Chapter 256: Chapter 197: Si Ranran Courting Death, Liu Xuan’s Request, A Familiar Feeling
Si Ranran!
She’s at it again!
Lin Qi formed his Spiritual Tentacles and, with casual ease, shattered Si Ranran’s Spiritual Needle.
When it came to Spiritual Power, Wizards were already among the most powerful of all Extraordinary Professions.
Not to mention, Lin Qi’s Extraordinary Level was higher than Si Ranran’s.
His Spiritual Power quickly locked onto Si Ranran’s position.
Nothing had changed compared to yesterday, except that the straw doll she was using had turned a dark red.
’It seems she’s used some new trick?’
The trick was hidden within that Spiritual Needle, but unfortunately for her, Lin Qi had shattered it so quickly that he hadn’t even noticed what she’d prepared.
"Si Ranran... Si Pharmaceutical... Now that I think about it, this gives me an idea. Maybe I can use this to confuse the Capitalists and stay hidden a little longer."
’Since the Si Clan started this, I’ll use them as a shield to divert attention and conceal myself.’
...
Inside Si Ranran’s room in the Alliance Mansion.
Si Ranran violently spat out a mouthful of blood, her eyes filled with horror.
"Just how strong is that Wizard who stopped me?"
"I used the Blood Poison Technique to ambush him, but it couldn’t even scratch his Spiritual Power?"
"The backlash from my shattered Spiritual Power would have injured even a Tier Three Top Shaman on my father’s level, but that Wizard was completely unaffected. How is that possible?"
"Who on earth is this Lin Qi? Why is the person protecting him so strong?"
Si Ranran couldn’t wrap her head around it. She had overdrawn her Life Force, expended half the blood in her body, and used a special assassination method, yet it had been completely ineffective.
One had to understand, the Shaman was the most insidious of all Extraordinary Professions in the Southeast Asian Region.
With enough preparation, they could even assassinate those of a higher level.
But her Spiritual Needle, condensed with the Blood Poison, had been swatted away and shattered like it was nothing.
Suffering backlash two days in a row, Si Ranran’s terrible condition was now plain to see.
Lacking any intelligence, Si Ranran had no idea that the method Lin Qi used to shatter her Spiritual Needle was not the power of an ordinary Wizard.
It was a Wizard Ability that specialized in strengthening Spiritual Power.
Spiritual Power Materialization.
A Wizard’s Spiritual Power took the form of tentacles, but Lin Qi’s were powerful tentacles that could also materialize and exert force calculated in tons.
How could such Spiritual Tentacles not be hard?
And besides his Spiritual Power, Lin Qi had something even harder.
An Ability that, in the truest sense, had never been seen before in the Cyber World: Hardening.
Ever since Lin Qi obtained this power, he had barely used it. He’d never had the chance, to the point that he considered it a filler Ability he’d picked when he had no other choice, just to advance his Level.
If Si Ranran had any other means of attack besides her Spiritual Power, Lin Qi would have guaranteed she’d get to experience what "truly hard" felt like.
’As the saying goes, things shouldn’t happen more than twice. This is the third time.’
To borrow a famous phrase, Si Ranran had found the path to her own demise.
But Lin Qi couldn’t act rashly. He still needed to deal with the troubles from this trip to Alliance City one by one.
Lin Qi continued reading books on Pharmacy in his room, waiting for his appointed time with Liu Xuan.
Lin Qi needed to hear Liu Xuan’s arrangements first. Only then could he figure out how to contact the Capitalist and plan his next move.
...
Time passed quickly. Shortly after one in the afternoon, Lin Qi stood up, ready to leave.
The meeting location Liu Xuan had set was not in the Alliance Mansion, but in a conference room at Liu’s Heavy Industries’ branch in Alliance City.
Lin Qi and Brother Green Hair took the elevator and left.
When they reached the first floor, Lin Qi felt that familiar gaze on him.
He activated his Spiritual Vision and saw that the stare was coming from the A-Class Implanter he had seen yesterday.
’He’s with the Si Clan.’
Lin Qi also locked onto Si Ranran’s position. She seemed to have received news, as she was clenching her fists with a look of unwillingness.
’It seems Si Ranran is dead set on killing me. She seems absolutely certain that I’m the one who killed Si Ying.’
’I have to say, a woman’s intuition is truly terrifying.’
