Chapter 150: Chapter 143: Lin Qi’s Method of Retaliation, Déjà Vu

Yes, laws made by the corporations.

Since the world entered the Cyber Era and experienced numerous corporate wars, institutions like nations had become a thing of the past.

The big corporations established Cyber Cities, grouping them into continental Cyber Urban Circles. Within their respective circles, each had its own Big Business Alliance to regulate the operational standards of the mega-corporations.

But within the Cyber Cities run by the corporations themselves, the company was the supreme authority, the creator of all rules.

If not for the Big Business Alliance restraining the corporations from above, everyone living in the Cyber Cities would have long since become corporate property, with no human rights to speak of.

Lin Qi deeply agreed with Liu Weicai’s words.

Having clawed his way up from the bottom of Red Fruit City, Lin Qi had a profound understanding of the rules that governed the Cyber World.

This was a man-eat-man era.

Lin Qi offered a few placating words to Dong Wenlong. "Elder Dong, don’t worry. I have a very high IQ. I won’t stay at the A-level Researcher rank for long. Who knows, maybe I’ll be S-Class by next month."

Dong Wenlong rolled his eyes again and again.

His mood soured even further.

’This kid’s brain really is sharp.’

’But he’s using his connections to forcibly hijack a private tutor under the guise of an A-Class project.’

’He’s the kind that eats you alive and doesn’t even spit out the bones!’

Taking a few deep breaths, Dong Wenlong slowly composed himself.

Hearing Lin Qi’s words from the front row, Liu Weicai instantly understood that Lin Qi had agreed to stay in the Pharmaceutical Department.

"Good! Excellent! With ambition like that, the company will absolutely not treat you poorly."

"When we get to Red Fruit City, my rank should go up by at least half a level. I can give you special approval for the company’s best resources."

Liu Weicai made a firm promise.

He wasn’t just some ordinary corporate manager; he was a member of the Liu Clan.

Far away in Greenfield City, he had to keep his tail between his legs and do everything by the book.

But returning to Red Fruit City was returning to his home turf.

Mobilizing resources within his authority was a matter of a single command.

He could even re-approve Dong Wenlong’s vacation once Lin Qi no longer needed him as a private tutor.

This was a way to win people over.

It was also part of building the personal team he needed after returning to Red Fruit City from Greenfield City.

Lin Qi was very satisfied. Liu Weicai was overjoyed.

Only Dong Wenlong silently endured it all.

He opened the company employee handbook, looking at the employee contract stored in his Intelligent Brain.

Between the densely packed lines of text, Dong Wenlong saw even smaller words, even more numerous clauses...

And through the gaps between those smaller words, Dong Wenlong saw two big, glaring words: Eat People.

Lin Qi ended his conversation with Liu Weicai and Dong Wenlong.

He returned to his thoughts.

’Am I just going to let it go that Si Ranran made a move against me?’

’It seems that after I left Greenfield City, there’s nothing more she can do to me.’

’Given the Si Clan’s current situation, they have no capacity to come to Red Fruit City and cause trouble.’

But to be secretly attacked and silently endure it—that was not Lin Qi’s style.

He activated the electrodes behind his ear, controlled his Intelligent Brain, and sent an email.

The destination was a Highest Level secure mailbox. In other words, he sent it to Guang Ling.

"Guang Ling, do me a favor. Post a bounty on the Black Market."

"One million Credit Points for the assassination of Si Ranran."

"Use an additional one million Credit Points to keep the mission pinned to the top for one day."

Lin Qi’s method of revenge was simple; he didn’t even need to get his own hands dirty.

He was just using the Black Market to post a bounty.

A million Credit Points to kill a member of the Si Clan?

Only a fool would accept such a mission.

But Lin Qi’s goal wasn’t to use the Black Market bounty for an assassination.

It was to publicize the fact that Si Ranran had faked her death.

The Greenfield City crisis was a sham; the whole charade with the fake and real Si Clan heir was just an act.

But the goal of hiding the true heir’s identity was real.

This was something every big corporation did.

It involved the "Heir of the Big Business Alliance" Act.

An heir’s life and safety were inextricably linked to their corporation’s interests.

It was a game of corporations vying for profit, a product of miniaturized corporate warfare.

The death of any major corporation’s heir would trigger a feeding frenzy for the other corporations within that Cyber Urban Circle as they carved up the profits.

Lin Qi didn’t know the specifics; the entire act was rumored to be a full 140,000 words long. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

But that didn’t stop Lin Qi from using this move against the Si Clan and against Si Ranran, the heir of a big corporation.

