Dual Worlds: I Have a Doomsday World

The network Guang Ling used seemed to be entirely separate from the cyber network. No matter what kind of network interference was in place, it didn’t stop Lin Qi from sending Guang Ling an email.

Lin Qi quickly made his arrangements.

I need to set up a cloud server running a trigger-based algorithm, and I need to forge the server’s timestamp. Set the initial time to any point this afternoon, while I was on my way back to Red Fruit City.

The trigger algorithm is as follows: if I don’t interact with the cloud server for more than 30 minutes, the server will send an email to Liu Xuan under my name. The content will be: "I’ve run into trouble."

Lin Qi’s plan wasn’t complicated. It also prevented any trouble if the people behind this tried to retrace the events later.

If they investigated the contents of this cloud server, the people behind the scenes could only curse their luck.

They had cut off network access precisely because they wanted to do something without Liu Xuan, Liu Xingyuan, and the others finding out.

Given that, coming up with a countermeasure wasn’t difficult.

Lin Qi just had to make it look as if he’d had the foresight to prepare.

’Honestly, I never thought certain people in the Liu Clan would actually do something like this.’

’Are they really not afraid of Liu Xuan settling the score later?’

’Are they really that brazen?’

Guang Ling replied to Lin Qi’s email instantly, as always.

The fee is one million Credit Points. It’s a bit difficult. The tricky part is modifying the cloud server’s timestamp. Your cloud service agreement and payment protocol timestamps also need to be altered. I’ll have to find a suitable service provider.

’A million Credit Points. That’s not expensive at all... my ass!’

It was only because Lin Qi had gotten used to spending more lately.

Otherwise, one million Credit Points was almost his entire annual salary from before!

In his eighteen years of life, Lin Qi had never spent so much money as he had this past month.

But in all fairness, Guang Ling’s price was definitely reasonable.

The programming and all that was simple; Lin Qi could have handled it himself.

The timestamps were the hardest part. That stuff involved the cyber network’s security protocols, and it was easy to get caught in the act by the Cyber Network Company.

Lin Qi composed an email and replied to Guang Ling.

Deal.

So Lin Qi now owed Guang Ling nine million Credit Points, plus another million from this job.

Once the bounty for the Ninghang Technology job was settled, Lin Qi would definitely be able to pay it all back.

After finishing his exchange with Guang Ling, Lin Qi headed for the door.

He had only taken two steps when another email from Guang Ling arrived.

Done. You can now use your personal authorization to log into the Cyber Network Company’s official cloud services website and edit your program. The price is 10,000 Credit Points per seven days. The fee has been deducted from your account and the timestamp has been forged. You can cancel the service at any time.

Lin Qi couldn’t help it; the muscles in his face twitched.

’Not even putting on a show anymore!’

’It’s only been a few seconds, hasn’t it?’

’And they just said they needed to find a suitable provider, but they ended up going straight for the most difficult one!’

’The Cyber Network Company?’

’This is basically thumbing their nose at the Cyber Network Company’s surveillance and doing whatever the hell they want!’

Lin Qi took the opportunity to check his Credit Point account.

His Intelligent Brain hadn’t notified him of any new messages.

But a new entry had appeared in his message history, dated at exactly 4:00 PM.

Cloud service agreement with the Cyber Network Company successfully established. Initial fee of 10,000 Credit Points deducted from your personal account. Current balance: 9,422 Credit Points.

In addition, the notification for the transfer from the old man had also changed.

Personal account received a transfer from "Doctor Lin." Amount: 10,000,000 Credit Points. Current balance: 10,009,422 Credit Points.

’This million-credit debt is totally worth it!’

Even the timestamp on the payment notification had been modified.

Even if the members of the Liu Clan behind this investigated him, they would only conclude that Lin Qi had made his arrangements earlier that afternoon.

’As expected of Guang Ling.’

Lin Qi marveled to himself as he walked out of the Prosthetic Clinic.

By now, the HGPD’s riot squad had already landed.

Several members approached Lin Qi and used their Prosthetic Eyes to run a data comparison.

The captain, a full-body A-Class Implanter, spoke up. "Mr. Lin Qi, please come with us. We’re all technically working for the Liu Family, so let’s not make this difficult for one another."

