Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 170 - 148: Introduction

Chapter 170: Chapter 148: Introduction

"Shallow Dream is a very irritable child," Cloris had long run out of patience, and now she finally had the chance to vent the complaints that had been buried in her heart. "She’s tried to leave on her own multiple times, without caring about anything at all."

Shallow Dream was struggling incessantly in Xu Yang’s grasp, but Xu Yang couldn’t let Shallow Dream escape as she pleased.

The streets were filled with cameras, and the combat intensity in Anjiu City was higher than in Aizu City. Not only could black advanced shuttle machines arrive at any time, but there were also professional ninjas lurking in every corner.

Cloris sighed deeply, she requested a crepe and drink from Xu Yang, and he pushed them to her. She had been hungry for a long time and stuffed the items into her mouth.

"...Both of them are products of the laboratory’s plan, one a synthetic human, the other an experimental witch," Cloris said. "My task is to take them back to the Fraternity Company; we have a hideout on the Silla Peninsula."

The Silla Peninsula, the new land of chaos. Xu Yang thought to himself.

Modern Entertainment was the controller of the Silla Peninsula. They aimed to promote the traditional route of real-life idols, an industry largely impacted by virtual entertainment, leading the entire enterprise into a sluggish and difficult operational state. Their control over their territory had weakened significantly, and they faced the prospect of falling behind other conglomerates.

"Don’t worry, living on a deserted beach for so long, I know it must have been hard for you... But now it’s fine, it’s safe with me, as long as you don’t scare yourself," Xu Yang consoled.

He let go of Shallow Dream, who was struggling in his hands. She had a look of hatred on her face, aggressive and almost looking ready to tear them limb from limb, obviously distrustful of everything around her due to her past experiences.

Xu Yang handed Shallow Dream a piece of bread. Her youthful petulance was showing, and she looked discontent, but Xu Yang was always a person who could easily endear himself to others, with an ever-kind demeanor, which made Shallow Dream reluctantly let down her guard.

Shallow Dream took the bread and sat on the military green leather seat on one side of the cabin, her whole body buried in it, almost sinking, as the seat itself was designed for larger security personnel.

This was none other than the magic power known as Time Stop. Xu Yang observed Shallow Dream.

Based on Shallow Dream’s recent behavior, even with Time Stop, she could only move a short distance, indicating the pause lasted for an extremely short timeframe, probably less than 1 second.

According to public investigations, the last holder of the Time Stop ability was at Peacock Company, a low-born witch. At that time, Peacock Company hadn’t merged with Tristan Company yet, was large in size, but weak in technical reserves, with no proper development methods. They also adopted a possessive strategy, refusing to trade her away. The witch died 20 years ago, having led a mediocre life, and her ability was nothing more than cub-level.

According to reports, during the Time Stop, only the witch herself could move; the entire world would come to a standstill, and during the Time Stop, she could interact with the surrounding objects, just like that special kind of Time Stop in certain comics.

This made Xu Yang pay more attention to Shallow Dream’s condition.

Utilized in combat, it could create an invincible Battle Witch, who could freely toy with her opponent during the Time Stop, while the enemy would be powerless to fight back.

Utilized in scientific research, it could transform the human civilization’s concept of time, opening up pathways through time and space with control over time.

"Shallow Dream must have a tracking chip and a control chip on her," Xu Yang observed.

"I’ve removed them for her; after all, I installed them myself," Cloris sighed. "After I infiltrated the lab, I collaborated with the lab staff on some work, during which I inevitably had to participate in... experiments and torture on Shallow Dream."

Shallow Dream didn’t say a word, only staring at Cloris with hatred, evidently having a very poor impression of her.

After she finished her bread, she climbed onto Bud, who hugged Shallow Dream tightly, which finally comforted Shallow Dream a bit.

"It’s okay, I’ll introduce you to one of the master witches," Xu Yang said.

Under Farosa’s cultivation, Shallow Dream’s frail Time Stop ability could also be enhanced, potentially growing her into a master of time. Xu Yang thought.

In fact, the person best able to check Farosa was the witches under her command.

Farosa was also smart. She knew all witches harbored hatred for the current order and longed to break free from their cages, leveraging this to win over witches. However, correspondingly, even if they joined Farosa’s ranks, they wouldn’t be completely loyal.

Just like Shallow Dream, once she grew stronger under Farosa, Farosa would have to be wary of her, fearing that Shallow Dream would use her Time Stop ability to harm her, one of the most difficult powers to counter.

"A master among witches?" Shallow Dream was skeptical. "The witches... they’re all just toys of the corporations."

"The one you’ll meet is different," Xu Yang prepared Shallow Dream psychologically. "She’ll tell you many things, but remember one thing, just always be yourself."

"What’s the use." Shallow Dream scoffed.

"You’ll understand when the time comes," Xu Yang nodded gently.

