Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 115 - 115 98 Don't Hang Up the Phone

115: Chapter 98 Don’t Hang Up the Phone 115: Chapter 98 Don’t Hang Up the Phone “What?

There’s such a thing, beat him up,” Xu Yang was quite angry upon hearing the news, believing that pure love trumps all.

He knew that the relationship between Li Xiaomin and Rosya was extremely sweet, that was what true love was, far better than those arranged blind dates in the company, where the AI algorithm always recommended to Xu Yang those single, older female executives.

“No, no…” Li Xiaomin waved his hands repeatedly, his expression bitter, his whole demeanor deflated, “How could I possibly defeat him?”

“If you can’t beat him, then exercise.

If you can’t beat him, go gather intelligence,” Xu Yang said.

“Take action.”

“Ah, senior,” Li Xiaomin took a deep drag of his cigarette, “…I don’t know… I really don’t know what good I am.”

“Why so negative?

You definitely have some skills.”

“I didn’t learn anything,” Li Xiaomin said, downhearted.

“My dad sold a kidney to get me a donated spot in the company’s people’s school, but what they taught there was all rubbish.

It was unmanned classrooms, just playing courseware recordings, and it was chaotic below, everyone I knew was muddle-headed, doing nothing, and I was extorted for protection money, so I had no choice but to run.”

“But you clearly know how to drive.”

“I have a Class B driver’s license.” Li Xiaomin fished out a precious plastic card from beneath his collar, which he had strung on a plastic cord around his neck, “The Class A assessment requires you to compete with the damn AI in driving skills, there’s no way to pass without connections.

How can a human drive as well as an AI…”

A Class B driver’s license allows one to drive medium-sized vehicles and small shuttle machines, while a Class A license allows one to drive large shuttle machines.

“That’s already good enough,” Xu Yang said.

“Delivering takeout is also a job, and one that’s hard to replace.

AIs often take the wrong route, and these days where everyone lives are so quirky, only people can find those complex and hidden places.”

“Yeah, I’ve never made a mistake,” Li Xiaomin felt somewhat relieved.

“Driving is something I’m quite familiar with.”

“Rosya must still be working at the big hat shop.

Aren’t they hiring delivery boys anymore?” Xu Yang looked up at the sign of the Tortilla Big Hat Shop.

“Not meeting the requirements, who knew they would test literacy during the interview, testing me on stuff I’ve never learned.” Li Xiaomin complained.

“This place is quite demanding.”

But it also fits with the corporate culture of Tortilla Big Hat; they only want the best employees and are unwilling to compromise their reputation and credibility on the small stuff.

“I don’t know, sigh,” Li Xiaomin sighed.

“When my dad was sick, I couldn’t even come up with the money.

I didn’t even have the money for cremation, and I don’t know where the hospital has dumped him.

I know nothing…

Now Rosya’s heart is with someone else, I…

I don’t know what the point of living is.”

“They’ve only met for a day,” Xu Yang glanced into the distance, where Rosya and that black man were chatting and laughing, indeed annoying.

“You still have a chance.

If you’re harsh, knock the guy down, give him a beating, make him behave.

Or, I could find an opportunity for you two to talk things out.”

“Then…

let’s go with talking, if I beat someone, it’s not going to end well,” Li Xiaomin hastily said.

Xu Yang leaned against the wall, searching the surrounding network base stations, located the data service provider that the black man’s phone was connected to, hijacked the traffic, and transmitted a large number of redundant ads to his phone, causing infinitely many pop-ups to appear.

The black man, who had been talking to Rosya, suddenly noticed something odd happening on his phone, and his expression changed drastically; he began fiddling with it, which would certainly keep him busy for a while.

A smartphone is a lifeline for corporate people, and, unable to focus on communicating with Rosya, the black man turned away, desperately poking at his screen, sweat pouring down his forehead.

Seeing this, Rosya could only respond with a few perfunctory words, then said her goodbyes and headed back to the big hat shop.

Xu Yang gave Li Xiaomin an encouraging glance, and Li Xiaomin clenched his fists, quickly heading towards Rosya.

Seeing Li Xiaomin, Rosya immediately broke into a smile and took his hand, and they started talking eagerly.

Xu Yang couldn’t catch the dialogue, only seeing Li Xiaomin’s earnest expression, as if he was pouring out a sincere speech, seemingly laying bare all of his youthful bewilderment, impulse, passion, and illusions, which greatly surprised Rosya.

Xu Yang watched the underage boy who had fled all the way from Katagi District to this place.

The experiences of the past few days must have forever changed the boy and his young girlfriend.

In the conversation, Rosya showed a shy smile and after Li Xiaomin finished speaking, his face flushed red, seemingly embarrassed by his own words.

They spent moments in silence, simply looking at each other with pure fervor, until the encounter ended with Rosya giving Li Xiaomin a deep kiss.

Seeing things nearly settled, Xu Yang nodded to himself, then turned and went back inside the Tortilla Big Hat Shop.

He walked down a dark green corridor, the floor piled with red and black squares, promotional paintings for delicious tortillas hung on both walls, fat Chaos Beasts buried half their bodies in the feed troughs while the other halves were stuffed into the Meat Grinder.

