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

Xu Shi took a leisurely sip of water. "If you don't want to show up, then you don't have to. I'm very busy too. It's just two B-level city-states. You're more than enough to handle it. Otherwise, what's the point of training you?"

As it turns out, the initial idea was absolutely correct. There are indeed more than just Night City and Hualan Empire in this world. In the second month after the establishment of the overseas department, Yu Xingchuan had already found the third experimental area.

With their previous experience, they were much more adept at handling the situation, and in less than a month, they established contact with the ruler of that region.

What's even more interesting is that the other party is actually a "protagonist" who has already achieved great success.

To be honest, Xu Shi probably hadn't dealt with a particular "protagonist" like this before.

However, the process was not complicated. When they tried to reveal the truth about "natural law" to the other party, the other party showed shock and unusual clarity.

Just as he had predicted, once he realized that he was actually a puppet, even a clay figure would have some anger.

Therefore, with their cooperation, the other side easily uncovered the "Tianli" mole infiltrating their own protagonist group, which can be considered a complete awakening.

Then came the formal establishment of cooperation—yes, compared to a protracted conquest that would consume vast amounts of manpower and resources, this was clearly the better state a federation or alliance should maintain.

Understanding each other, exchanging resources... and of course, establishing a superior-subordinate relationship based on the overall strength of the other city-state is also one of them.

This is also the origin of the "B-level city-states" he just mentioned—as the areas they come into contact with increase, a sound and continuously improving rating system is essential.

Based on the City of Night Sin, those with equal or similar strength will be classified as Grade A.

Those who are relatively weaker are classified as B-level, while those who can completely suppress their opponents are classified as C-level.

In addition, some city-states are classified as S-level, but this S does not mean A-level or higher. It means that the city-state has certain special characteristics, such as the Xianxia world discovered half a year ago. Boss Xu probably never dreamed that one day he would be able to observe real cultivators from the perspective of a cybernetic person, such as sword flying and alchemy.

However, upon closer reflection, no matter how fancy these city-states may be, the source of their strength remains the same: it all originates from "Rust Fog." Once this is known, it seems that no matter what kind of existence it is, it will not shock him too much.

The only regret is that we didn't get to see them fly on their swords—even cultivators couldn't break free from the shackles of the "rust mist." In their words, this phenomenon is called "the severing of the heavenly path."

Incidentally, the Hualan Empire is also classified as an S-level city-state, because to this day, it remains the only "abandoned" city-state.

No matter how many times the protagonists were selected, the traitors within "Tianli" were identified, and interrogated in the various city-states that followed, none of them triggered the judgment mechanism of "Tianli" that they had used when facing Xu Ying.

However, he also failed to obtain any useful information from these people, and had no choice but to continue developing the Federation and constantly strengthening his own power.

Therefore, he is not only the uncrowned king of Night City, but also one of the leaders of the "Star River" Federation. The Federation adopts a parliamentary system, and whenever a new A-level area is discovered, an additional seat is added to the round table for everyone to make important decisions together.

Of course, as a pioneer of the federal system, Xu Shi's voice carried slightly more weight.

His abilities are also an indispensable factor. In the past three years, he has preferred to use "Unity is Strength" to give everyone positive emotional encouragement. He would only consider using "Entropy Increase of Evil" to increase the intensity of the other party's emotions if he encountered a troublemaker.

However, he might not do that to troublemakers in many situations.

One of the great advantages of a federal system is that it binds everyone's interests together. If anyone tries to infringe on the common interests of everyone, they will instantly become the target of everyone's criticism.

Xu Shi still remembers that when the sea voyage plan had been underway for one year and eight months, the leader of an A-level city-state was stubborn and unwilling to accept defeat, and attempted to kick out others and become an oligarch himself.

The consequence was that they were besieged by six city-states—Boss Xu provided ships while the other city-states provided personnel, and in less than a month, they subdued the other side. In the end, they were humiliated and became an S-class city-state with a stain on their reputation, their status plummeted, and they directly became everyone's vassal.

With such a precedent, he was no longer too worried about anyone disobeying him or attempting to challenge federal authority; he would simply torture them severely!

Therefore, under such circumstances, since they are now just the leaders of two B-level city-states, he really doesn't need to personally go and inquire about their well-being. If he wants to, he can go; if he doesn't, they won't even see him.

"Oh, really? Chairman Xu?"