He knew the methods Farosa would use to subdue Shallow Dream; she would certainly apply a degree of psychological manipulation, oppress Shallow Dream’s self-esteem, and create fear in her. In contrast, Xu Yang wanted to remind Shallow Dream in advance of the importance of maintaining her self, leaving a last line of defense in the depths of her soul.

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"What about me?" Cloris sensed something was off, "I need to take her back to Fraternity Company! She was rescued by our company."

"That matter can be set aside for now," Xu Yang said, "You stay with us until the heat dies down, then we will send you back to Silla Peninsula."

"You..."

Cloris fell silent and could only sigh. Her fate was now in the hands of others, fortunately not captured by bounty hunters or a giant corporation.

Her original rescue mission was just to save Shallow Dream, but the day the experiment went haywire too many unexpected things happened. Bud, a bio-synthetic being like her, also escaped in the confusion, barely developed and now immature because she left the experimental environment too early. The aftermath was also a mess; despite Cloris’s successful rescue, Shallow Dream did not trust her because of the numerous tests conducted in the lab.

With things as they were, Cloris had no choice but to follow Xu Yang’s arrangements, for the time being. For her, the most important thing was to find an opportunity to contact Fraternity Company.

The people on board the Innovation had their own thoughts.

Xu Yang gathered information on the surface activities of Anjiu City. Afterward, he split the team in two, letting Lila pilot the Innovation back alone, while he took Cloris and the others to a concealed sewage treatment facility in Anjiu City. Using communicators, they found the Rat Paths that connected the surface world to the underground, avoiding surveillance and entering Aizu City through these means.

Xu Yang’s arrangements for the three were well organized.

He placed Cloris in Number 26 Highland in Aizu City; after all, she was not one of his own and couldn’t be allowed near Nestor Corporation. Cloris borrowed 1,000 funds from Xu Yang, settled in a hotel, and quietly contacted Fraternity Company to report her movements.

Bud and Shallow Dream were taken back to Nestor Industrial Park by Xu Yang. Bud was extremely curious about everything around her. Her presence also changed the scenery of the industrial park. She had a great figure and was beautiful, coupled with her innocent temperament, she would often wander in simple clothes around the factory area, requiring the maids to constantly watch over her to prevent danger. Because of her similar disposition, she quickly became friends with 102 and began to see the industrial park as her home.

The residential area of the industrial park underwent renovations, including sophisticated bedrooms, entertainment facilities, warehouses, and bars - it had everything. Classrooms and a knowledge archive center were also set up. Xu Yang had Bud take lessons there, hoping she would gradually shed her childlike ignorance and gain intellectual growth.

Xu Yang’s main task, however, was to hand over Shallow Dream to Farosa for discipline. This stubborn young girl was tough to handle and could only be dealt with by the more cunning and now more discreet and shrewd Farosa.

He chose not to reveal Shallow Dream’s background to Farosa at first, letting them interact on their own. If Farosa knew about Shallow Dream’s ability to stop time, her attitude towards her would surely change drastically.

"Go in," Xu Yang said to Shallow Dream at the door of Farosa’s secret chamber, "Don’t forget what I told you."

...

Shallow Dream took a deep breath.

To maintain her self.

She slowly pushed the door open and walked into the dark secret chamber Farosa had set up.

As soon as she entered, she felt terrified, engulfed in complete darkness as if a massive monster was lurking in the deep waters, ready to summon endless waves to drown and devour her at any moment.

Shallow Dream felt suffocated, her instinct was to flee, but the door had somehow closed behind her, leaving her alone in the room with the monster.

At the Z10 Research Institute, Shallow Dream, as a rare possessor of time abilities, was closely monitored by the researchers. She was unruly, irritable and cunning, considered a nightmarish being, because she did not cooperate, and they planned to increase the intensity of the control chip after another year of cultivation to make her completely a puppet controlled by the lab.

Having narrowly escaped such a disaster, Shallow Dream had now fallen into another trap, leaving her struggling to breathe.

Farosa sat in the darkness, silently gazing at the young Witch brought by Xu Yang, savoring her panic. To Farosa, she was like a delightful morsel, unable to escape her fate of being devoured.

"Why are you so afraid?" Farosa’s voice was hoarse.

"I don’t know." Shallow Dream leaned against the door. She wanted to activate her magic power, to stop time, and then take the chance to escape.

Shallow Dream’s ability took a very long time to charge and lasted only briefly. She did not know if she could escape to safety; things looked quite hopeless for her.

What to do...

Although she had escaped from that disgusting, hot forest cave and eaten real food for the first time, now she found herself lured by some unscrupulous old man into total darkness, facing the "expert among Witches."

Despite her alertness, Shallow Dream couldn’t help feeling fearful.

"Both Humans and Witches are afraid of what they don’t understand. Do you know what I do?" Farosa asked.

"What..."

"I imagine a more powerful version of myself," Farosa whispered. "I dream of its existence and its choices and let this better version of myself plan my next move. Then, the answer becomes clear."

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