Assassin's League

Lin Xin hesitated for a moment before finally making a move, placing the weapons she carried one by one in front of Lin Qi.

"Explain. Where did these come from?" Lin Qi's head ached; he had never imagined Lin Xin would get tangled up with Extraordinary Items.

"Stole them from Dad." Lin Xin spouted nonsense off the top of her head.

If the Cybernetic Clinic had any Extraordinary Items, how could they ever fall to Lin Xin? They'd have been taken by Lin Qi long ago to serve as fuel for the Wizard's advancement.

"I'll give you one more chance. Come clean properly. Otherwise, from today until you do, I guarantee you won't take a single step out of the Cybernetic Clinic."

Lin Qi placed extreme importance on his family's safety; otherwise, he wouldn't have shelled out a fortune of one hundred fifty thousand Credit Points per person each year to buy Platinum Memberships for his family from the Trauma Emergency Company.

This essentially meant that whenever danger struck and they got hurt, a mercenary squad was on call at a moment's notice.

For the employer's safety, the emergency squad would even dare to fight the HGPD or the Red Fruit Mobile Unit.

This was an international company independent of Red Fruit City, backed by the hands of numerous consortiums.

In short, as long as the employer's membership level was high enough and they hadn't died before the emergency squad arrived, the employer was mostly unkillable.

Lin Qi's goal was to upgrade his family to Black Diamond Level Members.

The price wasn't high—just one hundred million Credit Points a year.

It was said that the heads of top-tier companies almost all held this level of membership.

Hearing this, Lin Xin immediately flared up: "This is illegal detention!"

Lin Qi didn't care; there was no Red Fruit City crime monitoring network here anyway.

Even if the HGPD showed up, Lin Qi could afford the fine, not to mention he could pull strings through Liu Xuan.

The noise of the argument died down.

Lin Xin finally understood that she couldn't hide this from Lin Qi.

"Do you know about DEEP?" Lin Xin asked.

DEEP?

Lin Qi's brow furrowed even deeper.

That was the official website name of the Intercontinental Deep Web Company—what Lin Qi, in his more familiar terms, would call the Black Market.

Being able to log into that site meant touching on illegal activities beyond the scope of ordinary gangs.

"Did you join a Mercenary Group?" Lin Qi pressed on.

The easiest way to access the Black Market was through the Mercenary Group channel.

"How did you know?"

Lin Xin clearly hadn't been in contact with the Black Market for long; she didn't have Lin Qi's wealth of experience.

Lin Qi's head throbbed. Which Mercenary Group was so generous as to give a newcomer an Extraordinary Item?

He recalled his own experience joining the "Highest Level."

Just a web pop-up, then a mysterious meeting room, and under the smooth talk of four old hands, he joined without getting any benefits.

After reluctantly completing his first mission, Lin Qi earned his first pot of gold from the Black Market—one hundred thousand Credit Points.

"Which Mercenary Group would take in an idiot like you? And why make a decision on your own without consulting me or Dad?"

"You usually hate cybernetics, but now you're not afraid of being taken away and modified?"

"And besides..."

Lin Qi grew irritable, and the "Advanced Language Application" chip he had loaded was also kicking in, nagging endlessly in Lin Xin's ear.

"That won't happen. Our Assassin's League rejects all forms of cybernetic modification."

Lin Xin's reply made Lin Qi stop his nagging.

The Assassin's League?

He hadn't just heard of it—it was a name that thundered in his ears.

Compared to a third-rate Mercenary Group like "Highest Level," with its humorous name, the Assassin's League's reputation was known to nearly everyone in the mercenary community.

It was one of the top T1-level Mercenary Groups, second only to the two TO-level groups.

Rumor had it that no one had ever seen a living member of the Assassin's League.

But the Assassin's League rejected cybernetic modification?

Lin Qi had never heard of that; it was quite similar to the Wizard's code of conduct.

Lin Qi planned to ask about it at the next "Highest Level" meeting, trusting that Guangleng's intelligence network would have some insight.

But still...

Lin Xin, this foolish sister of his—how could she be mixed up with the Assassin's League?

It all felt off somehow.

He wanted to ask more, but Lin Xin said, "The Assassin's League has special methods. Telling you my identity is already the limit. If I reveal any more, something very bad will happen."

Lin Xin pointed at the Extraordinary Short Blade on the table, then at her own neck.

Lin Qi immediately entered Psychic Vision, observing the condition of the Extraordinary Short Blade on the table.

As Lin Xin moved, the Spiritual Energy Particles within the Extraordinary Short Blade fluctuated, as if the Extraordinary Item was deeply bound to her.

The Assassin's League had means like this?

This didn't seem like an assassin, more like a Wizard.

Wizards had all sorts of abilities; there were almost no two Wizards in the world with the same power.

But Lin Qi knew that once a Wizard reached the third tier, they underwent a qualitative change, allowing deeper use of Extraordinary Items, even reforging those that had collapsed after being analyzed by themselves.

It really wasn't suitable to ask more questions.

But Lin Xin's safety needed more guarantees.

Lin Qi asked, "Did the Mercenary Group give you any tasks besides equipment? Do you have any Credit Points?"

Lin Xin looked wary. "You want to borrow money? Don't tell me you're trying to borrow from me to buy an A-level Cybernetic Body?"

Lin Xin's hand shielded her coat pocket.

Lin Qi's Psychic Vision covered it; inside Lin Xin's pocket was a Bearer Savings Chip.

From its specifications, it was a security level above a million.

The veins on the arm hidden within the exoskeleton bulged.

What kind of Mercenary Group was the Assassin's League?

Lin Xin's reaction clearly showed she hadn't done any tasks.

But why had the Assassin's League given her so much?

Equipment, an Extraordinary Item, a million in funds...

Lin Qi's hostility toward the Assassin's League grew stronger.

As a seasoned mercenary, Lin Qi knew that in the cyber era, there was no such thing as a gift without a price.

Every gift was the Assassin's League eyeing some value in Lin Xin.

What was so special about this foolish sister that she was worth such an investment from the Assassin's League?

Lin Qi directly commanded his smart brain to send an email to the "Highest Level" mailbox, hoping Guangleng would call a meeting early.

Couldn't wait!

If the Assassin's League really had ulterior motives, Lin Xin would be in grave danger.

"Right now, immediately, use the funds on that chip to upgrade to a Black Gold Member of the Intercontinental Stabilization Trauma Response Company! Then have them send a Life Monitoring and Positioning Device right away."

"A million funds—you definitely have it yourself!"

"Don't leave the Cybernetic Clinic until you've upgraded!"

The Trauma Response Company wasn't just a medical institution; it was a top-tier bodyguard team.

Any accident, any injury, as long as you held out for fifteen minutes.

A medical combat squad matching the member level would arrive, doing everything to save the employer's life.

And bring them back alive to the Intercontinental Stabilization Trauma Response Company.

The only cost was an additional fee of up to 300% of the annual membership fee afterward, and the next year's membership fee would double.

[We are responsible for every member's life]

That was the motto of the Intercontinental Stabilization Trauma Response Company.