Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 280 - 252: Inherent Wisdom

Chapter 280: Chapter 252: Inherent Wisdom

Huge inflatable airships soared across the sky, their exteriors draped with commercial banners announcing the main event of the Colosseum battle fest.

It glided slowly across the firmament, the weather Sour, accompanied by thunderstorms that caused worries for its safety—if struck, it would likely erupt into a fireball.

Lila stood before the thick floor-to-ceiling window, gazing out at the murky grey expanse—dense clusters of office buildings and commercial centers soaked in rainfall, the street traffic below severely congested; since she took her place there, the vehicles had only moved a few hundred meters.

The location of Shijin Mansion was unique; it lay neither in the shadow of the massive structures nor distant from the impoverished, chaotic slums and Chengxia Town. Positioned on what was traditionally known as the "Third Ring Road," it was only a 15-minute car ride to the city center, or even quicker by shuttle machine.

Lila believed the building’s location was a perfect metaphor for Nestor Corporation’s position in the world, strategically wedged in the crevice between.

Nestor Corporation connected with Xisheng Investment Group, but also dealt with the commoners of Aizu City’s Underground City. Their influence embraced witches, synthetic humans, gangs, mythical creatures, and even a Rat Witch encapsulated in gel, awaiting revival. They operated in their own orbit, starkly different from any prior organization.

Xu Yang explained to Lila that they had merely left Aizu City, but Aizu City remained, unvanished still the last refuge for the desperate. Therefore, Lila would have to return to Aizu to maintain control and continue managing their assets after spending a few days in Shijin Mansion.

In Aizu, she would launch a series of new investments and construction projects, with Kanako coordinating. Enomoto Bank was set to initiate an investment of one billion in funds with Nestor Corporation, which needed to be dispatched promptly to preclude questions from the bank.

Before leaving, there was one last thing for Lila to do.

She contacted Du Qianqian.

"You were looking for me?" Du Qianqian walked through the hallway, sans makeup, with hair simply combed, wearing a white long-sleeved tank top emblazoned with a black and white butterfly, stripped of its original colors.

"Have you ever experienced this," Lila raised the psychological report in her hand, "convulsions, heart palpitations, fear, flinching, unheralded acceleration of heartbeat, and a sensation of loss."

Du Qianqian shrank back.

"It’s nothing," Du Qianqian lowered her head, "none of it’s important."

The oppression brought by Farosa was incomparable; Du Qianqian frequently found herself trapped in the deep sea of dreams with no escape, her destiny controlled by the Witch Goddess, devoid of any freedom.

"I’ll take that as a ’yes’." Lila made a note on the report.

"How did you know?" Du Qianqian asked skeptically.

"Every witch parties hard in the activity room, except for you." Lila’s visual apparatus focused on Du Qianqian’s face, capturing her microexpressions, constructing a real-time psychological condition tracking.

Now, Du Qianqian, like a puppet.

Du Qianqian awkwardly clutched her right elbow, looking outside, where the people and vehicles on the street seemed particularly insignificant. Life was so cheap it could be erased in the blink of an eye, so cheap that no one cared.

"This way, you’ll lose yourself," Lila said, "What do you want to do in the future?"

"I don’t know," Du Qianqian said flatly.

Lila set the report aside and clapped her hands together.

"I’ll teach you a wakefulness technique popular in the military now," she said. "First, follow orders. Tell me what you’re going to do in the next hour."

"In an hour..." Du Qianqian took a deep breath, "...I... want to be alone for a while."

"Where?"

"In my own room..."

"Doing nothing? Thinking of nothing? That’s impossible. Even alone, you’ll do something."

"I think... I’ll read a book," Du Qianqian said in a low voice.

"Which book? What type of book?"

Du Qianqian clenched her fists. Subconsciously, she thought of books because she wanted to be smart, to be knowledgeable. Farosa was not only a nightmare but also a role model by example who valued knowledge and power. Du Qianqian knew that to free herself from Farosa’s control, she needed all opportunities to grow stronger—not just magic but also wisdom.

"I haven’t decided yet," Du Qianqian lifted her head, "I think I’ll read some works on witch studies."

Witch studies delve into the origins of witches, the nature of magic power, and the actual operation of magic circuits within a witch’s body, exploring how witches grow and their changing societal status within human communities.

"You can’t find that field of knowledge on the public network. You should learn from the boss on how to navigate the deep and anonymous web," Lila picked up the psychological report, "This is what you’ll be doing in the next hour, and now you’re very clear on it."

"But what about the next day, the next year? I’m still not clear on that," asked Du Qianqian.

