Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 158 - 138: Seizing the Golden Branch

Chapter 158: Chapter 138: Seizing the Golden Branch

"Ah!"

"What happened?"

"What’s going on!" The staff and customers in the store’s front hall were all shocked as the shockwave also knocked down the nearby walls, setting the store ablaze and shaking the ground so violently that it was hard to stand. In such a terrifying situation, they didn’t even blink as they quickly fled through the main entrance to avoid being buried in the flames.

Flames spread in all directions, and rings of fire rose, rapidly heating the surrounding area as if they were in a massive furnace. Thick smoke billowed, reducing visibility to almost zero.

The arms dealers who were lucky enough to escape the shop stood dumbfounded, watching the furious blaze. The employees, on the brink of tears, and other gang members were shaking, knowing that such a severe business catastrophe not only threatened to ruin the plans of Black Fire Innovation but also tarnished the brand’s reputation and fame, which was enough to ensure they couldn’t escape the consequences.

The famous "arms dealers" brand, suddenly self-destructing in an explosion, was enough to raise doubts about the quality of Black Fire Innovation’s military products.

"Is this the arms dealers?"

"Why did it explode!"

"It’s unbelievable!" Passersby on the street hurriedly recorded the scene and uploaded it to the internet. The arms dealer had always been aggressive and overbearing, but now that it had finally faced disaster, it delighted a large group of onlookers who took pleasure in their misfortune.

"The arms dealer on Niaohui Avenue just exploded!"

"Haha!"

"They had it coming."

"They acted like they owned Aizu City."

"I was almost beaten by them." Netizens commented frantically, taking delight in the situation and treating it as entertainment. Residents near Niaohui Avenue had all been wronged by the arms dealers at one time or another. These people, relying on their control of the gun supply, colluded with gangs and street ronin to bully others.

Gang thugs who had thrown in their lot with the arms dealers were anxious and sent people to gather information.

If Black Fire Innovation was the support of the arms dealers, then the arms dealers were their support. If the weapon supply channels collapsed, it would also affect the reigning underground powers of Aizu City, causing a reshuffling of the underground force landscape.

Ambition went up in flames.

Such an explosion naturally alarmed the backup forces of Black Fire Innovation, who quickly got in touch with their associated security firms and rushed to send reinforcements to investigate.

According to Xu Yang’s analysis and predictions, they only had 5 minutes of safety. After that, they would be dragged into a drawn-out battle.

Xu Yang issued orders and then proceeded to further observe. He built a model of the entire environment, collecting combat data for units 101, 102, and A40, exploring their potential and agency for future review.

Following the path that Huang Feng had taken to the bar for a drink, she generally returned through the alley behind the shop. A40 lay in ambush there, holding an alloy warblade, ready to strike.

It saw Huang Feng moving, hurrying back.

She had been drinking, running through the back alley with her entourage, facing the burning warehouse – she burst into hoarse laughter, as if a long-held beautiful dream had suddenly materialized before her.

"Put out the fire quickly," her entourage urged before grabbing the Dark Gold Spear from behind her. They verified it with a special technique, pulling it out as if they were implanting a special chip beneath her skin.

"Not afraid to die now, are you, Ivy?" Huang Feng asked sarcastically, her laughter undiminished.

A40 was ready to move, but the distance was a bit too far. It couldn’t jump directly and was frantically sparking with electric fire.

"What are you worried about?" urged 101. She and 102 were both wearing "Whisper" grade Witch Armor that Xu Yang had previously ordered for them, form-fitting and providing protection, and to some extent assisting magic power use.

"I can’t jump over!"

"What use are you," said 101, whose goodwill was reserved only for her sister.

came up behind it, grabbed the synthetic human she found somewhat clumsy, and teleported above Huang Feng and her companion. She herself used a second teleport to get away in mid-fall, leaving A40 to drop down.

"Oh!" A40 seized the opportunity to launch a descending slash from the air, the warblade cleaving down from behind, hitting Ivy squarely in the back. The blade chopped from top to bottom, and with a powerful tug outward, it brought out a flood of blood.

Ivy screamed in agony, clenching her teeth as her implants calmed her nerve center, temporarily blocking the pain as her body numbly fell backwards. She managed to pull the Dark Gold Spear completely out of Huang Feng’s body as she stumbled to the ground, blood spurting from her and muscles gruesomely torn open.

Huang Feng was still assessing the burning warehouse, contemplating why the arms dealer’s stockpile had suddenly exploded, when she turned to see Ivy, her companion, hacked down and collapsing.

"Huang Feng..." Ivy let out a hoarse whisper.

Huang Feng looked at her, as if staring at a loathsome burden.

