It's the cyber age now, and you're still playing traditional villains?

Xu Shi nodded, "But speaking of this, I have something to ask you. Have you ever heard of a story where a smart person says yes, and a fool says no?"

"No... Xu Shi!"

Xia Xiaomao shook her head subconsciously, and realized something was wrong halfway through her words, "You only know how to set a trap for me! Bullying your apprentice wasn't enough, so you started bullying me now, right?"

Xu Shi raised his hands in surrender, thinking to himself, you can fall for such an old trick, and you still say you are not stupid?

Besides, the feeling of bullying a silly apprentice is completely different from bullying a kitten, okay? Although Pan Ling has now learned to resist instead of simply accepting it, she is not as angry as Xia Wuyou in front of her. It's very funny.

Of course, if you want to know who is the most fun to bully, it would have to be Xie Qingyan.

"Humph."

Xia Wuyou wouldn't really bother with him. As an old couple, they could just have a few symbolic fights and that was it.

But she was also really curious, "What did you just say?"

Now, in terms of mental strength alone, she might not be higher than Xu Shi, and she didn’t pay any attention to it at all, so naturally she didn’t know what interesting things had happened before.

Xu Shi did not hide anything from her and told her the general cause and effect.

"……So this is ah."

Xia Xiaomao listened with great interest and gave a similar evaluation to him, "It seems that Xiaoling has indeed made great progress. If she really goes to Night Crime City in the future, I'm afraid she will be more than qualified to take over your job."

"How do you know I want her to take over my job?" Xu Shi raised his eyebrows.

"What else? Are you going to let the little queen take over your job?"

Xia Wuyou rolled his eyes at him and said, "Besides, I've already discovered that you are a lazy person at heart. You will never trouble yourself with things that can be delegated to others."

As the most diligent person in the team after Jiang Chengcheng, Miss Xia Wuyou, the head of the field department of "Snake Ring" who has been working in Night Sin City for ten years, expressed strong contempt and condemnation for this.

Just lie down, it's not shameful... Xu Shi was too lazy to refute, because he really had this idea.

Pan Ling's silly apprentice is really a little treasure. She is diligent, studious and capable... After being subtly cultivated during this period of time, both her supernatural powers and her own abilities have made qualitative leaps. With such a good child, I will feel at ease to hand over the company to her in the future.

Should we say that this is the ironclad proof that everyone around the protagonist is gifted? Although it has been a long time since we discussed similar topics, this principle seems to be the same everywhere.

But having said that, this matter has not even started yet. Not to mention that the mess of the Hualan Empire has not been dealt with yet, the environment in Yezui City is also completely different from here. If I really want my silly apprentice to take over, that will have to be a long time later.

Well, it seems that my plan to retire at the age of 26 is not going to come true. So sad.

"But I have to say that you really think highly of Lu Baiyan."

Xia Wuyou added, "I haven't seen you care so much about other people here... Are you interested in his abilities?"

"…Madam still understands me."

Xu Shi smiled, thinking that after so long, someone finally noticed this blind spot.

Pan Ling’s previous analysis was actually not wrong. Lu Baiyan’s identity and personal character, including the impact brought about by successful winning over, were indeed very attractive.

But if it were just these, it wouldn't be enough for me to actively try to win over his heart. The reason I do this is because of his very special ability.

"Back in Time"

Don’t underestimate this ability because it has many limitations, such as it can only target inanimate objects and can only go back half an hour... Although it seems that it can only be used as a post-war cleaner, it is still a top-notch ability that is one in a million.

Firstly, abilities involving time and space are already very rare, especially time-related abilities, which are even rarer - after all, things like his own "threshold space", including the "consciousness digitization" that the little black rabbit Gu Yi has currently evolved, can actually be counted within the realm of space. Once you see them more often, you naturally don't think they're that rare anymore.

However, as for the time-related abilities, Xu Shi had only seen Lu Baiyan possess them so far, so they were indeed more precious in comparison.

"Now that you put it that way, it seems so."

Xia Wuyou remained noncommittal. It had to be said that recently everyone's attention had been focused on competing with the royal family and the Church, and their thinking had inevitably become a bit rigid. Whenever they encountered something, they would first think about the pros and cons, or some other strange things, and would subconsciously ignore their own personal abilities.

