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

He's not so far removed from the stage where he can only hold a gun to someone's head and execute them after everything has settled down.

"Non-professional combat personnel" does not mean they have no combat capability; these are two different concepts.

However, he is usually protected by people when he goes out, so he rarely needs to take action.

"Who asked you that? I was referring to what you just said..."

Tang Shuang frowned slightly, and her tone became even more subdued.

"How do you think I discovered that assassin? It must be because of my Ascension ability?"

Xu Shi interrupted her again, thought for a moment and replied, "I can sense things that are invisible to the naked eye."

"Evil Entropy Increase" is a mental ability, which in the terms of fantasy novels would be called divine consciousness or divine thought. It is normal to give him such an ability as a gift.

He had defended against Lin Yue's assassination attempt when he first reached A-, and now that the Assassin Little Sister's Seed has also completed its closed loop, he has been completely and stably promoted to the A+ level, and his perception range is even greater.

In this respect, he is even better than professional combat personnel.

Anyway, he's definitely better than the one in front of him. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but remind him, "Speaking of which, even if you become the governor, you can't be too complacent, otherwise you'll suffer because of it..."

"shut up!"

This time it was Tang Shuang's turn to interrupt him. Her voice instantly rose eight octaves, startling Xu Shi.

"What I want to say is... Xu Shi, you fucking bastard!"

Then he noticed that Tang Shuang's tone had an unusually sob-like quality, "You think scaring people is fun?!"

"Who's scaring me... What do you mean?"

Xu Shi frowned and looked at her, asking.

"How can you still look so indifferent after something like this happened?"

Tang Shuang glared back angrily, "Do you know how I felt when you pointed a gun at me and said those things to me?!"

She really couldn't help but feel like crying.

Judging from her current state, she was genuinely frightened this time, but not because she was almost ambushed; that wouldn't have mattered to her.

To be honest, even if ten assassins came rushing at her with a bomb, she might not be too bothered—the people in the investigation bureau have all been through the wringer, and their mental fortitude has been tempered by countless trials.

What she was truly afraid of was Xu Shi's actions just now, or rather, the negative associations that might arise from them.

Now she has sorted out the cause and effect, but there was no time just now. When Xu Shi pointed a gun at her, she could clearly feel the extreme despair and fear that subconsciously exploded in her body, making it hard to breathe.

This was exactly what she had been worried about—Tang Shuang knew very well that the differences in her views with Xu Shi were an insurmountable obstacle, and on this issue, it would be difficult for either of them to change the other's mind. At most, they could each take a step back, which would only be a temporary solution.

So here comes a question: for now, everyone has the same goal and can get by like this, but what if one day their goals diverge?

Tang Shuang wasn't really keen on thinking about this issue. The current situation was improving, so why talk about such depressing topics? Wasn't that what happened before? They'd say something like, "If you ever get into trouble again, I won't let you off the hook," and then that was it.

But what just happened forced her to confront this issue again, and even helped her find the answer.

The answer is that she found the situation was far worse than she had imagined, because when faced with Xu Shi's gun, her first reaction was not to resist, but to feel her mind go blank, as if the sky had fallen and the earth had collapsed.

How could this be... Tang Shuang asked herself knowingly, though she understood that it was because she had feelings for Xu Shi, and not just ordinary feelings.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have forced herself to make concessions, tried to influence and change him from time to time, and even made a point of spending time alone with him—she would only do this if she hoped someone could improve; otherwise, nobody would care.

Tang Shuang swore that when they used to throw cups at each other, she never imagined that their relationship would turn out like this, and she didn't want it to go back to the way it was today.

So even though she knew that Xu Shi did this to save her, she still couldn't help but vent her concerns in this way.

"...The situation was urgent just now, don't overthink it."

Seeing her so distraught, Xu Shi roughly guessed what she was thinking and gently comforted her.

His initial actions were indeed easy to misunderstand; if he put himself in the other person's shoes, he probably wasn't much better off.

No wonder you look so lost, he muttered to himself. Come to think of it, Tang Shuang was definitely not the type of person who would be scared by something like this.

You know, this whole thing has gotten really messy... Thinking about it, he got a little angry too. He was supposed to be having a good time today, but it's turned out like this. Where can he go to complain?

It's so uncomfortable to pinch; the "Forgotten Ones" really deserve to die.

"I...I know, I just lost control for a moment..."

Tang Shuang snapped out of her reverie and responded softly.

"What do you know? If you really knew, you wouldn't be like this."

Xu Shi chuckled and sighed, "You really think I'd shoot you?"

"Do you...do you want to hear the truth?"

