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

Xie Qingyan joked, "Well, I heard that the 'Overlimit Project' seems to be making good progress recently, so we..."

"Does Chairman Xie also mean to hold a press conference?"

Hoho.

That bitch is thinking the same thing as me?

It turns out that Luo Zhikang was the biggest victim of the "placement play" (a term used to describe a game or activity where players leave their devices unattended).

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 78 Remarks on the launch

The release date has been confirmed: tomorrow at noon. Please subscribe!

I always have to write a reflection, so I've summarized three points, specifically:

Forget the front, forget the middle, forget the back.

……

Haha, just kidding, actually I have a lot more to say.

To be honest, I'm really satisfied with this result. Over 30,000 favorites, plus the Sanjiang Award and other recognitions, I feel both humbled and honored.

This success is inseparable from everyone's support. I read almost all the readers' comments, and if I encounter any problems, I usually correct them as soon as I see them. I will also continue to polish the book to ensure that it maintains a higher quality. (Arigato!)

Let's talk about the subsequent development of the plot. As you all think, "Spark" is just a small chapter. By now, Shen He has lost one and a half of his three lives. The last few chapters before the book goes on sale are just the groundwork for taking away his second life. I can't write a million words and still have Xu Shi and him struggling with each other. That would be too unrealistic.

And then through him, a larger worldview will unfold—I really didn't expect someone to have already prophesied this: "Stories will be told in different styles from city to city, with supernatural abilities, bio-technology based on the genes of savage orcs, the intelligent evolution of secret and abnormal races, and mechanical swarms crawling in the rusty wilderness"... Although there are some differences, that's the general idea. If possible, I'd also like to add some Cthulhu elements.

Don't you think that's cool?

Of course, there are also many shortcomings. For example, the "cyberpunk" feel is not strong enough. Many people say it looks like a futuristic city. This is something I did not do well enough research on, and I will not argue with that.

But essentially, I still want to show something light and easy, like a domineering CEO effortlessly sparking romances with girls of all kinds of different personalities... By now, you readers probably know that I'm a rather eclectic person, and doing something lighthearted is my forte, which is also a kind of fun.

Another regret is that I couldn't include the high-definition, watermark-free version of IGotSmoke in the bonus chapter. It failed to pass the review six times. It hurts so much.

Let's talk about some issues that everyone is concerned about.

Shen He probably won't fall for that. This whole thing scared me half to death; I almost got hit by a semi-trailer on the street... But it did give me a bit of an idea. Maybe there will be a similar ending? (Who knows, hehe)

Regarding Xu Shi, I've seen some people talking about whitewashing him. All I can say is that my original intention was to guide him step by step from a "villain from the original work" into a free-spirited character, unbound by moral constraints, indifferent to good or evil, doing whatever he pleases. (I hope I can achieve that with my abilities!)

That's about it.

Let me explain the update plan after the book is published. I will update five times on the day of publication, and then at least three times a day thereafter. If I have the ability, I will update five times a day. Quality is more important than quantity.

Then, we'll open a group chat and organize things for everyone.

In addition to the bonus monthly tickets (six per day), one extra chapter will be added for every 300 monthly tickets, and the results will be settled the following month.

For every 2 coins donated, I'll add one chapter; for every Alliance Master (my dream come true), I'll add seven chapters. I dare not even consider anything bigger; if I get one, I'll work through the night to write the plan.

Finally, thank you to every reader who has made it this far. Whether it's voting with monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, tips, comments, or even just giving a little red heart to a character card, it's all motivation for me to keep going.

I am deeply grateful that the people of this land have been so tolerant of me, preventing me from making money through unethical means. I kneel in gratitude.

-

Here's cereal time:

The world doesn't need succubi to save it.

This is a really great book. The male lead is a half-succubus, and there are multiple female leads. I heard it just finished today. It has 150 million words and is worth reading!

League of Legends: The Darkin Goddess Coves Me

LOL fanfiction, it's really good, don't miss it if you're interested!

Star Fleet: Starting with Datafication

Needless to say, this is a true master. He gave me a lot of help in the early stages of writing the book. The quality is excellent. It's a fleet space war, absolute humanism, and non-science fiction. Highly recommended!

Pokémon: Starting with a Reborn Eevee

As above, these are all big shots who have helped me a lot. They are Pokémon stories, about Pokémon with cheat codes and their "soft" trainers. It's almost a million words long, so I'm going to devour it!

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 79: Mere Pawns (Seeking First Subscription!)

Say something.

Regarding the public disclosure of the "Over-Limit Project," Xu Shi commented that it should have been done long ago.

The basic supporting chip has been initially completed under Jiang Chengcheng's research and development. Once the technology is stable, it will only be a matter of time before it is put into mass production.

With a concept phone already in existence, a launch event is essential—to pique everyone's interest, attract investment, and arrange pre-orders in advance... all of which can make him a fortune.

