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

"...No, absolutely not..."

The lady-in-waiting was young and only served her daily needs. She had just arrived and had never seen Her Majesty the Empress show such an expression before.

She was shocked just by seeing it. Was this the same kind and amiable emperor she knew?

She was so frightened that she couldn't even speak, let alone make any other movements.

"Really? I also think you wouldn't. Your family members all work in the palace, and they've always been very loyal."

Dongfang Xiao smiled and looked at her, reaching out to touch her face. "Of course, it's mainly because you're a good girl, right?"

"Um……"

"Okay, you go down."

"Yes... then your injury..."

"Don't worry about it."

The little queen casually plucked the fragments from her hand one by one, then gently blew on them, and instantly she was completely healed, without a trace.

"Hehe, I'm very well-behaved too."

She looked at her palm and smiled sweetly.

……

Xu Shi was indeed still on Silver Pine Island.

Of course he wasn't in a hurry to return to the main city. As long as things started running smoothly, he didn't need to go back so quickly. Wouldn't it be better to stay in a state of "still recovering from injuries"?

Anyway, it's not like he can't receive messages from the other side. He gets real-time updates on what's happening in the main city.

"Master, Master, the royal family has started too."

Pan Ling, the messenger, arrived with news: "They have set up official trading posts to buy and sell Poseidon Stones, and they have also opened a dedicated processing plant to create related handicrafts."

"The Vatican has also taken similar actions; they have begun replacing some common ornaments with Neptune stone... exactly as you imagined!"

To be honest, although it's commonplace now, she still can't help but be moved whenever she sees others doing things step by step according to Xu Shi's plan, as if it were all arranged. She also feels extremely admiration for Xu Shi.

"right?"

Xu Shi stretched.

That's the right thing to do. It proves that, just as he expected, neither the royal family nor the papacy viewed his actions as a matter of "making money," and they were more concerned with the Poseidon Stone itself.

Especially the royal family, they don't seem to have any intention of revoking their management rights—this has a bit of a statement to it, as if they're saying we can make money together. It's clear they don't want to go too far, after all, there were unpleasant things when they fought the sea god before, so they can't really break off relations.

Little did they know there were many twists and turns behind this... Of course, that's normal, they don't understand these things, it would be strange if they could discover the problem in a short time.

Then I'll take the trouble and be their teacher.

"It's time for a change of roles."

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 253. Chapter 298: Can't we take off?!

253.

The house always wins; that statement is true everywhere.

Especially for a dealer like Xu Shi who uses the experience of his ancestors to beat up primitive people—isn't that beating up primitive people? The higher-ups of the Hualan Empire haven't even seen through the essence of the Sea God Stone transaction yet; their thinking levels are completely different.

Therefore, everything was under his control.

"Instruct all purchasing points to raise their purchase prices, increasing them by five to ten percent per day for each grade, making them as high as possible compared to the prices offered by the Royal Family and the Papacy."

He calmly instructed, "You can decide the exact number yourself, just make sure it doesn't look too fake... Also, change the standard unit of measurement when purchasing, from one hundred grams to fifty grams, and then reduce it to twenty grams in ten days."

"At the same time, we sent people to the royal family and the Papacy's outlets to buy Poseidon Stones, and then released them back into circulation to maintain liquidity and make the market look more prosperous."

"Finally, suppress the prices of all goods except gold, silver, and copper coins. If someone needs to barter, the price they pay must be higher than that of others."

"Yes... but wouldn't that require us to provide a lot of gold and silver as collateral?"

Pan Ling certainly wouldn't object to the bad master's plan; some of it was even something she had devised herself... But after briefly going over the details in her mind, she suddenly realized the problem.

"You don't need to worry about money. The master will give you as much as you want."

Xu Shi waved his hand dismissively. They had brought plenty of gold and silver; if it wasn't enough, they could just transport more from Night City. Anyway, communication had been restored, and a phone call would be all it took.

He really wasn't short of money. The City of Night Sin had long abandoned physical currency. Gold and silver were just metals used in manufacturing and had no purchasing power whatsoever. If anyone directly said, "I want to exchange gold and silver for something," they would be considered a fool.

But this new continent happens to still maintain this traditional way of trading, which is exactly what happened to him.

Otherwise, he really wouldn't have been able to launch this grand feast so easily.

"Besides, who told you that transactions always require money?"

He cleared his throat and looked at his foolish apprentice with interest before speaking again.

"Hey?"

Little Ling was truly dumbfounded. "If not money, then what?"

She could tell that Xu Shi didn't mean bartering, but she really couldn't think of anything more specific.

Prepayment, futures... Xu Shi gave the answer in his mind, but he still kept it a secret aloud, "This issue is very complicated... You wouldn't be able to learn it even if I told you in a short time."

"I'm not that stupid, am I..."

Pan Ling muttered a complaint in a low voice.

