Chapter 296: Chapter 217: Joining Forces?
Within the range of Lin Qi’s Spiritual Vision, how could Si Ranran possibly escape when her Extraordinary Level wasn’t even as high as his?
If Lin Qi hadn’t been worried about exposing his identity, and if he didn’t think keeping her alive might be useful for a time—to plot for the S-Class Pharmacy Literature held by the Si Clan, for example—he never would have given Si Ranran the chance to see the sun outside the Alliance Mansion.
Relying on his two abilities, Rapid Growth and Momentum Manipulation—which he had almost never revealed to the outside world—Lin Qi left Si Ranran with virtually no ability to escape.
While suppressing Si Ranran, Lin Qi monitored the security team’s movements.
"We’ve taken over the Alliance Mansion’s internal network, locked on, and confirmed the target’s position. Huh? It seems like someone is helping us. The target is now on the 182nd floor of the Alliance Mansion..."
Si Ranran’s location was quickly revealed through the surveillance footage.
Anyone could see in an instant that Si Ranran was under attack by an unknown entity.
Furthermore, this unknown entity’s goal wasn’t to kill Si Ranran, but to stall for time so they could take over.
An Implanter? Or an Extraordinary Professional?
The lead Prosthetic Implanter, with his mix of A- and S-Class implants, stood before Si Ranran, lost in thought.
But this wasn’t important to him. As long as he could achieve his objective and report back to Permanent Council Member Jin Yuanxi, that was all that mattered.
"Take her away. Back to the Council Building."
After giving the order, he turned to Si Ranran and said, "Your Si Family should know full well what should and shouldn’t be said. Councilman Jin Yuanxi is currently under investigation by the Intercontinental Network Communication Company."
It seemed like he was threatening Si Ranran, but he was actually revealing intelligence to her.
This information reached Si Ranran’s ears, and at the same time, Lin Qi learned of it as well.
’Aishwarya moves fast. In a single night, she not only spread the news through the Cyber Media but also triggered an investigation from the Intercontinental Giant Corporation backing Jin Yuanxi. What a strong will to survive.’
’And Jin Yuanxi’s response was decisive enough. He moved quickly to detain the Si Family, clearly planning to sacrifice a pawn to save the king.’
’But that’s not enough. If Jin Yuanxi wants to protect himself, he’s bound to make more moves. He’ll try to find out why Aishwarya turned on him.’
Lin Qi analyzed a great deal from the intelligence revealed by the security team. But if Jin Yuanxi wanted to go down this path, he was destined to have a hard time finding the person behind the scenes.
Even Aishwarya didn’t know Lin Qi’s true identity, so how could Jin Yuanxi possibly find anything out?
Without thinking too much more about it, Lin Qi quietly watched as the security team took Si Ranran away.
’There will be plenty of opportunities to make a move later. At the very least, Si Ranran’s location is now quite clear.’
’Until Jin Yuanxi settles this matter, he will never let the Si Family leave the Council Building and get out from under his nose.’
Not long after the security team left with Si Ranran, Lin Qi suddenly received another email. It was from Liu Xuan.
Schedule change. Arrive at the Floating Vehicle docking port on top of the Alliance Mansion at 1:00 PM. You will accompany me to the Council Building.
’The Council Building?’
’Whose doing is this? Who are we going to see?’
’Qiao Xi, who has connections to the Capitalists?’
’Or could it be...’
Lin Qi quickly dismissed his first thought.
Qiao Xi had already met with Liu Xuan, giving the Liu Clan the illusion of having a powerful, if somewhat vague, backer.
’There’s no need to meet with Liu Xuan again at this point.’
Among the remaining permanent council members, only Aishwarya and Jin Yuanxi were involved in this incident.
The former had received instructions from the "Mysterious Person" and was now plotting against Ninghang Technology while also trying to take down Jin Yuanxi. Liu’s Heavy Industries wasn’t large enough to be of any help to her.
In that case, the only one who would invite Liu Xuan for a meeting at this time had to be Jin Yuanxi.
Lin Qi didn’t know much about this permanent council member, only that he was originally a supporter of the Liu Clan, but their relationship was limited strictly to business interests.
After the Greenfield City incident, he abandoned Liu’s Heavy Industries when Ninghang Technology and the Si Clan made a painful but decisive transfer of benefits to him.
’Now this permanent council member is suddenly in trouble, trying everything to save himself. He’s cutting ties with the Si Clan, Ninghang Technology, and even the European Big Business Alliance. So, he sought out Liu Xuan—the Liu Xuan who has a connection to Qiao Xi.’
’Aishwarya’s sudden attack has left him disoriented. He can only analyze recent events: the Liu Clan had the motive, and Qiao Xi had the ability. So, he’s chosen to probe them.’
Lin Qi had a good grasp of Jin Yuanxi’s motives and could roughly judge the safety of this trip.
’Jin Yuanxi can’t be sure about the exact nature of the relationship between Qiao Xi and the Liu Clan, so he definitely won’t resort to violent coercion. Today’s invitation should just be a simple probe. Ultimately, his real target is Qiao Xi.’
From Jin Yuanxi’s perspective, Qiao Xi had to be the one to take the fall for this incident.
Aishwarya was originally in the same camp as Jin Yuanxi; there was no reason for her to betray him.
In Jin Yuanxi’s mind, the only person with the power to make Aishwarya switch sides was Qiao Xi.
Lin Qi didn’t yet know that Qiao Xi was the Capitalist, nor that he had unknowingly made the Capitalist a scapegoat.
...
At 1:00 PM, Lin Qi arrived on time at the docking port on top of the Alliance Mansion with Brother Green Hair.
Liu Xuan’s Floating Vehicle also arrived right on time.
After all, they were going to the Council Building. Punctuality was the bare minimum.
Only after they were inside the Floating Vehicle did Liu Xuan explain the afternoon’s specific arrangements to Lin Qi.
"Did you know that Councilwoman Aishwarya has made a move against Councilman Jin Yuanxi?"
Liu Xuan looked at Lin Qi, her prosthetic left eye glowing with a faint purple light, while her right eye held a hint of inquiry.