Pan Ling was so angry at her master's attitude that she gritted her teeth and said with a resentful look, "Then tell me what you're so busy with? Are you busy going on a date with Master Xie?"

Heaven knows how helpless she feels about Xu Shi, who has now transformed into a workaholic, and how he just lies around doing nothing.

"What kind of date is this? It's just because they discovered new materials recently, so they're trying to purify the 'Rust Mist' with a sixth-generation upgrade!"

Xu Shi retorted, "I risked my life for this project, and now it's showing some results. How come you call it 'giving up'?"

"And who gave you the audacity to secretly listen to your teacher's thoughts, huh?"

"Chairman Xu, use your job title when you're working."

Pan Ling chose to echo his words in response, and couldn't help but add a small complaint, "The projects were all done by Jiang's wife and Xie's wife, why are you putting in so much effort..."

"Okay, Assistant Pan?"

Xu Shi rolled her eyes at her, thinking to herself that the child had really grown up now, daring to kiss her master in public.

It's true that he's grown up and become more independent—over the past few years, Pan Ling has naturally served as his special assistant, constantly making her presence felt in the league.

At the same time, her mind-reading ability also began to improve rapidly under such circumstances. Now she has broken through the A-level barrier and advanced to the S- level, not far from the official S level.

This was entirely due to training; the "Prism" drugs were actually just supplementary for her.

Her potential is evident from this incident. Even Grandpa Wen, after witnessing all of this, had to marvel at how quickly Pan Ling was progressing, a speed that was beyond imagination.

In fact, Xu Shi himself has also made a lot of progress. After winning over Dongfang Xiao, his S-rank became completely stable. Later, with the activation of "United We Stand" on a large scale, he has now faintly touched the threshold of SS.

He's still a bit lacking, but it's not impossible for him to make an unsuspecting person wholeheartedly devoted to him with just a few words.

"I'm here, Mr. Xu, please give your instructions."

Pan Ling responded with a forced smile.

"You can take full control of this meeting. Just submit the minutes and report to me afterwards."

Xu Shi crossed his arms and held onto the table, saying, "It can't be less than thirty pages, and it would be best if it incorporated some of your personal insights."

"Seize the young master?"

Pan Ling was taken aback. "Could I interpret this as settling a personal score?"

"Sure, this is settling a personal score under the guise of official business."

Xu Shi nodded, then thought for a moment and changed his words, "Or perhaps, as your teacher, I don't even have the right to assign you homework anymore?"

“…Yes, yes.”

Pan Xiaoling finally gave in and weakly agreed.

Is now not the time to address each other by their official titles? You've got a real double standard, haven't you?

However, no matter what, she still respected her master very much, especially since she had followed him all the way from the Hualan Empire to the City of Night Sin, and now to the Federation... It wasn't that she had really become arrogant and rebellious, it was just that sometimes she couldn't stand seeing him lying down.

And thinking about it carefully, it makes sense. Since his master wants to train him to be his successor, it is indeed better for him to do many things himself. In addition, he also has the help of his master's wife. So, it really doesn't matter whether Xu Shi goes to this kind of small meeting or not.

"Alright, I'll be going now."

Xu smiled and got up to go for a stroll at "Prism"—the project to remove "rust fog" has indeed made some breakthroughs. From the initial half hour, it can now take more than a month. Although the development is slow, it is stable.

"Keep it up, Assistant Pan!"

"……snort."

The silly apprentice snorted and ignored him, then tossed her skirt and walked away.

But within seconds, there was another knock on the office door.

"Did you forget something... huh?"

Xu Shi didn't look up, and only realized something was wrong after casually replying.

The person who came was not Pan Ling.

It was Gu Yi.

"what's wrong?"

Seeing the other person's strange expression, he couldn't help but blurt out a question.

"nothing……"

Miss Black Rabbit shook her head. "I just discovered a few minor issues, regarding the establishment of a communication network within the city-states..."

"It seems... someone is trying to stop us."

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 330, Chaos, First Year of Junior High

2023-12-04

Three years have passed, but there are no signs of the passage of time on Gu Yi. The little black rabbit is still the same little black rabbit. There is no white hair, not even a wrinkle... Oh, only three years have passed, not thirty years. Well, it doesn't matter.

But it's absurd that nothing has changed in three years! Even the naive and inexperienced Pan Ling now exudes the aura of a domineering female CEO, so how come Gu Yi is still so cute?

