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

When everyone found out, they didn't say anything; instead, they became even more excited.

It is evident that most of the newspapers that publish these two topics are not reputable publications, so the public simply treats it as entertainment.

Only Xu Shi's own people knew that these things were actually quite true... The content was obviously completely unrelated, but the tone was not far off.

So, if we have to say something, it doesn't seem like it's a smear campaign?

However, he was thick-skinned and had become completely immune to these things back in Night City. His only use for this was to teach his foolish apprentice, who had little resistance to public opinion, a lesson about how fame brings trouble and how to take things in stride.

Pan Ling vaguely remembered that her master was still lamenting, "How did I inexplicably become a Russian sorcerer?" At the time, she was quite curious: Who was this person?

The bad teacher said not to ask about such things, and that it would be better to drink more milk instead.

So even now, she doesn't know exactly where Russia is, or whether it got its name because she raised geese so well.

The master said no, if it were, it should be called Goose City.

but.

Now is not the time to dwell on such trivial matters.

"No, no..."

The simple-minded apprentice snapped out of his daze and said earnestly, "Actually, these reports started to get a little strange yesterday..."

"Ok?"

Xu Shi took it out of curiosity, glanced at it, and immediately noticed the problem.

Because of the reports over the past two days, the focus has shifted.

Shocking! Was the current Imperial Tutor devoured by the Sea God along with his wife? They may have become vassals of demons!

"The Cat Cult? The Sea God Cult!"

My worldview is shattered! The royal family is actually involved with…

Pick any popular product, and you'll see headlines like these, all recounting the events of Xu Shi and Xie Qingyan's campaign against the Sea God.

Based on the above nonsense, or rather, reasonable speculation, those who were swallowed by the sea god could not possibly survive. Therefore, the two who survived, Xu Shi and his companion, were naturally no longer human, but rather bodies parasitized by the sea god.

The sea god, resenting humanity's relentless pursuit and extermination, sought revenge through various means.

The Sea God Stone trade was a lesson, while the Holy Fire Cat Cult was a trick to manipulate people's hearts, with the aim of completely destroying the entire Hualan Empire.

The fact that the royal family has now been infiltrated and misled is the best proof of this.

Without even thinking, it's obvious who's behind all of this.

Clearly, the Vatican could no longer sit still and began using this method to create panic.

"...This is outrageous! Who is smearing my brother behind his back?!"

Shen Qin wasn't on duty today. After seeing the contents of the document, she was furious and grabbed a knife, ready to go out and teach these ignorant fools a lesson.

"Xiao Qin."

Xu Shi stopped her, "Don't be impulsive."

He remained calm, even though he also felt that the matter was excessive.

Well, how should I put it, it's really too much.

Because just a year ago, he used the same method to put pressure on the "Forgotten Ones," and now the boomerang has come back to bite him.

Of course, seeing the former leader of the "Forgotten Ones" now indignantly seeking justice for himself seems to have more to do with the entertainment value than the public opinion impact.

This made the emotionally fragile Xu Shi unable to hold back her laughter.

"You... Brother, you're still laughing!"

Seeing this, Shen Qin was furious. "Brother, it's because you have too good a temper that they can bully you so recklessly!"

Sorry, I really couldn't help it... Xu Shi cleared his throat awkwardly, looking at his good sister who had completely gone down the silly girl route and had no way back, and comforted her instead.

"It's alright, what can this little bit of stuff do to your brother?"

He waved his hand and said, "The point is not here, but the follow-up effects of these reports."

To be fair, the Hualan Empire's newspaper industry is very developed, but to be frank, their ability to manipulate public opinion is probably not as good as mine. In the past, no matter what I did, I would send Su Lin to find my good brother Qi Maoyang to occupy the moral high ground first. That was a habit of mine, and I had long been used to it.

So he never thought much of the media system here before. Public opinion was just a side effect. Once things were done, people would naturally help with publicity. Why bother?

But for the people of the empire, this tactic was still very effective.

Especially when most of these things are true—as we all know, the same sentence spoken in different ways will have different effects. Take the Poseidon Stone trade, for example. To put it nicely, it's for the benefit of the family, but to put it bluntly, it becomes "the lesson of the Poseidon." Even something as beneficial to the country and the people as the Holy Fire Cat Cult cannot escape this fate.

However, I still have to say that the claim that Xu Shi was not possessed by the Sea God is pure slander. I hereby clarify this and hope everyone will keep their eyes open.

However, the upheaval it will cause will be significant. The Cat Cult was already not yet firmly established, and now it has been smeared like this. Even if it is officially recognized as the state religion by the royal family, it will not be able to remain unaffected.

The fact that even the royal family has been dragged into this is a very dangerous sign, indicating that the Vatican is prepared to fight to the death.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have needed to involve the royal family; they could have just targeted themselves.

