Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 282 - 254 Unlock

Chapter 282: Chapter 254 Unlock

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Manipulating reality to change the outcome of the competition was a fantastic idea, like a spark darting along a fuse, the sparks flying everywhere and about to reach the dynamite itself.

Amidst Huang Feng’s chaotic thoughts, she was simultaneously processing many different events. She had too much to think about: intimate relationships, taking lives, and robots. A40’s battle perfectly matched these three themes.

"You are an Armageddon Weapon," Rolo said, placing his hands on his knees, "all of your actions need to be reported, reviewed, and your plans will eventually... hiss... be submitted to the Chief Executive Officer’s desk."

"Why show it to the higher-ups? Will it cause trouble or will the competition lead to some terrible consequences?" Huang Feng pointed to the screen, "Just like helping a favored athlete win in figure skating or discus throwing. If we do it discreetly, nobody will notice."

"Want me to explain? Ha... no one knows what you want to do," Rolo said, "Nobody can predict your next move, maybe you’ll kill me... obstruct Blackfire’s plan, or maybe you’ll run away..."

"Why would I do something so stupid!" Huang Feng shouted furiously.

She jumped onto the table, spewing all the filthy language from her shattered memories, cursing Rolo like a storm. He sat on a low stool, shielding himself with his armor against Huang Feng’s loud voice as if against bullets, not particularly effective but enough to save his life.

While being berated by Huang Feng, Rolo patiently watched the footage on the screen.

A40 was carried off the field on a stretcher, greeting Li Si, who had also left the match. There was no audio, but it seemed they exchanged opinions amicably. After talking with A40, Li Si sat on a metal bench outside the resting room. Losing the match initially disheartened him, but he quickly recovered his spirits and was ready for the interview.

"It’s alright, I have many other matches to compete in," Li Si told the eyeball robot interviewer, "and I’m still alive."

"The A40 contestant used a poisonous substance on his weapon? What was that experience like?" the eyeball robot reporter asked.

"I respect it," Li Si said, "so I can’t reveal its tactics, to avoid putting it at a disadvantage."

"Your opponent seems to be a samurai without honor, quite the contrast to you," the reporter said, "Do you think such a dishonorable warrior even deserves to move on to the next round?"

"Ah, ’honor’? Honor is a demand on oneself," said Li Si, "not something to squeeze and constrain others with. This is the Colosseum battle extravaganza, not a moral forum, right?"

According to Li Si’s future plans, he would travel elsewhere on Archipelago Continent to treat his injuries, the toxin having left incurable aftereffects in his body. Once the interview ended, the program cut to advertisements, smoothly transitioning to the next match.

Exhausted from cursing, Huang Feng crouched on the table.

Rolo watched the battles of other groups of samurai, under the light and dance of flashy commercials. Modifiers and warriors equipped with advanced implant devices clashed, the exaggerated lighting and sound effects drowning out all martial arts details.

"...yeah," Rolo said, "Why not let A40 win the championship? The little robot that would go to any lengths to win beats one conceited major corporation after another. It’s humiliating... it’s revenge... like our ’Heart of Darkness,’ focused on combat, hence winning the last festival... although Black Fire Innovation didn’t participate, A40 has already represented Blackfire in spirit... it’s a philosophy..."

"So..." Huang Feng pondered.

"Use it at the most opportune moment, when it faces an opponent that it can’t beat."

"Hey," Huang Feng laughed, "That’s the way."

She felt light as a feather, as if floating on clouds, every sound around her distorting. The commentator’s soft drone on the screen turned into piercing shrieks, but the wails of the city’s dead outside the window somehow sounded sweet.

She walked to the window and looked out at the scorched city block, smiling at the chaotic world.

On the other side, A40 was taken back to Shijin Mansion in a vehicle. It adjusted its combat core in the lobby on the first floor, its suite of artificial intelligence modules having evolved through multiple self-iterations, leaping to higher versions, achieving combat evolution.

When Xu Yang brought A40 back to the logistics room, its victorious return immediately caught everyone’s attention. The young witches pointed and whispered about A40 as if it were a priceless treasure, eagerly awaiting its next victory as a new tool for amassing wealth. But soon after, Xu Yang updated the management regulations, indicating that they were underage and should not engage in gambling activities, thus putting a stop to it.

