Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 243 - 217 Miyazato Kazama

Chapter 243: Chapter 217 Miyazato Kazama

As Kyoto Infinity’s influence declined, the Z1 Research Institute could no longer pay its salaries.

Due to a large number of criminal records, Miyazato Kazama’s salary had already been reduced to 2,100 a month. Yet even this meager amount was not dispensed last month. According to the director, she still had to continue working until she was acquired by another company. During this period, the institute wouldn’t pay her, as she was technically put up for sale and no longer considered an employee, becoming free labor.

She sat at her workstation designing research plans, staring blankly, planning to starve herself.

Because of the food shortage, logistics also began to gouge prices. The original white-packaged cheap nutrient paste was no longer supplied, replaced by a golden-packaged version with the same nutritional content but ten times more expensive.

As long as one lowered their head and acted like a dog, one could live a relatively better life. Miyazato Kazama glared at the other Witch Researchers in the laboratory who had chosen to sleep with the senior management to obtain life’s necessities. They were skilled at maneuvering and managing interpersonal relationships, but only Miyazato Kazama was like a land mine ready to explode, refusing everything to protect her pitiful sense of pride.

An eyeball robot handed a company administrative order to Miyazato Kazama.

"Nestor Corporation, report to work today."

Clutching the paper, she was somewhat astonished. The clear contact information printed on it indicated that she had been bought by this "Nestor Corporation" and was told to immediately go to the Nestor Industrial Park located outside of Aizu Underground City Route 90>.

Traded off like a commodity, she was now the possession of this "Nestor Corporation," and a look of disgust appeared on Miyazato Kazama’s face.

"Please pack your belongings and leave within one hour. You are no longer a member of the Z1 Research Institute." The eyeball robot reminded.

"Go fuck yourself!" Miyazato Kazama threw a punch at the robot, knocking it back half a meter. The robot readjusted its jet nozzle.

"Your unprovoked act of violence has been recorded, Century Pure Land Credit Score -10." The eyeball robot reported.

Damn!

Miyazato Kazama cursed under her breath.

Her credit score had already been zero, and now it was in the negatives, meaning she’d be arrested by Century Pure Land the moment she stepped outside!

With no other choice, she dialed the contact number on the small paper note. Even the connection process was mysterious, requiring rerouting through two different signal transmitters before connecting to the actual number, obviously to avoid being tracked.

"...Hello, this is Miyazato Kazama, I apologize profusely," her tone was somewhat meek, suspecting the other party wouldn’t come to fetch her, "...Due to some accidents, I am unable to arrive at your company in a normal and timely manner. May I ask if your company has the capability to come and pick me up?"

On the other end of the communication was Xu Yang.

"Oh, certainly." He was delighted to receive Miyazato Kazama’s call.

This was Nestor Corporation’s first Witch Researcher, smart, mature, capable of technical research and development, a crucial part of the company’s long-term plans, filling in the weakest link in the company.

After hanging up, he had already been playing with Kanako by the seaside until the morning. Xu Yang shared his direction, and since Kanako was also heading out for important business, they said their goodbyes.

"Since you’re going to pick someone up," Kanako said, "let me buy you a new Shuttle Machine. The funds I have now have multiplied many times over, and it doesn’t matter how I spend it."

"Then thank you very much." Xu Yang nodded.

With the unrest tightening regulations everywhere, Nestor Corporation’s Shuttle Machines were all militaristic, and driving it all the way to the Z1 Research Institute in the Suburbs of Shangjing would likely attract attention. A business travel vessel would be much more suitable for such occasions.

Kanako opened her smart screen and connected to the nearest Shuttle Machine dealership. She checked their sale listings, sorted by price from high to low, and quickly settled on a luxury business Shuttle Machine.

It was a Ryukawa-class Shuttle Machine, manufactured by a vehicle maker under Kyoto Infinity, with an impressive purple paint job, shedding the fragility characteristic of the traditional Kyoto Infinity Shuttle Machines. It offered a captivating appearance with edgy design, sharp lines, and high recognizability, balancing practicality and a stylish experience, priced at 6.99 million funds. To Kanako, it was merely pocket change, which she purchased without a second thought and gifted to Xu Yang.

Before long, this Ryukawa-class business Shuttle Machine automatically navigated to the beach where they were, even more exquisite than the display model on the screen, certainly not losing face in any business setting.

Xu Yang remotely accessed it, fine-tuned all the parameters of the machine, and then prepared to take off.

"Well, I am off to pick up our colleague." Xu Yang bid farewell to Kanako.

"I’ll reach out to you again," Kanako said with reluctance, "but don’t think about contacting me only once every ten or fifteen days, okay?"

"We’ll see how it goes," Xu Yang smiled.

"Feel free to expand now," Kanako encouraged, "I can provide a much larger scale of funds. Go ahead and do what you want to do."

"Thank you," Xu Yang squeezed Kanako’s hand.

Senzoune escorted Kanako as she left.

Then, Xu Yang walked around the Shuttle Machine, naming it "Purple Wind," the fourth Shuttle Machine under Nestor Corporation, specifically for dignified operations.

He boarded and surveyed the interior, which was exquisite as well, with plenty of supplies and thoughtful gifts provided, featuring impeccable navigation, lighting, temperature control, and human-machine interaction systems.

Xu Yang punched in the address provided by Miyazato Kazama and drove the Shuttle Machine there, while reviewing her employment records and personal history.

Her scientific productivity at the Z1 Research Institute was unmatched, her technical capability beyond reproach. Although her criminal record was remarkable, it was all internal corporate conflict, nothing of a severe nature.

