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

"...Oh, you're such a busy person, I'm so sorry to bother you in your busy schedule."

After teasing him for a moment, Xia Ke'an stopped being sarcastic and became serious. "From developing chips to eradicating 'Spark,' you even went after 'Shark Tooth'... You've turned the whole city into a mess."

Whether she analyzed it herself or Xia Wuyou told her, it was clear that she had never let go of her attention to the City of Night Sin, or rather, to matters related to Xu Shi.

The white-haired loli was quite emotional about this. If she had to say, the only person she had misjudged over the years was probably the man in front of her.

Before this, Xia Ke'an had regarded Xu Shi as a hopeless case, like mud that could not be helped to a wall.

However, in just a few months, the methods the other party displayed amazed her, and she finally realized how wrong she had been.

It can only be said that he disguised himself so well that he fooled everyone, including her.

"Why does it sound like you're blaming me?"

Xu Shi remained noncommittal, responding jokingly, "Miss Ke An called me here, not just to lecture me, is she?"

"This is clearly a congratulatory message."

Xia Ke'an pouted, "Besides, how could I dare to lecture you... If I really want to say something, I should thank you."

“My illness is secondary; what’s more important is that you helped Wuyou face reality and prevented her from going astray.”

"A wrong path?"

Xu Shi knew exactly what she was referring to, but the word still made him want to laugh. "I'm suddenly starting to wonder if the relationship between 'Refraction' and 'Milky Way' was really as good as the rumors suggested."

"You said it yourself, it was in the past."

The white-haired little girl spread her hands and said, "How can a person live in the past forever?"

From the very beginning, this was her attitude towards Shen He—even though the two families had been on good terms, she wasn't Shen He's childhood sweetheart.

In Xia Ke'an's eyes, he was just an ordinary junior, neither good nor bad, and she had no special feelings for him.

If it was like this before, it goes without saying now. How can Shen He compare to Xu Shi now? It's no exaggeration to say they are worlds apart... So, is it a wise move to make enemies with Xu Shi because of him?

Therefore, she didn't think there was anything wrong with the word; allowing Xia Wuyou and Shen He to interact was the right thing to do.

Her candor surprised Xu Shi a bit. It can only be said that her appearance is indeed deceptive. No matter how many times she says such things, it always feels out of place.

But then I thought about it again, and Xia Ke'an in the original novel was pretty much the same. She didn't have high hopes for Shen He from the beginning, but gradually changed her opinion of him as he won her over.

In reality, Shen He suffered defeat after defeat, and when he confronted her, he tried to forcibly control Xia Wuyou... To be honest, given the importance of the aunt and niece to each other, it was already quite remarkable that the white-haired loli could remain calm and only show her dislike and complaints towards Shen He.

However, this is what I've always wanted to see, isn't it?

“I agree with Miss Ke’an’s point of view.”

Thinking this, Xu Shi smiled and nodded, "However, I don't completely agree."

"Ok?"

Why is your illness secondary?

Xu Shi still had a smile on his face, but his eyes held a more serious look as he looked at her. "Healing you is just as important to me, and it's something that Team Leader Xia and I agreed on."

The air fell silent immediately after these words were spoken.

Xia Ke'an was stunned when she heard this, clearly not expecting Xu Shi to bring it up.

"I've been cooperating with the treatment all along..."

This made her a little awkward, and it took her a while to come to her senses before she murmured in response, "Instead of talking about this, why don't you think about yourself... You also have a lot of things to consider, don't you?"

"For example, at the company, your fiancée, and... in 'Dragon City'?"

Something's not right. The outline seems to have a problem, and it's not the effect I wanted when I wrote it... I think I'm having writer's block. I'll probably have to revise these two chapters.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 104 If you die, I will torture her severely.

Xia Ke'an quietly changed the subject.

Or perhaps, this was the real matter she wanted to discuss with Xu Shi alone.

"...You secretly supported the 'Longsword Gang,' providing them with excessive weapons and equipment, and even took advantage of the chaos to annihilate 'Disger' and annex the Sixth District... This can be considered as breaking the balance that has long existed between Night City, or rather, between the six major conglomerates."

The white-haired loli cleared her throat and analyzed in a serious tone, "Dragon City won't let this go easily... Don't tell me you haven't considered this at all."

Xu did not answer, but simply listened quietly as she continued.

The truth is, he was certainly wary of this, and had already considered this possibility from the moment he approached Ding Jun.

He had some understanding of the so-called balance between conglomerates—a long time ago he had heard his father say that after the destruction of the two super-complex interest groups, "Tianhe" and "Zheguang," Night City was in a state of extreme chaos for a period of time.

Not to mention the fact that second-rate companies fought tooth and nail as a result, ordinary residents suffered even more, living in a living hell... In the end, everyone realized that no one could dominate, so they reluctantly gave up and gradually divided up the territory.

At least for now, each conglomerate has its own system, and they compete with each other as if by common practice. There is also a city hall acting as a lubricant in the middle, and the situation is gradually stabilizing. They are less likely to have any major friction with each other.

However, his actions have genuinely disrupted this balance, at least harming the interests of "Dragon City".

As one of the top powers in the City of Night Sin, "Dragon City" is actually the most unique among the six major conglomerates.

On the one hand, "Dragon City" is based in Sin City rather than Night City, and in a sense, it is more like a large gang.