’Their attitude is better than I expected.’

’It also reflects the attitude of whoever is behind this.’

’They want something from me, but they don’t want to burn their bridges completely. They don’t even dare to threaten my life.’

Of course, if Lin Qi were to refuse, the riot squad’s purpose would become very clear.

Even if Lin Qi was an A-Class Implanter on paper, he was no match for a full-strength squad.

Lin Qi said, "I’d like to know who’s looking for me."

The captain shook his head. "That’s beyond my clearance. I can’t tell you."

As the captain shook his head, Lin Qi saw through his Spiritual Vision that the man’s Prosthetic Body had already begun preheating, ready to activate at a moment’s notice.

But Lin Qi had no intention of making a move. If all went according to plan, Liu Xuan had already received his email.

Lin Qi asked another question, "My vehicle is still here. Am I coming with you, or should I take my own vehicle?"

Lin Qi gestured toward Liu Xuan’s vehicle.

The captain glanced in that direction and said immediately, "It would be best if you came with us, Mr. Lin Qi."

A single glance was all it took for the captain to see that the vehicle was no ordinary machine.

He couldn’t scan any information from it at all; his clearance was far too low!

A vehicle of that class was bound to have built-in cyber network equipment.

The moment Lin Qi boarded it, he’d be able to connect to the cyber network.

Then all the effort they’d put into tampering with the network hardware would be for nothing.

The captain remained on high alert. After all, the grade of Lin Qi’s "Prosthetic Body" was high—entirely A-Class.

If a fight broke out, a single moment of carelessness could mean Lin Qi taking him out instantly.

Surprisingly, Lin Qi didn’t seem to have any intention of resisting.

He just nodded calmly and said, "Alright. Bring the Floating Vehicle down."

’This is my first time riding in an HGPD Floating Vehicle. How novel.’

The captain was still surprised, but he didn’t hesitate. He quickly gave the order for the Floating Vehicle to lower its altitude.

...

Nearby, the bolder clients of the Prosthetic Clinic were still spectating while they waited in line.

They were astonished to see Lin Qi casually board the Floating Vehicle as if nothing was amiss.

"That’s Divine Power Lin Qi for you! He doesn’t even bother with a vehicle-for-hire company. He just calls the HGPD for a ride!"

"Isn’t this a bit much? Why call in the whole riot squad? Is he in some kind of danger?"

"The Liu Clan must really value him. Is this the power of the Divine Iron Bull? I’m so jealous!"

No one could have guessed that the relationship between this HGPD squad and Lin Qi was far from friendly.

On the contrary, this whole spectacle only made them admire the No. 1 Prosthetic Clinic even more.

Gazing at the gleaming neon sign, they waited quietly, as if on a pilgrimage.

Finally, the text on the sign outside the No. 1 Prosthetic Clinic changed.

It switched from "On Break" to "Now Serving."

Doctor Lin’s reasoning was simple: worrying about Lin Qi couldn’t get in the way of business.

That little brat had just taken ten million Credit Points from him; he had to earn it back as soon as possible!

’I’ll give it about the time it takes to do four surgeries.’

’If Lin Qi hasn’t sent a message by the time four surgeries are complete, then I’ll contact Lin Xin.’

Liu’s Heavy Industries might be a massive corporation, but as long as Lin Xin could persuade her teacher to help, Lin Qi would be fine. The Liu Clan would have to send him back safe and sound.

...

「Inside the boardroom at Liu’s Heavy Industries headquarters.」

Liu Xuan, Liu Xingyuan, Liu Xinglu, and seven or eight other members of the Liu Clan’s board were present. The remaining members were attending via a remote conferencing system.

The atmosphere in the meeting was clearly unpleasant, with signs of a heated argument.

The light from Liu Xuan’s left Prosthetic Eye flickered erratically, betraying her emotional turmoil.

Suddenly, however, her left Prosthetic Eye flared with a brilliant blue light.

The Suppressor’s output instantly shot to one hundred percent.

SLAM.

Liu Xuan flung the documents in front of her.

They slammed against the table’s built-in electronic screen, creating a web of fine cracks and a deafening noise.

All eyes in the room instantly snapped to Liu Xuan.