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

He cleared his throat and beckoned to Shen Qin with his finger, "Come here."

Shen Qin seemed to be still in a daze, but upon hearing Xu Shi's call, she walked towards her without hesitation.

A hint of shyness appeared on her face, and it was clear that in her eyes, the person in front of her was her brother.

however.

Just as her head was about to touch Xu Shi's hand, she suddenly snapped back to reality, cried out in surprise, and abruptly pulled away.

"...You're not my brother!"

Her eyes regained their clarity, and her gaze towards Xu Shi became even more furious. "Xu Shi! What the hell have you done, you bastard?"

"Oh, you're awake?"

Xu Shi felt a little regretful that he couldn't play a brother-sister game with the poor girl in front of him.

Faced with her questioning, he sighed and shrugged, "As for what I did... I think you can guess?"

Shen Qin had indeed guessed it; she was just mentally unstable, not that she had become stupid.

Not to mention that she was actually the person most familiar with power transplantation, "You...transplanted my brother's power?!"

"What, are you surprised?"

Xu Shi pulled up a chair and sat down. "Speaking of which, I have to thank you. Without the technology you provided, how could I have accomplished this?"

"...You don't deserve it!"

These words stung Shen Qin's ears, causing her to roar, "You are not qualified to transplant my brother's superpower!"

Her heart ached even more. The matter of the transplanted superpower was already a source of deep resentment for her. Not only had Xu Shi easily taken away her biggest secret, but she also hadn't been able to use that secret to save her brother. Just thinking about it made her feel incredibly guilty.

"Whether you are a good match or not is not up to you, Miss Shen Qin."

Xu Shi, however, was oblivious to being the villain and continued unhurriedly, "I still think Shen He's abilities are not good enough for me. Why don't you hurry up and thank Chairman Xu?"

That's exactly right! Damn it, getting a power transplant requires fighting with people in the mental realm, and the effects are slow to appear. You're aggrieved, and so am I.

Shen Qin certainly didn't think he was wronged at all, and seeing his indifferent expression only made her angrier.

How is this person still alive?! Huh?

Unfortunately, she knew she couldn't do anything drastic to Xu Shi, otherwise she would be the one who suffered.

So all she could do was hurl insults at Xu Shi, racking her brains to use every word she could think of, like "Baka, so damn awful..." But cursing him didn't seem to have any effect.

Xu Shi didn't care at all and picked at his ear with his little finger.

You don't even have 30% of the power of the little black rabbit, little sister... But your blushing face is quite cute, as expected of a sickly beauty with sisterly attributes.

"...Aren't you done talking? Aren't you thirsty?"

He gentlemanly gave Miss Shen Qin time to vent, quietly waiting until she could no longer utter a word before speaking again leisurely, "I didn't come here to listen to you scold me, you've made me forget about the important matter... Really, don't you want to eat something, my dear sister?"

"Don't call me that!"

Shen Qin said angrily, "I'm not eating, so get out!"

Although she was cursing fiercely, she was actually a little confused. Judging from what this guy said, he came all the way here just to persuade her to eat.

This seems to be the real business he was talking about, rather than humiliating himself or something?

Even so, she wouldn't fall for it! It's just a sugar-coated bullet... How could that bastard be so kind?

"You child, you don't appreciate kindness."

Xu Shi shook his head. "Take my advice. Not eating anything will only harm you."

"However, if you really don't want to eat it, that's fine too. I respect your choice."

"Don't eat!"

Shen Qin sneered, "Let me tell you, I'd rather starve to death or jump off this cliff than eat a single thing from you!"

"walk slowly."

Xu Shi nodded approvingly, "Then I wish Miss Shen a pleasant journey."

As he spoke, he got up to leave, and thoughtfully packed up the cold food to take with him.

Looking at the plate in his hand, he shook his head with a half-smile.

That statement just now... it seems familiar.

Little sister, some promises shouldn't be made lightly.

……

For the next week or so, Xu Shi didn't come to see Shen Qin again.

He's not an idle person; he has a lot to do every day—after all, he's the captain, and he has to supervise all kinds of work, such as marine research and relay station construction. Which of these isn't important?

Besides, I'm not a masochist. I don't care about being scolded, and I won't go looking for it... I have lovely and sweet younger sisters around me. Not to mention the adorable Xia family aunt and niece and Yu Xingchuan, even my daily bickering with Xie Qingyan is quite fun.

Of course, there's also Jiang Chengcheng.

Since boarding the ship, my little sweetheart seems to have reverted to her old self, with a much lower profile. She stays in the disembarkation area every day and doesn't come out. Maintaining the stability of the warship is a very arduous task.

She also has a lot of research to do, so she doesn't even have time to spend with Xu Shi.

She wasn't tired of her, so she simply went to her and easily found her way to her work area.

