Dual Worlds: I Have a Doomsday World

"Besides, this second plan is just a personal proposal of mine. It wasn’t part of the Assassin Alliance’s original strategy."

"The choice is yours to make."

Baili Xueyuan added one last thing, "If you decide to give it a try, you can have Lin Xin contact me before tomorrow evening."

Baili Xueyuan turned, and the light and shadows around her began to show faint signs of distortion. It seemed she was about to leave the Prosthetic Clinic as silently as she had before.

But then she seemed to remember something. The distortion of light and shadow ceased. She took a data chip from her pocket and said, "This is a list of all individuals who have become Abnormals so far. After you’ve read it, remember to give it to Liu Xuan. The first plan still requires cooperation between the two companies."

The chip was placed on Lin Qi’s surgical table.

In the next instant, the light and shadows shifted, and Baili Xueyuan vanished from the Prosthetic Clinic.

Staring at the empty workshop, Lin Qi didn’t even bother using his Spiritual Vision to search for any trace of Baili Xueyuan.

He simply sat alone in his chair, lost in deep thought for a long time.

’How should I decide?’

’Is there even anything to think about?’

’As long as I’m not an idiot, I won’t get involved.’

’What do the lives of company employees have to do with me?’

’At most, it’ll weaken the company for a while. It won’t affect its core interests in the slightest.’

Lin Qi glanced at the chip on the surgical table. As if compelled, he walked over and picked it up.

He inserted it into his prosthetic data port. Name after name was projected onto his retinas, flashing by in rapid succession.

[United Pharmaceutical, Prosthetic Engineering Department, Wei Wutao]

[United Pharmaceutical, Prosthetic Engineering Department, Wu Lvyan]

...

United Pharmaceutical’s Prosthetic Engineering Department had been practically wiped out. They were the group who’d had the most prolonged contact with Ning Hao, the Bearer, so it was no surprise they hadn’t escaped.

In addition to United Pharmaceutical, Ning Hao had also deliberately gone after employees of Liu’s Heavy Industries.

...

[Liu’s Heavy Industries, Red Fruit Weapon Research Institute, Management Department, Wei Wei]

...

Another familiar name flashed by.

Many of the names on the list were vaguely familiar to Lin Qi.

A former supervisor.

A colleague who had mentored him in Prosthetic Engineering just a short while ago.

As Lin Qi stared at the list, a bitter feeling welled up inside him.

If Lin Qi had been a native of the Cyber World, he would have struggled to feel any empathy.

But Lin Qi was a transmigrator, and his current, colder personality had been slowly shaped over the last twenty years.

’No, that’s not right. Why did Baili Xueyuan give this list to me? She could have just given it directly to Liu Xuan.’

Lin Qi had a degree of empathy and a moral compass, but when faced with major decisions, his rational side always took precedence.

Even the presence of familiar names on the list was unlikely to sway his final decision.

After all, when weighed against the people on the list, Lin Qi valued his own safety and the safety of his family far more.

He couldn’t bring himself to put his own life in danger for these "familiar strangers."

Lin Qi’s focus shifted back to Baili Xueyuan’s actions.

’Why was this chip given to me?’

’Baili Xueyuan must have done it on purpose!’

’According to Baili Xueyuan, the second plan wasn’t created by the Assassin Alliance, but was her own idea.’

’In a way, this means Baili Xueyuan is a "good person." She actually wants me to step in and help.’

’Putting this chip in front of me is the best proof of that. She’s trying to influence my decision through these subtle actions.’

’No, that’s still not right. Would a major figure with significant influence in the Assassin Alliance, and even the Eastern Alliance, really change an operational plan on a whim, just based on her own ideas?’

’Absolutely not!’

’In other words, maybe she lied to me. This isn’t her idea at all, but the plan of the Assassin Alliance or the Eastern Alliance...’

Lin Qi tried to find the truth in the details.

But his intelligence was limited. He ultimately knew too little about the Assassin Alliance and the Eastern Alliance to deduce anything further.

