The moment he said that, Luo Zhikang's expression changed.
"How did you know about the Overlimit Project?"
To be honest, this was probably the greatest secret in his heart, as well as his greatest regret.
In the world of Night Sin City, research into weaponry had always followed several different schools of thought.
One was the so-called Mechanical Ascension: modifying human body parts through Prosthetic Modification, or digitizing a person's consciousness to achieve all manner of purposes.
For instance, enhancing combat ability, improving work efficiency... Of course, the most important thing was extending one's lifespan. Artificial organs were always far more resistant to Rust Fog than natural ones.
This was also the more common and widespread approach in the city—most people would give up certain bodily functions for various reasons, replacing them with machines.
Another approach pursued machinery itself to the extreme. The most obvious example was Serpent Coil's Type I, II, III, and IV combat squads, which armed themselves with high-tech mechs and weapons. But fundamentally, anyone could wear the armor.
There were also genetic modifications—people generally attributed Ascendants' abilities to genetic mutations caused by Rust Fog. Major corporations like Serpent Coil, Shark Tooth, and Prism had all developed methods to actively detect and awaken such abilities.
The Overlimit Project Xu Shi spoke of was a combination of these different schools.
—By analyzing an Ascendant's abilities, they could tailor weapons, mechs, or bodily modifications that would maximize those abilities.
In gaming terms, it was called a specialization, or a Specialized Weapon.
Back when Tianhe was at the height of its power, it had its fingers in every field. Its chairman, Shen Tianhong, came up with the idea and secretly launched the project.
Unfortunately, Tianhe soon suffered a catastrophic downfall, and the project died before it could ever be completed.
Yet Luo Zhikang, who had escaped with his life, had never given up.
Though he had lived under an assumed name all these years, he had continuously refined and improved the project. After learning that Shen He was still alive, he intensified his research even further.
The reason was simple. As a loyal servant of Tianhe, he had always hoped to use this project to help Shen He return to the top.
And when that time came, he, as the chief designer, would surely be remembered by history.
But that was precisely what troubled him most. How did Xu Shi know?
When Tianhe fell, the Shen siblings had still been children, while everyone else who knew about it had long since perished. He was the only one who understood the project.
Even Shen He himself did not know—after all, in Luo Zhikang's view, Shen He's foundation was still too weak, and the time was not yet right.
Of course Xu Shi knew.
After all, in the original novel, the previous owner of this body had suffered plenty because of it.
Originally, relying on the foundation of a massive conglomerate, Serpent Coil would not have been suppressed by Spark even with the protagonist's plot armor. Their clashes had generally gone back and forth.
But once the Overlimit Project was deployed, things began to change.
Even some of the first-generation mass-produced machines were enough to raise an ordinary Ascendant's abilities by an entire tier—effectively a physical Re-Ascension, turning D-class into C-class and C-class into B-class.
Not to mention the customized models equipped by the protagonist's group—even trash like Chen Fang and Lei Song could later fight off two or three Serpent Coil Type-V heavy armor squads by themselves.
How was anyone supposed to play against that? This game was so over!
And by the time Serpent Coil realized what was happening and tried to imitate it, it was already too late to turn things around.
That was why Xu Shi understood the importance of this project so well. His previous actions against Luo Zhikang had been aimed at obtaining the project's initial draft and securing the initiative.
"I..."
Luo Zhikang had not expected that to be his demand, and he immediately fell into deep conflict.
If he handed it over, it would be no different from making someone else a wedding dress.
Besides, trading the Overlimit Project for a drone teardown analysis was like trading gold bars for steamed buns. The loss would be immense.
"But steamed buns can fill your stomach, can't they?"
Xu Shi seemed to see straight through his thoughts. Smiling, he said, "Of course, Old Mr. Luo can take some more time to think it over. I'm not short on time."
After all, Luo Zhikang was imprisoned here by him. Xu Shi had all the time in the world to wait.
But Luo Zhikang truly could not wait any longer.
Xu Shi's grasp of human nature was undoubtedly precise. If he had not told Luo Zhikang anything about Sea Crane's design principles, the old man might actually have felt better.
The worst thing was this sort of maneuver—stirring up a little craving, then instantly forcing it back down.
That was what an edging challenge was like. It could drive people crazy with ease. (Deleted.)
For every moment he failed to get an answer, Luo Zhikang felt another measure of unbearable itchiness in his heart.
His increasingly pale face showed just how tortured he was.
Time passed bit by bit.
"...I accept your deal, but I can't tell you."
After an unknown amount of time, the old man finally relented. "As for the Overlimit Project, I can only tell the designer of this drone."
"Ah, sure, sure."
Xu Shi laughed speechlessly and summoned Jiang Chengcheng.
Honestly, telling her was no different from telling himself.
It would merely lessen Luo Zhikang's guilt by a few degrees.
Then I'll leave him a little shred of dignity. I really am a good person.
"The drone's designer... is her?"
When he saw Jiang Chengcheng, Luo Zhikang could hardly believe his eyes. "Wasn't it Jiang Fengshan?"
He was not entirely ignorant of Serpent Coil's affairs, so he had instinctively assumed the drone was Jiang Fengshan's work.
How could it possibly have been a girl barely in her twenties?
"This Miss Jiang Chengcheng is Manager Jiang's adopted daughter."
Xu Shi did not answer the question, merely offering a simple introduction.
"...I see."
Hearing that, Luo Zhikang let out a helpless sigh.
If that was the case, then it made sense.
What he did not know was that if Jiang Fengshan had really come today, Xu Shi would have been the embarrassed one.
It was hard to say whether that old bastard's current professional competence even measured up to that of an ordinary clerk.
"I hope you two have a pleasant conversation."
Xu Shi politely gave them some space.
After all, he had already explained everything that needed explaining: what could be said and what could not. He had even left Jiang Chengcheng a weapon for self-defense.
As for himself, he went outside and began making small talk with the two guards.
That left them terrified and flattered. They had never imagined the chairman would actually chat with them...
Xu Shi did not care. When he was in a good mood, anything was fine.
To be honest, if things had followed the plot, he would have had to recruit Luo Zhikang under his command at any cost.
But with Jiang Chengcheng around, the old man was basically dispensable to him.
The Overlimit Project was the old man's only remaining value to him.
After that, Xu Shi could discard him like a worn-out shoe at any time... Though there was no need for that. There was no rush to kill him.
Shen He had surely already learned that Luo Zhikang had been taken by Xu Shi.
Unlike Xu Shi, the old man was practically a lifeline to Shen He. Without Luo Zhikang, Spark's equipment advantage over other gangs would vanish completely, and at the very least, its strength would be cut in half again.
It could be said that losing a hundred Chen Fangs would probably not be as serious as losing one Luo Zhikang.
If Shen He could not find someone else to replace him, he would have to consider whether to take the risk and rescue Luo Zhikang.
Even though such a thing was harder than ascending to heaven.
But then again.
With his good brother looking after him, did little Shen He still have the energy to think about any of this right now?
Before you continue