Tang Zhe became interested.
"How do we break out of this?"
Wen Xishu gave him the conclusion first:
"Interests. Diplomacy. We use diplomacy to break out."
Tang Zhe said, "But you don't have any diplomacy left."
Tang Zhe knew that Wen Xishu's strength wasn't raw computational power, but keen observation and the ability to project how events would unfold.
Wen Xishu thought for a moment and said:
"I have no diplomacy left with the bosses, not with the employees."
"Let's discuss two things first. Here's the first: didn't you find it strange, Tang Zhe? Our score was higher than everyone else's, but when Yun Xinghe from A District attacked us... his check succeeded."
"Oh, you're not a boss, so I need to explain something first. Simply put, the bosses have an option called Expedition. An Expedition requires a check, and the underlying basis for whether that check succeeds is the score."
"Only a company with a higher score can successfully pass the Expedition Assessment against one with a lower score."
Tang Zhe knew about Expeditions, but he hadn't realized there was a rule like that.
With that rule in mind, Tang Zhe immediately found it unreasonable:
"Exactly. We have over a hundred points. He's only got eighty-something. How can he launch an Expedition against us?"
Wen Xishu said:
"Did you notice one detail?"
"Not long ago, when our company had 9.6 points, I gave Li Weiwei 3.6 points so she could keep everyone reassured."
"Logically, after giving away those 3.6 points, I should have had only six left."
"But look at the tally. It showed our cumulative points earned as 9.6."
Tang Zhe understood:
"So the tally includes both the employees' surplus points and the boss's surplus points. Is there a difference between the two?"
Wen Xishu nodded:
"There is."