Under One Person, Engage in Black Technology

Chapter 197 Aftermath
"So, the situation has become somewhat complicated, but... that's how it is."

"If you could help Zhang Chulan and Bao'er get them out of the village, that would be the best thing."

"Of course, this matter is more or less settled now. Once you leave the village, I won't care where you want to go or what you want to do."

On a hillside not far away, Liu Ke watched as Village Chief Ma and Hei Guan'er finished their fight, having completed both the overt and covert tasks. He then spoke to Old Meng beside him.

While Village Chief Ma and Xiao Zizai were locked in a fierce battle, Liu Ke had been chatting with Lao Meng on the hilltop.

As for the topic of conversation, it was why this fight had to happen today. Old Meng, a middle-aged man preoccupied with managing his family's livelihood, had all his brain cells focused on meticulously planning for his family's finances, so naturally he had no time to understand the intricate schemes behind Liu Ke and Na Du Tong's actions…

Regardless, after this brief discussion, Old Meng had grasped some of the gist of the matter. Today's affair would be resolved after the fight. In fact, considering what Liu Ke had just said, there might even be a turning point for Chen Duo.

Although it is unethical for an employee of the company to betray his own company, Lao Meng has to admit that the current outcome is really good.

So, in response to Liu Ke's words, he merely frowned symbolically, then asked a digression question, saying, "Feng Baobao? Wasn't she also... knocked unconscious by your armor?"

Liu Ke just laughed and said, "Sister Bao'er? I'm not making this up. She's the toughest one here. How could she possibly be forced to quit after just one round?"

"I guess... he should wake up in a few minutes, right?"

After nodding, Lao Meng asked, "Xiao Ke, I don't really have much to say about the matter between the company and Biyou Village. I just want to ask one thing..."

At this point, Lao Meng paused again, and then said, "We actually have two missions here. One is... related to Biyou Village."

"The other one, as you probably already know, is Chen Duo. But from what you said just now, it seems you don't intend to care about Chen Duo's fate..."

Upon hearing this, Liu Ke couldn't help but scratch his head and said, "Yeah, because I can't understand it, I can't control it either. It's a very troublesome thing."

At this point, he stood up, then raised his eyebrows and said, "The problem is, I can't tell who's right and who's wrong at all."

"Old Ma told me before that Chen Duo was carrying a time bomb, but he replaced her."

"Later... I 'secretly' glanced at the records left by the company. The bomb had a second signal in the hands of the company's senior management, and at the time... they chose to detonate it directly."

"In other words... after Chen Duo placed the curse on Lao Liao, we have no way of knowing what Lao Liao was thinking or whether he chose to detonate the bomb himself."

At this point, Liu Ke turned to Lao Meng and asked, "Uncle Meng, among all of us, you're the only one who's familiar with Liao Zhong."

"So... in your opinion, purely speculatively speaking, what would Lao Liao have chosen back then?"

"Did he press the detonator?"

After hearing about this, Lao Meng became much more dejected. After remaining silent for almost a minute, he finally said, "I'm not sure."

"But... I think Lao Liao, he most likely won't press it. Others may not believe it, but that's just the kind of person he is."

Seeing this, Liu Ke patted the other person on the shoulder and replied, "Actually, intuitively, I think so too."

"So, putting aside the company's reputation, 'Old Liao,' who is the main victim in this incident, may not actually want to punish Chen Duo."

At this point, seeing that Lao Meng was looking at him again, he pointed to his head and said, "Besides... Chen Duo's situation is different from ours, and we can't understand each other."

"Today, Na Du Tong used her as a pretext to attack Biyou Village. Regardless of the real reason, Biyou Village chose to fight for her, but she herself avoided it."

"Perhaps she lacks reason and logic, and is simply acting on her likes and dislikes in a one-dimensional way. But, to put it bluntly, this behavior is, in a sense, a kind of betrayal."

“I believe Lao Ma genuinely considers her a partner, but if she does this…”

"Even if Old Ma pities her background, he most likely won't choose to help her anymore."

