Making Things Difficult? Applying for Permission

Psychic Vision activated, but the observer's gaze merely swept past, not lingering on Lin Qi for long.

"The gaze is from the train?"

Sensing the general direction, Lin Qi saw the Red-Green Express.

The train was encased in high-intensity armor, even equipped with numerous weapons. It was less a mode of transport and more a war machine. The safety of riding the train was clearly superior to aerial vehicles, which was likely why the company had arranged it this way.

"But danger has already infiltrated the train."

Only the first two carriages were occupied by Liu Heavy Industries personnel. The carriages behind them carried employees from various other companies. Although Hongguo City was Liu Heavy Industries's territory, major corporations were deeply intertwined, and Hongguo City also housed branch offices of other companies. Given the way these large corporations operated, the iron curtain raised by Greenland City was bound to attract attention. The nearly full sixteen carriages of the Red-Green Express indicated the intentions of these major companies. With personnel from major corporations across a significant portion of the Asian political region gathered, would mercenaries act on the train? Lin Qi didn't know, nor could he escape.

At the entrance to Carriage 2, Lin Qi passed identity verification and entered the carriage.

"Who is he?"

"Don't recognize him."

"Haven't seen him among the A-level researchers."

The entire carriage was filled with A-level researchers belonging to Liu Heavy Industries, along with a small number of middle and high-level managers. Not a single person was younger than 35. Lin Qi, with his youthful face, attracted considerable attention. The seats in the carriage were almost full, with four seats per row and an aisle in the middle. Only a few scattered seats near the inner side were empty. The company's intelligent system hadn't assigned seats, only carriages. But surely the intelligent system wouldn't overlook the number of seats. There wouldn't be standing room only, right?

Approaching the nearest available spot, Lin Qi asked a researcher sitting by the aisle, who was A-level, "Excuse me, is the window seat taken?" Maintaining basic politeness was a habit Lin Qi had cultivated since childhood.

"Yes, it is." The person shook their head.

Lin Qi looked around. Everyone was seated. He had arrived just in time, so no one should have been slower than him. Who else could there be?

Walking to the next seat, before Lin Qi could even speak, the researcher in the aisle seat said, "It's taken."

Taken again?

The carriage gradually quieted down. Lin Qi began to understand the problem. Were these company veterans trying to exclude him?

His gaze shifted to the front row, where several "elites" in white shirts were seated. Those were company managers, not researchers. Their job ranks and the researcher system were separate, but being on this train meant their status wouldn't be low, at least their authority level was higher than Wei Wei's. The individuals made no move, not even turning their heads. Lin Qi's age suggested his company level wouldn't be high, and he wasn't top management, most likely a researcher. But being selected for this cross-city transfer indicated he was likely A-level, perhaps having just become A-level in the past couple of days. Judging by his age, he might even be a key talent being groomed. The veterans disliked people like that. Unsocial and promoted faster than them. However, A-level researchers were the backbone of the company, and the company generally wouldn't do much to them even if minor conflicts arose. Workplace bullying. This was the first time Lin Qi had witnessed it since joining the company a year ago.

"This carriage seems to be full. Why don't you try the carriage in front or the one behind?" someone said, their voice laced with schadenfreude. They were definitely not a good person. The carriage in front was Carriage 1, with a much better environment, truly a carriage exclusive to the company's high-level executives. As for the carriages behind, they belonged to other companies.

"Okay."

Lin Qi nodded and walked forward down the corridor.

All eyes in the carriage instantly fell on Lin Qi, including the several people in the front row wearing white shirts.

They sat closest to Carriage One, but it was a position they would almost certainly never be able to enter in their lives.

All gazes shifted with Lin Qi's movement until he reached the very end.

Lin Qi stepped out of Carriage Two and into the partition between the carriages.

[No permission to enter, submit application?]

There were permission barriers between the carriages, and free passage between them was impossible.

However, whether one could apply for permission through the train system required approval from the relevant personnel.

"Apply, request Liu Xuan's review."

[Confirming permissions, application submitted.]

This area was completely soundproof. Although the people in Carriage Two could see Lin Qi's actions, they couldn't hear anything.

Inside Carriage Two.

"Is that guy an idiot? Did he actually go to apply for permission?"

"You guys are terrible people. He might be a key talent the company is nurturing. Do you want to ruin him?"

"Tch, just an idiot. Does he really think he's qualified to apply for permission just because he was selected for the key training program?"

"Haha..."

Laughter erupted in the carriage.

"Lin Qi?"

Liu Xuan's voice sounded. As soon as she entered Carriage One, she received the permission review from the train system.

Lin Qi admitted he was well-connected, as he wouldn't have been able to work directly in the weapons research institute without Liu Xuan.

If you have connections, you naturally use them!

Lin Qi didn't exaggerate or embellish, truthfully recounting what had just happened in Carriage Two.

Beside Liu Xuan, Liu Li sidled over and interrupted their conversation: "Who told you to come to work at the last minute every day? If you got on the train earlier, you wouldn't have so many problems!"

"Sis, ignore him, let him go back to Carriage Two and be embarrassed!"

Hearing Liu Li's voice, Lin Qi thought, What a wicked sister.

Indeed, all sisters in the world are not good people.

Liu Xuan pushed Liu Li away: "Stop messing around."

She turned back and continued to say to Lin Qi: "Come to Carriage One, it's quite empty."

With that, she used her authority to grant Lin Qi passage.

Throughout the entire train, Liu Xuan's authority seemed to be the highest tier.

Between Carriage One and Carriage Two, the heavy metal door, which seemed to divide two worlds, slowly opened.

The light in Carriage One seemed a bit brighter than in Carriage Two. Lin Qi stepped inside.

After Lin Qi entered, the heavy metal door slowly closed.

That fleeting glimpse of light caught the attention of everyone in Carriage Two.

Even after the heavy metal door closed and the partition returned to darkness, their gazes remained fixed.

"He... he went in?"

"How did he get permission?"

Before they could react, the email that was immediately sent to everyone in Carriage Two via the company email plunged the carriage into a deathly silence.

[Behavior violates company regulations. After deliberation by company high management, this month's salary will be deducted as punishment, and 20 points will be deducted from the annual performance review.]