It's the cyber age now, and you're still playing traditional villains?

He only needs to take overall charge and command at the base camp, which is much more efficient.

"really."

Xia Wuyou also agreed. She knew that everyone had gained a lot from this trip to the sea.

At least this model has been established, from setting up signal nodes along the way, to building overseas bases, and then establishing diplomatic relations with other regions, and trading according to demand... If it can continue, a global network can be developed within a few years.

But.

"There is one issue that needs attention. How do we determine the overall strength of other city-states?"

Xia Xiaomao reminded again, "We must remain vigilant on this point."

This is a major issue that cannot be ignored.

In other words, this is the embodiment of the Dark Forest Law.

Each experimental area is an independent entity and is different from each other. There is no guarantee that all places will be as friendly as the Hualan Empire.

In other words, the Hualan Empire did not initially have a friendly attitude towards the arrival of outsiders - the one that held a friendly attitude was Yinsong Island, and that was because everyone accidentally saved the lives of Pan Cheng's family.

The main body of the empire was quite hostile to outsiders at the beginning. Although the resistance they provided was not enough to really stop Xu Shi, they still provided resistance.

This is also expected. After all, "natural law" itself divides each area into different areas, and hopes to see each city-state operate independently.

Put yourself in their shoes. If someone had landed in Night Sin City before Xu Shi set out to sea, their reaction might not have been much better.

Under such circumstances, going out to sea for exploration is inherently a risky endeavor. The reason why the Hualan Empire's journey was relatively smooth was probably because of their superior technology, or their overall strength, which allowed them to give the primitive people a good beating.

But what if other regions are stronger than them? Then the result may be different.

Taking the risk of being exposed and letting the other party know that there are other forces besides themselves may backfire on them, just like what happened to the Hualan Empire.

Conquering, establishing diplomatic relations, and being conquered are all possibilities. We cannot always make good plans, but should prepare for the worst.

Thinking of this, Xia Wuyou felt a little scared. Fortunately, the first time he went out to sea, he chose the simple mode, otherwise who knows what would have happened now.

Xu Shi did not comment, but he just comforted the other party.

"I've thought about it. If we want to cast the net out, we have to focus on restraint."

He said in a deep voice, "That is to say, we should temporarily lower our posture at the beginning, such as trying to explore and contact other city-states in the name of a caravan, and then make adjustments after we understand their details."

Yes, since it is a dark forest, they have to learn something.

Appearing before the hunter as prey.

The caravan trade model obviously makes it easier for most people to accept their existence, and sharing what they have is also the easiest way to know the other party's strength.

As for whether there will be a huge disparity in strength, he is still very confident on this point.

"First of all, the overall strength of Night Sin City is by no means bad."

He analyzed, "We can't say we are the strongest, but at least we are in the upper middle range."

This is still a very conservative estimate.

"Secondly, if we use the 'natural law' to plan each region, there will definitely not be a situation where there is a huge disparity."

He said seriously, "Because doing so will undoubtedly go against their ultimate goal."

The reason is simple. It is normal for differences to exist between city-states, but this is only to ensure the diversity of the experimental area, so that they can accumulate more samples and find a way to remove the "rust fog" more easily.

But if the upper and lower limits are too large, fundamental problems will arise - to give the simplest example, if there really is an area that controls some kind of incredible technology like two-dimensional foil, then there is no need for him to go to great lengths to do these things, this one city-state is enough to crush the others and become the king.

But in this way, the samples that "Tianli" can collect will continue to decrease. Will it have to rely on this one place in the end?

It was obviously not something they could take the risk of.

Therefore, at the beginning of the planning, "natural law" must have defined all areas within a certain range. The strength of each area must be high and low, but there will never be too big a imbalance.

Even between the Night Sin City and the Hualan Empire, it was the same - although they were crushing the other side, the software advantages such as ideology and information gap were the key to determining victory or defeat.

As for hard power, it was because they won over the royal family, suppressed the Vatican, and caused divisions within them, that they were able to win so easily.

But if the Vatican and the royal family join forces to deal with him as an outsider, will it really be so smooth? I don't think so.

Even if they can chew this bone, it is very likely that both sides will suffer losses or even a loss of both sides.

Therefore, this issue needs attention, but don't be too afraid of it.

Occupying the median between zero and one hundred and occupying the median between zero and ten thousand are two completely different concepts.

"And we are not essentially based on expansion and conquest, right?"

The old lady expanded her thoughts and said, "What should be established is a model similar to an alliance."

"Now we have the Hualan Empire as an ally. If we are the pioneers in going out to sea, this will be a great advantage."

She put on a serious face for once, "Under this situation, if we can win over one or two more allied city-states, we will definitely be able to take the lead."

"As this alliance continues to grow, it is those regions that remain independent that need to consider the consequences of not standing on the same front with us."

"Of course."

Xu Shiwen muttered a sentence and touched her head, "My dear daughter is really smart."

"Who is your daughter?"

The white-haired queen gave her a glare.

"Oh, yes, yes."

Xu Shi quickly changed his words, "You are not my daughter. You are a fool who threw your sincerity into the wind."

“…I’ll bite you to death!”

The old lady was instantly furious. The little boy even learned to play boomerangs?

We are talking about serious things now, okay?

The two of them started to argue with each other.

Xia Wuyou just wanted to laugh when he saw it.