Scientific research is just the prelude; making money is the ultimate goal.

At the same time, this is also the best way to demonstrate the financial group's capabilities to all forces in Night City.

Both "Snake Ring" and "Prism" have recently suffered some setbacks in public opinion due to their past experiences.

This has raised some questions about their dominance, with discussions like "Are these conglomerates doomed?" frequently appearing on various forums recently.

Under such circumstances, Xu Shi and Xie Qingyan could easily find common ground.

If we don't produce some real substance, people will really think we're just busy dealing with trivial things like hacking and assassination attempts every day.

You've really never seen a large conglomerate before. (doge)

In comparison, setting a trap for Shen He seems secondary—and that's actually the case. Even if you don't put extra effort into targeting him, as long as you don't act as brainless as in the original story and just deal with him at a normal level, he will already seem insignificant and laughable after a few times.

But the protagonist is the protagonist after all. Not only does he develop quickly and have great luck, but he also has resurrection coins, which are like a persistent leech.

Having such a fly-like presence buzzing around you is always annoying.

Eliminating it sooner will also save us a lot of worries, allowing us to focus on doing more important things.

Then why not bring him to the bureau as well... Xu Shi knew that since they knew Luo Zhikang was still alive, the other party would definitely try to rescue him.

No matter how difficult it is, he will do it. After all, the old man's position is irreplaceable to him. If Gu Yi is gone, there is Zhang Shinian. If Xia Wuyou is gone, there are other forces that can fill the gap. But in his team, there is only one outstanding engineer.

In fact, if we were to follow the original story, Xu Shi should have paid the same attention to Luo Zhikang, but fortunately he found Jiang Chengcheng, whose professional skills far surpassed Luo Zhikang's, and who could also discuss academic matters with him at night.

In comparison, the old man is not so important.

However, he also knew that after the lessons learned from the previous failures, Shen He wouldn't be so foolish as to just blindly come to save people.

He's still trying to find an opportunity... so let's give him one. Unless Shen He is really determined to be a coward, he'll definitely cause some trouble at the press conference.

And if he takes any action, he will inevitably fall onto his own board, and he can use him as a springboard to successfully complete the first step in marching into Sin City.

Of course, even if he really wanted to play the coward, it wouldn't affect his plans at all.

Thinking of this, Xu Shi couldn't help but smile.

Shen He probably never imagined that he was the one who told Luo Zhikang that he was still alive... In fact, from a very early stage, the other party had been led by the nose by him, but he just didn't realize it.

It's just a pawn; it can never escape its own grasp.

"Hey, Xu Shi, are you still listening?"

Receiving no response for a long time, Xie Qingyan called out to him resentfully, which finally brought him back to his senses.

"...Sorry, sorry, I was a little distracted."

Xu Shi chuckled and quickly finalized the press conference arrangements with her.

The grand banquet hall in District 19, 4 pm, the press conference followed immediately by a cocktail party, a one-stop shop for food and entertainment.

"That's it then? See you next Friday?"

"I'm really looking forward to seeing Qingyan in her formal attire."

"Give me a break."

The two exchanged a few polite words, seemingly on very good terms, before ending their communication.

"Hi."

After finishing all this, Xu Shi stretched and then looked at Ye Shanshan beside him, "It's time to get off work, Miss Ye, aren't you going home yet?"

"You haven't actually fallen in love with the work atmosphere at 'Snake Ring,' have you? Maybe I should talk to your Chairman Xie and see if he really gets you onboarded?"

"...No need for that, goodbye Mr. Xu."

Ye Shanshan had no such thoughts. She bowed and left in a hurry.

Looking at her retreating figure, Xu Shi seemed lost in thought.

Come to think of it, she could be considered Xie Qingyan's spy sent here.

Perhaps... this drama will be even more spectacular than I imagined.

-

The publicity for the "Over-Limit Plan" quickly spread throughout the entire Night City.

It must be said that Xu Shi is quite talented in creating hype—after releasing some information as a lead-in, he quickly followed up by hiring a lot of online trolls, with one side supporting and expecting, and the other denying and questioning, resulting in a heated argument.

On various forums, posts like "Shocking! Upgrading can be done like this!" are always followed by opposing opinions such as "Emerging technology? To deceive and ambush!"

Under these circumstances, after a few days, this has become the topic of discussion, and everyone is paying close attention to the upcoming press conference.

If you don't know that "Snake Ring" and "Prism" have teamed up to develop new technology, you'd probably be too embarrassed to go out.

Political and business leaders from all walks of life received invitations well in advance to attend this epoch-making event.

District 6, "Disgae" Camp.

"Old Shen, what do you think about this?"

The information had naturally reached Sin City long ago. Looking at Shen He, who was sitting at the table with a furrowed brow, Zhang Shinian asked him in a low voice what he thought.

"Um……"