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

"From what you're saying, Brother Cheng doesn't believe in God?"

Xu Shi blinked and asked an extra question.

"I believe that there is a God."

Cheng Gujian shook his head, "Otherwise, where would the 'Divine Breath' come from? And where would the power of the 'Chosen One' come from?"

"But believing in God is not the same as believing in the Vatican. Do they really have the power to represent God? In my eyes, they are nothing more than a group of ambitious people seeking fame and fortune."

"……I see."

Xu Shi paused for a moment, then mimicked his tone and recited a sentence, before reaching out her hand to him for the first time.

……

"So you're planning to continue working with him like this?"

On the way back, Xia Wuyou hugged Xu Shi's arm and asked softly.

"What's wrong with that? At least we can maintain this relationship for now, right?"

Xu Shi patted her gently, "And in my eyes, this person is quite interesting, I really admire him."

This is the truth. You could say Cheng Gujian is full of schemes, that's true, but he's also genuinely willing to do things for his empire. He really means it when he says he'll personally lead an expedition. He's not just the type who only knows how to play power games.

Overall, he was quite honest and upright, at least to Xu Shi.

Of course, Xu Shi also understood that this was because the two of them now shared some common goals. Cheng Gujian disliked the Holy See, and he himself was no better off. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, after all.

Not to mention that she herself is very valuable and can bring him a lot of positive assistance, which is the main reason. Otherwise, if it were someone else, they might have to kneel down and talk to Cheng Gujian from beginning to end, not daring to raise their head.

"But he's still essentially using us, isn't he..."

Xia Xiaomao complained softly, "Inviting you to join us in fighting the sea god seems like a pretense. You'll just use us as a shield when we're really in danger."

"Who says it's not?"

Xu Shi did not deny it, "However, we were going to investigate the Sea God anyway, so having a local as a guide and bodyguard is not a bad thing."

"Including trade and establishing diplomatic relations, it's much easier for us with his help... It's a mutual benefit, I guess."

Since we're from out of town now, some of our advantages are definitely not as easy to utilize. Besides, given Cheng Gujian's status, it's unrealistic to expect to get something for nothing. This is the only way things can be: each of us gets what we need.

But overall, he could accept the result.

"In a way, you two do look quite alike."

Xia Wuyou complained, "But you're not considering the Holy See at all now? You haven't even met them yet."

I didn't say that, did I?

Xu Shi shrugged. "But if I really had to choose, the royal family would be the first choice, and you know why."

"Because that little empress is exactly how you imagined her, right?"

"Ok?"

"Just kidding."

Xia Wuyou chuckled, knowing it was because of her past conflict with Luo Yu.

Although the Knights Templar are nominally a group that serves both the royal family and the Papacy, it is obvious to everyone that they are more aligned with the Papacy. From this perspective, the conflict on Silver Pine Island already constitutes a feud with the Papacy, not just the conflict between Xu Shi and Luo Yu.

Weighing the pros and cons, everyone would prefer to avoid a little trouble.

"But it wouldn't hurt to get to know each other, would it? If you really go to fight the Sea God with Cheng Gujian, you'll be bound together forever."

Xia Wuyou thought for a moment and then said, "Especially that Luo Yu is said to be a Silver Knight, but I don't think his status is very high, otherwise he wouldn't be so severely restricted."

As for those few bronze-level figures, there's no need to consider them. Once cooperation begins, who cares whether those few scoundrels are alive or dead? They even killed Fan Shigui in front of the royal family during the day. Would that affect future cooperation? That's the logic.

Xia Xiaomao understands her man well. She agrees with his choice to conquer this place through infiltration. They may not lack strength, but a fight that results in mutual destruction would be more difficult, especially under the premise of opposing "natural law". There would be no benefit in that.

But since it's an infiltration, having multiple routes should be good, right?

“You’re right, but who you deal with is never the main thing. As long as the job gets done, that’s all that matters.”

Xu Shi sighed, "Now that we can engage in trade and build base stations for research, it's not that important whether we talk to the Vatican or not. We'll talk about things when there's a real need. We can switch sides anytime."

Xia Wuyou opened her mouth, and it seemed that it really was true... she had indeed become stupid, hadn't she? She always felt like a fool in front of him...

Fortunately, she didn't mind. She was used to following orders in this regard. It was the most normal pattern for her to move when she was nudged. This was how it was when she was "planted".

"Hey, I have a feeling that you're siding with the Vatican, Wuyou?"

Seeing her expression, Xu Shi found it amusing and, in a playful mood, teased, "Tell me honestly, did you take money from them in private?"

"What nonsense."

Xia Xiaomao retorted irritably, "Didn't you say before that it's easier to target an idiot? I think Luo Yu is pretty stupid... Isn't that a good thing?"

This is true. Having experienced Xu Shi's operation firsthand, Luo Yu's petty schemes were worthless in her eyes, especially since they hadn't even succeeded...

"That being said, it won't do if it's too stupid."

Xu Shi was pleased with her subtle praise, but he simply shook his finger.

"why not?"

"Well..."

Xu Shiyou explained, but just as he was about to speak, he heard a commotion in front of him.

Lifting the curtain of the carriage, they saw that they were almost at the post station.

