Chapter 118: Just Wait, I'll Have You Meowing Sooner or Later! - It’s the Cyber Age—Still Playing a Traditional Villain?

Chapter 118: Just Wait, I'll Have You Meowing Sooner or Later! The first round of negotiations between "The Forgotten" and the City of Night Crime ended in complete failure. As Shen Qin walked out of the meeting room, her face looked slightly pale. Originally, she had thought she could take this opportunity to maneuver around Xu Shi, to probe his strengths and weaknesses a bit. Instead, she was utterly humiliated and left in disgrace. At this moment, she could hardly describe how upset she felt, feeling that she had lost face. This guy was utterly insufferable. The others didn't fare much better, particularly Zhao Yuan, whose face looked even worse than hers... Only Song Chen seemed somewhat at ease, lost in his thoughts. "Oh dear, Xu Shi, you really don't know how to treat a lady kindly, do you?" After the meeting, Xie Qingyan actively sought out Xu Shi, covering her face as she laughed and teased him, "At least give Miss Shen some face, right? If I were her, I'd be crying all the way back." "Well, if you're going to cry, make sure to let me know in advance, since I've never seen you cry before." Xu Shi replied in jest, without a hint of remorse. He was more concerned about how to squeeze every bit of value out of "The Forgotten." As for Shen Qin's dignity or her attitude towards him? That wasn't important. Besides, did that conniving woman really come to scold him for what he just did? She was probably gloating inside. The fact was, Xie Qingyan also held no sympathy for "The Forgotten" and was only interested in the value these people could bring. Had she been the one speaking earlier, she might not have been much different from Xu Shi, perhaps just a tad more gentle, giving the other side a little leeway for future negotiations. But essentially, it wouldn't have changed much. Now, with someone else taking the lead, she was more than happy to sit back and watch. "Woo woo, am I not your 'Qingyan' anymore? So sad." Hearing Xu Shi's words, Xie Qingyan feigned crying, but her eyes betrayed her amusement. What kind of nickname was that? Xu Shi was momentarily puzzled before he recalled that he had indeed referred to her that way in a previous meeting... However, it seemed quite out of place coming from Xie Qingyan. Even though he had to admit that she was unexpectedly cute in her antics. But was she really the type to act all teary-eyed and clingy? Even if she was pretending, it wasn't like her at all! "…By the way, Qingyan, you didn't just come to cry in front of me, did you?" Finding it slightly uncomfortable, he quickly shifted the topic to business. "Just trying to lighten the mood. Fine, if you don't like it." Xie Qingyan pursed her lips, dropped the act, and crossed her arms. "Given the current situation, it's not long before we can acquire all those resource technologies from 'The Forgotten' in large quantities. Shouldn't we prepare for further development on the 'Overlimit Project'?" Xu Shi remained noncommittal. Whether it was the ore or the research data, it was all going to give them a significant boost. Mainly, it would help them avoid unnecessary resource wastage and save them some trouble. As he had previously mentioned, the greatest value of "The Forgotten" lay in this. In this light, Shen Qin was genuinely meant to be a stepping stone for Shen He. Once he had gathered enough in the City of Night Crime, this would be a strengthening boost to further expand his power. However, he's no longer around to benefit from it. Xu Shi would have to reluctantly oblige himself to do the hard work instead. "Of course, that's no problem, we’ve always been partners, after all." Xu Shi nodded slightly, not forgetting to bluntly remind Xie Qingyan, "But I heard your 'Prism' team has been a bit lazy lately? You might want to keep an eye on that." "Is that so?" Xie Qingyan blinked, feigning ignorance, "I haven't kept up… You should have mentioned it sooner." "Probably just hit a bottleneck in development… Once we secure those things, it should get better. They'll be plenty busy then." Of course, while she played dumb on the surface, she was well aware of the situation, having personally given the orders… She, too, was attempting to pull resources away for independent development of the second-generation product. This was typical of her style, and it also contained her frustration with Xu Shi. To be fair, re-establishing cooperation with "Serpent's Loop" was definitely a good thing; even just the "Duality" chip project alone had brought enormous profits to "Prism." She had even managed to acquire more shares from "Shark's Tooth," further sidelining Boss He… It was clearly a step up. But she couldn’t quite feel the joy she should have. Because Xu Shi had outmaneuvered her again! In the case of the Night Crime City, while she hadn't gained much, the losses weren’t significant either. And considering she had wanted to interfere secretly, failing to succeed couldn't be blamed on anyone else. But having Xu Shi predict her moves beforehand was something she couldn't tolerate. When did this guy start planning everything in such detail? The key question was, how did this dog of a man know about her collaboration with "White Iron"? She knew it wouldn’t have been Ye Shanshan who leaked it; Little Curly's loyalty was beyond doubt. Song Ziyou wouldn’t dare either; if he did, she wouldn't have chosen him… So it was preposterous, right? A mole in "White Iron"? But regardless, getting outmaneuvered by Xu Shi was a terribly annoying experience. She should have guessed that when he went to Crime City with Ye Shanshan, it was all a show for her, and she had stupidly walked right into the trap… That dog of a man was probably laughing at her now. With that thought, Xie Qingyan silently cursed Xu Shi once more. You're just a big dumb pig! Yet, strangely, even after such an event, she didn’t feel entirely vexed. Overall, she found her feelings towards Xu Shi became somewhat complicated. Being outmaneuvered by Xu Shi wasn’t ideal, but the skills he displayed recently earned him her growing admiration. It was as if a youthful crush had been rekindled in her heart. Even just now, watching him show no mercy to "The Forgotten" brought her some joy; it was far better than him flaunting some young floozy in her face. If she had to choose between the old Xu Shi and the current one, she'd choose the latter. After all, wasn't he her fiancé? If he remained as unreliable as before, she would've had no face left. Nonetheless, although she found herself enamored, her desire to win hadn’t waned. Being played by him again was unacceptable, returning the favor was in her nature. At the very least... she needed to get the better of him once! Just wait, there'll come a day when I'll have you meowing! Xie Qingyan thought, her emotions in turmoil. --- Meanwhile, back at her quarters, Shen Qin was beset with a pounding headache. The demands from the City of Night Crime far exceeded her expectations, posing a significant disadvantage for "The Forgotten." Yet, the problem was, aside from agreeing to those extremely unequal terms, she really couldn't think of any other option. Even now, recalling the confrontation with Xu Shi during the meeting filled Shen Qin with an overwhelming sense of pressure. He was indeed far more difficult to deal with than she'd imagined. "Xiao Qin, you're back?" At this moment, Shen He approached her, concerned as he asked, "How did your negotiations go?" After resting with his sister for a while, he had regained some of his vigor, looking much better than his previous despondent state. However, he couldn't attend the meeting with Shen Qin, but that didn’t stop him from being interested in external affairs. "Brother." Shen Qin forced a faint smile, "Not too bad, but the situation isn't as optimistic as I anticipated, though it’s not the worst." In front of her brother, she was unwilling to mention how she had been severely humiliated by Xu Shi. "That's good to hear." Shen He sighed in relief, "But still, be very cautious, especially with Xu Shi. He's too cunning; I wasn't wary enough of him before, leading to several losses." "Yes, I understand." Shen Qin nodded, but her heart was heavy with reflection. Despite her current power surpassing her brother’s "Spark," Xu Shi still managed to suppress her. Thinking about it, Shen He’s decision to provoke Xu Shi repeatedly was rather reckless. Even now being alive was a stroke of luck amidst misfortune. Seeing his sister’s expression, Shen He could somewhat guess what she was thinking, and his own face grew somewhat sheepish. He admitted that he had been somewhat reckless before; otherwise, the situation would definitely have been much better. If he still held "Disk Gale" or at least "Spark," he could have provided internal support and coordination to his sister. But now, the help he could offer was indeed limited. "In any case, the first step should be to establish a channel between 'The Forgotten' and the City of Night Crime." He thought for a moment and suggested, "Everything