Chapter 514 321: Lin Qi Meets His Father-in-law?

Lin Qi got out of bed, freshened up, and headed to the first floor.

The first-floor reception area was already quite lively.

Liu Xuan, Lin Xin, the old man, Baili Xueyuan, and Sister Li were all there.

"Sister-in-law, I'll be gone for a long time, so we won't see each other. I'll miss you."

Lin Xin held Liu Xuan's hand, reluctant to part.

'It seems the Eastern Alliance's mission is mostly over. Baili Xueyuan is taking Lin Xin and leaving ahead of the others.'

Liu Xuan patted the back of Lin Xin's hand and reassured her, "We can always keep in touch online."

The two women seemed to have formed a decent bond over the past few days.

After saying her goodbyes to Liu Xuan, Lin Xin turned to the old man. "Dad, you need to take care of yourself. Don't you dare install any more Prosthetic Bodies. I know all about our family's Talent for them—our capacity is pitifully low. Don't you go and give yourself cyber psychosis."

The old man nodded, pleased. "You take good care of yourself out there."

'What a touching father-daughter moment.'

Lin Qi slowly descended the stairs and entered the reception area.

Lin Xin saw Lin Qi and frowned. "Lin Qi, you... Never mind. Just do whatever you want."

Hearing this, Lin Qi's eyebrow twitched, and he clenched his fists.

'Too bad there are so many people in the Prosthetic Clinic right now,' he thought. 'Not a good time to make a scene.'

Once Lin Xin finished her goodbyes, Baili Xueyuan finally spoke. She first addressed the old man, "Mr. Lin, don't worry. I will take good care of Lin Xin. She is my student, and I promise she won't be mistreated in the Eastern Alliance."

A promise from a Tier Four powerhouse carried significant weight. Compared to their first meeting, both Lin Qi and Doctor Lin now had a new appreciation for Baili Xueyuan's influence.

Doctor Lin was quite relieved to hear that.

Lin Qi, on the other hand, didn't show much of a reaction, though his brow furrowed subtly.

'To be honest, I really don't like Baili Xueyuan at all.'

Perhaps his frown caught her attention, as Baili Xueyuan suddenly turned to glance at Lin Qi, though she said nothing.

Lin Xin seemed to notice Baili Xueyuan's subtle action and hastily tugged on her arm, keenly sensing the strange tension in the air.

'She didn't understand why her teacher and her own brother were acting like this. The way her brother looked at her teacher was definitely not right.'

As if afraid Baili Xueyuan might say something, Lin Xin quickly shifted her position, subtly placing herself between them. "It's getting late, Teacher," she said. "We should get going. Didn't you say you have an important mission when we get back?"

'An important mission?'

Lin Qi subconsciously filed away that key piece of information.

'The Red Fruit City incident just ended, and now Baili Xueyuan has an important mission. It must have something to do with the one and only Bearer.'

'It might even be related to the Blood Moon in the Cyber World.'

"Yes, let's go."

Baili Xueyuan smiled. She could see Lin Xin's unease and didn't say anything more.

Lin Qi also remained silent, but he suddenly received an email from Lin Xin.

"Take care of the old man. Don't let him install any new Prosthetic Bodies. You be careful, too. If you run into any trouble, email me right away."

Although Lin Xin hadn't verbally expressed much concern for Lin Qi, this email showed how much she valued family.

Lin Qi replied, "You do the same. If anything comes up, contact me. Maybe I can help."

Lin Xin didn't know what her brother was basing his confidence on, but in any case, Lin Qi's current public standing wasn't low.

'Once Lin Qi actually reveals his identity as an S-Class Pharmaceutical Researcher, his influence will be comparable to the head of a major corporation.'

'If a top Pharmaceutical Researcher was determined to leave the Asian Administrative Region and work as a Mercenary, their network could give them access to a huge number of Tier Four Extraordinaries.'

'From Lin Xin's perspective, that must be the source of his confidence.'

Following behind Baili Xueyuan, Lin Xin discreetly turned and nodded at Lin Qi.

