Chapter 297: Chapter 217: Holding Hands?
Her words had a double meaning. On the surface, she was asking if Lin Qi had heard the news, but they held a deeper implication.
Liu Xuan suspected that Lin Qi might have had a hand in it.
Lin Qi nodded. "I heard this morning. This is good for us. Those two permanent directors were the main supporters of the Asia Political Zone Advanced Pharmaceutical Enterprise Summit. With them having a falling out, it means the upcoming summit is bound to have some major shake-ups."
Lin Qi naturally understood the deeper meaning behind her words, but he wouldn’t admit to anything, let alone reveal his methods.
That was the way to survive in the Cyber World.
Liu Xuan didn’t seem to mind. Lin Qi had maintained his air of mystery for so long; it was only natural he wouldn’t lay all his cards on the table.
Liu Xuan began to explain the day’s arrangements.
"I was originally going to tell you about your father’s arrangements and plans at the branch office this afternoon, but something unexpected happened. Director Jin Yuanxi, who once supported us but later sided with the Si Clan, suddenly sent an invitation to United Pharmaceutical. He invited both of us to the Council Building to discuss the arrangements for the Asia Political Zone Advanced Pharmaceutical Enterprise Summit."
"I think he’s probing our relationship with Director Qiao Xi."
Events were unfolding much as Lin Qi had anticipated. The invitation to Liu Xuan had indeed come from Jin Yuanxi.
What Lin Qi hadn’t expected, however, was that Jin Yuanxi’s invitation was addressed not to Liu’s Heavy Industries, but to United Pharmaceutical. He had even specifically included Lin Qi, the company’s new director.
This came as a slight surprise, but it only served to prove that Jin Yuanxi was a clever man.
As a long-time supporter of the Liu Clan, he understood roughly how much power they wielded.
Theoretically, they shouldn’t have had the influence to sway a Neutral Director like Qiao Xi.
And yet, Liu Xuan had received an invitation from Qiao Xi, which meant a new variable had entered the equation.
For that very reason, even if the possibility was minuscule, Jin Yuanxi had to include Lin Qi in his probe—a man who seemed to be a variable himself.
Lin Qi nodded slightly. ’No doubt about it, this is a probe.’
"How is the Liu Clan planning to respond?"
Lin Qi didn’t dwell on the question. A probe was just a probe; as long as they handled it correctly, there wouldn’t be any issues.
In any case, he had already communicated with the Capitalist. He could continue to use Director Qiao Xi’s name as cover and simply play it by ear.
Lin Qi wanted to know what kind of response the Liu Clan—a major corporation with deep roots in the Asian Administrative Region—would make now that it had recovered from the initial flurry of attacks.
Theoretically, while a major corporation’s power couldn’t match a permanent director’s, they certainly wouldn’t be lambs to the slaughter.
Liu Xuan didn’t hold back, spilling the beans on the confidential information her father, Liu Xingyuan, had repeatedly warned her to keep secret. "The Liu Clan’s board of directors has reached a consensus with no fewer than ten major corporations. We will soon jointly petition the Big Business Alliance to amend the Successor Bill."
"The intercontinental situation is tense, and several administrative regions are on the brink of corporate war."
"In a relatively stable environment, the Successor Bill can reduce the scale of friction and prevent corporate wars from breaking out. But now that the situation is unstable, the Successor Bill itself could become the fuse."
Lin Qi was rather surprised to hear this.
This had been part of the Si Clan’s original plan: use the Successor Bill as a rallying point to unite several major corporations, threaten a corporate war, and force the Alliance to concede.
But just as the Si Clan began to show signs of decline and faced a reckoning, the Liu Clan had smoothly snatched the dagger the Si Clan had prepared right from their hands.
They continued to use the Successor Bill as a rallying point, and in one fell swoop, they secured more allies than the Si Clan ever had.
This success was partly due to their impeccable timing, but also because the Liu Clan was finally flexing the power it had accumulated over many years. Otherwise, they never could have gathered so many allies in such a short time.
A clever and subtle move, one that wouldn’t provoke any intense conflict.
"The Liu Clan is truly worthy of its reputation as an established major corporation. A reversal like this is astonishing."
Lin Qi’s praise was sincere, but his perspective was limited; he couldn’t see the intricate web of conflict hidden beneath the surface.
Liu Xuan shook her head, and the expression in her right eye showed little joy. Instead, it held a hint of disappointment in the Liu Clan.
Liu Xuan said, "It’s all just an exchange of interests. All I see is endless compromise."
Hearing this, Lin Qi finally understood. Behind this seemingly simple alliance lay a far more profound game of strategy.
As Liu Xingyuan’s daughter, Liu Xuan understood it all far more clearly than he did.