But this also indirectly shows how good Xu Shi is at manipulating people's hearts. No matter what, this is also for you to lead...

Fortunately, after saying this, Xia Wuyou would be a fool if he still couldn't figure it out. After a moment, he raised his head in surprise, "So, you want to use his ability..."

Xu Shi did not deny it and nodded calmly.

Neither of them said clearly what he was going to do with Lu Baiyan's abilities, but it was something they all knew.

That is, completely remove the "rust fog".

To be honest, everyone went to great lengths to sail out to sea, and the ultimate goal was not to compete with people in a strange land - expanding territory is certainly a good thing, but the core is always only two points.

First, uncover the "heavenly principles" and second, remove the "rust fog".

The influence of "Rust Mist" is spread all over the world, and it is not a good influence no matter where it is - it can help people activate their superpowers, but the pollution it brings and the pressure on the living environment should not be underestimated.

Although the Hualan Empire seemed unaffected, Xu Shi had actually keenly discovered through browsing the history books of this place before that this experimental field, which was slightly larger than the Night Sin City, also had a trend of gradually densely populated as history progressed. For example, a few hundred years ago, the Hualan Empire had twenty-four counties, but now there are only ten left, and everyone is gathering in the main city in the center.

It is easy to analyze that in a dozen or dozens of years, this place will become like the Night Crime City. Due to the excessive concentration of population, which will lead to a shortage of survival resources, it is still unclear whether it will become a final product of centralized power, but it will definitely not be much better.

This is certainly not something to be happy about, especially for someone like Xu Shi who has memories of his past lives in his mind. His tolerance for such situations is even lower.

Let’s not talk about anything else. When you flirt with a girl and ask her to take you to see the stars, her first reaction is not to agree or refuse, but to ask you if there are really stars and whether you can just go there any way you want.

Therefore, his obsession in this regard is actually much deeper than that of others. Now that he sees Lu Baiyan, who is a hope, he will certainly not let him go.

"But I don't think there's much room for development with his ability..."

Xia Wuyou understood her man's thoughts very well, but she couldn't help but express her concern.

Judging from the information they have, Lu Baiyan's ability is already around S level when converted into their system. This level can only rewind half an hour of time, and the impact is not that big. No matter how you look at it, it is the best example of theory being stronger than reality.

"What kind of problem is this?"

Xu Shi was not worried at all. “The strength of ability is not important. What is most important is to find people with such ability.”

"If his ability is not enough, we can use our technology to develop it, not to mention that we also have the means to implant superpowers... As long as we are willing to do it, there will always be a possibility of achieving it."

Especially the level of the squinting eyes ability - in a sense, S-level is actually a very subtle level, and there can be said to be a qualitative leap between it and A-level, but whether it is him, Xia Wuyou, Xie Qingyan and other people who have completed the leap, they all have an experience.

That is, there is a leap, but not as much as imagined.

The most intuitive example is probably Xia Xiaomao. She is a very traditional type, the type that simply upgrades without unlocking any new features. She would be embarrassed if you asked her to talk about any earth-shaking changes. The situation is similar for other people.

But Xu Shi had an impression that when conquering the Sea God, Xia Wuyou, who was forced into a corner, had a highlight moment of breaking through the limits and infinitely approaching SS with the blessing of "Su Wei". The ability he displayed similar to "collapse" was definitely not comparable to the previous "gravity control". That was a real world of difference.

So, superpowers themselves are a wonderful thing. Now it seems that the abilities are not obvious, who knows what the next level will be like?

All in all, Lu Baiyan's abilities are worth their efforts, and Night Sin City's research in this area is far deeper and more extensive than that of the Hualan Empire.

Since he is so interested, why not experience it for yourself?

"Of course, this is based on the premise that he really wants to be friends with me."

Xu Shi added, "I've told him everything I need to say. If he still wants to be a fence-sitter, then, humph..."

Xia Xiaomao rolled her eyes. She knew very well what a bad man meant.

What he valued was Lu Baiyan's ability, and they also had the technology to extract supernatural powers. As long as he had the ability, the person didn't matter.

So this is a bad guy, right? But if it was Xu Shi, it would be normal.

