Chapter 313: Chapter 225: Second Dialogue (2)
The Capitalist, Qiao Xi, who had just been pondering the identities of Guang Ling and the Wizard, frowned.
Although she was mentally prepared for this, King Arthur really had no sense of boundaries.
Discussing someone’s real identity in a "public space" like this... how was that any different from doxxing someone on the cyber network?
’Doesn’t she know that’s the kind of thing that gets you beaten up?’
The Capitalist then considered King Arthur’s current strength, as well as her true identity.
’After some careful thought, there aren’t many people who could actually beat up King Arthur.’
’And there seem to be even fewer who would dare to.’
’But those top-tier Knights from the Round Table Conference, the Round Table Knights, probably wouldn’t mind taking a swing at King Arthur...’
The Capitalist was merely thinking and had no intention of responding to King Arthur.
Seeing that she was about to kill the chat, a certain blonde Knight, who was traveling in a large Floating Vehicle, frowned.
’Why is everyone so hard to talk to? I don’t remember them being this silent during the Highest Level security meetings in the past.’
’Do they have some kind of text-based communication anxiety?’
King Arthur decided to make an effort. She couldn’t let herself ruin this harmonious chat tool for the Mercenary Corps members.
"Wizard, thank you for your help. If it weren’t for you, I might not have been promoted to Tier Four so quickly!"
This time, King Arthur decided to start the conversation differently. Instead of asking a question, she expressed her gratitude to the Wizard.
Without the Wizard, she would never have been stimulated to so quickly condense the Knight’s Spirit Badge named "Transcend."
Seeing King Arthur’s message, Lin Qi was a bit confused.
’I helped her?’
’When?’
’How could a mere Tier Two like me possibly be able to help King Arthur ascend to Tier Four?’
King Arthur guessed that Lin Qi must be confused. Before Lin Qi could send a message, she preemptively explained the reason.
"The Knight’s Spirit Badge I condensed to reach Tier Four is named Transcend! It was all of you in the Mercenary Corps, and especially you, Wizard, who gave me this will. Throughout the legends of the past, the Knight and Wizard professions have always had a love-hate relationship. I hope that one day, I can stand before you and have a fair duel. Regardless of victory or defeat, I believe my Knight’s Spirit Badge will condense even further..."
King Arthur had sent Lin Qi a heartfelt mini-essay.
Lin Qi’s mouth twitched twice.
The image in his mind was crystal clear.
He could almost see King Arthur, this short girl under 1.6 meters tall, charging at him while shouting things like "bonds," "legend," "glory," and "transcend."
It didn’t seem like a particularly terrifying prospect. After all, without her Prosthetic Body, King Arthur actually looked rather soft and cute.
The problem was, she was still a Tier Four Knight.
Tier Four!
’A Tier Four who’s obsessed with dueling a Tier Two like me, and is even thinking about transcending or whatever... isn’t that a bit much?’
In the group chat, the members of the Mercenary Corps upheld the fine reading habits of cyber-citizens.
Short sentences were glanced over in an instant.
Long sentences weren’t even read.
But a mini-essay?
Analyzed word by word!
Master Ma, the Capitalist, and Jingang read it very carefully, each looking thoughtful.
’So that’s how King Arthur was promoted?’
’No, wait!’
’King Arthur, a Tier Four, says she wants to transcend the Wizard?’
’Then just how strong is the Wizard?’
’What stage of Tier Four?’
In this era, Tier Four Wizards were already few and far between, let alone a Wizard Professional who had walked far down the Tier Four path.
They were practically a rarity!
The stock of Tier Four Extraordinary Items in the Cyber World was basically finite; using one meant there was one less.
Master Ma and Jingang were somewhat less surprised.
But the Capitalist had already made some wild guesses about Lin Qi’s identity.
Combined with King Arthur’s message, a terrifying thought suddenly sprang into her mind.
’Could the Wizard be one of those ridiculously old geezers from the Eastern Alliance, or maybe the Assassin Alliance?’
’Never showing his true self, and not being very clear on current events... that perfectly matches the characteristics of those old geezers who use cyber-technology to sustain their lives!’
