The Mercenary's Gaze

He closed the screen, lay back on the bed, and shut his eyes.

His thoughts slowed as they churned through his mind—even a Wizard needed rest.

Nightfall draped over Hongguo City, but the clamor never ceased in this cybernetic metropolis.

The wild nightlife, scavengers fighting to survive, and mercenaries lurking in the shadows.

Not far from the Red Fruit Weapons Research Institute under Liu Heavy Industries, inside a hundred-story apartment building.

A man whose body was over eighty percent cybernetic, both mechanical eyes glowing with a crimson light, stared into the distance at the institute.

"An opening bid of ten million Credit Points—tempting."

"Tyrannosaurus, don't stare at the institute too long. Hongguo City's algorithms will flag you."

"I know. The observation sightlines around this weapons institute are terrible. Generating a 3D model is a pain."

"If the algorithms catch you, we'll abandon you."

"Cut the crap. The target's identity is sensitive. You think I want to scan this dump? One job like this and we can rest for at least ten years."

The conversation was soundless—everything happened inside the Brain.

Tyrannosaurus withdrew his gaze, silently shifted to a different floor, and continued scanning the institute's direction with his peripheral vision.

After a full night's sleep, when the neon lights shut off and natural light bathed every building in Hongguo City, it meant the wild night was over. Time for Lin Qi—a proper working drone—to clock in.

At the sink, Lin Qi stretched his arms and twisted his legs, feeling a bit off.

"I should've taken off this damn Exoskeleton Armor and washed up back in the Doomsday World," he muttered to himself.

Lin Qi wasn't a clean freak, but not being able to clean his limbs still grated on him.

When he'd first designed this limb Exoskeleton Armor, he'd left out ventilation structures to ensure it mimicked a real cybernetic body and maintained structural strength.

"Good thing the [Gate] only has a 24-hour cooldown. I can clean up tonight."

According to the information the [Gate] fed back to Lin Qi, he could use it once every 24 hours, and each time he could stay in the Doomsday World for 24 hours.

Plus, when Lin Qi traveled to the Doomsday World, time in the Cyber World didn't flow.

Or maybe the [Gate] brought him back to the exact moment he'd left.

Either way, it gave Lin Qi a perfectly safe window for rest.

Tonight, Lin Qi planned to test whether he could bring more items into the Doomsday World.

He wanted to set up an operation room there to further upgrade his "cybernetic body" and achieve a more perfect disguise.

After tidying up at the sink, Lin Qi stepped out of his apartment, left home, and took the elevator to the rooftop parking lot.

As an L-level Researcher at the Red Fruit Weapons Research Institute and a member of Hongguo City's elite class, Lin Qi had the authority to pilot a Flying Vehicle within city limits.

Today was the last workday before his day off. The 32nd was the final day of each month in the Cyber World, and come March, Lin Qi would get his two monthly rest days again.

By habit, Lin Qi used the 1st and 2nd of each month for two consecutive days of rest.

On those monthly rest days, Lin Qi would go home—first to see his family, and second to upgrade and maintain his "cybernetic body."

An L-level Researcher was elite to the lower rungs, but to a behemoth like Liu Heavy Industries, Lin Qi was just a cybernetic workhorse.

Just as he boarded the Flying Vehicle, Lin Qi received a reply from "Doctor Lin."

Doctor Lin was Lin Qi's old man—true to his name, he ran a cybernetic clinic.

Back when all the unlicensed cybernetic clinics in Hongguo City were ranked, "Number One Cybernetic Clinic" could've made the top three—unfortunately, from the bottom.

Luckily, Lin Qi had made something of himself, landing a job at Liu Heavy Industries and securing a new supply channel for the clinic.

Now, business at Number One Cybernetic Clinic was still so-so, but the quality of its cybernetics was no worse than any licensed clinic.

The source was naturally Liu Heavy Industries—just a tiny perk the company threw to its cybernetic workhorses.

"What model heart do you need? And keep a low profile when you come back. Don't run into Lin Xin again. If you two start fighting, it'll be a real headache for your old man."

Lin Qi thought back—before heading to the Doomsday World, he'd set a timed message for his dad.

"H-L-023. I designed it myself, so I trust it. Liu Heavy Industries' First Batch has already shipped."

"As for Lin Xin? I'll give her an earful when I get back."

Lin Xin was Lin Qi's younger sister. Since he started working at the institute, they only met once a month, but they fought almost every time.

That sister of his—not cute at all.

He sent both messages, then settled into the Flying Vehicle.

Lin Qi never trusted the Flying Vehicle's autopilot. He drove manually to the institute.

His rest days were few, but his work hours weren't short either.

Every day, he clocked in at nine in the morning and clocked out at nine at night.

Such a workload could only be endured with cybernetic modifications.

Though Lin Qi was exhausted, it was all worth it.

At least this set of "cybernetics" on him was personally designed, produced by Liu Heavy Industries, purchased by Number One Cybernetic Clinic, and then modified and installed by Lin Qi himself.

As the designer, who dared to say Lin Qi's cybernetics were fake?

After just five minutes of flight, the Red Fruit Weapons Research Institute came into view.

Just as he was about to arrive, Lin Qi suddenly sensed a trace of being watched.

Ever since gaining Psychic Vision, he had become extremely sensitive to any gaze.

Especially hostile ones.

Instinctively entering the Psychic Vision state, following the movement of the Flying Vehicle, Lin Qi immediately obtained full visibility within a 85-meter radius.

After returning from the Doomsday World, his Mental Power had increased, extending the range of Psychic Vision by five meters.

Unfortunately, Lin Qi couldn't pinpoint the source of the gaze.

The Flying Vehicle was moving too fast, and that look didn't seem deliberately aimed at him.

"Has a mercenary set their sights on me? No, it should be the weapons institute they're after."

Lin Qi was very familiar with a mercenary's gaze. Over the years in the "Highest Level" mercenary group, his role had always been pre-combat intelligence summarization.

He never fought head-on, but his advance collection of battlefield information was meticulous to an appalling degree.

Psychic Vision allowed Lin Qi to obtain all information within its coverage—an absolute sensory perception that included but wasn't limited to sight.

"Who would target the Red Fruit Weapons Research Institute? The weapons here aren't cutting-edge for a conglomerate like Liu Heavy Industries."

"But cutting-edge doesn't mean security is lax. There are quite a few members of the Liu Family stationed here."

"Could the mission target not be the institute's research, but the people? Has someone set their sights on the Liu Family?"

Mercenaries never care about risk, only profit.

Lin Qi had personally participated in missions involving major powers.

Between nobodies and legends, mercenaries would always choose the latter.

The latter often symbolized power and wealth.

Rumor had it that the two T0-level Mercenary Groups on the leaderboard each had the strength to stand alone against top-tier conglomerates—the lifelong pursuit of every mercenary.