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

For the leaders such as Nan Qian and Zhang Shan (Shen Qin and Zhao Yuan), as well as some of their subordinate leaders, there are also things that give them headaches.

The situation outside the city was alright; the remaining "Forgotten Ones" were still relatively united. But the situation inside the city was quite different. It has to be said that Xu Shi's approach of "winning over some, dividing others, and suppressing others" really hit their weak spot. The "Forgotten Ones" who entered the City of Night Sin found it difficult to gather together under the deliberate diversion of their conflicts. On the contrary, they looked at each other with mutual loathing and fought endlessly.

Why are you treated better than me? I refuse to accept this!

As the leader, Shen Qin's own voice has been greatly reduced, and she has completely lost her previous cohesion and appeal.

"That's not entirely true, is it? I think your leader, Li Si, seems to enjoy it quite a bit."

Thinking of this, Lin Wenhua couldn't help but say one more thing.

“That’s an anomaly; Elder Lin shouldn’t generalize based on a single case.”

Shen Qin gritted her teeth, her tone full of disdain for Song Chen.

She had long been at odds with that guy, and this had only intensified after entering Night City—this damned, sophisticated egoist not only betrayed everyone during negotiations, but now he was happily serving as a lackey for "Prism," and it was said that he no longer cared much about his former subordinates, which was truly infuriating.

So she stopped considering doing anything with him. Who knows if this kind of person would betray her for his own future?

"……maybe."

Once the conversation started, Lin Wenhua's concerns gradually dissipated, and he began to seriously examine Shen Qin, "Tell me your plans and ideas?"

"It's actually quite simple."

Shen Qin smiled and said, "Although my control over the 'Forgotten' has weakened somewhat, fortunately, there are still quite a few people willing to follow me. The people scattered throughout Nightsin City, when put together, are a force to be reckoned with."

"I also have a backup plan outside the city. With further arrangements, we can launch a large-scale riot that will affect the entire city at the right time."

"Of course, this is only the first step. Our real purpose is to take advantage of the riots to behead Xu Shi."

"If we can take his life, then the operation will already be half successful."

"At that time, we only need to hold onto the results we have obtained to get what we need."

"..."

Hearing Shen Qin say this, Lin Wenhua was stunned for a moment.

Goodness, this girl's idea is ruthless enough—a city-wide riot?

To be honest, this was indeed beyond his expectations, and do you really have the strength to support, or rather, launch such a large-scale operation?

"That's why we came to find Lord Dragon City."

Shen Qin continued leisurely, "What we lack is weapons and equipment, but unfortunately, Xu Shi has them firmly in his hands."

"But if we could make purchases in small batches under the name of 'Dragon City,' this problem could be alleviated."

"Whether it's the 'Forgotten Ones' who chose to settle in Sin City, or the people under the Dragon Lord's own command, together they form a very powerful force."

"...Stop, stop, I haven't agreed to that yet."

Long Tianding felt a chill run down his spine. Good heavens, so they're using me as their base?

The key point is that Nan Qian is really too crazy. Even though he occupies half of the Night Sin City, he never thought of such a thing. And you come up here and set it up like this? It sounds ridiculous.

"To be honest, my relationship with Xu Shi is not good, but it's definitely not bad either."

He scrutinized the two people in front of him. "Why should I go crazy with you two?"

"Leaving aside how much benefit I will receive after it's done, whether you can even succeed is still unknown."

"Lord Long is joking. Nothing in this world is ever 100% guaranteed to succeed."

Shen Qin was not afraid at all upon hearing this. "It just depends on whether you dare to take the gamble... Of course, if you really don't want to take the risk, you can arrest us now and hand us over to Xu Shi for disposal."

"Anyway, as far as I know, Lord Long, you have been suppressed by Xu Shi quite a bit, so taking him down will naturally benefit you. As for how much, why do I need to list it out for you one by one?"

"..."

Long Tianding pursed his lips.

These words hit a nerve with him.

It would be a lie to say that Xu Shi hadn't suppressed them. In the previous incident, Xu Shi had already eroded the "Long Knife Gang." Ding Jun, that ingrate, could no longer be considered one of their henchmen, and the Sixth District was also falling apart.

Including subsequent chips and equipment... It's clear that Xu Shi doesn't want to maintain a cooperative relationship with him, but rather to suppress him. He has suffered a lot in these matters.

Long Tianding would never admit that he wanted to sit and wait for death; at least breaking the ice with "Feather Pen" was one of his actions.

However, it cannot be denied that this approach will not produce immediate results. Moreover, it must be considered that if Sin City and Night City truly break down their barriers, his status and control will not increase. On the contrary, once the other five conglomerates have established themselves in Sin City, his power will inevitably be further weakened.

To be honest, this was a bit hard for him to accept; it felt like being cut with a dull knife.

So for him, it was indeed time to make a choice.

Is it as previously agreed, to continue to be on good terms with Xu Shi and work together to develop the livelihood of Sin City?

Or should they choose to join forces with Lin Wenhua and the "Forgotten Ones" and take a gamble to overturn the existing order?

"While you're targeting Xu Shi, aren't you worried about the other conglomerates at all?"

He clasped his hands together in deep thought and said, "If such a huge wave were to be stirred up, it's impossible for them to remain completely silent."

"I think that as long as we can take down Xu Shi, or rather, 'Snake Ring,' as quickly as possible, the others will naturally know how to maximize their gains and minimize their losses?"