’With no evidence whatsoever, Si Ranran somehow guessed the real killer and is relentlessly carrying out her revenge.’
’A pity she didn’t try again.’
Lin Qi retracted his senses, feeling it was a shame.
If Si Ranran had attacked again and suffered another backlash, while it wouldn’t kill her, the mental trauma would have made her life a living hell for a short time.
A few more times, and she might have gone insane.
No longer paying attention to Si Ranran, Lin Qi and Brother Green Hair boarded a private Liu Clan Floating Vehicle and headed for the Liu’s Heavy Industries branch in Alliance City.
The journey wasn’t long. In less than half an hour, the Floating Vehicle had already stopped.
Following the directions Liu Xuan had sent, Lin Qi arrived at the conference room on the top floor of the company branch.
Liu Xuan was already waiting there, sitting upright and looking tense.
When Lin Qi saw Liu Xuan, he keenly observed that the purple light flashing from her left prosthetic eye was already extremely bright, almost reaching the intensity it had when they met during the worst of the Greenfield City crisis.
This was an S-Class Suppressor. It was clear just how unstable Liu Xuan’s current condition was.
Brother Green Hair was told to wait outside the conference room.
Suddenly, the transparent glass walls of the conference room turned completely black, becoming opaque.
Liu Xuan spoke slowly. "The conference room’s network access has been completely blocked. No one can overhear our conversation."
This conference room was specially set up by Liu’s Heavy Industries. Its security was likely much higher than even Lin Qi’s underground workshop at his Prosthetic Clinic in Red Fruit City.
But... completely blocked?
Lin Qi didn’t believe it.
Before speaking, he used his Intelligent Brain to send an email to the Highest Level secure mailbox.
[After 12:00 tonight, I want to contact the Capitalist.]
The email was sent successfully almost instantly.
Guang Ling even replied in a second.
[Okay, I’ll make the arrangements. I will inform you after the Capitalist replies.]
Heh!
’Not even bothering to put on an act!’
’It’s like dealing with a ghost!’
In Lin Qi’s mind, Guang Ling was no longer just some mysterious presence on the cyber network.
Not even this secure conference room, which Liu’s Heavy Industries had spent a fortune building with physical means to block network signals, could stop Guang Ling.
God knows what kind of technology Guang Ling used to move so freely through the cyber network.
Pushing thoughts of Guang Ling aside for the moment, Lin Qi looked at Liu Xuan.
In Liu Xuan’s normal right eye, Lin Qi saw a trace of weariness that wouldn’t fade.
"What happened? Are... are you okay?"
Lin Qi didn’t know when it started, but every time he spoke with Liu Xuan now, he had to choose his words carefully.
’Thinking back, was it shortly after entering the Red Fruit Weapon Research Institute?’
Back then, Lin Qi had noticed a pattern to his "chance encounters" with Liu Xuan and had guessed a few things.
Although Lin Qi always had to invent reasons for these so-called "chance encounters" in his own mind.
Even after United Pharmaceutical was founded, when Liu Xuan arranged his residence, Lin Qi found a bunch of reasons for it, as if trying to hypnotize himself.
But Lin Qi wasn’t an idiot. A person’s words could be deceiving, but their actions, accumulated over time, could not.
It was just like that last night in Greenfield City, when Lin Qi himself had made some less-than-rational choices.
Looking at the outcome, the relationship between Lin Qi and Liu Xuan was normal on the surface, but in reality, they had already crossed a line.
Liu Xuan’s expression was a bit distant, as if she were pondering something.
After a long moment, Liu Xuan spoke. "My previous judgment may have been wrong. Liu’s Heavy Industries and United Pharmaceutical have likely reached their most dangerous moment, and this crisis will not be easy to overcome."
Liu Xuan first gave a brief summary of the current situation for Liu’s Heavy Industries and United Pharmaceutical.
An established major corporation and a new, rising pharmaceutical company. To the outside world, they were full of resources and potential, but from Liu Xuan’s words, it sounded as if they were on the brink of life and death.
Her next words gave Lin Qi a familiar feeling. "In a moment, take a Floating Vehicle directly back to Red Fruit City. Have Liu Weicai take over your duties as the researcher representative for United Pharmaceutical. Then, make a trip to the Liu’s Heavy Industries branch in the European Administrative Region and retrieve an important piece of evidence for me."
