Chapter 556 - 343: Arriving at World City
As he mulled it over, Lin Qi used his Blood Manipulation to retrieve the newly acquired Tier Two Crystal Stone from nearly three kilometers away.
His Spiritual Tentacles materialized and opened the conference room window. The blood-wrapped Crystal Stone floated before him.
’My third Tier Three Ability, Spatial Pulling, may not be invincible, but its destructive power is sufficient.’
’Paired with my fourth Tier Three Ability, the enhanced Spiritual Vision, my combat radius has increased to three kilometers. I should be safe enough for this trip to World City.’
’As for Tier Four...’
Lin Qi assessed his current Spiritual Power and estimated that it would take about a week before he could begin analyzing a Tier Four Extraordinary Item.
Based on the calendar, that would still be during the World City conference.
Today was April 12th. The World City Peace Conference was scheduled to start on April 16th. The conference procedures were complex, involving hundreds of different sub-fields.
Even if all the sub-committee meetings started simultaneously, calculating the Weight and the final peace summit itself would be a long, drawn-out affair.
The entire conference would most likely last no less than ten days, possibly even half a month.
’Even if armed conflict breaks out during the peace conference, it will likely be in the latter half, after the distribution of benefits fails to satisfy the demands of certain factions. That’s when tensions will truly escalate.’
’The risk during the first half of the conference should be manageable. I have enough time to advance to Tier Four.’
Although this was his line of thought, Lin Qi’s actions were diligent.
After experimenting with his abilities for a bit, he immediately resumed his Meditation.
’If I just Meditate hard enough and make use of the time when efficiency is halved, I can definitely advance to Tier Four much sooner.’
...
𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶
「7:00 AM, April 12th, 2089. Red Fruit City, Liu’s Heavy Industries’ new headquarters.」
Lin Qi arrived at the parking lot, piloting a Floating Vehicle that looked like an antique.
This particular Floating Vehicle was completely out of place among the others.
Anyone who worked at Liu’s Heavy Industries would buy a decent Floating Vehicle, even if it meant taking out a loan that could bankrupt them.
It was a matter of face, and the basis for maintaining a normal social life at the company.
For this very reason, while the company’s employees were the highest earners in Red Fruit City, they were also the most indebted.
"Whose vehicle is that? Why does it have clearance to park in an executive spot?"
"That thing looks like a total piece of junk, doesn’t it?"
"What do you know! I just looked it up. That’s a ’Nao Hai 2050 model.’ Nao Hai Company went out of business that year, so even though the model isn’t expensive and you can’t even find repair parts for it, it has a certain collector’s value."
"Oh, I see... So which executive’s vehicle is it? To choose such a... unique brand."
The new employees of Liu’s Heavy Industries watched with extremely complicated expressions. Most of them had just graduated from Liu’s Academy and had only gotten the chance to work at the company because of the recent disaster in Red Fruit City.
Almost every single one of them had just taken on a huge amount of debt.
So, seeing Lin Qi’s "unique" vehicle now, their feelings were naturally complicated.
Some were disdainful, but others were envious...
If it weren’t for the need to socialize normally at the company, who among them would be willing to take on an employee loan to buy an expensive Floating Vehicle?
Lin Qi stepped out of the Floating Vehicle and glanced around.
A strange look flashed in his eyes.
’Forget it, what am I even thinking? The few legitimate Credit Points I have left were borrowed from Lin Xin.’
’This old vehicle of mine still works, and I’m quite used to driving it!’
After comforting himself a little, Lin Qi stared straight ahead, not sparing another glance at the brand-new vehicles around him as he walked directly toward the company building.
When the new employees of Liu’s Heavy Industries saw Lin Qi’s face, they had a sudden realization.
"I recognize him! That’s Divine Power Lin Qi!"
"So it’s him... I remember seeing in the news that his vehicle was the latest Mische model. Why’d he switch to this... ’collector’s item’?"
"Maybe it’s just a top expert’s hobby."
"I’ve decided! I’m going to get the same model vehicle as Divine Power Lin Qi!"
"Have you even paid off the loan for your Divine Iron Bull yet?"
"I’m going to sell my current vehicle! My taste will now align with Divine Power Lin Qi’s!"
"Hiss... That makes sense! I’m going to get the same model too!"
Lin Qi had no idea that his casual appearance had just relieved a huge amount of pressure for a large number of new employees at Liu’s Heavy Industries.
They finally had an excuse to switch to a more "beat-up" Floating Vehicle!
The pressure of their loans plummeted.
...
At the top floor of the new Liu’s Heavy Industries building, Lin Qi met up with Liu Xuan.
Just like his previous trip to Alliance City, Lin Qi would be traveling on a large-scale Floating Vehicle.
To ensure their safety, the Liu Clan had even requested a route that overlapped with the Eastern Alliance’s Floating Vehicles. They would be traveling almost in tandem, one right after the other.
After meeting up, Lin Qi and Liu Xuan began to chat naturally.
Not far away, Liu Xingyuan watched with a complicated expression. He clapped Liu Xinglu on the shoulder and said in a low voice, "Xinglu, I’m entrusting this mission to you. The Liu Clan isn’t sending many people to the peace conference. Including you, Liu Xuan, and even counting Lin Qi, there are only six of us."
"Don’t worry about trying to seize Weight for the Alliance. Staying low-profile and ensuring your own safety is the most important thing."
"I have a bad feeling that this peace conference might not be as safe as we imagine."
"If it weren’t for the Alliance’s regulations, I would rather the Liu Clan not participate in this conference at all."