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

Thinking of this, he shook his head helplessly. For humans, the only thing that cannot be controlled is the passage of time⑧.

Anyway, he is almost like a veteran cadre, and the thermos cup is soaked with wolfberry.

Just as I was about to take a sip, the office door was pushed open in a hurry.

"master!"

Pan Ling walked in with a frown on her face, looking very disappointed with her friend. "I told you that there is an important meeting today. Did you forget?"

Three years have passed, and the silly apprentice has grown a lot. He is no longer as ignorant as when he first came to Night Sin City.

Instead, she wore a smart OL suit - a beige suit with high heels, and her hair was combed into a neat high ponytail, which was a very qualified outfit for a career woman.

It can be seen that she has adapted well to her current life and she has indeed worked hard over the years.

At least Xu Shi didn't expect it at the time. In just over two years, she completed the complicated higher education and even graduated from the institution with the highest score in the year. After that, she directly joined "Snake Ring" and became a member of the company.

His position was Xu Shi's special assistant, which to some extent shared the secretary work of Su Lin, the director.

However, anyone with a discerning eye could see that Xu Shi was obviously intending to delegate power to her - after all, as the chairman, he was a hands-off boss. He even dared to let her make the final decisions on many important matters, while he completely retreated behind the scenes and hardly showed up unless there was something important.

To be honest, many people were dissatisfied with Xu Shi's operation at the beginning. Could a young girl who had just started out really carry such a big banner? In their eyes, this was obviously doubtful.

These voices only gradually faded away after Pan Ling slapped them in the face with her own strength... They had to learn to accept the fact that a 22-year-old girl from another city-state was actually more professional than them, the old guys.

If Xu Shi is better at looking at the overall situation and making creative or the most correct decisions, then Pan Ling pays more attention to details. In other words, one builds the skeleton while the other fills in the flesh and blood. The master and apprentice cooperate very well and complement each other.

It can only be said that like teacher, like student, or that the disciple is better than the master. Who can blame Xu Shi for being a monster? From the time he officially took over the company, he had achieved today's success within five years.

Many people have even forgotten that this man was only 25 years old at the time, yet he was able to sweep away a large number of powerful veterans in the company, and even destroyed two rival consortiums, becoming the uncrowned king of Night Sin City in one fell swoop.

Or rather, it’s more than that.

"Master, Master, you were the one who proposed to establish the Federation, and you are the one who is now acting as a hands-off manager."

Pan Ling was much bolder now. At least she could complain about Xu Shi without hesitation. "It's ok for you to not care about things normally, but today the rulers of two city-states are visiting us. You should show up, right?"

"Xiao Pan, when you're working, you call them by their positions."

Xu Shi drank a sip of water slowly, "If you don't want to show up, then don't show up. I am also very busy. It's just two B-level city-states. It's enough for you to show up. Otherwise, what's the point of training you?"

Facts have proved that the original idea was correct. There are indeed more than just Night Sin City and Hualan Empire in this world. In the second month after the establishment of the overseas department, Yu Xingchuan had already found the third experimental area.

With the previous experience, they were able to handle the situation with ease. In less than a month, they established contact with the king of that area.

What’s even more interesting is that the other party is actually the “protagonist” who has already achieved success.

To be honest, Xu Shi may have never dealt with a "protagonist" like this before.

However, this process is not complicated. When trying to reveal the facts about "natural law" to the other party, the other party shows shock and unusual clarity.

Just as he expected, once he knew that he was actually a puppet, even a clay man would get angry.

Therefore, with their cooperation, the other party also calmly found out the "Tianli" traitor who was mixed in their own protagonist group, which was considered a complete awakening.

After that, the cooperation was formally established - yes, compared to consuming a lot of manpower and resources for a protracted conquest, this was obviously the good state that a federation and an alliance should maintain.

Understand each other, share what you have... Of course, establishing a hierarchical relationship based on the comprehensive strength of the other city-state is also one of them.

This is also the origin of the "B-level city-state" he just mentioned - as more and more areas are exposed, a sound and constantly improving rating system is essential.

Taking Night Crime City as the standard, those with equal or similar strength will be classified as A-level.

Those who are relatively weaker are in Class B, and those who can completely suppress are in Class C.

In addition, some city-states will be classified as S-level, but this S does not mean A-level or above, but refers to the city-state with certain special characteristics, such as the fairy world discovered half a year ago. Boss Xu may never have dreamed that one day he would be able to use the perspective of a cyborg to observe real immortals, flying swords, refining pills and so on.

But if you think about it carefully, no matter how fancy these city-states are, the source of their strength remains the same, which is the "rust mist". As long as he knows this, it seems that no existence will shock him too much.

The only regret is that we couldn't see them flying with swords - even immortal cultivators couldn't break the shackles of the "rust fog". In their words, this phenomenon is called "the road to heaven is cut off."

By the way, the Hualan Empire is also classified in the S-level category because until now, it is the only "abandoned" city-state.

After that, no matter how the major city-states screened the protagonists, uncovered the "Heavenly Law" traitors and interrogated them, they did not trigger the "Heavenly Law" judgment mechanism when facing Xu Ying.

