Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 272 - 244: Top Secret Methods

Chapter 272: Chapter 244: Top Secret Methods

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At 6 A.M., Xu Yang woke up. He lay back against the pillow, the necklace that Yan Duo had given him radiating a slight warmth around his neck, providing an extra burst of energy. This meant he didn’t have to sleep as much and had more time in the day to work.

The rented apartment room was large enough; he turned his head to see A40 practicing with a blade in the living room.

It had moved all the furniture aside in advance, reserving for itself at least 30 square meters of space. The area was narrow, posing a great challenge for someone practicing martial arts, as they could easily bump into things or scratch the furniture, but A40 managed well. It had never woken Xu Yang up nor damaged any items.

The blade A40 was using was called "Fury," a gift from Kanako, resembling an extended blazing flame.

The sky was overcast, and without the lights on, the red glow at the tip of 40’s blade seemed even more dazzling as it cut through the air like a shooting star. A40’s body flickered and flipped in midair as if gravity didn’t affect it.

"Like a hornet," commented Xu Yang.

That remark stung A40’s heart, and its movements became distorted, causing it to collapse to the floor.

"I must become stronger, until I find Huang Feng," it declared, quickly getting back on its feet and resuming its training.

Xu Yang looked towards the eyeball tracker at the top of the curtains and blinked at it. It understood immediately, and the electric curtains began to roll up silently and quickly, unveiling the grey-white city blanketed by clouds. Almost the moment the curtains hit the top, rain started to pour from the sky, intensifying within seconds into a downpour, producing a roaring sound as if nature was issuing a desperate warning to humans.

He turned on the smart screen, which automatically tuned to the news channel. Kakuya TV Station broadcast news 24 hours a day. A diligent robot with four screens on its head combined news segments from every time slot, eliminating morning, afternoon, or night distinctions.

Currently, it was providing explosive updates on the frontline conflicts. Kyoto Infinity’s satellites had lost track of the space mothership "Martinez," and it wasn’t just Kyoto Infinity; satellites from other giant corporations also failed to locate the space mothership, which they reported as using some advanced method of evasion.

Where could the giant warship be headed? Xu Yang wondered. Such a vast space mothership couldn’t just vanish from the world; Black Fire Innovation must have taken some secretive measures.

If Black Fire Innovation could make it avoid detection and approach the Northern Archipelago silently, the tide of the conflict could swiftly turn. It might directly strike core cities like Anjiu City and Shangjing, shattering Kyoto Infinity’s morale to continue the fight.

Could this be the means Black Fire Innovation was using to pursue their ambitions? Xu Yang couldn’t help but feel a hint of threat.

Looking at the current situation, Black Fire Innovation appeared to possess an exceptional anti-surveillance capability, surpassing contemporary science and technology, enabling the mothership to quickly maneuver and achieve flash warfare effects, or even directly penetrate into the heart of corporate territories.

Kyoto Infinity didn’t have sufficient defensive depth; once that ship sailed directly to Shangjing and made a beeline for the Xisheng Shrine, all emergency measures would be futile. Now that it had disappeared from all radars and detection methods, Kyoto Infinity’s entire strategic plan had become reactive, constantly guarding against the ship’s possible sudden reappearance.

"What an incredible downpour!" A40 didn’t stop swinging its blade, optimizing its battle module parameters, managing the relationship between power consumption and the cooling system, and refining its program settings. "Fortunately, Anjiu City has a very large artificial river for flood discharge!"

"Code-named ’Osu,’ the drainage channel," Xu Yang checked the data. "Designed to discharge 500 million cubic meters annually, it turns out to work overtime every year."

"Without the shuttle machine, such heavy rain would have completely immobilized me!" said A40. "The probability of a short circuit if drenched is 95%!"

"In anime, practitioners sit under great waterfalls, letting the water pound on their heads to train," Xu Yang said. "But if it were you, I’m afraid you wouldn’t be able to replicate that."

"That’s a human method to fortify their will," A40 dismissed. "I have been fearlessly designed since the day I left the factory!"

Xu Yang observed A40; its body wasn’t the most advanced, nor did it have technology assuring 100% victory. Solely on the basis of belief, it didn’t seem to have much competitive edge.

"How far do you think you’ll get in the festival?" Xu Yang looked at A40. "The enemies in the competition are all formidable."

"The stronger the enemy, the better," A40 lifted its blade higher. "I am designed to continuously break through in battle. The stronger the enemy, the more invigorated I become, and in the long run, it’s more beneficial to me."

"Not bad," Xu Yang found this interesting. "If you emerge as a dark horse and break through the ranks, we could turn this festival upside down, and the entire Archipelago Continent, even the world, would be shocked."

"Hmm!" A40 returned to its sword dance, faster than before. "Reaching the peak means acquiring martial skills and fame."

"And Huang Feng."

The blade slipped from A40’s hand, and hurriedly, it bent down to pick it up.

The front door opened, and A40 instantly changed the direction of its blade, leaning into a strike towards the newcomer, only to see Du Qianqian. This prompted it to immediately cease its attack. Du Qianqian, carrying a large wooden tray, had anticipated A40’s reaction and was not startled. She smiled at Xu Yang behind A40 and then placed the wooden tray on the table.

