Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 167 - 145: Return to the Ground

Chapter 167: Chapter 145: Return to the Ground

After waking up, Xu Yang accepted the souvenir without asking the reason for the gift, and Sally, feeling somewhat awkward, bowed her head and left.

He said goodbye to Rat Village, knowing the road was long, and that all things are difficult before they are easy, yet Xu Yang believed that all things will come to those who wait.

The "King Class" shuttle machine was unloaded, and a military armored vehicle towed it, accompanied by 20 Suvy Metal Company escorts to a reception point near the industrial park. As it passed through Aizu City, people couldn’t help but stare in awe at such a formidable war machine, a testament to a company’s financial and combat capability, something the smaller companies in Aizu City lacked.

After Lila came forward to sign for it, the large shuttle machine officially became the property of Nestor Corporation.

The Anonymous was an important vehicle that had escorted everyone to safety many times, but it was only a medium-sized shuttle machine, lacking self-defense capabilities, with a capacity of about 10 people. It was like comparing a small bird to a giant eagle when placed beside this "King Class" machine.

"Let’s go up and have a look," Xu Yang said as he pulled the door open. The lights switched on automatically, revealing a majestic and solemn yet exquisite interior that left one breathless. It was like stepping into an armory, with specialized ammunition storage and shell loading machinery and powered by a miniature nuclear reactor.

A 130mm caliber main cannon was mounted atop the shuttle, with a range of 6 kilometers, and two 30mm caliber machine guns were situated on either side for sweeping streets and close combat, with an additional gift of 2000 rounds of ammunition.

The missile launching device could accommodate up to six missiles and was compatible with purchasable ammunition types.

The current military systems are represented by three standards: the "Universal Standard" led by the Corporate Alliance, the "Blackfire Standard" from Black Fire Innovation, and the "Destiny Standard" from the New Taixi State. Military equipment produced under their respective standards has strong compatibility, whereas equipment from different frameworks is difficult to integrate.

The establishment of the Universal military production standard predates others and as an official military system promoted by the Corporate Alliance, it was an important result of the early ideal of "world unification" by the Alliance. Now, the Corporate Alliance lacks the power to constrain the mega-corporations, retreating to consolidate their strength and waiting for an opportunity to lead the world once again.

"How... astonishing," Farosa said from the outside, deeply impressed by the King Class large shuttle machine. The technical aesthetics of the industrial behemoth was a sensory shock for her, more stunning than any second-hand experience of military equipment, as she made a silent circle around the King Class, a behemoth that was ready to fight for the interests of the Nestor Corporation.

"This model has a fully automatic operating system capable of autonomous cruise and automatic firing," Lila said as she inspected the King Class, "but it’s still best to have a pilot and a weapons system controller."

"Buy some cheap military synthetic humans," Xu Yang suggested, "the ones equipped with Second Generation AI."

He never considered hiring people. People can change their minds, but synthetic humans are easy to manage. Now that he was considering these matters, his mindset had indeed changed.

Although there was still a gap between the King Class and the war shuttle machines used by mega-corporations, mainly in terms of protection, it didn’t boast a large energy shield generator due to its price being under ten million. However, it could already serve as a flagship in confrontations between large and medium-sized companies since standard kinetic weapons would struggle to inflict damage on it.

"Please name it," Lila asked after inspecting the King Class.

"This will be the flagship of the Nestor Corporation’s fleet for the foreseeable future," Xu Yang said as he disembarked, "Let’s call it ’Innovation.’ ’Innovation’ has always been our ideal."

"What a heady sight," Farosa admitted. "Absolute military hardware, capable of annihilating flesh and blood."

She was almost entranced by such a violent machine, humans truly spared no effort in killing each other efficiently.

"Military weapons are ruthless," Xu Yang said, "orbital weapons, missile drones, even a sniper can destroy a ’Witch’ before she reacts. That’s why both conventional forces and the mystical side need to develop."

"Funds are the origin of all things," Farosa said.

"I’ll take Innovation down to the ground for a spin with Lila," Xu Yang announced as he boarded the Innovation. "Anjiu City has the ’Century Pure Land’ monitoring system. I can disguise myself, but you’d be identified easily."

Kyoto Infinity promoted the "Century Pure Land" project. Under its control, everyone’s actions and movements were tied to their personal credit codes, and any violation would be recorded and deducted from their credit score. This would affect critical issues such as company employment, children’s school admissions, and purchasing medical and security services. Under its surveillance, Anjiu City became an ideal urban society with everyone smiling and amicable, an atmosphere of contentment where no one dared to cause chaos, and where they eagerly reported on each other to improve their own credit rating.

