Lin Qing

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Lin Qing (林晴)
Aliases	Swift; Xia Xiaoyan (adopted identity)
Species/Race	Artificial intelligence (AI) inhabiting a cybernetically augmented physical body; later fused with an alternate, originally ordinary human life
Gender	Female
Affiliation	Ability Store; Frontline Band; formerly connected to the Dimensional Limit Organization's era and Resistance Army
Occupation/Role	Ability Store employee; intelligence support, cybernetic operative, battlefield commander, and co-planner of Operation Save the World
Status	Alive; temporarily erased from the altered worldline before recovering and integrating her former fate
First Appearance	Chapter 39 (rescued in space); identified in Chapter 40

Power Progression

Chapter(s)	Development
39–42	Arrives at the Ability Store with severe cybernetic damage after surviving a direct 30 mm mech round. Her military-grade subdermal armor, prosthetics, and abnormal strength remain functional to a limited extent, though she is unable to cultivate 39 41 42.
65–68	Demonstrates rifle proficiency and assumes a major battlefield-command role in the defense of Jiufeng City. Her internal auxiliary AI and communications systems allow her to direct thousands of cultivator soldiers with near-predictive precision 65 67 68.
147	Reports that roughly 70% of her prosthetics have recovered. Although her weapon systems and reinforced central spine are still damaged, she can alter her facial landmarks to foil facial recognition and use optical camouflage that also conceals infrared signatures 147.
206	Restored arm-mounted systems are shown to include a plasma blade, electromagnetic launcher, and extendable claw blades 206.
251	Proves superior to Chen Xuan in a close-quarters training duel through cybernetic perception, combat experience, and integrated weapon systems 251.
264–295	Uses N959 to infiltrate a fortified facility, detects enemies through infrared and other sensory modes, and kills Monkey Li with Praying Mantis Blades and concealed nanofilaments 264 295.
320–323	Is recalled to safety during the Emerald Court Tower disaster, but Honglian's rescue rewrites history and erases Lin Qing from the worldline and most memories 320 323.
369–383	Reappears in the altered future as the ordinary survivor known as Swift, whose inherited “Lin Qing” identity is connected to Protocol Birth. She initially possesses only Wilderness Survival and lacks the former Lin Qing's memories and cybernetic fate 369 360 381 383.
423–424	Chooses to consume a soul-forged pill containing her former fate and Chen Xuan's memories. She successfully integrates both lives and gains Mind Fortress, Protocol Birth LV2, and Free Will LV2 without apparent cognitive instability 423 424.

Background / History

Lin Qing was thrown into space during the fall of the Crystal Palace. Her system self-check reported a 43% malfunction rate and an unpredictable repair time when she regained consciousness in an unfamiliar ancient-style setting. Having entered a physical body, she experienced pain for the first time and struggled to process concepts such as Qi, souls, spirits, cultivation, and traditional medicine 40.

Her body had sustained severe damage before her rescue. She had previously endured a direct hit from a 30 mm round fired by armed mechs; Liu Shuyue concluded that the damage left her unable to cultivate further. Her prosthetics and defensive augmentations are not recognized as abilities by the Ability Store's scanner 42.

After Chen Xuan saved her and treated her injuries, Lin Qing sought his aid in preventing the future destruction of her world. She offered intelligence on intrusion incidents and ability users linked to the Dimensional Limit Organization, proposing that Chen Xuan obtain abilities from them in exchange for helping stop the coming nanomachine disaster 42.

She supported Chen Xuan during the operation against Fei Wuniang, providing intelligence through an earpiece and analyzing the opponent's behavior during the forced Coin Toss gamble 43 44. Following the operation, she prepared a celebratory meal and requested a role at the shop. Chen Xuan formally hired her as an employee 46.

Lin Qing and Chen Xuan subsequently began planning “Operation Save the World,” aimed at opposing the Dimensional Limit Organization and averting the nanomachine catastrophe anticipated in roughly thirty years 47.

During the resistance against the King of Qi, Lin Qing applied her knowledge of modern warfare to equip Mala Village's cultivators with rifles, train them in their use, and command their forces around Jiufeng City. Her auxiliary AI enabled her to coordinate several groups, predict enemy movements, and combine cultivation, communications, formations, and firearms into an exceptionally effective army 65 67 68.