"Come and have breakfast," she said, at ease.

"No time to eat, when do we fight?" A40 was eager.

"The first match is at 10 A.M.," Xu Yang glanced at the time. "We’ve signed up, and with us, there are four corporations competing. The other three are large or medium-sized enterprises; we’re the only newbie company."

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"Watch how I wear one through three." A40 stopped practicing with the knife and ran to charge.

"We have tamago yaki," Du Qianqian arranged the food, "grilled fish, seaweed, steamed rice, and natto, with a very cold vegetable salad."

"Bought from downstairs?" Xu Yang pulled over a silver metallic-backed chair.

"Yes, from downstairs, but it was made by a cooking robot." Du Qianqian said, and then pulled out two green rice dumplings, "Look, there’s even honey date zongzi!"

Du Qianqian gave Xu Yang the impression of a high school girl, her lively demeanor and tone immediately brought to mind the girls from Corporate People Middle School, her face still tender and not fully matured, round with bright eyes, carrying a kind of eager air, perfectly poised between curiosity and hostility.

Xu Yang had seen her imperious side, which always made him hallucinate to Farosa, but there were also significant differences. If Farosa was a natural-born little troublemaker, then Du Qianqian embodied a passive, defensive evil; after all, there were too many risks in this world to not be guarded, to be open-hearted with others only to be stabbed in the back.

"Is the food here to your taste?" Xu Yang asked.

"I want to eat steamed buns and soy milk," Du Qianqian thought, "not the kind produced by machines, but from those street food stalls."

"It’s pretty much the same." Xu Yang remembered the past, "There are such clear differences in food between regions."

"Let’s eat together." Du Qianqian unwrapped the zongzi and held it out to Xu Yang.

"Go back to your own room," Xu Yang didn’t move, "I won’t say it a second time."

This level of coldness broke Du Qianqian’s heart, undoubtedly a first-time experience for her. Without a word, she put down the food and left the room quickly.

"Little brat." A40 slammed the door, "A mere nutrient paste, holding up my martial arts practice."

Xu Yang took off his mask and ate his fill.

"Let’s go," he took A40 and set off, "we still have a building to win back."

As they walked down the hallway and heard noise, Du Qianqian stood in her room’s doorway, staring at them.

"I’m taking it to fight," Xu Yang said, "Don’t wander around, be careful not to get caught by someone."

"With such heavy rain, where can I go," Du Qianqian said, her tone devoid of any emotion.

"It’s time to cut your hair," Xu Yang looked at Du Qianqian’s face, her messy bangs covering her eyes, "Why is it so disheveled?"

"Oh." Du Qianqian tilted her head, "You’ll see a new hairstyle when you come back."

Riding the shuttle machine, Xu Yang and A40 flew through the torrential rain and landed on the large tarmac of the Colosseum Arena, with covered walkways leading to the core area. The Colosseum Arena, as its name suggests, is a broad venue with an ellipsoidal shape at both ends, divided into a large main competition area and 30 medium and small competition areas.

To promote the grand event of the Colosseum, posters and related holographic projection advertisements filled the area, echoing with the sound and light effects of blades and swords everywhere.

"So exciting." A40 triggered its relevant computation scripts and roamed around the venue, throwing its coat into the trash can and exposing its original alloy torso, looking particularly lean.

Xu Yang browsed through the widely-displayed match reports. Such top-tier competitions had been held five times before, all for celebrating or commemorating important events of Kyoto Infinity.

The fifth tournament was held 15 years ago, marking the end of the heyday of corporatism. The fifth Colosseum competition attracted all 18 giant enterprises of that year, becoming a place for testing combat robots and high-level combat implants, turning into a spectacular show boasting flowers and fierce flames.

The last champion was Black Fire Innovation’s specialized combat robot, code-named "Heart of Darkness." Other companies sent various gimmicky and commercially valuable contestants like flagship robots, sword sports athletes, or successors of ancient martial arts. Only Black Fire Innovation really came to fight, thus gaining an overwhelming advantage. It killed all its competitors, staining that year’s grand commercial event with an indelible bloodiness.

"I can replace it," A40 looked at the image of the last champion. "Heart of Darkness" was a cold, pitch-black robot, all of its limbs deadly blades, agile and quick, with limb attacks so powerful that it could split an enemy in half instantly, and its defense was excellent enough to withstand most attacks, mainly because it was very small and not easy to hit, a very advanced design concept at that time.

"First, win this small invitational." Xu Yang took A40 to the designated pavilion No. 8, where in the pre-check area, staff meticulously inspected and scanned A40.

Having once done a favor for the president of Kakuya Media, Kitada Ryuuji, he had sent many VIP cards, including a VIP pass to the Colosseum Arena, sparing Xu Yang much trouble, avoiding pointless disturbances, and allowing him to go directly into the VIP rest box, sitting on a red leather soft chair and opening the ice bucket beside him to take out a bottle of red champagne.

"Boss!" A40 messaged, "They said I’m 100% qualified, I’m ready!"

"Then... let the battle begin," Xu Yang picked up the competition arena map screen beside him and confirmed on it that he was ready.