Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 1062 - 831: Hunting Honma Noriko

Chapter 1062: Chapter 831: Hunting Honma Noriko

Near East, Spice Coast, Safalai City.

The Khalifa Spire is the landmark of this city. From afar, it looks like an impossibly elevated platinum tower, as if trying to pierce the heavens, or perhaps like a golden needle blooming between the desert and the sea.

Surrounding it are various types of skyscrapers, luxurious shopping centers, artificial lakes and fountains, a profusion of flowers—a true showcase of extravagance in Safalai City’s most opulent commercial district.

Silla’s Litian Tower stands at 620 meters tall, Shangjing’s Xisheng Shrine reaches 636 meters, but the Khalifa Spire towers at a staggering 1020 meters—a breathtaking architectural marvel of unparalleled grandeur.

Honma Noriko sat cross-legged in the tea room at the very top of the Khalifa Spire.

At this height, the masses seemed so insignificant to her.

She picked up scissors and began trimming the arrangement of flowers before her. Honma Noriko had chosen hydrangeas, a signature summer bloom and a symbol of the rainy season. Their central spherical structure was perfectly rounded, their colors soft yet varied. To her, they conveyed tenderness and romance—apt for the youthful body she now inhabited.

The only issue was that she once performed this task in the Xisheng Shrine, which now felt so distant.

People had almost entirely forgotten the name Xisheng Shrine.

Instead, they called it...

Nestor Headquarters!

Those five words rested in Honma Noriko’s stomach like poison.

Every time she thought of that name, she felt the urge to vomit.

Nestor Headquarters.

With a sharp snip, Honma Noriko lopped off a corner of the hydrangea before her.

Her flower arrangement skills were unparalleled—the blooms before her rose tall and elegant. The primary and secondary branches complemented each other, showcasing depth and intricate layers of space. Rather than appearing as natural plants, the arrangement seemed more like postmodern artworks.

"Madam’s craftsmanship is exquisite, but it seems Madam’s heart is somewhat elsewhere?" Rubazio smiled, standing off to the side of the tea room.

Honma Noriko knelt straight on the floor. She wore a traditional cherry blossom pink ensemble, her hair pinned with jade hairpins.

Surrounding her were the reinforcements brought by Rubazio, as well as those loyal to Honma Noriko—including her trusted aide Yanagawa Fumihiko, the Witch Nilu, archangels with four wings, several unnamed Ancient Vampires, and the enormous and savage White Salamander. It sprawled on the ground, its body covered in thick, crystal-like white scales, seemingly more powerful than ever before.

Outside in the corridor were private guards, uniformly equipped with advanced combat gear, such as subjective time-dilation implants, all defending Honma Noriko’s unshakable authority.

Since leaving the Northern Archipelago to establish her influence in the Near East, Honma Noriko had successfully risen once more. Her Near East Xisheng Corporation now stood in direct competition with the original corporate giant Near East Providence, becoming the Spice Coast’s dominant power.

"Quite the formidable arrangement." Honma Noriko closed her eyes. "Ever since I issued that declaration to crusade against Nestor Corporation, they’ve clearly begun mobilizing their forces—they seem intent on stirring trouble for me."

"Those vermin at Nestor Corporation, daring to usurp your family enterprise—they’d best swallow their indignation. Should they recklessly attack here, they will undoubtedly suffer the greatest defeat in history," Rubazio said with a grin.

Honma Noriko opened her eyes, the corners of her mouth curling slightly.

"I truly despise Nestor Corporation—they treat pigs far too well." Honma Noriko said with a touch of mania.

"Pigs?" Rubazio probed.

"Yes, there are far too many ’pigs.’ Haven’t you noticed?" Honma Noriko replied.

"You mean...?" Rubazio inquired further.

"A hundred years ago, when I was very young, I saw advertisements by the Shangjing Education Company for their ’First Lessons of Education’ series, which were likely aimed at inspiring people to seek education and, conveniently, buy their courses. Years later, I even went out of my way to examine the memories of the ad creator, extracting his original intentions from his mind. The gist of it was simply to show students studying diligently. But what I saw wasn’t a gap in their ’hard work,’ but a gap in their ’wealth.’"

"In the advert, students used state-of-the-art electronic screens, sat in clean classrooms, read aloud from pristine, well-organized textbooks. The teachers were considerate and refined, the classmates graceful and polite. I watched the ad, then looked at my own classroom—it was filthy, filled with brawling students. Not a single lesson carried out properly. Recreating the ideal classroom depicted in the ad felt utterly impossible. That’s when I realized—I was attending school alongside pigs. I needed to leave them." Honma Noriko spoke slowly.

"Then you founded Xisheng," Rubazio said respectfully.

"I earned enough to lift myself out of the pigs’ environment by selling small items as an agent in the Northern Archipelago. Back then, the opportunities were plentiful—anything from Taixi Continent or New Taixi State was searching for local distributors. The Northern Archipelago was so impoverished at the time; they lacked everything but wanted anything. TVs, refrigerators, cameras, and most importantly, telephones. I clawed my way through those opportunities, starting as an agent for small goods, eventually earning enough to establish myself. Then I failed—sons of nobility targeted the business I had built. They returned home and told their fathers, ’I want this,’ and just like acquiring a toy, they ripped my company from my hands."

"I remember that day. When I received the letter demanding my surrender of the company, I let go. There was no one to help me. I stood at the edge of Shangjing Bay, staring at the sea—not to contemplate suicide, but to think about a new company name. And then, as the waves crashed, inspiration struck. I thought of the name for my new company—Xisheng, hope and prosperity." Honma Noriko said wistfully.