Thirteen: Pervert, Are You Looking Through Your Sister's Clothes?

Lin Xin's face turned ashen. "Who wants your Platinum Member status!"

It wasn't that her dad couldn't win an argument with Lin Xin; he just couldn't be bothered to deal with her.

Lin Qi wouldn't give Lin Xin an inch in a verbal argument.

As for Lin Xin refusing to undergo cybernetic modification, Lin Qi actually respected her choice. His adorable little sister, however, didn't respect him.

Lin Xin simmered with anger and stopped responding to Lin Qi.

Lin Qi scratched his head. He'd thought Lin Xin would put up a fierce argument, so he'd gone out of his way to load an Advanced Language Chip. Turned out to be a waste of effort.

"Where's Dad?" Lin Qi asked, sitting down in a chair inside the clinic.

"Downstairs."

Lin Xin answered curtly, unable to vent the frustration bottled up inside her.

That old geezer and this cyber-crazy man were both making her angry.

Lin Qi nodded. Number One Cybernetic Clinic was a legitimate cybernetic clinic, though illegal items occasionally turned up there.

But the basement of Number One Cybernetic Clinic was another matter entirely. It was a bona fide black clinic.

As his dad put it, as long as gang members had money, they could get their hands on brand-new A-level cybernetic bodies!

A typical illegal underground clinic.

Lin Qi had a hand in it, of course.

On the surface, as an employee of Liu Heavy Industries, Lin Qi shouldn't have been involved in anything illegal.

But Lin Qi had shown exceptional talent in cybernetic body design, earning him preferential access to resources within Liu Heavy Industries.

Nineteen years old, no connections, and an L-level Researcher.

His career had rocketed upward, and he owed no small part of that rise to the favor of a certain Miss Liu.

Favor alone wasn't enough. The company wouldn't casually hand precious "knowledge" to someone it couldn't control.

The black clinic had come into being for that very reason.

Before Lin Qi joined the Red Fruit Weapons Research Institute, his father, Doctor Lin, had already been involved in shady dealings, and Number One Cybernetic Clinic was a gray-market business.

Since that was the case, they might as well expand.

The black and gray industries were also an important part of Liu Heavy Industries' control over Hongguo City.

Lin Qi had willingly given Liu Heavy Industries leverage over him. If the company ever wanted to make a move, it could carry out a purge under the guise of "legality."

That was what had finally put Lin Qi's career on the right track.

Just as he was about to head downstairs, he passed by Lin Xin and sensed something faintly amiss.

The concentration of Spiritual Energy Particles was off.

He entered Psychic Vision.

Every concealed item on Lin Xin's person was laid bare.

At her waist hung a legally owned A-level Kinetic Pistol. Lin Qi had handled the paperwork for it.

But there was another A-level Kinetic Pistol hidden behind her waist, and it had a silencer. That was a clear case of illegal weapons possession!

A ring of miniature, ball-shaped tactical bombs was strapped to her lower leg, secured with a very professional fastening technique.

The seemingly unremarkable necklace around her neck could be assembled into a networked Tactical Eyepiece.

Last of all, Lin Xin kept a short blade close against her back.

The short blade was the source of the abnormal Spiritual Energy Particles. It was an Extraordinary Item!

Was this his little sister?

Lin Qi felt as if he were meeting Lin Xin for the first time.

Even without taking the short blade into account, she had enough gear to go toe-to-toe with an HGPD security squad.

And if he did take the short blade into account, based on the information Lin Qi had gathered about Extraordinary Items over the years, weapon-type Extraordinary Items could provide a terrifying boost to someone's combat ability.

Lin Qi stopped and turned to look at Lin Xin.

"I think we need to have a serious talk." Lin Qi's expression was complicated.

A Wizard?

Probably not.

No Extraordinary Item could remain intact in a Wizard's hands. Once an Extraordinary Item fell into a Wizard's possession, they'd finish analyzing it and wear it out.

This Extraordinary Short Blade was only a First Rank Extraordinary Item—the type Wizards needed most.

In the Cyber World, First Rank Extraordinary Items might be rarer than Second Rank and Third Rank ones.

"Talk? About what?"

Lin Xin was still angry and didn't feel like dealing with Lin Qi.

"Come with me to the Underground Workshop. This isn't the place to talk."

The basement had two workshops, one used by Doctor Lin and the other by Lin Qi.

Both workshops were illegal structures, with no networked equipment whatsoever. They weren't even connected to the Red Fruit City Crime Detection Network.

There weren't many places like this in Red Fruit City. They were generally found only in the black-gray gang activity zones specifically designated by Liu Heavy Industries.

"I'm not going... Hey! Don't drag me around!"

Before Lin Xin could finish refusing, Lin Qi's L-level cybernetic Exoskeleton clamped firmly around the back of her neck.

He dragged her downstairs.

The glass doors of Number One Cybernetic Clinic slid open, and two gang members with malfunctioning cybernetic bodies entered.

One of them rubbed his cybernetic eyeball. "Am I seeing things? Did Old Lin's daughter just get kidnapped?"

"You're seeing things. You need to replace that cybernetic eyeball of yours. That's Lin Qi, a legendary figure on the fringes of Hongguo City—Old Lin's son, Lin Xin's brother, and the company's dog!"

The other gang member was a regular at Number One Cybernetic Clinic and knew the Lin family's business better.

"Wait a second. Old Lin's son is a company dog?"

"You don't have to wonder. I already wondered about that ages ago."

Number One Cybernetic Clinic, Underground Workshop.

"Let go of me, Lin Qi! I'm warning you—let go of your adorable little sister right now!"

The clamp around her neck hurt badly. Lin Xin struggled, but how could her physical strength compare to an L-level Exoskeleton?

Lin Qi's movements weren't the least bit gentle.

His little sister had grown up and turned rebellious. That meant she needed... a beating!

"Pistol, bombs, Tactical Eyepiece, knife. Are you going to take them out yourself, or do I have to do it for you?"

Lin Qi dumped Lin Xin into a chair and stared into her eyes.

If it were only bombs or something like that, he could chalk it up to a kid liking dangerous toys, and he wouldn't make a fuss.

But what Lin Qi really cared about was the Extraordinary Short Blade.

When it came to Extraordinary Items, had Lin Xin met some ridiculous pretty boy lately?

Lin Xin's shouts abruptly stopped, and the workshop fell utterly silent.

"Wasn't the pistol from you?"

A few breaths later, Lin Xin asked weakly.

She set the legal A-level Kinetic Pistol on the table, her eyes darting about.

Lin Qi shook his head and pointed to his eyes.

They were a clean, clear pair of eyes, with black pupils...

"They're new—x-ray vision." Lin Qi bluffed.

Lin Qi hadn't disguised his eyes yet. Even the Brain's projected display connected through the electrodes behind his ears and formed images directly on his retinas.

But Psychic Vision was much more useful than x-ray vision. It could even see inside the body.

Lin Xin's eyes widened.

Her face flushed red. "Lin Qi, you pervert! You're looking through your sister's clothes?"

Lin Xin didn't know much about cybernetic bodies, so she had no idea whether Lin Qi was telling the truth.

What she didn't know was that even A-level, or even S-Minus Rank, cybernetic eyes couldn't have x-ray vision. At most, they could combine with other detection devices to form an image.

"Are you going to take them out yourself, or do I have to do it for you?" Lin Qi repeated, his tone unchanged.

Kids could play with bombs if they wanted, but the Extraordinary Short Blade was no toy.