Chapter 524 326: King Arthur: Wizard, You've Taken a Loss

Lin Qi found trading twelve vials for one Tier Four Extraordinary Item to be a completely acceptable deal.

But Capitalist wasn't the type to take advantage of others.

Compared to favors and personal connections, she much preferred fair trades.

Only fair trades could sustain a long-term exchange of benefits.

Capitalist: "In that case, I can accept just four vials of the S-Class Potion. The premium on this special S-Class Potion in the market will be beyond imagination. A single vial could easily exceed 200 million Credit Points."

Seeing Capitalist concede, Lin Qi certainly wasn't going to argue.

Leaving Capitalist with an unmet need would create an opportunity to get more Extraordinary Items from her in the future.

At present, even if he wasn't picky about the type of Extraordinary Item, Lin Qi was still short three Tier Four Extraordinary Items.

Wizard: "Deal. But I still need to purchase more Tier Four Extraordinary Items. I can trade with S-Class Potions, and I'm willing to accept a premium of up to two times the market price."

Seeing the Wizard's message, every member of the Highest-Level Mercenary Corps couldn't help but marvel at his extravagance.

A twofold premium meant spending at least an extra billion Credit Points!

A certain member who usually lurked in the chat stood outside Capitalist's room, silently calculating.

'A Wizard Professional needs four Tier Four Extraordinary Items to reach the Tier Four Limit.'

'If we don't count using S-Class Potions to supplement Willpower and only consider the cost of the Extraordinary Items...'

'Four Tier Four Extraordinary Items, at this rate of spending, would cost over ten billion!'

HISS! 'That's almost enough to burn through a small-scale major corporation!'

Just who is this person pursuing the Wizard Profession?!

This profession is way too expensive!

Who could possibly afford it?!

With this kind of spending power, could this Wizard in the Mercenary Corps be the heir to some Intercontinental Giant Corporation?

At this moment, Jingang was clearly overlooking one thing.

The Wizard's extravagant deal was with Capitalist.

And all the Potions Capitalist received from this trade were going to be consumed by him, Jingang.

While cultivating a High-tier Wizard was certainly expensive, raising a Jingang with X-Class Prosthetic Implantation wasn't much cheaper!

This was especially true for someone like Jingang himself—a brute with no Extraordinary Profession to his name, whose physical strength was entirely sustained by being fed Potions, and who relied solely on his superhuman Talent for Prosthetic Bodies to accommodate High-Level Potions. The cost of his advancement along this path was even more terrifying.

One could even say that Capitalist had spent more money on Jingang than Lin Qi had invested in himself.

What Lin Qi spent were resources from the Doomsday World and his own energy to craft the Potions—costs that weren't counted in hard currency.

What Capitalist spent was actual Credit Points—her entire fortune, painstakingly earned over the better part of her life!

Just after Lin Qi sent his last message, the Highest-Level Mercenary Corps' temporary chat session closed completely.

Jingang, who was standing guard for Capitalist, received a message from the permanent council member, Qiao Xi:

"Starting tomorrow, you must accelerate your Potion intake. I've found a special Extraordinary Item. It can increase a person's metabolism. The closer you are to this item, the faster your metabolism will be. However, the side effect is that it consumes cellular lifespan at double the metabolic rate."

"You can decide what multiplier to use, but I need you to get the full-body Immortal-type S-Class Prosthetic Body implantation as soon as possible."

Capitalist was investing in Jingang and naturally expected a return. She needed him to get stronger as soon as possible to help her achieve her goals.

Seeing Qiao Xi's message, Jingang immediately replied: "Roger! Full power! Maximum multiplier! Loyalty!"

A Pure Prosthetic Implantation user's lifespan was already short. The corners of Jingang's mouth pulled up into a grin.

'Since I've chosen this path, there's no point worrying about the length of my life. It's the heights I reach that matter!'

Besides, if it weren't for Qiao Xi, he would have died in the junkyards of Alliance City long ago.

She gave him a second life. Since she needed it, he would give it to her!

「...」

In the No. 1 Prosthetic Clinic, Lin Qi was already lying in bed.

