Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 177 - 155: Unifying Chaos

Chapter 177: Chapter 155: Unifying Chaos

Kojima Kanako looked at Suzuki Shinji. He hadn’t recognized her yet. The Kanako from before had been dirty and ugly, intentionally unremarkable, like a jiaozi out of place in the city. The current her was a product of Xisheng’s elite assembly line, a crystallization of Honma Noriko’s excellent genetic material.

"The neural network engineer, Xu Yang, who defected from the Kyushu High Pavilion, do you know him?" Mireya got straight to the point.

"What Xu Yang?" Suzuki Shinji had completely forgotten. "Or was it Xu Sheep?"

"Please have his will etched into the consciousness chip for scanning the data, my company will pay." Mireya addressed the staff behind Suzuki Shinji.

"Yes." The staff extended their hand, ready to take Suzuki Shinji away.

"Stop! I remember! I remember!" Suzuki Shinji shouted. "I remember—a hacker came, helped us take down the Toshiaki Megastore."

"He had a woman with him, a witch, who looked like this." Mireya pulled out a scanned image from the inside of her garment, depicting a village girl wearing a white apron and a blue headscarf, drawn based on Dilnai’s impressions of Farosa from 1000 years ago. In the past, Dilnai and the other Ancient Mystics had together nurtured Farosa into a Godslayer.

They actually had an image of Farosa? Keenly observing the image, Kojima Kanako saw that indeed it resembled Farosa, only much younger—the Farosa in the drawing appeared to be around 12 years old. How could someone from the Lighthouse Core get such an accurate image? Kanako couldn’t figure it out, which made her even more cautious of Mireya.

"I... I seem to remember," Suzuki Shinji hesitated. "There was indeed such a woman, but she wasn’t dressed in these clothes; she dressed like a mercenary. She followed that hacker, said some ludicrous things to me, telling me to gift the conquered Toshiaki Megastore to them as a reward. She spoke as if she were from ancient times."

"Do you know where they are now?" Mireya pressed.

"They should be in Aizu City." Suzuki Shinji truly didn’t know where Xu Yang and Farosa had gone. "Oh! Asa Katsuragi... I have an underling named Asa Katsuragi who stayed in Aizu City. She should also know of their presence. I guarantee, if you find Katsuragi, you’ll find them."

"Are you certain?" Mireya felt she was getting closer to the truth.

Before Suzuki Shinji could respond, a girl in a black and purple ninja uniform, armed with a full set of ninja tools, clambered through the window. She eyed Mireya warily, making Mireya instinctively want to unleash her magic power in self-defense.

"It’s okay," Kojima Kanako said, "she’s my guard."

"Apologies, Rinrin," the girl greeted Mireya, "Hello, Mireya, I am a professional ninja."

"Hello, professional ninja, I am Mireya." She had dealt with professional ninjas before; they served the privileged classes and were tricky to handle.

"I hope I haven’t disturbed you," Kojima Kanako smiled, positioning her ninja guard in front of her, subtly blocking Mireya’s line of sight. Riches breed arrogance.

"Back to the matter at hand," Mireya turned towards Suzuki Shinji, "keep talking about Xu Yang, Farosa, and Katsuragi’s affair."

"The last time I had dealings with Katsuragi was when she volunteered to stay behind at Suzuki Springs," Suzuki Shinji hurriedly said. "As long as we retake Suzuki Springs, that’s all that matters! The Suzuki Group is the ruler of Katagi District! We can show you the way!"

"Katsuragi is your subordinate, will she cooperate?"

"Probably not... but it doesn’t matter, just kill her. I have control over her important family members, which I can use to threaten her."

"That’s quite straightforward," Mireya nodded.

It had come to this at last, Kojima Kanako thought. Lighthouse Core’s Commissioner Mireya was going back to Aizu City with the Suzuki Group to unearth Xu Yang and Farosa and execute them. What should she do? Step in to stop them?

Suzuki Shinji kept stealing glances in Kojima Kanako’s direction, vaguely recalling he had seen her before. It seemed she was one of the two women Xu Yang had brought into Suzuki Springs.

Kojima Kanako curved the corners of her mouth upwards, turned away, and pretended to be admiring the scenery so as not to be recognized.

"We are going to operate in Aizu City," Mireya walked up to Kojima Kanako. "I hope you can facilitate our actions."

"Xisheng’s stance is clear," Kojima Kanako said, "as long as you keep things within the scope of a ’gang brawl,’ we won’t interfere."

"Received," Mireya nodded. "We will keep it to a minimum. Additionally, we have dispatched a new personal armor, and we hope you can help with the entry and exit permit."

"Sure," Kanako agreed. "Who is that armor for?"

"For myself," Mireya smiled. "When it comes to battle, full armament is a must. I wouldn’t want to venture unarmed into the sewers of Aizu City."

"I heard you also installed a Digital Mind?" Kojima Kanako observed Mireya.

"Even witches are trying to diversify their talents," Mireya looked at a camera in the corner of the room, controlling it to spin in place. "But it’s just a minor skill, after all, Digital Mind is already outdated technology."

"Times change, industries are eliminated," Kojima Kanako replied casually.

Mireya set off to leave, requesting the release of all Suzuki Group members, preparing to follow her back to Katagi District and retake Suzuki Springs. Once the requested personal armor arrived, the operation would begin.

"Ninja," the professional ninja said, greeting Kojima Kanako with a bow, "I heard that the lord once wandered in Aizu City for several years."

"Yes, it was quite interesting," Kojima Kanako replied, "They are on their way to kill my friends from that place."

