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

"It seems that Mr. Luo has encountered some trouble?"

Xu Shi looked down at Luo Zhikang, who was kneeling in front of him in a disheveled state, and asked with a smile.

“Xu Shi…”

Luo Zhikang was stunned for a moment, then stared at him and snorted coldly.

It's as if she's protesting, implying that all this trouble is your fault.

This attitude left Xu Shi speechless.

Honestly, how can these people not realize that they are the perpetrators, and that they themselves are the weak, pitiful, and helpless victims?

You were the ones who targeted me first, yet you can still act so self-righteous after being arrested.

However, he didn't pay much attention to it and instead became serious. "The process of cracking the drone must not be going smoothly, right? Do you have a lot of questions you want to ask?"

"For example...here?"

He casually pointed to a messy spot on the ground.

"..."

Luo Zhikang did not answer. Although he was troubled, he had no intention of bowing down to the person in front of him.

But before he could react, Xu Shi began to explain to him the specific structure and details of that place.

He deliberately spoke slowly so that the other person could hear him clearly.

"...That's about it. Did you understand, Mr. Luo?"

"..."

Luo Zhikang remained silent, but his expression changed from defiant to shocked.

Xu Shi's explanation completely cleared up his doubts, and his drowsy consciousness instantly became clear.

The mind-bending designs and micro-management techniques he encountered were truly impressive—he could never have come up with such a method if he weren't a genius engineer.

In contrast, Luo Zhikang felt increasingly ashamed of himself.

"How about we leave it at that for now? I'll come see Mr. Luo again in a while."

Xu Shi seemed to have come here specifically for this purpose. After finishing his explanation to Luo Zhikang, he got up to leave, saying, "I wish you good health."

"……and many more!"

Seeing that he was about to leave, Luo Zhikang finally couldn't hold back and called out to him.

"Oh? Is there anything else?"

Xu turned around and pretended not to understand.

"...And what about here? How was the air pressure issue at this three-way connection resolved?"

Luo Zhikang shakily reached out his hand and pointed to another part of the drone.

"This..."

Xu Shi looked him over, then shook his head. "I'm not telling you."

"Mr. Luo, don't forget, this is our bet."

His tone carried a hint of regret, "I told you this because I meant well, but you can't ask me everything, can you?"

"Of course, if you can admit your failure... then that's a different story."

As he spoke, the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up.

To be fair, compared to Gu Yi or Xia Wuyou, Luo Zhikang doesn't have any obvious weaknesses.

Alone and without relatives or friends, his loyalty to "Tianhe" or rather to Shenhe made him unafraid of the threat of death.

But that doesn’t mean he had no weaknesses—arrogance and paranoia.

His arrogance stemmed from his former status as the chief engineer of the conglomerate. In fact, he was only loyal to Shen He. He never paid any attention to the others in the organization, always regarding them as peasants.

His obsession was evident in his research on mechanical engineering... Actually, that word isn't quite right; to be precise, it was "obsessive."

So this bet was designed for this reason—the inability to crack the drone's fate rendered Luo Zhikang's arrogance worthless. Chief Engineer? You're a piece of trash.

But Jiang Chengcheng's ingenious design inevitably piqued his interest, making him eager to know the answer.

Of course, he also made some arrangements regarding external factors, such as removing the clock to disrupt the sense of time, creating a dark and enclosed small room, and providing poor food and drink... These are common interrogation tactics that can be very helpful in breaking a person's will.

The increasingly messy handwriting on the calculation paper was good evidence of this, and even the walls had many messy marks.

It was clear that the old man was on the verge of a breakdown.

So now is the time for him to make a choice.

"I……"

Upon hearing this, Luo Zhikang, as expected, showed signs of wavering.

To be honest, his inner pride wouldn't allow him to back down to Xu Shi, and he had never bowed his head to anyone.

Not to mention that this was something Xu Shi did intentionally, with the aim of making him admit defeat.

But the design of this drone really fascinated him, and he felt like ants were crawling on his mind as long as the problem wasn't solved.

He also knew that even if he had another ten or eight years, he might not be able to unravel all of this on his own.

and so.