But on the other hand, he was unable to obtain any useful information from these people, so he had to continue to develop the federation with difficulty and constantly increase his own strength.

So, he is not only the uncrowned king of Night Crime City, but also one of the leaders of this "Galaxy" Federation - the Federation adopts a parliamentary system. Whenever a new A-level area is discovered, a seat will be added to the round table, and everyone will make some important decisions together.

Of course, as a pioneer of the federal system, Xu Shi’s say is slightly heavier.

His ability is also an indispensable factor - in the past three years, he has been more inclined to use "United as One" to encourage positive emotions in everyone. Unless he encounters a troublemaker, he will consider using "Evil Thoughts Entropy Increase" to increase the strength of the opponent.

But most of the time, he may not do this to troublemakers.

One of the great advantages of the federal system is that it ties everyone's interests together. Once someone tries to infringe upon everyone's common interests, they will instantly become the target of public criticism.

Xu Shi still remembers that one year and eight months into the overseas expansion plan, the leader of an A-level city-state was stubborn and unwilling to accept the result, trying to kick others out and become an oligarch himself.

The consequence was that they were jointly besieged by six city-states - Boss Xu sent out ships and other city-states sent out people, and in less than a month, they subdued the other party. In the end, they humiliated themselves and became a tainted S-level city-state. Their status plummeted and they became a vassal of everyone else.

With such a precedent, he was not too worried about anyone disobeying his orders and severely torturing anyone who attempted to challenge federal authority!

Therefore, in this situation, there are only two leaders of Class B city-states, so there is really no need for him to go there in person to ask about their well-being. If he is willing, he can go. If he is not willing, they can't even see him.

"Oh, huh? Director Xu?"

Pan Ling was so angry at her master's attitude that she said indignantly, "Then why don't you tell me what you are busy with? Are you busy going on a date with Master Xie?"

God knows how helpless she is when she, who has now transformed into a hard-working person, faces someone like Xu Shi who just lies there.

"What a bullshit date! Isn't it because they discovered new materials a while ago, so they are trying to purify the sixth generation upgrade of "Rust Mist"? "

Xu Shi retorted, "I have risked my life for this project, and now it has achieved some results. Why do you think it is a failure?"

"Besides, who gave you the courage to secretly listen to my teacher's inner thoughts, huh?"

"Director Xu, when you are working, you are referring to your position."

Pan Ling chose to use his words as an answer, and couldn't help but complain a little, "The project was done by Master Jiang and Master Xie, why are you risking your life..."

"Okay, Pante's assistant?"

Xu Shi rolled his eyes at her and thought to himself, this kid has really grown up to the point of daring to kiss her master on the lips in public?

It is true that he has grown wings - in the past few years, Pan Ling has naturally been his special assistant, following him around to make his presence felt in the league.

At the same time, her mind-reading ability also began to advance by leaps and bounds under such circumstances. Now she has broken through the shackles of A-level and been promoted to the S-level, which is not far from the official S.

This is completely based on training, and the "Prism" potions are actually auxiliary to her.

How great her potential is can be seen from this kind of thing. Even Mr. Wen, after witnessing all this, had to sigh that Pan Ling's progress was so fast that it was beyond imagination.

In fact, Xu Shi himself had also made a lot of progress. After he conquered Dongfang Xiao, his S-level became completely stable. Later, relying on the large-scale "United as One", he has now reached the threshold of SS.

It's still a little bit worse, but it's not impossible that just one sentence can make an unsuspecting person work hard for him.

"I'm here, please give me your instructions, Mr. Xu."

Pan Ling responded with a forced smile.

"You will be in charge of this meeting, and just submit the record report to me afterwards."

Xu Shi crossed his hands, supported the table and said, "It can't be less than thirty pages, and it would be best if you could incorporate some of your personal thoughts."

"Seize the young master?"

Pan Ling was stunned for a moment, "Can I understand this as a personal vendetta?"

"Sure, this is just a personal vendetta."

Xu Shi nodded, and after thinking about it, he changed his words, "Or, as your teacher, I don't even have the right to assign you homework?"

“…Yes, yes.”

Pan Xiaoling finally gave in and responded weakly.

Now is not the time to call for a job title? You have a double standard.

But no matter what, she still respected her master very much, especially since she had followed him all the way from the Hualan Empire to the Night Sin City, and then to the current Federation... It wasn't that she had grown wings and committed treason, but sometimes she really couldn't stand seeing the other person lying down.

And if he thought about it carefully, since his master wanted to train him to be his successor, there were indeed many things that he could do better himself. At the same time, he also had the help of Master Su's wife. So it really didn't matter to Xu Shi whether he went to this kind of small meeting or not.

"Okay, I'll be leaving first then."

Xu Shi smiled, stood up and prepared to go to "Prism" for a stroll - now the project of removing "rust fog" has indeed made a breakthrough, from half an hour at the beginning to more than a month now. Although the development is very slow, it is stable.

"Come on, Assistant Pant."

"……snort."

The silly apprentice snorted, ignored him, and walked away with her skirt swung.

But within a few seconds, there was another knock on the office door.

