Dual Worlds: I Have a Doomsday World

His tone rose slightly, as if to express dissatisfaction.

Of course, Lin Qi was just putting on an act.

Whether he was satisfied or not, the right move was to act dissatisfied.

It was a basic negotiating stance.

Ding Yang discreetly glanced at Wang Ziru, thinking, ’The Mo University Camp has some bad apples! How did Lin Qi get influenced by such a scoundrel!’

Both Lin Qi and Wang Ziru saw Ding Yang’s subtle action.

Lin Qi remained impassive, while Wang Ziru looked completely unconcerned.

’If I don’t take the blame, who will?’

As the official second-in-command of the Mo University Camp, Wang Ziru had long been mentally prepared to be the "bad guy."

He didn’t need to care about anyone else’s opinion; as long as Lin Qi trusted him, that was enough.

For this reason, not only did Wang Ziru feel no shame, he became rather aggressive. "Director Ding," he said, "considering all the support our Mo University Camp gives the Headquarters, I’m not saying you should send us eighty or a hundred Tier Three Extraordinary Items, but surely twenty or thirty should be the bare minimum, right?"

"Our Mo University Camp is always on the front lines against the Doomsday World. Even Major Wang Qiang, who was assigned to protect us, was persuaded by Lin Qi to take our camp’s newest equipment and leave to provide support elsewhere."

"All Lin Qi needs is some Extraordinary Items, so how can the Headquarters be so cheap?"

"If you ask me..."

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Wang Ziru began to ramble on, playing the "bad guy" role to perfection.

Watching this, Ding Yang felt a headache coming on. There was a sense of déjà vu to Wang Ziru’s whole act.

He remembered when he was the one who had come to the Mo University Camp, calling them a "brother unit" while asking for support. He’d had pretty much the same shameless look on his face.

But now, it seemed the tables had turned.

Ding Yang sighed and said, "Lin Qi, there’s something you don’t know. It seems the Headquarters has had a breakthrough in their research on Extraordinary Items. The Academy of Sciences has requisitioned a large number of Tier Three Extraordinary Items, and I had a hard time getting even these five for you."

Lin Qi was somewhat surprised to hear this.

’A technological breakthrough?’

’Is the Doomsday World’s Headquarters really that impressive?’

Recalling the mysterious air the Headquarters had previously maintained, Lin Qi’s brow furrowed slightly.

Wang Ziru, at his side, said no more. He had done all he could; the rest was a matter for the decision-makers, and he would not speak again to influence Lin Qi’s thoughts.

Lin Qi finally let go of Ding Yang’s hand. "Director Ding, please, have a seat. Everyone has their difficulties. As brother units, we should be understanding of each other."

Lin Qi’s attitude had softened somewhat.

There was no need to be too aggressive. He needed to maintain his connection with Ding Yang, who was his key intermediary with the Doomsday World’s Headquarters.

For the time being, Lin Qi did not want to deal with the Headquarters directly.

Ding Yang looked as if he had been granted a pardon. He wiped imaginary sweat from his forehead and sat down.

"Lin Qi, on behalf of the Headquarters, I must once again thank the Mo University Camp for your help with Major Wang Qiang. You not only saved his life but also gave him even greater combat strength."

"This has significantly reduced the pressure that Tier Four Monsters have been putting on our Dragon Country."

Ding Yang had heard about Wang Qiang’s situation upon returning to Hongshan Camp this time.

It was said that just earlier today, Wang Qiang had already headed to the Eastern Coastal Area to eliminate a Tier Four Monster.

It should be noted that in peacetime, the Eastern Coastal Area of Dragon Country was an economically developed region with a very dense population. The number of survivors there was extremely high.

For a Tier Four Monster to appear in such a place, the only way for the Headquarters to deal with it would have been to use nuclear weapons.

And that would mean... the sacrifice of countless innocent people.

For the Headquarters, this was a classic trolley problem that they had to face.

For the continuation of civilization, such sacrifices had already been accounted for in the Headquarters’ plans.

But now, thanks to Lin Qi’s intervention and the increase in Wang Qiang’s combat power, it seemed there was a new solution to this trolley problem.

