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

That's why they say the most poisonous heart is that of a woman.

"Oh, thank you then."

The wicked woman smiled sweetly, "It's not just me who needs to thank you; there are others who also need to thank you."

"Ok?"

Before Xu Shi could react, he saw Xie Qingyan pull Ye Shanshan out from behind him.

"This is?"

Xu Shi was completely confused, and it took him a while to understand what was going on after listening to the little curly-haired boy's intermittent explanation.

So this is also a "God's Arrival" enthusiast. Some of her thoughts have been unconsciously influenced by Shen He. If Xu Shi hadn't stepped in to thwart the other party's plan, she probably would have gone out into the streets to cause trouble with the others yesterday.

However, it was from her that Xie Qingyan learned that Xu Shi actually had such a hidden trick up his sleeve—the truth is that he never told anyone outsiders about Xia Ke'an's prophecy, and to this day, no one knows who exactly saved them.

Ye Shanshan didn't realize it at first; she was so engrossed in the virtual world that she was completely lost in it while slacking off at work... She only realized it belatedly after she came to her senses.

As for how they found out, it was similar to Shen He's experience. They noticed the other party's signature sinister smile and realized who this guy was.

"Oh, so you play 'God's Descent' too."

Xu Shi waved his hand dismissively, "It was nothing, it's not like I'm only saving Secretary Ye."

"But I still want to thank you..."

Ye Shanshan lowered her head and looked at her fingers, her voice full of shyness, "In the past, I also had some prejudice against you, Chairman Xu, and I hope you won't mind..."

Because of the "victim mentality implanted," she actually couldn't really hate Xu Shi, but "not hating" and "being grateful" are two different concepts.

She was even a little afraid to look him in the eye before realizing that he was actually quite handsome, both handsome and wicked...

"Alright, alright, then... you're welcome?"

Xu Shi genuinely didn't care, but he was quite pleased with the little curly-haired boy's attitude. "Speaking of which, I do have things to thank you for, for example... Chief Song?"

"If it weren't for Chief Song's great understanding and sense of justice, things wouldn't have gone so smoothly, would they?"

That's true. Do you remember when Yu Xingchuan reported that some people in the riots outside the city had turned against him in advance?

Those men were Song Chen's old subordinates, and naturally they wouldn't follow Shen He's orders as blindly as the other two. Song Chen had already warned them that when the time was right, they would pull out their bayonets and stab their comrades in the back.

Although these may seem like insignificant details when viewed in the grand scheme of things, a perfect victory is made up of countless such details.

"Not at all, Mr. Xu, you flatter me too much."

Song Chen was also there, not only as Xie Qingyan's subordinate, but also as a representative of the Forgotten Ones. Upon hearing this, he quickly bowed and clasped his hands, responding with a very humble smile.

"How could this be a compliment? These are the truths."

Xu Shi shook his head, feeling that this guy was going a bit too far, but still exchanged a few more polite words, "If those two could be as pragmatic and sensible as Chief Song, there wouldn't have been such a bloody incident in Night Sin City, right?"

"Yes Yes Yes."

Song Chen wholeheartedly agreed, saying, "They really have a problem with their thinking. As their former comrade, I also bear responsibility for not realizing it sooner. Thinking about it now, it's truly heartbreaking."

These words amused everyone, and the atmosphere instantly became cheerful.

When the group arrived at the conference room, the other parties had already arrived as well—Chairman Qi Kang of "Imaginary Number" was present in person, which was enough to demonstrate their importance to the matter.

The "quill pen" incident was a bit different; Mr. Wen did not attend, but instead sent Ning Wei to represent him.

This is not to say that "Feather Pen" does not value this matter, but Wen Shengkui was too exhausted from yesterday's events and was unable to attend in person due to illness.

Everyone understood this, and besides, Ning Wei's position was not low either—although nominally he was just a housekeeper and secretary, anyone who knew the inside story knew that, without considering Xu Shi, the future successor of "Feather Pen" was simply either Ning Wei or He Yuxia.