Si Ranran had faked her death, shedding her old identity like a golden cicada sheds its shell. Once this news broke, many people would be able to guess her true identity.

When that happened, could the teetering Si Pharmaceutical really withstand the pack of wolves circling it?

To Lin Qi, that wasn’t important.

What was important was that this would drain the Si Clan’s attention.

It would both serve as revenge against Si Ranran and leave her with no time to search for the truth behind Si Ying’s death.

Killing two birds with one stone.

Guang Ling might as well have lived on the cyber network; every time Lin Qi sent an email, he received a near-instant reply.

"I can. The agent fee is 500,000 Credit Points."

Guang Ling’s reply was simple. Help was available, but it wasn’t free.

Lin Qi didn’t want to log into the Black Market himself or access the deep cyber network, lest he expose his identity.

This was money that had to be spent.

Lin Qi agreed to Guang Ling’s fee.

Almost at the exact moment Lin Qi agreed, a full two and a half million Credit Points were deducted from his account.

Then, after about eight seconds,

A high-priority, pinned bounty mission appeared on the Black Market’s homepage.

Any Mercenary Corps that visited the Black Market would see this mission first thing.

Pinning a mission cost money, so very few were ever pinned.

With the money to pin a mission, it would have been better to increase the reward by several million Credit Points; that would have attracted even more Mercenary Corps.

"Si Ranran? The one from the Asian Administrative Region’s Si Pharmaceutical? Didn’t she die?"

"The mission poster is no fool. The money has to be paid to the Black Market whether the mission is completed or not. This means the poster has solid intel that Si Ranran isn’t dead."

"Wait! If Si Ranran isn’t dead, then doesn’t that mean..."

"Si Ranran is most likely the Si Clan’s true heir!"

"This is huge! Isn’t this the first time in ten years an heir of a major corporation in the Asian Administrative Region has had their identity exposed?"

The effect of the bounty was just as Lin Qi had predicted, causing a huge uproar on the Black Market in a short amount of time.

But the real firestorm wasn’t on the Black Market. It was on the mainstream Cyber Media, where major corporations, having gotten the news, began to widely disseminate and publicize it.

Lin Qi just closed his eyes and, by simply accessing the cyber network with his Intelligent Brain, received content pushed from multiple Cyber Media outlets.

SHOCKING NEWS: SI CLAN HEIR’S IDENTITY REVEALED, AND IT’S HER...

SHEDDING HER SKIN: A FAKED DEATH AND A FALSE HEIR—THE VICIOUS TACTICS OF SI PHARMACEUTICAL’S HIDDEN SUCCESSOR!

THE ONLY HEIR OF A MAJOR CORPORATION IN THE ASIAN ADMINISTRATIVE REGION TO BE EXPOSED IN A DECADE—THE FUSE FOR THE NEXT CORPORATE WAR?

EASTERN ALLIANCE DECLARES: CORPORATIONS IN THE ASIAN ADMINISTRATIVE REGION MUST EXERCISE RESTRAINT. CORPORATE WAR IS THE MOST UNNECESSARY OF MEASURES...

Within a single hour, the mission Lin Qi posted on the Black Market had sent shockwaves through the system.

Although no Mercenary Corps had accepted the mission, Lin Qi’s goal had been achieved.

Looking at the content pushed by the Cyber Media, Lin Qi didn’t click on a single link.

On the cyber network, every visit leaves a record.

Paying too much attention to issues one truly cares about made it easy for tracking AIs to pick up on the clues.

If he exposed his own identity over this Si Ranran affair, the cost would far outweigh the benefit.

Lin Qi closed the Intelligent Brain interface and opened his Spiritual Vision.

Theoretically, the Red and Green Train was extremely safe.

As long as an attack didn’t come from within, it was nearly impossible for anyone to breach this train from the outside.

This train could operate independently even without tracks.

It was practically a war behemoth.

Through his Spiritual Vision, Lin Qi saw the scenes in the cars before and after his.

The cars behind him were very quiet; all the personnel were resting.

They were all Liu Clan employees who had packed their bags overnight.

There was no one from any outside corporation on this train trip.

Car No. 1, on the other hand, was quite lively.

Especially Liu Li, who was practically roaring with laughter.

"HAHAHA, hold on, HAHAHA! You mean the Si Clan was scheming against our Liu Clan, and they ended up getting their own heir exposed? HAHAHA, let me laugh a little longer!"