Dual Worlds: I Have a Doomsday World

[I seem to be targeted. More than one Tier Four Extraordinary Professional has entered the underground pipe system, apparently looking for me.]

[I need backup. Right now, you’re the only expert I can contact in the entire Asian Administrative Region.]

’King Arthur is actually asking for help?’

Lin Qi frowned slightly. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to help.

The problem was that it was impossible for him to get away from Red Fruit City right now.

Besides, even if he could get to her, he might not be much help.

He was still just a Tier Three Wizard. Expecting him to fight a Tier Four was asking too much.

However, Lin Qi did have a theory about the sudden appearance of multiple Tier Four Extraordinaries.

He composed a message:

[I’m tied up at the moment. Something involving multiple Tier Four Extraordinary Professionals is happening on my end, too. But I might have some intel on your situation.]

[Can you identify those Tier Four Extraordinaries? Or even just their professions would work. I need some information to confirm my theory.]

He sent the message to King Arthur and waited for her reply.

Before long, a message from King Arthur came through.

[Identities? I haven’t confronted them directly yet. As for their professions... they seem to be focused on physical enhancement. They’re probably Martial Artists.]

[No, wait, I remember now. I heard their footsteps. They were very light, like they don’t have any large-scale prosthetics. That seems like the Eastern Alliance’s style.]

If they were from the Eastern Alliance, then Lin Qi’s theory was likely correct.

This was an operation by the Assassin Alliance. Not only had Baili Xueyuan come to Red Fruit City to handle a Bearer, but more Tier Four Extraordinary Professionals had also been dispatched to other Cyber Cities where other Bearers resided.

No wonder Lin Xin said this incident would take about three days to resolve. It seemed the Assassin Alliance was planning to strike in multiple regions simultaneously.

Lin Qi was about to compose a message when a new one arrived from King Arthur.

[These people are a handful. The underground pipe system is supposed to be my home turf—no one knows this environment better than me! But somehow they can pinpoint my location, almost like they have inside information.]

[This is just ridiculous. Not even Guang Ling could pinpoint my location in the underground pipe system. There’s no network equipment down here, so how on earth can they keep tracking me?]

King Arthur was just venting at this point. She’d been cooped up in the sewers for too long, and now, on top of everything, she was being relentlessly hunted.

Lin Qi composed a message:

[Give me a few minutes. I need to confirm something.]

Lin Qi deleted the message he had been about to send to King Arthur and retracted the wristband into his prosthetic arm.

He walked to the workshop door and opened it a crack.

Lin Qi’s Intelligent Brain immediately picked up a weak cyber network signal.

He composed and sent a message to Lin Xin: "Come down for a second. I’m waiting for you in the workshop."

When it came to the Eastern Alliance, Lin Xin would know the most.

Lin Qi needed to ask her a few questions, but he wouldn’t touch on any core information she was required to keep secret.

...

In the reception area, Lin Xin saw the message on her personal terminal, casually blanked the screen, and put it away.

She spoke casually. "I’m going downstairs to grab something. I want to show my sister-in-law some of the old junk Lin Qi tinkered with before he joined the company. It’s pretty interesting."

Lin Xin didn’t elaborate, worried that Lin Qi was going to ask sensitive questions that Sister Li shouldn’t overhear.

’Otherwise, there would have been no need for Lin Qi to go downstairs to message me. He could have just shouted.’

"Alright," Liu Xuan replied with a smile, the blue light in her left eye flashing for an instant.

Lin Xin walked straight out of the reception area, hurried down the stairs, and arrived at Lin Qi’s workshop.

She pushed open the ajar door, stepped inside, and shut it behind her.

Lin Xin knew the workshop’s construction well. Once the door was closed, almost no known surveillance method could penetrate it.

Seeing Lin Qi sitting in a chair, the smile on Lin Xin’s face vanished, replaced by a serious expression. "Alright, what is it?" she asked.

Lin Qi pointed to another chair beside the operating table, gesturing for her to sit down.

His expression turned equally serious as he began, "I need to ask you something. It might involve sensitive information on your end. If it’s a matter of protocol, just tell me you can’t answer."

Lin Xin’s frown deepened when she heard this.

’Honestly, if the answer was really that important to Lin Qi, she didn’t think she would refuse to answer, even if it violated protocol.’

’Choosing between the organization and her family wasn’t even a question for her.’

’Family would always come first.’

Lin Qi seemed to know what she was thinking, so he added, "The answer isn’t as important to me as you imagine. If it really violates your confidentiality protocols, just forget I asked."

He emphasized the point again. He didn’t want to use their relationship to pressure her.

’But everything from King Arthur to the mission from the Highest-Level Mercenary Corps involved the Blood Moon of the Cyber World.’

’This was about the future of Wizard Professionals, and the future of the Cyber World itself.’

Lin Xin’s frown slowly smoothed out as she quickly put the pieces together.

’What was there to be conflicted about?’

’Lin Qi hadn’t even asked his question yet. She could worry about it after he did!’

"Go ahead and ask. I’ll make my own judgment." Lin Xin sat down, her posture relaxing.