Intercepting Gear, Work Arrangements

March 4th, 2089, 9:00 AM. Lin Qi stepped out of the public transit, the twin towers of Si Pharmaceutical not far ahead.

Liu Heavy Industries' Greenland City branch was located on the side of Tower B, a nondescript square skyscraper.

To reach the branch office, Lin Qi had to cross the twin towers plaza and pass by the side of Tower B.

The route perfectly matched Guangleng's suggestion.

"This means Guangleng definitely knows my identity, and even my damn work schedule."

Lin Qi was helpless against this seemingly invincible entity in the cyber network.

Fortunately, they were teammates for now.

If he had such an enemy, Lin Qi figured he wouldn't stand a chance of survival.

Highest Level truly lived up to its name, in a sense.

As he slowly walked toward the twin towers, his A-level augmented bodyguard followed far behind.

The distance was strictly maintained at one hundred meters, allowing for immediate intervention if needed, but also placing the bodyguard within Lin Qi's Psychic Vision.

Lin Qi's gaze was fixed on the square building next to Tower B, as if solely focused on reaching his destination.

The modeling only marked monitored areas, but Lin Qi didn't know the location of all the cameras.

Camouflage was ingrained in Lin Qi's very being.

He followed the route suggested by Guangleng.

Exiting the monitored area, passing through a green zone, he located the box.

"Optical camouflage? As expected of high-end gear."

The optical camouflage box couldn't fool Lin Qi's Psychic Vision.

Lin Qi acted as if he were just passing by, his movement to retrieve the box looking like a casual wave of his hand.

He took out the bracelet from inside the box, opened the weapon compartment on his Exoskeleton arm, and placed the bracelet next to his Short Tang Dao.

He continued along the indicated route.

Before re-entering the monitored area, he passed a cleaning robot.

He tossed the box into the trash chute, a seamless move.

Everything had been arranged by Guangleng.

Lin Qi re-entered the monitored area.

This operational route had a flaw if scrutinized closely: the path through the green zone deviated slightly from Lin Qi's route to the company.

However, only the bodyguard, who followed Lin Qi the entire way, could possibly notice this discrepancy.

As for the surveillance equipment within Greenland City?

It had already been tampered with by Guangleng. Lin Qi was only outside the monitored zone for less than six seconds, his gaze steady the entire time, focused only on work and heading towards the company.

Truly the ultimate cyber-worker.

The surveillance system continued without a hitch until Lin Qi entered the Liu Heavy Industries branch office.

March 4th, 2089, 9:32 AM. A young man with a garish spiky blonde hairstyle arrived at the green zone.

Comparing it to the model in his pupils, the blonde-haired youth had arrived at the designated location.

He fumbled around.

"Where's my gear? Where's my gear?"

"The Legion is getting more and more disorganized. The equipment department is so unreliable. Where's that T0-level style?"

"Damn it, information is blocked within Greenland City, and I can't contact the Legion. How am I supposed to do this mission without any cooperation?"

As Lin Qi entered the branch office, he saw a familiar figure on the first floor.

"What a coincidence."

The Liu sisters, Liu Xuan and Liu Li, were also at the branch office?

"It is quite a coincidence." Lin Qi was already accustomed to such chance encounters.

"You're not cutting it close to the start time today?"

Beside Liu Xuan, Liu Li looked at him with suspicion, as if questioning his identity.

Lin Qi smiled: "New job, new me, making a good impression on the branch."

If one were to scrutinize it, this was indeed a loophole for Lin Qi to have taken the Holy Corpse Legion's equipment.

But that would require the Holy Corpse Legion to actively research Liu Heavy Industries' clock-in records and precisely identify Lin Qi's habit of arriving just in time.

Liu Li's gaze remained strange, but before she could continue talking to Lin Qi, Liu Xuan pulled her away.

Just like always, it seemed like a mere coincidence between Liu Xuan and Lin Qi, with no further conversation exchanged.

Lin Qi shifted his gaze from the receding figures and approached a large screen.

The screen was connected to the company's management system.

[A-level researcher Lin Qi, your department is located on the thirteenth floor. Please arrive at 1301, the Pharmaceutical Department Management Office, before 10 AM today.]

Lin Qi had never touched pharmaceutical research before.

But it was the company's arrangement, and Lin Qi couldn't offer any objections, so he could only comply.

Following the internal company directions, 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.

This director was a member of the Liu Family, but being assigned to this kind of management work indicated his low standing within the Liu clan.

"You were originally an L-level Cybernetic Body researcher. Your A-level research rank was a temporary promotion and is not suitable for A-level pharmaceutical research work."

Liu Weicai was very direct, almost saying that Lin Qi was a connection hire who didn't deserve to be on this floor.

"But the company gave you A-level researcher privileges, so I have to assign you a laboratory."

Liu Weicai's face grew darker as he spoke, but his attitude remained decent.

It was precisely because he was a member of the Liu Family that he could obtain more information.

Lin Qi, it seemed, was someone he couldn't afford to offend.

"Your research lab is 1339, A-level in scale, but there are no personnel assigned for now. You can propose your own research projects and conduct research freely. You may go."

Liu Weicai quickly arranged everything and then started to usher him out.

Lin Qi was happy with this arrangement; his work was sufficiently free.

In Red Fruit City, Lin Qi's work was quite liberal.

As a key talent cultivated by the company, Lin Qi didn't need to cooperate with high-level researchers on projects and could independently propose research at his corresponding level.

The work mode was exactly the same as what Liu Weicai had assigned, and Lin Qi was very familiar with the process.

Leaving the management office and entering 1339, this would temporarily be Lin Qi's territory from today onwards.

After a brief review of the permission manual, Lin Qi found himself in a bit of a predicament.

"I am now an A-level researcher and can propose A-level research projects, but due to classification issues, I can only propose research within the pharmaceutical category."

"Most projects in the Greenland City branch are pharmaceuticals. Conducting Cybernetic Body research here would be twice the effort for half the result."

"But regarding pharmaceutical research, if I'm not proficient, I don't know anything at all."

According to Liu Weicai's expectations, Lin Qi just needed to slack off in the lab every day; he didn't expect Lin Qi to undertake any research projects at all.

But Lin Qi was not that kind of person. Since he was at the company and had the company's resources, Lin Qi felt he had to do something.

A moment later, Lin Qi had an idea.

"Pharmaceutical research, after all. My Cybernetic Body research also started from scratch."

"Moreover, compared to Cybernetic Bodies, both machinery and pharmaceuticals can aid my development in the apocalyptic world."

"Learning from scratch isn't difficult for me."

Having finished his thoughts, Lin Qi directly utilized his A-level researcher privileges.

He applied for an...

M-level human enhancement potion project. He also applied for ten M-level researchers as assistants, using the highest configuration allowed by his authority.

"This is what I call, not being afraid to ask questions of those below you."

As soon as he finished applying, Liu Weicai's communication request appeared on the screen in the laboratory.