After Liu Ke finished speaking, he stretched his body and projected an off-road electric tricycle, then tossed the tricycle keys to Lao Meng.

He said, "...So, now it's up to Chen Duo to decide her own future."

------

After a rather fierce battle, the second half of the competition between Na Du Tong and Village Chief Ma came to an end. As for the result, naturally, Village Chief Ma defeated the Na Du Tong members.

Of course, aside from the fact that the black pipe fell clearly and tangibly, it remains to be seen whether Wang Zhenqiu, Xiao Zizai, and Feng Baobao "went down the slope" after being attacked.

Of course, if there is any, it's because their acting skills are good enough and their performances are reasonable enough.

After all, those four had given their all from the start, using all their skills and techniques without holding back. But the fact that they couldn't break through the defenses was quite embarrassing, meaning that no matter how long they fought or how hard they tried, the outcome was predetermined.

Therefore, since they can't win no matter what, starting a "show" to achieve a "quick end" is not a bad option.

In any case, in the end, only Zhao Fangxu will listen to the verbal reports that these people give to the company. As long as Chairman Zhao approves, that's fine!
When Lao Meng drove his electric tricycle, with the help of Feng Baobao and Zhang Chulan, he resembled an old farmer transporting vegetables, and after transporting the rest of the villagers out of the village, the entire Biyou Village instantly returned to peace and tranquility.

Apart from Fu Rong and Zhuge Qing, the other villagers, under the organization of Grandpa Bi Yuan, began to rescue the wounded and restore the buildings in the middle of the night.

Of course, Fu Rong contacted Village Chief Ma after learning of the village's victory. Village Chief Ma ultimately understood Fu Rong's reasons for wanting to repay the loan first and restore her credit record, and welcomed her back to Biyou Village at any time.

It is worth mentioning that even though the incident in Biyou Village was ultimately resolved, everything that happened tonight still had a great impact on a 'motivational village chief' and 'simple and unconventional craftsman'.

So, after the 'final show' ended, Old Ma simply gave some instructions about village affairs, then maneuvered his armor to land next to Liu Ke and fell into a long silence.

From a certain perspective, perhaps Ma Xianhong, inside the armor, is currently leaning against the hillside, observing everything in Biyou Village with a thoughtful expression. "Speaking of which... Old Ma, aren't you planning to get out of the armor? Although staying in this thing isn't too uncomfortable, it's... not pleasant either, is it?"

Seeing that Ma Xianhong's standing posture resembled a dusty Buzz Lightyear on an old shelf, Liu Ke cleared his throat and then spoke to him.

Upon hearing his voice, Ma Xianhong turned his head first, and after pausing for more than ten breaths, he replied, "Uh, how do I exit this thing? Do I need to use those robotic arms? I remember I needed to when I put it on?"

Upon hearing the muffled electronic voice from the armor, Liu Ke scratched his head and replied, "That's a good question. It did trouble me for a while."

"However, now... it has been upgraded. It's much easier to take off than to put on."

Then Liu Ke added, "Tell the Black Wall... you want to come out, and you need to use Sentry Mode."

About five or six breaths after Liu Ke explained the solution, the steel armor suddenly paused, and then a line split open in the middle of the back module, revealing Ma Xianhong inside.

Seeing that the method was correct, the village chief Ma did not rush to retreat. He first sensed the mountain wind blowing from his back before slowly retreating from his armor, as cautiously and carefully as a gecko shedding its skin.

About half a minute later, the 'pilot' of the Iron Man suit finally emerged completely from the suit. Then, the Iron Man suit's back module closed again, and its hands were raised, as if ready to fire palm cannons at any moment—this was the simplest Sentry mode.

Of course, to put it in easier terms... Sentinel mode is the autonomous control that keeps the Warframe in place.

Seeing that Ma Xianhong had completely emerged, Liu Ke said, "Black Wall, send this armor back, then send Veronica into the air, and send the experimental data back as well."

Upon hearing Liu Ke's command, the armor, which had been fixed in place like a mannequin, began to move again and emitted an electronic sound.

"Received, Master."