When Farosa arrived, they retreated like silent attendants, lining up against the wall. Farosa smiled at them and then entered the room, looking at A40 placed on the empty platform.

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"So, this is our gladiator," Farosa sized up the bisected A40, "Send someone to get them to the field to fight and vie for power and profit."

"The future of Synthetic Human technology is vast," Xu Yang nodded, "Such competitions can encourage its evolution."

He powered down A40 and exported all the files from its storage drive and processor to prevent them from being reset during the recovery process.

"In any case, this is an interesting game," Farosa said contentedly. "It’s just like the Colosseum in Seven Hills which I have only heard of but never seen, and have always longed to visit. Now, that wish has been fulfilled as well."

She released the Law of Recovery, and A40’s body instantly reassembled undamaged, but the electrical circuit state and core chip were also adjusted to pre-battle conditions, requiring a shutdown and then restoring the previously exported files.

Human memories are stored in the soul, unaffected by magic power. A robot’s memories, on the other hand, are stored in chips and hard drives and can be distorted by the Law of Recovery.

Upon rebooting, A40 quickly sat up from the pedestal and began a self-diagnostic of its combat core module. Due to incorrect timestamps—the firmware’s clock showed a pre-battle time while the chip’s files were from after the battle—it needed to recalibrate.

"Can you win the championship?" Farosa observed A40. "As a combat robot, you must fight tirelessly for victory. Who would be satisfied if you lost?"

"Yes, I will win the championship!" A40 declared resolutely.

"I will be watching your match, so don’t lose in front of me," Farosa smiled and then turned to leave.

A40 sat on the pedestal, the lights in its eyes turning white, indicating a shutdown or idle state.

"Did Farosa scare you?" Xu Yang sat beside it. "You still believe winning the championship is impossible."

"Now I feel a completely different flavor," A40 looked up at the ceiling, "This feeling of being entrusted with great expectations, from you, Farosa, the Witch at the company, and perhaps support from various people outside the arena. I have heard of many unjust battles! But I don’t understand, why someone would choose to fix a fight in such circumstances, why someone would degrade themselves for money! This is competition; besides the championship, what else is worth pursuing?"

Winning the championship is wonderful, but people must also prepare a plan B for themselves. Xu Yang thought privately. In case of a slip-up, one must take care of the family and find a way out for life after retirement.

But such reverie shouldn’t affect the fighter’s performance. Let it give its all.

"Your next opponent has also been decided." Xu Yang opened the playback of the fight.

One of the combatants was a heavily armored female knight, wearing what was said to be the last set of "Dragon Bone" armor in the world, made from bones of an ancient mythological giant dragon, boasting one of the strongest defenses in the championships, while wielding a massive club, smashing any opponent like hitting a baseball, always fighting with the style of waiting leisurely for the opponent to make the first move, a highly specialized armor type.

The other was a black mechanized orb-like Samurai, codenamed "Black Storm," covered with bladed wheels, fighting with a high-speed spinning style, cutting and tearing through opponents, and once they entered the "Dance of Battle," it was hard to stop, sweeping across the battlefield in an instant. With sharp blades all around, it was also hard to hit.

This match was an absolute upset.

In theory, the female knight’s astonishing defense should have been the bane of lighter robots, so before the fight, most of the funds were bet on her. But she ended up having her armor sliced open and was finally pierced through, now being resuscitated in the med bay, known as the scariest rigged match of the group stage, with billions of retail funds evaporating instantly, leading to a barrage of slander and curses.

But Black Storm smoothly moved on to the next round and would face off against A40 the day after tomorrow to vie for a spot in the top 16. The winner would become one of the 16 elites of the Colosseum battle fest.

It would be a whirlwind cutter against the Synthetic Human blade-wielder.

"If you win, you’ll be in the top 16," Xu Yang said. "That was our goal before the battle, and of course, your ultimate pursuit is still the championship."

If they defeated Black Storm, then it would be time to tell A40 about Huang Feng. Besides, making it to the top 16 was a milestone; reaching it meant a certain level of strength had been achieved. A40’s reputation would truly take off, and the fame of the New World Mechanism would also increase, providing cover for their activities in Anjiu City.

"Yes," A40 flipped off the pedestal.

It would spare no effort to defeat this spinning blade top.