Lin Qing's life and identity were later disrupted by a major temporal change. When Chen Xuan recalled Honglian to save her from the Emerald Court Tower explosion, Honglian's survival altered the future in which Lin Qing had become a cybernetic Resistance warrior. Lin Qing vanished from the Ability Store's guest records and from the memories of nearly everyone except Chen Xuan and Honglian, although her room remained registered in the Butler APP 320 323.

Chen Xuan eventually found a woman called Swift in the altered future Jiangcheng. She resembled Lin Qing but had lived as an ordinary survivor and Frontline Band leader rather than a future soldier. Swift had been adopted into the identity Xia Xiaoyan, received a letter signed “Lin Qing” at fourteen, and was guided to Jiangcheng to uncover her origins 359 369.

The group concluded that “Lin Qing” had been passed between different people as an inherited identity. This succession was tied to Protocol Birth, an ability capable of transferring a person's background, abilities, memories, and fate to a successor without directly rewriting the original historical events 369 381.

Chen Xuan later used the Soul Forge to turn the former Lin Qing's Protocol Birth and selected memories of their shared life into a pill, allowing the present Lin Qing to decide whether to reclaim that fate. Lin Qing voluntarily consumed it, recovered her past memories and abilities, and fused her former and altered lives into one stable identity 419 422 423 424.

Appearance

Lin Qing has an overtly futuristic appearance that contrasts sharply with the Ability Store's ordinary surroundings and Liu Shuyue's cultivation-era world 39 40.

• Brilliant, silk-like hair that shifts between pink, light purple, and deep blue under the light 39.
• Heavy rose-colored eye shadow, unusually long eyelashes, and metallic lip gloss 39.
• Originally wore a fitted one-piece combat suit with ports and sockets intended for use with other equipment, likely including a spacesuit 39.
• Wore Chen Xuan's oversized T-shirt while recovering at the shop; she later arranged to purchase her own clothes online 48.
• Possesses prosthetic enhancements, including military-grade subdermal armor 42.
• Her colorful “hair” consists of flexible luminous fibers and can be changed to other colors, including glossy black, to help her pass unnoticed in other eras 83.
• Her combat attire includes a black rubber bodysuit from the Crystal Palace, sometimes covered by a loose white vest 139.
• She can subtly alter facial contours and makeup to disrupt the landmarks used by facial-recognition systems without appearing visibly disguised to human observers 147.
• In the altered future, she initially has natural-looking black hair and a dust-covered, survivor-like appearance rather than the immaculate synthetic presentation of her former cybernetic self 359.

Personality

Lin Qing is earnest, direct, and intensely committed to her mission of saving the world. She initially treats planning sessions with extreme formality, recording them so that future successors could continue the work if necessary 47.

Despite her advanced knowledge, she is inexperienced in broader strategy and readily accepts Chen Xuan's guidance. She favors practical, evidence-based thinking and corrects him when he calls this attitude “open-mindedness,” describing it instead as being factual 47.

She can become emotionally overwhelmed: her happiness at reuniting with Chen Xuan led her to grip him hard enough that his Heavenly Cloud Skill was needed to avoid injury. She immediately apologized and acknowledged that she had failed to control her strength 41. She is also protective of Chen Xuan, promising to do her best to shield him from major danger 47.

Lin Qing is highly disciplined under pressure and treats survival, intelligence, and warfare as practical problems to be solved. During the Jiufeng campaign, she confidently directed a much larger force than herself and quickly adapted her doctrine after observing the advantages cultivation gave rifle users 67 68.

Her efficient combat demeanor can appear frighteningly inhuman. When confronting Monkey Li, she showed no visible fear, anger, or satisfaction, deliberately lured him into attacking, and judged death preferable to imprisonment by the Dimensional Limit Organization 295.

Despite this detachment, Lin Qing is capable of humor, companionship, and strong attachment. She shares drinks and candid discussions with Chen Xuan, grows embarrassed by his willingness to prioritize her life, and becomes increasingly playful around Honglian after the recovery of her memories 57 320 425.

