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

"All who follow my faith, meow meow meow meow!"

Only one person looked ashen-faced.

That's Gu Yi.

She clearly hadn't expected the short, white man to have this trick up his sleeve. How did you suddenly become a stunning beauty with a curvaceous figure?!

You betrayed me too! I don't want to live anymore!

She wanted to kill herself.

……

Compared to the vast and imposing army of the Cat Cult, the Holy See's side appeared much quieter.

When Xu Shi kicked open the cathedral door, he saw only a few priests and nuns, as well as Miss Saint and the old pope.

The Knights Templar have lost half their strength, with only five remaining: Qin Yiyan, Luo Yu, Lu Baiyan, Han Jingchuan, and one other person. Apart from the Knight Commander, they are all of low combat ability.

As for the others?

The entire route had already been wiped out, and with such a large army pressing in, it would be difficult to resist even if more troops were transferred from other regions.

"The Vatican is a scourge, disregarding the lives of its people; it must be executed!"

Xu Shi repeated his old tune, speaking with righteous indignation.

"Master Xu, you've arrived."

The saintess remained veiled, her voice ethereal and calm, as if she had anticipated the current situation.

In contrast, other members of the Vatican seemed less composed.

"Xu Shi!"

Luo Yu, who had escaped back, had bloodshot eyes, a severed arm hanging from his arm, and his tone was full of hatred.

He cannot accept this result!

Why has this person been targeting me ever since they appeared?!

The Pan family, Silver Pine Island, the Sea God... and now, everything he already possessed and everything he was about to possess had been completely stripped away by him!

"Mr. Xu, please stop making up such high-sounding reasons."

Qin Yiyan's mood improved slightly, but he was no better when facing the enemy. He drew his heavy sword and stood in front of the Holy Maiden, coldly saying, "What you did in the Empire wasn't clean either. It's just a matter of the victor taking all."

She was a member of the Papacy, so her heart naturally sided with the Papacy. In her mind, even if the Papacy had its flaws, it was by no means as terrible as he described.

"You're right, the winner takes all."

Xu Shi readily admitted, "But there's nothing wrong with being a little high-sounding; that's what you've always done."

"Is it because of Xiao Luoyu?"

The red-haired, silly girl frowned, her gaze unfriendly, and said, "Have you become this vindictive?"

"Who?"

Xu Shi was taken aback, then couldn't help but burst out laughing, "Are you out of your mind? Do you really think I got to this point because of my conflict with him?"

He felt he had overestimated this silly girl. How could someone so naive have gotten to the position of Knight Commander?

As he spoke, he unconsciously glanced at Tang Shuang beside him.

"...Why are you looking at me? Is there something on my face?"

Governor Tang was a little embarrassed, but when facing Qin Yiyan, this other worldly person, I also felt that it was really true, and even felt like a different world.

Thinking about it this way, I realize that my past actions were indeed hard to describe... Looking at it from a different perspective, I suddenly have a clearer view.

No, there is a difference... She could actually sense that Qin Yiyan wasn't hopelessly stupid.

She actually knew the reason, but she just wanted to use this self-deceptive method to cheer herself up.

“I have never taken Luo Yu seriously. From the very beginning, my goal has been the entire Holy See.”

Xu Shi pointed out the truth to her, "Two tigers cannot share one mountain. I can't sleep until you're both dead."

"Of course, our promise still stands. Is Commander Qin ready with the maid outfit?"

"..."

Qin Yiyan remained silent, but tensed his body, assumed a fighting stance, and prepared to meet the enemy at any moment.

"There's no benefit to doing this, Master Xu."

The saintess continued, looking at him calmly, and said, "The Holy See has been established on this land for many years. How can you simply erase it as you please?"

"It's clear that you're well-prepared, with strong ships and powerful cannons, and even this Saintess Xia has her own unique skills."

"But are you really confident that you can annihilate us in one fell swoop?"

“If you’re referring to the Vatican, then I think there’s no problem.”

Xu Shi waved the "Jade Capital" in his hand, showing no sign of worry. "Now all that's left are these rotten fish and shrimp. Even if you bite me before you die, how much flesh can you take off?"

