Only an hour remained until the operation began.

Guang Ling had already sent the detailed operation plan to everyone.

Lin Qi opened his email and carefully read Guang Ling’s arrangements for the operation, his expression turning quite peculiar.

"Heh, so they really do know about my Ability..."

Lin Qi couldn’t figure out for the life of him when his Ability had been exposed.

But thankfully, Guang Ling wasn’t an enemy. For now, they were allies.

...

Inside the apartment, Lin Qi picked up his simple tools and began disassembling and reassembling various second-hand Prosthetic Bodies.

Just like the last operation, Lin Qi needed to use counterfeit Prosthetic Body parts to cover his entire frame, giving himself a completely new appearance.

Even if Guang Ling slipped up and the information was leaked, the only image that would circulate would be of Lin Qi’s disguised form.

In less than half an hour, the image of a Prosthetic Implanter appeared in the mirror—one who looked obese, their full-body prosthetics assembled into a shape closely resembling a ball.

This appearance wasn’t just a simple disguise.

All the Prosthetic Body parts Lin Qi had assembled onto himself, connected via an Exoskeleton, were fully functional.

Relying solely on the combat power of this "ball," Lin Qi was strong enough to tear apart an ordinary L-Class Prosthetic Implanter.

As he walked out the door, Guang Ling’s cloaking had already begun.

His bodyguard, Brother Green Hair, was tensely monitoring several screens, completely absorbed in his watch to prevent any dangerous situation that might lead to Lin Qi getting hurt.

He had no idea that Lin Qi had already disguised himself as a "ball" and headed to the commercial district of Greenfield City.

This was Lin Qi’s second time here; the last time, he had come for a formula dogfighting vehicle.

"Sir, your Prosthetic Body is gorgeous! Which company produced it?"

Someone was hitting on Lin Qi. He recognized the person; she had tried to strike up a conversation last time, too, but Lin Qi had ignored her.

Her name was Lai Xin, a full-time employee from the Jiuxin Prosthetics Club.

Her job was to attract prosthetic enthusiasts to join the club, participate in the various parties it organized, and earn membership fees.

Her appearance was also part of Guang Ling’s plan.

The L-Class sonic wave generator activated, and a mature, feminine voice emerged: "Miss, you’re being quite forward."

Lai Xin quickly corrected herself, "My apologies, beautiful miss. I was just so captivated by your gorgeous Prosthetic Body. Could you recommend the brand? I absolutely love it."

An excellent salesperson doesn’t reveal their objective too quickly, especially when they’ve found a precision-targeted customer.

"It’s a custom piece from my personal studio, crafted by an A-Class Prosthetic Engineering designer. It was very expensive."

Lin Qi answered Lai Xin’s question with a proud air.

This answer was exactly what Lai Xin wanted to hear.

So precise.

A customer like this was destined to become a member of the Jiuxin Prosthetics Club.

"Beautiful lady, I don’t suppose you have any free time this evening? On behalf of the Jiuxin Prosthetics Club, I’d like to invite you as a high-level member to tonight’s ’Divine Iron Bull’ series party. The invitation is complimentary. Many prosthetic enthusiasts will be there. Perhaps you might find one—or even several—excellent partners at the gathering."

This was the sentence Lin Qi had been waiting for.

Tonight’s target would be attending this party, and Lin Qi would be mixing in with a legitimate identity.

He would take part in the assassination from the closest possible range.

As for Holy Light countering a Wizard?

Guang Ling’s plan hadn’t considered such a thing at all.

Guang Ling was clearly aware that Holy Light had absolutely no killing power against a special Wizard like Lin Qi.

Faced with Lai Xin’s invitation, Lin Qi feigned a thoughtful expression and shifted his body twice.

From Lai Xin’s perspective, it was as if this nearly perfect sphere was fidgeting coyly, like a bashful young girl.

"Divine Iron Bull? Is it really that divine and mighty?"

"Of course. I can guarantee it."

"Then I suppose I’ll go and take a look."

Lin Qi accepted Lai Xin’s invitation and followed her to the top floor of a two-hundred-story skyscraper.

The party was to be held outdoors on the rooftop.

...

Highest Level temporary communication channel.

King Arthur initiated the query: "I’ve infiltrated the Jiu Xin garbage chute as planned. I’m currently inside the ceiling on the 200th floor. It stinks. Wizard, are you in position?"

Lin Qi was a little confused. "Why are you in a pipe again?"

King Arthur replied instantly: "Guang Ling arranged it. They said I could reach a spot directly beneath the target through the pipes."

Forcibly suppressing her disgust at the strange odors in the garbage chute, King Arthur continued her questioning: "Wizard, are you in position? What about Master Ma?"

Lin Qi had just arrived on the rooftop. Led by Lai Xin, he was brought to a private booth already occupied by several tough guys with over eighty percent of their bodies replaced by prosthetics.

When Lin Qi the "ball" spoke with that mature, feminine voice, the tough guys seemed drawn to him as if by a succubus, moving in to talk with him.

The conversation was mostly about Prosthetic Bodies, as well as some... frankly deranged, sexual modes.

Highly prostheticized people have unique methods of... intimacy, including but not limited to direct prosthetic signal interfacing, analog signal handshakes, and even brain-computer interface mind-melds.

As an L-Class Prosthetic Body researcher himself, Lin Qi was actually able to keep up with their line of thinking, and even proposed some even more audacious ideas.

For a time, Lin Qi became the most popular "lady" in the booth.

While making small talk with these prosthetic psychos, Lin Qi replied to the message.

"I’ve locked on to the target. As per the plan, I will make the first move."

"If my method fails, then it’s your turn to act."

The plan was divided into two parts. King Arthur knew nothing about the first part.

She only knew that if something went wrong and the target was still alive, she was to emerge from the garbage chute and deliver the fatal blow.

The first part of the plan seemed to be executed entirely by the Wizard.

’Don’t tell me the Wizard can solo-kill a Tier Three Knight from a distance?’

A chill ran down King Arthur’s spine.

’No way.’

’He can’t really be that ridiculously strong, can he?’

’If the Wizard really possessed that kind of combat power, wouldn’t that mean she, King Arthur, was actually the lowest-ranking member in the entire Highest-Level Mercenary Corps?’

King Arthur had always thought the Wizard was the weakest one.

After all, ever since joining the Highest-Level Mercenary Corps, the Wizard had never once carried out a direct combat mission.

Lin Qi’s tasks had always been to fill in the gaps in Guang Ling’s intelligence, looking for offline contingencies and preparations.

Most of the time, Lin Qi didn’t have much of a presence on missions, only successfully providing help on a few rare occasions.

Her nose twitched slightly. More trash was being discharged through the pipe.

Some kind of liquid with unknown components.

King Arthur felt her mood sour, and for a moment, she lost all desire to say anything else in the channel.

Master Ma’s reply came belatedly: "I’m being tailed by a Tier Four Blood Robe from the Assassin Alliance. I can’t get too close for now, but if something goes wrong, I can be there within thirty seconds."

King Arthur’s mood eased slightly. It seemed she was still the most important failsafe, after all.

’There’s no way I’m the lowest-ranking member of the Mercenary Corps!’