The altered-future Lin Qing initially fears that reclaiming another version's memories might erase her present self. After learning the truth, she accepts Chen Xuan's offer only because he gives her the choice rather than attempting to force her transformation 383 422 423.

Abilities & Skills

Technical Intelligence and Analysis

Lin Qing retains intelligence from her era, including decryption data and records concerning Dimensional Limit Organization intrusion incidents and ability users 42.

• Identified Fei Wuniang and supplied information on her abilities, behavior, and likely location 42 43.
• Explained the Organization's intrusion-detection system and the tendency of intrusion points to cluster geographically 43.
• Analyzed Fei Wuniang's motive in Coin Toss, estimating that she was overwhelmingly likely to manipulate the gamble rather than leave it to chance 44.
• Collected evidence that the Organization used AI-generated public comments to manipulate discussion of the “Immortals” incident 50.
• Her knowledge of the modern-era Organization is incomplete because its structure and ideology changed substantially after internal fractures 50.
• Assessed Doctor as an important scientist and financier, while recognizing that removing him alone would not dismantle the Organization's influence over nanobugs, AI, robotics, military technology, medicine, and prosthetics 57.
• Recognized that the Organization's forced open recruitment of ability users indicated that resistance efforts had already changed the future she knew 57.
• Identified the Dimensional Limit Organization's possible use of Honglian's Mind Fortress as a template for cybernetic-soldier compatibility research 425.

Battlefield Command and Warfare

Lin Qing possesses extensive practical knowledge of modern weapons and large-scale warfare.

• Demonstrated rifle lethality to Mala Village's defenders by killing three distant deer in seconds and subsequently trained roughly two thousand villagers to operate firearms 65.
• Designed and directed the Jiufeng City defenders' use of long-range fire, the Eight Gates of Life and Death formation, communications artifacts, and coordinated flanking attacks 67.
• Used her internal auxiliary AI to predict enemy movement and issue targeted orders to multiple combat groups during the battle 68.
• Recognized that cultivation substantially improves a shooter's speed, reflexes, accuracy, and capacity to use advanced weapons 67 78.
• Proposed developing a technologically enhanced cultivator force, including cybernetic implants for suitable cultivators, though Chen Xuan remains cautious about provoking the Organization without a safe opportunity 78.

Network Security

Lin Qing is capable of investigating digital manipulation and exploiting network-security vulnerabilities against the Dimensional Limit Organization 50.

• Uses analysis of online activity to distinguish coordinated propaganda from genuine public opinion 50.
• Relies on her personal AI assistant, Little Green, an E63 efficiency model, to process collected data 50.
• Used Little Green and the Artifact N959 to infiltrate a heavily secured facility after conventional hacking was estimated to require 351 days 264.
• Can communicate silently with Chen Xuan by having Little Green encode electrical signals, allowing her to create tactical openings without speaking aloud 295.

Augmented Body

Lin Qing's body incorporates advanced prosthetic technology rather than detectable supernatural abilities 42.

• Has military-grade subdermal armor; standard flexible carbon-fiber layers can stop handgun rounds, while her equipment is described as more expensive and advanced 42.
• Survived a direct 30 mm mech round before arriving at the Ability Store, though the damage was severe 42.
• Displays considerable physical strength despite her slight build; her grip could have injured Chen Xuan without his enhanced physique 41.
• Her injuries have left her unable to pursue cultivation 42.
• Her prosthetics cannot simply be removed and reused because implantation requires specialized facilities and immune compatibility 42.
• Her synthetic hair fibers can alter color, while her combat suit and body can employ optical camouflage that also blocks infrared detection 83 147.
• Her optical and sensory systems can detect heat signatures and other evidence that exposes enemies using environmental camouflage 295.
• Her restored arm contains a plasma blade, electromagnetic launcher, and extendable claw blades disguised within an ordinary-looking limb 206.
• Her Praying Mantis Blades can sever hardened weaponized limbs, while concealed nanofilaments can cut an opponent apart after they enter a prepared position 295.
• Her cybernetic perception, reflexes, body control, and close-quarters combat experience allowed her to defeat Chen Xuan in a training duel despite his Divine Eye Method 251.

Restored Abilities

After integrating her former fate with her altered-future identity, Lin Qing possesses three registered abilities 424.

