Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 1208 - 928: Total War in New Taixi State

Chapter 1208: Chapter 928: Total War in New Taixi State

"How was this done?" Laila curiously picked up a breathable blanket that had materialized on the ground out of nowhere.

Her fingers touched one end, while on the other end of the blanket, tens of millions of nanobots worked diligently like a swarm of bees, weaving and stitching the blanket, making it extend continuously.

Xu Yang nodded.

He can now command work groups of thousands of nanobots, coordinating their activities. By manipulating electromagnetic fields, they can levitate and move material particles, "sculpting" or "printing" objects in the air, collecting carbon, iron, water, and other elemental molecules from the air and ground, and reassembling them.

Xu Yang can also command a large number of drones on a macroscopic scale, capable of transporting materials and executing attack and defense commands, easily completing tasks such as reconnaissance, exploration, and construction.

To this day, he can invent or customize the weapons and equipment he needs anywhere according to his wishes.

"Technology, quite amazing, right?" Xu Yang sat on the sandy ground, "So, after the war is over, you should go back to school."

"I don’t like going to school," Xu Cheng said.

"Don’t think about skipping classes," Laila looked at Xu Cheng with a mischievous gaze, "You need to learn alien languages, and of course, science and engineering."

"Croak, croak," Xu Cheng felt overwhelmed just hearing that.

"Education should be restored first and foremost. Learning is inherently everyone’s business, but some things hinder us from completing our growth. The previous society made people good at fishing live in trees and forced those good at logging to fish, nobody enjoyed learning itself, but learning should make people happy," Xu Yang said, supporting himself with both hands, the desert was quite silent.

The engineering drones were building a polymer roof behind him, along with a sandstorm-resistant energy shield, and the fully functional furniture took form within half a minute, being casually arranged by Xu Cheng. Many supplies were delivered by drones, supporting the construction of a large camp lamp, a set of terminals, and a data base station. All electronic devices were reinforced to resist irregular electromagnetic interference.

"It instantly became a home, a small base," Laila walked back and forth, amazed.

Everything continued to burgeon, differentiate, and reconstruct.

The drones collected the surrounding sand and restructured it on a molecular level into silicon with a purity of over 99.9%. Xu Yang collected this silicon, extending numerous electrically blue-glowing wires from his wrist, like hundreds of fine tendrils, twisting the silicon into wafers, then using a photolithography machine to transfer circuit patterns onto the wafers, embedding transistors, depositing copper layers for wiring, constructing circuit grids, and manufacturing chips.

He placed the manufactured chips into a terminal built by the drones, serving as its computing unit. It all appeared like magic in Laila’s eyes, and she worshipped it like crazy.

Once the terminal was activated, it popped open a thermal furnace, starting an intelligent cooking operation.

"Let’s cook." Xu Cheng opened the supply box delivered by the drones, which contained many ingredients. Xu Cheng had always been helping her dad cook in the past, and now she could finally get back to it, which made her quite happy.

"Let me do it, you guys go play," Xu Yang headed towards the makeshift kitchen, intending to make something to eat.

He himself was like an ecosystem of electronic devices, with signals following his every gesture.

"What to play?" Xu Cheng paced back and forth.

"Let me clean you up." Laila felt Xu Cheng was dusty and dirty.

Xu Cheng half-understood, sitting on a plastic chair, Laila checked Xu Cheng’s long-neglected clothes, earthy hairstyle, and scruffy little face, deciding to use her small hands to salvage Xu Cheng’s appearance.

Laila transformed Xu Cheng into a "real Little Witch," combing Xu Cheng’s hair, wiping Xu Cheng’s face, braiding Xu Cheng’s hair, and tidying Xu Cheng’s clothes, tucking her wrinkled T-shirt into her waistband.

Next, Laila checked Xu Cheng’s size, realizing that this earthy "sister" was also at the age to wear an extra close-fitting garment. When Laila whispered this to Xu Cheng, Xu Cheng was very surprised—she thought it was still far off, at least until she was 20, but it turned out she could already be a young lady.

When Xu Yang finished cooking, Xu Cheng was cleaned up too. Xu Yang turned around, examining Xu Cheng, somewhat shocked.

He always thought of Xu Cheng as messy, considering that everything at this time should naturally be chaotic, but now Xu Cheng looked especially good, her messy hair being combed back, Laila giving her a hair clip to secure her long black hair, dressed appropriately, and sitting obediently.

"...Feels like returning to the past..." Xu Yang felt satisfied, yet a little proud, "Do you remember when you used to have really long hair, and I helped you cut it?"

"Because you said I couldn’t take care of it, sigh." Xu Cheng touched her long hair, yes, it had grown longer, but only today was it really made to look good by Laila’s hands. Xu Cheng indeed couldn’t take care of herself well.

"You really need a companion, a good friend," Xu Yang said, "Where did Bubble go?"