"However, I still need to confirm with you, who exactly are you referring to when you say 'we'?"

"What do you mean by that?"

Upon hearing his question, the saintess frowned almost imperceptibly.

Others in the Vatican were also baffled; what other meaning could this possibly have?

"At this point, there's no point in pretending to be stupid anymore, is there?"

Xu Shi smiled. "Aren't you right, Your Highness?"

"Or perhaps I should address you as Miss 'Observer' of 'Heavenly Principle'?"

"When...did you find out?"

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 293 Come on, fight for me!

2023-10-15

Defensive!

Although she remained calm and composed, Xu Shi could still detect a hint of panic in the eyes of the saintess in front of him.

Of course! If she wasn't flustered, she wouldn't have asked directly; she'd essentially confessed without being asked.

"Your Highness, what...are you talking about?"

Listening to the two's nonsensical conversation, Qin Yiyan couldn't help but feel a little confused.

What is "Heavenly Principles"? And what is "The Watcher"?

She didn't know much about these things, but she felt a little uneasy.

Even when Xu Shi and his men came to her door earlier, she hadn't felt anything like that.

"…How do you know that?"

The saintess ignored her question and mechanically repeated the same question.

"Is it difficult?"

Xu Shi laughed, looking at Xia Ke'an beside him, "I don't know if you 'Inspectors' have coordinated yourselves, but the same method actually worked for me twice."

Why else could it be? Of course, it's because of the old lady's almost unbelievable predictive abilities.

The previous He Yuxia was exposed in the same way, and this one is no exception.

However, with an SS-level ability right in front of us, even if we knew that Xu Shi had such a cheat, it seems there was no way to defend against it.

Despite being praised by Xu Shi, the white-haired mature woman was not particularly happy, and simply stared coldly at the saintess in front of her.

"Tianli" is her greatest enemy, and she has no good feelings towards anyone who has even the slightest connection with this organization.

If I weren't so delicate and frail, I probably would have rushed up and fought her to the death by now.

Miss Saint remained noncommittal, so her question was clearly not simply about how Xu Shi knew her identity, but rather when Xu Shi had come to suspect her.

After all, she hadn't had much contact with Xu Shi, so the so-called exposure was out of the question.

Why should he?

"As for when... would you believe me if I said it was when we were fighting the sea god?"

Xu Shi, of course, did not hesitate to answer, loosening his collar and speaking calmly.

"impossible!"

This answer was clearly unacceptable to the saintess, who screamed in panic, displaying an unprecedented loss of composure.

When was the campaign against the Sea God? At that time, she had only met Xu Shi once! They didn't even exchange a single word, right?

If what he said is true, doesn't that mean she never kept it from him at all? And that she's been kept in the dark all this time?

"Why?!"

Her expression was somewhat ferocious.

"I have a suspicious nature."

Xu Shi's tone was much more relaxed. "And thinking about it carefully, it makes perfect sense, doesn't it? Little Luo Yu is the protagonist, so the 'Observer' can only be someone who has a close relationship with him."

"And among these people, you seem to be the most suspicious."

That's true. He now knows that there are conditions for selecting "observers," and it's not possible to just grab any cat or dog off the street.

In short, he/she must be someone close to the "protagonist" in this experimental field; they don't necessarily have to be very close, but they absolutely must have a relationship.

Otherwise, how could he/she guide the other party to monitor the other party without alerting the "protagonist"?

Previously, He Yuxia would create opportunities to get involved with Shen He even when she didn't have them. Although Xu Shi was unfamiliar with this land, he believed that this pattern would never change.

Then things become simple. There are only a few people who meet the criteria: Pan Cheng, the Feng and Ling sisters, the little empress Dongfang Xiao, the Holy Maiden of the Holy See, and Qin Yiyan.

If we had to pick one, Cheng Gujian might count? But Xu Shi had already placed him in the position of "the boss on the protagonist's path to growth," so even if he were included, he would be the one with a relatively low probability.

Adding the possibility of a harem, male friends can further narrow down the options by placing them further down the list.