'I need to make those four Potions for Capitalist as soon as possible. When I go to the Doomsday World tonight, I have to meet with Ding Yang. I can't let a lack of Extraordinary Materials hold me back.'

'Then there are the Tier Three Extraordinary Items. I only have two more Ability slots left to choose, so I have to be careful.'

'The Emotion Weapon has a high enough ceiling, so I don't need to pursue potential right now. I need to pursue immediate combat power.'

'But you can only guess at a Tier Three Extraordinary Power from its surface attributes. It's still basically opening a blind box. The most I can do is control the general direction of that gamble.'

As Lin Qi planned his activities for the night, he was also chatting with Liu Xuan.

The two of them weren't using a direct comm-link, but instead exchanging email after email.

Direct comms were too easy to bug. Liu Xinglu, that S-Class Cyber Hacker, wasn't just for show.

Only email could guarantee a secure conversation.

Liu Xuan: "I have a good idea of what my father said to you. Don't take it to heart. You are very important to United Pharmaceutical, and you deserve all of this."

Lin Qi: "I don't particularly care what your father thinks. I'm more interested in knowing what you think."

Liu Xuan took a long time to reply:

"I really need your help right now, but I respect whatever you choose to do."

Lin Qi stared at the ceiling with a smile on his face as he continued to type his email.

"I'm not one to turn down a windfall of shares. I'll do my best to make United Pharmaceutical a truly great corporation as soon as possible."

The emails went back and forth as Lin Qi tried to sound out Liu Xuan's true feelings.

But no matter what, Liu Xuan always avoided answering his questions directly.

After just a few exchanges, the topic would always shift back to the company.

But Lin Qi could read between the lines; Liu Xuan didn't want him to leave Red Fruit City to build a career in the Eastern Alliance.

This had to be what she really felt.

Her so-called "illness" wouldn't control her words.

The emails continued to go back and forth, lasting until just after three in the morning.

Lin Qi had rarely wasted so much time on a conversation with so little substance.

It was only then that Liu Xuan sent her final email.

"You should get some rest. The company is resuming work tomorrow. The H3 Skyscraper has been cleared, and the streets will be cleaned up within three days. We need to rebuild the company's framework, so you're going to be very busy."

Lin Qi's eyes widened slightly.

'Resuming work tomorrow?'

'And you've been chatting until now?'

He had to remember that Liu Xuan didn't have any Prosthetic Body implants, nor was she an Extraordinary Professional.

'Does she really have the stamina for this?'

Lin Qi decisively stopped sending emails, not even typing out a "good night."

Lin Qi knew that with Liu Xuan's personality, if she received another email from him, she would definitely feel obligated to reply, which would just drain her energy further.

Lin Qi was worried Liu Xuan might drop dead from exhaustion before he had a chance to cure her...

He checked the time: April 1, 2089, 3:55 AM.

There was less than an hour left on the [Door]'s cooldown.

Lin Qi collected his thoughts once more and waited for the time to pass.

The moment the cooldown finished, Lin Qi immediately opened the [Door] and went to the Doomsday World.

「...」

In the Club Activity Building, on the 6th floor, Lin Qi opened his eyes inside the conference room.

As was his custom, if there were no urgent matters, he would first enter Meditation and use up the twelve-hour golden Meditation window before doing anything else.

Lin Qi changed directly into his Doomsday World attire and began to Meditate.

Twelve hours later, he felt a sense of fullness in his Spiritual Power. Continuing his Cultivation today would yield diminishing returns.

Lin Qi stood up and walked out of the conference room.

Outside the conference room door, Wang Ziru was already waiting.

Wang Ziru had started preparing for this visit yesterday. He carried a briefcase full of documents—proposals and talking points he had prepared in advance.

In many of Lin Qi's negotiations with Hongshan Camp, he would only set the general direction; Wang Ziru was always the one to handle the final implementation.

Wang Ziru was already well-practiced in this role.

Looking energetic, Wang Ziru said to Lin Qi, "Boss, the vehicle is ready. Since this is a formal diplomatic visit, I've also arranged for three squads to follow us, and I've brought along two of the camp's Extraordinaries..."