Chapter 309: Chapter 223: The Special Nature of the Wizard Profession, the Strange State of Spiritual Power (2)
However, the [Door]’s cooldown was nearly finished. In the end, a second breakthrough in a single day did not happen.
He changed into his Cyber World clothes, closed his eyes, and continued his Meditation to adjust his state.
...
At 12:31 AM on March 21, 2089, Lin Qi returned to the Cyber World.
If a viewpoint in the Cyber World had been watching Lin Qi the entire time, it would have seen that one second he had sixty jet pipes stuck all over his body, looking like a T2-class Spacecraft.
The very next second, he was back to normal.
The components of that T2-class Spacecraft had vanished into thin air.
’Does such a viewpoint exist?’
Theoretically, besides Guang Ling, no other viewpoint should exist.
As for Guang Ling, even if Lin Qi wanted to guard against it, he couldn’t for the time being.
Based on past experience, even if Guang Ling were to uncover certain secrets, it wouldn’t expose them. It would just quietly record them, waiting for the right moment in the future to use them.
Lin Qi lay down on his bed, putting thoughts of Guang Ling aside for the moment to consider Aishwarya’s situation.
In a few more hours, Lin Qi would be able to send Aishwarya five new messages. He was contemplating how to leverage her to gain more advantages.
The electrode behind his ear projected a chat window onto Lin Qi’s retina.
Aishwarya had sent Lin Qi many messages throughout the day, but he hadn’t responded to a single one.
[I’ve arranged for nine media outlets, including Extreme Fusion Media and Alliance Vision, to expose Jin Yuanxi to varying degrees. However, I’m still finding it very difficult to lock down evidence of his dealings with the European Administrative Region. He is, after all, a veteran permanent director. It’s extremely hard to find direct proof.]
[I used my connections at the Intercontinental Network Communication Company to initiate an internal investigation into Jin Yuanxi, but according to my sources, even people inside the Intercontinental Network Communication Company can’t find any direct evidence.]
[I’ve done my best, but Jin Yuanxi is extremely discreet. You can’t blame me for this...]
Aishwarya had clearly put her heart into the matter with Jin Yuanxi. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have felt such immense pressure overnight, to the point of directly inviting Liu Xuan for a dialogue and attempting to strike some kind of deal or alliance with Qiao Xi.
It just goes to show, no one who claws their way to the top of the Big Business Alliance is a fool.
Even Aishwarya, a permanent director who seemed so easily controlled by Lin Qi, was a case of Lin Qi simply getting lucky and discovering the European Administrative Region’s schemes against her.
When it came down to it, Lin Qi had merely plucked the fruit of the Europeans’ labor.
After discovering she couldn’t find any substantial evidence on Jin Yuanxi and getting no reply from Lin Qi despite sending him a heap of messages, Aishwarya changed her approach and decided to start with Ninghang Technology.
After all, Lin Qi had made two demands: find evidence of Jin Yuanxi’s collusion with the European Administrative Region, and obtain the master sample of Ninghang Technology’s new product.
To be honest, Aishwarya didn’t actually know the difference between the master and sub-samples of Ninghang Technology’s new product.
Those in the know were all aware that the Europeans were actually the ones backing Ninghang Technology. The mega-corporation kept many of its secrets outside of Asia.
However, Ninghang Technology was, at least nominally, a registered member of the Asian Big Business Alliance and was subject to its jurisdiction.
[I’ve contacted Director Katou. Tomorrow, he will issue a board supervision directive against Ninghang Technology under the pretext of a security audit. I will arrange for my security team to enter Ninghang Technology and attempt to steal the sample. In addition to that, I’ve checked multiple transport channels in Alliance City and found a secret transport route between Ninghang Technology and the Europeans. I suspect...]
It was clear that Aishwarya was desperate to rid herself of the Holy Light.
For a Tier Four Wizard, this thing was a massive liability.
It could be fatal at a critical moment!
Aishwarya was well aware of the Europeans’ obsession with the Witch Hunt; she wanted to escape the crisis of the Holy Light as soon as possible.
