Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 154 - 154 135 Data Wiring

154: Chapter 135: Data Wiring 154: Chapter 135: Data Wiring They got caught up in a frenzy, rushing forward, surrounding the terminal.

Lu Jing was pushed so that her body leaned forward onto the control panel, an awkward mess.

Two accompanying soldiers shouted loudly to maintain order.

The biggest TV station in Anjiu City, Kakuya Media, was also at the scene.

They had previously interviewed the Rat Witch and since then had been keeping a close eye on Aizu City, always attentive to special events.

They immediately started filming the situation and live-streamed it in real time on the internet and their channel, pushing the images from the small game hall to the streaming service subscribers far and wide.

Kakuya Media, anxious for a new hot topic, quickly organized their promotion department to allocate space for the Cyber Specter news.

They called in water armies to create hype, pushing out content across various social media and company pages to draw attention.

The live stream title was boldly named “Cyber Specter Sighting,” rapidly boosting the viewership, with real-time viewers approaching around 100,000 people.

Xu Yang only intended to do a small job, so he continued to post messages.

“Connect with the terminal.”

Seeing the new text pop up on the screen, the people nearest the terminal began to whisper and point.

Many humans, including witches within the company, possessed implants and had brain-computer interfaces capable of simple digital connections, similar to exchanging information between the terminal and the brain through a data cable.

But knowing that this was a terminal haunted by a Cyber Specter, who would dare connect with it?

The consequences might include having one’s mind devoured.

“Just connect it,” a Power Armored Soldier urged, pushing through the crowd and persuading Lu Jing.

“Me?” Lu Jing hesitated, a torrent of horrible potential outcomes flooding her mind.

It would be terrifying to have her brain taken over by an evil electronic phantom through a data cable.

“Forget it then, I’ll just smash it.” A soldier pulled out a shotgun, chambered a round, and scared off several street ronins who were too close.

Then the soldier pressed the shotgun barrel against the terminal’s LCD screen, “I’m ready to shoot.”

“Don’t!” Not wanting to miss the chance to connect with the Cyber Specter, Lu Jing steeled her nerves, pulled a data cable from beneath her hair at the back of her head, and inserted it into the data port below the game terminal.

“We’ll pull you out the moment there’s a threat,” the Power Armored Soldier reassured her.

“Okay,” Lu Jing held her breath as data flooded her brain, and a digital information exchange panel appeared before her eyes.

“She’s connected!” The Kakuya Media cameraman adjusted the camera angle, “These are investigators from Heavenly Cardinal Manufacturing!

She’s connected with the Cyber Specter!”

People recorded this interesting moment.

Most still saw it as some kind of gimmick, including the grandiose proclamations made earlier by the Cyber Specter, which had already faded with time.

Xu Yang was fully aware of this, so he understood that this identity was just a symbol.

The name didn’t matter; what mattered was the real value it could exchange for.

“You must have something you want to know,” Xu Yang messaged Lu Jing.

“Who are you?

What exactly are you?

Give us back our Nano Armor!” Lu Jing asked urgently.

“I am everywhere,” Xu Yang responded, “As for the Nano Armor, it now serves a better purpose.”

“That shadow of the Cyber Specter!” Lu Jing frowned, “Why do you have her killing people everywhere?”

“Pay closer attention, and you’ll realize the deceased had it coming.”

Lu Jing fell silent; perhaps the Cyber Specter Shadow wasn’t killing at random.

“And before that?” Lu Jing pressed on, “I’ve been tracking you, analyzing your whereabouts.

At the beginning, you said this world was unjust, what was the purpose of your words?

Without the corporations, what can you provide as an alternative?

I want to know, after you go to the extreme ends of anti-corporatism, what kind of path can you carve out?”

“There’s a train that’s moving fast.

Unfortunately, few are fortunate enough to ride it, while many, many others have to walk.

Now, the walkers want to board, since they helped build the train—only to be thrown off by those on board, losing their chance to ride.

So, for those who can only walk, rather than watching the train speed by, it’s better to blow it up and let those on board experience what it’s like to walk.

You ask me what comes next?

I’ll just tell you, the next train will reserve a spot for each and every one of us.”

Lu Jing fell into a prolonged silence.

Having said that, Xu Yang cut off the communication, leaving Lu Jing to ponder on her own.

He took care of any loose ends to ensure he couldn’t be traced, then lay on the back seat of a taxi, blending in with the traffic flow, disappearing into the streets.

Having unplugged the data cable from the terminal, Lu Jing felt a strange, dull pain, a foreign force compelling her to ridicule the principles she once believed in.

There was also a howling, a tremendous howling, as if composed of endless blazing fires, gunshots, and metallic collisions, reverberating over and over in Lu Jing’s mind.

“Miss Lu, what did the Cyber Specter tell you?” The Kakuya Media interviewer was extremely excited.

We live in an era where technology is unprecedentedly advanced, yet life is exceedingly cheap—This was wrong.

The earliest message left by the Cyber Specter surfaced again in Lu Jing’s mind.

“Classified,” Lu Jing waved her hand, leaving the game hall escorted by the two Power Armored Soldiers.

“Does it help with this month’s performance?” The soldiers helped Lu Jing onto the Azure Giant Shuttle Machine.

“No,” Lu Jing slumped into her seat, “We couldn’t track the source, didn’t catch any live leads.

I will write down all the records and submit a 5000-word report.”

“You seem troubled?” For the two soldiers, Lu Jing was naive and affable, thus easily lured by extreme thinking, and needed further thought purification at the Mind Control Pavilion at Heavenly Cardinal Manufacturing.

