Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 1076 - 837: If Moving Forward

Chapter 1076: Chapter 837: If Moving Forward

Returning to the Vermilion Purple Mine and re-evaluating the site, Pan Ruiyi still felt amazed by its scale.

The guards and robots she had eliminated had been cleared away, the Xisheng people had fled, leaving only the vast expanse of steel and machinery, confining the entire dune like a cage. Towering cranes and drill bits cut the ground like knives, stretching endlessly.

In the past, this would have been an engineering feat worthy of the history books, but with modern technology, such a gigantic mining base was nothing extraordinary.

"That’s the mine shaft—it needs miners or giant sandworms to dig downwards," Aisha pointed to the Vermilion Purple Mine.

Only 3% of the mine’s output had been restored. Pan Ruiyi could clearly hear the hum of machines from the labyrinth of tunnels and caves, even capturing the scent of metal and fuel from such a distance.

Huge mining vehicles were parked on the dunes, a total of 20, but only 1 contained a paltry amount of spice, roughly only about 3 barrels.

If the mining operation couldn’t be restarted, Pan Ruiyi’s effort would have been in vain!

"Are the other workers too afraid to come?" Pan Ruiyi asked.

"We announced it online, but the companies from the Near East took it down, and I sent servants to Asha Port to invite people for work, but the servants were killed too," Aisha sighed.

"Asha Port?" Pan Ruiyi vaguely remembered it wasn’t far.

"It used to be a noble territory ruled by my family," Aisha said.

Pan Ruiyi saw the massive mechanical arms and laser mining and cutting tools in the mine, which should have been working together perfectly to extract the precious spice from deep within the earth.

She could imagine them operating at full capacity, a beautiful dance between man and machine, seamlessly cooperating to maximize efficiency and productivity.

"...If no one comes to mine, the value of this mine will greatly diminish," Aisha said anxiously.

Pan Ruiyi saw four large, bound sandworms still lazily lying on the mining site and rushed over, making a show of wanting to beat them.

"Roar!"

"Screech——"

"Wow——" The giant sandworms still remembered this terrifying woman. They immediately perked up and quickly stood upright on the ground before reorienting themselves and vigorously drilling into the earth!

Charge!

"Useless creatures, dig for me!" The ground and dunes trembled under Pan Ruiyi’s feet as she loudly cursed and provoked the sandworms. Under the frenzied drilling operations of the worms, mature spice gases were pumped out from different mining channels!

These active gases were captured by machines and started being processed into truly consumable spice.

"Ah——" Aisha was stunned. Those four giant sandworms, her people didn’t even dare to approach, yet as soon as Pan Ruiyi appeared, they were scared into behaving like diligent laborers, just as they had under Xisheng’s rule.

However, there were still too few workers!

"That’s spice worth a fortune! If workers don’t come in time to collect it, it will all dissipate!" Aisha shouted, heartbroken, watching the multicolored spice fountains erupting in the mine, like an explosion of oil paint.

It was so valuable that an ordinary person only needed to take a bucket of Purple Spice and sell it to never work a day in their life.

"Use the D2s," Hasan suddenly said to Aisha, "Due to Xisheng Company’s ’criticism’ and ’exposure’ of Nestor Corporation, many D2s are piled up at Nestor Corporation’s port unable to trade normally. If we transport them all here, they can engage in the excavation."

"How do you know about Nestor Corporation’s situation—oh, right, you’re a Nestor Corporation robot." Aisha nodded, "Will they...safely deliver the robots?"

"That depends on our efforts," Hasan said, "We need to unblock the shipping routes to Asha Port."

"...I’ll take troops and funds to appease the residents of Asha Port. The port hasn’t been renovated for years and desperately needs funds." Aisha suddenly thought of a good idea.

After Pan Ruiyi returned, Aisha led her directly towards Asha Port.

Safalai City is 25 kilometers south of Asha Port, a medium-sized port on the Spice Coast. Due to Xisheng’s establishment in Safalai, coupled with the fall of the Aisha Family, Asha Port also declined.

If Aisha could control this port, she could extend her influence from the oasis noble territory on the desert’s edge to the coast, instantly connecting with global trade. In the future, she could leverage the port to bypass Xisheng’s Safalai City, directly exporting spices.

In doing so, Aisha could leap to become a strong force on the Spice Coast, restoring her family’s former grandeur.

Pan Ruiyi also needed this port to transport subsequent troops of Nestor Corporation, so she hurried to set off.

She observed Asha Port; the small city had a population of only tens of thousands, with quite narrow sidewalks, and numerous old factories dotted the coastal areas.

Many buildings looked broken down, and between them, narrow sidewalks were littered with chaotic holographic advertisements, promoting the latest intelligence-enhancing implants claimed to guarantee a job, and brand-new "cure-alls" that promised to cure all diseases.

Aisha came with funds and goodwill, organizing a convoy and threw money to residents along the way.

"I am Aisha Leshate Aziz! The legitimate noble of the Spice Coast!" she announced to the surrounding residents.

