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

This complication seems quite domineering, with a kind of intractable disease. To be honest, it's even more terrifying than the old lady's complications. After all, Xia Ke'an's complications won't spread further as long as she doesn't use her abilities, unlike hers, which still has an impact every moment even if she does nothing.

This might be related to how she acquired her abilities? You see, although she had been injected with the adaptation drug early on, that was just a prerequisite. Unlike others, including herself, she didn't have a second ability implanted through surgery. Instead, she gained a new ability by chance under the impact of the Poseidon explosion.

In this situation, will the lingering resentment of the sea god remain?

Most likely, even if he were to implant a new superpower himself, he would still encounter Shen He's remaining consciousness.

Ultimately, Poseidon is no pushover and should not be underestimated.

"I... I really didn't mean to hide it from you... I... I was just worried..."

After stammering and explaining to him, Xie Qingyan was somewhat disappointed, and an unprecedented worry, even panic, appeared on her face.

The truth is, this feeling is absolutely unpleasant, especially since she knows what state she will become if the complications go berserk—she might be replaced by the lingering resentment of the sea god and become its puppet body.

This is far more terrifying than the complications of the previous "coprolalia syndrome," so she can't help but worry. Especially now that she and Xu Shi have finally achieved their happy ending, she certainly doesn't want this to become a reality.

"You're already a big worry for us."

Xu Shi sighed, looked down at his palm, and began to think of a solution.

Spiritual erosion...?

To be fair, one's own "increased entropy of evil thoughts" is, in a sense, also a form of spiritual erosion.

So, is it possible to counterbalance this complication by implanting a seed in her?

Theoretically, it seems feasible, which is somewhat like fighting fire with fire—if you can't defeat your inner demon, then create a new one, and let inner demon A deal with inner demon B...

The same applies to "United We Stand," the only difference being whether it's falling into evil or taking refuge. Essentially, it's all about making Xie Qingyan become like Xia Wuyou and the others, thereby naturally eliminating this complication.

However, considering that it needs to cover up the lingering resentment of the sea god, this measurement will probably have to be even larger.

"You...are you going to use your power on me?"

Xie Qingyan wasn't stupid; seeing this, she realized it as well.

To be honest, she personally had some resistance to this—Xia Wuyou was alright, but she had really seen what Jiang Chengcheng was like before. To put it bluntly, she was completely Xu Shi's... She really couldn't accept it.

But this is a question of choosing the lesser of two evils—to become Xu Shi's [illegible], or to be devoured by the lingering resentment of the sea god? It seems the former is slightly better…

Moreover, she knew perfectly well that Xu Shi was doing this to help her, not for his own selfish desires.

and so.

"If that's the case... then come on over."

As she spoke, she proactively deactivated the passive protection of "ability nullification" and smiled at Xu Shi.

however.

Just as the woman was ready to die, Xu Shi shook his head and clenched his fists tightly.

"Never."

"Hey?"

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 257 Whose wish is it to turn into a puppy?

2023-09-06

awkward.

This is probably the best reflection of Xie Qingyan's current state of mind.

That's true. At least from the conversation just now, it seems that letting Xu Shi plant the seed is the only solution that isn't a solution. The way he looks at his palm in deep thought is enough of a hint.

Even Xie Qingyan herself had resigned herself to her fate. Perhaps this was the karma she had owed this scoundrel in the past?

Since that's the case, let it be. It's better than being possessed by the sea god and turning into a monster...

Just when the atmosphere had reached this point, someone suddenly said with an arrogant "No way," completely overturning all the previous build-up.

He himself didn't seem embarrassed at all, so the only one who felt embarrassed was Xie Qingyan.

"you……"

"What? When did I say I was going to use my powers on you?"

Xu Shi blinked, looking at her with a mixture of amusement and exasperation. "What are you so self-satisfied about? Huh? My fiancée, Director Xie?"

Or... do you want me to do this to you?

As he spoke, he pretended to suddenly realize something, "Oh, I see. You feel you owe me too much, so you thought, 'I might as well be this man's little dog, it's not a loss anyway,' right, right?"

"...Get out of here!"

With his thoughts laid bare, it would be a miracle if Xie Qingyan didn't break down.

Her face flushed red, and she said angrily, "I, I didn't mean that at all! Xu Shi, don't go too far!"

"right?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Shi laughed even more heartily, "That's the right thing to do."

"Because I've already said that you don't owe me anything anymore. If you still hold that idea, then you're making a huge mistake."

His attitude became more serious. "Besides, even if you were willing, I wouldn't do it. It would be too embarrassing for me to do whatever you say."

"Besides, if that's really the case, I'm afraid I'll never see your awkward little expression again... That would be the biggest regret for me."

This sounds like a joke, but it's an undeniable fact. Theoretically speaking, "entropy of malice" doesn't necessarily distort someone's personality. Take Xia Xiaomao as an example; her change only applies to Xu Shi. She doesn't change when facing outsiders, even when dealing with someone as clingy as Jiang Chengcheng. It's more due to her inherent personality.

But for Xie Qingyan, it's different. She needs to use "entropy of evil thoughts" to fight against the sea god's erosion in her mind. That's not as simple as just planting a seed CPU. It may require a larger dose of continuous suppression, or even a two-pronged approach of "entropy of evil thoughts" and "united will".