Tang Shuang hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"of course."

"...To be honest, I really can't be 100% sure."

Director Tang gritted his teeth and, having come this far, decided to be blunt, "Even now it's the same... So why don't you answer one question for me now?"

"You said."

"If, and I mean if, we encounter any irreconcilable conflicts in the future, what will you do?"

Tang Shuang asked very seriously.

"I know... Oh dear, I can't answer that question."

Xu Shi thought for a moment, then shook his head with a conflicted expression.

Why can't you answer?

Tang Shuang pressed on relentlessly, "Just tell me, I can handle it."

"Because, the situation you described will never happen, right?"

Xu Shi rolled his eyes at her. "I admit that our views are not entirely the same, but please think about it carefully. Given the current situation, is it really possible that there will be 'irreconcilable conflicts'?"

"Why not...uh..."

Director Tang was about to subconsciously refute him when he suddenly realized that Xu Shi was right.

What she had always worried about was that one day their goals would diverge, but the problem is, their current goal seems to be the ultimate goal...

Nothing is bigger than the goal of “making Night City stable and prosperous”. Anyway, she couldn’t think of any other major issues. If you want to talk about the differences, is it that Xu Shi wants to overthrow the stability and prosperity she built with her own hands, or that she is determined to make a mess of the city?

It seems unlikely that either of them is possible...

Ah this...

"Furthermore, even if we were to disagree in the future, would we really allow it to escalate to an irreconcilable point?"

Seeing that she was beginning to understand, Xu Shi continued to gently persuade her, "You are not like Long Tianding, Shen Qin, or Lin Wenhua, which means there will always be room for maneuver between us."

"The fact that you've made concessions and compromises to me more than once is the best proof... So why can't you assume that I won't treat you the same way?"

What you said... seems to make some sense.

Tang Shuang rubbed her nose. She didn't object to this statement, and it could be considered a promise he had made.

Suddenly, she felt a sense of clarity—a crucial part of her concerns was her uncertainty about Xu Shi's attitude towards her. Would this guy be willing to compromise and make concessions to accommodate her feelings?

She never asked, so how can you ask? It's not like you can demand that others do the same just because you do it; otherwise, it's blatant kidnapping.

But she overlooked one problem—Xu Shi was indeed cunning, but he was excessively frank about this. He would even tell you frankly that he wanted to squeeze her out and poach her to work under him. What else is there that he can't speak frankly about?

He might even proactively express his opinion, just like he does now, even if you don't ask.

So, you've been sulking behind closed doors, haven't you? It's definitely a case of being too close to the situation to see clearly, otherwise how did you end up in a dead end like that...?

Thinking of this, she immediately felt much more relaxed and even gave a self-deprecating laugh.

Many things are not as complicated as she thinks.

"And you still say you're not overthinking things."

Seeing this, Xu Shi couldn't help but chuckle; it was best that she realized this.

Of course, his statement is not absolute. The probability of an "irreconcilable contradiction" occurring is only infinitely close to zero, but that does not mean it will never occur.

What should we do if such a low-probability event actually occurs?

Chairman Xu's answer was, "I'll show you my abilities and arrange everything clearly! That bitch is always doing useless things, and she even dared to yell at me just now. What are you trying to do, turn the world upside down?"

Humph.

"...Stop the car. Stop the car."

Tang Shuang was of course unaware of his wicked thoughts, but after seeing through them, she was genuinely in a better mood, and her tone became much lighter.

"What do you want to do?"

Xu blinked and parked the car on the side of the road as she had instructed.

"come over."

Director Tang beckoned him mysteriously, gesturing for him to come closer, "Come here."

"Uh-huh!"

Before Xu Shi could react, she cupped his face and kissed him forcefully.

Ugh, I was saying I was in good form yesterday, but I'm having writer's block today. Did someone steal my writing inspiration during my Chinese exam today...?

This chapter has been revised for a long time. Even yesterday's version 183 was slightly adjusted before a relatively satisfactory version was finally produced.

The original idea was that Xu Shi was deliberately testing Tang Shuang through this incident, and then using intense manipulation. But after thinking about it, even though Chairman Xu is bad, he shouldn't be the type to toy with and test the humanity of those close to him, otherwise it would seem a bit annoying...

This is good enough, so easy and relaxing, isn't it?

Let me reorganize the plot a bit more. I'll start with this one update today, prioritizing quality over quantity.

The leader of the alliance is still three chapters short of the bonus chapter, which will be arranged as soon as possible.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 186 Xu Shi, you bastard, are you trying to scare me again?!

I was forcibly kissed...