Taking this shuttlecraft to pick up the Witch, I hope she’ll take a liking to our company, Xu Yang thought. We can’t disappoint such an outstanding Science Officer.

Meanwhile, at the Z1 Research Institute, Miyazato Kazama was standing at the entrance waiting.

She felt like a log, utterly unlucky, drifting with the tide, holding her small suitcase of belongings, leaving her fate in the hands of others. She had checked Nestor Corporation’s records, with a registered capital of 10 million, just a medium-small sized company relying on selling iron ore raw materials for a living. Just reading these few lines had utterly disappointed Miyazato Kazama. What kind of treatment could a mining company offer her? What kind of stage for her talents? In the end, wouldn’t she just be like a powerless person, living a mediocre and painful life, never being able to truly show her abilities?

Right now, she still couldn’t step out of the research institute; if she walked out, she would be taken down by the Century Pure Land System.

Occasionally, other personnel would walk past the Witch in the institute. Seeing the famously caustic Miyazato Kazama stupidly standing at the entrance, they couldn’t help but cast scornful glances at her.

Miyazato Kazama indeed felt sweat running down her back; she held her small suitcase, which had few personal belongings, yet it felt heavy as a ton. Each second was torture, having sold the second half of her life to the insignificant Nestor Corporation, she didn’t know for how much she was sold, but she felt she was dirt cheap.

She stood for so long that she became the subject of idle gossip.

"Isn’t that Kazama?" The other Witches couldn’t help but look at Miyazato Kazama who was bitterly standing at the institute’s entrance.

"Why isn’t she leaving?"

"Probably her credit code is marked red, she’s been going crazy every day, it’s her retribution, I guess."

"I wonder which company bought her, probably not a good one."

"Are there companies in the Northern Archipelago that offer better conditions than Kyoto Infinity?"

Miyazato Kazama tried to hold back, but for the first time, she felt an urge to collapse. This dull and boring world slapped her face every day, forcing her to surrender.

So many people had fallen behind on the road to their ideals, and she had no doubt she would become one of them, accepting the belief that effort was meaningless, forcing a smile at things destined not to be attained, comforting herself that she should learn to let go!

——The Purple Wind howled as it arrived.

She heard the sound of the shuttlecraft approaching and turned her head to see a dazzling, impressive shuttlecraft, the kind you just know you’d never be able to afford in a lifetime.

Many also lifted their heads from their workstations, peering through the windows at the exquisite shuttlecraft that had docked outside. Some of the more senior staff at Z1 Research Institute had been involved in the development of the "Ryukawa-class" shuttlecrafts, knowing that they could never afford one on their salary; they couldn’t help but point at it through the window and reminisce about the sleepless nights they had spent drafting plans.

Miyazato Kazama clenched and unclenched her fists, half in anticipation and half in fear. Could this be the shuttlecraft coming to pick her up? Could this really be...

"Hello," Xu Yang communicated with her, "Miss Miyazato Kazama, I see you. Please come aboard."

Miyazato Kazama turned sharply towards those who had been pointing at her earlier, quickly flipped them the bird, and while doing so walked briskly towards the shuttlecraft.

"Just wait!" she shouted back, "Wait for me to leave my name in history while you all can only watch like rats!"

Miyazato Kazama strode onto the Purple Wind, and the hatch closed automatically behind her.

She set down her luggage, and upon entering was shocked by the lavish interior. It was like a miniature luxury hotel suite, complete with a sofa, fridge, recliner, and a smart screen, and even had a separate bathroom and a darkened bedroom at the back.

The smart navigation system activated, the entire shuttlecraft silently lifted off, heading towards Anjiu City.

"Are you satisfied?" Xu Yang asked, concerned about Miyazato Kazama’s thoughts.

"Satisf... satisfied." Miyazato Kazama walked around the inside of the Purple Wind, acting quite reserved. The life of going back and forth between the workstation and the dormitory had gone on for so long, it made people forget how to enjoy life.

"Whatever you need, you can let me know," Xu Yang explained, "There are some drinks and snacks here, please help yourself."

Miyazato Kazama felt slightly dizzy. Was all of this real? Did she deserve to be in such a luxurious shuttlecraft? She sat on the sofa with trepidation, fearing that any second she might be called up.

"I need to work," she said, always feeling that if she wasn’t doing something, she would be evicted, "I must work, I can work. I’m very skilled, very good at it, very professional... what is... what is my work content?"

"You’ll see when we get there, I want you to research something," Xu Yang said.

Research something? Miyazato Kazama felt another wave of embarrassment. What kind of research could a mining company offer her? With no background in military technology, she feared she might have to apply her experience developing auxiliary combat computers to designing mining processes, which would be intolerably painful.

The Purple Wind returned to Anjiu City, going into the Underground City, and continued until it stopped inside Nestor Industrial Park. Xu Yang led Miyazato Kazama to the warehouse of the industrial park to look at their stored spoils of war.

"You could help by researching these. We sold 3 and there are still 4 left," Xu Yang turned on the light.

Four pieces of Personal Armor, worn by the Pale Legion, were hanging in the center.

Miyazato Kazama felt as if her brain was about to explode.

Top-level research material!

She couldn’t help but turn towards Xu Yang beside her, almost in awe. These were a full 4 pieces of Personal Armor! If his words were true, then they had even traded 3 pieces away. That meant this "Nestor Corporation" had managed to take down 7 members of the Pale Legion at once! How did they do it?

"I want you to develop new Witch Armor using these armors as materials," Xu Yang said.