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

But such a victory seems too brutal.

"...Never mind that!"

Lei Song had no time for regret or mourning. He quickly found a car that could still be started. "Can you drive? Let's go!"

With one arm blown off, he can no longer be a driver, no matter what stimulants he uses.

The car sped off, quickly disappearing from everyone's sight.

Once they confirmed that the other party had entered a safe area, the armored warrior deactivated his abilities and quickly left the area.

“…Don’t run!”

The prolonged high pressure caused Tang Shuang's brain to be a little oxygen-deprived, but she quickly regained her composure and mustered her strength to catch up.

But this was clearly futile. Within a few streets, the armored man had completely shaken her off and disappeared without a trace.

"Damn it!"

First, they were humiliated, then they were pinned down so low they couldn't get up, and finally, the culprit managed to escape right under their noses.

For the bureau chief, this was undoubtedly a great disgrace.

"...Pass down my order: issue an S-level warrant for the fugitive!"

But now that things had come to this, she could only try to salvage the situation, tossing the blame to her adjutant beside her, "The combat recorder isn't broken, find a way to investigate!"

Actually, Lei Song was alright. The other person's appearance was already quite unique, and given that he had lost an arm, finding him was only a matter of time.

The problem lies with the armored man. The specially treated armor is impossible to find, and there are thousands of such companies in Night City and Sin City combined.

The person was wearing a helmet, and even their voice was altered... She didn't even know if they were male or female.

The only thing that can be confirmed is the other party's status as an "ascended person".

She also discerned the general nature of its specific abilities—it should be related to gravity.

However, relying on just this one piece of information, it's not so easy to get to the bottom of the matter.

Tang Shuang knew without even thinking that she would have a lot of headaches coming up.

But can we not investigate?

The answer is no.

Unfortunately, the riot happened on "Snake Ring's" territory, and Xu Shi even personally called the police.

It seems they've lost something... Tang Shuang has a strong feeling that even if she postpones this matter just a little bit, that bastard will find a way to cause trouble for her.

She would never allow such a thing to happen!

and so……

"We'll all be working overtime when we get back!"

Even though her current state is somewhat...

-

After one hour.

The rooftop of the "Snake Ring" headquarters.

A gentle breeze lifted Xu Shi's suit slightly, leaving a trace of chill.

A short while later, the sound of the doorknob turning rang out, and the armored man from before walked in.

"You came."

"I am coming."

"You shouldn't have come."

"...Didn't you tell me to come to the rooftop after I finished the mission?"

The armored man paused, then took off his helmet, looking completely bewildered.

It was Xia Wuyou.

Silence, long silence.

Xu Shi pursed her lips, clearly unaware of the joke, which was a bit awkward.

But Xia Wuyou's doubts only deepened.

Why...did you want me to go and save the people from "Spark"?

Just to clarify, using "he" when you don't know the gender is perfectly fine; it's not a typo.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 27: What will your choice be?

27.

To be honest, even now, Xia Wuyou is still completely confused.

She never imagined that Xu Shi would issue such an order—to rescue the people of "Spark" and cover their escape.

This doesn't seem like something he would do... Team Leader Xia, who had just returned from vacation, couldn't understand it and urgently needed an answer.

"why?"

Xu Shi pretended to think, "It's mainly to help you get rid of your guilt, right? After all, I still feel quite bad about forcing you to do something bad last time."

You're still bringing it up?!

Xia Wuyou refused to believe such a lame excuse and stared at him without saying a word.

"...Ha, don't look at me like that, Team Leader Xia."

Xu Shi paused for a moment, then laughed. "Believe me, that's definitely one of the reasons, but there are others too... Have you heard the story of 'Two Peaches Kill Three Warriors'?"

"Ok?"

"District 13 has twenty 'Sea Crane' helicopters. If the people from 'Spark' take them all, then they can split them equally with 'Shark Tooth,' and everyone will be happy."

Xu Shi narrowed his eyes, "Getting ten is the same... even five is fine. At worst, your childhood sweetheart will suffer a little loss, and we'll give the other party one more."

"But what if they sacrificed dozens of lives, risking their lives only to get one machine... then tell me, will Shen He give it to them or not?"

"..."

Xia Wuyou was incredibly intelligent, and he understood everything in an instant.

Shen He undoubtedly paid a huge price to acquire the drone.

If they were to hand it over to "Shark Tooth" as agreed, they would have to carefully consider whether the reward they received would meet his expectations.

But if they don't give it, it means the alliance between "Spark" and "Shark Tooth" will be completely broken.

It's clear that no matter what choice you make, Shen He is definitely not the one who gets the better outcome.

Thinking about it this way, I realized that my rescue wasn't really helping him at all; instead, it pushed him into an even more difficult situation.

"you……"

Realizing he had once again become his accomplice, Xia Wuyou unconsciously clenched his fists. This method was too terrifying, impossible to guard against...

"It was just self-defense."

Xu Shi saw through her thoughts, so he leaned closer and lifted her chin. "Otherwise what? Do you expect me to just stand by and watch the fruits of my labor fall into someone else's hands?"

"..."

Xia Wuyou couldn't refute his words, because they were also true.

She understood the reasoning; if it were the former "Refractive," she certainly wouldn't have stood idly by in this situation, and her father would have made similar arrangements.

The reason she questioned Xu Shi like this was simply because she was unwilling to let go of the filter she had for her childhood sweetheart.

However, she didn't notice that this emotion had actually faded quite a bit—the truth is that ever since she learned that "Spark" and "Shark Tooth" were secretly colluding, Shen He no longer seemed so pure in her heart.

On the contrary, Xu Shi, even with such a plan, did not hide anything from himself and frankly admitted everything.

Thinking about it this way, she suddenly felt that the other person wasn't so insidious after all.

Even subconsciously, she felt a bit more sympathy for Xu Shi...

Ok? !

The thought startled her, and she quickly shook her head, trying to clear the feeling away.

Ugh, what am I thinking? What's so pitiful about this guy?

Watching the expressions on her face change back and forth, Xu Shi couldn't help but want to laugh again.

He could clearly sense that the seed in Xia Wuyou's heart was growing strong, subtly prompting her to change.

Having superpowers is great... He sighed slightly, and at the same time felt that giving her a break was a really wise decision.

She had been constantly on edge, mostly being pushed around by others, and found it difficult to calm down and rationally analyze the pros and cons.

With Xia Ke'an's assistance, it was a natural outcome.

"Speaking of which, how's your aunt doing lately?"

At this point, he couldn't help but ask, "Is the treatment effective?"

"...Yes, her condition has improved a lot."

Xia Wuyou nodded.

The medical standards of "Prism" are certainly not something that charitable hospitals can easily compete with.

With the help of dozens of experts and various top-notch drugs, Xia Ke'an's condition was well controlled in just over two weeks, even surpassing the total improvement of the past few years.

While it's not a complete cure yet, it's undoubtedly a huge transformation from despair to hope compared to the previous half-dead state.

only……

"Will I still be able to visit her often in the future?"

The vacation was over, and Xia Wuyou was unsure of Xu Shi's attitude, so she tentatively asked him a few questions.

"Why not?"