Can't Take It Anymore, Blow Him Up with One Punch!

"I... pardon my presumption, but can I trust you?"

Hearing Xu Shi's question, Jiang Chengcheng did not open her eyes. After a moment of silence, she asked in a trembling voice.

What she had experienced over the years had made it difficult for her to trust anyone again.

"Why not?"

Xu Shi smiled. "Stealing your achievements or beating and berating you would be meaningless to me. All I need is talent."

"I even find it regrettable that I did not discover a gem like Miss Jiang sooner."

"So relax. If you are unwilling, you may refuse entirely. I will not do anything to you."

As he spoke, his hand remained on Jiang Chengcheng's shoulder.

Though his actions looked highly suspicious of sexual harassment, there was no helping it. Activating his ability required physical contact.

His actions did indeed make Jiang Chengcheng increasingly restless, yet strangely enough, her mind became clearer and clearer.

The choice she needed to make could not have been simpler.

And perhaps this was her only chance to escape her sea of suffering.

"I... am willing."

After a brief hesitation, Jiang Chengcheng let out a relieved breath.

"Then let us begin."

Xu Shi's smile became even brighter. This outcome came as no surprise to him.

When using "Malice Entropy," the other person's emotions gave him a certain amount of feedback, making it easier for him to guide them further.

Jiang Chengcheng was practically a walking generator of negative emotions—resentment, hatred, and so on... far beyond what he had expected. If there had been a meter, it would surely have burst.

Coupled with her mental illness, depression, controlling her was as easy as turning over his hand.

So the first thing to confirm was just how much Jiang Fengshan had deceived the group about over the years.

You never knew until you investigated; once he did, the results were shocking.

Over the past five years, not a single research project or report Jiang Fengshan had submitted had been written by him. Every last one had been ghostwritten by Jiang Chengcheng.

Even before Jiang Chengcheng joined the company, she had provided him with considerable assistance.

It was obvious that Jiang Fengshan had grown old.

Perhaps he had indeed contributed to the corporation in his youth, but as he aged and technology advanced, he had gradually become unable to keep up.

In the end, he had no choice but to use this method to maintain his reputation and position within the group.

Xu Shi did not find it much of a pity, though. It was not as if they had not paid him a salary... Why keep someone useless around? As a mascot?

Not to mention that Jiang Fengshan's loyalties were not with him, but leaned more toward the others on the board.

"...Th-that is all."

After confirming the final report, Jiang Chengcheng nodded. "B-but regarding the budget, he... he should have altered it himself. It was higher than the figures I provided... by around fifty percent."

?

That old bastard had embezzled funding too?

Fuck, he could not take it anymore... Xu Shi immediately wanted to smash Jiang Fengshan's dog head to pieces.

"But this alone is not enough. After all, I still cannot prove it."

Xu Shi forcibly suppressed his anger. "If there is other evidence, things will undoubtedly be easier."

"...There is."

Jiang Chengcheng hesitated, then carefully took a miniature chip from her hairpin.

"I... found a way to install some tiny surveillance devices at home. This contains some... some evidence of him threatening me..."

Xu Shi paused, then took the chip expressionlessly.

It seemed she had not completely given up hope after all.

That made him feel somewhat more fond of the woman before him.

What surprised him even more was Jiang Chengcheng's outstanding technical ability.

The Serpent Coil's development had indeed been somewhat slow in recent years, but that did not mean there had been no development at all... If nearly half their equipment needed upgrades, that meant the other half had already been upgraded.

And every piece of upgraded equipment and every facility had been designed and planned by her!

At that thought, even Xu Shi's palm trembled slightly.

"...I have a task for you."

After considering it, he fetched a document and handed it to Jiang Chengcheng. "These are some devices we seized earlier. Prepare a detailed report, then deliver it to me personally. Can you do that?"

"I-I can."

Jiang Chengcheng nodded. "But I will need some time."

"There is no rush. Take your time."

Xu Shi reached out and smoothed her hair. "And I need time to handle these matters... Do not expose yourself before then, understand?"

"...Mm."

Jiang Chengcheng froze for a moment before murmuring an acknowledgment.

Ever since she had fallen ill, she had hated being touched.

Even accidental contact made her feel deeply uncomfortable, both mentally and physically.

But Xu Shi was an exception. Jiang Chengcheng did not resent being treated like this by him. On the contrary, it made her feel somewhat... safe.

When she looked at Xu Shi again, there was even a hint of shyness in her eyes.

The strange emotions left her short of breath, and she stumbled out of the room.

Watching her flustered retreating figure, Xu Shi swallowed a suppressant and could not help looking pleased.

He truly had not expected someone like her to be hidden within the group.

Yes, her existence had never been mentioned in the original novel. If she had appeared at all, she was probably just some minor character brushed aside as "female engineer" or "staff member."

Thus, Xu Shi had never hoped to find any capable subordinates in the group—after all, the Serpent Coil was constantly being screwed over in the plot, so naturally he had regarded all his men as useless fools.

Originally, as before, he had planned to find a way to poach that mechanical engineer from Spark.

After all, everyone knew that the protagonist, or those around the protagonist, would surely be outstanding in their respective fields.

Recruiting Jiang Chengcheng had only been meant to find more evidence so he could bring down Jiang Fengshan more easily. He had not paid much attention to her personally.

But now, it seemed he had really struck gold?

At the very least, Jiang Chengcheng's personal ability had exceeded his expectations. The fact that she had single-handedly carried the Engineering Department for five years spoke for itself.

More importantly, she was not an Ascendant.

Human Resources had always tested exceptionally gifted employees, and according to the report, she was merely an ordinary person.

That meant she still had enormous room for cultivation. She might even become more outstanding than the one at Spark.

And she was clearly easier to control than that person... That was why Xu Shi had asked her to analyze the seized equipment.

If Jiang Chengcheng could truly meet his expectations, he could adjust his future plans.

An unexpected delight—absolutely an unexpected delight.

But looking at it this way, had she been the only one in the Engineering Department actually working all this time?

Fuck, what kind of freeloaders had he been raising?!

Xu Shi secretly rolled his eyes and suppressed the urge to curse.

Do not get angry, do not get angry. If anger makes you sick, no one will suffer in your place... After trying to brainwash himself, he chose to set aside the Engineering Department's mess for now.

Jiang Fengshan truly deserved to die, but it could not be denied that he carried significant weight within the group.

And now was not the time to completely tear apart relations with those old bastards on the board. Rashly making a move against him would be far from wise.

However, blindly playing deaf and dumb was not Xu Shi's style.

Not dealing with Jiang Fengshan did not mean he could not deal with someone else... And right now, a ready-made gift had been placed before him.

The Cybersecurity Department.

Now that he thought of it, it was time to visit that Miss Black Rabbit he had captured and put to work as forced labor.