Modu University, Club Activity Building.
Lin Qi and Xia Chu returned to a familiar place.
The mecha was parked outside the building, its cockpit open and leading directly to the building's second floor.
"There's something on that rooftop drawing us upstairs. The rescue team was most likely wiped out," Lin Qi told Xia Chu.
Xia Chu asked worriedly, "Then what should we do now?"
It was already late, and there was less than an hour left on the [Door]'s cooldown.
"First, we rest. Tomorrow, we'll organize a rescue for the Mo University students."
"We probably can't count on the official rescue team anytime soon. We need to save ourselves."
Lin Qi wanted to organize a group of people.
The Doomsday World was too vast. Lin Qi couldn't rely solely on himself to collect Extraordinary Items; he needed the help of more people.
Lin Qi had his eye on the students from Modu University.
These hard-to-kill university students were high-quality talent. If equipped with Exoskeletons, Prosthetic Bodies, and Mecha, they would undoubtedly become a capable workforce.
However, Lin Qi needed to raise the banner of self-rescue and mutual aid.
After all, the official government of the Doomsday World still existed. It was only a single rescue team that had been wiped out.
"Okay."
Xia Chu maintained her trust in Lin Qi.
Besides, rescuing her fellow students was something Xia Chu absolutely supported.
Mutual aid, solidarity, and camaraderie—this was part of Xia Chu's fundamental moral character as a university student.
The two of them returned upstairs.
Although the mecha had torn a hole in the experimental workshop, Xia Chu was more familiar with the environment upstairs. She just needed to find a different room to rest in.
As for Lin Qi, he retrieved some clothes from the Cyber World out of the mecha's storage unit and then entered the bathroom.
...
March 3, 2089, 12:55 AM.
Lin Qi returned to the Cyber World. His posture was the same as before, with no noticeable changes.
Only upon close inspection would one notice that, compared to the moment before, Lin Qi's beard was slightly longer, his hair had grown a bit, and his physiological age had increased by twenty-four hours.
This subtle difference was imperceptible. Even if Lin Qi stood under the surveillance cameras of Red Fruit City, the anomaly would likely go undetected.
Recalling the events of the past twenty-four hours, the frequent travel between the two worlds left Lin Qi feeling a little disoriented.
'I need to head to the company early today. I have to be there by seven in the morning.'
'After I go to Greenfield City, I probably won't be able to return to Red Fruit City for a while. Dad will have to deal with Lin Xin's issues, but if something major happens, my only option is to ask Guang Ling for help.'
'After arriving in Greenfield City, I need to make a request to Guang Ling tomorrow. I have to establish a secure communication channel with King Arthur.'
'Greenfield City is still very high-risk for me. Publicly, I'm an L-Class Implanter, but secretly, I'm only hiding the power of a Tier One Wizard and Tier One physical abilities.'
Lin Qi organized his thoughts.
The trip to Greenfield City was arranged by the company and couldn't be changed, but the risk wouldn't fall directly on him.
The ones truly caught in the crisis were the Liu and Si Clans; Lin Qi was merely an add-on.
But when it came to a crisis, Lin Qi was not entirely powerless.
Wizard powers were unconventional. Though Spiritual Vision and Blood Manipulation weren't strong on their own, the combination of the two posed a great threat to Implanters.
As long as no Tier Three or higher Extraordinaries targeted him, Lin Qi could still guarantee his own safety.
After sorting out his thoughts, Lin Qi realized that the turmoil in the two cities didn't affect him much. The real trouble still stemmed from the Assassin Alliance—and from his disobedient sister.
'I need to contact King Arthur as soon as possible. I need more information on the Assassin Alliance.'
Lin Qi decisively used his Intelligent Brain to compose and send an email to the Highest Level secure mailbox.
Guang Ling's reply came quickly: "I will hold an emergency meeting at midnight tomorrow. Once I have King Arthur's consent, I can try to help you find a secure method of contact."
This was still in an environment with no internet access.
The email had been sent and a reply received successfully.
But the content of the reply was somewhat surprising to Lin Qi.
'With Guang Ling's mastery over networks, they can't help me establish secure communications with King Arthur? They actually need to find another way?'
Lin Qi didn't understand, but he didn't ask.
Everyone has their secrets, especially Guang Ling, who was the founder of a Highest-Level Mercenary Corps and the most mysterious of its five members.
Leaving the workshop, Lin Qi composed another email and sent it to his father, Doctor Lin.
"I've accepted a job transfer and need to go to Greenfield City. I might not be back in Red Fruit City for a while. You'll need to keep a close eye on things regarding Lin Xin..."
It was just a typical, concerned message. Lin Qi didn't think his father had the ability to handle the trouble from the Assassin Alliance.
Leaving the Prosthetic Clinic, Lin Qi boarded a flying vehicle.
He had to be at the company by seven in the morning, so Lin Qi planned to return to the employee apartments to rest.
The journey was uneventful, and the night passed quickly.
At 6:58 AM, Lin Qi arrived on the top floor of the Weapon Research Institute, cutting it close as usual.
As expected, a flying vehicle landed on the platform at almost the same moment.
"What a coincidence. Good morning." Beside Liu Xuan stood Liu Li.
Liu Xuan was as composed as ever, but Liu Li shot Lin Qi a dirty look.
"Quite the coincidence."
This was practically their daily interaction.
This scene played out every workday.
As usual, they took their separate elevators.
When Lin Qi stepped into the elevator, it automatically clocked him in.
Time: 6:59
After Lin Qi entered the elevator, the voice of the company's intelligent system came on.
"Researcher Lin Qi, you have been temporarily promoted to A-level Researcher. Per company arrangements, you will take the Red and Green Train to the Greenfield City branch to assume your post today."
"The elevator will stop on the first floor. The train is currently docked at the [Weapon Research Institute Station]. The Liu's Heavy Industries carriages are numbers 1 and 2. Based on your clearance, you have been assigned to carriage 2."
The Red and Green Train was the rail link between the cities of Red Fruit and Greenfield.
Generally speaking, it was rarely used. It had been a long time since its last departure.
Transportation between the two cities typically relied on flying vehicles.
Lin Qi guessed the reason this old train was being put back into service was because of the [Iron Curtain System].
However, with his level of clearance, Lin Qi didn't have access to the Iron Curtain System and had no idea how it worked.
The elevator soon came to a stop on the first floor.
The elevator doors opened.
"What a coincidence."
"It is quite a coincidence."
Having entered the elevators on the top floor at the same time, it was only natural for the doors to open on the first floor simultaneously.
Lin Qi once again found himself facing the two sisters, Liu Xuan and Liu Li.
They exited the first-floor lobby one after the other, and Lin Qi boarded the company shuttle.
Once aboard, Lin Qi looked out the window.
Somehow, the flying vehicle the two sisters had arrived in was now waiting at the first-floor entrance, and they boarded it again.
"..."
Lin Qi was speechless.
No wonder Liu Li was so resentful.
To this day, Lin Qi still didn't understand why Liu Xuan was so obsessed with engineering these "coincidental" meetings.
Lin Qi hadn't ridden in a ground vehicle for a long time. He looked from side to side, taking in the scenery.
Before he knew it, that inexplicable feeling of being watched washed over him again.
'More mercenaries?'