After the armored vehicle answered, it turned its head, nodded to Ma Xianhong, and said, "It's been a pleasure cooperating with you, Mr. Ma."

After saying that, the armored warrior lowered his arms and took off, flying towards the six steel pillars that Veronica had shot out, which were still stuck not far away.

Seeing the steel armor fly away, Village Chief Ma sighed and sat on the hillside, looking at the center of Biyou Village not far away.

……

At this moment, in Biyou Village, it is midnight, and a bright moon hangs in the sky.

The wind rustled through the grass and trees, creating a gentle, swaying sound. The scene was so peaceful that it was difficult to tell that a fierce battle had taken place here just over half an hour earlier.

After sitting on that small hill for a long time, Ma Xianhong suddenly said to Liu Ke beside him, "Thank you."

Liu Ke was also taken aback upon hearing this, and said, "To be honest, this is really unexpected. I thought you would ask about that Taoist Master Zhao first."

Ma Xianhong frowned upon hearing this and said, "Just now... after Hei Qiang took over the operation of that battle armor, I had some free time. Coincidentally, I just happened to..."

At this point, Ma Xianhong narrowed his eyes slightly, and after a few breaths, he continued, "Then I read through all the information about Zhao Guizhen, including what he had done in the past and his conversations with that Xiao Zizai."

At this point, Ma Xianhong sighed and said, "Although I have some complaints about the company, I believe it now that I have seen the evidence."

"If you're wrong, you're wrong. What's the point of asking questions? I'm not someone who can't accept the truth."

"If the person from Nadutong had told me this from the beginning, I would have cleaned the door myself without needing anyone else..."

But Liu Ke interrupted him before he could finish, saying, "It's quite normal to encounter situations where people recruit many followers and teach without discrimination. Don't even mention you; even the Jie Sect in mythology does the same, doesn't it?"

"You can't entirely blame yourself for misjudging people; you also have to blame Master Zhao for being too cunning."

"Don't even mention you. Even with my 'opening the box' technique, I still couldn't see through Master Zhao's true nature at a glance."

"On the other hand, professional matters should be handled by professionals. When it comes to dealing with perverts, we have connections with Brother Xiao everywhere, and he is indeed quite capable."

Upon hearing this, Ma Xianhong felt a sudden surge of anger at the thought of the child who had been murdered. He then asked in bewilderment, "When I asked Xiao Zizai why he tortured and killed Zhao Guizhen, he was still covering for that demon. It's inexplicable. He had already killed him!"

After hearing this, Liu Ke chuckled twice and said, "I can guess with my own eyes that the reason the company didn't tell you, and didn't even want to tell you until just now, is because they need to save face for the Maoshan lineage."

"This is a huge scandal... We need to control public opinion, otherwise how will we survive in the underworld?"

"Let alone Maoshan, even if it were you... would you want to be talked about every day in the circle, about how a demon who killed children to practice his skills gave you his potential?"

Upon hearing this, Ma Xianhong snorted coldly and retorted, "Hmph, it doesn't matter. If you make a mistake, you should be punished. What's the use of hiding it all day long?"

"Does covering up something mean we don't have to be truthful?"

"To put it bluntly, if it hadn't been Na Du Tong who defeated me just now, but the Maoshan Xuanmen who came to eliminate evil, no matter how badly our village was beaten, I would have been willing to cheer for them after I found out."

Upon hearing this, Liu Ke simply shook his head, then took out a drink from his personal Devouring Pouch magic artifact, tossed one can to Ma Xianhong, and opened the other himself.

After taking a big gulp, he said, "Master Zhao's death was... novel, and it was a fitting death. Let bygones be bygones."

“Your Biyou Village teaches all kinds of people, and with so many people in the village, the fact that you only recruited one pervert as a ‘village cadre’ is already quite remarkable.”

"You know, the proportion of scoundrels in this world of supernatural beings is incredibly high right now, and there are Quanxing members everywhere!"

At this point, Liu Ke changed the subject, saying, "By the way, didn't Lao Meng and I talk for a while just now? The topic of our conversation... was about Chen Duo."

(End of this chapter)