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

Pan Ling rubbed her forehead, her tone tinged with grievance, "I have another question I'd like to ask you."

Some silly kids finally realized, belatedly, that their master's childlike side was far stronger than they had imagined. How come they can never see him being serious? And could you please stop flicking his forehead? It'll make him stupid…

"Just ask."

"What I want to ask is, Master, what is your own attitude towards cooperating with the Vatican?"

Xiaoling said seriously, "Because in my opinion, in any case, reaching a cooperation agreement with both the Papacy and the Royal Family at the same time is a better option."

"Why do you think so?"

Xu Shi raised an eyebrow and asked with interest.

"Because this maximizes our interests, doesn't it?"

Pan Ling explained, "Simultaneously reaching cooperation with both the Papacy and the Royal Family means that we can better check and balance these two parties in the future."

"For example, differences in attitude and treatment, such as appropriately ignoring one party, will force them to lower their standards if they want to keep up, and we can gain more benefits from this, right?"

"On the contrary, if we only choose one side, there will be no competition between partners... It might even lead to the party that failed to cooperate completely breaking ties with us. Would that be a good thing for us?"

“But Master, you didn’t do that… Are you worried that the Vatican is just being hypocritical? But since they have already lowered their stance, it actually means that they are willing to make concessions, so there shouldn’t be any more concerns about that.”

This is what she finds most strange. Now is clearly the best time, but Xu Shi has made the wrong choice. In fact, she thinks it is the worst choice.

Was it something that wasn't considered? Pan Ling didn't think so. How could her master be completely unaware of something she could figure out herself?

In her view, the only possible explanation is that, just as Xu Shi said, he was so petty that he would rather give up benefits for a moment's pleasure... but this is completely different from his master's personality.

Even though she had the shortest contact with Xu Shi, she could clearly sense that Xu Shi was not someone whose choices were swayed by personal feelings. Even if he really intended to sabotage the Vatican, he wouldn't do something like this... His so-called lack of seriousness was just a protective facade. Anyone who actually believed that was a fool.

That's why she found it strange and couldn't figure it out no matter how she thought about it... That's probably why she was silent earlier.

"Is that what you think?"

Xu Shi's smile grew even brighter. "It seems you've really learned a lot. It's no wonder I've been so dedicated to training you for so long."

"But you still didn't think it through, otherwise you wouldn't have asked such a question."

"Hey?"

Pan Ling was completely bewildered. The mature image she had painstakingly cultivated was shattered by these words, and she became adorably clueless.

"I'm asking you, regardless of whether the Vatican takes any action, what was our original next step?"

"It's through the establishment of a new religious sect by the royal family..."

Pan Ling answered without hesitation, but then suddenly came to her senses, "Ah..."

Xu Shi's meaning is self-evident.

No matter how humble the Vatican may be, it cannot possibly agree to such a thing, because it is a matter of principle.

To give a very similar example, if we compare the royal family and the Papacy to two people eating, then what he might do now is to pour the food from the Papacy's plate into his own bowl, and then smash the other's plate, intending to let them starve to death.

It would be a miracle if the Vatican accepted it.

This is no longer a situation where one gains an advantage through micromanagement, and of course, this kind of thinking cannot be applied to it.

"Understand?"

Xu Shi rubbed her head and said, "Since it's impossible for me to cooperate with them in essence, why bother with all the complicated stuff? Just play them for a fool."

You still need to practice, you silly apprentice.

Of course, in his opinion, his apprentice's ability to consider this aspect already showed considerable progress.

Moreover, to be fair, her considerations were almost entirely devoid of personal emotions, stemming entirely from rational analysis in order to secure more benefits for her side—clearly, the former Luo Yu could no longer influence her thinking.

Although Xu Shi no longer thought she would have any lingering feelings for Luo Yu, and would never jokingly say something as arrogant as "Are you really afraid that your master will kill him?", his obedient disciple's reaction still made him quite happy.

That's the difference between being proactive and being passive.

"Oh……"

Pan Ling nodded thoughtfully, "Master is right, I have learned a lot... No, that's not right."

She suddenly noticed a very basic question: "Even if you say so, Master, before we completely break ties with the Holy See, we can still get this value, right?"

Just like the Poseidon Stone transaction that Master manipulated before, it was a case of blowing bubbles before popping them.

So, it seems there's no difference in treating the Vatican in the same way?

This problem seems to be getting more and more complicated. As he thought about it, the silly apprentice's eyes started to dart around.

Well... there are two reasons.

Xu Shi readily answered, "Firstly, because the Papacy is not as dependent on us as the Royal Family. The Royal Family needs our help to reduce losses, but the Papacy itself did not suffer much loss in the Poseidon Stone incident. I remember you personally tallied this up."