It was obvious that he had gradually made them unable to cope by slowly boiling them like frogs in lukewarm water. Now they wanted to nip him in the bud and maybe even change the world to prevent future troubles.

When will our ship arrive?

After sorting out the cause and effect, Xu Shi rubbed his temples wearily. "Don't tell me it's today."

No one answered his question; it was clear the cargo ship was docking today.

Otherwise, why would these news stories be released in these few days? Of course, it's to disrupt his plans as much as possible, so that he's overwhelmed and unable to attend to everything.

"Then hurry up and get ready."

Fortunately, Xu Shi didn't panic because of this, and quickly regained his composure and made arrangements.

“Xiao Ling and Xiao Feng, if you two go to the church with Ke An, public opinion will inevitably affect the Cat Cult. The Holy Maiden needs to step in to stabilize the situation.”

"Xiao Qin, go to the palace. Don't reveal your whereabouts. If anything unusual happens there, report to me immediately."

"Wuyou and I are going to the dock to make sure our cargo ship docks safely."

“Chengcheng, you’re not good at fighting. Staying at home at a time like this… no, you should stay by my side.”

"Master, what about Master Xie's wife...?"

Pan Ling couldn't help but ask.

"There's no other way; we have to avoid her at this point."

Xu Shi gritted his teeth and said helplessly, "The Vatican is clearly using her as a breakthrough point; we can't give them that opportunity."

That's true. Others might not be affected by these reports, but Xie Qingyan might be.

Given her current mental state, it would be a success if she didn't go crazy upon seeing this kind of thing, not to mention that the Vatican is quite petty and allowed some tabloids to remain unchanged.

Now there's even a comparison—if it were someone else, they would be loving and affectionate with each other, but if it were her, she would be a treacherous monster.

Xie Qingyan is now extremely jealous. She gets furious whenever she sees herself getting close to others, and you can imagine how damaging these things are to her.

Fortunately, she's not here right now—since the Cold War, apart from necessary contact, she doesn't even want to see Xu Shi. She either locks herself in her room or takes Ye Shanshan somewhere.

Today, her situation is the latter, which now seems like a stroke of luck amidst misfortune... or so it seems.

That's not necessarily true. She was even more worried about Xu Shi being alone, and she didn't expect that Ye Shanshan alone could quell her master's anger.

So the situation is very polarized: either she knows nothing and gets through it safely, or... something big is about to happen.

But now is not the time to sit at home and analyze things back and forth; we must first stabilize all aspects of the situation.

“...How awful.”

Even someone as good-tempered as Pan Ling couldn't help but curse. Of course, she could see the purpose behind the Vatican's actions, otherwise she wouldn't have been so anxious earlier.

In her opinion, such a trick was a bit insidious, but it actually worked. You could tell from her master's expression that he was even a bit overwhelmed.

"There will be plenty of opportunities to learn about information warfare in the future."

Without wasting any more words, Xu Shi waved his hand and said, "Go do your own thing now, and after you're done, try to find her and bring her home, understand?"

"it is good."

Everyone has no objection.

Only Shen Qin was a little unhappy and tentatively asked, "Brother, can Xiao Qin go to the dock with you? I still want to stay by your side to protect you."

She hasn't had much contact with her brother lately, and she's just as jealous as he is.

"...Then I'll go to the palace. Just be careful."

At this critical moment, Xia Wuyou didn't dwell on the matter and took the initiative to switch positions with her, saying, "If the situation over there is alright, I will also rush back in time."

After all, the royal family only needs to confirm, and they don't need to worry about security. Isn't Cheng Gujian enough?

"...Okay, go and come back quickly."

Xu Shi nodded, and the group split up to carry out their tasks.

"Um, brother, Xiaoqin really didn't mean to be willful..."

On the way to the dock, Shen Qin couldn't help but offer a tearful explanation.

This might sound a bit cheesy, but she simply wanted to spend more time with Xu Shi—the truth is, since the Cat Cult was founded, she has rarely been able to be by her brother's side.

The unspoken understanding between them hadn't been broken yet, and now, having witnessed Xie Qingyan's actions... it's less about scheming and more about a crisis.

"Yes, I know, our Xiaoqin is the best behaved, right?"

Xu Shi didn't blame her; instead, he patted her head.

The one we need to worry about the least is her. She couldn't even remember anything before her memories were reconstructed, let alone now.

"Uh-huh!"

Shen Qin nodded vigorously, "I will protect my brother too!"

"it is good."

As they spoke, the group arrived at the dock.

"Have you confirmed when the cargo ship will arrive?"

Now they have their own dedicated area here, with facilities and staff belonging to Night City, making things much more convenient.

"About an hour and a half, Mr. Xu."