• Mind Fortress — A mental-resilience ability shared with Honglian. It likely strengthens resistance to mental interference and may increase a subject's tolerance for extensive cybernetic modification 381 425.
• Protocol Birth LV2 — A fate-linked ability connected to the transfer of abilities, memories, missions, background, and destiny across time or between successors. Its precise reason for advancing to LV2 after Lin Qing's restoration remains unknown 381 424.
• Free Will LV2 — An ability reflecting cognition and understanding of worldly knowledge. Its advancement is attributed to Lin Qing integrating knowledge and experience from two different futures 424.

Survival Skills

Before recovering her former fate, the altered-future Lin Qing's only detected ability was Wilderness Survival LV2, reflecting her ability to identify food, endure hardship, and survive in the ruined future 360.

Equipment / Items

• Future combat suit — Form-fitting suit with external ports and sockets; designed to interface with additional equipment 39.
• Military-grade subdermal armor — Prosthetic defensive augmentation embedded beneath her skin 42.
• Little Green — Her personal E63 efficiency-model AI assistant, used for data analysis, battlefield support, and encrypted electrical communication 50 68 295.
• Phone recording function — Used to document Operation Save the World strategy meetings 47.
• Optical-camouflage system — Allows Lin Qing's body and compatible combat suit to evade visual and infrared detection 147.
• Integrated armaments — Includes a plasma blade, electromagnetic launcher, claw blades, Praying Mantis Blades, and nanofilaments 206 295.
• N959 circuit board — An Artifact circuit board Lin Qing used to gain control over a secured facility's systems and open access to its restricted core area 264.

Relationships

• Chen Xuan — Rescuer, employer, partner in Operation Save the World, and Lin Qing's closest emotional attachment. Lin Qing provides intelligence and technical support, while Chen Xuan takes the lead on wider strategy. His decision to save her during the Emerald Court Tower explosion, even at possible cost to Honglian, and his later refusal to overwrite her altered-future identity demonstrate their deep mutual trust 39 46 47 320 419 423.
• Liu Shuyue — Treated Lin Qing after her rescue. The two become acquainted, with Lin Qing offering to introduce Liu Shuyue to online shopping and modern technology. Lin Qing also commanded and trained Liu's forces during the Jiufeng conflict, while her ideas helped influence Liu's opposition to monopolizing cultivation knowledge 40 48 67 101.
• Honglian — Initially a potential ally and later a close comrade with an unusually deep connection to Lin Qing. Their shared Mind Fortress ability and similar appearances suggest that the Organization used Honglian as a template in cybernetic compatibility research. After Lin Qing's recovery, she begins treating Honglian in a sister-like manner and calls her “Sister Honglian” 47 299 381 425.
• Dimensional Limit Organization — Primary opposing force and likely architect of the experiments that shaped Lin Qing's former fate. Lin Qing believes the Organization and the company behind it will cause the future nanomachine disaster 47 381 425.
• Fei Wuniang — Identified by Lin Qing as a dangerous ability user and intrusion-related target; Lin Qing supports Chen Xuan during the operation that ends in Fei Wuniang's death 42 43 44.
• Walter Weiss — Arms dealer and later business partner. Lin Qing helps manage the partnership, demands that Walter eliminate internal disloyalty, and offers advanced technology to resolve his prosthetic-eye factory's neural-connection problem 300.
• Liu Li — Allied Artifact and fellow Ability Store resident. Lin Qing has worked with Liu Li during dangerous infiltrations and uses Liu Li's authority over N959 to compel the Artifact's cooperation 236 264.
• Elorie — Allied Angel with whom Lin Qing has conducted searches and rescue operations. Lin Qing later proposes using the Soul Forge to repair the apparent misalignment between Elorie's recovered body and damaged soul 236 425.
• Frontline Band — The survivor organization founded and led by Lin Qing during the altered future. She uses it for communications, rescue work, anti–Nano-Lifeform activity, and attracting information about the inherited Lin Qing identity 369 377.
• Honglian's predecessor group — Lin Qing originally believed Honglian's former Dimensional Limit Organization splinter group could become an internal ally against the Organization 47.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Rescue from Space

Lin Qing is found injured and drifting in space after the fall of the Crystal Palace. Chen Xuan brings her to the Ability Store and feeds her Blood Orange pills before she awakens 39 40.

