Dual Worlds: I Have a Doomsday World

Lin Qi did some quick mental calculations and felt the risk in Red Fruit City wasn’t that high.

Besides, with a Tier Four individual of Baili Xueyuan’s caliber personally overseeing Red Fruit City, any unforeseen incidents would most likely remain under control.

After he finished thinking, Lin Qi kept his gaze on Guang Ling and took the initiative to ask, "How should we proceed? How do we find the true mother sample and the sole Bearer?"

"That will require intelligence support, won’t it? I want more information about the Bearer and the mother sample. Of course, I can also share the intel I’ve obtained through my personal channels with all of you, free of charge."

The change in the Mercenary Corps’ mission had certainly captured some of Lin Qi’s attention.

But Lin Qi wouldn’t forget his primary objective.

Matters like the mother sample and the sole Bearer seemed somewhat distant to him; the crisis facing Red Fruit City, however, was imminent.

Lin Qi needed more intelligence to analyze the task Baili Xueyuan had given him.

Guang Ling nodded naturally. "Intelligence sharing is precisely what I was about to do next. Since Wizard has agreed to share the intel he’s acquired, I’ll share it with all of you on his behalf."

As Guang Ling spoke, they lifted the hand that was resting on their other arm and gave it a wave.

Detailed files instantly appeared in front of everyone.

"This is the data I’ve collected regarding the new type of cyber psychosis, along with the information on the sample and the Bearer submitted by the mission issuer."

"According to our intelligence analysis, the new type of cyber psychosis is spread by the Bearer. Methods of transmission include, but are not limited to, direct contact, short-delay indirect contact, and blood transmission..."

"I hadn’t originally found a treatment for the new type of cyber psychosis, but Wizard submitted relevant intelligence. The treatment requires..."

As he looked over the intelligence, Lin Qi’s brow, hidden in the shadows, furrowed slightly.

This intelligence was almost all information Lin Qi already knew and offered little help.

What Lin Qi really wanted to know were the Bearer’s specific abilities, or the consequences of a mass outbreak of the new cyber psychosis.

Guang Ling’s intelligence didn’t touch on any of this.

Everyone was reviewing the intelligence, but Lin Qi was the first to follow up with a question. "Guang Ling, I’ve received intel that a mass outbreak of the new cyber psychosis will lead to catastrophic consequences. The Eastern Alliance is extremely opposed to this scenario, but I don’t know what those specific catastrophic consequences are."

Although the files were voluminous, the important parts were few. Capitalist and the others shifted their attention away from the files and onto Lin Qi.

Then they turned to look at Guang Ling.

Unfortunately, Guang Ling shook their head. "Regrettably, I haven’t obtained that piece of intelligence. It’s likely High Level, classified information within the Eastern Alliance."

Lin Qi was somewhat disappointed. This Mercenary Corps meeting hadn’t provided him with crucial intelligence like they usually did.

This wasn’t because the Highest-Level Mercenary Corps’ intelligence-gathering capabilities had declined, but rather because Lin Qi himself had obtained more information on his own.

The intelligence Lin Qi had acquired this time had even come directly from Baili Xueyuan—information that would be considered highly valuable to anyone on the outside.

"However..."

Lin Qi’s disappointment didn’t last long, as Guang Ling suddenly spoke again.

Lin Qi immediately listened intently.

"However, by collecting vast amounts of network information and hacking into the network devices of numerous organizations, I’ve gathered some clues."

"This so-called new type of cyber psychosis—or the Abnormal—is not appearing for the first time. Over the past few decades, cases have appeared sporadically in various major political zones."

"Furthermore, they are generally tied to special experiments conducted by Intercontinental Influences."

"Following these clues, I conducted a more in-depth investigation and ultimately found my way into the core databases of the Big Business Alliance in each political zone."

"In those databases, I accessed some image files containing fragmented keywords, but the information was too piecemeal to form actionable intelligence."

"If we want more intelligence, we might have to access the offline archives of the Intercontinental Influences and the Big Business Alliance."

Offline archives don’t use disconnected digital storage devices, but rather physical, paper documents. Every major power knows that no matter how heavily network devices are encrypted, it can never beat physical isolation. The best way to prevent a cyber hacker from getting in is to not store classified information on electronic devices in the first place. As it turns out, the major powers’ judgment was correct, which is why Guang Ling was unable to obtain the key information.

After hearing this part of Guang Ling’s explanation, the group’s gaze shifted once more, landing on Capitalist.

The Big Business Alliance’s offline archives?

Capitalist was perfectly capable of accessing them.

Capitalist didn’t seem the least bit surprised by the group’s reaction and replied calmly, "I will investigate. However, accessing the offline archives requires simultaneous authorization from no fewer than three permanent directors, or an official letter of inquiry from an Intercontinental Giant Corporation. I’ll need some time to make preparations."

Guang Ling’s intelligence had come a little too late. Even if Capitalist had a way to access the offline archives, it seemed unlikely they could get the information before Baili Xueyuan closed the net.

By the time Capitalist finished speaking, the others had mostly finished browsing the intelligence files Guang Ling had provided.

Everyone looked up. King Arthur and Master Ma asked almost in unison, "So what’s our next move?"

These two Tier Four Combat Powers in the Mercenary Corps were the most troubled. The change in the mission’s scope and the emergence of new intelligence had rendered their previous efforts all but useless.