Lin Xin hesitated for a moment before finally moving. She placed the weapons she carried, one by one, in front of Lin Qi.
"Explain. Where did you get these?" Lin Qi felt a headache coming on. He had never imagined Lin Xin would get involved with Extraordinary Items.
"I stole them from Dad," Lin Xin lied through her teeth.
If the Prosthetic Clinic had any Extraordinary Items, there was no way Lin Xin would get her hands on them. Lin Qi would have taken them long ago as nourishment for his advancement as a Wizard.
"I'll give you one more chance. Explain yourself properly. Otherwise, starting today, I guarantee you won't take a single step out of this Prosthetic Clinic until you talk."
Lin Qi placed extreme importance on his family's safety. Otherwise, he wouldn't have forked over a huge sum of 150,000 Credit Points per person, per year, to buy Platinum Memberships for his family with the Trauma Emergency Company.
This was practically equivalent to having a Mercenary Squad on call, ready to deploy whenever they were injured in a dangerous situation.
For the safety of their clients, the emergency squads even dared to fight the HGPD and the Red Fruit Mobile Unit.
It was an international corporation, independent of Red Fruit City, with the backing of numerous powerful consortiums.
It could be said that as long as a client's membership Level was high enough, and they hadn't died before the emergency squad arrived, they were more than likely going to survive.
Lin Qi's goal was to upgrade his family to Black Diamond Level members.
The price wasn't high—just a hundred million Credit Points a year.
It was said that the heads of top corporations basically all held this Level of membership.
Hearing this, Lin Xin flew into a rage. "This is false imprisonment!"
Lin Qi didn't care. The Red Fruit City crime monitoring network didn't cover this place anyway.
Even if the HGPD showed up, Lin Qi could afford the fine, not to mention he could also use his connection with Liu Xuan.
The shouting died down.
Lin Xin finally understood that she couldn't hide this from Lin Qi.
"Do you know about DEEP?" Lin Xin asked.
'DEEP?'
Lin Qi's frown deepened.
That was the official site name for the Intercontinental Deep Network Company. In terms Lin Qi was more accustomed to, it was called the Black Market.
Being able to log into that website meant having contact with illegal activities that went far beyond the scope of ordinary gangs.
"You joined a Mercenary Corps?" Lin Qi continued to question her.
The most convenient way to access the Black Market was through Mercenary Corps channels.
"How did you know?"
Lin Xin clearly hadn't been in contact with the Black Market for long; she still lacked Lin Qi's extensive experience.
Lin Qi felt that headache coming on again. 'What kind of Mercenary Corps is so generous? Giving Extraordinary Items to a rookie?'
Lin Qi recalled his own experience joining "Highest Level."
It was just a pop-up on a network, followed by a mysterious conference room where, after being sweet-talked by four slick operators, he chose to join without getting any benefits.
After inexplicably carrying out his first mission, Lin Qi earned his first pot of gold from the Black Market: one hundred thousand Credit Points.
"What kind of Mercenary Corps would take in a fool like you? And why didn't you discuss it with me or Dad before making a decision on your own?"
"You hate Prosthetic Bodies, but now you're not afraid someone will drag you away and have you modified?"
"And another thing…"
Lin Qi was getting agitated. The "Advanced Language Application" chip he had loaded was also kicking in, causing him to ramble on and on in Lin Xin's ear.
"They won't. Our Assassin Alliance rejects all forms of prosthetic modification."
Lin Xin's response made Lin Qi stop his rambling.
'Assassin Alliance?'
It wasn't that he hadn't heard of them; their name was legendary.
In contrast to a third-rate Mercenary Corps with a humorously ironic name like "Highest Level," the Assassin Alliance was a household name among mercenaries.
They were one of the T1 Mercenary Corps, a premier organization ranked just below the two T0 Mercenary Corps.
Rumor had it that no one had ever seen a member of the Assassin Alliance and lived to tell the tale.
'But the Assassin Alliance rejects prosthetic modification?'
Lin Qi had never heard of such a thing. It was, however, quite similar to the code of conduct for Wizards.
Lin Qi planned to ask about it at the next "Highest Level" meeting. He believed that with Guang Ling's intelligence-gathering Ability, he would be able to find out something.
'It's just…'
'Lin Xin, my foolish little sister… how did she get mixed up with the Assassin Alliance?'
It just felt… wrong.
He wanted to ask for more details, but Lin Xin said, "The Assassin Alliance has its methods. Telling you my identity is the absolute limit. If I reveal any more, something very bad will happen."
Lin Xin pointed to the extraordinary short blade on the desk, then pointed to her own neck.
Lin Qi immediately entered his Spiritual Vision state to observe the extraordinary short blade on the desk.
As Lin Xin moved, the Spiritual Particles contained within the extraordinary short blade fluctuated, as if the Extraordinary Item was deeply bound to her.
'The Assassin Alliance has methods like this?'
'This isn't like assassins. It's more like Wizards.'
The Abilities of Wizards were incredibly varied; there were almost no two Wizards in the world with the same Abilities.
However, Lin Qi knew that the Wizard profession underwent a qualitative change after reaching Tier Three. They could utilize Extraordinary Items on a much deeper level, even reforging Extraordinary Items that had been analyzed and broken down by them.
'It really isn't a good idea to ask any more questions.'
'But Lin Xin's safety needs more guarantees.'
Lin Qi asked, "Besides equipment, did the Mercenary Corps give you any missions? Do you have any Credit Points?"
Lin Xin's expression grew wary. "Are you trying to borrow money? Don't tell me you want to borrow money from me to buy an A-Class Prosthetic Body?"
Lin Xin's hand moved to cover her pocket.
Lin Qi's Spiritual Vision spread out, revealing an unregistered savings chip in Lin Xin's pocket.
Judging by its specifications, it had a security level rated for over a million.
The veins on the arm hidden within his Exoskeleton bulged.
'What the hell kind of Mercenary Corps is the Assassin Alliance?'
'Lin Xin's behavior clearly shows she hasn't done any missions.'
'So why did the Assassin Alliance give her so much?'
Equipment, Extraordinary Items, millions in funds…
Lin Qi's hostility toward the Assassin Alliance grew stronger.
As a veteran Mercenary, Lin Qi knew that in the Cyber Era, there was no such thing as a free gift.
Every gift meant the Assassin Alliance saw some kind of value in Lin Xin.
'What's so special about this silly sister of mine? What makes her worth such an investment from the Assassin Alliance?'
Lin Qi directly controlled his Intelligent Brain to send an email to the "Highest Level" mailbox, requesting that Guang Ling convene a meeting ahead of schedule.
'I can't wait any longer!'
'If the Assassin Alliance really is after something, Lin Xin will be in grave danger.'
"Right now, this instant, use the funds on that chip to upgrade to a Black Gold Member of the Intercontinental Stability Trauma Emergency Company! Then have them immediately send over a life-monitoring and tracking device."
"You definitely have the million for it!"
"Until you upgrade, you're not leaving this Prosthetic Clinic!"
The Trauma Emergency Company wasn't just a medical organization; it was a top-tier team of bodyguards.
In any accident, as long as you were injured, you just had to hold on for fifteen minutes.
A medical combat team corresponding to the member's Level would arrive, and they would do everything in their power to save the client's life.
They would then bring the person back alive to the Intercontinental Stability Trauma Emergency Company.
The only price was an additional post-incident fee, not to exceed 300% of the annual membership cost, and the next year's membership fee would merely double.
[We are responsible for the life of every member.]
This was the creed of the Intercontinental Stability Trauma Emergency Company.