"You can continue to find direction," Lila wrote more notes on the psychological report, "You have to give yourself 6 to 12 months to breathe, to try and rescue yourself from a state of bewilderment."

"Do I still have such an opportunity?"

"Life isn’t an endless race; it allows you to stop and think properly."

"Thank you." Du Qianqian bowed to Lila, "Farosa... really put a lot of pressure on me."

"A competent organization must be able to self-monitor and self-purify," Lila said. "Our current scale and sphere of influence aren’t small, and we need someone to oversee internal affairs."

"Yes," Du Qianqian lowered her head.

"I believe you’re a trustworthy good kid," Lila observed Du Qianqian.

"I won’t disappoint you," Du Qianqian was startled, then said resolutely.

"Why not take this," Lila handed the psychological report to Du Qianqian, "you were trained as a spy, disguise is your greatest skill, and gathering intelligence is your basic capability. You need to observe from within, to prevent any form of crisis from happening. When I leave here, you’re responsible for continuing to observe and track these psychological reports, and remember to write your own."

Du Qianqian leafed through it; aside from Xu Yang, Lila had collected everyone’s status.

"I understand..." Du Qianqian was aghast with favor, she stood still for a while, sizing up Lila, "Did you come from a corporate army?"

"Formerly belonged to a certain giant corporation’s mechanized infantry brigade, reconnaissance sequence, holding the rank of second lieutenant in the internal independent system," Lila said.

"Yes, Second Lieutenant Lila," Du Qianqian saluted Lila, "I assure you the mission will be completed."

"Dismissed," Lila returned the salute to Du Qianqian.

Du Qianqian changed from her previously gloomy demeanor to one of unprecedented confidence and cheerfulness as she vanished down the corridor. She would complete Lila’s work, observing and gathering intelligence from inside.

Lila’s gaze returned to the window, where the heavy rain had gradually stopped, and the streets were much cleaner.

"It seems to have taken effect," Xu Yang messaged Lila, "It helps somewhat, good for everyone."

"Your idea is not bad, but I think it wasn’t a good thing to recruit Du Qianqian in the first place," Lila responded in the secret communication channel.

"Let’s look on the bright side, if it weren’t for us, Du Qianqian would still be dancing in the Sunrise Bar now, being bullied by other staff members."

"Growth is a long process."

"It’s also a necessary process, not just for the young witches, but for Farosa herself," Xu Yang said, "There’s plenty of time ahead."

"I will return as soon as possible, master," Lila got up to leave Shijin Mansion. "Even a brief separation from you is unbearable for me, and once the Aizu City matter is resolved, I will return to your side."

"No problem, ’Second Lieutenant’."

"Ah!" Lila, deeply embarrassed, hurriedly hailed a cab and left Shijin Mansion.

After a week of preliminary rounds, the main event of the Colosseum battle fest began in early October.

A40 was sent to the arena area, waiting for their group’s match to start. Xu Yang could not afford to casually stroll around the arena during the official match, as there was some risk of being targeted, so he stayed inside Shijin Mansion, watching the matches with the witches.

The fad of human-machine fighting was on the rise, and to make this flashy competition even more exciting, numerous exaggerated news stories about betting swamped the headlines. All followed a similar template, describing how ordinary people could achieve financial freedom by betting on the matches; clearly, there were marketing forces at work, but that couldn’t stem people’s desire to gamble, and the trend of betting on matches surged.

While some viewers were seriously analyzing both sides’ techniques, functions, and combat literacy, others were focused entirely on the real-time odds and movement of betting funds.

It wasn’t just this battle event—financial games like this had infiltrated every competitive sport. In the past decade, the harsh reality of staged matches had repeatedly come to light, leading to a decline in various sports. Speculators, like locusts, had ravaged most events. The Colosseum battle fest had become the new hot spot, drawing the attention of bookies and gamblers worldwide.

"If we bet, we’ll make lots and lots of money," Shallow Dream ran to the smart screen, bringing up the official betting page. Kyoto Infinity was also supporting this betting venture.

Currently, A40’s odds were 3.44; Li Si’s odds were 1.98. That is to say, if they placed funds on A40 and A40 won, they could earn up to 3.44 times the funds.

"Is that not..." 102 was stupefied, she and the other witches had several hundred thousand in their fund cards to spend, and they were looking for an opportunity to do so, "We’re going to get rich."

"But can A40 win?" 101 doubted.

"Winning or not, who knows. But losing can be manipulated, right?" Shallow Dream was thinking.

"What do you mean?" 102 didn’t understand.

"Let’s bet on the other guy opposite A40, then tell A40 to throw the match!" Shallow Dream said happily.