Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 130 - 130 113 Exploring the Limits of Ability

130: Chapter 113: Exploring the Limits of Ability 130: Chapter 113: Exploring the Limits of Ability The two Matteos were identical in appearance, even their clothing was exactly the same, clearly mass-produced by Black Fire Innovation for the purpose of creating confusion and carrying out special tasks.

They fought each other furiously, all the while changing tactics to accuse and complain about one another.

The argument lasted for 10 minutes until they used up every phrase from their built-in vocabulary.

Amidst the fierce battle, Matteo Unit 2 seemed to have richer capabilities and better shooting accuracy.

Its left arm turned into a firearm, and it fired several shots that hit Matteo Unit 1’s head, tearing apart the skin to reveal the metallic skull underneath.

“How do you feel now?

How do you feel?” Matteo Unit 2 pressed and beat on Unit 1.

“Even products of the same model have different levels of quality!”

“You bastard, you can’t!

You can’t do this!” Matteo Unit 1 was equally unyielding.

Facing pressure from the same model, Matteo Unit 1 completely broke down its human appearance, leaving a pale, cold metallic shell.

It blocked continuously, and neither the gunfire nor the knife thrusts from Unit 2 could penetrate its defense.

Seizing the opportunity, Unit 1 went on the defense and counterattacked.

Its right arm transformed into a blade and swiftly stabbed at Unit 2’s neck, like a venomous silver snake striking from the grass with ferocious momentum, forcing Unit 2 to step back.

Then, Unit 2 instantly electrified its body, sending a massive current towards Unit 1.

Electric sparks flew chaotically across it, severely disrupting its functions and rendering it immobile.

Unit 2 pressed its advantage, grabbed Unit 1’s chest with its left hand, seized the head with its right hand, and twisted it off the neck!

Szzzz—

Unit 1’s neck broke, charred circuits emitted flashing sparks, and Unit 2 forcefully tossed its metallic head to the ground.

It rolled away like a ball until it hit the corner of a container and came to a halt.

Only after watching its head collide with the container did Unit 2 begin to process the reality of being trapped in a cage.

It turned to Xu Yang.

“I have a very tempting proposal for you, Xu,” Matteo Unit 2 persuaded.

“Proposal?” Xu Yang shook his head, “Don’t think too hard.”

“Don’t be too arrogant.” Matteo Unit 2 was very patient, “Opposing Black Fire Innovation, you…”

Xu Yang activated the electronic device on the upper part of the container.

An activated Electromagnetic Pulse grenade dropped to the ground, and Matteo Unit 2 instinctively jumped away, but the pulse exploded, sizzling with noise and burning out its components, making it crash heavily to the ground.

“The later model performed a bit better.” Farosa sneered.

“The data archives and operation reports of these units are crucial,” Xu Yang said.

“They can help us understand what other objectives Black Fire Innovation has here.”

“I have to go back,” Farosa was preoccupied with a live stream.

“Wait a bit longer,” Xu Yang still had many tests to conduct.

— Testing how the Law of Recovery works —

Test record: Matteo Unit 1’s body was further dissected into seven parts: the head, upper body, pelvis, left leg, right leg, left arm, and right arm.

They were placed in seven small transparent containers, respectively.

Then Farosa was asked to apply the Law of Recovery to any part of Matteo Unit 1.

Farosa used the Law of Recovery on Matteo Unit 1’s upper body, and the other parts of Matteo inside the transparent containers instantly vanished, reappearing inside the container where Matteo Unit 1 was located.

As the container was quite small, as soon as the parts appeared inside it, they merged in a highly contorted manner, violently attempting to adhere together.

After 0.15 seconds, the small container exploded, the limbs were completely restored, and Matteo Unit 1 was reborn on the spot, only to be destroyed by a pre-prepared Electromagnetic Pulse grenade.

This confirmed the working principle of the Law of Recovery.

Xu Yang took notes.

That is to say, Farosa first “visually identified” and “designated” an anchor point, and then started the restoration process centered around that anchor point.

The object’s other parts that existed before would disappear, fully recovering at the anchor point position.

Therefore, the severed limbs would vanish on the spot, returning to the main body, causing a certain level of explosion and spatial expansion.

— Testing the effect of the Law of Recovery on subdivided objects —

Test record: Farosa observed the process of an ore being processed by a crusher into iron powder, then took out 50 grams of the powder and placed it in a transparent container.

She then used the Law of Recovery on it, setting the time to go back seven days, which is the furthest the Law of Recovery could reach without Divine Power regulation.

After the spell was cast, the iron powder showed no change and did not revert to the original ore.

Xu Yang was curious.

Why could Matteo’s fragments return to Matteo, while the ore’s fragments could not?

— Testing the effect of the Law of Recovery on jigsaw puzzles —

Test record: A jigsaw puzzle was disassembled in front of Farosa, then one of its pieces was placed in front of her.

Farosa used the Law of Recovery on the puzzle piece, but the piece did not change back into the complete puzzle.

“This is a double standard,” Xu Yang said.

“It works on living things, allowing them to resurrect from parts and reassemble into a whole, but it doesn’t work on inanimate objects.”

“Because inanimate objects were never ‘alive’ to begin with,” Farosa replied nonchalantly.

“But Matteo is a robot; it was never ‘alive’ either,” Xu Yang shook his head.

