Chapter 83: Chapter 83: Mission Bounty Settlement, Guang Ling’s Intelligence

As the [Door]’s cooldown ticked away, Lin Qi didn’t start meditating again.

During this time, the team sent to clear out Golden Impression returned. Suppressing his unease, Lin Qi went to greet them.

"Thank you for your help, Classmate Lin. We also need to borrow a truck from your camp to transport the survivors we rescued at Golden Impression back to our rescue team’s base."

Jiang Zhenlong had come to borrow a truck. They were originally just a reconnaissance team and hadn’t brought any vehicles.

Naturally, Lin Qi didn’t refuse. Trucks weren’t exactly rare.

If the Mo University Camp needed one, they could just go grab one off the streets anytime.

As for the survivors rescued from Golden Impression...

Lin Qi and Wang Ziru had already discussed it; there was no need for them to stay at the camp.

Their presence could easily unsettle the minds of these young, hot-blooded university students. It was better to let the official rescue team take them.

"Classmate Lin," Jiang Zhenlong asked cautiously, "after I get back, I have to report the situation here truthfully. When I do, our company or even regiment commander might want to pay a visit... if that would be alright?"

The nature of this group from Mo University was fundamentally different from the outlaws he had encountered before.

Other than manufacturing their own weapons, these students hadn’t done anything illegal.

And in the context of the apocalypse, making your own weapons could hardly be considered a crime.

"That’s fine."

Communicating with high-level government figures was already part of the plan.

It was just that a deep sense of unease was currently plaguing Lin Qi, and he was in no mood to chat any longer with Jiang Zhenlong.

Right now, Lin Qi was thinking that if an uncontrollable risk were to truly appear in the Doomsday World, he would rather abandon the opportunity it offered.

After a few more brief words, he watched Jiang Zhenlong leave.

After distractedly exchanging a few words with Wang Ziru and Xia Chu, Lin Qi returned to the conference room alone.

He changed his clothes and quietly waited for the [Door] to finish its cooldown.

...

Upon returning to the Cyber World, Lin Qi immediately tried to meditate.

He activated his Spiritual Vision. The Spiritual Particles around him showed no abnormalities.

’This means the anomaly isn’t with me. It has nothing to do with my Spiritual Power or my Extraordinary Profession. The problem lies with the Doomsday World itself.’

This was not good news. It meant that Lin Qi was being watched.

Whether he was being watched by a person, a thing, or some faction, he had no way of knowing for now.

’Could it be the Red Moon?’

As the origin of the apocalypse in the Doomsday World, the Red Moon was a source of true, ultimate terror.

Forget a Tier One Wizard like Lin Qi; even a Tier Five Extraordinary would likely be killed instantly by a single glance from the Red Moon.

It was an existence on a completely different level.

His heart gradually settled, no longer enveloped by that sense of agitation from the Doomsday World.

Lin Qi faced the mirror, turned on the bathroom tap, and splashed his face with cool water.

He carefully mulled over his recent trip to the Doomsday World.

’I must have done something to trigger the Spiritual Particle anomaly, or rather, to attract the attention of some entity.’

’Compared to my previous trips, I was quite low-key this time in the Doomsday World.’

’I didn’t excessively display any power from the Extraordinary Side, nor did I introduce any new technology or items from the Cyber World.’

’After arriving in the Doomsday World, I first meditated for about twelve hours...’

’Could the Meditation have triggered the anomaly?’

Lin Qi didn’t think so. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t meditated in the Doomsday World before. And while twelve hours was a long time, the Spiritual Particle anomaly hadn’t appeared when he chose to end his Meditation session.

Lin Qi concluded the Meditation wasn’t what triggered the anomaly.

’After I finished meditating, Wang Ziru told me about gunfire, so I went to investigate. Then I met the official rescue team, made arrangements, and provided cover for the survivor rescue. And right after that, the Spiritual Particle anomaly happened.’

Breaking down the process, Lin Qi had really only taken two distinct actions.

One was meeting the official rescue team; the other was rescuing the survivors.

’The latter is something I’ve been doing ever since I established the camp at Mo University, and it’s never triggered any anomalies.’

’In other words, controlling for variables, the only new thing I did on this trip to the Doomsday World was meet with officials from the Dragon Country.’

Was that really what caused the anomaly?

Lin Qi’s brow was knitted tightly; he found it hard to connect the two events.

After a long moment of thought, his brow slowly smoothed out.

’If the Spiritual Particle mutation was really triggered by this, then I actually don’t need to be too wary in the short term.’

’As long as the source of the mutation isn’t the Red Moon, I can take things as they come. I won’t have to completely abandon the Doomsday World, my repository of Extraordinary Items.’

’In fact, if this Spiritual Particle mutation proves harmless in the short term, it could even be a good thing. It could drastically speed up my professional advancement. In three or four days at most, I might have a chance to become a Tier Two Wizard.’

The pressure in his heart eased considerably, but he knew this was mostly just him consoling himself.

Ultimately, Lin Qi was just unwilling to abandon the opportunity the Doomsday World represented.

But the risk did seem manageable. In the several hours Lin Qi had remained in the Doomsday World after the mutation appeared, nothing dangerous had happened.

This suggested that even if there was a danger, it wasn’t an immediate one.

He splashed some more water on his face, rubbing it, then grabbed a dry towel to wipe away the droplets.

He walked out of the bathroom and over to the floor-to-ceiling window.

Outside, the commotion continued. The fallout from the collapse of the Twin Towers was still unfolding.

Countless vehicles zipped through the air. Most were from the Greenfield City Riot Control Mobile Unit, but a few, equipped with flashing blue and white lights on their roofs, belonged to the Intercontinental Stability Trauma Emergency Company.

A large number of its members had been injured or killed tonight; the company’s Greenfield City branch was undoubtedly in for a busy night.

Just then, Lin Qi, the very person who had caused all this, received an email from Guang Ling.

[Congratulations. Following verification by the Black Market, our Highest-Level Mercenary Corps has completed two missions: first, the assassination of Si Ying, and second, the destruction of Si’s Twin Towers B Tower.]

[Per the internal distribution rules of the Highest-Level Mercenary Corps, your share is 4.66 million Credit Points. After deducting the shipping costs for the Potions I fronted for you, you have a remaining balance of 1.66 million Credit Points. The invoice has been sent to your email, and the funds have been transferred to your anonymous account.]

[Furthermore, Si Ying’s revenge fund has been triggered, but it hasn’t locked onto a target. No members of the Highest-Level Mercenary Corps appeared among the suspects flagged by the algorithm.]

So the mission was complete and the payment had come through.

He’d received a whole 1.66 million Credit Points.

Wait a second...

’How much?’

’4.66 million, minus shipping fees, leaves only 1.66 million?’

’How expensive was that shipping?’

’Were my Potions worth three million?’

That stung.

But after seeing the invoice from Guang Ling, Lin Qi knew he hadn’t been cheated. Guang Ling had no reason to create a rift with a corps member over three million Credit Points.

Lin Qi still hadn’t finished reading Guang Ling’s email.

[Also, here’s a free piece of intel for you...]