She had completely abandoned any thought of cooperating with the Europeans.
Lin Qi wasn’t worried as he looked over the new intelligence from Aishwarya.
Guang Ling had set up this communication window, so it could definitely see the messages Aishwarya sent.
If this intelligence was useful to the Mercenary Corps’s operation, Guang Ling would act on it soon.
Lin Qi didn’t need to waste any mental energy on the plot against Ninghang Technology. Guang Ling was the master planner; Lin Qi just had to play his part.
Just as Lin Qi was browsing Aishwarya’s messages and considering how to reply, an email opportunely appeared in his inbox.
The email was from Guang Ling.
[Communication for this Mercenary Corps mission will be conducted via a temporary chat window. A full Mercenary Corps meeting will not be convened at this time. Please follow the attached instructions to join the temporary chat.]
After the Highest-Level Mercenary Corps’s meeting room was wrecked yesterday by the disturbance from King Arthur’s ascension to Tier Four, Guang Ling was finally making a new move.
However, it seemed Guang Ling had indeed suffered a considerable loss. It didn’t even convene another meeting, instead settling for a temporary chat as a second-best option.
This hardly fit the prestige associated with the words "Highest Level."
Guang Ling’s "God"-like image wavered once more.
But Lin Qi didn’t dwell on it, simply following the instructions to quickly enter the temporary chat.
A brand-new communication window appeared on the projection from Lin Qi’s Intelligent Brain.
The overall layout was nearly identical to the temporary chat window used during the mission in Greenfield City.
When Lin Qi joined the temporary chat, two members were already in the session.
One was Guang Ling, and the other was Capitalist.
King Arthur and Master Ma had not yet joined the session.
Seeing the two members already in the chat, Lin Qi figured that, going by past precedent, the server for this temporary chat was once again provided by Capitalist.
King Arthur and Master Ma didn’t keep Lin Qi waiting long. Less than three minutes later, they had both joined the session.
Not long after, another ID named "Jingang" entered the session.
After everyone had arrived, Guang Ling sent the first message.
"Thank you, Capitalist, for providing server support for this temporary chat. It’s saved me a lot of trouble."
Seeing Guang Ling’s message, Lin Qi thought, ’I knew it.’
It was only because Lin Qi didn’t know Capitalist’s true identity; otherwise, he might have exclaimed, "Behind every successful leader of a secret organization, there’s bound to be a rich woman providing support!"
What Lin Qi didn’t understand was why someone with Guang Ling’s usual technical prowess would be limited by a need for servers.
’Are servers really such a scarce resource for Guang Ling?’
Considering Guang Ling had "tolerated" his little secret, Lin Qi decided not to pry into its business either.
He silently watched the conversation unfold in the temporary chat.
King Arthur’s message came right after Guang Ling’s.
"My apologies. My ascension to Tier Four yesterday was rather sudden, and I momentarily forgot that Tier Four Spiritual Power can cause fluctuations in the cyber network."
King Arthur knew he had caused trouble for Guang Ling and offered a prompt apology.
Guang Ling didn’t blame him, responding, "It’s alright. It wasn’t really your fault. The Cyber Network Company has recently tightened its surveillance and formed a special department to track unauthorized network activity. With the exception of the Black Market, all covert online activities have been hit hard."
"I was already planning a large-scale technological upgrade anyway. This was all part of the plan; it just sped things up a little."
Guang Ling’s words reminded Lin Qi of its recent performance.
It seemed that Guang Ling’s abilities hadn’t been what they used to be lately. While still formidable and able to provide excellent cover during operations, it had shown some signs of decline in its day-to-day performance.
Capitalist chimed in after Guang Ling’s response: "Server resources have become a hot commodity lately. The Cyber Network Company is deliberately controlling their supply and has tightened server regulations. If we need more, we’ll have to figure out a way to get them from the Eastern Alliance."
Capitalist’s words seemed to carry a hidden meaning. Lin Qi mulled over the implications, deep in thought.
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