Farosa frowned.

——Testing the effects of the Law of Recovery on ashes, the dying, and the seriously ill——

Test record: After obtaining Sally’s consent, a sample of ash from an old Ratman who was cremated was obtained; he had been dead for five days and suffered from an unknown serious illness before death.

Farosa used the Law of Recovery on the powder, setting the time to seven days prior.

In the blink of an eye, the old Ratman was reborn from the ashes, reverting to his previously sickly, aged state.

After sending the old Ratman back to Sally’s side, he died unexpectedly within five minutes, at least two days sooner than anticipated.

It’s unclear whether this was a side effect of the Law of Recovery, or a deterioration of the disease within that half-hour.

“We need more trials,” Xu Yang said, “The Law of Recovery was meant to be the best way to defeat death.”

“You think I’m a doctor?” Farosa complained, “Fine, I’m going back!”

“Just one more test,” Xu Yang said.

——Testing the Law of Recovery on things Farosa isn’t familiar with——

Test record: Xu Yang prepared a red sheet of paper that Farosa had never seen before, folded into the shape of a crane, and placed it in a dark box that couldn’t be seen clearly.

He painted symbols with red paint on the box and then blindfolded Farosa, asking her to use the Law of Recovery on the box ahead.

After casting, the red symbols on the box disappeared, and the crane inside the box reverted to an unfolded red sheet of paper.

Farosa slipped away, unwilling to test further.

It seems the power of the Law of Recovery is constant, Xu Yang thought.

Even if Farosa doesn’t understand what that thing is, as long as it’s covered by the magic power of the Law of Recovery, objects will begin to revert to their prior state.

Farosa could also cast the Law of Recovery on herself in advance, so that in case she got killed, it would automatically trigger the magic power and have an effect similar to resurrection.

A revival box?

Xu Yang thought of a strange effect.

He would first collect important team members’ skin and hair samples, so in the event they were killed in the future, Farosa could reconstruct their entire form from these minor parts.

However, Farosa is an arbitrary, lazy, and evil person, the only one worthy of her serious revival efforts being Xu Yang himself.

As for Lila, she wouldn’t even give her a glance.

The oath only stipulates not to betray; it does not require mutual assistance.

——Testing the teleportation carrying ability of Subject 101——

Test record: Using mining machinery to excavate huge rock blocks weighing 1 ton, 3 tons, and 10 tons, Subject 101 is instructed to teleport them.

She touched the rocks with her hand and then teleported.

The tests show that the mass of the object significantly affects the distance of teleportation.

Her personal limit is 150 meters per teleportation.

With 1 ton of rock, she can move 33 meters.

Carrying 3 tons of rock, she’s unable to initiate teleportation, surging past 101’s capacity limit.

After computations and tests, 101 can carry a maximum of 1300 kilograms to perform a teleportation, her distance then becoming negligible, disappearing briefly on the spot before reappearing, moving less than 1 centimeter.

If 101 stands barefoot on the rock and then teleports, she cannot use the carrying ability, indicating that the activation of 101’s ability requires hand contact.

After the tests, 101 exhausted her magic power and was very tired, and she quickly went to rest.

They don’t have abundant magic power like Farosa and will become weak if they use magic power at high frequency over a short period.

In Xu Yang’s view, the greatest value of 101’s teleportation ability is not in moving herself, but being able to teleport the target she is touching along with her.

If the target is an enemy, having 101 take them into a wall with teleportation, if the angle is right, can directly teleport the enemy inside the wall, leaving herself outside, merging the enemy and the wall together!

That would be a true finishing move, sealing the enemy within the wall.

Or have 101 grab the enemy and teleport high into the air, then teleport back to the ground herself, letting the enemy fall to their death.

These are quite nice uses.

For 101 and 102, their only cooperation is still that chain axe combat.

In Xu Yang’s view, 102’s strength is just a bonus; 101’s teleportation is the key.

Xu Yang kept these test records; giant corporations surely have tested their witches thousands of times, exploring the various conditions under which magic power operates.

Nestor Corporation lacks depth and needs to pay more attention to this field, to maximize the potential of their witches’ abilities.

Thinking of the thousands of residents on either side of the northern road, Xu Yang fell into contemplation again.

He should find a way to provide for them.

The problem is that they are not exactly the gentle and friendly kind of good citizens.

These impoverished, uneducated residents of the fringe of the Underground City, on one hand, are a vulnerable group, and on the other hand, they include thugs, hooligans, and ruffians.

Li Xiaomin mentioned being intimidated by them on the way here, always scared and on edge.

Sooner or later he would have to deal with these people; according to current corporate laws, they are already under the jurisdiction of Nestor Corporation.

Following other companies’ approach, they would undoubtedly be driven away, as they are both poor and uneducated, classified as “inferior population,” unable to offer consumption, nor suitable as labor.

In reality, they’ve ended up in such a desolate place because they couldn’t make it in Aizu City, already expelled and oppressed, living subhuman lives.

Xu Yang was confident to find a solution better than traditional companies.

How about establishing a new kind of self-sufficient community?

Xu Yang pondered.

Recruiting these marginalized and impoverished people, inviting them to join Nestor Corporation, offering them hydroponic farms, vocational technical education, and automated doctors, providing them with jobs so they can create value with their own hands, and regain their dignity and ideals as human beings.