Chapter 365: Xiao Xin Is a Bit Devious

Ultimately, Yan Jing decided to bring the mask into the Inner World.

The Surface World didn't need much manpower right now, and there were only a few worthy candidates. If he gave it to Teacher Shen, he felt the Fifth Tier ceiling was a bit too low. And if he offered it to Shen Youran's friends, the requirement to obey his orders meant they might refuse.

He couldn't exactly grab one of her friends and slap the mask on their face with a sinister grin.

After all, this item required the other party to accept it willingly.

But in the Inner World, the mask's utility became immense.

At the very least, it could produce a Fifth Tier combatant.

If he placed it in Bianliu County or Old Sin City...

Yan Jing had a few tentative candidates in mind and decided to wait and see.

His mind made up, he entered the Inner World. He summoned Xiao Xin, who had been hauling Eerie Silver for days, held out the photo of the Rabbit Woman that Zeng Qing had given him, and smiled.

"I'll have to trouble you, Reporter Xiao Xin."

"Iya, iya!"

Xiao Xin gave a little salute and spun in a happy circle.

Compared to being Porter Xiao Xin, she much preferred being Paparazzi Xiao Xin.

A few days later.

Inside a skyscraper in the Peace District.

The Rabbit Woman stared at the latest investigation reports, her face as cold as frost.

A full week had passed, but according to the senior corporate spies she had hired, the opposition showed absolutely no signs of being affected.

Let alone layoffs, cost-cutting, or downsizing—they hadn't even convened a single internal meeting.

The company's financial analysts had broken this down.

The main reason was that the opposition hadn't gone public. All their shares and assets were essentially held by their two top executives, making them immune to stock sell-offs and divestment. Their only real pressure point was internal cash flow.

Yet, based on the spies' analysis of their commercial behavior over the past two months, the opposition couldn't possibly hold massive amounts of liquid capital.

So, in all likelihood...

The opposition was just holding out.

They were betting that her side would announce the end of the instability period in a month. Even if her side applied pressure on prices, they could simply pivot to the underground market.

Murderous intent glinted in her crimson eyes as she opened the final report.

It was an investigation into the opposition's other industries.

Lately, the opposition was clearly undergoing an industrial pivot.

All their focus had shifted toward the medical and livestreaming sectors, pouring in massive amounts of manpower and resources.

This was further evidence that their cash flow was insufficient.

They had prepared for a protracted war, intending to use this industrial pivot to guarantee enough capital flow to keep operating.

Strangely, however, their public-facing medical institutions were now operating like charities. Anyone could see they were running at a near-total loss.

Therefore...

The Rabbit Woman's pale fingertip swiped across the holographic projection's title page and clicked on a video.

The video showed a virtually flawless female Smart Seed. She was dressed in plain clothes, yet every smile and frown perfectly aligned with Smart Seed aesthetic ideals.

It was obvious that the company backing her had spent a fortune.

The total estimated investment was absolutely no less than 200,000 Eerie Points.

But if that were all, there would be nothing remarkable about her. In today's highly advanced era of Gene Potions and bionic prosthetics, forging a "perfect" Smart Seed was not difficult.

Several companies had even attempted similar android projects. They worked fine at first, but yielded diminishing returns over time.

But this Smart Seed was clearly different.

First, there was her smile.

This smile wasn't some manufactured, industrialized expression. Judging from most of her videos, it appeared genuinely heartfelt. That was the core of her persona.

That alone wasn't enough, however; then came her identity.

An Anthill girl. That background instantly closed the distance between the so-called celebrity and the general public.

Especially since she had previously shared a bit of history with a minor influencer, giving her a built-in fan base right from the start.

More crucially, there was her public stance.

She never talked politics. Even after blowing up in popularity, she didn't use her livestreams to push products; she only occasionally did a few harmless, minor advertisements. This rapidly earned the public's trust.

