Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 175 - 153: Butterfly Dance

Chapter 175: Chapter 153: Butterfly Dance

Xu Yang and Lila listened to the results of the Witch Division’s operation plan.

Farosa had changed into her professional attire specifically for corporate activities. She now wore a business suit and straight-leg pants, her demeanor calm and collected as she stood in the center of the office, welcoming the gaze of Xu Yang and Lila.

"...There are many oversights in the action," Xu Yang said after listening, "We need to be cautious of enemy movements, prepare 2 to 3 backup plans in advance, avoid cameras, and at the same time value the role of the Ratman Communicator, maintaining awareness of our surroundings."

"Power can cover up deficiencies in planning," Farosa said calmly, "Sometimes simple choices triumph over complex strategies."

"My opinion is, you must cultivate your own planning ability," Xu Yang said, "You shouldn’t rely too much on your subordinates for advice; you have access to more information and intelligence than they do. If you rely on them too much, it will weaken their recognition of you. Understand?"

"Yes," Farosa said, showing a liking for the feeling of being interrogated, imagining herself as a lowly company person under threat and pressure, showing a timid expression, "...I understand. So, what’s the president’s opinion?" she turned towards Lila.

"I have no objections," Lila’s tone was even more indifferent.

"Then, I will take my leave first," Farosa turned and left.

After Farosa was gone, Xu Yang leaned back in his chair.

"You did quite well," Xu Yang turned his head only to see Lila looking despondently, "Lila... what’s wrong?"

"She’s right," Lila avoided Xu Yang’s gaze, "The witches are very powerful, sometimes they can ignore limitations, there’s no need to bother planning... rather, they can do remarkable things at any time."

"You are a witch too," Xu Yang hastily said, "Your magic power is no less."

"But... it’s over," Lila’s tone was quite saddening, "I can sense the changes in 101; she is growing, she has grown too much, while I..."

Having undergone the transformation into an artificial body and having her mind transcribed into a chip, Farosa thereby expelled Lila from the ranks of the witches. Indeed, Lila was no longer able to obtain any form of magical power upgrades, something she would regret for the rest of her life.

She looked despondently at her old head, hideously ugly and outdated.

Seeing this, Xu Yang knew it was time.

"I don’t have any magic power either, and I am doing just fine now, aren’t I?" Xu Yang stood up.

"It’s different for the master," Lila sighed, "Ah... don’t worry about Lila anymore."

"I have a surprise for you," Xu Yang took her hand.

"Is it that ’big box’ with the encrypted coating?" Lila thought of the mysterious cargo that had been sent to the industrial park, which she could not detect at all what was inside, it was extremely magical.

For her, the best gift could only be a new gun, the best sniper rifle, with performance surpassing the Cassandro Comet, or a set of Witch Armor, pretending she was still alive.

Of course, these things could not soothe Lila’s dejection, but she knew they were her master’s intention and was willing to accept them gladly. At that time, she would make a happy expression.

At the industrial park’s warehouse, Xu Yang had previously cleaned up the environment, leaving behind that huge crate. It looked quite plain, sturdy, and shock-resistant, with multiple layers of protection, transported from thousands of kilometers away in the Great Northern District, with no signs of wear on the exterior.

This thing would give Lila a new birth, a truly brand new body.

"My gift to you is ’Lila’," Xu Yang entered the password.

The crate buzzed open with the lid moving aside, beneath was a specially-made cryogenic chamber, its shape like an oval transparent pupa shell, specially designed to store artificial bodies.

Through the glass of the chamber, one could see the perfectly crafted "Lila," her entire being on display, vividly wrapped in inert gas.

The stunningly beautiful Lila Nestor.

Based on the original images of Lila, especially that surviving head, created according to Xu Yang’s calculations in a high-end private custom factory.

Utilizing "Drawing Life" technology, Lila’s new body was infinitely lifelike. Her golden hair spread out, eyes closed, lips red, skin white, body contours exquisitely crafted, from collarbone to ankle made of top-grade synthetic material, with a similarity to human skin of up to 99%. Every tiny texture and hair was clearly discernible, and every part was strived to be replicated, achieving perfect realism.

According to the report of the designers at S-17 Research Institute, they exhausted themselves in the process of sculpting Lila, and the completion exceeded all the products in the history of their institute.

"I—myself—" Lila, seeing the "herself" lying in the chamber, staggered back a step, as numerous void signals returned to the consciousness chip.

Xu Yang hurriedly supported her.

"I want to bring you back into this world," Xu Yang murmured, "...Then you won’t have to dwell in some robot body, you will be able to return to your own... permanently, truly resurrected."