Given that He Yuxia has now been affected by "Shark Tooth," Ning Wei is fully qualified to do so.

How is Grandpa doing now?

Xu asked with concern.

"...It's alright, nothing serious. It's just that the old man is getting on in years, so using his abilities will inevitably have some impact."

Ning Wei said seriously, "We still need to observe for a while... so if there are any issues in the future, please consider them more carefully."

"I'll go see him tomorrow and let him scold me himself."

Xu Shi didn't respond to him. After all, it wasn't a matter of whether he was being cautious or not. If he could, he wouldn't want to trouble his grandfather. But the problem was that only he had the ability to instantly kill an S-class "Ascensionist". Otherwise, with just the Dragon Heaven Cauldron there, this battle probably wouldn't be over by now.

What should we do then? (Feeling wronged)

And, Tang Shuang, the current director of the Inspection Bureau, and her adjutant, Yu Xingchuan.

No one was surprised by their appearance—even if they didn't know what arrangements Xu Shi had made before, it was no secret that Yue Chizheng had been detained by Tang Shuang.

Someone has to fill this hole, and now that Tang Shuang is here, her attitude is self-evident.

"Good morning, Director Tang."

Xu Shi, oblivious to everything, greeted her with a smile.

Unfortunately, all he got in return was a cold glare from Director Tang. You dare to greet him first? You brat, get lost!

Instead, Yu Xingchuan approached enthusiastically, "Chairman Xu..."

Before she could finish speaking, Su Lin stopped her. Seeing this, she could only stick out her tongue and awkwardly retreat.

"Now that everyone's here, shall we get down to business?"

Qi Kang watched the younger generation's interaction with great interest for a while, and then took the initiative to start a conversation.

The theme of this meeting was actually very simple, summed up in five words: dividing up the spoils.

With the downfall of "Shark Tooth," both its businesses and the private assets of the Ho family amounted to a considerable fortune. Even the slush funds of people like Yue Chi-cheng and Lin Wen-hua added up to a substantial amount.

On this matter, everyone can easily reach a consensus. As long as it involves money, it can be divided equally, and the rest can be distributed according to the nature of the industry.

Although the mainstay of "Shark Tooth" is the military industry, its businesses are quite diversified. Everyone is the same in this respect; they just need to strengthen their respective areas.

Xu Shi was not stingy with his generosity. Even though everyone had to consider his feelings these days, there are always things you have to give up to gain. Everyone had contributed a lot, so how could the fruits of victory go to him alone? That would be detrimental to unity.

Moreover, this doesn't have much impact on him. On the contrary, the mainstay of "Shark Tooth" is the military industry, and the lion's share still goes to "Snake Ring".

But there's more to say about Sin City, or rather, the rules there need to be re-established.

"On behalf of the Master, I convey his message: before the destruction of 'Dragon City,' a cooperative development project concerning public infrastructure had already been established with 'Feather Pen,' and the Master hopes that these projects can continue."

Ning Wei said slowly, his tone very serious.

"I agree."

Xu Shi continued, “My personal opinion is the same. For a long time, the unrest in Sin City has been a problem that cannot be underestimated. It will not only affect Night City, but it is also a waste of resources.”

"If we can break down the barriers between the two sides and integrate the twenty-two regions, it will benefit both sides."

That's true. Sin City also has resource mining areas, and its human and talent resources are mostly buried. It's just that they haven't been able to be effectively utilized because of the restrictions of the Dragon Heaven Cauldron. Now is the best opportunity.

"I agree."

Xie Qingyan and Tang Shuang echoed each other's sentiments.

"I have no objection, but there's one issue that needs to be clarified beforehand."

Qi Kang tapped the table with his finger. "How will the jurisdiction of Sin City be handled in the future? I think everyone naturally disagrees with continuing to use the 'Dragon City' system. So, will we manage it separately from now on? Or will the city hall act as our agent? Including those remaining gangs, big and small... We can't leave this hanging indefinitely."

"That's easy."