After a moment of silence, the purple glow in Liu Xuan’s left eye brightened slightly.
Then, Liu Xuan continued, "When we arrive at the Council Building, stay by my side. If anyone asks you anything, just pretend you don’t understand. Let me do the answering."
Their conversation returned to the matter at hand as Liu Xuan went over the details for the upcoming meeting with Jin Yuanxi.
This was a probe.
The problem was, Lin Qi really was connected to all these events.
His communications with Qiao Xi, his dealings with the Eastern Alliance, and even Aishwarya’s actions—Lin Qi was controlling it all.
The more one says, the more one risks slipping up.
Especially when face-to-face with an old cyber-fox like Jin Yuanxi. A single careless word, or even just the wrong tone of voice, could reveal crucial information.
Lin Qi nodded. "I’ve got this."
In truth, Lin Qi was a veteran actor himself.
He was always playing a role in the meetings of the Highest-Level Mercenary Corps.
Even when he met privately with the Capitalist in the cyber network conference room, Lin Qi was putting on an act.
If Lin Qi could deceive the Capitalist, there was no reason he would expose a major weakness in front of Jin Yuanxi.
But while Lin Qi himself knew this, it didn’t stop Liu Xuan from worrying.
The purple light from her prosthetic left eye grew more intense. Finally, taking a deep breath, Liu Xuan closed her eyes and waited for the Floating Vehicle to reach its destination.
...
At the Council Building, Jin Yuanxi’s security team had been waiting for Liu Xuan’s arrival for some time.
In a way, this was a display of respect that didn’t befit their relative stations.
But alas...
"What are you doing here?"
The speaker was the man with the mix of A-Class and S-Class prosthetics whom Lin Qi had seen at the Alliance Mansion—the current leader of the Ninth Security Team, codenamed Xiaojin.
Xiaojin glanced at Jingang, who stood a full head taller than him, and felt a headache brewing inside his prosthetic-encased skull.
Jingang shot Xiaojin a look. ’Trash. Only dares to install fifteen percent S-Class prosthetics!’
"Director Qiao Xi sent me to keep an eye on things, to make sure you don’t get disrespectful with her friends."
Jingang’s actions were, of course, on the Capitalist’s orders.
The Capitalist had been monitoring Jin Yuanxi’s movements and knew he was about to conduct a probe.
In the Capitalist’s estimation, Liu’s Heavy Industries—or rather, United Pharmaceutical—was likely connected to the Wizard.
And Liu Xuan was probably one of the Wizard’s talented subordinates.
That being the case, the Capitalist was more than happy to do the Wizard a favor.
Sending this big oaf over would bolster Liu Xuan’s presence while simultaneously putting pressure on Jin Yuanxi.
The more pressure Jin Yuanxi was under, the more smoothly the Mercenary Corps’ mission would proceed, thus weakening the forces behind Ninghang Technology.
Killing two birds with one stone—what’s not to like?
Xiaojin looked at Jingang, and his headache intensified.
He knew Jingang’s background. Not long ago, he had clawed his way up from the bottom and caught Director Qiao Xi’s eye.
On paper, he had more seniority in the security team.
But Jingang, true to his codename, had an off-the-charts tolerance for prosthetics!
If Director Qiao Xi pushed hard for him in the future and secured him some opportunities, he might just live up to his codename and become an X-Class Implanter.
Forget the future—even now, the number of Immortal Level prosthetics implanted in Jingang’s body completely crushed him.
The guy’s combat power was probably no weaker than an ordinary S-Class Implanter; it was just that in the standard classification system, Jingang was still considered A-Class.
Frustrated, he could only take it and relay the news to Director Jin Yuanxi.
The wait wasn’t long. Soon, a Floating Vehicle appeared, bearing the Liu Clan’s logo, and slowly descended.
The Liu Clan’s bodyguards waited inside; they weren’t authorized to enter the Council Building.
Liu Xuan stepped out of the Floating Vehicle first, then extended a hand back inside.
Seeing Liu Xuan’s outstretched hand, Lin Qi froze for a second.
Then he understood her intention.
’She wants me to play the part of her pretty boy to deal with this probe!’
Without hesitation, Lin Qi naturally took her hand and stepped out of the Floating Vehicle.
Liu Xuan seemed to subconsciously start to link her arm with Lin Qi’s, but then, as if realizing something, she stopped.
She pulled her hand back as if shocked, her expression returning to normal.
Watching Liu Xuan’s performance, Lin Qi marveled to himself.
’You’d never know it normally. I never thought Liu Xuan’s acting was so smooth.’
His own expression showed no sign of abnormality as he stood by Liu Xuan’s side, awaiting further instruction.
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