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

"It's that simple?"

Xu Shi wasn't too surprised; he could tell from her tone that the old lady was just joking.

"It's that simple."

The white-haired girl nodded, "But it can only be the two of us, no one else is allowed."

"Go, go, go."

This was indeed not an excessive request, and Xu Shi certainly had no reason to refuse.

"Humph, that's pretty much it."

Xia Ke'an smiled even more broadly, "Then help me clear out some things and make some room?"

"Are you sure it's okay? There won't be any problems or anything, right?"

This was the preparation before activating her ability, but Xu Shi suddenly called her back and asked her an extra question.

"If there's a problem, wouldn't all the time and effort that some people have spent on me have been wasted?"

The older woman's smile faded, but her tone became even more cheerful.

When Xu Shi asked, "Will there be any problems?" he was not questioning her abilities, but rather expressing concern about her health.

It's clear that even after so much treatment, he still can't be completely at ease.

"He's so indecisive, little boy..." Xia Ke'an smiled subconsciously, but ultimately, she was more happy to be cared for like this.

The truth is that she knew exactly what Xu Shi was thinking, and he had never hidden it. "I want both the person and the ability" was not just talk; he actually did it.

So she was happy to be affectionate with him; otherwise, why would anyone be so foolish as to call you "brother" and go to an amusement park? What a ridiculous idea.

To be fair, their banter and playful teasing really does resemble that of an old married couple in some ways...

Hearing her say that, Xu Shi finally felt more at ease and tactfully stepped aside, quietly watching her activate her ability.

Then Xia Ke'an closed her eyes and made a gesture of praying, which instantly created a sense of oppression that was hard to describe.

In any case, Xu Shi found the scene quite shocking—he saw the surrounding objects moving without wind, gradually suspending themselves in the air. The old lady didn't even open her mouth, but indescribable syllables suddenly rang in his mind.

Even his body felt a little lightheaded... Goodness, did Xia Wuyou inherit his gravity manipulation from you? Now he understood why the white-haired loli had to clear the area before activating her ability—what if she smashed the flowers and plants?

Damn it, you should have said so earlier. Wouldn't it have been better to find you a special place to practice?

Of course, this is just a joke. It's obvious that this is the aftermath of a premonition of the future, and it certainly can't be used for combat. But even so, such a large-scale operation is quite frightening.

In a daze, Xia Ke'an himself gradually floated into the air, his tightly closed eyes slowly opened, but his pupils had already dilated, replaced by a deep white light that shone so brightly that he could not look directly at it.

Before long, the syllables in her mind reached a climax, and the white light in the old aunt's eyes exploded instantly.

Xu Shi felt a throbbing pain in his head. When he came to his senses, everything was over. The objects that had been suspended in the air all fell down with a clanging sound.

Xia Ke'an herself was also about to fall, but Xu Shi reacted quickly and caught her before she fell to the ground.

"Is this the end?"

He felt like he was dreaming and asked a question instinctively.

"……Yes."

After a while, Xia Ke'an answered, the colors in her eyes gradually returning.

His tone was full of weakness and exhaustion, and his complexion had become somewhat pale.

It's clear that activating her ability for only about ten minutes took a huge toll on her. No wonder she was covered in injuries before; it's a miracle she didn't die.

However, she herself didn't seem to realize this, and even asked smugly, "How about it, isn't he... pretty handsome?"

"Is 'handsome' a word used to describe girls? Especially since you're an older woman."

Xu Shi denied it, but after thinking about it, he nodded.

Sparrows eat crickets.

The grandeur and ethereal quality made him momentarily wonder if he had wandered onto the wrong set; it was starting to feel like a fantasy film…

But then I thought about it again, and the whole thing about upgrading superpowers seems pretty illogical, right? Teleportation, anti-gravity, mind control, none of those things have anything to do with science... In a sense, we're all just Super Silvers.

The difference lies simply in who is more capable—he'd never seen anyone else put on such a flashy show like Xia Ke'an; the special effects alone put him miles ahead of everyone else.

That's why they say others are SS-level. Now he's really looking forward to seeing what it would be like if he could reach that level.

Besides, the white-haired loli's ability is only support-type. If I remember correctly, my grandfather has an SS-level combat ability? No, I'll have to find a chance to observe him later...

But now was not the time, so he gathered his thoughts and asked, "Did you see anything?"

"...I saw quite a lot."

Xia Ke'an was held in his arms and answered weakly.

From her narration, Xu Shi also gained a deeper understanding of her abilities.

The ability to "predict the future" was more terrifying than he had imagined—it wasn't simply "observing what will happen at some point in the future," but more accurately, "how things will turn out at some point in the future if things remain the same."

In other words, it involves selecting and searching for each IF line, somewhat reminiscent of Doctor Strange.

Moreover, she can choose the scope and the people involved. For example, if Xu Shi asks her to predict the future of his struggle with Shen He, she can discard other extraneous parts and focus on this angle, saving a lot of trouble.

She was an experienced person before, so doing this kind of thing was too easy for her.

As for the observed results...

"Just as you predicted, there are indeed things we haven't considered."

