Lin Qi chose his words carefully before sending a message to King Arthur.

"From what I know, the Ultrahigh-Frequency Acoustic Resonator series of prosthetic equipment has a major design flaw. Only Extraordinary Professionals of an equivalent level specializing in body enhancement can handle the operational load of this series."

"If a lower-level Extraordinary Professional equips it, they’ll suffer immense damage. Even a single use will result in severe injuries, at the very least."

"According to my reliable intelligence sources, many large corporations are about to issue an optional recall for this series of equipment. The buyback compensation will be ninety percent of the original sale price."

"An S-Class Ultrahigh-Frequency Acoustic Resonator that originally cost 7.88 million should have a recall price of just under 7.1 million."

Seeing Lin Qi’s message, King Arthur felt a little awkward.

Her preconceptions had led her to believe that a Wizard specializing in Pharmacy wouldn’t know much about Prosthetic Bodies, which was why she had quoted that price.

Just as she was about to type a rebuttal, another message from Lin Qi arrived.

"But I am in a hurry for it. Ten million, deal. We’ll contact Guang Ling by email to handle the transaction. Guang Ling can specify the method, but you’ll be responsible for the processing fees."

Lin Qi’s goal wasn’t to haggle. While the item’s value as a Prosthetic Body was indeed low, Lin Qi was a researcher in Prosthetic Engineering. He had the skills to modify it and could easily adapt it for use on a Mecha.

The reason Lin Qi had composed such a long message for King Arthur was to show her that he wasn’t someone who could be easily ripped off.

Furthermore, after completing this transaction, King Arthur would actually owe Lin Qi a favor.

’Spending an extra three million to earn a favor from a Tier Three Top Knight—one who might even break through to Tier Four soon.’

’A great bargain.’

The awkward expression hadn’t yet faded from King Arthur’s face when she saw Lin Qi’s message and quickly replied, "Okay!"

After replying, King Arthur sent an email to contact Guang Ling.

Before long, Lin Qi received a response confirming the transaction method and location.

Lin Qi wasn’t clear on the exact method, but all he had to do was transfer ten million Credit Points to Guang Ling and then pick up the item at the designated location.

The pickup location was very familiar to Lin Qi—not far from the base of the collapsed Twin Towers B Tower.

The area was covered in ruins, and its surveillance systems were completely non-functional.

For the time being, Lin Qi felt he could trust Guang Ling.

After completing his end of the deal, Lin Qi lay down on his bed and rested.

...

The next day, Lin Qi picked up the item at the designated location.

The S-Class Ultrahigh-Frequency Acoustic Resonator wasn’t very large; it fit perfectly into the weapon bay within Lin Qi’s arm Exoskeleton.

Lin Qi had prepared for this, leaving the Short-Handled Tang Blade that was originally inside at his apartment to clear out the space.

Carrying this S-Class Weapon, Lin Qi arrived at the company.

He had just clocked in.

When he turned around, Lin Qi blinked. He saw a familiar face.

Liu Xuan!

’Liu Xuan is actually at the company!’

’Has the Liu Clan’s crisis been resolved?’

’No.’

Lin Qi didn’t see Liu Li by Liu Xuan’s side.

’This actually suggests that Liu’s Heavy Industries might have reached a truly dangerous point.’

’Liu Xuan has chosen to enter the fray herself, putting herself out in the open.’

"What a coincidence," Liu Xuan said, her prosthetic left eye emitting a faint purple glow.

Lin Qi nodded. "Long time no see."

Liu Xuan didn’t say much more to Lin Qi, merely humming in acknowledgment.

Then, the two of them entered separate company elevators.

Lin Qi felt a faint sense of unease.

It wasn’t until the elevator came to a steady stop on the 13th floor that Lin Qi’s mind settled.

’Liu’s Heavy Industries’ greatest threat in Greenfield City was actually the Round Table Conference’s Tier Three Knights, and all of them are dead. Unless the Si Clan completely tears away all pretenses and makes a move, they should be safe for the time being.’

’Will the Si Clan personally take action against Liu’s Heavy Industries now?’

’I think it’s highly unlikely.’

’Having lost their strongest outside support, the Round Table Conference, a head-on clash between the Si Clan and the Liu Clan wouldn’t necessarily end well for them. It would most likely result in mutual destruction.’

’The commotion from last night’s nuclear explosion was huge. The Liu Clan must have received a ton of intel.’

’Liu Xuan choosing to show her face now must be her way of entering the fray, a final probe against the Si Clan.’

’If the Si Clan opts for a fight to the death, they can at least protect Liu Li, the true heir.’

’But if the Si Clan doesn’t dare to make a move, then the Iron Curtain System won’t hold for much longer. The day Greenfield City’s lockdown is lifted and the Liu Clan’s people can withdraw to Red Fruit City isn’t far off.’

Lin Qi ran through all the known information in his head.

He remained optimistic about the current situation.

Truth be told, the Liu Clan itself hadn’t actually made many correct decisions during this Greenfield City crisis.

The ones who had truly forced the Si Clan into their current predicament were, in fact, the Highest-Level Mercenary Corps.

The Si Clan had chosen to use the arrival of various Mercenary Corps to muddy the waters, and now they were paying a sufficiently high price for it.

Walking down the corridor, Lin Qi entered his laboratory.

Just as he reached the door, Lin Qi saw the old A-level Researcher, Dong Wenlong, quietly stepping out of an elevator at the other end of the hall.

He raised an eyebrow.

’Clocking in right on the dot?’

’As expected of a company old-timer, a veteran A-level Researcher.’

’He saw through the true nature of these massive Cyber-corporations long ago and refuses to waste a single second of his personal time creating profit for the company.’

"Elder Dong, in bright and early, huh?" Lin Qi greeted Dong Wenlong amicably.

Dong Wenlong’s smile was like a withered chrysanthemum. "Researcher Lin, you jest. I’m getting old, after all. I don’t have the energy of you young folk, so I have to find some clever ways to get more rest."

The mention of rest made Dong Wenlong think about the more than three hundred days of annual leave he had accumulated.

As soon as this month’s emergency recruitment clause expired, Dong Wenlong was going to start his vacation immediately!

A full three hundred days off!

Lin Qi had no problem whatsoever with Dong Wenlong’s behavior.

Wage-slaves shouldn’t make things hard for other wage-slaves.

The two of them entered the laboratory one after the other.

Lin Qi began his "research" for the day—which was, in reality, just studying.

The knowledge of A-Class Pharmacy was becoming increasingly complex.

If M-Class and L-Class were elementary and middle school curricula, then A-Class was a leap straight to a university curriculum, skipping high school entirely.

The complexity of the content was more than a hundred times greater than that of L-Class.

Brute-force methods were no longer suitable for A-Class Potion research.

This was due to cost constraints; the price of A-Class Extraordinary Materials was in no way inferior to that of a flagship A-Class Prosthetic Body.

It could be said that any being who could afford A-Class Potions to advance themselves from Tier Two to Tier Three Extraordinary could absolutely afford a full-body A-Class Prosthetic Body implantation, and likely even enough to create many different prosthetic configurations.

In the Cyber World, the word "Extraordinary" was often synonymous with "expensive."

The day passed without incident. Lin Qi maintained his usual learning efficiency, rapidly absorbing knowledge of A-Class Pharmacy under Dong Wenlong’s guidance.