This is absolutely true, because the Vatican's approach to the Poseidon Stone is different from the other two parties. As mentioned before, as long as it is associated with the word "divine authority," even if it is garbage, there will be plenty of people willing to pay for it.

In this situation, it would be a stretch to say that they also suffered losses; they might have even made a considerable profit. They even have a way to digest the Poseidon Stones they stockpiled before. They can just repackage them and start over, right? They don't even need to change their tactics.

Not to mention that they are not of one mind internally. Or rather, on the royal side, the attitudes of Cheng Gujian and the Little Queen, or even just Cheng Gujian alone, can represent everything. The purpose of the cooperation talks is the same as before, which is more about counterbalancing the royal family.

There's a high chance that once they discuss terms with you, there won't be any follow-up. At that point, they'll be the ones who get dragged into the mess. No matter how long the cooperation period is, the benefits they can obtain will be much less than what's on paper, and a lot of unnecessary trouble will arise.

He wouldn't bother with things that were thankless and exhausting.

"Then... the second point?"

Pan Ling thought about it and realized it made a lot of sense, so she continued to ask.

"Think for yourself."

Xu Shi, however, kept everyone in suspense, leaving only this sentence before ending the conversation.

"...Master, can we stop doing this all the time?"

The foolish apprentice was on the verge of tears. She could only say that although she hadn't experienced the physical pain yet, she had already experienced the mental torment countless times…

Even if it's to train yourself, you can't always use the same trick!

I don't want to think anymore, I just want to listen!

"No, no, I won't."

Xu Shi shook his head helplessly, but still gave her a glimmer of hope, "If you really can't figure it out, go ask your junior sister, she should know."

"Little senior sister?"

Pan Ling blinked and immediately turned to Xia Ke'an, who was watching the drama unfold, "If you know, please tell me, okay?"

"I?"

The older woman looked up at her, thought for a moment, puffed out her chest, and said, "Then you have to treat me to something good to eat."

"Sure, just name whatever you'd like to eat!"

The foolish apprentice readily agreed, finding it much easier than doing his homework.

She still retains some of her naivety and occasionally wants to slack off.

"Then let's go now!"

The white-haired little girl was overjoyed and couldn't wait to drag her shopping.

"Weird."

Xie Qingyan was also a little curious upon seeing this, "I can't think of a second point either... But that little brat knows? You're not lying, are you?"

Of course, she knew that Xia Ke'an wasn't a real child, and was even quite a bit older than her... But since you always pretend to be a little girl, then you're just a brat.

"I said she knows, so she knows."

Xu Shi, still addicted to riddles, adopted the air of a charlatan, saying, "Looks like you're not even as good as a little kid, haha."

"Then hurry up and tell me."

The woman was emotionally unstable and easily angered. She pinched his waist hard, even with her tentacles attached.

"Hey, you're trying to murder your husband, aren't you?"

Xu Shi quickly jumped away, "It's not good to be so impulsive... Heavenly secrets should not be revealed."

"Who told you to say I'm inferior to a little kid?!"

Xie Qingyan wasn't buying it and pressed on, saying, "You have to give me a straight answer today."

"Heavenly secrets cannot be revealed."

Xu Shi's gaze turned sly. "If you want to know, you'll have to see how much sincerity the benefactor can offer."

"……I knew it."

His fiancée immediately understood his unspoken meaning, blushed, and leaned closer again, saying, "Fine, just consider it feeding the dog."

"You're the dog, okay? A few days ago, someone clenched their little fists on their own initiative..."

"Shut up, don't say it!"

"Alright, alright, let's discuss something serious then..."

Watching the two flirt and banter away hand in hand, oblivious to everyone else, the two bodyguards behind them couldn't help but exchange a strange glance.

"...Um, Miss Shen, do you really like Chairman Xu?"

Ye Shanshan understood Shen Qin's gaze and tentatively asked a question.

"Is there any need to say it?"

Shen Qin didn't deny it at all, her tone carrying a little bitterness. She was very unhappy to see Xu Shi being all lovey-dovey with other people every day.

"What a coincidence, our situations are similar."

After thinking for a moment, the curly-haired boy also went along with it and recited a line.

Actually, confiding in Shen Qin about this kind of trouble doesn't seem like the right choice, but who else could I ask? There's no one else... Besides, the two of them have actually been communicating quite a bit these past few days, since their work is quite similar.

We have to get started, and who knows, maybe these words will reach Xu Shi's ears someday, right?

"what?!"

Shen Qin's reaction was a bit unexpected. Pointing at her, she asked incredulously, "So... you also like Chairman Xie, right?!"

Ok? !

Upon hearing this, Ye Shanshan thought there was something wrong with her ears.