Chapter 187: Chapter 162: Lin Qi Still Hasn’t Forgotten

Even before entering the Doomsday World, Lin Qi had sensed that the concentration of Spiritual Particles in the Cyber World was slowly increasing.

But the rate of increase was incredibly slow, less than one percent per year.

’But how much time has passed since then?’

The difference between the two worlds had shrunk from a factor of ten to nine.

This meant that in just half a month, the concentration of Spiritual Particles in the Cyber World had risen by more than ten percent!

’Why? Why would the concentration of Spiritual Particles in the Cyber World change like this?’

’Is this a change unique to Red Fruit City and the Asian Administrative Region, or is it happening globally?’

’If it’s the latter, then the truth behind it all could be truly terrifying.’

Lin Qi thought of the Blood Moon from the Doomsday World.

’Something similar isn’t going to appear in the Cyber World, is it?’

Lin Qi couldn’t be sure. The data he gathered just by sensing the Spiritual Particles was woefully insufficient; he was completely unable to deduce the truth.

’My Spiritual Vision may be special, but I can’t possibly be the only one who has noticed the change in Spiritual Particles.’

’Even without relying on Spiritual Vision, the Cyber World has plenty of indirect methods for monitoring Spiritual Particles.’

’I don’t need to be worrying unnecessarily in the Cyber World. The Tier Five Extraordinary powerhouses and those X-Class, fully augmented Jingang—they are the ones holding up this world.’

Lin Qi calmed himself.

Even if terrifying monsters like those from the Blood Moon appeared in the Cyber World, with the power humanity wielded here, they would likely have a way to deal with them.

They might even be able to tear down the Blood Moon itself and render it all into Extraordinary Materials for the big corporations to profit from.

But in any case, for Lin Qi personally, such a drastic change in the Cyber World was ultimately not a good thing.

A stable Cyber World was more conducive to his growth.

Lying on his bed, he shook his head to clear it of stray thoughts.

’Since the concentration of Spiritual Particles in the Cyber World has risen, I might as well keep up my Meditation habit.’

’Every little bit of strengthening helps.’

’Who knows, maybe breaking through ten or twenty minutes earlier will come with a pleasant surprise?’

Lin Qi consoled himself.

...

The night passed, and it was now nine in the morning.

Lin Qi hadn’t slept, having remained in a state of Meditation the entire night.

Although the effects were negligible compared to the speed of Meditation in the Doomsday World, it at least offered him some psychological comfort.

He left his room, ready to head to the office for work.

Unlike yesterday, Lin Qi didn’t see Liu Xuan the moment he opened his door.

He subconsciously activated his Spiritual Vision and discovered that Liu Xuan wasn’t in the villa.

Even her flying vehicle, which had been parked outside, was gone.

For once, Liu Xuan hadn’t engineered an "accidental" encounter with him.

This, however, only confused Lin Qi. It was out of character for Liu Xuan.

’Could she have run into some trouble?’

After thinking it over, Lin Qi concluded that Liu Xuan was unlikely to run into any real trouble in Red Fruit City.

Done with the needless worrying, Lin Qi piloted his own flying vehicle, enjoying a smooth ride to the top floor of the H4 Skyscraper.

Just as his flying vehicle touched down.

Lin Qi spotted a familiar flying vehicle.

They opened their doors at almost the exact same time.

"What a coincidence!"

"It really is!"

’The "accidental" encounter hadn’t been canceled, just delayed.’

’Or perhaps, it had simply reverted to its usual schedule.’

’Could it be that Liu Xuan had a crisis of conscience, realized that arranging an "accidental" meeting at his home was a bit forward, and decided to revert to the old schedule?’

Lin Qi couldn’t fathom Liu Xuan’s thinking.

Even after knowing her for so many years, he couldn’t discern the deeper meaning behind her actions.

The only thing Lin Qi could be sure of was that Liu Xuan treated him completely differently from everyone else. He just couldn’t be sure of the real reason behind her behavior.

’A crush? Love?’

’Perhaps. But Lin Qi disliked applying emotional labels to what should be a rational analysis.’

After greeting Liu Xuan, Lin Qi entered the elevator and managed to clock in at 9:59.

When the elevator doors opened, Lin Qi saw another familiar face.

Liu Weicai.

"Supervisor Liu, were you looking for me?"

Lin Qi looked at Liu Weicai, who nodded.

Lin Qi was puzzled. ’What does Liu Weicai want with me today?’