The more the Capitalist thought about it, the more mysterious it all seemed. For a moment, she actually lost the desire to dig into Lin Qi’s true identity.
She was afraid of unearthing a terrifying truth.
As for Lin Qi himself, he looked at King Arthur’s message, hesitated for a moment, and then...
Wizard: "[-_-], cyber-smile.emoji"
Thanks to Guang Ling’s wisdom in keeping the copy-paste function in the temporary session, Lin Qi was saved a lot of trouble.
To be honest, Lin Qi really didn’t know how to respond to King Arthur’s mini-essay.
He couldn’t just tell her...
’You’re overthinking it. I’m only Tier Two. What is there for you to transcend?!’
If he said that out loud, forget her Knight’s Spirit Badge condensing further—it would be a miracle if it didn’t shatter completely!
That being the case, it was better to play it cool and aloof.
As long as King Arthur didn’t know his real identity, then in her mind, the "Wizard" could be as powerful as her imagination allowed!
’Go on, little Knight girl, be bold! Just assume the Wizard is a Tier Five master!’
’No, not just Tier Five. Maybe behind the ID "Wizard" is an existence that transcends the limits of the professional Level system!’
’Just imagine him on the same level as that Blood Moon from the Doomsday World!’
That would give her something to transcend for a long, long time.
Lin Qi felt he had done a good deed, preventing King Arthur from having a mental breakdown.
Little did he know, King Arthur was, in fact, having a mental breakdown at that very moment.
Sitting in the large, intercontinental Floating Vehicle, King Arthur’s head was spinning as she stared at the message in the Highest Level temporary session.
’Oh no!’
’She killed the chat!’
’No one is talking anymore!’
’What did she say wrong?’
’Why am I being treated like this?’
King Arthur thought for a moment, her composure starting to crumble.
But thankfully, she wasn’t the one who had sent the last message in the chat window. The Wizard was.
’The Wizard’s a pretty good guy, after all.’
Comforting herself with this thought, King Arthur pressed the service bell for her luxury cabin.
"Hello, how may I help you? Intercontinental Super-Transport Corporation, at your service!"
King Arthur: "Bring me a glass of 2082 Lafite!"
After so many years of hardship in the Asian Administrative Region, she had finally returned. It was time to live a little extravagantly.
"I’m sorry, this is an ultra-luxury flight, so we didn’t stock an inferior product like the 2082 vintage. However, we do have a bottle from 117 years ago, from the Nation Era..."
King Arthur: "How many Credit Points?"
"A mere 990,000 Credit Points."
King Arthur: "I don’t need you anymore, thank you!"
’She’d gotten rich, not stupid!’
...
In the Alliance Mansion, Lin Qi pulled his focus away from the Highest Level temporary session.
He would have to wait a little longer before he could message Aishwarya.
The "send" button in the chat box was still grayed out.
Guang Ling had said 24 hours, and it meant 24 hours. It wouldn’t grant Lin Qi access even a second early.
This showed that Guang Ling was probably facing a considerable risk.
After all, Aishwarya was a permanent council member with many tricks up her sleeve. Contacting her was like negotiating with a tiger for its hide.
This applied to both Lin Qi and his technical support, Guang Ling.
’The goal of contacting Aishwarya this time is still twofold. First, intelligence on Ninghang Technology’s secret channels. I’ll maintain the same objective I told Aishwarya last time, as this is a request from the Mercenary Corps.’
’Second, I need Aishwarya to continue putting pressure on Jin Yuanxi. His own methods are not to be underestimated, so he can’t be allowed to detect the connection between me, Liu Xuan, and Aishwarya.’
’I have to make Jin Yuanxi’s head hurt. He must be left wondering why Aishwarya is relentlessly hounding him. That’s the only way I can remain perfectly hidden behind the scenes.’
Having confirmed his plan, the next step was to formulate his words.
Just as Lin Qi was lost in thought, far away in the Alliance Mansion, Aishwarya could no longer sit still. She turned to the person beside her and asked, "You still can’t locate the anomalous program on my personal terminal? And you’re telling me you can’t even extract the chat window?"
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