Chapter 522 325: Lin Qi's Dirty Tricks, "Popular Support" in His Grasp

After completing his work, Lin Qi restored the flying vehicle to its original state, then, like a callous drifter, drained the blood that had diligently done its job into the sewage of the underground pipes.

Lin Qi had stealthily completed the theft of this Tier Three Extraordinary Item.

'Since the Eastern Alliance didn't take this thing, they must have given it to the Liu Clan!'

'Since it belongs to the Liu Clan, I'll count it as Liu Xingyuan's.'

'Liu Xingyuan is my elder, but he didn't even bring a gift for our first meeting. I'll just treat this as his gift to me!'

With these thoughts in mind, Lin Qi walked out of the office, took the United Pharmaceutical exclusive elevator to the first floor of the H3 Skyscraper, and then returned to his flying vehicle.

At this point, the number of Tier Three Extraordinary Items Lin Qi possessed had reached three, giving him new options for acquiring his subsequent two Tier Three Extraordinary Abilities.

After stuffing the Extraordinary Item into the dangerously full storage compartment of his arm Prosthetic Body, Lin Qi piloted the flying vehicle toward the No. 1 Prosthetic Clinic.

The company had yet to resume operations, and Lin Qi didn't have a new place to live, so for now, he could only continue to stay at home.

...

Highest-Level Mercenary Corps Temporary Chat Window.

Capitalist: "@King Arthur, @Master Ma, the Big Business Alliance's teams have arrived in Red Fruit City. Infiltrate them as soon as you can. The Eastern Alliance seems to have withdrawn from Red Fruit City, but in reality, they've ordered the Big Business Alliance to conduct a carpet search of the city. They're looking for you two."

King Arthur: "Good thing I'm quick-witted! I had Master Ma hide with me in the underground pipes early on. Otherwise, we might have been exposed by now."

Master Ma: "We'll still need Guang Ling's help. There are too many surveillance cameras in Red Fruit City. The second we leave these underground pipes, we'll be completely stuck."

Guang Ling: "No problem. I've already taken control of all of Red Fruit City's networked devices. You can proceed without worry."

Lin Qi, still on the road, saw the messages from the other Mercenary Corps members and immediately joined the discussion.

Wizard: "@Master Ma, @King Arthur, the S-Class Potions are ready to ship whenever you are. @Capitalist, the L-Class and A-Class Potions you wanted are also complete. We can proceed with the first phase of our transaction."

Lin Qi was still thinking about the Tier Four Extraordinary Item Capitalist had promised him. He had many plans that could only be implemented after he reached Tier Four.

Capitalist: "That was fast? Have the new Potions already gone into mass production? Then why hasn't a single one hit the market?"

Seeing Capitalist's response, Lin Qi felt a surge of exasperation.

'Capitalist never changes. She seizes every opportunity to probe for information!'

'Dealing with someone like her is mentally exhausting. One careless slip, and you reveal your entire hand.'

Wizard: "Mass production has indeed begun, but I have no plans to release them to the market for the time being."

'Since she wanted to probe, Lin Qi would feed her a steady stream of false intelligence.'

'The intelligence may be fake, but the Potions are real!'

'She has no choice but to believe me. And as long as she believes, she'll just wear herself out mentally.'

'Because there won't be any other intelligence to corroborate this fake news.'

'The more she probes, the more she'll suffer!'

Sure enough, after Lin Qi sent his messages, Capitalist went silent for a while. He didn't need to guess; he knew she had gone to check other intelligence sources.

Before Capitalist sent a new message, Guang Ling took the initiative and sent one.

Guang Ling: "I suggest you conduct the transaction offline. As it happens, you're all currently in Red Fruit City. I can block the network devices in a specific area. Wizard can drop the Potions at a designated location, and you can then go pick them up yourselves."

Guang Ling: "This will save you nearly ten million Credit Points in transport fees."

'Everyone is in Red Fruit City?'

Seeing Guang Ling's message, Lin Qi's eyes narrowed slightly.

'It seems Guang Ling is also probing.'

