I Don't Know How to Explain It to You, Because...

"...Mm, alright."

Miss Su Lin quickly understood his meaning, but still felt the Young Master was somewhat childish. "But if you'll forgive my bluntness, provoking a director of City Hall doesn't seem like a very wise decision."

"Doesn't matter, it's no different either way."

Xu Shi spread his hands. He wasn't unaware that Tang Shuang already viewed him through a biased lens. Even if he treated her like an ancestor today, her attitude wouldn't change one bit. If anything, she might think he was easy to push around and double down on it. So he might as well curse her out and vent—at least it felt satisfying. If only one person could have a good time, it had to be him.jpg.

Speaking of which, as one of the heroines, Tang Shuang was no small fry. Though she looked like a married woman, she was actually a year younger than Su Lin, only twenty-six this year. For a woman to become Director of the Inspection Bureau at that age spoke volumes about her ability. She kept her nose clean on a daily basis, with no scandals to her name. If he had to give a comprehensive evaluation, perhaps only his own fiancee could go toe-to-toe with her. Turning someone like that into his dog—just thinking about it was clearly a tall order.

But her place in Xu Shi's heart wasn't all that important. Tang Shuang herself was a combat-type "Ascendant," and with talents like Su Lin and Xia Wuyou already on hand, she was sufficient for now. So she was actually the least urgent heroine to win over—cutting off her connection to "Spark" and using her as a pawn at the right moment was more than enough for him. Tang Shuang wasn't stupid; knowing he had his eyes on her, she would never hand him leverage on a silver platter. As for something like illegal weapon use, that wasn't even worth considering. Would City Hall really fall out with "Serpent Coil" over a few tens of thousands of Credit Points? A simple word was all it took—no need to even apply pressure. Did they not understand the weight of being a tax champion? (Hands on hips.)

But then again...

"Did that incident the other day affect District Seven?"

Xu Shi thought for a moment and gave orders. "If so, send some material aid over there in the group's name."

"Yes."

Miss Su Lin understood tacitly.

"Don't forget to get the media to publicize it."

Xu Shi added, "Let them all see clearly who's really stepping up when something like this happens." He didn't expect this to change how Sin City's people viewed the conglomerate, nor did he care about their attitude. But without a doubt, this would shift the main target of the victims' hatred in District Seven onto "Spark." And it would also put more pressure on the Director—two birds with one stone, wasn't that perfect?

"Got it."

Miss Su Lin couldn't help but sigh softly. Sure enough, the Young Master wasn't doing this out of genuine pity for Sin City's people. Still, curiosity got the better of her. "Honestly, I always feel like you don't need to go so hard after 'Spark'?" She now knew Shen He's identity—the second son of the former "Tianhe" conglomerate, one of only two survivors of that incident back then, the other being his sister. But the era of "Tianhe" was long past, and "Spark" was now just an ordinary little gang. In Sin City, you could knock over a whole row of them with one brick. So she didn't think Xu Shi should waste too much energy on it—since he'd already decided to battle Lin Wenhua, he should focus on that.

"Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit."

Xu Shi seemed to catch her thoughts. "Leaving a threat to the group intact, not cutting it down, slicing it, and mincing it—that's the most foolish move, isn't it?" It was hard to explain to Miss Su Lin that if he didn't do this, one day she'd be silenced by Xia Wuyou's sword, and he'd follow right after with a hole blown through his head. But she could definitely understand this reasoning. Besides, dealing with Shen He and fighting Lin Wenhua weren't mutually exclusive—he could run both threads simultaneously. As always, both hands had to be strong.

"...You're right. I didn't think it through."

Miss Su Lin paused at his words. On reflection, there really was no problem. But she was even more surprised to hear such things from Xu Shi's mouth—it didn't sound like something he'd say. She could only chalk it up to Chairman Xu's recent transformation, which kept giving her little shocks. Was this the posture a capable conglomerate leader should show? She felt the Young Master was increasingly reminiscent of the Old Master back in the day... or even surpassing him?

"It's not your fault."

Xu Shi sighed, took her hand, and smiled. "It's just that even if you don't care about them, they might not let us off."

And.

It had already been over two weeks since the attack.

By now, "Spark" and "Shark Tooth" should have come to some conclusion, right?

For instance, their next move against him?

Maybe he'd fully embraced his villain role, because he was almost looking forward to what came next.

"I've said it before—if you want to continue the cooperation between 'Shark Tooth' and 'Spark,' Mr. Shen must prove your value to us."

Inside a certain "Spark" stronghold, Shen He was on a video call with a man in a trench coat sporting a long wolf-tail hairstyle. "Otherwise, not holding you accountable for the losses you caused is already the greatest leniency I can offer."

"...Last time was just an accident."

Shen He gritted his teeth. "Of course, I won't deny it was my mistake."

"What does Young Master He want us to do?"

"That's actually what I should be asking you. What can you do to show us your capability?"

The Wolf-Tail Man frowned. "But since you're asking... 'Serpent Coil' has twenty samples of 'Sea Crane' small drones stored in their hangar in District 13."

"These drones use new technology with very high resistance to 'Rust Fog,' making them quite valuable to 'Shark Tooth.'"

"...I'll find a way to get my hands on them."

Shen He understood his meaning.

"I wish Mr. Shen a swift success."

The Wolf-Tail Man gave a slightly contemptuous smile. "But this time, 'Shark Tooth' won't be providing you any help. Please be careful."

"I understand."

Shen He nodded slightly, then cut the communication.

One wrong move, and now he was trapped step by step.

The cooperative relationship between "Spark" and "Shark Tooth" had always been fragile as thin ice. After the last failure, salvaging it was indeed very difficult.

And the other party's attitude infuriated him—back when "Tianhe" was at its peak, an organization like "Shark Tooth" wouldn't even be worthy of tying his shoes.

But times had changed, and he had no choice but to lower his stance.

To rebuild "Tianhe's" glory, he couldn't let a single failure stop him.

"...Call everyone for a meeting."

After a moment, he dialed a new communication. "We need to prepare for the next operation."