"But you lack one of the most important qualities."

Xu Shi did not deny it, but still shook his head seriously.

"What is it?"

"It's sincere."

The wicked master bared his fangs. "The old saying goes that if you want to learn something, you have to sleep with your master first. You haven't even taken such an important lesson. It's really difficult for me to handle this."

"……master!"

The silly apprentice was stunned for a moment, then revealed an adorable look of exasperation, showing a rare hint of dissatisfaction with Xu Shi.

She really thought Xu Shi was hiding some secret! She was just about to listen attentively and take notes, but this is what she heard. It would be a lie to say she wasn't angry.

However, she wasn't completely angry. Her blushing was definitely partly due to shyness—after all, she was just a naive young girl experiencing her first love, how could she stand the casual flirting of an old scumbag like Xu Shi?

Most importantly, this child isn't entirely innocent; she's always imagining strange and inappropriate scenarios between herself and her master… However, this is the first time Xu Shi has actively flirted with her, so the situation is naturally different; otherwise, she wouldn't have instantly turned into a steampunk princess…

To be fair, Miss Xiaoling's situation is actually somewhat similar to Tang Shuang's back then, but it's definitely not as serious as that of Governor Tang. It's just that the difference in age and experience makes them look similar.

Normally, it's one thing to ask someone to serve you tea and water, or massage your shoulders and legs, but you can't stand being told things like this, you absolutely can't stand it!

"Okay, okay, I was just kidding."

Seeing her blushing face, Xu Shi couldn't help but laugh.

He didn't really place Pan Ling in Tang Shuang's position, but rather in Su Lin's position—as mentioned before, the silly apprentice was somewhat similar to Director Su, and as everyone knows, some people's greatest pleasure used to be teasing their childhood sweetheart maid.

So this is a bit of a nostalgic trip down memory lane, looking for a substitute... And as it turns out, teasing his silly apprentice does indeed make him happy.

"I'm just kidding you. You do lack something, but what you lack is experience. You haven't dealt with these things before."

However, he didn't forget the important matter and quickly put away his smile and said seriously, "So I'll teach you slowly... Of course, it would be best to wait until everything is stable before sending you to the City of Night Sin for a systematic study."

It must be said that although he is not a proper person, Xu Shi is quite dedicated to teaching his apprentices. Knowing that he is only a dabbler in this professional field, he might as well let Pan Ling receive some formal education so that he can make up for any shortcomings he has not considered.

"……Oh."

The blush on Pan Ling's face subsided a little, and she nodded earnestly, "I've always wanted to visit my master's hometown too."

She could understand Xu Shi's good intentions, and she was genuinely happy to hear him say that. Moreover, thinking about it carefully, although her master was indeed unconventional in his daily life and often flirted with his wives without any regard for others... he didn't seem to have any real ill intentions towards her. This was the first time he had made such a verbal joke.

This made the silly apprentice feel good. He not only admired his master's perfect strategy, but also admired Pan Ling as well. To put it bluntly, it was because Xu Shi was too unserious. What should have been a normal relationship became a rare and excellent quality in his hands.

But then she thought about it again and felt something was missing. Was it because her master and his wives had such a good relationship that it would be abnormal if they didn't do something for her...?

It makes me feel like I have no charm at all... No, thinking like that makes me feel really awkward...

"That's enough for the little brat."

Seeing that she was lost in thought and hadn't returned for a long time, Xu Shi couldn't help but complain.

This is too easy to tease... Great, we'll increase the intensity next time.

"I'm an adult now, okay..."

Pan Ling snapped out of her daze upon hearing this, patted her face, and muttered a retort, "Besides, Master, you seem to like younger girls too. I think that Master Gu's wife is just like a child..."

I remembered her after just one glance. She was clearly not as attractive as me. If she didn't say so, who would consider her their master's wife? She's almost as young as my junior sister Xia Ke'an...

"Ok?"

Xu Shi narrowed his eyes.

"Ahhh, no, no..."

The foolish apprentice quickly waved his hand, trying to change the subject, "Well, speaking of which, I have a small question to ask you, Master."

"Go ahead."

"But... I'm still very curious, Master, what exactly is your identity in your hometown, Night Sin City?"

She was genuinely curious about this question. She could tell from looking that her master was no ordinary person, but it was hard to say exactly how.

Anyway, Xu Shi hadn't told her. She had tried to subtly inquire with her master's wife and junior sister, but hadn't received any answers.

"Well..."

Xu Shi didn't actually intend to hide it from her, but after thinking about it, he really didn't know how to say it.

Well, if we're talking about it, he's undoubtedly the all-powerful supreme ruler of Night Sin City, but on the surface, he only has the identity of the chairman of "Snake Ring." Explaining that seems rather complicated...

and so.

After careful consideration, he slowly uttered these words in a very standard elder's tone.

"You'll know when you grow up."

Pan Ling: ?