Accordingly, once someone’s credit score dropped into negative numbers, it became nearly impossible for them to survive within Anjiu City or any area under Kyoto Infinity’s jurisdiction, living like Ratmen, hiding and constantly fleeing the control of the "Century Pure Land." This was also why the population of Aizu City continued to grow.

"Come back soon," Farosa said, her expression unchanged. Xu Yang found it suddenly difficult to read her.

It didn’t matter, he first had to fulfill a longstanding dream from his days of escape—to walk on a sunlit beach.

Boarding the Innovation to depart, it ascended quickly, flying at the highest corridor of the shuttle machine routes, just beneath the sky screen.

After the passage from Aizu City to Anjiu City opened up, there was heavy shuttle machine traffic and frequent exchanges. Fans still eager to find Suzukawa Kiyo’s mysterious mentor could be seen; a large shuttle machine plastered with memorial images of Suzukawa Kiyo was cruising around, unlocking many never-before-imagined poses just by looking at the body’s graphics.

"Suzukawa Kiyo is still very popular," Xu Yang looked outside, "reminding us of the importance of enjoying life."

"That seems nice too," Lila gazed towards the exit ahead.

Having been suppressed underground for so long, at last, they could see the ground with their own eyes; there was simply too much happening around them, and they needed to relax properly under the bright sky.

Staying in places like Aizu City and Rat Village for too long could easily make one forget what the world’s ground looks like.

The shuttle machine leaped through the underground passage and entered the air routes of Anjiu City completely.

The ground!

Xu Yang couldn’t help but excitedly grab Lila’s hand, who gave a faint smile, switched the Innovation to full autonomous control, and then kissed Xu Yang, who responded with a passionate embrace.

"Master," Lila murmured, "we’ve finally done it..."

"This is just the beginning," Xu Yang felt as if a burden had been lifted off his shoulders.

Arriving in Anjiu City, the red-painted Innovation glided in the sky, dwarfed by the majestic giant buildings, appearing as small as a red bean among the towering corporate skyscrapers reflecting blindingly bright light under the real sunlight. Each large corporation had built its own megastructure, all exceeding 300 meters in height, imposing a heavy presence over Aizu City below, their underground structures presenting significant obstacles to the planning of Aizu City, causing its roads to become winding and often needing to make way for these foundations.

Various exquisitely designed shuttle machines were flying around, each with distinctive features, advanced materials, and splendid coatings that symbolized the wealth of the owners; just a glance at the bizarre and design-oriented avant-garde shapes was enough to guess their price tags—many exceeded tens of millions, becoming objects on which the rich could readily splurge. In such a bustling place, even the Innovation hardly stood out.

It was... lively indeed.

The sky was grey-blue; the massive sun hung overhead, casting scorching rays that penetrated the glass and quickly warmed up the cabin; Lila activated the internal air conditioning as Xu Yang embraced her, admiring the look of Anjiu City.

While flying high, one could look down and see the city stratified into different layers. Not to mention the megastructures of the large corporations, where corporate employees spent their lives from birth to death, encompassing offices, warehouses, dormitories, and other essential structures.

Between the megastructures, small and large shops bloomed, featuring highly developed commercial activities; pink, blue, and bright red advertising signs twinkled down below, promoting high-performance human implants and exciting animations, creating a lively and energetic buzz.

With the shelter of "Century Pure Land," the order in Anjiu City was much better than that of Aizu City; most areas were controlled by corporations, leaving no space for the gangs and criminals to survive, thus ensuring ample security for people’s lives. Xu Yang had to activate his nano armor and use the Cloud Beast’s anti-scanning programs to avoid being caught by Century Pure Land, while Lila, with her legitimate identity, had nothing to worry about.

"Let’s go to the seaside," Xu Yang opened the map, searching for beaches nearby.

"Yes, right away," Lila responded warmly, and immediately piloted the shuttle machine towards a sunny shoreline far from the city.

At the beginning, he imagined walking with the one he loved; it was supposed to be with Farosa, but now it turned out to be Lila accompanying him. However, she was much more considerate than Farosa, Xu Yang thought to himself.

Xu Yang lay in Lila’s arms, watching the scenery change outside the window.

Kyoto Infinity mainly controlled the islands in the northern part of the Archipelago Continent; the islands were far apart, and the construction of massive bridges between them facilitated passage. Lila piloted the Innovation to a wide beach and stopped on the sandy shore.

Xu Yang stepped out of the shuttle machine and took a deep breath.

The sunlight shone on him, the sea breeze brushed his face, green waves rolled the sand, and the trees swayed in the wind—peaceful scenery all around.

Nestor Corporation must keep developing until it was able to bring everyone to live on the ground and to have the power to protect itself under the gaze of corporatism.

This was the more suitable sanctuary...