Lin Xin's face was ashen. "Who wants your Platinum Membership!"
It wasn't that their dad couldn't win an argument with Lin Xin; he just couldn't be bothered to engage with her.
Lin Qi, however, wouldn't give Lin Xin an inch in a verbal spar.
As for Lin Xin's refusal of prosthetic modifications, Lin Qi actually respected her choice. His "adorable" little sister, however, didn't extend him the same courtesy.
Lin Xin bottled up her anger and ignored Lin Qi.
Lin Qi scratched his head. 'I thought she'd put up more of a fight.' He had even loaded his Advanced Language Application Chip for nothing.
"Where's Dad?" Lin Qi asked, sitting down on a chair in the clinic.
"Basement."
Lin Xin's reply was curt, her simmering anger finding no release.
'That damned old codger and this cyber madman are both driving me crazy.'
Lin Qi nodded. The No. 1 Prosthetic Clinic was a legitimate establishment, though some illegal items did occasionally pass through.
The basement of the No. 1 Prosthetic Clinic, however, was a different story. That was a full-blown black-market clinic.
In their father's own words, as long as gang members had the money, they could even get their hands on a brand-new A-Class Prosthetic Body.
A typical illegal, underground clinic.
And Lin Qi, of course, had a hand in it.
Ostensibly, as an employee of Liu's Heavy Industries, Lin Qi shouldn't have been involved in anything illegal.
But Lin Qi had shown extraordinary Talent in prosthetic design, earning him preferential treatment and resources within Liu's Heavy Industries.
Nineteen years old, no background, and already an L-level Researcher.
His status had skyrocketed, a feat that wouldn't have been possible without a favor from a certain Miss Liu.
But a favor alone wasn't enough. The company wouldn't just hand over precious "knowledge" to someone it couldn't control.
And so, the black-market clinic came to be.
Before Lin Qi had even joined the Red Fruit Weapon Research Institute, his father, Doctor Lin, was already involved in shady business; the No. 1 Prosthetic Clinic was a grey-market enterprise.
'If that's how it is,' he had thought, 'then let's expand the operation.'
These black and grey-market industries were a vital part of how Liu's Heavy Industries maintained control over Red Fruit City.
Lin Qi had proactively given the Liu Clan leverage over him. If they ever wanted to make a move, they would have a "legitimate" pretext to purge him.
This was the price for his career path, the only way to truly get on track.
Just as he was about to head down the stairs to the basement, Lin Qi sensed something off as he passed Lin Xin.
The concentration of Spiritual Particles was wrong.
He activated his Spiritual Vision.
The items hidden on Lin Xin's body were laid bare.
At her waist hung a legally owned A-Class kinetic pistol—he'd gotten her the permit himself.
Tucked behind her back was another A-Class kinetic pistol, this one suppressed. 'A textbook case of illegal arms possession!'
Strapped to her calf was a band of small, spherical tactical bombs, fastened with professional technique.
The seemingly innocuous necklace around her neck could be assembled into a networked tactical visor.
And finally, tucked against her back, Lin Xin had a short blade concealed close to her skin.
The blade was the source of the abnormal concentration of Spiritual Particles. An Extraordinary Item!
'Is this really my sister?'
Lin Qi felt as if he were meeting Lin Xin for the very first time.
Even ignoring the blade, her loadout was enough to take on an HGPD patrol squad.
And when he factored in the blade... based on the intel Lin Qi had gathered on Extraordinary Items over the years, weapon-type items provided a terrifying boost to an individual's combat prowess.
Lin Qi stopped in his tracks and turned to face Lin Xin.
"I think we need to talk," Lin Qi said, his expression complex.
'A Wizard?'
'Probably not.'
'No Extraordinary Item could remain intact in the hands of a Wizard. If a Wizard got their hands on one, they'd have analyzed it to death and scrapped it long ago.'
'This short blade is a Tier One Extraordinary Item, the very thing Wizards crave the most.'
'In the Cyber World, there might be fewer surviving Tier One Extraordinary Items than Tier Two or even Tier Three.'
"Talk? About what?"
Lin Xin was still fuming and had no desire to deal with Lin Qi.
"Come with me to the basement workshop. This isn't the place to talk."
There were two workshops in the basement; one used by Doctor Lin, and one used by Lin Qi.
Both workshops were illegal structures, devoid of any networked devices, not even connected to the Red Fruit City crime detection network.
Such locations were rare in Red Fruit City, typically found only in the grey-market gang territories specifically designated by the Liu Clan.
"I'm not— Hey! Get your hands off me!"
Before Lin Xin could even finish her refusal, the back of her neck was caught in the firm grip of Lin Qi's L-Class Exoskeleton.
He dragged her downstairs.
The glass door of the No. 1 Prosthetic Clinic slid open, and two gang members with malfunctioning prosthetics walked in.
One of them rubbed his prosthetic eye. "I'm not seeing things, am I? Did Old Lin's daughter just get kidnapped?"
"You're seeing things. Time to replace that prosthetic eye of yours. That's Lin Qi—a Legend in the outskirts of Red Fruit City, Old Lin's son, Lin Xin's brother... and a corporate dog!"
The other gang member, a regular at the No. 1 Prosthetic Clinic, had a deeper understanding of the Lin Family's whole deal.
"Wait a minute. Old Lin's son is a corporate dog?"
"Don't waste your time being confused. I already got it out of my system."
...
「No. 1 Prosthetic Clinic, Basement Workshop」
"Let me go, Lin Qi! I'm warning you, let go of your adorable little sister right now!"
Her neck ached from his grip. Lin Xin struggled, but what chance did flesh and blood have against an L-Class Exoskeleton?
Lin Qi's actions were anything but gentle.
'Little sister's all grown up. And rebellious. Time for... a good spanking!'
"The pistol, the bombs, the tactical visor, the knife. Are you going to take them out, or should I do it for you?"
Lin Qi shoved Lin Xin into a chair and looked her straight in the eye.
If it were just the bombs, he might have chalked it up to a kid's reckless fun and let it slide.
But what he truly cared about was that Extraordinary blade.
'Since this involves an Extraordinary Item, has she gotten mixed up with some sketchy character lately?'
Lin Xin's shouting abruptly ceased, and the workshop fell silent.
"Didn't you give me the pistol?"
After a few beats of silence, Lin Xin said meekly.
She placed the legal A-Class kinetic pistol on the table, her eyes shifting nervously.
Lin Qi shook his head and pointed to his own eyes.
They were clean, clear eyes with black pupils...
"They've got x-ray vision," Lin Qi bluffed. "New model."
Lin Qi hadn't actually modified his eyes; even the projections from his Intelligent Brain were fed through an electrode behind his ear, imaging directly onto his retina.
But his Spiritual Vision was far more useful than any x-ray function—it could even see *inside* a person.
Lin Xin's eyes shot wide open.
Her face flushed red. "Lin Qi, you pervert! You'd use x-ray vision on your own sister?"
Lin Xin didn't know much about Prosthetic Bodies, so she had no way of knowing whether he was telling the truth.
What she didn't know was that not even an A-Class or S-Class Prosthetic Eye was capable of true x-ray vision; at best, they could only produce a composite image by networking with other scanning devices.
"Are you going to take them out, or should I?" Lin Qi repeated in the same tone.
'Letting kids play with bombs is one thing, but an Extraordinary blade is definitely not a toy.'