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

After a while, Luo Yu finally arrived at the church late, saying, "Please forgive me, Your Highness and the Pope."

"...Did you get baptized again?"

Lu Baiyan seemed to have sensed something and blurted out in surprise, "You've been baptized six times in half a month... You really are working incredibly hard."

The so-called baptism is a kind of trial within their Vatican, and all those who pass it gain a great deal.

But this frequency... Lu Baiyan certainly knew why Luo Yu was suddenly working so hard, but he was also amazed by his talent. It's not easy for an ordinary person to pass it even once, but he passed it six times in a short period of time. His strength will probably increase by leaps and bounds.

"It's out of the way."

Her Highness spoke softly, "You did this for the sake of the Holy See, what crime have you committed? Come, let me bless you once more."

"Yes!"

Luo Yu gritted his teeth; the pain of the baptism was not pleasant for him.

But seeing Her Highness's smile, he suddenly felt that it was all worth it.

Even the resentment in her heart lessened a bit. Compared to Pan Feng and Pan Ling, Her Highness the Holy Maiden was naturally more captivating, and they were not even in the same league.

"Everything for the Holy See!" he said emphatically.

"……you're right."

After closing her eyes and bestowing blessings upon him, the saintess also suppressed her smile, appearing even more holy.

"Everything... for the Papacy."

I was just joking with you guys in the group, I would never really stop updating, but you guys are pretty weird...

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 229, do you understand? You can't just randomly set a flag!

The following day, in the capital city of the empire, at the port.

This place is usually quite deserted. Apart from people from Silver Pine Island, only some surrounding villages that take the faster waterway choose this route. There are usually only two or three large and small boats here, and hardly anyone visits.

But today is different. The place was packed with people early in the morning; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the streets were deserted.

Everyone came to bid farewell to their families—not to mention the royal knights, the doctrine of the Church has never prohibited marriage, and most of those going to war had their own wives, children, and elderly parents.

This is also the first time everyone has faced something like an "expedition". In the past, the royal family established knightly orders and the papacy established priests and clergy. No matter how much they improved their military strength, it was all just a power struggle between two political forces, which was essentially an internal conflict.

Now it's about defending against foreign enemies, a completely different matter—many people, let alone going to sea, have never even left the main city to go to the surrounding counties. Even if they are well prepared, they can't help but feel uneasy and nervous.

"Ah Da, you must be careful. Mother is waiting for you to come back..."

"mother……"

"Xiao Mei, let's get married when I return from defeating the Sea God!"

"Okay, I'll wait for you..."

I dare not say anything recklessly, I dare not say anything recklessly... Standing on the boat, listening to the people below making bold statements, sweating profusely, is this something I can say?

However, he suddenly felt a bit sentimental. This was the first time the people of the Hualan Empire had set sail, and he himself wasn't much better off. This thought inevitably reminded him of the people still in the City of Night Sin.

For example, there's my good sister Su Lin, my little pet Lin Yue, and Tang Shuang. Before she left, she even said that when he got back, she would give herself to him...

Huh? Does this count as making a flag? I don't want to do this!

Oh no, I miscalculated! I should have made her moan and groan until she couldn't get out of bed before I left...

He wasn't the only one feeling sad; Xia Ke'an, standing beside him, also sullenly said, "It's been so long since we've heard from Silly Rabbit. She should still be alive, right?"

The silly rabbit was referring to Gu Yi. It was clear that although they bickered fiercely, some friendships were built up in that way. Of course, it might also be related to her nature as an older woman. She seemed to enjoy being with younger children, probably because she could find some joy in being the king of the kids.

"I miss them too, but I don't know when I'll be able to get in touch with them."

Xia Wuyou was also stirred up, and the three of them collectively went "emo".

"...It won't be long."

Xu Shixian finally calmed down and sighed, "Chengcheng has already gone to handle the base station construction. It should be completed before we come back."

It's not that they can't make contact now, but unfortunately the temporary signal towers built at sea are all rudimentary, at most capable of sending telegrams, and can only conduct simple text exchanges. For them, who are already used to communication wristbands, this is obviously far from enough.

As soon as you speak of the devil, he appears. In the blink of an eye, someone hurriedly pushes through the crowd, carrying two boxes, and comes to Xu Shi and his party. "Mr. Xu, this is what Madam Jiang asked me to give you. Luckily, we made it in time."

This man was one of the Silver Pine Island people they had rescued. By seniority, he was considered one of Pan Cheng's confidants. Xu Shi nodded slightly and took the box, saying, "Thank you for your trouble."

Upon opening it, the first box contained a set of combat clothing and a brand-new alloy battle blade.

The clothes were clearly not for Xu Shi, and he couldn't wear them anyway—they were specially designed for Xia Wuyou by Jiang Chengcheng, who had been busy with them since they set sail.

Xia Xiaomao was originally used to lightweight exoskeleton mechs rather than the heavy armor of combat teams, so Jiang Chengcheng naturally chose to continue this design direction.

It also comes with a handwritten instruction manual, which provides a more detailed introduction.

Xu Shi glanced through it and found that she had borrowed a lot of craftsmanship from the Hualan Empire. For example, she boldly abandoned most of the composite materials commonly used in Night Sin City and instead chose a kind of exotic beast leather unique to the Hualan Empire as the main material. According to her explanation, this material is superior in terms of extensibility, defense, and even comfort.

The matching alloy blade is the same, thinner and longer than the original, and the blood groove is filled with a dark blue liquid.

This is the unique "Rust Mist" ore of the Hualan Empire. It is in this liquid state when mined, and the concentration of "Rust Mist" is no less than that of the ore in the "Forsaken" living area. Apart from being rare and expensive, it has no other drawbacks.