"Did you miss anything... huh?"

Xu Shi didn't look up and responded casually before he realized something was wrong.

The person who came was not Pan Ling.

It was Gu Yi.

"what's wrong?"

Seeing the other person's strange expression, he couldn't help but ask.

"nothing……"

Miss Black Rabbit shook her head. "I just found some minor problems, about the establishment of communication networks among the city-states..."

"It seems... someone is trying to stop us."

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 330, Chaos, First Day

2023-12-04

Three years have passed, but there is no sign of the passage of time on Gu Yi. The little black rabbit is still the little black rabbit. Not to mention white hair, there is not even a wrinkle... Oh, only three years have passed instead of thirty years, so it's okay.

But it's outrageous that there has been no change in three years! Even the immature Pan Ling now has the flavor of a domineering female CEO, how come you, Gu Yi, are still cute?

It was a long time later that Xu Shi finally understood this truth - everyone's image has an end. Pan Ling will change because she is still on the road, but for Miss Black Rabbit, this is already the end.

But now he quickly put away these random thoughts, motioned for her to sit down, and then asked seriously, "Tell me more."

After all, the plan to establish network communications between city-states is no small matter, and each step of its implementation is not easy.

Ultimately, it was because of the differences between the various regions - to be honest, even the Night Sin City and the Hualan Empire had a huge clash in terms of ideology, culture, and technology at the beginning. It wasn't even when Xu Shi first arrived at Yinsong Island, but after the two city-states announced the establishment of a friendly alliance.

Many people in the City of Night Crime regard the people of the Hualan Empire as antiques from the last century and bumpkins. Conversely, the Hualan Empire also has resistance or concerns about these guys living in reinforced concrete.

If it weren't for Dongfang Xiao, or if it weren't for Xu Shi who was guiding her behind the scenes, this issue alone could have been dragged on for ten years... Even now, everyone cannot achieve complete integration, and all kinds of discrimination and misunderstandings still exist.

Perhaps he could understand that this was an inevitable problem in the intersection and integration between two regions, or roughly two countries. Not to mention now, even if he passed away a hundred years later, similar problems would not disappear.

But we can see the big picture from the small. If this is the case between two city-states, let alone between three, four or even more city-states, it is simply a hell-level task.

Especially at the moment when the language problem that he was most worried about arose - yes, the Hualan Empire was indeed just a coincidence. Now, Xu Shi, or the City of Night Sin, has united so many city-states to form an alliance, and six or seven different languages ​​have appeared.

Judging from the maps that have been drawn, it is like dividing the area. People in area A speak language A, and people in area B speak language B. There is no difficulty in speaking to each other, but when they are mixed together, it is like a chicken speaking a deaf ear, a pure Tower of Babel.

Thanks to the "Quillen Pen", or the efforts of all the cultural departments of the city-states that showed active intentions for alliance, this problem was solved by gradually developing a relatively sound translation system from field linguistics through guesswork and gestures.

This may be the first time that the job of "translation" appears in the world. It must be said that it has alleviated a certain amount of employment pressure. Xu Shi did not think of learning from Zulong and standardizing the tracks and writing systems. On the contrary, diversity is an important factor in keeping the world vibrant. Each language, or the culture it represents, has its own unique charm.

But it can also be seen that it is not easy to break the ice as a pioneer and accomplish such a big thing, especially to accomplish such a big thing in such a short time... That's why it is said that it is so outrageous that Gu Yi has not even got a wrinkle. In this case, the hairline of everyone should move back five centimeters.

Now, she is under pressure.

Establishing network communications is no small matter. It can even be said to be the biggest thing in recent years besides expanding the map.

The overseas team built signal base stations, the communication delegation lobbied leaders in various regions, and finally Gu Yi and her growing technical team were responsible for the specific architecture and maintenance. These three parties, and even many unknown people who were working hard for this, were all indispensable.

The purpose is naturally to facilitate communication, but also to better catch some of the "natural justice" that slips through the net.

Not every exploration of every area can go smoothly. So far, Xu Shi has encountered seven "protagonists" who have long been entrenched in standing on the side of their "Tianli" teammates. Even some B-level or C-level, unimportant small areas are actually directly managed by "Tianli" people.

It seems that a qualified "protagonist" has not been cultivated yet, or the probability that this kind of area can help "Tianli" realize its long-cherished wish is too low. Instead of investing a lot of energy, it is easier to maintain stability. I am afraid that the original idea of ​​"Tianli" is that if there is someone like Xu Shi who is willing to actively expand outward, such a transit station can be used to influence or control him.

So the question is, did they realize long ago that someone might appear to break the cage of the native area, or did they only take this last-ditch effort after the heretic Xu Shi appeared?

This question is very interesting, but it's a pity that Boss Xu has no intention of dwelling on it - after all, as the alliance grows stronger, his reaction to such insignificant small areas can be just two words: eliminate.

After all, Xu Shi is one of the evil capitalists. He has no intention of being a sucker for something where the return is less than the investment and there are risks involved. If he really wants to say, perhaps only the "righteous" people in that area have a certain value and can be arrested and interrogated and that's it.