Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 208 - 184: Daydreaming

Chapter 208: Chapter 184: Daydreaming

Xu Yang and Kanako first went to a tastefully small bar in Hui City District. She wore a black suit with a pristine white custom-made shirt underneath. Her outfit was both formal and mature, but it hung awkwardly on her petite frame, stirring an unusual impulse in Xu Yang from the depths of his heart. He felt a surge of passion as he undid his collar button and led Kanako to the bar, where they took their seats on a row of red metallic high stools.

The local bartender raised an eyebrow when he saw the two of them but said nothing. He was used to seeing odd pairings—street ronins with corporate women, schoolboys with Battle Witches; he’d seen it all. Without a word, he spun the aluminum menu around and pushed it toward them. The liquor cabinet behind the bar, fitted with clusters of green xenon lights, made the bartender’s face look as comically distorted as a clown’s.

Kanako didn’t want to dive into the main topic too quickly. She knew where the evening would end up but was content to prolong the prelude. So they sipped on soft drinks, one after another, exchanging amusing stories and heartfelt grievances.

As Kanako rambled on, Xu Yang came to understand how money had propelled her to greater heights. She was accustomed to a lavish lifestyle, redefining what it meant to have pocket money and a salary. Now, even without working, Kanako could receive a weekly income of 2.78 million in funds, ensuring a worry-free life even if she were to escape the whirlpool of Xisheng this very moment. The problem was that having adapted to such a standard of living, it was impossible for her to endure hard times anymore.

In turn, through Xu Yang’s words, Kanako learned his concerns—surrounded by so many friends, with so many faces, stumbling along, he’d entered the Underground City alone but now had completely insulated himself from solitude. His fate was tightly intertwined with that of many others, which meant he couldn’t act recklessly. He spoke less, thought more deeply, and never showed his true self.

After 9 PM, the resident rock band arrived. Guitars exploded onto the scene, shattering the silence with music that roared loudly. The world was full of too many temptations, making it irresistible not to relax and let go. Thus, she changed the menu and drank her first strong alcohol of the evening—a taste she had only acquired over the past two months.

The more she drank, the more muddled she felt, yet also incredibly free, as if freedom itself was chaotic.

Her actions became bolder, things once obscured by industrial fabrics became clearer. Xu Yang carried Kanako back to the car. This luxury sedan, "Old Chamber Black Moon," was equipped with a second-generation AI that, detecting its registered owner Kojima Kanako was not in her right mind, entered autonomous control mode. It started automatic navigation, carrying them away from Aizu City to Anjiu City, a location deemed to be safer by the AI.

Curled up on the tatami mat in the back of the car, the alcohol in Kanako’s system was gradually eliminated by her brain’s processing chip. She was very sober but preferred to act as if she were half-drunk, her face flushed. Xu Yang, meanwhile, took everything as it came—first her initial kiss and then everything else.

An hour or so later, the tatami mat was drenched in sweat. The car had already navigated itself to the Xisheng Hotel in Anjiu City.

The car door opened, and Xu Yang carried the limp Kanako into the inner room. She had a VIP luxury suite here. The car itself was transported up by Shuttle Machine, parked on the parking platform outside the suite’s window, surrounded by immense, brightly lit constructions that glowed endlessly under the moonlight.

Leaving Kanako inside to recover her strength, Xu Yang adjusted his attire and walked out onto the balcony.

Looking out, colossal buildings dominated the landscape, most of them branch offices of major companies in Anjiu City, with giant billboards corresponding to these companies hung everywhere. Their colorful fonts projected into the air, floating gently, drawing distinct boundaries between corporate territories, robustly preventing any risk of getting lost. People spent their entire lives within these monumental structures, with company employees only needing to frequent four places: school, workstations, restaurants, and dormitories.

With 49 such skyscrapers in total, they formed the core of Anjiu City, each with a height averaging 500 meters and comprising hundreds of floors. They were connected by skywalks, aerial tunnels, and metallic gangways, creating an intricately layered artificial beehive-like structure. Consequently, these buildings also left nearly 50 large foundations in Aizu City, permanently altering its urban landscape, obstructing the plans for Underground City, which had to be divided into Hui City District, Number 26 Highland, and Katagi District.

Life in the lower and middle levels of Anjiu City was exceedingly oppressive since sunlight and rainfall were blocked, leaving no room for greenery. The areas above the 100th floor were monopolized by the wealthy and corporate magnates. Kanako’s room was on the 128th floor of the hotel, where Xu Yang had the chance to see the night sky and stars and breathe fresh air. He was willing to spend the night there, waiting to witness how the sunrise would look.