’The A-Class Potion development failed yesterday, so there’s no reason for him to come find me to talk about it today.’

"Come to my office. I have something important to discuss with you."

Lin Qi nodded and followed Liu Weicai into his office.

"Have a seat. Let’s talk."

After they entered the office, Liu Weicai personally pulled out a chair for Lin Qi.

Only after Lin Qi had taken a seat did Liu Weicai return to his own.

Shortly after sitting down, Liu Weicai cleared his throat and asked with a serious expression, "Lin Qi, how do you think I’ve treated you?"

"Supervisor Liu, I’m grateful for the opportunity you’ve given me."

Lin Qi’s swift answer seemed to satisfy Liu Weicai.

Liu Weicai continued, "If—and this is just a hypothetical—someone from another department wanted to poach you, but they wouldn’t offer you an A-Class package, you wouldn’t agree to go, would you?"

Liu Weicai’s tone remained cautious, almost unnaturally calm.

He looked into Lin Qi’s eyes, an expectant look on his face as he awaited the answer.

"Of course not. Staying in the Pharmaceutical Department is the best choice for my career development, especially with the company’s new policies."

Lin Qi was being completely sincere.

Relationships can be fickle, but shared interests have always been the strongest bond.

Just as Liu Weicai and Dong Wenlong had thought, Lin Qi also believed the company’s system for acquiring shares suited him perfectly.

If he stayed in the Pharmaceutical Department, that thirty percent stake was practically his for the taking.

’Switching departments?’

’The KPIs for earning points would inevitably change. It wouldn’t be as easy to farm them as it was now.’

PHEW!

Liu Weicai let out a huge sigh of relief.

’As expected of the guy I picked out!’

’As expected of the man a woman from the Liu Family has her eye on!’

After receiving Lin Qi’s answer, Liu Weicai finally got to the point. "The head of the company’s Prosthetic Engineering Department, the one for medical devices, used to be with the Red Fruit Weapon Research Institute. He knows you were on the priority development track for Prosthetic Engineering."

"He wants to poach you. I heard the head office—oh, wait, Liu’s Heavy Industries—assigned them a major corporate collaboration project. If I recall correctly, it’s with Ninghang Technology."

"He’s saying it’s some kind of revolutionary project that requires more talented people."

"Lin Qi, whatever you do, don’t fall for these rumors!"

"Prosthetic Engineering has been around for so many years. How could there possibly be any ’revolutionary’ projects left? It sounds like a total scam!"

Liu Weicai laid out the situation for Lin Qi, giving him a preemptive warning.

He wanted to prevent Lin Qi from buying into the rhetoric and rashly running back to the field of Prosthetic Engineering.

’A revolutionary project? Ninghang Technology?’

Lin Qi froze for a moment.

Lin Qi had just heard the name of this major corporation, Ninghang Technology, at the Highest Level security meeting yesterday.

’A revolutionary project?’

Guang Ling had said something similar.

If anyone else had said it, Lin Qi probably wouldn’t have believed them.

But this was information that had been verified by Guang Ling.

’This so-called revolutionary project might actually be real!’

Lin Qi pondered this inwardly.

’If I remember correctly, the Mercenary Corps’ new mission is to acquire Ninghang Technology’s research findings.’

’Guang Ling didn’t say what the bounty was, but I’m sure it’s not small.’

’This is technology that could help a major corporation ascend to the level of an intercontinental giant.’

Lin Qi thought about the Credit Points he owed Guang Ling.

His interest in the company’s project was immediately piqued.

’But why would a project like this fall to United Pharmaceutical?’

’Theoretically, Prosthetic Engineering is the bread and butter of Liu’s Heavy Industries.’

’A collaboration with Ninghang Technology should be a golden opportunity, something Liu’s Heavy Industries would be desperate to get.’

After long consideration, Lin Qi could only come to one conclusion.

Corporate warfare.

Ninghang Technology had most likely already been dragged into the vortex.

Liu’s Heavy Industries was unwilling to get directly involved but also didn’t want to pass up such a tempting prize.

So, Liu’s Heavy Industries had chosen United Pharmaceutical, the company Liu Xuan had established.

The two appeared independent, but thanks to the Liu Clan, they were effectively a single entity.

By participating through a proxy, the potential rewards would be the same, but the risks would be minimized.

At that moment, seeing the look on Lin Qi’s face, alarm bells went off in Liu Weicai’s mind.

’Not good!’

’Lin Qi still hasn’t forgotten about Prosthetic Engineering!’