Pervert, X-ray your little sister?

Lin Xin's face was pale. "Who wants your Platinum Member!"

The old man wasn't about to argue with Lin Xin; he just couldn't be bothered.

Lin Qi wouldn't yield an inch to Lin Xin in words.

As for Lin Xin refusing cybernetic modification, Lin Qi actually respected that quite a bit, but his dear sister didn't respect him.

Lin Xin choked back her anger and stopped acknowledging Lin Qi.

Lin Qi scratched his head. He'd thought Lin Xin would put up a real fight, so he'd specifically loaded the Advanced Language Chip—all for nothing.

"Where's Dad?" Lin Qi sat down on a chair in the clinic.

"Downstairs."

Lin Xin was curt, her pent-up frustration finding no outlet.

That old bastard and this cyber freak were both pissing her off.

Lin Qi nodded. Number One Cybernetic Clinic was a legitimate cybernetic clinic, though it occasionally dealt in illegal items.

But the basement of Number One Cybernetic Clinic was a different story—a straight-up black-market clinic.

As the old man put it, as long as gang members had the cash, they could even get a brand-new A-level Cybernetic Body!

A textbook illegal underground clinic.

Lin Qi had a hand in that, of course.

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

But Lin Qi had shown remarkable talent in cybernetic design, earning resource allocation within Liu Heavy Industries.

At 19, with no connections, he was an L-level Researcher.

His status shot up like a rocket, not without a favor from Miss Liu.

Favors alone weren't enough, though—the company wouldn't easily hand over precious "knowledge" to someone they couldn't control.

So the black-market clinic was born.

Before Lin Qi joined the Red Fruit Weapons Research Institute, the old man, Doctor Lin, was already dabbling in gray-area dealings, and Number One Cybernetic Clinic was a gray industry itself.

Since that was the case, why not scale it up?

The black-and-gray industries were a key part of Liu Heavy Industries' control over Hongguo City.

Lin Qi voluntarily handed over leverage to the Liu family—if they wanted to move against him, they could "legally" wipe him out in name.

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

Just as he was about to head down the stairs to the basement, passing by Lin Xin, Lin Qi vaguely sensed something.

The concentration of Spiritual Energy Particles felt off.

He activated Psychic Vision.

The items hidden on Lin Xin were laid bare.

At her waist hung a legally held A-level Kinetic Pistol, with papers Lin Qi had handled.

Behind her back, she had another A-level Kinetic Pistol stashed—a silenced model, a textbook illegal weapon!

Around her calf, a ring of spherical micro tactical bombs was secured with straps, the binding technique very professional.

Around her neck, the seemingly unremarkable necklace could assemble into a networked Tactical Eyepiece.

Finally, on her back, a short blade was kept close to Lin Xin's body.

That short blade was the source of the abnormal Spiritual Energy Particle concentration—an Extraordinary Item!

This was his sister?

Lin Qi felt like he was meeting Lin Xin for the first time.

Even without considering the short blade, that gear alone could go toe-to-toe with an HGPD patrol squad.

Factor in the short blade, and based on the intel Lin Qi had gathered on Extraordinary Items over the years, a weapon-type Extraordinary Item gave a terrifying boost to personal combat power.

Lin Qi stopped in his tracks and turned to face Lin Xin.

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

A Wizard?

Probably not.

No Extraordinary Item could stay intact in a Wizard's hands—if one fell to a Wizard, it'd be analyzed and scrapped by now.

This Extraordinary Short Blade was only a First Rank Extraordinary Item, exactly the kind Wizards needed most.

In the Cyber World, the number of First Rank Extraordinary Items in existence might be even smaller than Second or Third Rank ones.

"A talk? About what?"

Lin Xin was still fuming and didn't want to deal 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, the other by Lin Qi.

Both workshops were illegal structures, with no networked devices whatsoever. Even Red Fruit City's Crime Detection Network hadn't been wired in. Such locations were rare in Red Fruit City, generally only found in the Black-Gray Industry Gang Activity Zone specifically demarcated by the Liu family.

"No... Hey! Don't grab me!"

Before Lin Xin could finish her refusal, the back of her neck was clamped tight by Lin Qi's L-level cybernetic exoskeleton.

He dragged her toward the stairs.

The glass door of Number One Cybernetic Clinic slid open slowly as two gang members with cybernetic malfunctions entered.

One of them rubbed his cybernetic eye. "Did I just see that? Was Old Lin's daughter kidnapped?"

"You're seeing things. That eye of yours needs replacing. That's Lin Qi—a legend on the fringes of Hongguo City. Old Lin's son, Lin Xin's brother. The company's dog!"

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

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

"Don't bother wondering. I already wondered myself."

Number One Cybernetic Clinic, underground workshop.

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

Her neck ached from the grip. Lin Xin tried to struggle, but what could flesh and blood do against an L-level exoskeleton?

Lin Qi's movements held no gentleness.

His little sister had grown up, turned rebellious. Time for... a beating!

"Pistol, bomb, tactical eyepiece, knife. You take them out yourself, or do I do it for you?"

Lin Qi tossed Lin Xin onto the chair and stared straight into her eyes.

If it were just bombs or something, he could write it off as a kid playing around. He wouldn't make a fuss.

But what truly bothered Lin Qi was that Extraordinary Short Blade.

Anything involving an Extraordinary Item meant Lin Xin had met some ridiculous punk lately, hadn't she?

Lin Xin's shouting cut off abruptly. The workshop fell dead silent.

"Didn't you give me the pistol?"

After a few breaths, Lin Xin said weakly.

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

Lin Qi shook his head and pointed at his own eyes.

They were clean, clear eyes—black pupils...

"X-ray vision. New product." Lin Qi bluffed.

He hadn't disguised his eyes yet. Even the Brain's visual projections came through electrodes behind his ears, imaging directly onto his retina.

But Psychic Vision was far more useful than X-ray—it could even see inside the body.

Lin Xin's eyes went wide.

Her face flushed. "Lin Qi, you pervert! You're X-raying your own sister?"

Lin Xin didn't know much about cybernetics—how could she tell if Lin Qi was lying?

She also didn't know that even A-level or S-level cybernetic eyes couldn't have X-ray vision. At best, they could composite images with other detection gear.

"You take them out, or I do it for you?" Lin Qi's tone stayed the same.

Kids could play with bombs all they wanted. An Extraordinary Short Blade wasn't in the same category as a toy.