Chapter 67: Chapter 67: Lin Qi Borrows Money Again, Underground Pipe System

Lin Qi walked out the door and took the public rail system. An A-Class bodyguard followed him in secret.

’Other than the bodyguard, I don’t feel any prying eyes. It seems after yesterday’s test, they’ve cleared me of suspicion.’

He was in high spirits. He was safe for now. All he had to do was wait for Si Ying to be assassinated, and he wouldn’t be at any risk for a while.

Pretending to look at the scenery outside the train, Lin Qi activated his Spiritual Vision.

He quickly gathered all the information within a 170-meter radius, with himself at the center.

The surface-level information was unimportant—just various buildings and facilities. What Lin Qi truly cared about were the various pipe systems beneath Greenfield City.

According to Lin Qi’s theory, since the Iron Curtain had a cavity within it, there had to be a special passage leading inside.

The underground pipe system was more than complex enough to hide the escape route the Si Clan had set aside for themselves.

The train was moving quickly, so Lin Qi couldn’t memorize the entire network of pipes, but he did notice a few suspicious things.

’Why are there so many signs of human activity in the underground pipes?’

’Are people in Greenfield City living in the pipe system?’

Lin Qi found it strange. And, if he recalled correctly, King Arthur was also hiding in Greenfield City’s underground pipe system right now.

He set his doubts aside for the moment and decided to observe more.

Perhaps he could get some answers by contacting King Arthur tonight.

For now, the top priority was still helping King Arthur find the safe passage that had to exist.

Unfortunately, by the time Lin Qi reached his destination on the outskirts of Greenfield City, he still hadn’t been able to pinpoint the location of the safe passage.

’I’ll still have to start from the cavity’s location and trace the clues from there, searching step by step.’

His plan set, Lin Qi began to wander around, just like last time.

Moreover, this time Lin Qi had even fewer Credit Points left, so he was more meticulous in picking out secondhand Prosthetic Bodies, and as a result, he visited a greater number of Prosthetic Clinics.

The more ground he covered, the more information his radar-like Spiritual Vision could gather.

Lin Qi walked out of a Prosthetic Clinic, still not having bought anything.

Even the bodyguard following from a distance was getting mentally exhausted from all the window shopping.

Suddenly, the bodyguard’s heart lurched—not because of any danger, but because Lin Qi was walking straight toward him.

"Brother, I need to talk to you about something," Lin Qi said to the bodyguard.

The bodyguard looked as if he’d seen a ghost. ’Was my cover really blown that easily?’

’I’ve been discovered... again?’

"Just say it," the bodyguard said with a wry smile.

"Let’s be direct. Brother, lend me some money. I’ll pay you back when I get paid," Lin Qi said, patting his chest.

He hadn’t just been visiting all these Prosthetic Clinics to use his Spiritual Vision to find an escape for King Arthur. He was also short on cash and could barely afford a secondhand Prosthetic Body.

The bodyguard’s expression grew even stranger. This was beyond seeing a ghost; this was like seeing the King of Hell himself.

"How much?" he asked, his voice trembling slightly.

"Not much. One hundred thousand will be enough."

It was just for a secondhand M-Class Prosthetic Body. Lin Qi didn’t even need the whole thing, just its power supply system.

A single one was enough to power production at the Mo University Camp in the Doomsday World for two or three days.

"One hundred thousand?"

The bodyguard froze for a second.

Not because it was too much, but because it was too little.

As a full-body A-Class Prosthetic Body Implanter, any single piece of his prosthetics was worth millions if removed.

Working for the Liu Clan, his monthly salary was over one hundred thousand.

The bodyguard never expected Lin Qi to hunt him down just to borrow a mere hundred thousand.

The bodyguard feigned a moment of thought before putting on a troubled expression. "Brother, you have to remember to pay me back. That’s half a year’s salary for me."

The amount wasn’t huge, but it wasn’t small either. If the loan was a meat bun thrown to a dog—gone for good—the bodyguard would definitely feel the sting.

"Don’t worry, brother. I’ll pay you back."

"Let’s add each other on our communicators. What name should I save you as?"

After knowing the bodyguard for so long, Lin Qi still didn’t know his name.

The bodyguard said, "Just use my call sign: Green Hair."

Lin Qi gave Brother Green Hair a long, hard look, his eyes locking onto the man’s head.

Green Hair showed no emotional fluctuation. His heart had long been replaced with a steel Prosthetic Body—cold, ruthless, and incapable of feeling nostalgic or sentimental about the past.

Green Hair acted quickly. Perhaps he had enough faith in Lin Qi’s background to believe he wouldn’t skip out on a debt of a mere hundred thousand Credit Points.

The funds arrived quickly. Lin Qi walked back into the Prosthetic Clinic and, with a grand wave of his hand, spent a full one hundred and ten thousand Credit Points.

Same as before, he had the merchant handle delivery directly to the Liu’s Heavy Industries senior staff dormitories.

[New message received. Please check your inbox.]

Not long after he completed the transaction, a message popped up from his Intelligent Brain.

The message was from a Highest Level inbox, sent by Guang Ling.

Just like last time, it included a 3D model for navigation.

Lin Qi needed to deliver two sets of Potions, twelve vials each, to a designated location. Someone else would handle the transport from there.

Besides the 3D model, Guang Ling had attached a text message: "I will help you erase your activity trail from all networked devices. Move with confidence."

Lin Qi was very familiar with the process. In the past, when he left Red Fruit City for Mercenary Corps missions, he had also relied on Guang Ling’s help to erase the records of his coming and going.

Checking the details of the message, he saw the location was right next to the Si Pharmaceutical Twin Towers—not far from where he had picked up the Quantum Entanglement Text Communication Device ordered by the Holy Relic Legion.

Right under the Si’s Twin Towers was the designated drop-off point for some mysterious delivery company?

What was this?

Hiding in plain sight?

Stepping out of the Prosthetic Clinic, Lin Qi turned his head to look at the Iron Curtain’s barrier, which was close by.

He was just over a hundred meters from the Iron Curtain, close enough for his Spiritual Vision to reach it.

The cavity was still there, extending out to both sides.

This proved there had to be a safe passage connecting the inside of the Iron Curtain to the outside; Lin Qi just hadn’t found it yet.

King Arthur would have to keep hiding in Greenfield City’s sewer system for a while longer.

It was already past eight o’clock. Lin Qi needed to head to the company or he’d be late, so he had no more time to investigate for now.

He boarded a public rail vehicle and headed toward the center of Greenfield City.

Along the way, Lin Qi kept his Spiritual Vision active, searching for anything suspicious in the underground pipe system.

’This pipe system is still highly suspicious. There are far too many signs of human presence; it looks like some kind of fortification.’

’Based on my observations back on the outskirts, it seems some Prosthetic Clinics even have passages leading into the underground pipe system.’

’Judging by the types of Prosthetic Bodies they keep in stock, they must be underground clinics that cater specifically to gangs.’

’So they really are "underground" clinics, in the most literal sense.’

’Could it be that Greenfield City’s gangs are actually operating "underground"?’

His thoughts were a tangled mess, and he couldn’t sort them out for the moment.

Lin Qi needed more information. He urgently needed to contact King Arthur tonight and ask him about it.

The train arrived at the station in the center of Greenfield City.

Lin Qi headed in the direction of the Twin Towers.