The servants began taking old gold and silver coins from boxes and throwing them around, like a rainstorm of coins hitting people, causing pain and joy simultaneously. These were ancient currency, gold or silver, still of great value, Aisha’s carefully saved treasures.

"Oh oh!"

"Free money!"

"Gold!" The residents were overjoyed.

They had also heard about Aisha’s violent assault on Xisheng, and were eager for Aisha to bring a new order to the entire Spice Bay, to stop the outsider Honma Noriko from continuing to act recklessly here. Under Aisha’s governance, honor and wealth might very well return to Asha Port!

Money! Money! Money! They cheered, shouting at the gold and silver flying in the air, hailing the return of Aisha.

Pan Ruiyi stood on the car, looking around. Although Asha Port wasn’t very wealthy, she still saw the beautiful parts: a sparkling river meandering through the heart of the port and flowing directly into Spice Bay, flanked by stylish and modern apartment buildings.

The dock was bustling, large cargo ships were moored at the port, and sailors were disembarking in droves, running into the streets to greet Aisha’s arrival and pick up money.

As the convoy advanced through Asha Port, Pan Ruiyi was most surprised by the remnants of Dragon Worship Sect culture.

There were towering Dragon Worship towers and temples here, and the rule of the Ancient Dragon Empire seemed like it was just yesterday. Many secret worshipers of dragons were still active in secondary cities like Asha Port.

She regretted not bringing Chiyuki Sajou along because if Qianxue, the "little Dragonkin," were here, she would certainly find these Dragon Worship relics fascinating.

"Are—are your ancestors from the Dragon Worship Sect?" Pan Ruiyi turned to ask Aisha.

"Actually, I still am part of the Dragon Worship Sect. My parents taught me much about the oasis dragon culture and the legends of the Hanging Gardens," Aisha said, while distributing coins, "It’s just, up to now, no ’Dragon God’ has appeared worthy of us renewing our faith."

When will true dragons soar the earth again?

Just when the convoy reached the city’s center, and the residents of Asha Port were at the peak of their enthusiastic cheers, Pan Ruiyi suddenly heard an ominous disturbance from underground.

It was as if something was drilling rapidly, almost like a train rumbling underground—

"Scatter! Scatter!" Pan Ruiyi shouted urgently.

Upon hearing Pan Ruiyi’s call, the people hurriedly ran away.

In just a few seconds, the ground abruptly cracked open, and a gigantic creature emerged!

Hasan quickly turned the steering wheel and drove the SUV to the side.

The people, having received Pan Ruiyi’s prior warning, quickly held their heads and fled.

White Salamander!

Its enormous head cast a shadow, and Pan Ruiyi took deep breaths, adrenaline surging through her veins.

This creature was unlike anything she had ever faced; not only were its scales hard and claws sharp, but it could also continuously grow. In fact, Pan Ruiyi had fought against a White Salamander in simulated combat.

It was powerful and could evolve incessantly—until it was even stronger than Pan Ruiyi.

"Come fight me!" Pan Ruiyi sprinted forward, fists clenched tightly.

The White Salamander lunged forward, and it seemed as though Pan Ruiyi anticipated its trajectory before it moved. She sidestepped to dodge, the gale brushing her face. So fast, she thought.

In the next moment, Pan Ruiyi struck with a hard right hook, her punch like thunder, fiercely hitting the White Salamander’s side, the ferocious strike piercing through the White Salamander’s body in an instant.

Bang!

The White Salamander was sent flying, crashing into a small building. Pan Ruiyi saw clearly that its wounds were healing rapidly, and the newly grown flesh was even tougher. The beaten area formed a gel-like substance of rose color, which then solidified into some kind of ultra-high-strength alloy.

It was as if it was reforging its own armor. Pan Ruiyi frowned.

The White Salamander regenerated swiftly, then leapt fiercely, its speed breathtaking. Pan Ruiyi’s Magic Power was continuously consumed, doing her utmost to evade the White Salamander’s ferocious attacks while punching back.

"Look at that..."

"It’s just like a monster movie..."

"She punched hundreds of times alone!"

"And that monster also..."

"Run!"

To crush Pan Ruiyi, this massive undead White Salamander rampaged through the street, constantly demolishing buildings in its path, though its attacks had yet to capture Pan Ruiyi. But she could feel the White Salamander’s reaction speed was continuously accelerating, as if it was adapting to her attack frequency.

She left hundreds of fist marks on the White Salamander. Under normal circumstances, anything hit this many times by the invincible Pan Ruiyi would have died long ago, but—

At some point, the White Salamander had evolved to have a body covered in golden super-alloy armor, as if Pan Ruiyi’s intense pummeling had driven its evolution into having incredible defenses!

"Die!" Pan Ruiyi struck a powerful punch, the White Salamander raised its claws and intercepted her attack, blocking it perfectly.

"Hiss—" The White Salamander’s gaze locked onto Pan Ruiyi.

How could one defeat a creature that constantly evolves and regenerates? Pan Ruiyi took a deep breath. She thought again of the phantom of Purple Spice: her remains would join the ranks of countless others.