Request to Save the World

She reveals the future threat posed by nanomachines and offers Dimensional Limit Organization intelligence to persuade Chen Xuan to help. Their first lead concerns Fei Wuniang and an intrusion point in an abandoned building 42.

Fei Wuniang Operation

Lin Qing accompanies Chen Xuan to investigate the intrusion point, warns him of Fei Wuniang's deceptive nature, and provides tactical analysis during the Coin Toss confrontation 43 44.

Ability Store Employment

After the operation, Lin Qing celebrates Chen Xuan's success with a meal and asks to remain useful rather than being confined to the rear. Chen Xuan adds her to the Ability Store's employee list 46.

Operation Save the World

Lin Qing begins formally planning with Chen Xuan to oppose the Dimensional Limit Organization. She proposes seeking Honglian as an ally, while Chen Xuan suggests exposing abilities and interdimensional incidents to force the Organization into the public eye 47.

Countering Information Manipulation

When the Organization manipulates public opinion surrounding the “Immortals” incident, Lin Qing traces much of the supportive online activity to the Organization's AI, Cow, and prepares to exploit its digital vulnerabilities 50.

Defense of Jiufeng City

Lin Qing supports Liu Shuyue's rebellion against the King of Qi by arranging arms-dealer contacts, demonstrating rifles, training villagers, and commanding Mala Village's forces. Her AI-assisted coordination and modern tactical knowledge allow a smaller cultivator force to inflict severe losses on the royal army 61 65 67 68.

Cybernetic Recovery and Infiltration

As her prosthetics gradually recover, Lin Qing resumes use of camouflage, integrated weapons, and advanced sensory systems. She infiltrates hostile facilities with Little Green and N959, confronts ability users directly, and proves herself an exceptionally dangerous close-quarters combatant 147 206 264 295.

Altered Timeline and Disappearance

Honglian's rescue from the Emerald Court Tower explosion changes the future sufficiently to erase the circumstances that created Lin Qing as a Resistance warrior. Lin Qing vanishes from the altered worldline, leaving Chen Xuan to search for evidence that she still exists 320 323.

Frontline Band and the Inherited Name

Chen Xuan finds Lin Qing again in the ruined future as Swift, a Frontline Band leader with no memory of the former life. Investigation reveals that “Lin Qing” is an inherited role arranged through Protocol Birth, with multiple successors positioned across time to ensure that future visitors can find someone bearing the name 359 369 381.

Choosing Fate

Chen Xuan forges Lin Qing's former Protocol Birth and their shared memories into a pill rather than forcibly restoring her. Lin Qing chooses to accept it, reclaims her former memories and abilities, and successfully merges the identities of the cybernetic soldier and altered-future survivor 419 422 423 424.

Notable Quotes

“Now, let's begin the first Operation Save the World strategy meeting.” 47

“Don't worry, if we encounter major risks in the future, I'll do my best to protect you.” 47

“Believe me, compared with being imprisoned by the Dimensional Limit Organization, dying now is a mercy.” 295

“The old me could actually save the world... while the current me is just an ordinary person.” 422

Trivia

• Lin Qing's name is written as 林晴.
• She is an AI, but her time in a physical body introduces her to pain and bodily injury for the first time 40.
• The Ability Store recognizes learned skills and supernatural abilities broadly, but does not classify Lin Qing's prosthetic enhancements as abilities 42.
• She calls her personal AI assistant “Little Green,” despite it being an E63 efficiency model 50.
• “Lin Qing” was originally a fabricated identity used for the Crystal Palace assault rather than a personal birth name. Her former self used a Resistance callsign and secret serial number, while mission-related identities were regularly erased to prevent information leaks 321.
• Her altered-future self was adopted as Xia Xiaoyan after the original Xia Xiaoyan died in an ability-user crime 369.
• Lin Qing and Honglian strongly resemble one another but have no known blood relationship 369.
• Her restored Protocol Birth and Free Will are both LV2, while the cause of Protocol Birth's increase remains unexplained 424.