"But my... my Consciousness Chip..." Lila’s mental analysis system was running at high load, and Xu Yang could feel the entire robot getting hot, "It’s too outdated..."

"I bought a new one for you, too." Xu Yang opened another box at a corner of the case, which housed a palm-sized exquisite black Consciousness Chip, with neatly arranged electronic components and wiring akin to a work of art. It surpassed Lila’s current chip in embedded auxiliary programs, processing performance, heat dissipation, and the level of mental simulation.

"This is..." Lila was at a loss for words, with only joy and affection forming her information stream.

"Consciousness Chip technology has also been changing day by day over these decades," Xu Yang reflected, "The previous generation data virtualization technology ’Virtualization’ could only replicate all of your mind, without the capacity to further expand or continue to evolve. It could only deal with problems using past recorded thought patterns. Now it’s more advanced, like people can build new synaptic connections, the data virtualization of the mind adopts ’Ascension’."

Lila quietly snuggled in Xu Yang’s arms.

"There’s no need to seek strength from Farosa." Xu Yang clasped Lila’s hand, "A new body, a better Consciousness Chip, you are the perfect, unique Lila, my love."

"How dare Lila..." she closed her eyes, "Oh... Master..."

"Continue walking with me." Xu Yang kissed Lila deeply, "I remember all the words you told me, all those secrets and little stories... When you wake up, I’ll recount them to you, word for word."

She trembled slightly in Xu Yang’s arms, all her thoughts and words turning into a single sigh.

To receive such meticulous care, how... fortunate.

Lila executed her shutdown program, sinking into a deep sleep in Xu Yang’s arms. She lost the ability to restart on her own, entering a deathlike silence.

Xu Yang knew the weight of her actions; he carefully placed Lila on the ground.

Xu Yang removed Lila’s Consciousness Chip from the Sky Crane Robot and inserted it into the slot behind the brain of the new body, then placed the new Consciousness Chip alongside it.

Afterward, Xu Yang booted up the new body and, using Digital Mind, entered the built-in backend interface of the boot mode, and first transcribed the old consciousness entity completely onto the new Consciousness Chip.

Bit by bit, he transformed the source code of Lila’s consciousness.

It was a lengthy process, and her data-based mind code was to be completely upgraded.

The principle of "Virtualization" technology is to read all the personal mind, digitally calculate it, hand it over to corresponding intelligent programs for training, and after tens of millions of simulated overlaps, finally form a complete set of action codes that match the original character’s behavioral logic. In any situation, decisions similar to the original mind can be made, and emotions can be simulated.

The brand new "Ascension" technology aims to further simulate biotic consciousness behavior logic authentically, relying on advanced photolithography and experimental semiconductor processes, integrating trillions of transistors and hundreds of thousands of AI cores on the chip. Lila’s previous consciousness had already been defined using "Virtualization" technology, therefore it could be transformed using cheaper methods; if "Ascension" were directly executed on a biological entity, the cost would be astronomical.

Consciousness transcription and personality matrix creation are similar, although the personality matrix lacks free emotions and does not produce any emotional response.

Also, once such a transformation is accepted, the original mind will shatter, the biological entity itself will die brain dead, so transcribing consciousness to a chip is generally a reluctant measure and requires excellent personal health conditions.

Xu Yang heard that Honma Noriko had tried to "Ascend" or "Virtualize" her own consciousness; regrettably, due to her advanced age, when the Consciousness Chip technology emerged, her physical condition no longer allowed her to undergo this transformation.

The transcription process was very smooth.

After transferring consciousness from the old chip to the new one, Xu Yang removed the old chip, configured the new body to interface with the "Ascension" Consciousness Chip. The slot sank deep into the head, and Lila’s mind began to connect to control over the body.

Lila Nestor...

Xu Yang gazed at her cheeks with tender eyes; she now looked indistinguishable from her living self, and with the new Consciousness Chip enhancing her, Lila’s mind was improved, with computational and processing capabilities both having massively increased.

Wake up...

Lila’s eyelashes fluttered slightly.

She opened her eyes, saw Xu Yang, and instinctively reached out to touch his cheek, her movement still somewhat awkward.

"I’m here." Xu Yang helped Lila up and carried her out of the cold mechanical chamber.

...It’s cold... but it’s soft, and it’s real.

She moved in her fresh new form, stepping out of the chamber, like a butterfly emerging from a cocoon, no longer housed in a robot, but living in a perfect new body. Today’s Lila looked better than ever.

Lila hugged Xu Yang tightly, tears streaming down her face.

"...Thank you... Master..."