Therefore, we must first consider whether Xie Qingyan's mental strength level can guarantee that he will not be affected by such "treatment".

It's hard to guarantee, and Xu Shi had even considered the worst-case scenario—that she might actually be twisted into a mechanical puppet under repeated mental influences, like undergoing a lobotomy to treat mental illness... You could say she was cured, but that's definitely not the outcome everyone wants.

"Then what do you suggest...?"

Upon hearing his words, the fiancée's tense body visibly softened, and she bit her lower lip and asked softly.

How could she not know what kind of person Xu Shi was? Despite his harsh words, wasn't he actually concerned about her?

He even rejected the choice she had finally made up her mind about—to be honest, if that jerk had agreed, she wouldn't have said anything, since she was the one who brought it up... But she also had to admit that his answer made her feel more at ease and happy.

Especially since he refused so decisively, it's clear he never even considered doing it... This shows that his previous contemplation was just normal analysis; he had to take all sorts of situations into account.

Humph.

So what's wrong with you, you jerk... Thinking of this, she couldn't help but complain in her heart. You used to secretly try to use your abilities on me, but now that I've let my guard down, you've become a gentleman?

Despite her complaints, she was more grateful than anything else. Xu Shi's willingness to face such a difficult problem with her was something to be happy about, and his refusal to take advantage of her situation moved her even more.

But after being moved, I was still worried. Xu Shi's attitude was good, but the solution was equally important. If we couldn't eliminate the mental erosion caused by the lingering resentment of the Sea God, nothing else mattered.

She herself really couldn't think of any other way—she had been staying in her room these past few days trying to come up with a solution, but unfortunately, she was still at a loss.

After all, this is a mental illness, and it's not so easy to cure.

Let alone using the existing equipment, even if we set off back to Night City right now, it might not be able to solve the problem... The fact is, under high pressure, the incidence of mental illness in Night City itself has always been high, and many strange cases still leave "Prism" helpless.

The methods she could think of were all just treating the symptoms, not the root cause—for example, using suggestive hypnosis like before, or going even further and applying Shen Qin's methods to herself... To be honest, it would be better to have Xu Shi give her the ability, since there's essentially no difference.

Therefore, she inevitably asked Xu Shi, since she couldn't figure it out herself, but this scoundrel might not be so sure.

Hey, you said you don't depend on him, huh?

"As for a solution... I do have one."

Xu Shi thought for a moment, then turned to look in the direction of the imperial capital. "If I remember correctly, that little empress's ability is related to purification?"

This is hardly a secret; it's a long-standing tradition of the imperial family. Xu Shi clearly remembers that when he first went to the royal court to use force to intimidate the emperor, the little empress Dongfang Xiao was almost unaffected by his "entropy of evil thoughts." Even Cheng Gujian, who was protected by her holy light ability, was just as at ease.

Since "entropy of evil thoughts" and the lingering resentment of the sea god are both forms of mental erosion, then by extension, the power of holy light should also be equally effective.

Well, now I have a reason to take down the little empress... Haha, just kidding. The truth is, regardless of Xie Qingyan's involvement, Dongfang Xiao is an indispensable part of his upcoming plans.

"Hopefully she'll come in handy."

Xu Shi sighed softly, "Otherwise, I would really have to use my abilities to turn you into a puppy... But that would also fulfill your wish, so it wouldn't be a bad thing."

"...Can we not talk about this anymore?"

Xie Qingyan said irritably, "It's a perfectly good thing, but it just sounds wrong coming from your mouth..."

Moreover.

"You should be happier if you could openly and legitimately seduce the blonde, white-stockinged empress, right?"

She couldn't help but tease, "I can't say anything to you, I should even thank you."

Anyway, she couldn't say anything. The other two ladies hadn't come along yet, so what could she do?

"I'm happy?"

Xu Shi was displeased upon hearing this and roughly pulled her into his arms, saying, "I'm very unhappy, okay?"

"Some people say sweet words, but they don't actually trust me. When something goes wrong, they won't say anything... Do you think I can be happy about that?"

"What? I already told you... um..."

The woman tried to argue, but Xu Shi threw her onto the bed without saying a word.

"You'll regret lying to me, woman."

The scoundrel has once again switched to his domineering CEO-style awkward conversation mode, determined to teach the bad woman a lesson.

Xie Qingyan blinked, and unusually became obedient, pitifully clenching her fists and gently shaking them in front of her chest.

"Wang Wang."

……

It's not a big deal if people quarrel among themselves. Xu Shi has always believed in speaking out, instead of holding things in for thirty or forty chapters and leaving them unresolved. That's disgusting, okay?

But it's a different story when facing outsiders—upon arriving in the capital city of the empire again, before even disembarking, everyone felt hostile gazes coming from all directions.

Looking around, the surrounding imperial citizens did indeed have strange expressions—many of them, or rather, they were all more or less affected by the bursting of the Poseidon Stone bubble.

And everyone still vaguely remembers that this wave first started in the trading post of Night Sin City. Once you realize this, it would be strange if you could treat these despicable outsiders with a friendly face.

They will never examine their own greed. We just want to have a better life, what's wrong with that?