The noise came from in front of the inn. Feng Ling and her sister and Xia Ke'an and her two little ones were standing together, all looking a little nervous. Shen Qin, who was in charge of guarding them, was even colder than usual.

Opposite them were several people clad in armor, all wearing bright silver suits, their identities self-evident.

There's also a familiar face among them.

"Xiao Feng, Xiao Ling, listen to me, we shouldn't stay here any longer, let's go back to the Holy See first!"

Oh?

You're trying to snatch someone away right in front of them, aren't you?

Damn it, I wasn't paying attention yesterday and got bitten all over my hands by mosquitoes, it's so infuriating...

This chapter was written hastily and may be revised later.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 224 The stone hits the dog and it barks, who's in a hurry?

"Brother Luo Yu, why do you say that?"

Looking at Luo Yu's serious expression, Pan Feng, who was standing in front of his sister, also frowned.

Today, she went out to celebrate the victory with her younger sister and senior sister, which was a very happy thing for her.

Then, after the celebration ended and they returned to the inn, they ran into Luo Yu and his friends.

This should have been a happy occasion as well. Xiao Feng, with her cheerful personality, had long since forgotten what happened on the island and was even thinking of sharing the joy of victory with Brother Luo Yu. She had done something truly remarkable.

Unexpectedly, the other party was not in the mood for casual conversation. Instead, when they saw them with Xu Shi and his group, their expression changed instantly. Not only were their words barbed, but they also seemed to want to forcibly take the two of them away.

"...What I mean is, since you two came to the main city, why didn't you tell me?"

Faced with Pan Feng's question, Luo Yu paused for a moment before pretending to be calm and said, "It wouldn't be good to trouble Brother Xu... He has important business to attend to here, so don't cause him any trouble. Come with me to the Holy See, and it will be more convenient for me to take care of you."

His face was not good; it was gloomy and dark, and as he forcibly suppressed his emotions, it even appeared somewhat dark.

It would be a miracle if he were in a good mood.

After suffering a setback on Silverpine Island, he had no choice but to return to the ship to deal with the bronze-level matters. In the end, he left in a sorry state, without even having the nerve to say goodbye.

This wasn't the first time he'd returned to his hometown after venturing out, but every time before, he was always surrounded by a large crowd. Everyone who saw him would say, "He's the pride of our Silver Pine Island!"

This time, however, it turned out like this—to put it bluntly, he looked like a dog, covered in dust and dirt!

Even Uncle Pan, who had always treated him like family, wasn't much better. The few times he came to him afterward, he always played the peacemaker, trying to mediate the conflict between him and Xu Shijian... He was very indifferent to him personally, and his words always gave him the feeling that he was siding with outsiders.

He's just an outsider, is he really worth all this trouble? And you're even defending him in every way...

If it were just that, it wouldn't be so bad. But after returning to the main city, he still had to deal with the follow-up matters. In the past few days, he had been subjected to countless open and veiled taunts and sarcastic remarks from his colleagues, and many people had taken the opportunity to make trouble and question his abilities as a newly promoted Silver Knight.

That's the logic. Nominally, the four bronze-level servants are there as attendants and guards, but they don't actually protect you.

Not to mention that everyone knows Silver Pine Island is Luo Yu's hometown. Returning home to visit relatives and causing such a scene is a huge joke in itself.

Dealing with these matters alone was overwhelming for him, and on top of that, there was the "Sea God" incident to handle. In just a few days, he visibly became much more haggard.

I finally had some free time today, so I went out to relax with some nice colleagues from the Vatican. But as luck would have it, on the way back I saw the Feng and Ling sisters with Xu Shi's daughter, chatting and laughing happily.

What was originally a warm and harmonious scene turned into a powder keg in his eyes, causing him to explode instantly. He even lost his temper and, unusually, said some very unpleasant things.

They panicked and their defenses crumbled.

How could you associate with Xu Shi?

In Luo Yu's view, being with Xu Shi's daughter meant being with Xu Shi, which at least proved they came together, right? They seemed to have a good relationship...

"What do you mean by that?"

Before Feng and Ling could answer, Xia Ke'an was a little unhappy. "The way you're saying that makes it sound like my father can't take good care of them? If you really had that intention, why didn't you take your junior sisters with you when you left?"

"...They didn't tell me they were coming back too."

Luo Yu was speechless for a moment, and after a long silence, he replied in a low voice, "But since they're here, as their older brother, it's only right that I take care of them. Little sister, could you please tell your father that I thank him for taking care of Xiao Feng and Xiao Ling these past few days?"

"Xiao Ke'an can't make that decision."

The older woman flatly refused, her words laced with sarcasm, "If you're so capable, go talk to my dad yourself. Why are you trying to be a hero while he's not around?"

"..."

Luo Yu was taken aback, thinking to himself that this was truly worthy of being Xu Shi's daughter. Her sharp tongue was not much different from his own. Her words sounded serious, but in reality, they were all sarcastic and sarcastic.

"...Okay, I'll talk to him about the situation later."

However, he was too lazy to argue with Xia Ke'an, and as he spoke, he moved closer, seemingly intending to snatch her away!

Unfortunately, he missed his target—almost in the blink of an eye, Shen Qin, who was standing to the side, made her move. The short knife in her hand flashed with a cold light and, with a hum that tore through the air, it was aimed directly at Luo Yu.