She was even more surprised at Xu Shi's unconventional imagination. How could he think of so many things from such a supernatural power? To be honest, she knew what Lu Baiyan was like, but she had never thought of combining the two together.

Well.

"So...what about the first point?"

She didn't dwell too much on ethics, but asked a question that concerned her more, "What do you think about 'heavenly principles'?"

Compared to clearing the "rust fog", "natural law" is the one that truly has a deep hatred for her. The fact that she didn't mention it before is not because she has forgotten or let it go, but because she couldn't find a solution in a short period of time.

Or maybe she has now entrusted this matter to Xu Shi and is willing to act in accordance with his ideas... Now that he has mentioned it, she has to discuss it anyway.

"Well... not yet."

Unfortunately, Xu Shi’s answer was not optimistic. “At least now I have not figured out who is the “supervisor” of “heavenly justice” buried in the Hualan Empire.”

This matter is not something that Boss Xu can solve instantly with his resourcefulness. If he had not been careful before, he might still be kept in the dark... But even so, the information they can obtain is very limited.

"Then what are you going to do?"

Xia Wuyou asked.

"Right now, I think we can only try it a little bit."

Xu Shi sighed, "Maybe when the time comes, they won't be able to help but jump out."

This is indeed the truth, or perhaps everything they are doing now is actually a test of the bottom line of "justice" - as the mastermind behind the scenes, what can they accept from the people in a test field?

Will they uncover the "Supervisor" or break free from the shackles and infiltrate a new test field? Or...

As mentioned before, this thing definitely has a mechanism, or a red line exists. Once it is triggered, what is coming will come.

"Oh……"

Xia Xiaomao nodded. To be honest, this was certainly not the answer she wanted to hear the most. She would rather he could tell her eloquently about the next plan. She would definitely be happier that way.

But this is not unacceptable. After all, this is not a trivial matter. It is normal that he cannot come up with a thorough plan at the moment... Besides, she has been waiting for ten years, and now it is only a few months. She shouldn't be so impatient.

"It doesn't matter what you think. If there's something you really don't understand, just share it with me."

She took Xu Shi's hand very considerately and smiled gently, "Maybe I can help you?"

"You're a little fool. There's no point in sharing with you."

Xu Shi started to ruin the atmosphere on a daily basis.

"Hey!"

The little cat in summer got angry in a second.

"No, no, you have helped me a lot."

Xu Shi admitted his defeat and said casually, "Instead of thinking about this, we should first think about how to take down the Holy See... If we can really take the Hualan Empire into our pocket, maybe the mechanism will be triggered, right?"

"Why do I feel like this Vatican has long been in your control..."

Xia Wuyou was not worried about this. Compared with "heavenly justice", the Holy See was nothing.

"You can't say that. To deny your opponent is to deny yourself."

Xu Shi said seriously, "A lion will use all its strength to fight a rabbit... and if they just defend themselves now, it won't be as easy as they think to take them down."

"Then what do you think?"

Xia Wuyou agreed and asked immediately.

"Is this..."

Xu Shi thought for a moment and said seriously, "I was thinking, should I reveal the flaw to them appropriately?"

"How to sell it?"

"I haven't thought about it yet."

"I knew you were a lazy bastard. Do you want me to plan something with you?"

“Where will we discuss this?”

"Where else do you want to be?"

Just as the two were chatting enthusiastically, they heard a gentle knock on the door.

"Xu Shi, you are here, right?"

Xie Qingyan's voice came from the door, "I have something I want to talk to you about alone, is that ok?"

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 281 I am in love, there is no hope

2023-10-03

"Qingyan wants to see you for something?"

Hearing Xie Qingyan say this outside the door, Xia Wuyou was a little surprised. Didn't these two just come back from the palace together? What was there to be so anxious about?

While she was still thinking, Xu Shi had already walked up and opened the door. "What's wrong?"

"that is……"

Xie Qingyan strode past him and came in. Seeing Xia Wuyou was there, he stopped talking first, "Wuyou, could you please step aside for a moment? I want to talk to him alone."

"what……"

Xia Mao Mao was also very talkative, so after hearing this, he planned to give them some private space.

But she never expected that Xu Shi, contrary to his usual behavior, pushed her back and said nonchalantly, "What's the need? Wuyou is not an outsider, just let her listen."