With the chip in hand, Lin Qi left the workshop.

He went up the stairs back to the first floor.

In the reception area on the first floor, Liu Xuan, Lin Xin, Doctor Lin, and even Sister Li were all looking at Lin Qi.

Lin Xin was the first to speak. "Lin Qi, has my teacher left?"

Lin Qi nodded. He walked over to the sofa in the reception area, sat down, and placed the chip on the table in front of him.

"She asked me to bring this to you," he said. "It’s the list of personnel infected with the new type of cyber psychosis. The follow-up operation will require the company’s cooperation."

Lin Qi didn’t forget to relay Baili Xueyuan’s message as he handed the chip to Liu Xuan.

Liu Xuan didn’t pay the chip much mind. This was just the first version of the list; if things continued as they were, there would be more names to come.

She looked at Lin Qi with concern. "The employees infected with cyber psychosis have already lost their value. The current plan is perfectly fine. You don’t need to take any more risks."

Liu Xuan didn’t know what the other plan Baili Xueyuan had mentioned was, but whatever it was, she didn’t want Lin Qi to risk himself.

Lin Xin, standing to the side, shared Liu Xuan’s opinion. "Lin Qi, you’re a company director. You should know what to do for the sake of self-preservation. You’re not some hero, not the so-called Legend those thugs worship. I don’t know what my teacher told you, but for the good of the company, for Liu Xuan, or for... our family, you shouldn’t be having any wild ideas. Don’t take the risk."

Lin Xin held the typical mindset of the Cyber World’s middle class.

Live your own life, and respect the fate of others.

Even though she’d joined the Assassin Alliance, Lin Xin had no aspirations of becoming some so-called legend.

Hearing the pleas from Lin Xin and Liu Xuan, Sister Li remained silent.

It wasn’t her place to interfere, nor should she try to persuade him in any way.

In fact, from her perspective, the first plan was the Assassin Alliance’s standard operating procedure for handling such matters.

Of everyone there, only the old man, Doctor Lin, didn’t try to persuade him. He stood up, walked over to Lin Qi, and clapped him on the shoulder. "The choice is yours to make. I won’t interfere. Just make sure you don’t regret it."

Doctor Lin knew Lin Qi through and through.

Ever since he was a child, Lin Qi had been fiercely independent.

Once Lin Qi made a choice, no one could interfere.

For example, when Lin Qi had decided to study at Liu’s Academy, Doctor Lin had thought it was pointless. But Lin Qi had been so determined that he’d taken on private prosthetic surgery jobs on the side just to save up enough Credit Points to attend.

Over time, Doctor Lin had stopped interfering with Lin Qi’s decisions and had even come to support all of his choices.

Lin Qi looked up at them. His expression wasn’t heavy; instead, he wore a relaxed smile. "Don’t worry," he said. "I know what I’m doing."

With that, Lin Qi stood up and headed back down the stairs to his workshop in the basement.

Lin Qi needed to sort through more intelligence to help him make a decision.

And where would he get that intelligence?

Naturally...

[Guang Ling, I’ve run into some trouble. It’s closely related to our current mission. The Eastern Alliance has fully intervened in the incident with the original sample’s Bearer, and I’ve been dragged into it. I want more intel on the Bearer and this new type of cyber psychosis. As far as I know, those infected with it are what the Eastern Alliance calls Abnormals...]

The intelligence would, of course, come from Guang Ling.

Lin Qi hadn’t forgotten that his Highest-Level Mercenary Corps was still on the mission to "acquire the original sample."

As a member of the Mercenary Corps and a participant in the mission, Lin Qi had the right to know more.

Guang Ling didn’t keep Lin Qi waiting long and replied quickly.

[I’ve already communicated with the client through the Black Market. The mission parameters have changed, and they’ve already settled a partial payment with us. I’m setting up server resources now. I plan to hold a Highest Level security meeting at midnight on the 30th. I’ll share the intel you’re looking for during the meeting.]