Much later, Xu Shi finally understood this principle—everyone's image has an end. Pan Ling's changes were because she was still on her journey, but for Miss Black Rabbit, this was already the end.

But he quickly put away these wild thoughts, gestured for her to sit down, and then asked seriously, "Tell me more."

After all, the plan to establish network communication between the city-states is no small matter, and every step of its implementation is not easy.

Ultimately, it's due to the differences between the regions—to be fair, even the City of Night Sin and the Hualan Empire initially clashed greatly in terms of ideology, culture, and technology, not even when Xu Shi first arrived on Silver Pine Island, but after the two city-states announced the establishment of a friendly alliance.

In the City of Night Sin, many people regard the people of the Hualan Empire as old-fashioned relics from the last century, as bumpkins. Conversely, the Hualan Empire also has a sense of unease or concern towards these guys who live in reinforced concrete.

If it weren't for Dongfang Xiao, or rather, Xu Shi, who was guiding her from behind the scenes, being shrewd enough, this issue alone could have dragged on for ten years... Even now, people can't fully integrate, and various forms of discrimination and misunderstandings still exist.

Xu Shi could understand that this was an unavoidable problem in the convergence and integration between two regions, or roughly equivalent to two countries. Not to mention now, even if he were to die a hundred years later, similar problems would not disappear.

But this is just a small example; if it's like this between two city-states, then imagine how it would be between three, four, or even more city-states—it would be a hellish task.

Especially when the language problem he was most worried about appeared—yes, the Hualan Empire was indeed just a coincidence. Now, or rather, the City of Night Sin has united so many city-states and regions to form an alliance, and six or seven different languages ​​have emerged.

Judging from the map that has already been drawn, it's like dividing the country into zones. People in zone A speak language A, and people in zone B speak language B. There's no difficulty for them to communicate with each other, but when they're all mixed up, it's like talking to a brick wall. It's a classic Tower of Babel situation.

Thanks to the efforts of the "quill pen," or rather, all the cultural departments of the city-states that expressed a strong desire for alliance, the relatively sound translation system we have today was gradually developed from practical linguistics through a combination of guesswork and deduction, which finally solved the problem.

This may be the first time in the world that the job of "translation" has appeared. It must be said that it has alleviated some employment pressure. Xu Shi did not intend to follow the example of Emperor Zulong and standardize the writing system. On the contrary, diversity is an important factor in keeping the world vibrant. Every language, or rather the culture it represents, has its unique charm.

But it also shows how difficult it is to break the ice as a pioneer and accomplish such a big thing, especially in such a short time... That's why it's absurd to say that Gu Yi hasn't even developed a wrinkle. Under these circumstances, everyone's hairline should have receded by five centimeters.

Now, she's under pressure too.

Establishing network communication is no small matter; it can even be said to be the biggest thing that has happened in recent years besides expanding the map.

The overseas team built signal base stations, the delegation lobbied leaders in various regions, and finally Gu Yi and her growing technical team were responsible for the specific architecture and maintenance. All three parties, and even many unknown people working hard for this, were indispensable.

The purpose is naturally to facilitate communication, and at the same time, to better catch those who have escaped the "natural justice" net.

Not every exploration of a region goes smoothly. So far, Xu Shi has encountered seven “protagonists” who are already deeply rooted on the side of his “Tianli” teammates. Even some small, unimportant B- or C-level regions are directly managed by “Tianli” people.

It seems that a qualified "protagonist" has not yet been cultivated, or perhaps the chances of this region helping "Tenri" realize its long-cherished wish are too low. Rather than investing a lot of energy, it is easier to maintain stability. Perhaps "Tenri's" original idea was that if another type like Xu Shi, who is willing to actively expand outward, appears, such a transit station can be used to influence or manipulate it.

So the question is, did they realize all along that someone might break free from the original area's constraints, or did they only take this belated remedial action after this heretic appeared?

This is an interesting question, but unfortunately, Mr. Xu has no interest in dwelling on it. After all, as the alliance grows stronger, his only response to such insignificant regions is to eliminate them.

Ultimately, Xu Shi is one of the evil capitalists. He has no interest in being a sucker when the return is less than the investment and there are risks involved. If you really want to talk about something, he probably only has any value in the "natural forces" of that area. He can just grab them, interrogate them, and that's it.