In an age where corporate mouthpieces flooded the skies, the public was already sick of plutocratic playthings. Appearing against that backdrop, she was a uniquely refreshing sight—an absolute game-killer.

But if it merely stopped there...

It would only prove her backing company's prowess.

After all, while such a flawless figure could attract fans, converting that into short-term profit was extremely difficult.

A person who could neither push goods nor speak out on issues was practically devoid of extractable value.

The only option was to stretch out the timeline and accumulate as many die-hard fans as possible to keep her persona from collapsing.

The true stroke of genius, however, was the recent Happy Water incident.

The Rabbit Woman sighed softly. She didn't know whether the girl had a fool's luck or was just boldly meticulous, actually daring to rush in front of the screen holding a peace slogan at a time like that.

She had only survived by pure luck. Under those circumstances, it was highly likely her mechanical core would have been destroyed.

Yet the rewards for taking such a massive risk were equally obvious.

Currently, a top-rated comment on the net perfectly explained why the girl had skyrocketed to fame:

"Even if Luo Wei deliberately went up there to promote that slogan just for clout, it still shows that deep down, she's a simple-minded Anthill girl. Her very life was threatened in that situation. All I can say is, I respect her.

"If someone fakes being good their whole life, isn't that just being good? What's wrong with Luo Wei promoting peace? No matter her motives, a girl like her is exactly who we should be idolizing."

The Rabbit Woman stared at the girl's exquisite face on the projection. She zoomed in on the image, her gaze finally landing on the silhouette of a black cat in the corner.

Mao Si.

Mr. Luo's newly appointed assistant.

She knew the one fueling the flames behind this girl was still that same Mr. Luo.

The opposition was preparing to use this girl as the catalyst to survive their corporate suppression.

But going online to actively sling mud at the girl at a time like this was the worst possible move.

The fanatical public wouldn't turn on her over a few dirty rumors. And if someone observant discovered that the paid trolls were connected to Nuochen Biotech, the fallout would be massive.

"Mr. Luo, is it? If you want to play, let's play for real."

She smiled faintly and tapped the Information Component on her wrist.

Soon, a knock rang out, and a Smart Seed appeared outside the door.

"My lord." The Smart Seed smiled at the Rabbit Woman.

In appearance, voice, and even her movements, she was almost identical to the Luo Wei in the video.

Aside from a slightly stiff smile and a minor difference in temperament, they were virtually cut from the same mold.

"Very good."

Staring at this "Luo Wei"—who had cost over 300,000 Eerie Points to manufacture—the Rabbit Woman's smile grew increasingly radiant.

Your pawn is excellent, but soon, she'll be mine.

Of course, she didn't intend to use this fake forever.

Rather, with the fake in play, the real one would naturally be drawn to their side over time.

Once the real one came over, there would be no more need for the fake. From start to finish, one Luo Wei was all they needed.

As the Rabbit Woman looked at the Luo Wei in front of her, a peculiar feeling suddenly swelled in her heart. She slowly reached out to "Luo Wei" and smiled.

"Lick."

Inside this office, she had always acted without restraint. Her integrated systems would alert her to any biological or mechanical entity that appeared here, capable of detecting threats up to the Seventh Rank. It was safe to say that absolutely no recording or audio devices could exist in this room.

The only thing that slightly puzzled her was that a few days ago, the integrated system had triggered an alarm, warning of a recording device's presence.

Yet she had called in several engineers who turned the room upside down and found nothing.

Eventually, they could only chalk it up to a system error.

After toying with the Luo Wei in front of her for a while, she grew bored and waved her hand.

"Alright, off you go. Mind your pacing; the company has people to teach you."

"Understood."

"Luo Wei" smiled faintly.

High in the air, a pair of large eyes watched everything unfold, blinking non-stop.

...

...

That night, while processing documents, the Rabbit Woman suddenly received an urgent email from her subordinate.

She opened it, and the contents made her pupils contract.

The fake Luo Wei had vanished!

She was gone, along with the bodyguards assigned to her!

Disappeared without a trace!