After that, Lin Qi and Wang Ruoling had an in-depth discussion about the operating principles of the brain. He eventually confirmed that this little friend of his really had it in her and definitely did not just get some graduate student to help her write her book just to establish her reputation as a top academic.

When night fell, Lin Qi washed his face a few times to force himself to stay awake. He read several "Microprocessor Construction" and "Human Brain" academic papers before going to bed.

As a layman, his method of searching for outstanding works was very simple. He just flipped through the high-frequency citation works in the field and looked at their citation lists. Basically, those books which appeared the most frequently were all famous works in the industry.

For those he could not finish reading, he would just directly copy them into his memory palace. He would draw them out to study when he was free.

Mo Feng's sudden return that day and his insistence on sleeping in the same room for close protection that night told him something.

The Luo mage couple, who ruled over the entire "Yang City", did not plan to wait for him to enroll in the Magic Academy before making their move.

To these high and mighty mages, killing Lin Qi only required them to consider whether they could bear the "price" of the association's official punishment.

The Mage Protection Law gave the other party a basis for killing Lin Qi.

However, Lin Qi had obtained the identity of a "Mage Apprentice" from Mo Feng. And this same protection law which governed mages had become his death-exemption token.

However, no matter how talented a mage apprentice was, he was still an apprentice. His value could not be compared to a mage.

Even if the association punished the other party later on and gave his fellow mage apprentices an explanation, it would not be enough to make up for his loss of life.

If the Luo couple was willing to kill him at any price, Lin Qi's life would be hanging by a thread.

This was why Mo Feng needed to protect him during this period.

He just had to endure this until he entered the academy. Thereafter, the Luo couple would have to first overcome the academy's defences. And if they somehow managed to force their way through via hardcore methods, it would be like an indirect slap to the academy's face. They would face greater backlash then.

That's right, the only thing Lin Qi could do was increase the difficulty of killing him.

The identity of a Mage Apprentice was the first line of defense.

His "S-class" privilege was the second line of defense.

The protection of the "secret faction" was the third line of defense.

The Magic Academy's protection was the fourth line of defense.

However, with these powers of protection, he was just placing his life in the hands of others.

One only had full control over the cash in one's own pocket.

Therefore, Lin Qi had to work hard to study new uses of his "Memory Palace"!

He had already confirmed that his survival of the mental attack by the Phantom Killer must have something to do with the special materials in the memory palace.

Finally, with a guarded mindset, Lin Qi could not resist the call of deep sleepiness. He gradually leaned against the extremely comfortable bed and slowly fell asleep.

------

His breathing was calm and even, his snoring low and deep.

Suddenly, Lin Qi woke up with a start.

His head was extremely heavy, as if he had woken up from a hangover. His consciousness drifted. His organs felt like they had yet to synchronize and some were still asleep.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling window covered by a gauzy curtain, the skies were gray. Different from the scorching sun yesterday.

However, Lin Qi was not surprised. Subtropical monsoon weather was wet and humid. June weather in the south changed at the drop of a hat.

He rubbed his eyes hard. According to the clock on the wall, it was past 10 o'clock.

"Mage Mo Feng?" Lin Qi called out, his voice sounding hoarse. He even suspected that he must sleepwalked and gone out for a drink last night.

There was no reply from the suite next door. It looked like he had gone out.

Since he was alone, he didn't have to pay too much heed to decorum. Lin Qi reached for the side of the bed and pulled the sheets away, before stepping barefoot on the carpet. He then put on his slippers.

He had a sudden strange feeling, but he didn't pay too much attention to it. He walked straight to the bathroom, prepared to brush his teeth and wash his face.

He did not know if it was because of the side effects from not sleeping enough, but he felt that there was something wrong with the room.

"Splash". The tap was turned on and the warm water gushed out.

Lin Q's brain was still groggy. Everything around him felt somewhat surreal, as if they were overlapping.

As expected, staying up late ruined the body. He would have to sleep early tomorrow.

Lin Qi went through his never-changing routine of brushing his teeth, washing his face, shaving and squatting in the toilet. The entire process was carried out mechanically.

Just as he was squatting over the toilet with a sleepy face, the toilet light suddenly flashed.

Even the presidential suite had electricity issues?

Lin Qi was surprised, but he didn't think too much about it. He pulled up his pants and walked back to the floor-to-ceiling window in the living room. He immediately pulled open the curtain to let the sunlight in and clear his mind.

Immediately, the entire CBD district came into view. Under the fog, it was as if there was an additional filter layer.

The sky was terrifyingly gray. Large dark clouds gathered high in the sky, forming a black mass. A huge storm was coming.

Should he contact Mo Feng to see if he should leave early?

With a slightly nauseating burp, Lin Qi rubbed his stomach. He didn't get that empty-stomach feeling one got after sleeping all night.

He had missed the hotel's breakfast buffet and had no choice but to order room service.

Lin Qi walked over to the service phone on the bedside table and called reception.

"Beep, beep, beep…"

A busy tone. No reply.

With his engineering background, Lin Qi was well aware that telephone wires were able to offer a weak common energy source to power telephone signals.

Right now, there were only two possibilities: the telephone was spoiled or the wiring malfunctioned. Neither was something he could solve.

He took out his phone again and was about to call the service number marked on the landline when he realized that his screen was black!

Last night, he had fallen asleep while looking at his phone. Naturally, he had used up all his battery power when he did so.

Lin Qi tapped his head in frustration. In this day and age, having no phone for more than a few minutes could cause anxiety.

His gaze dropped to the socket. The quick charger was gone.

Something was wrong.

Lin Qi rushed over, grabbed the door handle, and twisted it open, only to discover that it could turn indefinitely.

This meant that the door handle and the lock were removed. He could even hear the sound of metal clinking.

Looking at the structure of the door lock, it was not something that ordinary people could destroy with brute force.

Don't panic.

Lin Qi silently took a deep breath and gave up on the idea of banging on the door and shouting for help. He remembered that there were no other guests on this floor. They had also asked not to be disturbed.

But turning to look at the "smoke sensor" on the ceiling, he didn't panic. He took out the white shirt he had just bought and walked to the toilet to change his clothes.

Even if he had to die, he would die looking handsome.

Of course, he actually came in here to find a hairdryer. He would start a fire after blowing at the pillowcase for a few minutes, and then use the smoke to alert the hotel.

After Lin Qi changed his clothes, he looked at his handsome face in the mirror.

Suddenly.

The "Lin Qi" in the mirror smiled like a puppet. Then, the smile on his face widened as if he was being pulled by a fish hook.

As for Lin Qi who was outside the mirror, he continued to stare at this horrifying sight.

The "Lin Qi" in the mirror maintained a strange smile and wrote on the mirror with his blood-stained fingers.

"You killed my child. I'll make you pay with your life today."