Xu Shi probably never imagined that what he said when he bumped fists with Tang Shuang in a moment of passion would actually come true.
Because three years have passed in the blink of an eye.
Thinking back to his high spirits when he returned to Night Sin City from the Hualan Empire, it felt like just yesterday... He was still a little emotional.
After all, he is now twenty-nine years old, only a few months away from turning thirty.
Rounding up, one is not far from thirty, not far from forty, and soon to know one's destiny, followed by sixty, and then seventy, the age of venerable old age...
Ah, time flies and never returns; the past can only be reminisced.
Thinking of this, he shook his head helplessly. For humans, the only thing they can't control is the passage of time.
Anyway, he's almost like a retired cadre now, and he even has goji berries soaking in his thermos.
Just as I was about to pick it up and take a sip, the office door was pushed open in a flurry.
"master!"
Pan Ling walked in with a frown, looking at her with a disappointed expression. "I told you there was a very important meeting today, have you forgotten?"
Three years have passed, and the silly apprentice has grown a lot. He is no longer the clueless person he was when he first came to Night City.
Instead, she opted for a sharp, professional office look—a beige blazer paired with high heels, and her hair styled in a neat high ponytail, a perfectly appropriate outfit for a career woman.
It's clear that she's adapted well to her current life, and she has indeed worked hard over the years.
At least Xu Shi didn't expect that she would complete her complicated higher education in just over two years, and even graduate from the university with the highest score in her class. After that, she directly and openly joined "Snake Ring" and became a member of the company.
Her position was Xu Shi's special assistant, which to some extent relieved Su Lin, the director, of her secretarial work.
However, it's obvious to anyone with eyes that Xu Shi is intentionally delegating power to her—after all, he's a hands-off chairman, and he even lets her make bold decisions on many important matters, while he completely retreats behind the scenes and rarely shows his face unless there's a major event.
To be honest, many people initially had reservations about Xu Shi's actions. Could a young, inexperienced girl really shoulder such a heavy responsibility? In their eyes, this was clearly questionable.
It wasn't until Pan Ling proved them wrong with her abilities that these voices gradually subsided... They had to learn to accept the fact that a young girl from another city-state, who was only twenty-two years old, could actually outshine them, these old folks, in terms of professional competence.
If Xu Shi is better at taking a holistic view and making creative or correct decisions, then Pan Ling pays more attention to details. In other words, one builds the framework and the other fills in the flesh and blood. The master and apprentice work together very well and complement each other perfectly.
It can only be said that like teacher, like student, or that the student surpasses the teacher. After all, Xu Shi himself is a monster. From the time he officially took over the company, he achieved what he has today in less than five years.
Many people have even forgotten that this guy was only twenty-five years old when he swept through a large number of high-ranking veterans in the company and even wiped out two rival conglomerates, becoming the uncrowned king of Night City.
Or perhaps, it's already gone beyond that.
“Master, you were the one who advocated for the establishment of a federation, and now you’re the one who’s just sitting back and doing nothing.”
Pan Ling has become much bolder now, at least she can come up with words of criticism for Xu Shi without hesitation, "It's one thing to not care about things usually, but today the rulers of two city-states have come to visit, you know? Shouldn't you at least show your face?"
"Xiao Pan, when you're at work, you should refer to your job title."
Xu Shi took a leisurely sip of water. "If you don't want to show up, then you don't have to. I'm very busy too. It's just two B-level city-states. Your involvement is enough. Otherwise, what's the point of training you?"
As it turns out, the initial idea was absolutely correct. There are indeed more than just Night City and Hualan Empire in this world. In the second month after the establishment of the overseas department, Yu Xingchuan had already found the third experimental area.
With their previous experience, they were much more adept at handling the situation, and in less than a month, they established contact with the ruler of that region.
What's even more interesting is that the other party is actually a "protagonist" who has already achieved great success.
To be honest, Xu Shi probably hadn't dealt with a particular "protagonist" like this before.
However, the process was not complicated. When they tried to reveal the truth about "natural law" to the other party, the other party showed shock and unusual clarity.
Just as he had predicted, once he realized that he was actually a puppet, even a clay figure would have some anger.
Therefore, with their cooperation, the other side easily uncovered the "Tianli" mole infiltrating their own protagonist group, which can be considered a complete awakening.
Then came the formal establishment of cooperation—yes, compared to a protracted conquest that would consume vast amounts of manpower and resources, this was clearly the better state a federation or alliance should maintain.
Understanding each other, exchanging resources... and of course, establishing a superior-subordinate relationship based on the overall strength of the other city-state is also one of them.
This is also the origin of the "B-level city-states" he just mentioned—as the areas he comes into contact with increase, a sound and continuously improving rating system is essential.
Based on the City of Night Sin, those with equal or similar strength will be classified as Grade A.
Those who are relatively weaker are classified as B-rank, while those who can completely suppress their opponents are classified as C-rank.
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