At the same time, they are the only conglomerate that did not claim that they only became a first-class conglomerate because of the downfall of "Tianhe" and "Zheguang". They have always existed and can be considered the uncrowned kings of Sin City.

This established their model—controlling gangs and running shady businesses. Seven of the eleven districts in Sin City were directly under their control, while the remaining regional gangs, such as the "Long Knife Gang" and "Disgae," were all supported by "Dragon City" and followed his lead.

This is somewhat similar to the role of a mercenary leader. When the Night City Consortium wants to do something shady, they often hire gangs to do it, and the reward is credits and various weapons.

"Dragon City" takes a portion of these rewards, thus increasing its profits and indirectly expanding its strength.

In this situation, it's not that I can't fund the "Long Knife Gang" to use advanced weapons to attack "Disgaea," but I have to go through "Dragon City" first. Skipping this step may seem harmless, but the consequences are actually quite serious.

Firstly, this is equivalent to bypassing the middleman, which will inevitably arouse the vigilance of "Dragon City"—what is your intention in "Snake Ring" poaching people like this, or even supporting one and then destroying another? Are you planting a seed so that you can replace me in the future?

This is pretty much an open secret. If you put yourself in their shoes, you wouldn't be able to tolerate this kind of behavior, so don't expect others to swallow their anger.

There has been no movement so far, which suggests that they are simply hesitant and undecided because of the value of "twins".

"...Haha, anyway, as long as you're prepared, that's fine."

Seeing his calm demeanor, Xia Ke'an immediately understood. Clearly, he knew, and perhaps even considered things more thoroughly than she had.

This put her at ease; she really didn't need to worry about the little boy... However, the white-haired girl couldn't help but want to complain a bit. If you knew, you could at least nod; talking so much must be tiring...

She was completely unaware that she was the one who had taken the initiative to worry about him.

So she decided to test him again and tentatively asked, "Besides that, has Chairman Xu thought about anything else, like...?"

"Like what happened ten years ago?"

Xu Shi spoke leisurely, as if he had already anticipated what she was going to say.

"...How did you even think of that?"

The white-haired girl paused upon hearing this, then muttered weakly, "Could it be that Chairman Xu really has the ability to read minds?"

"It would be strange if you didn't expect that, would it?"

Seeing Xia Ke'an's defeated expression, which made her look like a little adult, Xu Shi couldn't help but chuckle.

What happened ten years ago? It was the tragic destruction of "Refractive" and "Milky Way" overnight.

In the original novel, this was an inescapable plotline, so given the current situation, it was only a matter of time before Xia Ke'an told him this.

Moreover, even without her involvement, this is something he still has to consider.

Or rather, this is something that every top conglomerate is wary of, because it is indeed too bizarre.

A mysterious force lurking in the shadows possesses the power to overturn the entire Night City of Sin in a matter of days and nights, yet it remains an unsolved mystery even after ten years... To be honest, let alone choosing one of the six major conglomerates now, could they all do that together? I doubt it.

This is like the Sword of Damocles; you never know when or under what circumstances it will fall again—perhaps when something as colossal as "Refraction" or "Milky Way" reappears? Shouldn't we be more cautious and stop trying to be the first to act?

Thinking about it this way, the delicate balance between conglomerates may also be influenced by this factor.

"Too."

Xia Ke'an thought about it and felt relieved, so she simply continued on this topic, "Then I'll get straight to the point, how much do you know about these things?"

"Just pretend I know nothing."

Xu Shi shook his head; this was no lie.

In fact, after awakening his past life memories, he realized the seriousness of the matter—in terms of influence and dominance, "Refractive" and "Heavenly River" were superior to other conglomerates in the past. If they couldn't withstand something, then he had to prepare for the future.

Reorganizing the group, winning over capable subordinates, launching the "Over-Limit Project"... To be honest, the things I did were not entirely to deal with Shen He.

But he gained nothing from this matter itself.

My character died too early in the original story; I didn't get to see the later versions...

So, to be honest, he wanted to use Xia Ke'an to get some information about this, since she was one of the people involved.

"Looks like we're about the same?"

Hearing him say that, the white-haired loli couldn't help but tease, "I was unconscious that night and knew nothing about what happened... Wuyou was the same, but we were the only two who survived."

However, although it seemed so, the sadness and frustration in her eyes grew heavier and heavier ever since the topic came up.

For Xia Ke'an, this was her nightmare—everything she cherished vanished in an instant, and she was powerless to stop it.

What can a helpless person do? She may seem powerful sitting on her hospital bed, giving orders, but in reality, she struggles to survive without anyone to take care of her... It's clear that the sense of powerlessness that has haunted her for the past ten years has taken a heavy toll on her.

Seeing this, Xu Shi didn't say anything, but simply handed her a glass of water.

"...In that case, shall we...cooperate?"

Xia Ke'an took the glass but didn't drink it. Instead, she lowered her eyes and stared at her small reflection in the cup. "This is our shared goal... I know you're very ambitious. Don't think that 'Snake Ring' or 'Dragon City' is your goal; the entire City of Night Sin might be your target."

"If that's the case, then you'll have to face all of this sooner or later... right?"

She suppressed her trembling voice and rambled on about the pros and cons, seemingly trying to persuade Xu Shi as much as possible.

"What kind of cooperation would you like to propose, Miss Ke'an?"

Xu asked calmly.

"How else can we cooperate?"

Xia Ke'an chuckled self-deprecatingly, "Didn't you want my abilities... Well, I've recovered quite well now, so can I help you in that regard?"