At nine o'clock on March 4, 2089, Lin Qi stepped off the public transit vehicle. The Twin Towers of Si Pharmaceutical stood not far ahead.
Liu Heavy Industries' branch in Greenland City was in an ordinary-looking square high-rise beside Tower B.
To reach the Liu Heavy Industries branch, Lin Qi had to cross the Twin Towers plaza and pass by the side of Tower B.
The route perfectly matched Guangleng's recommendation.
"That proves Guangleng definitely knows who I am. Hell, they even know my work schedule."
Faced with this seemingly invincible presence in the Cyber Network, Lin Qi was helpless.
Fortunately, they were currently allies.
If he had an enemy like that, Lin Qi figured he wouldn't stand a chance of surviving.
The Highest Level didn't seem undeserved, at least in a certain sense.
As he slowly headed toward the Twin Towers, an A-level implanted bodyguard followed far behind him.
The distance was kept precisely at a hundred meters—close enough to rush in and protect him at any moment, but also well within Lin Qi's Psychic Vision.
Lin Qi's gaze remained fixed on the square high-rise beside Tower B, as if he were focused only on reaching his destination.
The model only marked the areas under surveillance, but Lin Qi didn't know the locations of every camera.
Disguise was ingrained in Lin Qi's bones.
He followed the route Guangleng had suggested the whole way.
He left the surveillance zone, passed through the landscaped area, and located the box.
"Optical camouflage? No wonder it's high-end gear."
The box's optical camouflage couldn't fool Lin Qi's Psychic Vision.
Lin Qi seemed to pass by without a thought; even the motion of taking the box looked like a casual swing of his arm as he walked.
He took the bracelet from inside the box, opened the weapons compartment in his arm's Exoskeleton, and placed the bracelet beside the Short Tang Dao.
Then he continued along the indicated route.
Before entering the surveillance zone, he passed a cleaning robot.
He tossed the box into its waste compartment in one smooth motion.
Everything had been arranged by Guangleng.
Lin Qi returned to the surveillance zone.
On closer inspection, there was a flaw in this route: the stretch through the landscaped area deviated slightly from the road Lin Qi would take to the company.
But only the bodyguard who had followed Lin Qi the entire way could possibly spot the discrepancy.
As for the surveillance equipment in Greenland City?
Guangleng had already altered it. Lin Qi had been outside the surveillance zone for less than six seconds, and his gaze had remained steady the entire time, fixed in the direction of the company as if all he cared about was getting to work.
A true cyberpunk wage slave, the very best of the best.
The surveillance system kept tracking him until he entered the Liu Heavy Industries branch, with no gaps.
At 9:32 a.m. on March 4, 2089, a young man with an obnoxious blond mohawk arrived at the landscaped area.
Comparing the model displayed in his pupils, the blond mohawk reached the designated location.
He felt around.
"Where's my gear? Where is it?"
"The Legion's getting more and more slipshod. The Equipment Department can't be trusted. They're not acting like a T0-level outfit at all."
"Shit, information's locked down in Greenland City. I can't contact the Legion. How am I supposed to do this mission without anyone backing me up?"
Lin Qi had just entered the branch when he spotted a familiar figure in the lobby.
"What a coincidence."
The Liu sisters, Liu Xuan and Liu Li, were at the branch too?
"Sure is," Lin Qi said. He was already used to these kinds of chance encounters.
"You're not cutting it close to clock-in today?"
Beside Liu Xuan, Liu Li gave him a suspicious look, as if she doubted his identity.
Lin Qi smiled. "New job, new look. I want to make a good impression on the branch."
On closer inspection, this could also have been a clue that Lin Qi had taken the Holy Corpse Legion's gear.
But that would require the Holy Corpse Legion to study Liu Heavy Industries' clock-in records and pinpoint Lin Qi's habit of arriving just in time.
Liu Li still looked puzzled, but before she could say anything more to Lin Qi, Liu Xuan pulled her away.
As usual, Liu Xuan and Lin Qi seemed to have truly just run into each other by chance. They didn't even exchange a second sentence.
Lin Qi turned his gaze away from their departing figures and went over to a large screen.
The screen was connected to the company's management system.
[A-level researcher Lin Qi, your department is on the thirteenth floor. Please report to the Management Office of the Pharmaceutical Division, Room 1301, before ten o'clock today.]
Lin Qi had never worked in pharmaceutical research before.
But it was a company assignment, and there was nothing he could do about it. He could only follow orders.
Following the directions inside the company, Lin Qi took the elevator to the thirteenth floor and entered the management office.
The head of the pharmaceutical department, Liu Weicai, seemed to have been waiting for him.
The department head was a member of the Liu Family. The fact that he'd been assigned this kind of management job showed that he didn't hold much standing within the family.
"You were originally an L-level researcher in the cybernetic-implant category. Your A-level research rank is only temporary, so you're not suited for A-level pharmaceutical research."
Liu Weicai was very blunt. He might as well have said outright that Lin Qi was a nepotism hire who didn't belong on this floor.
"But the company gave you A-level researcher privileges, so I have to assign you a lab."
The more Liu Weicai spoke, the darker his expression grew, though his attitude remained reasonably polite.
It was precisely because he was a member of the Liu Family that he had access to more information.
Lin Qi seemed to be someone he couldn't afford to offend.
"Your lab is 1339. It's A-level in size, but for now, you haven't been assigned any staff. You can submit your own research proposals and work independently. Go on."
Liu Weicai quickly arranged everything, then immediately started ushering him out.
Lin Qi was happy with that arrangement. The work offered plenty of freedom.
Back in Red Fruit City, Lin Qi had enjoyed considerable freedom at work.
As a key talent the company was grooming, he didn't need to assist senior researchers with their projects. He could independently submit research proposals at his assigned level.
The work arrangement was exactly the same as what Liu Weicai had given him, so Lin Qi was quite familiar with the process.
He left the management office and entered Room 1339. Starting today, this would temporarily be his own territory.
After briefly checking the privileges manual, Lin Qi found himself in a bit of a bind.
"I'm an A-level researcher now, so I can submit A-level research proposals. But because of the restrictions on my privileges, I can only apply for projects in the pharmaceutical category."
"Most of the branch's projects in Greenland City are pharmaceuticals. Trying to do cybernetic-implant research here would take twice the effort for half the result."
"But when it comes to pharmaceutical research, I'm not just a novice—I don't know the first thing about it."
According to Liu Weicai, Lin Qi only needed to kill time in the lab every day. He hadn't expected Lin Qi to work on a single research project.
But Lin Qi wasn't that kind of person. Now that he'd joined the company and had access to its resources, he had to do something.
A moment later, Lin Qi had an idea.
"Pharmaceutical research is just research. I started my cybernetic-implant research from scratch back then, too."
"Besides, compared with cybernetic implants, mechanics and pharmaceuticals could also help me develop in the Doomsday World."
"Starting from scratch is no big deal for me."
Once he'd made up his mind, Lin Qi immediately used his A-level researcher privileges.
He submitted an application for...
An M-level human enhancement drug project, and, in accordance with the highest staffing level his privileges allowed, he also requested a full ten M-level researchers as assistants.
"I call that being willing to learn from anyone."
As soon as he'd submitted the application, a communication request from Liu Weicai appeared on the screen in the lab.
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