Xia Ke'an quietly changed the subject.
Or perhaps, this was the real matter she wanted to discuss with Xu Shi alone.
"...You secretly supported the 'Longsword Gang,' providing them with excessive weapons and equipment, and even took advantage of the chaos to annihilate 'Disger' and annex the Sixth District... This can be considered as breaking the balance that has long existed between Night City, or rather, between the six major conglomerates."
The white-haired loli cleared her throat and analyzed in a serious tone, "Dragon City won't let this go easily... Don't tell me you haven't considered this at all."
Xu did not answer, but simply listened quietly as she continued.
The truth is, he was certainly wary of this, and had already considered this possibility from the moment he approached Ding Jun.
He had some understanding of the so-called balance between conglomerates—a long time ago he had heard his father say that after the destruction of the two super-complex interest groups, "Tianhe" and "Zheguang," Night City was in a state of extreme chaos for a period of time.
Not to mention the fact that second-rate companies fought tooth and nail as a result, ordinary residents suffered even more, living in a living hell... In the end, everyone realized that no one could dominate, so they reluctantly gave up and gradually divided up the territory.
At least for now, each conglomerate has its own system, and they compete with each other as if by common practice. There is also a city hall acting as a lubricant in the middle, and the situation is gradually stabilizing. They are less likely to have any major friction with each other.
However, his actions have genuinely disrupted this balance, at least harming the interests of "Dragon City".
As one of the top powers in the City of Night Sin, "Dragon City" is actually the most unique among the six major conglomerates.
On the one hand, "Dragon City" is based in Sin City rather than Night City, and in a sense, it is more like a large gang.
At the same time, they are the only conglomerate that did not claim that they only became a first-class conglomerate because of the downfall of "Tianhe" and "Zheguang". They have always existed and can be considered the uncrowned kings of Sin City.
This established their model—controlling gangs and running shady businesses. Seven of the eleven districts in Sin City were directly under their control, while the remaining regional gangs, such as the "Long Knife Gang" and "Disgae," were all supported by "Dragon City" and followed his lead.
This is somewhat similar to the role of a mercenary leader. When the Night City Consortium wants to do something shady, they often hire gangs to do it, and the reward is credits and various weapons.
"Dragon City" takes a portion of these rewards, thus increasing its profits and indirectly expanding its strength.
In this situation, it's not that I can't fund the "Long Knife Gang" to use advanced weapons to attack "Disgaea," but I have to go through "Dragon City" first. Skipping this step may seem harmless, but the consequences are actually quite serious.
Firstly, this is equivalent to bypassing the middleman, which will inevitably arouse the vigilance of "Dragon City"—what is your intention in "Snake Ring" poaching people like this, or even supporting one and then destroying another? Are you planting a seed so that you can replace me in the future?
This is pretty much an open secret. If you put yourself in their shoes, you wouldn't be able to tolerate this kind of behavior, so don't expect others to swallow their anger.
There has been no movement so far, which suggests that they are simply hesitant and undecided because of the value of "twins".
"...Haha, anyway, as long as you're prepared, that's fine."
Seeing his calm demeanor, Xia Ke'an immediately understood. Clearly, he knew, and perhaps even considered things more thoroughly than she had.
This put her at ease; she really didn't need to worry about the little boy... However, the white-haired girl couldn't help but want to complain a bit. If you knew, you could at least nod; talking so much must be tiring...
She was completely unaware that she was the one who had taken the initiative to worry about him.
So she decided to test him again and tentatively asked, "Besides that, has Chairman Xu thought about anything else, like...?"
"Like what happened ten years ago?"
Xu Shi spoke leisurely, as if he had already anticipated what she was going to say.
"...How did you even think of that?"
The white-haired girl paused upon hearing this, then muttered weakly, "Could it be that Chairman Xu really has the ability to read minds?"
"It would be strange if you didn't expect that, would it?"
Seeing Xia Ke'an's defeated expression, which made her look like a little adult, Xu Shi couldn't help but chuckle.
What happened ten years ago? It was the tragic destruction of "Refractive" and "Milky Way" overnight.
In the original story, this is an inescapable plotline, so given the current situation, it's only a matter of time before Xia Ke'an tells him this.
Moreover, even without her involvement, this is something he still has to consider.
Or rather, this is something that every top conglomerate is wary of, because it is indeed too bizarre.
A mysterious force lurking in the shadows possesses the power to overturn the entire Night City of Sin in a matter of days and nights, yet it remains an unsolved mystery even after ten years... To be honest, let alone choosing one of the six major conglomerates now, could they all do that together? I doubt it.
This is like the Sword of Damocles; you never know when or under what circumstances it will fall again—perhaps when something as colossal as "Refraction" or "Milky Way" reappears? Shouldn't we be more cautious and stop trying to be the first to act?
Thinking about it this way, the delicate balance between conglomerates may also be influenced by this factor.
"Too."
Xia Ke'an thought about it and felt relieved, so she simply continued on this topic, "Then I'll get straight to the point, how much do you know about these things?"
Just pretend I know nothing.
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