Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 1065 - 832: Iron Among Witches_2

Chapter 1065: Chapter 832: Iron Among Witches_2

"Then our movements have been entirely exposed," Pan Ruiyi complained.

"Aisha was already going to hire a large number of personnel anyway, not to mention..." Hasan looked up at the drones.

They appeared almost as if compelled by Hasan’s mechanical gaze, retreating quickly into the distance.

"Hasan is quite capable, apparently even a hacker," Aisha said approvingly.

"I’m an all-purpose Nestor Synthetic Human. Just hope this wave of recall from Nestor Corporation doesn’t come for me," Hasan said in a humorously emulated electronic tone.

Pan Ruiyi was about to say something when she noticed massive and intricately structured buildings in the distance, spewing multicolored fumes into the air.

She also saw an enormous and terrifying creature, with a segmented body adorned with deep grooves and a huge split maw—it was exactly like the mythical giant desert worm.

"What is that?" Pan Ruiyi extended her hand.

"Spice worms. When we mine for spice, we often encounter them. Spice is buried beneath the Near East, scattered everywhere, worth a fortune. But the spice industry is monopolized entirely by Near East Providence and Near East Xisheng Corporation," Aisha said enviously, gazing at the mining area.

Towering machines continuously drilled into the earth, forming rows of industrial-grade mines behind the dunes.

Aisha couldn’t help but make Hasan stop the off-road vehicle, letting the convoy drive ahead while she ventured to the top of a dune, overlooking the spice mine.

"Look!" Aisha pushed open the car door and stepped out.

They gazed down at the sprawling spice mine, resembling a colossal wound on the earth’s surface. The twenty-plus heavy excavation machines were like parasitic leeches, greedily latched onto the mine, extracting the spice day and night.

Pan Ruiyi frowned as she observed.

Massive spice sandworms were drawn to the noise of drilling, intending to attack the miners, just as their ancestors once preyed on humans.

Miners blasted the earth, hoping the spice would emerge from underground; the sandworms devoured the miners. It was meant to be some sort of natural life cycle—a bloodstained deal.

But under the influence of modern technology, when sandworms appeared, humans didn’t flee. Instead, they quickly deployed drones and Power Armored Soldiers to attack and capture the creatures, injecting them with compounds to intensify their aggression, transforming them into biological miners.

The sandworms drilled deeper tunnels, aiding in the expanding search for spice reserves. This particular mine had already captured four giant sandworms. They were all wild, titanic, and unrelenting in their burrowing. Occasionally, overwhelmed by agony, they would surface from the tunnels, roaring at the blue sky.

"...The Vermilion Purple Spice Mine, that was supposed to be our heritage," Aisha muttered.

Her jealous gaze lingered on the mining site, as though Near East Xisheng Corporation wasn’t mining spice but desecrating her family’s ancestral grave.

"The Spice Nobles once ruled over all spice industries in the Gulf. However, as corporations grew more powerful, all ancestral properties have been gradually acquired," Hasan explained.

"Do you want to reclaim your inheritance?" Pan Ruiyi arrogantly pointed toward the Vermilion Purple Spice Mine ahead.

"How would we reclaim it? That would provoke Xisheng Corporation. That savage woman, Honma Noriko... she’d dispatch a legion of assassins to destroy us. You only just arrived here, yet you’re already suggesting drastic action? And I don’t even know your name," Aisha said icily.

"How much does this mine earn annually?" Pan Ruiyi asked.

"Around 3 to 6 billion," Hasan replied.

"An endless stream of wealth could flow into your pocket. All you need to do is ask," Pan Ruiyi raised her head.

Aisha’s eyes revealed a complex mixture of emotions—a blend of anxiety and anticipation.

"...Let’s leave now, or else they might discover us," Aisha said at last, leading Pan Ruiyi and Hasan back to the off-road vehicle and ordering Hasan to navigate their return to Aisha’s family estate.

Pan Ruiyi shook her head, feeling disappointed in Aisha.

"By the way, I’m starving. Have your house staff and chefs prepare food in advance. Make more—I plan to feast," Pan Ruiyi remarked.

"Food is inconsequential; we have plenty. What I want to know is, are you mercenaries?" Aisha asked cautiously.

In the past, she would never have shown the slightest courtesy to Pan Ruiyi and her group.

But Pan Ruiyi exuded an aura that Aisha found almost surreal, like the Battle Witch stepping out of a fresco into reality.

Aisha felt a faint premonition.

If she seized this opportunity, she could rise again!

Perhaps even, as Hasan suggested, replace Honma Noriko and take residence in Khalifa Spire.

"Just consider me a mercenary! And the most powerful, fiercest mercenary in the world," Pan Ruiyi clenched her fist.

"You? And what about the people you brought with you?" Aisha asked, confused.

"Just rely on me. As for the others, you can see them as slightly more refined foot soldiers," Pan Ruiyi said arrogantly.

"Hah... impressive," Aisha couldn’t help but curve her lips into a faint smile.

She realized Pan Ruiyi might be exaggerating to catch her attention.

Well, Pan Ruiyi succeeded.

The Spice Nobles were a historically significant group, but they no longer controlled tangible wealth or military power in the present day. They survived only by clinging to the remnants of their former glory.

Aisha longed to restore her family’s splendor.

The off-road vehicle approached a vast estate, and Aisha’s gaze fixed on it, her thoughts drifting further into the past, when the Spice Nobles once commanded unparalleled influence.

"Is that your family’s residence?" Pan Ruiyi asked curiously.