"I... admit defeat."

After a moment of struggle, he covered his face and let out a long sigh, "You won this bet."

"I am truly gratified that Mr. Luo is so candid."

Xu Shi chuckled lightly, not surprised at all.

"Now... can you tell me?"

Luo Zhikang seemed to have aged several years in an instant, but he still urged him urgently.

"of course."

Xu Shi nodded, "However... we need Mr. Luo to bring something in exchange."

"Hmm? What do you want?"

Upon hearing this, Luo Zhikang gritted his teeth and said, "If you want my life, at least let me... die knowing why."

"Don't be ridiculous, killing you would be easy for me."

Xu Shi smiled and waved his hand, "And your life is in my hands, to be honest, it's worthless."

"That……"

"If I remember correctly, before 'Tianhe' was destroyed, it prepared to launch a project called 'Transcendence'."

"And as the chief designer, you should have access to the relevant research data, right?"

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 35 Do you like my challenge?

Upon hearing this, Luo Zhikang's expression changed.

How did you find out about the "Over-Limit Project"?

To be honest, this is probably his biggest secret and his biggest regret.

In the world of Night City, there have always been several schools of thought regarding research on weaponry.

One type is the so-called mechanical ascension, which involves modifying human body parts with prosthetics or digitizing personal consciousness to achieve various purposes.

For example, it can enhance combat capabilities and improve work efficiency... Of course, the most important thing is to extend lifespan. Artificial organs are always much more resistant to "rust fog" than native organs.

This is also a common and widespread type in the city—most people give up some physical functions for various reasons and then use machines as a substitute.

Another approach focuses on the ultimate mechanical aspect, most notably exemplified by the "Snake Ring" Type I, II, III, and IV combat teams. They arm themselves with high-tech mechs and weapons, but in essence, anyone can be replaced under the armor.

Or it could be genetic modification—people generally attribute the superpowers of "Ascended Ones" to genetic mutations caused by "Rust Fog." Large companies like "Snake Ring," "Shark Tooth," and "Prism" have also developed methods to actively detect and activate superpowers.

The "Overlimit Project" that Xu Shi mentioned is a combination of these different schools of thought.

—By analyzing the abilities of "Ascended Ones," weapons, mechs, or body modifications can be tailored to maximize their capabilities.

In gaming terminology, it's called specialization or weapon specialization.

Back then, "Tianhe" was at its peak, with interests in various fields. Chairman Shen Tianhong had such a plan and secretly launched such a project.

Unfortunately, not long after, "Tianhe" suffered a devastating disaster, and the plan was thus aborted.

However, Luo Zhikang, who escaped with his life, never gave up.

Although he had been living in anonymity all these years, he had been constantly refining and improving the plan. After learning that Shen He was still alive, he intensified his research in this area.

The reason is simple: as a loyal subject of "Tianhe", he has always hoped to use this plan to help Shenhe return to his peak.

And when the time comes, he, as the chief designer, will surely be remembered by history.

But this is the most puzzling part: how did Xu Shi find out?

It should be noted that the Shen siblings were still young when "Tianhe" was destroyed, and all the other people who knew about it had already perished. He was the only one who knew about the plan.

Even Shen He didn't know—after all, in Luo Zhikang's view, the other party's foundation was still shallow and the time was not yet ripe.

Xu Shi knew, of course.

After all, in the original story, the original owner of this body suffered quite a bit in this regard.

Originally, relying on the foundation of a large conglomerate, even with the protagonist's halo, "Snake Ring" would not be suppressed by "Spark," and they would usually fight back and forth.

But things started to go wrong after the "Overlimit Project" began.

Even some of the first-generation mass-produced machines were enough to upgrade the abilities of ordinary "upgraded individuals" by one level, which can be considered a physical "upgrade", such as from D-level to C-level, or from C-level to B-level.

Not to mention the specialized equipment equipped by the main characters—even characters like Chen Fang and Lei Song were able to withstand two or three V-shaped heavy armors of "Snake Rings" on their own later on.

How can we play then? No way!