Chapter 275: Chapter 207: The Clue Xiao Gu Brought to Lin Qi
"Stop monitoring him. Continue with your mission."
Capitalist gave the command to Jingang.
Capitalist felt the probability of Lin Qi being the Wizard had dropped significantly. Perhaps her guess was wrong after all.
This was likely a smokescreen deliberately created by the Wizard.
All one could say was that the Wizard was far more cautious than she had imagined. A mix of truth and lies, one deception layered on another. Uncovering the Wizard’s identity would likely consume a tremendous amount of energy.
Since the Wizard was so insistent on hiding his identity, she might as well drop it. There was no need to keep playing the villain.
Still, Capitalist felt it was a shame.
In the entire Highest-Level Mercenary Corps, aside from the ghost-like Guang Ling, the Wizard was the only one whose identity she hadn’t yet uncovered.
This left Capitalist with a nagging sense of incompleteness.
To be in such a high position yet unable to even dox an online acquaintance—this was a type of frustration ordinary people couldn’t possibly understand.
If Lin Qi knew, he certainly wouldn’t understand. He would just think Capitalist had something wrong with her head.
What’s wrong with maintaining some distance?
Why the obsession with learning an online acquaintance’s identity?
Fortunately, Lin Qi didn’t know. Otherwise, he’d be sure to make a few passive-aggressive remarks at the next Highest-Level Mercenary Corps meeting.
Sensing Jingang’s gaze disappear, Lin Qi knew he had passed the test—for now.
’Looks like I didn’t give anything away.’
’Good thing I have so many layers of disguise. From the Prosthetic Body to my verbal cues and behavioral logic, there’s no evidence that can pin me as the Wizard. But I can’t use this same set of tricks too often.’
’If I do, Capitalist will only grow more suspicious. Often, the path to the truth isn’t through evidence, but through elimination.’
’Once all other possibilities are eliminated, the one that remains, however absurd, must be the truth.’
Lin Qi couldn’t give Capitalist another chance to use the process of elimination. In the future, when dealing with a careful and suspicious Mercenary Corps member like Capitalist, Lin Qi had to be even more vigilant.
Although Jingang’s gaze had disappeared, Lin Qi still did not drop his disguise.
Instead of brazenly using his Spiritual Vision to scan the area, he maintained his previous rhythm.
He continued his Chaotic Movement, meeting with one member of the Medical Small Business Alliance after another. Even if he didn’t know them well, Lin Qi was able to use his cover from Liu’s Heavy Industries to engage with them.
Lin Qi stayed busy until after seven in the evening, only then returning to his hotel room in the Alliance Mansion.
During this period, the gaze from Jingang never appeared again. It seemed Capitalist had given up.
...
In the Council Building, a place beyond the reach of Lin Qi’s Spiritual Vision, Qiao Xi—or rather, Capitalist—sat in a chair, flipping through information on the family members of Councilor Aishwarya.
As she leafed through the files, she sighed for no apparent reason.
Capital follows profit, but it often invests before that profit materializes.
And the prerequisite for investment is sufficient information and intelligence.
Prying for intelligence was an instinct etched into her very bones.
After investigating for so long without uncovering the Wizard’s identity, that familiar sense of frustration washed over Qiao Xi again.
Using her authority as a permanent council member, Qiao Xi pulled up Alliance City’s live network surveillance records.
The coverage wasn’t as comprehensive as it was in the Liu Clan’s Red Fruit City, but she could still trace Lin Qi’s movements for the entire day.
Qiao Xi checked Lin Qi’s movements after Jingang ended the surveillance.
Everything was normal. He continued his Chaotic Movement while meeting with one member of the Medical Small Business Alliance after another.
’At least that eliminates one more possibility,’ she thought. ’Based on past intel, the Wizard is sensitive to being watched. Yet his behavior didn’t change at all after Jingang pulled back.’
’Wizard... where on earth are you hiding?’
She didn’t use her authority to call up more records.
Qiao Xi believed that if the Wizard were investigating in person without a disguise, he would undoubtedly have Guang Ling block any surveillance from network devices.
The hardware in Alliance City was no match for Guang Ling’s tech.
There was no point in checking further. Finding the Wizard’s identity would require more contact in the future, or she would have to wait for him to slip up on his own.
In truth, Qiao Xi had no malicious intent in investigating identities.
It was simply her standard way of thinking and operating.
...
In his room, Lin Qi began to mull over the information he had gathered that day.
He had found a total of twelve second- and third-generation family members of Councilor Aishwarya today.
He had met quite a few people, but had come up empty-handed.
These people either had no Extraordinary Profession, or they were just ordinary Martial Artists. None possessed a particularly special Extraordinary Profession.
This did not meet Lin Qi’s expectations.
’Could Guang Ling have just been making an offhand suggestion? Was there no solid evidence behind it?’
’No, that doesn’t fit Guang Ling’s usual behavior. The truth must be hidden among the remaining members of Councilor Aishwarya’s family.’
Lin Qi hadn’t met that many of them yet. Perhaps the councilor’s Extraordinary Profession required a high degree of Talent, meaning few descendants could inherit it—similar to the Talent for being a Wizard.
Even for the Liu Clan, the number of Wizards in each generation was extremely limited.
The probability of inheriting the Talent was less than one in ten.
To find a member of Councilor Aishwarya’s family who had inherited the Extraordinary Profession, Lin Qi would have to put in more effort. He might just have to check them all, one by one.
