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

The older woman wasn't really concerned about her appearance, but suddenly felt uncertain.

Could he already know about my little secret after I recovered?

It shouldn't be...

……

Xia Ke'an didn't know whether she should or shouldn't. Theoretically, no one should know about this except herself... But she didn't dare to ask Xu Shi, or rather, she didn't want to. If she really asked, it might turn into a self-inflicted disaster.

Xu Shi ignored her; he had a lot to do lately, such as helping Cheng Gujian train his soldiers.

On his first voyage, he didn't bring many weapons, but it was enough to arm the elite of the Royal Court Knights. The cooperation was finalized, and the weapons quickly arrived in their hands.

However, although it was called training, it was essentially just teaching them how to use the techniques and some tactics commonly used in Night City. In essence, these people were not that bad; they had all been personally trained by Cheng Gujian and were not a bunch of random soldiers. Deliberately changing their original combat mode would be superfluous.

And he wouldn't do these things himself; he wouldn't have the ability. The real expert in this area is Yu Xingchuan, the former deputy director of the inspection bureau, who is now the director and is perfectly suited to do this kind of thing. It was under her training that the inspection bureau has maintained an extremely high standard.

This is something that Xia Wuyou, the field supervisor, cannot match; in this aspect, she can only assist the adjutant.

So Xu Shi made a switch, sending Jiang Chengcheng back to Silver Pine Island to oversee the construction of the communication base station while he was there. Before leaving, the First Madam was reluctant to part with him and spent a romantic night with him.

So what was he doing on his own?

Enjoying it.

Even if they can't be instructors and give orders, they still have to be people, so the various groups training on the field witnessed a very strange scene.

On the high platform, some people set up a recliner and a small table, with sunflower seeds, drinks and mineral water all provided. To their left, a sycophantic little girl was fanning them, and behind them, a stern-faced young woman was massaging their shoulders.

That's so shameless! Everyone here is training like crazy, and you're acting like you're on vacation. It's infuriating... Oh, at least Xu Shi has some self-respect; he chose a corner spot instead of sitting brazenly in the middle.

"Push harder."

Xu Shi took a sip of the Hualan Empire's specialty drink and gave instructions to Miss Shen Qin behind him with a smile.

"..."

Shen Qin remained silent, but quietly increased the intensity, obediently following instructions.

To be honest, she was really questioning her life. She had mistaken Xu Shi for her brother again in a daze, and she had even acted coquettishly in his arms. They had been talking quite well afterwards, but then he suddenly turned around and did this again? And he was even twenty times more sensitive than usual?

What kind of person is this...? She originally thought that by spending so much time with Xu Shi, she could at least figure out his movements, but the more she spent with him, the more chaotic things became, and she couldn't find any pattern at all.

What else can we do but accept it?

Her stern face wasn't because she was angry or aggrieved, but simply because she was a little numb and confused.

Perhaps it still carries a lingering aftertaste of a cake with twenty times the sensitivity? It's hard to say...

"Master, Master, this is the homework you assigned. Please take a look."

Pan Ling was naturally the one who fawned over him. The little girl held a stack of parchment with dense writing in her hands and respectfully handed it over, carefully waiting for Xu Shi to review it.

"Let's leave it there for now."

Xu Shi put down his drink, but instead of looking, he asked about other things, "How is your sister?"

"I've been trying to persuade my sister for several days now, and she's come to a lot of understanding."

Pan Ling answered earnestly, "Mrs. Xia also arranged for her to train with the soldiers."

Looking down, Xiao Feng was indeed in the ranks, her enthusiasm for training standing out, making the surrounding soldiers seem a bit lazy.

Xia Wuyou made this arrangement in the hope that she could receive some systematic training. Of course, she also wanted to find something to distract her from the Luo Yu incident.

Or perhaps she has come to realize that, putting everything else aside, personal strength is indispensable.

Therefore, she didn't want to miss any opportunity to become stronger, especially if someone was guiding her, she would work even harder.

What else can we do? Just like before, some people are happy for a long time after being taught a few fancy moves?

