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

"What are you saying? Isn't the new governor sitting right here?"

Qi Kang glanced at Tang Shuang.

Everyone knows this without saying it. The truth is that Tang Shuang is definitely the most suitable one. Not only are the conglomerates relatively satisfied with her, but based on her past actions, her popularity in the polls has always remained high.

So no one objected to it; otherwise, why would they have allowed her to attend? That's enough to show their stance.

However, the necessary procedures still had to be followed, so everyone present solemnly raised their hands to vote. Xu Shi even added a bit of entertainment by seriously giving a dissenting vote.

That's enough.

"...Then thank you all for your kindness."

Tang Shuang felt a little embarrassed about this; she rarely participated in such things, and witnessing it firsthand always made her feel incredibly naive…

"Since everyone has given me this opportunity, I will live up to your expectations and work with you all to make Night City better and better."

As she said this, her eyes never left Xu Shi, as if she wanted to devour him.

Xu Shi ignored this and childishly refrained from clapping for her like the others.

Not only did you not thank me, but you also yelled at me? You, surnamed Tang, have gone too far.

Incidentally, Xingchuan also took over the position of Director of the Inspection Bureau, and from then on, Xu Shi had fulfilled all the promises he had made.

"It seems there's nothing else? Let's adjourn the meeting then."

He stood up and straightened his clothes, looking every bit the boss—but he didn't need to look like one. No matter what anyone said, whether he chose this one or that one, it wouldn't change the fact that he was the one who would ultimately decide the outcome.

"If the master saw you like this, he would be very happy."

As they left the venue, Su Lin, who was standing next to her, remarked with genuine emotion.

Who would have thought that in less than a year, that once hopeless young master would rise to this position?

"And you, are you happy?"

Xu Shi said with a smile, teasingly.

"I... I should be happy, right?"

"What does 'should' mean? Being happy is being happy, and being unhappy is being unhappy."

"Then you can assume I'm unhappy."

Su Lin replied irritably.

"Coincidentally, I'm not very happy either."

Xu Shi grinned. "Or rather, I'm not happy enough."

"Ok?"

"Because there are still people waiting for me to settle accounts with."

Xu Shi stretched and said, "Come on, let's go see some old friends."

Humiliating the protagonist is exactly what villains love to do, isn't it?

Just thinking about it makes his palms itch.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 176 Xu Shi Fermented Bean Curd, step forward!

Xu Shi fermented bean curd, step forward!

Upon closer inspection, Xu Shi actually had quite a lot of fermented bean curd—aside from Yue Chizheng, who needed to go through the normal interrogation process, and He Yuzhao, whom Xie Qingyan had specifically chosen, all the other masterminds of this riot had been brought to the "Snake Ring" prison cell by him.

It's time to pick the green garlic one by one now.

Xu Shi didn't call anyone else, but simply took Su Lin back to the company, switched "Yujing" to gun mode, and removed a few bullets.

The first cell held Lin Wenhua.

Prisoners are naturally not in a good position. The old man who could still be called the vigorous and strong Lin was now ashen-faced, disheveled, and kneeling on the ground with cloudy eyes.

"Tsk tsk tsk, it's not Chinese New Year today, so I won't give you any lucky money. Get up."

Xu Shi poked him with his cane, "It's not good if people see this... They'll say I'm abusing senior colleagues."

"...Is it really necessary to be so hypocritical now, Chairman Xu?"

Lin Wenhua didn't move, but straightened her back and stared at him as hard as she could, trying to regain some of her momentum.

Unfortunately, Xu Shi glared back at him, and he couldn't handle it, sniffling and shrinking back.

"That's interesting."

Xu Shi squatted down in front of him and said very seriously, "This is just my perverse sense of humor, especially since it's an old geezer like you I'm dealing with. It's hard not to feel good about it."

"I have good news for you. Just an hour ago, everyone did a detailed distribution of your assets. Our 'Snake Ring' will take the lion's share. Old Lin shouldn't have any objections, right?"

Lin Wenhua just smiled wryly upon hearing this and said nothing more.

Being an old shrewd man, he understood the principle of "the winner takes all"—what could a war of words change? Nothing could be changed. Continuing to argue with this little bastard would only lead to more humiliation. It was better to remain silent and let him play by himself.

But despite his words, he wasn't really calm at all... Very few people can calmly face death, let alone someone like him, whose fear and anxiety had been ongoing since yesterday.

It wasn't just Xu Shi's fault; Ning Wei also bore some responsibility.