"Then we should assist from the sidelines," the professional ninja said, "We can’t let the lord’s friends be harmed."

"This... not necessarily," Kanako laughed, "Friends need to be useful. What’s the point in having those who are not?"

"The lord is indeed wise," the professional ninja nodded.

"You might follow up a bit," Kanako said as she touched the smart chip on her forehead and booked a ticket to Xin’an Prefecture. She was going to meet her newfound sisters in the Xia District that evening. Compared to the underclass on the shuttle machine, those billionaires and business elites were more worthwhile to connect with deeply.

"Ninja. Mireya is a psychic witch who can control others with her eyes alone, turning them into puppets that can only say ’Mireya forever’," the professional ninja analyzed the intelligence, "She has a Digital Mind developed by Lighthouse Core, which she uses to remotely and invisibly manipulate electronic devices. According to what she said just now, she’ll also put on a piece of personal armor and transform into a humanoid tank, along with the small army she brought with her... Lord, I fear your friends in Aizu City will have a difficult time resisting."

"Isn’t that even better," Kojima Kanako smiled, "If they win, it will prove they are worthy to be Xisheng’s capital, to be Xisheng’s weapon! When I reunite with them then, they’ll be touched, I guess. They probably miss me too, after all, we had a good relationship. But if they lose, it means that’s all there is to their capabilities, which is dull."

"The Ancient Witch might be taken away by Lighthouse Core," the professional ninja reminded.

"They won’t leave that easily," Kojima Kanako looked up to the bright and prosperous Anjiu City outside the window, "The moment the Ancient Witch was dug up, she was destined to belong to Xisheng."

Farosa has the power to bring people back from death, and for that alone, Kanako would not let her go. Out of gratitude for once saving her life, Kanako planned to use some peaceful measures, hoping that Farosa wouldn’t be foolish enough to resist then.

"The lord’s decision is truly awe-inspiring," the professional ninja said.

"Naturally," Kojima Kanako thought, her brain already implanted with an advanced support analysis AI, codenamed "Retainer," which constantly helped her calculate the most profitable plans.

Xu Yang, Farosa, Asa Katsuragi, you better win. Kojima Kanako thought privately. A high-end hacker worth 150 million, an Ancient Witch and Reality Manipulator worth 340 billion, a gang fighter worth 400,000. They’re worth courting. And Pan Ruiyi, she also needed to find a way to keep her safe.

She needed these commoners to prove themselves worthy to join this grand power struggle, to become her support, her fuel, an invincible personal blade.

Meanwhile, in the Katagi District.

Asa Katsuragi’s enterprise was thriving. She had been busy these past days, constantly attempting to expand her influence and territory.

After the rodent infestation, Aizu City, just in the Katagi District, saw the rise of six new gang groups that engaged in thievery and violence. They each demarcated their own territories, exploiting the local residents.

To change the status quo, Asa Katsuragi in recent days had gathered the street ruffians she used to work with and secretly contacted local merchants. She recruited a large number of new members and formally established the "Katsuragi Gang" with Kong Tai serving as her deputy. They trained their gang members while investigating the surrounding situation.

Having grown up on the streets, Asa Katsuragi was well aware of the underlying logic of Aizu City. She quickly figured out the details of these gangs, learning about their members, equipment, cadre intelligence, and hideout locations, more thoroughly even than they knew themselves.

Then, Asa Katsuragi commanded her subordinates to take over the Suzuki Springs as their headquarters. On the first day, they repelled an attack from a group of ignoramus hooligans. They cleaned the entire hot spring, inside and out, and after a simple renovation, they reopened for business.

Following that, Asa Katsuragi gathered around a hundred of her new gang members and laid down three laws:

First, never betray the gang or the brothers!

Second, do not commit needless killing!

Third, do not forget righteousness upon seeing profit!

After the agreement, Asa Katsuragi, Kong Tai, and several strong, agile lieutenants swore an oath of blood. They hung the banner of "Protecting Territory, Ensuring Peace" on the four corners of the wall at Suzuki Springs; then they started launching continuous raids and looting against the six new gangs and three old gangs surrounding them, sustaining themselves through warfare.

The usual bullies who terrorized men and dominated women were all either expelled or killed. The Katsuragi Gang brought a breath of fresh air for the local people.

Now, she had finally realized her dream of creating her own gang! She no longer needed to listen to the pragmatic and shrewd criticisms of Suzuki Shinji.

Asa Katsuragi planned her next step to cooperate with Nestor Corporation to unite the chaotic Aizu City and bring peace, completely changing the face of this underground city marked by disorder, poverty, and rampant violence.

From the small gangs of Katagi District to the Bamboo Gang of Number 26 Highland, to the Chainsaw Angel Gang of Hui City District, all were Asa Katsuragi’s hypothetical enemies.

Asa Katsuragi herself bought a tree and planted it at the entrance of Suzuki Springs, symbolizing that the Katsuragi Gang had taken root and was sprouting in the Katagi District, ever flourishing.

Though it was underground, the tree would surely grow lush and robust, with sun lamps and water sources. Asa Katsuragi leaned on a shovel, the sapling only as tall as a person, but she could already imagine the young tree growing, branches spreading, forming a protective canopy over the entrance of Suzuki Springs.

The flag of "Protecting Territory, Ensuring Peace" fluttered loudly on the courtyard walls. This was her home, and she would defend this place. Brick by brick, she would build this place up, carrying out her beliefs and righteousness all along.

No matter the cost.