Ding Yang had come to deliver the Extraordinary Items to Lin Qi in person this time, fully prepared to discuss this matter in detail.

Lin Qi could tell Ding Yang was hinting at something more. "Director Ding," he said, "let’s not beat around the bush. We know each other well enough by now. Just say what you need to say."

The corner of Ding Yang’s eye twitched. He rubbed his nose to ease the awkwardness and then said, "Lin Qi, what I’m about to say isn’t part of my mission. It’s my own speculation about the Headquarters’ next move."

Bringing the conversation to the main topic, Ding Yang’s expression became much more formal, and his tone grew solemn:

"I went to the Headquarters this time and saw a lot of my old comrades-in-arms. I heard something."

"Cases like Wang Qiang’s are no longer rare at the Headquarters. To ease the defensive pressure on local sectors, many elite prospects have chosen to follow Wang Qiang’s path."

"And for that very reason, the Headquarters is paying much more attention to Tier Three Extraordinary Items."

"I heard the Headquarters is trying to use Extraordinary Items to create something similar to... the Prosthetic Bodies you have here at the Mo University Camp."

Theoretically, what Ding Yang was doing counted as leaking classified information.

But in Ding Yang’s eyes, Lin Qi was an impeccably righteous figure. He was simply giving Lin Qi a heads-up based on his own speculation.

Lin Qi quickly processed the information Ding Yang had revealed, then asked, "Director Ding, are you saying that the Headquarters might send someone to talk to me about healing Wang Qiang?"

Ding Yang nodded and continued to feed Lin Qi information. "I’ve heard that many promising prospects have been driven nearly mad with pain after having Extraordinary Items implanted. Some even held on for a while, helped their local camps resolve a crisis, and then chose to... end their own lives."

"Even among the many strong-willed prospects, their mental states are on the verge of collapse."

"News that you healed Wang Qiang will probably reach the Headquarters today. They should be sending someone to negotiate with you very soon."

Lin Qi now had a general understanding of the situation.

The Dragon Country Command Headquarters certainly has guts, he thought. ’After seeing how well implanting an Extraordinary Item worked on Wang Qiang, they actually went ahead and started doing it on a large scale.’

Although not all Extraordinary Items were suitable for this kind of implantation, the sheer number of them in the Doomsday World was just too large.

Even by testing them one by one, the Headquarters had managed to identify a batch of useful Extraordinary Items.

Lin Qi remained expressionless, his prosthetic right arm resting on the table. His metal index and middle fingers tapped alternately on the solid wood of the conference table, like the rhythmic striking of a wooden fish, a sound that was somewhat irritating to hear.

Seeing this, Wang Ziru at his side reacted instantly and hurriedly said, "Lin Qi, you can’t agree to this!"

"Healing just one Wang Qiang has taken you from yesterday until now to recover! The difference between healing an Extraordinary Professional and a normal person is too great. It consumes a huge amount of your Spiritual Power and might even harm your soul!"

"The Headquarters doesn’t even care if its own Warriors live or die, so you don’t need to get involved!"

"You are the absolute core of our Mo University Camp! The future development of all our Prosthetic Bodies depends on you!"

"Especially the S-Class Prosthetic Body made for Wang Qiang—its parts are too complex! In the entire camp, you’re the only one who can craft it by hand. It’s impossible to mass-produce."

"If our Mo University Camp wants to create more S-Class Prosthetic Body Implanters in the future, each one will take you one or two weeks."

"If you waste your time healing common Warriors, the loss will far outweigh the gain!"

Lin Qi had just been thinking about the S-Class Prosthetic Body, wondering if the Headquarters, in addition to sending people for treatment, would also have designs on the S-Class Prosthetic Body itself.

He hadn’t expected Wang Ziru to be so quick-witted as to have already come up with a perfect excuse for him.

Lin Qi didn’t need to say a word. He just had to maintain his posture and continue tapping the table with his metal fingers.

After saying this, Wang Ziru looked at Lin Qi with a look of earnest concern, as if he were genuinely worried about him.

Ding Yang took in the entire scene.

He was moved and thought, ’So Lin Qi has really sacrificed this much? I have to do something...’