A40 swung the blade at Huang Feng, who now felt light as a feather with the restraints gone, leaping back to put distance between them, confronting A40. A40, poised to strike, searched for the most lethal spot to slash on Huang Feng’s body.

"Should we go help?" asked 102.

"We’re running out of time, get the Golden Branch first," Xu Yang commanded. The Golden Branch was the top priority, and the whole point of hitting the arms dealer was to capture it.

"Then, if we lose, it’s on them." 101 picked up 102 and teleported to the basement, leaving Huang Feng for A40 to deal with.

Breaking into the basement, due to the chaos on the ground, no one was left downstairs. 102 found a hidden safe on the wall which, according to Xu Yang’s previous investigation, might well have been where the Golden Branch was hidden.

"How do we open this?" 102 looked at a 6-digit combination lock.

"No security program or signal transceiver, it’s a mechanical lock," Xu Yang assessed the situation and communicated with them.

observed for a moment. The safe was 50 centimeters long, 35 centimeters high—not a large safe.

"This is an embedded safe, but it can be directly pulled out from the wall. We’ll take the whole thing back to the industrial park and pry it open there," 101 decided, knowing the urgency of the situation and not wanting to waste time there.

grabbed the metal handle on the safe meant for opening the door and pulled it out, summoning her magic power to strengthen her muscles. Her strength surged, and she struggled to pull the safe out of the wall. The entire wall groaned under the strain, nearly crumbling due to the massive force, and the ground where 102 stood cracked. Thankfully, the Witch Armor she wore was sturdy enough to avoid damage from her exertion.

Bang!

forcefully tore the safe off the wall!

She staggered several steps backward, drenched in sweat, gasping for air. The whole wall almost collapsed due to her violent action, leaving behind a huge hole and bent steel pins.

Xu Yang searched for the invisible armor that Huang Feng had previously been equipped with, but couldn’t find it, as it seemed to have been taken away along with the withdrawal of the Blackfire forces.

Hearing the rumbling sound, 101 knew the basement was about to collapse. She grabbed 102 by the back with one hand and the deformed handle of the safe with the other, and teleported out of the basement, back to Xu Yang’s side.

The Golden Branch was in their possession.

"Please allow us to take our leave first," 101 said nervously. More and more people were gathering outside, and the noise was growing. The explosion had attracted too much attention, and she didn’t want to expose herself and her sister to the public gaze again.

More importantly, jumping several times in quick succession had drained her magic power; she needed to rest for a while before she could teleport again.

"101, as a team, we stick together in advance or retreat," Xu Yang explained. "Next, we’ll see how A40 performs."

There were only 2 minutes left for the best chance to retreat.

If they exceeded that time, they would be drawn into the fight with Blackfire’s reinforcements. It wouldn’t be the clean hit they had planned but could lead to unwanted complications afterward.

Whether A40 could kill Huang Feng within 2 minutes remained to be seen.

In the alley behind the shop, A40’s pursuit failed several times. Huang Feng lived up to her name, moving unpredictably and with great variability. She had many implants to enhance her reaction and evasion abilities, reducing her response time to within 0.05 seconds, and she also had exceptional mobility, quickly rolling away to create distance.

While contending with A40, Huang Feng still managed to reach out towards the burning arms dealer’s shop.

"The flames are dying down," she said.

As she released her magic words, the reality changed in accordance with her edict. Under Huang Feng’s command, the sweeping blaze consuming the arms dealer indeed began to extinguish rapidly as she had said. The fire shrank inch by inch and soon almost vanished. The buildings ceased to burn, the flames completely dissipated, leaving charred walls and grounds, ashes covering the architecture completely.

This was impressive indeed. Xu Yang contemplated. Wasn’t this the same magic power that had destroyed the Council, "Command Reality," wielded by Eve Anak—altering actuality with mere words?

Eve Anak had merely stated, "All witches lose their magic power," and the witches truly lost their power, leading to their defeat and subsequent slaughter. To think, Huang Feng possessed the same kind of power as Anak. Since Eve’s death, the power that once belonged to her had returned to the stars and been projected onto a new witch.

Blackfire Innovation’s reinforcements were responding quickly and closing in, with little time remaining.

Huang Feng maneuvered rapidly through the alleys, using her exceptional movement speed to dodge the blade.

"Retreat," Xu Yang ordered.

The prime opportunity to kill Huang Feng had been lost. Lingering further risked losing the fruits of their victory.

A40 was fraught with urgency, refusing to be seen as lacking in combat effectiveness.

A warrior’s mission is to conquer the enemy, not to be defeated!

"I can do this!" A40 transmitted urgently.

Spotting an opening as Huang Feng landed, A40 sought the gap in her breathing, channeling its body’s electricity, with processors running at overload.

There was a flaw!

A40 slashed forward forcefully.