The old man walked a few steps toward the entrance to stand beside Lin Qi, and together they watched Lin Xin's group depart.

Doctor Lin's eyes were filled with longing as he stared intently at... Sister Li's retreating back.

"What a pity. They left in such a hurry."

Lin Qi turned his head, following the old man's gaze.

His mouth twitched. "Are you interested in Sister Li? Thinking of finding a stepmom for me and Lin Xin?"

Doctor Lin arched an eyebrow and rolled his eyes at Lin Qi. "What are you thinking? What I find regrettable is that Sister Li has a pretty good aptitude for Prosthetic Bodies. Based on her capacity, she could have easily been fitted with another five or so A-Class Prosthetic Bodies. I missed out on a ton of Credit Points."

"The main thing is I took on a big job last night. Otherwise, one night would have been more than enough time for me to convince her to get a few more installed."

The old man was just mourning his lost Credit Points!

'A completely natural Extraordinary!'

'And a Physical Enhancement Type Extraordinary at that—the perfect kind for installing Prosthetic Bodies. And he just let her get away.'

Lin Qi was rendered speechless by the old man's obsession. He asked subconsciously, "How many Prosthetic Bodies did you install on her? What's her augmentation level?"

Doctor Lin thought for a moment. "Around seventy percent, I'd say? I only installed just under twenty of them. Her Talent is really excellent."

Lin Qi sucked in a sharp breath.

'How on earth did the old man pull that off?'

'Sister Li is from the Eastern Alliance, and they've always been wary of Prosthetic Bodies. According to the Liu Clan's data, the Eastern Alliance occupies thirty percent of the Asian Administrative Region's territory but accounts for less than five percent of its Prosthetic Body consumption.'

'And the old man had nearly maxed Sister Li out in less than three days!'

'Installing so many, so quickly... wasn't he afraid of giving her cyber psychosis?'

'Don't tell me the old man installed all his dust-collecting, unsellable A-Class stock on Sister Li, did he?'

Lin Qi involuntarily glanced at Sister Li's retreating figure and gave an imperceptible shake of his head.

Only after they had watched the group walk out of the Prosthetic Clinic did Lin Qi and the old man return to the reception area.

Now, only Lin Qi, Doctor Lin, and Liu Xuan remained in the reception area.

The old man glanced at the pair, then leisurely got up and headed upstairs, leaving the space to Lin Qi and Liu Xuan.

Lin Qi looked up at Liu Xuan. "What are the company's plans? Do I need to go back to work today?"

Liu Xuan shook her head. "The company needs to rebuild its core team, which will probably take five to seven days. The talent will be selected from Liu's Academy, but Liu's Heavy Industries will get first pick."

Lin Qi frowned. 'This means all of United Pharmaceutical's new employees will be the Liu Clan's leftovers.'

'For a fledgling company like United Pharmaceutical, that was terrible news.'

After a moment of thought, Lin Qi said to Liu Xuan, "Maybe... we don't need to recruit from Liu's Academy. There's a way for United Pharmaceutical to quickly rebuild its team, and with people who have extensive experience in Pharmacy."

As soon as Lin Qi laid out the idea, Liu Xuan understood. "You mean draw employees from the small pharmaceutical firms that hold shares in United Pharmaceutical?"

Lin Qi nodded. "I've interacted with people from those smaller firms before. Many of their researchers are quite capable; they're just held back by their companies' limited access to literature and resources, which makes it hard for them to compete with major corporations."

"If we screen for talent from these companies, we could assemble a new core team in two days, tops. The company would just need to set up a new office space."

Liu Xuan considered it for a moment, then nodded. It was indeed a good idea and suited United Pharmaceutical's current circumstances.

"I'll make the arrangements shortly," Liu Xuan said. "Those small firms should be more than happy to cooperate."

After she spoke, the blue light in her left eye suddenly flickered. "By the way, my father said he hopes to meet with you this afternoon."

Then she added, "If you don't want to, I can turn him down for you."