“Not at all,” Lu Jing feared being taken to the Mind Control Pavilion, “Let’s—let’s make a trip to that, Merciful Dragon Apartment, to the home of the deceased Hara Yoshio, okay?

Maybe we can find more clues at his place.”

“Once the war breaks out, as a bearer of ‘Anti-Magic Power,’ you will inevitably be on the front lines.

Don’t waver in your loyalty to the company at a time like this, otherwise, you won’t pass the psychological evaluation during the training period,” the soldier advised.

“I love the company,” Lu Jing lifted her head, “I really do.”

Meanwhile, Xu Yang took a tour around the city, bought some electronic products, food, and drinks, let the taxi go, and then returned to the Nestor Industrial Park.

Intelligence warfare is the most important.

After staking out the area, Xu Yang shared the information about “Huang Feng” with individuals like 101, 102, and Mizuiro Yoshioka, who had served Black Fire Innovation, to hear their opinions.

As soon as they heard the name, they looked troubled.

“Huang Feng…” Mizuiro Yoshioka elaborated, “She belongs to the ‘Ground’ forces, which means she’s a member of the Anjiu City Black Fire Innovation Office.

She’s exceptionally remarkable to us who are not part of the regular personnel.”

“She’s a very capable Witch!” 102 kept recalling information about Huang Feng, “When we were dispatched to Aizu City for our mission, we learned that Huang Feng was a very impressive Battle Witch, almost the biggest threat locally.”

“Battle Witch?

She’s skilled in combat then?

What kind of Magic Power does she possess?” Xu Yang was curious.

“I don’t know either,” 102 shook her head, “We were created as combat weapons, with nothing but training every day, where do we have the time to gather intelligence?”

“Well, you can read more books and newspapers here with me, learn and grow,” Xu Yang said with a smile.

“If you end up like Farosa, it’ll be a disaster,” 102 grimaced, “Don’t tell her that.”

“What about Farosa?”

“She watches those boring internet videos all day,” 102 said somewhat annoyed, “all kinds of noises, watching until midnight, and yet she’s our department head, unbearable.”

“Mind your words,” 101 frowned, knowing that if Farosa found out, 102 would be in trouble.

Although 101 had brought 102 to take part in Farosa’s mysterious rituals, 102 was more rebellious than she had imagined, like a pugnacious little leopard, and she had quite a few complaints about Farosa’s behavior.

In 101’s view, if the living deity Farosa enjoyed entertainment, it meant that entertainment provided irreplaceable value even to gods, not that a deity would simply succumb to the vulgar appeals of sensory effects.

“No matter, I’ll talk some sense into her,” Xu Yang said.

As Farosa adopted modern lifestyles along with her youthful development, her figure became even more desirable.

“When are you guys getting married?” 102 asked with great curiosity, “You should be in a marital relationship, right?”

“Let’s not talk about that,” Xu Yang hadn’t thought about the matter.

“You’re such a jerk!” 102 got angry, “Why won’t you marry her?

Just get married already!”

“Don’t be like that,” 101 soothed her sister, “He must have his own reasons, and Farosa isn’t the type to be content with just a marriage contract.”

She knew Farosa was ambitious and proficient in mysterious powers and must have bigger plans for the future.

As a member of the Nestor Corporation’s Witch Department, 101 was gradually changing her perspective, planning to focus on assisting Farosa’s growth, expanding the order of Witches, and providing security for 102’s future.

“You don’t like the idea of marriage, do you?” 102 observed Xu Yang, “I think so too, marriage is so troublesome.

Why don’t we all just sleep together casually?

Why the ceremony?”

“You’re only 5 years old; it’s not a topic for you,” Xu Yang changed the subject.

“Scientists say when I’m 6, I’ll be equivalent to 18 years old for other Witches!

Then I’ll also qualify for mating!

It would be so fun to mess around with someone I like, just like monkeys!” 102 was very happy.

“Like an idiot,” Xu Yang said helplessly, patting 102’s hair.

To Xu Yang, marriage seemed like a distant concept.

Fewer and fewer people chose to marry, birth rates plummeted, and the alarming aging population, consumption shrinkage, and stalled productivity cast a deep shadow on the future of the world.

Living under the distorted prosperity of the corporatist society, Xu Yang felt its overwhelming shadow everywhere, like living deep inside the belly of a petrified corpse.

It was like an overinflated balloon—too big, fraught with deep contradictions, ready to burst into fireworks at any moment when its sustainment limits were reached.

What Nestor Corporation needed to do was to seek survival through growth, preparing to withstand the blast of this great explosion.

Soon, Xu Yang received an intelligence dossier from the Northern Military Industry’s S-17 Research Institute.

He had spent a fortune commissioning them to assemble a new body for Lila.

The S-17 Research Institute was highly skilled in advanced customization of both the appearance of bionic humans and Synthetic Humans, with extensive technological reserves.

“Dear customer, your order has entered the final phase, please review it.”

Upon opening the real-time video they sent, Xu Yang saw Lila’s flawless new body nearing completion.

From her hair and skin to her toes, everything was impeccable.

Her face was perfectly recreated to resemble Lila’s during her lifetime, stunningly beautiful, with her eyes closed, as if deep in an eternal dream.

Lila…

the most beautiful Lila.

Xu Yang hurriedly turned off the screen, not wanting to spoil the surprise for Lila prematurely.

This was the biggest gift he had prepared for Lila.