As the person who was captured by the other party, it was the first time he had witnessed Ning Wei's skills—he killed all of his most elite guards in less than twenty seconds, and by the time he came to his senses, he had already been picked up like a chicken. It was hard not to be scared.

Being low-key and lacking ability are not always the same thing.

However, it must be said that the old man's silence tactic really worked. Xu Shi talked for a long time but saw that he could not get any response, and a look of disappointment appeared on his face.

"Don't you want to talk to me anymore? You're so boring."

He shrugged helplessly, "Then let's move on to the 'last words' section. Is there anything you want to say? Friendly reminder: you can scold me too."

Lin Wenhua remained silent.

"You really won't tell me? You might not have another chance later?"

"...I lost, and that's that. I accept my fate."

Lin Wenhua paused for a moment, then finally spoke, "The only thing I regret is that I didn't kick you out of the way and take over myself sooner."

"Such a deep obsession?"

Xu Shi didn't care about how he addressed her, and just smiled faintly.

"Of course I disagree!"

Lin Wenhua's voice rose eight octaves, "You have no idea how bad 'Snake Ring' was back in your grandfather's generation... It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that your father and I turned 'Snake Ring' from a small stall back into a second-tier, even one of the top six conglomerates! It wouldn't be an exaggeration!"

“My whole life! My whole life! I’ve given it all to this place! I have no problem with your father being a director, but why is it that even after he’s dead, this place is still being run by you Xu family?! Why…”

boom.

Before he could finish speaking, the snake head on the cane spewed out flames.

Pointed precisely between the eyebrows, bringing joy to the entire room.

"You'll have to ask my dad about that once you get down here."

Xu Shi wiped his hands, his eyes showing no emotion whatsoever.

What's so moving about that? It's not about who shouts the loudest that gives them the right to complain... They gave the old man all the riches and honors he was promised, so the only one to blame is his greed.

Some things are held together by a red line. You can cause trouble as much as you want within the line, but once you cross the line, even if it's just a step or two, the nature of the situation will be completely different.

"Let's go, next one."

Xu Shi kicked Lin Wenhua's body aside, waved his hand, turned around and left, going to the next room.

He Yuqiang is being held here.

The pampered young master couldn't endure the hardships here; He Laosan had clearly lost a lot of weight since the last time we met.

Xu Shi couldn't help but click his tongue. Good heavens, you were already weak, didn't you know? Now you're even more inhuman...

"Old Xu, Old Xu, Old Xu!"

Seeing that it was him, He Yuqiang thought for a moment and then, as if seeing a lifeline, crawled to him on all fours, looking up and pleading, "You...you...you're just joking with me, right? You wouldn't really arrest me, would you..."

"Qiangzi, let me ask you a question."

Xu Shi smiled and helped him up, then pointed to himself and asked, "What is this?"

"This……"

He Yuqiang was stunned for a moment, not knowing what he was trying to say.

“These are my eyes, and they are not blind.”

Xu Shi said seriously, "Do I need to tell you what you did behind my back? Put your hand on your conscience, which you may not even have, and think about it: who wronged the brothers first, okay?"

To be honest, once was enough to make him angry, but this bastard actually managed to have a second relationship with Shen He? And after it was all over, he still had the nerve to call him brother. Did he awaken some kind of superpower that increases the thickness of his skin?

"..."

Old He was speechless; that one sentence said it all.

Actually, he wasn't entirely sure before whether Xu Shi really knew about the little tricks he and Shen He had pulled against him in the past, since the other party had always maintained an ambiguous attitude, yet seemed to have helped him every time he was asked to...

But given the current situation, it would be foolish not to figure it out.

"I won't lie to you, I was the one who sowed discord regarding the 'Sea Crane,' and after selling you the 'Twins,' I was the one who sent people to destroy your warehouse."

Xu Shi straightened him on the bed. "But compared to what you did to me, it shouldn't be too much, right? Don't you think so?"

"...Yes, yes, it's all my fault!"

He Yuqiang was naturally furious upon hearing this, but was now the time to lose his temper? What he should do was to apologize with a smile and try to get him to spare his life.

"Shark Tooth's business is so big, you need someone you know to help you manage it, right? Consider this my way of making amends? Old Xu, I'm begging you..."

"…Many people are familiar with 'Shark Tooth,' why would I specifically choose you?"

Xu Shi shook his head. "Putting everything else aside, your father is still alive and well... It's not your turn to be ranked by seniority."

"Or do you want to compete with him?"