Xia Ke'an sighed and said, "And it's an angle that we hardly thought of."

"And who could have imagined that Shen He was attempting to use 'Divine Descent' as a medium to exert widespread psychological influence on the ordinary citizens of the entire Night Sin City?"

"really."

Xu Shi remained noncommittal; this was indeed one of the few things that hadn't gone as he expected.

In the original novel, Shen He only used this game to conduct a more covert transmission of information. He never expected that there would be such a way to play it.

But this is actually a very feasible method—because the ability of "uniting as one" is essentially used to win people's hearts. And similar media, or "divine presence" and similar social applications, are all means to influence the thoughts of others before the emergence of superpowers.

With the popularity of "God's Descent," it seems that there is no other social platform with such power in the entire City of Nightsin. The "Forgotten Ones" are all playing it... Not to mention various online media, the news released by the Qi family father and son under the jurisdiction of "Imaginary Number" sometimes has less influence than a rumor on the "God's Descent" public screen.

"But then again, can Shen He really go that far?"

Xu Shi pressed on, feeling that it sounded rather magical.

"At least in the foreseeable future, he can."

Xia Ke'an nodded seriously. "I tried to extrapolate the future by ignoring this incident, and the result is that if the majority of the player base is incited and voluntarily mobilizes to resist the 'Serpent Ring,' your previous plans will indeed face significant obstacles."

"In the foreseeable future, there is only about a 50% chance that you will be able to quell it, a 40% chance that you will both be severely injured and he will escape, and a 10% chance that he will take advantage of the chaos and shoot you in the head."

Damn it?

Upon hearing this result, Xu Shi's expression became somewhat strange.

Having gone to such lengths, how could little Shen He still have a 10% chance of winning? Or in other words, how could he only have a 50% chance of completely eliminating him?

It even follows the original story's ending perfectly... all I can say is that it is.

However, it can be understood from another perspective. Of the millions of people in Night City, only a small group stands at the top of the pyramid, while the majority are ordinary citizens.

If they were truly united, they would indeed be a force to be reckoned with.

As for Shen He using social media as a medium to exert his abilities, it does seem outrageous at first glance, but upon closer inspection, it makes sense. In this day and age, this can be considered a combination of technology and superpowers. In the evolution of abilities, such factors should not be overlooked. Hitting someone across the internet is a long-standing concept, isn't it?

But this was a much higher level of skill than when he clashed with Shen He last time. It was obvious that Shen He had secretly developed a lot of strength during the time that Shen He had disappeared.

"And there's one more thing we were wrong about."

Xia Ke'an cleared her throat and said again, "'Those people' did get involved, but their methods were different from what we imagined."

"Oh? Who is it?" Xu Shi raised an eyebrow.

Xia Ke'an whispered something in his ear.

"...It really is her?"

Upon hearing this name, Xu Shi was not particularly surprised; his reaction was even less pronounced than when he heard about Shen He's plan.

This was clearly anticipated.

"Well, it seems that maintaining a sense of crisis is not a bad thing."

Thinking of this, he breathed a sigh of relief. If he hadn't known, this matter would have been a disaster. He thought even a 99% chance was too low, and a 50% success rate was not as good as using Zisha pottery on the spot.

But if you know the answer, you'll naturally know how to deal with it.

At the same time, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly, no wonder "Refractive" was able to develop so rapidly back then, having such capabilities is practically cheating, isn't it? It would be a problem if it couldn't rise to prominence...

Fortunately, the old aunt is on my side now. Putting everything else aside, if it were really like in the original story, with the Xia family aunt and niece joining the "Spark" side, it would be an absolute blow. If they can't even win this kind of battle, they might as well just open the window and jump headfirst out.

This really only applies to her. People like Gu Yi and Xia Wuyou can at least be dealt with by others, but Xia Ke'an is truly irreplaceable in terms of ability, and there's no way to suppress her. How can you suppress her?

Of course, from the white-haired loli's own perspective, her final choice of Xu Shi was also due to his behavior and personal charm, and now she can say without any burden that it was from the bottom of her heart.

It can only be described as a two-way journey.

"Who says it's not?"

Xia Ke'an smiled too. It was clear that being able to help Xu Shi made her very happy and gave her a sense of accomplishment. At least she had repaid him a favor...

"So what does Brother Xu Shi want to do now?"

She blinked and asked slyly.

"Brother Xu Shi wants you to get some rest first."

Xu Shi changed the subject, the truth being that he needed some time to think it over... while Xia Ke'an was truly exhausted and was barely able to speak.

He helped up the sofa and temporarily placed the elderly woman on it. "I remember Xie Qingyan gave you some medicine before you were discharged from the hospital? Let me get it for you... And would you like something to eat or drink?"

"Yes, yes, thank you, Brother Xu Shi."

The white-haired loli answered without any politeness, while also teasingly saying, "This is the first time you've taken such good care of me."

"That's what you mean. You're a great contributor to our service, it's an honor."

Xu Shi didn't argue with her about it and waved his hand to get her the medicine.

But when he returned with the medicine and food, something very strange happened.