Someone's About to Panic

The one calling to ask about the situation was naturally Young Master He of the Shark Tooth conglomerate.

"I..."

Shen He had been about to answer, but when he looked at the drone in his hand, he inevitably faltered.

Just as expected, he realized the problem.

Was he really going to hand it over?

To be fair, Shen He had never planned to hand over all the drones before the operation began.

His original plan had been to give them only a portion while keeping a few for himself to dismantle and study.

After all, he had never truly intended to be Shark Tooth's dog for the rest of his life—indeed, during the ten years he had been stranded in Sin City, he had only ever had one goal in mind.

To restore Tianhe to its former glory and take back everything he had lost.

In his eyes, the Six Great Conglomerates' current splendor was nothing more than the result of stealing Tianhe's achievements.

Especially hegemonic forces like Serpent Coil and Prism... he should have been sitting in that position!

Thus, whether it was establishing Spark or cooperating with Shark Tooth, it was all merely a stepping stone toward achieving his goal.

But if he wanted to overthrow them and establish a new order in Night Sin City, recruiting people alone was nowhere near enough.

The technological achievements in the conglomerates' hands were what truly mattered.

Without technological support, talking about restoration was nothing but a fool's dream.

But the current situation was awkward. The team had exhausted every effort, yet only brought back one drone.

That meant he could not secretly keep one for himself. He had to choose one or the other!

This really was... Although he had long known that, with Spark's strength alone, snatching something from Serpent Coil's jaws was as difficult as ascending to heaven.

This outcome had already been far from easy for Lei Song and the others.

Yet Shen He still could not help feeling disappointed, and even a trace of blame surfaced in his heart.

If only they had gotten one more Sea Crane, he would not be left roasting over the fire like this...

But this was not the time to dwell on it. Shark Tooth was already pressing him, and he had to make a decision quickly.

"Hello? Are you listening?"

When Shen He failed to respond for so long, Young Master He's tone grew noticeably harsher. "Or did you fail again and come back with nothing?"

Tsk.

Hearing that made Shen He a little irritated as well.

He had always disliked Young Master He. The man was a textbook spoiled heir, and Shen He found his arrogant, commanding attitude thoroughly repulsive.

Not to mention the current situation—his people had just returned from battle, and whether they would survive was still uncertain, yet this man was already haughtily rushing them.

I did all the work. What right does Shark Tooth have to act like this?!

However, Shen He also realized from the other man's question that he did not know whether Shen He had truly succeeded.

Then...

After a brief moment of thought, Shen He made his decision.

"...My apologies, Young Master He."

He sighed, adopting a regretful tone. "Serpent Coil's suppressive fire was too fierce, and with interference from the Inspection Bureau, we... gained nothing."

"Almost everyone I sent was wiped out. I wonder whether you could take that into consideration and provide us with some medical—"

"...What are you talking about?"

He was interrupted before he could finish. "We agreed beforehand that Shark Tooth would only consider resuming support after Spark obtained the drones."

"But you have failed again. What right do you have to negotiate with me now?"

"Then..."

"Let's leave it at that. I can overlook the previous losses, but from now on, I do not want anything to do with you people."

"One final word of advice, Leader Shen: keep your people under control. You know perfectly well what they should and should not say."

After saying that, the other side mercilessly cut off the communication.

This undoubtedly declared the complete breakdown of the cooperation between Shark Tooth and Spark.

Shen He was not surprised by this outcome at all.

Rather, this was simply the conglomerates' nature. Once a "partner" lost its value, they would discard it without mercy.

Now that he thought about it, even if he had handed over the drone, they probably would have only tossed him a few scraps like he was a dog.

"Tsk, what a piece of work."

Shen He cursed under his breath. Just then, someone came to report the situation to him.

The team member who had returned with Lei Song had lost too much blood and was beyond saving.

Lei Song himself had been rescued, but his bodily functions had also suffered severe damage.

On top of losing an arm, he would need extensive Prosthetic Modification before he could possibly recover.

Hearing the news, Shen He let out a sigh of relief.

At least he was alive.

Lei Song was one of Spark's old hands, and Shen He did have feelings for him. Of course, he hoped the man would survive.

This also made him feel even more strongly that breaking with Shark Tooth had been the right choice.

There would certainly be repercussions in the short term, but if things continued like this, not only would they fail to obtain what truly mattered, similar situations would only become more frequent.

He might as well keep the spoils firmly in his own hands.

The value of Serpent Coil's newly developed miniature drone went without saying.

If they could crack it and replicate it, it would undoubtedly strengthen their own forces immensely.

With this as a stepping stone, finding other partners would not be difficult.

"Let him rest properly. Spark will not forget his contributions."

Taking a deep breath, he made his next arrangements. "Also, give this to Mr. Luo. Tell him to crack it in the shortest time possible."

"Remember, no one can be allowed to learn about this!"

Serpent Coil Headquarters.

That afternoon, Su Lin also rushed back from District 15.

"Your judgment was right after all, Young Master. The ones who attacked the District 13 factory were Spark's people again?"

She had gradually grown accustomed to Xu Shi's seemingly prophetic decisions, but she still could not help being surprised.

At the same time, she felt a little displeased. "So Team Leader Xia handled it again?"

"If she handled it, doesn't that make things easier for you?"

Xu Shi found it rather amusing. Why do you always get jealous over things like this?

Is this women's inexplicable sense of crisis?

There's no need for it. Really, no need.

Besides, this was purely her bad luck. He had sent her to guard District 15; it was not his fault the enemy had not gone there, was it?

"...I just don't trust her."

Su Lin unconsciously glanced to the side and quietly changed the subject. "What are you planning to do next, Young Master?"

"Wait."

Xu Shi toyed with the fountain pen in his hand, revealing a teasing smile.

"Wait?"

"Exactly."

Xu Shi nodded faintly. "Things have reached this point, and someone is about to panic himself to death. We just need to wait for him to come knocking."

"Uh, Young Master, specifically who are you—"

Su Lin was somewhat confused, but before she could finish, the communicator on the desk rang.

Xu Shi switched it to speaker. The moment he connected it, an anxious greeting came from the other end.

"Old Xu, I heard you were attacked? Are you all right?"

¯_(ツ)_/¯ See? Didn't he come right away?