At the other end of the spherical machine were ground ‘dark pink’ beast meat slices, looking quite appealing.

He stopped to look at the promotional poster for a moment, then turned around to see Li Xiaomin push the door open, his face carrying a certain excited smile.

“What’s up?” Xu Yang asked puzzledly, “Not spending more time with her?”

“I feel quite absurd.” Li Xiaomin’s face had a dreamlike expression, “Now, I suddenly feel like I can do anything, I feel incredibly confident!

It’s like I’ve become the happiest person in the entire world!”

“A man only becomes complete after having a woman he dearly loves.” Xu Yang said, “It’s the moment they grow up.”

“Maybe so.” Li Xiaomin sighed, “We plan to stay here.

Rosya is willing to work here, and although I can’t stay with her, I’ll keep trying my luck and rent a place nearby, hoping not to run into kidney-stealing gangs.”

“Good luck to you.”

“It all comes down to the help from a senior like you.” Li Xiaomin bowed deeply to Xu Yang, “Otherwise, an ordinary guy like me would never have survived the Rat Tide.

Just now, Rosya and I laid all our cards on the table.

The hardships and misunderstandings made us cherish each other more, and I will also strive to become a better man!”

“Leave your contact information.

I’ll offer you a job whenever I have the opportunity.” Xu Yang lacked a reliable driver.

The hierarchical structure of the Underground Metropolis was extremely chaotic, especially the road conditions in Aizu City; leaving it to autonomous driving would sooner or later cause problems.

“Thank you…” Li Xiaomin looked at Xu Yang sincerely, “…senior, you’ve had the greatest impact on my life, and I hope to become as exceptional as you one day.”

“There are actually an infinite number of possibilities before us, just take the path you believe in the most.” Xu Yang nodded, “You still have a long life ahead of you.

Whatever happens, don’t panic, call your brother Xu, and don’t be a stranger.”

“I understand…

Goodbye, senior!” Li Xiaomin bid farewell to Xu Yang and walked out briskly.

After saying farewell to the young couple, Xu Yang realized that everyone around him had changed; now, Bax, 101, and 102 were on the ship, and he was the only human male left, which was poignant.

Putting the tumultuous external situation aside, the foremost issue to address was the funds.

Subtracting a series of expenses, Xu Yang now had 91 million funds in hand.

If he wanted to collect money, the quickest way would still be to check out Jumen Commerce.

Old Cui’s prosthetic body center was also awaiting reconstruction, and since his original clinic had been shut down, it probably still required some wrangling.

Xu Yang inquired about Zuo Hongchen’s newly rented office, then went to find out about Jumen Commerce’s reconstruction status.

Zuo Hongchen rented a floor of an office building, a total of about 400 square meters roughly, with partitions separating the space using crude partition walls.

Through the glass walls, one could faintly see people at the company working hard at their stations—exactly like the scene in the big building before, only this place was shabbier; upstairs sold stamps, while downstairs was a bare-knuckle boxing gym.

The upper floor was usually quiet, but piercing screams would emanate from below every so often.

Behind his large desk, Zuo Hongchen was ceaselessly making calls, with several of his management staff bustling nearby.

Due to the spartan conditions, they shared an office with the boss, frequently glancing at him to gauge whether each call was successful or not, and their expressions would shift between pleasure and disappointment accordingly.

With times being turbulent, none of them wanted to lose their jobs.

They were completely vested in the security of the company, thinking up ways to revive it from near-death.

Scanning the executives, Xu Yang recognized most of the faces from their time on the run.

They hadn’t scattered, which meant Zuo Hongchen had succeeded in rallying people’s hearts—he wasn’t the kind of boss people hated.

“…Okay, okay, okay,” Zuo Hongchen was on the phone, “Any amount is fine, I know, I know it’s not the time, but please, we’ve known each other so long, dude, brother, kin, dad!

Don’t hang up, don’t—”

He put down his phone dejectedly, surrounded by leftover Tortilla Big Hat Shop takeout boxes, his face greasy, seemingly having channeled his anxiety into eating.

Already chubby, he now appeared even bulkier.

Zuo Hongchen picked up a tortilla and stuffed it into his mouth, staring at his phone screen in distress, searching for the next contact.

“I came to visit,” Xu Yang said, “How are things on your end?”

“Global stock market crash, ‘Error Crisis’,” he sighed, “suddenly everyone’s plans have changed.

Giant corporations are acting crazy, it’s these kinds of unexpected troubles.

I knew handing company operations over to AI would never end well.

They either glitch out or go insane and betray us.

Countless movies have said so, if humans are ever wiped out one day, it’ll definitely be due to an AI uprising, not anything else.”

“I want to see the company’s prospects,” Xu Yang said.

“Show me the plan and proposal.”

In addition, more importantly, through Zuo Hongchen’s connections, he wanted to import some rare items from outside.

He had made a mental checklist that roughly included a new Shuttle Machine, Witch Armor, smart terminals, and numerous other devices for his own company.

It was time to build his own company… And while he was at it, include Farosa’s Witch Division in his management.

If left to her own devices, she would only wreak havoc.