Xu Shi smiled and gestured for him to stop. "Although 'Dragon City' has fallen, it still has several relatively influential gangs under its command, such as 'White Iron,' 'Long Knife Gang,' and 'Spark'... It's better to let them continue to manage things. This can effectively avoid the controversies and losses that might arise from large-scale personnel changes. We and the City Hall can simply exercise our supervisory power."

"There's no need to worry about a new 'Dragon City' appearing over time... After all, from now on, everyone will gradually develop towards Sin City, and the two will eventually merge together; it's just a matter of time."

This is the best course of action, at least for him.

What Xu Shi said was absolutely correct, but of the three remaining gangs, he secretly controlled two of them. Xie Qingyan could take a small share, but the impact wouldn't be too great.

In other words, from then on, Sin City remained within his sphere of influence.

Everyone else knew this perfectly well. Even if they didn't know his relationship with "Spark," his connection with the "Long Knife Gang" was common knowledge. Under such circumstances, anyone would have chosen to do the same.

However, no one objected. Firstly, "Snake Ring" already had the upper hand over the others, and secondly, such actions were within acceptable limits—"Prism" had "Iron" to drive it, while "Feather Pen" was more concerned with people's livelihood issues, so this kind of power struggle had to take a back seat.

The only one who might have objections is "imaginary numbers," especially Uncle Qi, who is genuinely quite sentimental. After all, the "Long Knife Gang" used to be part of our family, right? Back then, Xu Shi forcibly took it away, and we didn't think it was a big deal, but now it's back...

Fortunately, Qi Kang is a pragmatic type. They didn't have much say at this table to begin with, and having already gained a lot, there was no need to provoke them further. They could still move in and develop in the future.

We're just not as good as them, so we'll just have to accept it.

"If that's the case, then let's pass it?"

Having achieved his goal, Xu Shi didn't waste any more words and moved on to the next topic, "By the way, Uncle Qi, regarding the 'Forgotten Ones,' 'Imaginary Number' should have already started making arrangements, right?"

"Of course, Maoyang didn't come today, so I made him work overtime."

Qi Kang adjusted his mindset, breathed a sigh of relief, and replied.

The so-called "organization" is not about giving an explanation to the general public or anything like that. The matter was originally caused by the "forgotten people," and it's a done deal that can't be ignored.

However, appropriate guidance is still necessary—it was the great and righteous conglomerates that saw through the conspiracy of these despicable outsiders in time, and thus managed to turn the tide and save the collapsing empire.

Actually, if he hadn't found it too troublesome, he would have considered letting the riots escalate further.

This is a time-tested trick in the art of thick-skinned black-heartedness—if a pot has a small hole and is taken out to bake, the repairman will secretly smash two more cracks to make more money and maximize profits.

The same applies here. The more the "Forgotten Ones" cause trouble, the greater the influence the corporations can gain when they get involved. Coupled with the public opinion campaigns that have been building up beforehand, it will be very difficult for this group to make a comeback in the future.

On this point, everyone reached a consensus and immediately discussed specific laws and regulations, which completely relegated the "forgotten" to second-class citizens, imposing very strict restrictions on their food, clothing, housing, transportation, and various rights.

"Looking back now, we were a bit too lenient with them, weren't we?"

Xie Qingyan offered his suggestions while jokingly teasing him.

"That's right. They are the descendants of exiled criminals. We can't let them pollute the good environment of Night City again."

Xu Shi, like a wife singing in unison, played the straight man in her jokes.

Anyway, no one at this table will have any sympathy for the "Forgotten Ones". Everyone would be happy to do this - to get the resources they control without paying any corresponding price, wouldn't that be wonderful?

Even Song Chen, the leader of the "Forgotten Ones," was no exception. In fact, the old man was quite supportive of this, since his direct subordinates were not subject to punishment. This was a condition that had been agreed upon beforehand. As for Shen Qin and Zhao Yuan's entourage? Let them die.

At this point, the meeting was essentially coming to an end.

There's only one thing left to do.

"Yue Chizheng's crimes are unforgivable, but the city hall also needs someone to take charge."

Xu Shi said calmly, "As for who will be the new governor, everyone should already have their own choices, right?"