The intense sensations of the past hour left Kanako dazed for a long time. The experiences she received were uniquely profound, something no memory archive or virtual imagery could ever provide, making them unforgettable. Now, she was almost unconscious, too weak to think about anything at all.

The entire hotel room was decorated with extreme luxury. Xu Yang changed his shoes and activated the disguise chip given to him by Kanako. After examining it thoroughly, he embedded it into the back of his left hand. The chip, thin as the wing of a cicada, seemed to merge seamlessly with his skin, connecting online and becoming one with him. As Xu Yang stepped out onto the balcony, a surveillance drone flew by, continuously scanning for individuals with red-flagged credibility codes. On detecting Xu Yang, influenced by the signal emanating from the chip, it immediately skipped checking him and did not register his information.

So, this was how it worked. Xu Yang thought to himself. The Century Pure Land project was designed by engineers from Xisheng and wasn’t meant to disturb the actions of its internal members, but rather to facilitate the management of the masses.

The Century Pure Land System was used by Kyoto Infinity to control the entire Northern Archipelago Continent, with 320 million people registered in the system, maintaining a semblance of a decent life by relying on a system called the "credit score".

From birth, everyone has a baseline credit score. The average person starts at 50, if your parents have a criminal record it’s -10 or -30, if your parents work for a company it’s +10, if they are Kyoto Infinity employees it’s +20, and for every 1 million in parental assets, you get another +10, up to a maximum of 200.

Committing crimes, doing evil, being complained about by others, or violating corporate laws will deduct credit points. When your score drops to zero, you are "self-purified" by the Century Pure Land System, subjected to comprehensive restrictions. If your score goes into the negatives, you are subject to arrest or attack.

The best way to live is to keep silent, bury your head in work, and flee back to your dorm after it’s done, becoming one in the tide of people. Life’s margin for error is too low; you can’t misstep even once.

Thus, discipline and control are embedded into everyday life. Merely thinking about the pressure brought by this system nearly suffocates Xu Yang. He walks over to the balcony and looks down into the pitch-black abyss. Below the Xisheng Grand Hotel, above Aizu City, in this silent and oppressive intermediate zone, who knows how many people are slowly decaying.

Inside the hotel, network-connected furniture and floating eyeball robots take care of all needs autonomously. They fill the bathtub with hot water, bring trays of food to replenish their strength, play soothing music, and the smart screen turns on automatically, detecting their current mood index and playing corresponding TV programs. Right now, they are showing a reality show where 100 desperate souls were sent to a deserted island. With enhanced technology, the personal screen for each contestant is adjustable. There are already 34 camera views fixed on the sky or total darkness.

The screams of a live person being attacked by a crocodile faintly awaken Kanako. She gets up to see how a freshwater crocodile swallows a person whole; this show is quite interesting. She watched it for a long time before meeting Xu Yang. Real-life survival games indeed have a unique flavor. She picks at the fried shrimp on the plate while watching the remaining contestants struggle for survival for the 1 million prize.

"This place isn’t bad, huh?" Kanako squatting on the dark red cushion says, "I’ll share the key with you so you can also stay here in the future, it usually costs 198,000 a night."

"They fight to the death for the prize money and can only afford to stay here for 5 days, why is that?" Xu Yang looks towards the survivors in the reality show.

Kanako understands his intentions at a glance.

"If—" Kanako hurriedly says, "If you don’t think about opposing it, but instead think about joining it, everything would become very simple... We leave seeds here, then you can become one of Xisheng’s own, with everything at your fingertips."

"Would you be willing to leave seeds?"

"What else is there to say? I haven’t thought about anyone else but you. You’ve occupied every corner of my mind."

"I can’t do it."

"No... this isn’t an invitation, it’s your last chance," Kanako’s voice trembles, "Possibly your only chance. Think about it! Xu Yang, forget Aizu City, we’ll just stay here, and then all your troubles will be swept away. Now is the perfect opportunity... Let go of everything over there, all the troubles are over, really..."

Stay here, cease to think, then everything would end, punctuated with a full stop.

"I have to go back." Xu Yang bends down to kiss Kanako, Kanako sighs softly, lies down exhausted, and falls asleep again, as the smart screen automatically lowers the volume to the minimum.