else can come slowly. The six major consortiums are not a monolith; we still have a chance." "When the time comes, I'll do my utmost to assist you, Xiao Qin." "Okay." Shen Qin responded with a smile. Standing nearby, Li Tang couldn't help but feel disdainful. His view on Shen He had never changed: just a failure crushed by Xu Shi. Especially after witnessing Xu Shi's imposing presence, he found Shen He's actions to be utterly foolish. He was even against Shen Qin taking Shen He in, believing it was not beneficial to keep him around. For instance, during the previous meeting, if not for Shen He’s influence, the leader might not have confronted Xu Shi so directly. He even pondered whether handing Shen He over to Xu Shi might actually give them a slight opportunity. But that was just wishful thinking; he knew how the leader felt about her brother and wouldn’t fall for the same mistake twice. Besides, realistically speaking, the gap between the two was substantial, and Xu Shi might not even value Shen He that much. Even if they did as he imagined, it might just be a drop in the bucket, offering no real solution. Thus, he chose not to voice his thoughts, maintaining only a hint of contempt on his face. None of this escaped Shen He’s notice. Glancing at Li Tang with a deliberate gaze, his expression grew more contemplative. --- A day later. "The Forgotten" ultimately accepted the City of Night Crime's conditions, initiating the second round of negotiations. As Xu Shi had anticipated, this wasn't something that time could resolve; in fact, the longer it dragged on, the more passive "The Forgotten" became. Agreeing sooner rather than later was a better solution. Subsequently, the six major consortiums and the city hall presented the terms they had negotiated. Accepting "The Forgotten" wasn't a problem, but for tens of thousands of people, it was impossible to admit them all at once. Therefore, the first batch could only consist of one-tenth of the people, and they must be screened to ensure they are relatively healthy and possess certain abilities. Meanwhile, "The Forgotten" needed to pay a large amount of "Rust Mist" ore and share their exclusive technologies for others to reference. As for the remaining people, the City of Night Crime promised to construct a temporary settlement for them on the Birch Gold Plain outside the city, ensuring they wouldn’t suffer at their current location. For those wishing to obtain a pass into the City of Night Crime, there were two options. First, they could individually contribute a ton of "Rust Mist" ore. Second, demonstrate high-level skills in the field of research and development, which might warrant special consideration for admission. This plan was also Xu Shi's proposal. Due to the City of Night Crime's limitations, others weren't skilled in dealing with "diplomatic" and "immigration" matters. Therefore, he roughly borrowed from previous world models. Essentially, the former resembled investment immigration, while the latter was akin to skills-based immigration. This method achieved a dual purpose: to gain entry into the City of Night Crime, "The Forgotten" would have to mine ore, sparing the city the need to send their own teams to do the hard labor, merely dispatching overseers instead. Prioritizing technical talents also served to effectively divide "The Forgotten" from within, breaking their solidarity. Additionally... "If ordinary citizens of 'The Forgotten' weren't sufficient—I hope the three leaders can set an example by settling in the City of Night Crime as residents." "...This request, we cannot accept." Hearing this, the three leaders of "The Forgotten" simultaneously refused, "Absolutely not!" The earlier terms were reasonable, merely refining previously agreed points without significant changes. But this condition was too much. For them, as leaders of "The Forgotten," entering the City of Night Crime as mere residents, the difference in status aside, losing their governing power over "The Forgotten" was the most critical issue! If that happened, with the rest of their people leaderless, wouldn't chaos ensue? "Ah... Perhaps that does seem a bit inappropriate." Seeing their strong resistance, Xu Shi blinked, feigning an expression of "lack of foresight," but said, "Yet, setting an example would indeed be beneficial for fostering good relationships between the two sides, don’t you agree?" "How about this, we can compromise. You all can leave one person to continue governing 'The Forgotten,' only two need to join as residents, how about that?" (End of the chapter)