Dual Worlds: I Have a Doomsday World

Hearing Baili Xueyuan ask again, Lin Qi grew even more certain of his suspicion.

Baili Xueyuan wasn’t just concerned about the lives of those ten thousand-plus people. She had to have a deeper motive.

’A test?’

’Or something else entirely.’

Lin Qi nodded and gave his answer. "I’m sorry. Ever since I found out about this yesterday, I’ve been on edge. I do want to save those people—after all, it would maximize the company’s profits."

"But I’ve assessed my own abilities. I might be able to handle a few dozen or even a hundred surgeries, but performing thousands, or tens of thousands, simultaneously is beyond my capacity."

In the end, Lin Qi chose to refuse. Even though he knew some of the people involved, like Wei Wei and Wei Wutao...

...at the end of the day, he didn’t owe them much. They were just acquaintances, their lives intertwined by corporate interests.

If he could guarantee his own safety, Lin Qi might have saved them if the opportunity arose.

As for everyone else?

Even if there were over ten thousand people, so what?

It wasn’t Lin Qi who killed them. He had no obligation to rescue them in the first place, let alone see the rescue through to the end.

Hearing Lin Qi’s answer, Baili Xueyuan’s face remained impassive. She gave a slight nod and said, "I understand. The operation will begin soon. Until we cast the final net, you and Liu Xuan are to stay with Lin Xin. Keep a low profile to avoid any complications."

After she spoke, the light and shadow around her distorted. In the blink of an eye, she vanished from the Prosthetic Clinic.

With her gone, it was as if a great mountain had been lifted from everyone’s shoulders. A palpable sense of relief washed over the Prosthetic Clinic.

"Lin Qi, come sit down. Don’t just stand there," Lin Xin called out, pouting.

Seeing Lin Xin go back to being "well-behaved," Lin Qi canceled the order for the Advanced Language Application Chip he had just placed as he walked toward the sofa.

’No need for a verbal smackdown now,’ he thought. ’Besides, after tomorrow’s business is settled, Lin Xin will be heading back to the Eastern Alliance. The chip would be useless anyway.’

Lin Qi had just sat down when he heard Lin Xin mutter beside him, "My teacher seemed a little angry."

’Angry?’

Lin Qi hadn’t seen it, but her departure had certainly been decisive.

After a moment of thought, Lin Qi asked Lin Xin, "Does your Assassin Alliance place a high priority on avoiding civilian casualties during missions?"

This was what puzzled Lin Qi. According to intel from the cyber network, the Assassin Alliance was just an ordinary Mercenary Corps. Aside from their preference for working alone, he’d never heard anything about them protecting civilians.

Lin Qi was extremely curious why Baili Xueyuan would go out of her way twice for the lives of mere company employees.

This time, Sister Li didn’t cough; it wasn’t exactly a secret.

Lin Xin frowned, turning to Sister Li. "Is that true?"

Lin Xin hadn’t been in the Assassin Alliance for very long, and as Baili Xueyuan’s student, she had yet to go on a single mission.

She was at a loss for how to answer Lin Qi’s question, so she could only turn to Sister Li.

Sister Li glanced at Lin Xin, her expression clearly hesitant.

Although the question didn’t involve classified information, some topics, once broached, are difficult to walk back from.

Such as Prosthetic Body implantation...

But seeing Lin Xin’s wide, blinking eyes, Sister Li finally relented. "The Alliance has no requirements regarding casualties among non-targets," she said.

Sister Li felt a pang of guilt.

She hadn’t leaked any secrets, but it still felt as though she had somehow betrayed Baili Xueyuan.

’Minister Baili is a good person,’ she thought. ’She just promised to reimburse me for my Prosthetic Body expenses.’

’Millions of Credit Points!’

After Sister Li answered, Lin Xin immediately looked at Lin Qi, as if to ask if he was satisfied with the answer.

Lin Qi showed little reaction, simply sitting there lost in thought.

’Just as I thought,’ he mused. ’Baili Xueyuan has another agenda. Saving people isn’t her primary goal.’

’What is she really after?’

Lin Qi couldn’t figure it out, but perhaps the answer would reveal itself tomorrow.

Lin Qi didn’t let himself get bogged down by it for long. He smoothed his furrowed brow and started discussing the company’s arrangements with Liu Xuan.

Liu Xuan held nothing back, giving Lin Qi the specific data directly. "My father and I both received the latest personnel roster. The new strain of cyber psychosis has infected nearly ninety percent of the company’s employees."

"A very small number of them have engaged in illegal activities, including but not limited to assault and murder. They’ve all been arrested by the HGPD and have been... ’dealt with’ ahead of time."

"As for the rest, they will be ’working overtime’ at the company tomorrow. The company has already prepared S-Class Weapons to coordinate with the operation."

The situation was more or less as he’d expected. Ning Hao was clearly targeting his victims, seemingly determined to infect every last employee of United Pharmaceutical and Liu’s Heavy Industries.

Most of the infected employees, like Brother Green Hair, had managed to restrain themselves. A smaller number had voluntarily sought medical help.

Only a tiny fraction had chosen to give in to their "desires" and commit crimes.

Had this happened in any other city in the Asian Administrative Region, the situation would never have remained as stable as it was in Red Fruit City.

Red Fruit City’s crackdown on crime was so severe that over ninety percent of those with the new cyber psychosis managed to resist the encroaching desires.

Give in to their desires?

Or face fines, or even a lifetime of unpaid labor in prison?

It wasn’t a difficult choice.

After all, Brother Green Hair’s own account proved that this urge could be controlled with enough willpower.

"After tomorrow, everything will go back to normal," Liu Xuan said, comforting him, worried he was overthinking things.