As soon as I entered, I saw her and a group of researchers intently adjusting various equipment. The temperature here was high, and everyone's face was flushed, which the air conditioning couldn't make up for.

"You look exhausted, why don't you take a rest?"

She looked so pitiful. Xu Shi smiled and hugged her from behind, wiping the sweat from her forehead. "I told you before that you didn't have to work so hard. You can leave some things to your subordinates."

"Know it."

Jiang Chengcheng, who had been keeping a straight face, softened instantly. Just hearing those words made her feel much cooler.

"Giving herself to him" is not just a saying; she has always been willing to give her all for Xu Shi, and she feels it is all worth it no matter how hard or tiring it is.

However, she still feigned annoyance and complained, "You're all talk, but you haven't come to see me these past few days."

"Oh, I was wrong."

Xu Shi released her, raised his hands in surrender, and asked, "Then how will Miss Jiang punish me?"

"...It's so hot here, and the sticky, sticky feeling is awful."

Jiang Chengcheng smiled brightly, clearly having been prepared all along, "Come with me to take a bath, and I'll forgive you."

"Great, I'd be honored."

Xu Shi laughed too. Actually, she looked quite cute like this... mainly because she was wearing such thin clothes that her sweat soaked through them, making it very clear that the black underneath her white shirt was visible... wow.

Seriously, how come she's always so alluring?

They returned to Jiang Chengcheng's room, their body heat instantly fading as they soaked in the bathtub. His little lover nestled in his arms, letting out a long sigh of relief, "Phew—"

"How are you feeling now that you've been receiving stabilizer injections?"

Xu Shi playfully teased her from behind while asking about the important matter with concern.

"Hmm... I don't feel uncomfortable."

Jiang Chengcheng couldn't stand his teasing, her body trembled, and her tone tightened, "Don't move, you're so annoying..."

Before boarding the ship, she also underwent surgery and was injected with a stabilizer as previously agreed. However, she and Xie Qingyan encountered similar problems: they had not found a suitable superpower, so they had been delaying it until now.

"Haven't decided what kind of superpower you want yet?"

Xu Shicai ignored her and kept his hands busy, asking questions in a serious tone.

"No, I just don't really feel like I need superpowers..."

Jiang Chengcheng shook her head. "Why don't you make the decision for me? I think either way is fine."

To be fair, she is probably the best example of "powerful without superpowers." Of course, this power doesn't refer to combat strength, but rather to her indispensable role.

In addition, the matter had been dragging on for quite a while, and she herself had lost interest and hadn't given it much serious thought.

It's better to let the one you love decide. His considerations have always been comprehensive... Even if he wants to implant combat abilities into her, she doesn't mind. She's willing to try to become another sword in his hand.

"This is a big deal for you, how can I have the final say?"

Xu Shi disagreed, "You should have some independent thought. It's so boring to act like a puppet. Even if you think superpowers are useless, it's still good to have one, even if it's a superpower that can make you happy every day."

“I’m willing to be Chairman Xu’s puppet.”

Jiang Chengcheng seized the opportunity, turned around, knelt down in front of him, and teased, "If that's the case, why don't I choose to stay young forever? I'll be your vixen for life."

As she spoke, I noticed her eyes kept looking down, and she even unconsciously licked her lips.

Before Xu Shi could say anything more, she had already bent down and covered her mouth with her own.

"I'm talking to you about something serious, you..."

Xu Shi gasped and frowned helplessly. Although everyone knew what was going to happen after the two of them took a bath together, they should at least finish talking about the important things!

But seeing his little lover's diligent efforts, he didn't want to say anything more. He simply stroked her hair and quietly enjoyed her service.

This service went on for who knows where, the only thing known is that Jiang Chengcheng was indeed feeling a bit pent up, her desires unfulfilled.

However, the two didn't really do anything outrageous. Jiang Chengcheng's fatigue was genuine. After doing what she wanted to do, she leaned contentedly against Xu Shi's chest, like a kitten preparing for a good night's sleep.

"correct."

Before closing her eyes, she didn't forget to give a work report: "I've been analyzing seawater with the people at 'Prism' lately and we've discovered a lot of interesting things."

"Oh? Can you tell me more?"

"We've sailed thousands of kilometers now, and we're far from the coast."

Jiang Chengcheng said earnestly, "The concentration of 'rust fog' in this sea area is far higher than that in the nearshore waters. If we simply calculate the proportion, it's already comparable to 'rust fog' ore."

!

This news shocked Xu Shi as well; it was an extraordinary event!

In the past, various companies in Night City would also extract "rust fog" from seawater, but the efficiency was never as good as mining directly. The root cause was the concentration, which was a clumsy trick used only when there was no other way.

But according to Jiang Chengcheng, the situation is different.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the entire sea area is a "rust fog" mineral vein! The key is that it's much simpler to collect than mining, and the quantity is enormous... This is fantastic news!