Another advantage of this material is that it can better establish a connection with the user – which is also the main focus of this exclusive weapon, maximizing the advantages of supernatural abilities by further extending the user's capabilities.

To give a simple example, when Xia Wuyou battled Tang Shuang before, she once performed a brilliant move of shrinking an explosive device with a single slash. That was a demonstration of her ability, not how powerful the weapon was. Now, with this new knife, performing such a move will be even smoother.

This inspiration also came from the Hualan Empire—the people there had a low level of technology, but their research on ascendant abilities was more thorough, and most of their weapons also adopted this idea, using them as conductors rather than simply as weapons.

In a more elegant way, it's called the unity of man and sword.

The same goes for this suit. Jiang Chengcheng modified the original exoskeleton into a nanoscale internal integrated circuit, which is equivalent to embedding a large number of "twins" inside. According to her, after simulation tests, the effect of reducing weight and improving personal sensitivity is even better.

"Increase sensitivity?"

Xu Shi gave an exaggerated "Oh".

"Go to hell."

Xia Wuyou blushed and punched him, "Can't you use your brain for a second?"

Xu Shi laughed heartily. Even someone as ignorant as him knew that this sensitivity was not the same as that sensitivity. It mainly referred to factors like reaction speed, which were crucial on the battlefield, and was different from the sensitivity of his good sister Shen Qin.

But teasing her is a lot of fun, and it's enjoyable to be mischievous.

"...Then shall I go change and try it on?"

Xia Xiaomao wasn't really angry with him; she just rolled her eyes at him and focused all her attention on the equipment.

What girl wouldn't love new clothes? Especially since this isn't just clothes, but the exclusive weapon she's been looking forward to for so long... To be honest, she's been eyeing Xu Shi's "Jade Capital" for a long time. Who wouldn't want equipment that can instantly break through a level?

When she returned to her cabin and changed her clothes, the effect of her upper body was even more astonishing.

It was said to be made of animal hide, but Xu Shi looked more like silk. Only the upper body and legs showed the unique texture of leather, while the rest of the body was tightly clung to the body.

Like her previous light armor, this battle suit is also dark in color and continues the feel of the previous bodysuit, perfectly outlining her fit and shapely figure.

The integrated circuits embedded in the battle suit are beautifully patterned, and they emit a faint glow as she manipulates them.

The matching outfit included combat boots and goggles, as well as a pair of fingerless gloves with buckles, which added to her sharp and capable look, elevating her overall aura.

She's like a war goddess, the most beautiful female war goddess.

Goodness, it's so stunning it makes my head spin... Xu Shi felt like he couldn't take his eyes off it and exclaimed from the bottom of his heart, "It's so beautiful."

Pan Feng, standing to the side, was already starry-eyed. She had only thought her master was a great beauty before, but she never expected him to be so handsome. Girls all love beauty, right?

"Grumpy."

Xia Wuyou was quite satisfied with herself, but she still lightly spat out a complaint, "These clothes aren't meant to look good."

Xu Shi smiled. What he said was indeed true. He had no doubt about Jiang Chengcheng's skills. With the support of her special weapon, Xia Xiaomao's superpower could probably leap directly from A+ to S-level.

Not to mention that she had also received an injection of "Sublimation II" beforehand, so a breakthrough was a natural progression. Although the two combined wouldn't be enough to make her reach the SS level, she would probably reach S+.

In other words, without realizing it, she seemed to have become the team's undisputed top combat power...

The significance of this equipment itself should not be underestimated; it is the first achievement of technological breakthroughs from Night City and the Hualan Empire!

With this precedent, the special weapons will only become stronger and stronger in the future.

"Since it's not for looks, then let's add another one."

Xiao Xiao was inwardly shocked. Xu Shi took a trench coat and draped it over her shoulders. "Here, that's perfect now."

Although he had worn a bodysuit before, at least he had an exoskeleton covering him. But he didn't want anyone else to see this suit. He thought it was enough for him to see it himself... The man's possessiveness was on full display at this moment.

"……it is good."

Xia Xiaomao paused for a moment, then put on her trench coat, took off her goggles and put them in her breast pocket, her eyes full of gentleness.

This one subtle movement makes him seem like a completely different person.

“By the way, I noticed that Sister Chengcheng hasn’t given it a name yet… Why don’t you name it?” Xia Wuyou thought for a moment and then asked.

"Hmm... how about 'Suwei'?"

After thinking for a moment, Xu Shi said.

This can be considered a continuation of the name of the exclusive weapon series. His "Yujing" is an elegant name for snake, while "Suwei" refers to tiger... Saying that she is like a kitten, how much can she lose to a tiger when she gets serious?

"Any name you choose is fine."

Xia Wuyou had no objection, or rather, rather than insisting on a name, she preferred the sense of ceremony that Xu Shi would bring when naming her.

After exchanging a few sweet words with her, Xu Shi opened the second box.

The items here are relatively simple: a set of bullets and a force field activation device for reloading "Yujing", and a few letters.

The bullets also used liquid "rust mist" technology, so their power was definitely not weak... However, the letter was more interesting to Xu Shi. It was more than ten pages long, filled with Jiang Chengcheng's concern and greetings to Xu Shi before his departure.

That's too much... Xu Shi secretly felt ashamed. Your instruction manual for Xia Wuyou is less than three pages long. It's supposed to be about concern, but it sounds more like a love letter.

Noticing the unfriendly stares around him, Xu Shi decided to put it away first and read it slowly on the way.

"Thanks for your hard work."

He smiled slightly and took out a letter from his pocket, handing it to the person who came, "Then please take this back to her."

This sea voyage will not pass through Silver Pine Island, and Xu Shi did not plan to have Jiang Chengcheng accompany him... They can't always be together, and there are many things to do while at sea.