'Except Guang Ling is testing everyone's boundaries.'

'It was a seemingly casual sentence, but it deliberately exposed everyone's location.'

'Before this, Master Ma and King Arthur had no idea where Capitalist and I were.'

The temporary chat window fell silent for a moment as everyone pondered Guang Ling's intentions.

In the end, it was Lin Qi who broke the silence.

Wizard: "That works. I suggest we set the location in the underground pipes. It's relatively secluded and will also be convenient for King Arthur and Master Ma."

As he sent the message, Lin Qi slowed his vehicle and looked for a nearby landing zone.

At the same time, messages from the others began to appear in the chat window.

King Arthur: "Thanks so much, Wizard. You really don't have to go to all this trouble."

Master Ma: "An excellent proposal. I accept."

Capitalist: "Acceptable."

Everyone had a tacit understanding; no one mentioned that what Guang Ling did was inappropriate.

The atmosphere seemed as harmonious as ever.

Lin Qi considered this for a moment, a slight smile touching his lips, and continued sending messages in the chat.

Wizard: "@King Arthur, I've prepared two S-Class Potions for you. One has a slightly lower Willpower content—it's an early prototype of the new Potion. The other is the standard version. I was hoping you could help me test them both and give me feedback on their data."

...

In the underground pipes, King Arthur and Master Ma were resting separately.

The moment this message appeared, Master Ma looked up in confusion in King Arthur's direction.

'Could Wizard and this Golden Knight have some kind of special relationship?'

'No matter how weak its effects, an S-Class Potion is still S-Class!'

'And Wizard is just giving one away for free?'

Although it was under the guise of "testing," there was no denying that King Arthur was getting a huge bargain.

King Arthur blushed when he saw the message, but he didn't overthink it.

King Arthur: "Oh, I'm flattered! But... thank you! I'll be sure to write you a detailed comparison report. I'm not very good at it, but I'm willing to learn!"

Seeing King Arthur's response, both Master Ma, who was right there, and Capitalist, who had just arrived in Red Fruit City, grew pensive.

Judging from recent events, the value Wizard brought to the group seemed to have surpassed Guang Ling's.

Guang Ling's only purpose was to serve as the link that connected them all.

If Wizard was willing to give an extra Potion to King Arthur today, he might do the same for the others in the future.

Regardless of Wizard's motives, personal gain was the most powerful motivator.

In contrast, there was Guang Ling...

If Guang Ling could so casually sell out Wizard's and Capitalist's locations to the rest of the Mercenary Corps today, who knew what more outrageous things they might do in the future!

The contrast was stark, and the superior choice was obvious.

The group's feelings toward these two most mysterious members of the Mercenary Corps immediately began to shift.

Clearly, this was Lin Qi's goal.

'Compared to currying favor with a mysterious leader like Guang Ling, it's more important to get on good terms with people like King Arthur and Master Ma.'

'This so-called 'defective' S-Class Potion seems like a gift for King Arthur, but by announcing it publicly, I've essentially given everyone something to hope for.'

'It shows that the benefits I bring to the table aren't necessarily less than what Guang Ling can offer.'

Lin Qi's thinking wasn't complicated; it was simply a matter of winning people over.

Although the Mercenary Corps currently had only six members, the number of "private chats" between them was anyone's guess.

As long as he had popular support, it would be hard to say who the Mercenary Corps would listen to in the future.

...

Down in the underground pipes, Master Ma watched King Arthur, whose face was flushed with delight, and shook his head gently.

He muttered to himself, "This bunch in the Mercenary Corps... each one is more cunning than the last, and their methods are so 'dirty,' yet you can't even blame them for it..."

Master Ma hadn't lived all these years for nothing; he could see right through Wizard's little ploy.

However, he had barely finished speaking when King Arthur, who was nearby, shot to his feet and ran over to him.

King Arthur spoke to Master Ma with righteous indignation, "Master, it's not right to speak ill of people behind their backs. Wizard is clearly a good person! I think you're prejudiced against him!"

Master Ma glanced at King Arthur and said, "You're mistaken. I was talking about Capitalist!"