed Xie from his blacklist, so there was no need to break his promise.

"We can't let our guard down, including those few you were previously asked to keep a close eye on. A major storm is coming."

He took a deep breath and said, "Oh right, I also need to find Little Black Rabbit... Speaking of which, wasn't she absent from the previous conference? Where did she go?"

"They must have gone to Director Wen's place?"

Su Lin thought for a moment and replied, "While you were away, she would run to the 'quill pen' every few days."

"...Then let's go there directly and bring her back."

Xu Shi also remembered that he had told Gu Yi before that she should spend more time learning at "Feather Pen" and so on. It seems that she really listened to him. She is a promising student.

"Yes, I'll go prepare the car for you."

……

While Xu was heading to "Feather Pen", Lin Wenhua had already secretly arrived in Sin City and personally met Long Tianding.

"...I feel like I'm dreaming."

After hearing his purpose, Long Tianding couldn't help but chuckle. "The renowned Elder Lin, a pillar and cornerstone of 'Snake Ring,' actually coming to me with company secrets?"

Or perhaps he was even more surprised by Xu Shi's foresight. Xu Shi had warned him before that some members of the "Snake Ring" might escape to his territory... Perhaps Xu Shi had already made arrangements? Otherwise, why wouldn't Lin Wenhua have gone to someone else? Right?

"I would rather the Lord of Longcheng wasn't mocking me, because that little bastard is already shitting and peeing on my head."

Lin Wenhua was somewhat displeased upon hearing this; these polite words of praise now sounded only grating to her ears…

"I have brought the conditions, and I hope Lord Long will consider them carefully."

However, he didn't dwell on it too much and got straight to the point.

"yes……"

Long Tianding remained noncommittal, saying he needed to consider it carefully.

To be honest, this is a difficult problem. If it were just Xu Shi and Lin Wenhua, there wouldn't be much to consider.

but.

Lin Wenhua wasn't the only one who came looking for him.

"...Old Lin? It seems we've thought of the same thing?"

As they were talking, another person also appeared.

"you……"

When Lin Wenhua saw it was her, he was also stunned. "Nan Qian?"

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 153 No, what are you doing?! (Furious)

Lin Wenhua was genuinely a little surprised.

He truly hadn't expected that someone else, besides himself, had already found the Dragon Heaven Cauldron before him.

As for why one of the three leaders of the former "Forsaken" would be here, could it be...?

"As you can see."

Shen Qin didn't hide anything, "My purpose in coming to see Lord Long is probably similar to Elder Lin's?"

"...Miss Nan is also friends with Lord Long?"

Lin Wenhua's eyes darted around, but he chose to brush it off with words, "I came to see Lord Long just to meet with an old friend. I've never heard of anyone like you among the people he knows."

To be honest, although Shen Qin was happy to see the truth, he couldn't completely trust the other party.

It's more accurate to say that he couldn't fully trust these "forgotten" outsiders in the first place—whether he looked down on them or not is another matter, and their attitude was also unclear.

From his perspective, what grudge could Shen Qin, or "Nan Qian," possibly have against Xu Shi? On the contrary, in his eyes, after Xia Wuyou was appointed as the head of the field department, Shen Qin, as her deputy, was also promoted from deputy to head. She had just been promoted and was already thinking about betraying him? This made him somewhat apprehensive.

"Mr. Lin, there's no need to be so secretive. Surely you don't suspect I'm Xu Shi's spy?"

Seeing his expression, Shen Qin simply smiled disdainfully. "The truth is, we 'Forgotten Ones' have long harbored a deep hatred for Xu Shi and are constantly thinking of eliminating him."

She didn't doubt Lin Wenhua.

Ever since she first heard about the conflict between the other party and Xu Shijian, she had been thinking about it and had been investigating it thoroughly, finally getting to the bottom of the cause and effect.

The two are locked in a life-or-death struggle!

This was definitely good news for her—to be honest, since moving into Night City, she had found it hard to find someone like Lin Wenhua who shared the same motivation to bring down Xu Shi.

Most people flock to him, they're too busy trying to curry favor with him to oppose him.

Of course, there were opposition groups, but unfortunately, most of them were cowards, all talk and no action.

Therefore, people like Lin Wenhua are very rare and valuable, and she is not worried that this is a trap within a trap set by Xu Shi.

After all, this rivalry has been going on for several years, but it has only been fully escalated now. Investigations from all sides have also shown that this is not a charade orchestrated by the two of them.

So after the commendation ceremony, she immediately realized it was time to take action—the saying "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" applied to her as well. Therefore, even if their starting points were different, as long as their goals were the same, it was necessary to form an alliance.

Ironically, after careful analysis, Shen Qin also discovered that the only external help she could find was "Dragon City." So, she and Lin Wenhua coincidentally approached Long Tianding, hoping to unite their two forces into one.

As for whether Lin Wenhua trusts her or not, she knows that after saying all this, he should be able to figure it out easily; she is just as sincere.

Lin Wenhua wasn't stupid after all; he quickly realized that it seemed to be true.

Because what Ms. Nan Qian said was the truth, the "Forgotten Ones" had a very poor impression of Xu Shi.

For ordinary people, obtaining the ton of "rust mist" ore needed to enter the City of Night Sin is not easy. If Xu Shi hadn't repeatedly manipulated and controlled them, the conditions might not have been so stringent.

But even if they get in, what then? The fact is that no matter where they are, the "forgotten" will still be viewed through a biased lens—this is inseparable from the protracted smear campaigns, which make them feel inferior from the start, truly working harder than others but receiving less, and their lives are not necessarily more comfortable.