Xu Shi nodded. To be honest, this was a bit cruel for her, but it wasn't so bad if it had a positive effect. Just like he said before, it's better to talk things out than not.

Besides, they have a qualified doctor supervising them, so he didn't need to worry at all. He turned to ask, "And you? How did you feel after the injection?"

The "Constant Self" thing has long passed its risk period. Since we said we'd give her an injection, there's no need to delay. The people of the Hualan Empire are no different from the people of the Night Sin City in terms of eyes and noses, so there's no need to worry about intolerance.

"Ah...it works really well, and I don't feel any discomfort..."

It was a simple question, but it immediately made the foolish apprentice tense up, and he stammered as he answered, "Now, now, I can control the switch of my ability myself..."

The effects of "Constant Self" were immediate, especially for someone like her who was at the C level. Pan Ling herself never expected that the problem that had been bothering her would be solved so easily by her master.

But she was genuinely shy, for no other reason than that Xu Shi himself had given her the injection, and it was even given in her buttocks…

This is definitely some people's twisted sense of humor. Even the foolish apprentice knows that the one who is skilled in medicine on the master's side is that Aunt Xie, or rather, Master Xie's wife, right? Anyway, the master is definitely not good at it, but that day he pretended to be very serious, saying that he cared about his apprentice, and he even got a white robe, white hat, mask, gloves and such from somewhere, making himself look very proper.

The conversation at the time was even more strange, with things like "It might hurt a little later, just bear with it," which sounded really odd... Afterwards, she also overheard her junior sister and Aunt Xia chatting, saying that it didn't necessarily have to be injected into the buttocks; an injection in the arm was a more common method...

"Bad Master."

She couldn't help but mutter to herself, and the worst part was that she couldn't help but imagine things in her mind. She'd never seen her master dressed like that before...

"What did you say?"

Xu asked leisurely.

"I, I said... I said you're a bad teacher."

Pan Ling thought for a moment and didn't back down. Instead, she mustered up her courage and raised her voice a little louder, "You, you just want to spank me, you did it on purpose."

"Did you know that on the first day?"

Xu Shi wasn't angry at all because his apprentice kissed him. Instead, he chuckled mischievously, "Look on the bright side. You'll get used to it if I hit you now."

The foolish apprentice looked aggrieved, "I didn't do anything wrong, why did you hit me..."

"It's better to be prepared than to wait until you make a mistake and then punish you."

Xu Shi had his twisted logic: "Besides, as the old saying goes, 'Spare the rod and spoil the child.'"

Where did this old saying come from? Pan Ling couldn't help but roll her eyes, but it wasn't a spur-of-the-moment idea that he wanted to spank her; he had this thought even before she became his apprentice... In the end, he got his way, which was quite honest of him.

But all that's left is honesty! Everything else seems unreliable! Is it too late to switch allegiance to Master Xia now?

Xu Shi was overjoyed; teasing his apprentice was a delightful thing.

Pan Ling shook her head. She was afraid that if she continued to discuss this issue, she would lose control of her sense of shame. So she cleared her throat and focused on the matter itself. "Disciple, disciple is still very grateful to Master for helping me solve the problem... but I still feel uneasy about using medicine like this..."

After all, her father, and some of the elders on Silverpine Island, had all cultivated themselves step by step. Even her sister had done the same, still sweating profusely on the training ground... In her opinion, that was the correct way for a "chosen one" to improve themselves.

"What does it matter? I went through the same thing as your master."

Xu Shi's smile faded slightly. "As long as the result is the same, ability is just a means to an end. Improving it first and then consolidating it later is the same thing."

This is his consistent philosophy. It is true that combat personnel need a lot of training to lay a solid foundation. If they don't train, they can easily become bloated just by relying on their level. But since they are not combat personnel, it is not a problem to be more lenient in this regard. He has never had a single day of systematic training. How could he be worse than anyone else?

He has even overcome the problems of complications. He used to have to take medication afterward, but now he only takes it when he remembers. Essentially, he no longer takes it seriously, and he is no longer tormented by paranoia.