Shen Qin pondered for a moment and said, "Or do you think that if Xu Shi is destroyed, they will be wholeheartedly dedicated to avenging him?"

"...What you said makes sense."

Long Tianding remained noncommittal, but in essence, the six major conglomerates also need to link their interests together.

Now everyone follows Xu Shi's lead, on the premise that he has indeed brought a lot of benefits to everyone.

But if we only focus on him and target him for dismissal, other people's first reaction will definitely not be to mourn him and turn against him. Instead, they will wait and see, weigh the pros and cons, and then make a decision.

They might even turn against their own side and try every means to get a share of the spoils—just like the "Refraction" and "Heavenly River" back then. When the two behemoths suddenly collapsed, the people below immediately acted like jackals smelling blood, quickly dividing up their remaining parts.

As one of those who witnessed this change, Long Tianding was very familiar with it.

Of course, this premise must be based on the fact that the current "Snake Ring" has been destroyed to the level of "Refraction" and "Milky Way".

Or perhaps Lin Wenhua is an inside man, even if the involvement is minor, it wouldn't be a bad thing.

Seeing Shen Qin's confidence, Long Tianding was somewhat tempted by her words.

However, there are still concerns—at least the "Prism" and "Feather Pen" companies cannot be ignored. Xie Qingyan is alright, as he knows the woman's character to some extent, but Wen Shengkui is a different story. The old man is very old-fashioned and might very well help his eldest grandson even if they are separated by blood.

and so.

After careful consideration.

Long Tianding's choice is...

"There are quite a few 'Forsaken' joining the Fifth District, and I'm a bit overwhelmed right now."

He took a breath and said, "If Miss Nan Qian could help take care of things, I would be extremely grateful."

"As for the purchase of weapons... we in 'Dragon City' naturally need to arm and strengthen ourselves. If you'd like to hitch a ride with us, that's fine too... Of course, you'll have to figure out the funding yourselves."

This attitude is ambiguous; it doesn't sound like agreement, but it seems like agreement nonetheless.

Shen Qin and Lin Wenhua quickly understood his meaning—Long Tianding's move was actually a gamble on two fronts. Providing the Fifth District as a platform for them was a form of support, and he even told them how to handle the relatively important issue of weapons.

If overthrowing Xu Shi is successful, he will naturally have accomplished a great feat. However, if they fail, Long Tianding can also extricate himself from the situation.

He could easily deflect blame by saying it was just his oversight, and that it was all the "Forgotten Ones" who wanted to cause trouble, right? Sin City is such a big place, it's normal that they can't take care of everything... Why would I want to start a riot? We just talked about developing public infrastructure together not long ago, you've really wronged me.

This also aligns with his personality—whether it's riots or development, for Long Tianding, it's merely a means to an end.

To be honest, such a statement and result did not satisfy Shen Qin and Lin Wenhua. They certainly did not want to have their cake and eat it too. However, they also knew that it would be abnormal for someone as cunning as Long Tianding to be persuaded to submit to them with just a few words because of something whose success could not be completely guaranteed.

"...In that case, we still have to thank Lord Long. At least you've given us a place to defend."

So Shen Qin didn't say much. "As for the funds for purchasing weapons, I'm afraid we'll have to rely on you, Elder Lin?"

"No problem, I'll try my best to solve it."

Lin Wenhua agreed without much hesitation. He wasn't short of money, but he needed people to support the operation.

Shen Qin, on the other hand, is the opposite, and in a sense, the two complement each other.

Although this would cost him a large chunk of his life, he knew that now was not the time to worry about money. Otherwise, if Xu Shi struck first, he would lose all the wealth he had accumulated over the years.

"Then I wish us a pleasant cooperation."

Seeing him nod, Shen Qin breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ha, it's a pleasure to work with you."

Lin Wenhua forced a smile.

To be honest, he looked down on these "Forgotten Ones" from the bottom of his heart. He didn't know Shen Qin's true purpose, so in his eyes, they were a bunch of hungry ghosts who had nowhere else to turn but to Night City. They were even thinking about such things now, which was truly greedy to the extreme.

Shen Qin also looked down on Lin Wenhua. The two only formed an alliance temporarily because they had the same goal.

"Alright, we can't stay any longer. Shall we go back and get ready?"

They all came out secretly, which would naturally arouse suspicion over time, so after a brief discussion, they went their separate ways.

After leaving Sin City, Shen Qin immediately contacted Shen He, who was still outside the city.

She decided to act now because she saw the conflict between Lin Wenhua and Xu Shi, and also because her brother told her that things were progressing on his end as well.

And... he needs to return to the City of Night Sin.

……

the other side.

"I suppose Lin Wenhua and Long Tianding are having a very pleasant conversation by now?"

On the way to the "quill pen", Xu Shi looked up at the sky outside the skylight and murmured to himself thoughtfully.

He had no doubt whatsoever that Lin Wenhua would betray him.

Not to mention that the old man had a criminal record in the original work, I have already pushed him to this point, it would be too impolite for him to die in silence.

"Including that Miss Shen Qin, she will probably take this opportunity to do something."

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh. He was clearly a good person who didn't want to fight with the world, but he always had to suffer from this unnecessary malice.

I'm so cold and shivering, I feel like crying.

"Young Master, now that you say that, I knew that even if they were all together, they probably wouldn't be able to make any waves, right?"

Su Lin smiled slightly. She understood Xu Shi's thoughts quite well. If he really had any concerns, he wouldn't have spoken in this tone.