Chapter 269: Chapter 204: The Manipulator Surfaces
From what Master Ma knew of the Capitalist, she wasn’t the type to pull something like this.
Furthermore, given the means of the Intercontinental Stability Trauma Emergency Company backing her, if she ever dared to do such a thing, they would undoubtedly be the first to find out.
Being the agent of an Intercontinental Giant Corporation within the Big Business Alliance was not as easy as one might imagine.
The Capitalist didn’t reply to Master Ma. She knew that no matter what he thought, he would definitely come to Alliance City.
Whether it was to bring the sample to Alliance City or for Baili Xueyuan’s sake, he would make the trip.
And just as the Capitalist predicted, after receiving the email, Master Ma left New Reid City as quickly as possible. He then rushed to the nearest Cyber City without a moment’s rest and slipped aboard a large floating vehicle bound for Alliance City.
At this point, every member of the Highest-Level Mercenary Corps, aside from King Arthur and Guang Ling, had gathered in Alliance City. This was perhaps the most complete gathering of its members since the corps was founded.
...
「Alliance City. It was now afternoon.」
Lin Qi received an email from Liu Xuan, arranging to meet at the Alliance City branch of Liu’s Heavy Industries.
Seeing the email, Lin Qi guessed that Liu Xuan must have some good news for him.
Her meeting with the Permanent Council member must have gone relatively smoothly.
’Just how smoothly it went would depend on the Capitalist’s abilities.’
Lin Qi arrived on time at the Liu’s Heavy Industries branch in Alliance City with Brother Green Hair and met Liu Xuan in the familiar, fully shielded conference room.
"Did everything go smoothly today?"
Lin Qi himself had only acted as a bridge; he had to ask Liu Xuan for the results.
"It wasn’t smooth at first. On the way to the Council Building, my floating vehicle was attacked by an S-Class missile."
Lin Qi hadn’t expected such an incident.
’And for such a major event, there wasn’t a whisper of it in the Alliance Mansion. It seemed the news had been suppressed.’
’But Lin Qi quickly made a connection. An S-Class missile?’
’With the abilities of Liu’s bodyguards, there was no way they could have intercepted it.’
’Liu Xuan was still here, talking to him. That meant...’
’The Capitalist had intervened?’
Liu Xuan continued her story. "Thankfully, Councilor Qiao Xi seemed to have made arrangements in advance. She dispatched a security team for targeted protection, and they successfully intercepted it."
’Sure enough, it was the Capitalist’s intervention that had saved Liu Xuan.’
Lin Qi frowned slightly.
’This means the Capitalist still has some suspicions about my identity.’
’But she most likely isn’t certain of my identity; this was just a casual bet. If Liu Xuan is truly connected to me, this means I now owe the Capitalist a favor.’
’And unless my identity is never exposed, I’ll have to repay this favor sooner or later.’
Lin Qi didn’t think the Capitalist was making a bad deal.
’At his current rate of growth, he would reach Tier Three in ten to fifteen days at most.’
’In two or three months, he could become a Tier Four Wizard.’
’If the timeline was stretched to a year, as long as a Tier Five Extraordinary Item appeared in the Doomsday World, Lin Qi was confident he could reach Tier Five.’
’In other words, the later Lin Qi’s identity was exposed, the greater the return on the Capitalist’s investment.’
’The Capitalist might not know how fast Lin Qi was getting stronger, but she most likely had similar considerations.’
’Even if Lin Qi managed to keep his identity hidden forever, for the Capitalist, this was just a casual move that required no significant investment.’
’But I have to accept this favor. A relationship based on mutual interests is the only proper way to maintain it.’
Lin Qi fully endorsed the Capitalist’s philosophy; he had no intention of getting a free ride.
Seeing Lin Qi frown, Liu Xuan had no idea what he was thinking.
She continued to recount what happened next.
This next part was known only to Liu Xuan and Councilor Qiao Xi.
It was truly top-secret information.
"’Under the protection of the security team, I successfully reached the Council Building and met with Councilor Qiao Xi.’"
"’I told Councilor Qiao Xi about the Liu Clan’s situation and my suspicions that the Si Clan and Ninghang Technology were colluding with the European Big Business Alliance. But it seems Councilor Qiao Xi was already aware of the matter.’"
"’As expected of the representative from the Intercontinental Stability Trauma Emergency Company in the Big Business Alliance. Her intelligence sources are beyond compare for an ordinary large corporation.’"
Lin Qi could see that Liu Xuan was much more relaxed now, no longer bearing the look of overwhelming pressure she had when she first arrived in Alliance City.
Lin Qi was not surprised by the content of Liu Xuan’s conversation with Councilor Qiao Xi.
’This Councilor Qiao Xi most likely had deep ties to the Capitalist, and might even be the Capitalist herself.’
’Lin Qi had already told the Capitalist the same information Liu Xuan had just relayed.’
’So of course Councilor Qiao Xi would know about it—and in even greater detail than Liu Xuan.’
What Lin Qi was focused on was what choice Councilor Qiao Xi made after meeting Liu Xuan, or rather, what kind of help she offered.
Did she just meet with her to use the reputation of a Permanent Council member to create some room for the Liu Clan to maneuver, or did she provide Liu Xuan with more substantial help?
’Lin Qi felt it was the latter. Otherwise, Councilor Qiao Xi wouldn’t have sent a security team to help Liu Xuan.’
"Did Councilor Qiao Xi tell you how the Liu Clan can break out of its current crisis?" Lin Qi asked.
Liu Xuan nodded, then shook her head.
"Councilor Qiao Xi didn’t offer any overt support, but she did give me a piece of incredibly valuable intelligence."