"Who is Bubble?" Laila instinctively asked.

"Uh—it’s a long story," Xu Cheng couldn’t explain.

"Come on, let’s eat," Xu Yang brought over a tray, the air filled with the aroma of stewed spices, Laila smelled the beef flavor she loved, and Xu Cheng salivated over the newly fried chili oil.

Steaming beef noodles, wafting the delightful aroma of beef broth and braised chili, Xu Cheng quickly grabbed chopsticks, eagerly cradling the bowl of noodles and eating, slurping down the hot oil, noodles, and beef. Laila was also starving, this meal was truly a blessing, chewy, flavorful, with large chunks of beef as if a whole cow was chopped to make this meal.

Laila’s impression and affection for Xu Yang weren’t deep, not as profound as with Xu Cheng. But she was still quite happy to have a father, a friendly good father. She frequently looked up at Xu Yang, observing everything related to her father. Everything related to Xu Yang was different from Farosa; he was more friendly, easygoing, upright...

In the evening, Xu Cheng and Laila were coaxed into their sleeping bags by Xu Yang. He sat on the ground, listening to them casually talk about the past six years.

Xu Cheng talked about how she flew from one safe zone to another, mentioning Chishiki, Ripple Qi Gong, Sevaburg, the Duke with a big chin, dueling with the Vampire King in the Seven Hills arena. She talked about Bubble and the locator. Xu Yang said he could upgrade their locators using quantum communication technology, so they could always find each other even if they vanished into the universe.

Laila, on the other hand, talked about how she learned by Farosa’s side, like an attendant, like a copying machine, learning everything about Farosa, striving to mimic her and become a child Farosa would be proud of.

As they spoke, they gradually began to yawn. Xu Cheng quickly said "Goodnight, Dad" and then curled up into her sleeping bag.

Laila blinked her eyes.

"Are you really my father?" Laila asked.

"Of course," Xu Yang said, "Nothing to worry about, now go to sleep."

"Thank you." Laila calmly closed her eyes.

Their breathing gradually became steady as they drifted into sleep.

Xu Yang sat peacefully in the desert, flames fluttering like countless shadows in the wind. At his age: 40, in his family: several wives, a bunch of children. He felt that his personal matters were insignificant now, more important was the peace and happiness of his wife and daughter, and the ultimate freedom and progress of the world.

The gentle breathing and heartbeat sounds of Xu Cheng and Laila as they slept were the warmest rhythm at that moment.

Yet Xu Yang couldn’t rest easy about Farosa, so he made his way back, through the desert path, to the silent and empty laboratory at the center of the black wall.

Strange changes were happening to Farosa, as she lay inside the transformation crystal formed by Dewdrops, spiritual energy beams were shooting out from her body, like tens of thousands of shards of glass flipping out from her, each reflecting the radiant glow of the Milky Way.

She bathed in the transcendent light, Xu Yang scanned her vital signs, with energy readings changing and rising every second, almost exceeding the measurable range.

Give me a little more time. Farosa’s voice sounded from the void, Xu Yang nodded.

"Time... no problem."

We must reach directly to Dilnai’s heart, but the current speed is still insufficient.

"No worries, I can gather more friends, they will come from different places."

How many friends?

"Many, many, enough to break through their defenses, trust me, I’ll not only buy you time but also push the frontline to the entrance of Dilnai’s so-called Sky Kingdom," Xu Yang said.

Farosa let go of her concerns about the current situation, able to return to her ultimate journey of seeking the path.

Xu Yang then left the laboratory, sending messages to past friends under the long night’s sky.

Hold nothing back, the final decisive battle was upon them.

...

Deep within the New Taixi State, at the Ark Foundation’s bunker.

Honma Noriko advanced through the base’s black corridors, her demeanor dictated that the hallways and rooms were all straight and orderly, as if restrained by flawless protractor and compass.

She returned to the command room and convened an emergency meeting based on the latest situation.

Officers, department heads, clerics, Angels, and AIs stood inside the meeting room as Honma Noriko communicated the new signals to them.

Countless dense red alerts came from the East Coast, northeastern corner, and southern parts of the New Taixi State, not as warnings, but as brutal reality.

An endless number of armies had already landed on New Taixi State’s land, maniacally occupying city after city, destroying factories, manufacturing bases, and military strongholds they thought were their hinterland. The strategic potential of the Lighthouse Core was severely weakened. Both the East Coast and West Coast were invaded and occupied, almost as if their limbs and head were chopped off.

Added to the already fallen West Coast, New Taixi State was, unbelievably, being invaded from all directions!

"Where, where did these people come from?" a staff officer was stunned, "Isn’t the Eastern Hemisphere Allied Forces supposed to be battling us in the mountain ranges?"

"Not people—rats! Millions of rats climbed onto New Taixi State!" Honma Noriko gritted her teeth.