"Oh……"

Pan Ling nodded as if she understood, but she needed some time to process this kind of conceptual issue.

Instead of dwelling on this, you should pay more attention to your own mental health.

Xu Shi said slowly, "You seem to be in good shape lately, but I also see some problems. Your thinking seems a bit too extreme... The assignments you recently gave me look like they were written by a machine."

For example, what she has in her hand is an upgraded version of the trolley problem: lifeboat ethics. Compared to simply saving one or five, it involves more and broader issues.

It's not that the silly apprentice's answer was wrong, but the question itself was a bit too rational and absolute, completely different from her reaction when she first faced this kind of question.

"This...isn't this what you taught me, Master?"

Pan Ling blinked. "If you're going to take things in stride about things that don't concern you, then I'll just analyze it from an outsider's perspective. In that case, we should definitely let the elites board the ship first to preserve the total value of the people on board as much as possible... Isn't that right?"

"That's right, but that's not all I'm going to teach you."

Xu Shi nodded slightly. "My requirement for you is to make the choice that is most comfortable for you. When you were writing these answers, were you truly clear-headed?"

"I……"

The foolish apprentice thought for a long time, then shook his head. "Not entirely."

"I'll take it."

Xu Shi sighed, "So your answer is meaningless."

This was also what Xia Ke'an was worried about that day. Being too rational is never a good thing. In ancient terms, it's called "preserving heavenly principles and eliminating human desires." If you maintain it for too long, you'll become abnormal...

Xu Shi didn't think he had gone too far in his thinking. It was simply a matter of following one's heart and having a clear conscience, yet Pan Ling just couldn't grasp it? Instead, she went from caring about everything to caring about nothing at all. Was she really such a foolish apprentice?

"Then, what would have meaning?"

Little Ling's eyes darted around. It was wrong to be conflicted before, and it was wrong not to be conflicted now. She was quite happy at first, thinking that she would definitely be praised for spending so much time on it...

"Your own thoughts are the most meaningful."

Xu Shi sat up and earnestly instructed, "We are never concerned with the problem itself, because the problems I give you never have standard answers. What you should learn is how to cultivate your mindset and way of thinking from these problems."

"Um……"

"Hmm my foot, let me finish."

Xu Shi interrupted her impatiently, "How about this, when you think about a problem in the future, list out both the positive and negative possibilities, then compare them, and choose the one you prefer."

"Take this specific sub-problem as an example. If someone on the ship is about to die, can we just kill them to let the newcomers board? If it were me, I would choose yes. In this situation, being soft-hearted is meaningless."

"But the next question is, if someone on the ship is about to die, can we eat their corpses to make the others live longer? My answer is no, because it doesn't align with my beliefs. Of course, that's my answer; I don't know yours. Think about it this way, then answer it again and give it to me later."

"it is good."

Pan Ling seemed to be deep in thought. Although she still felt a little confused, it was clear that she had been seriously considering her master's words.

Xu Shi also thought about it seriously and could understand where her problem lay. To be precise, her thinking was not yet formed, unlike himself who had a very clear understanding of his own heart.

If we divide them into nine factions, he is the evil of order leaning towards chaos, and he knows very well how to do things in accordance with his own heart. But Pan Ling is not necessarily like that. She is not just a blank sheet of paper, but more like a crumpled blank sheet of paper.

So why not try the angel-devil dichotomy? Whenever you encounter a difficult decision, have the little angel say a sentence and the little devil say a sentence. This will make the decision much easier.

oops.

Who said I'm irresponsible towards my apprentice? Isn't this very responsible? It also aligns with his so-called "pruning" approach—giving advice but ignoring everything else. Otherwise, what's the point? To train a puppet?

"Including what happened to your brother Luo Yu... Don't pretend to be so calm, I know you're not feeling so good inside."

He casually added, "If you don't think he's that bad, then keep in touch with him. If you feel he hurt you, then cut ties completely without any burden. Make yourself comfortable first, and consider the feelings of others, even your master's, which are secondary."

“…Ah.”