She still had some memories of her childhood. Ten years ago, probably no one could have done this, making the second in command of "Zhuiguang" act like a little wife, losing his temper and getting jealous.

She really likes this happy atmosphere. It's just fun and playfulness.

Xu Shi and Xia Ke'an laughed for a long time before they stopped. The old lady was not good at running, and she fell weakly into Xu Shi's arms, one hand still pinching his face.

If it's in loli form, doing this would be so cute, but if it's in mature woman form... it's a bit childish.

I don’t know who was shouting in their heart just now, saying that they don’t want to behave like a child.

Xu Shi easily took her hand away and let her rest on his legs.

The topic returned to the normal track.

"Ahem, let's get back to the topic."

Xu Shi restrained his smile and said, "In establishing an alliance system, the most important thing is not trade or diplomacy, but to pull as many people as possible into the water."

"Ok?"

"In other words, we should try to awaken more people."

Xu Shi said seriously, "Let them realize that their lives are being controlled. Then they won't be able to make the right choices."

Yes, his starting point was not actually to conquer other areas. That could only be regarded as a means, not the ultimate goal.

The ultimate goal is to overturn "heavenly principles" and then clear away the "rust fog".

The trip to the Hualan Empire also gave him a lot of inspiration. He was not the only one in the world who was dissatisfied with "natural justice".

For example, Pan Ling, Lu Baiyan, and Dongfang Xiao, after learning the truth, all felt deep disgust for the mastermind behind all this.

The yearning for the City of Night Sin and the desire to establish communication with it is an ideological issue and does not affect anything else.

They also cannot accept that their lives are set up to serve a specific object.

If we use a single point to break the whole thing, will the people of other city-states just accept it? It is highly unlikely.

It's just that I still don't know what's behind all this.

Then, we just need to reveal all of this at the right time. Such heavy news with traceable clues will be enough to wake up most people.

Once they accept this fact, it is self-evident what they will do.

Of course, there are definitely some who refuse to accept it, or who remain stubborn and stubborn.

For example, the "protagonists" of each region, as vested interests, would not allow others to interfere with their good lives. To give a simple example, even if people like Shen He or Luo Yu knew the truth, would they choose to give up? Absolutely not.

They will only be more closely bound to "heavenly principles" because they are the chosen ones.

Well, for such existences, just simply eliminate them. Boss Xu has already killed two "protagonists" and doesn't mind if there are three, four, five or six more.

But that being said, there is no guarantee that there will be a "protagonist" willing to resist? Not meeting such a person does not mean that such a person does not exist. Whether there is a "protagonist" willing to give up a good life and seek a higher dimension of freedom, this is something that I cannot say for sure.

You can't just deny everyone else just because you met two bad guys.

"In the end, what we need to do comes down to screening."

He cleared his throat and concluded, "Selecting those who can stand with us is also a way to enhance our overall strength."

As for how to screen, that is something he needs to adjust according to different situations.

"It looks like you're going to bother me again."

Xia Ke'an volunteered, looked up at him and laughed, "Hurry up and comfort me, or I will go on strike."

She was well aware of how useful her abilities would be in such matters. To put it bluntly, it was pure cheating - observing the future of others, analyzing whether they could be won over based on probability, and picking out the "supervisors" hidden in each area.

This family will break up without me!

Xia Wuyou didn't say anything, but just sat up straighter and gave Xu Shi a look.

To this day, the tacit understanding between the two is unbreakable, and they don't even need to say anything when communicating.

Xia Xiaomao admitted that she could not consider as many things as Xu Shi or her aunt, but she also had her own advantages - her combat ability was top-notch, and she was an expert at leading a fleet to sea or eliminating heretics. She was also willing to shine in these areas and thus contribute to Xu Shi's plan.

No one seemed to really worry about how much danger there was in such a crazy plan, because everyone's attitude on this point was quite unanimous.

There are certainly dangers, but we cannot not do it just because of the dangers. Instead, we should try to make a more comprehensive and complete plan so that their plan can be carried out smoothly.

"…This is just a prototype of a plan. It's still too early to implement it."

Xu Shi smiled, "We haven't even reached home yet. It feels a bit premature to express our opinions now."

"We've expressed our stance, so just be happy."

Xia Ke'an rolled his eyes at him and said, "I just think you're doing pretty well... Why, you don't plan to go out to sea again. You can't find another pretty girl. Are you feeling regretful?"

"Is there anyone cuter than you in this world?"

Xu Shi was very surprised by her sarcasm.

I have to say that he knows how to coax people. The old lady's face turned red visibly, and the smile in her eyes could not be hidden at all.

She loved hearing this.

Unexpectedly, the next second, he looked at Xia Wuyou and said, "Oh, so there is one."

Xiaomao Xia was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help laughing.

This man's skill in sweet talk is getting better and better, isn't it?

But she also enjoyed it and came closer as they talked.

"I don't believe in nice words, you have to do something to put it into practice."

Upon hearing this, Xia Ke'an also moved to the other side and started to undress him like the female gangster, "Xu Shi, I want to too..."

Why do you keep being a queen? Isn't it just for this?

Let’s have rice bowl tonight!

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 321 I am a brick of Director Xu!

2023-11-19

The ten-day journey back home was not painful for Xu Shi.

Brainstorm with everyone and discuss the next development plans. After the meeting, you can randomly select one or several lucky listeners for further communication. Such a journey will never be boring.