Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 335 - 305: Breaking Ground

Chapter 335: Chapter 305: Breaking Ground

Xu Yang squatted on a grass-covered slope a little further away from the others, where many people lay watching an intelligent screen.

The society lacked electricity and a network, and this screen was set up on the roof of a distant brick house, broadcasting news programs.

This large screen was specially donated by a finance practitioner with 2 million in funds who, before joining the Self-Help Society, had paid for a platform to be built and prepaid five years of maintenance fees. Thus, as he had joined the primitive society and dispersed all his wealth, he could still lie on the lawn for entertainment.

The news was reporting on a cleanup operation in the White Elephant Continent, with several drones sweeping across the sky, dropping chemical agents into the forest that defoliated the leaves, leaving the guerrillas nowhere to hide. Then came the large ground attack aircraft joining the battle, eradicating the Pioneering Guerrillas’ camps as if they were sweeping their courtyards clean, followed by the larger corporate ground troops.

The White Elephant Continent had always implemented a caste surname system, which had now evolved into four ranks: corporate people, subsidiary people, temporary workers, and non-corporate people. Those not working for a company were untouchable in every sense and could only do the most menial jobs.

This social division was rife with contradictions. By exploiting the rift between the giant corporations of the Peacock Corporation and Tristan Corporation, the Pioneer Faction rose up, which soon garnered widespread support.

Throughout the White Elephant Continent, most villages and small cities responded. In the vast agricultural areas, the reaction was to besiege the headquarters of corporate subsidiaries. In the cities, it was reflected in workers from all industries refusing to work and shutting down businesses and markets.

In September, the armed forces of the guerrillas reached about 160,000, but soon, other giant corporations in neighboring areas provided assistance, making the situation quite passive.

Bloodshed led to even greater anger. With the harvest failing and grain prices rising, the people of the White Elephant Continent decided it was better to risk it all than to starve, rallying their greatest courage.

So the news showed the current scene, where the Peacock Corporation and the Tristan Corporation began to recruit a massive number of overseas troops for a near-massacre scale cleanup operation, causing blood to spill and bodies to float.

"This is too unpleasant to watch—" someone in the Self-Help Society on the lawn shouted, and others felt the same. They stood up and gestured, so the screen far away on the roof changed channels, starting to play an advertisement for Golden Pick Nutrient Paste, containing real meat ingredients.

Some were playing music, others were laughing heartily. They drank a lot, and when voting for extra rations for the next day, many chose alcohol.

They all seemed happy, at least they pretended to be. After all, they had surrendered everything to join the Self-Help Society, and they had to find ways to prove the correctness of their choice.

So the people of the Northern Archipelago had a way out, Xu Yang thought. Because they had options, they could get by, going from Anjiu City to Aizu City, or lying down in the Self-Help Society. If not, they would find a cheaper way to end life—euthanasia was legal and efficient, with many companies providing such services. They’d deliver drugs directly to your door, help settle your affairs, and handle your final matters. Most people had no savings, but they would still donate their meager possessions at the time of their euthanasia, to give back to society or leave it all to their family.

Xu Yang saw a few people chasing and frolicking, climbing a barren tree, laughing and appearing to have not been this happy in a long time. These individuals with premature aging, baldness, and obesity were probably programmers for some company.

Humans could degenerate into rats, devolve into monkeys, get consumed by their physical strength in companies, and give up on life. Xu Yang observed the newcomers in the Self-Help Society and felt that behind their smiles, there was more or less a hint of sorrow, a kind of systemic melancholy. He understood their feelings, the uncertainty about the future, individual powerlessness against the system, and the diminishment of the meaning of life. It was about not knowing what to do, what to live for, and being wrapped in the emptiness.

Xu Yang took a walk and was eventually chased away by the society’s members because he refused to strip down. He returned to Purple Wind.

"Someone threw stones at Purple Wind," Pan Ruiyi said, with Little Fool lying in her arms like a statue.

Xu Yang checked the outer shell of the shuttle machine, which was not damaged by the stones.

"Time to do business," Xu Yang started the shuttle machine back to the city.

"Not taking a break?" Pan Ruiyi was curious.

"There’s quite a bit to do," Xu Yang discussed with Pan Ruiyi, "What kind of scale would a fleet need to be to directly defeat an entire giant corporation’s armed forces?"

Pan Ruiyi was stunned for a moment; this was going to be tough.

"A space mothership is necessary for power projection, equipped with nuclear weapons and intercontinental missiles," Pan Ruiyi quickly responded. "One space ship could defend the Northern Archipelago and solve all the problems on the islands. With two ships, we could launch an offense."

"We need to get one," Xu Yang checked the open market where many giant corporations were downsizing their military spending, so they were putting their old space motherships up for sale.

The models for sale were not the most advanced, but they were sufficient for Xu Yang. Because the Witch’s power could make up for the ship’s obsolescence, and no damage control or repair crew could rival the Law of Recovery.

Just the mothership itself, without any fighters, shuttle machines, or weapons platforms, was priced at 37 billion funds. Indeed, only large corporations could afford this, and Xu Yang, with his fixed assets and liquid funds, had roughly 2 billion, far from the threshold of a space mothership.

There was also the option of forsaking the combat power of an individual space mothership for a fleet configuration, which was the path of the Kyushu High Pavilion, using an industrial number of war shuttles. But that approach was more costly, requiring an even more astounding industrial system to support it.

"We could steal one," Pan Ruiyi instinctively thought of it.

"Kyoto Infinity is also selling ships," Xu Yang noticed that Kyoto Infinity was attempting to trade its motherships.

The Chika Island, the previously damaged ship beaten by the Martinez, was going for 90 billion funds.

The Yokozuna was relatively advanced and in good condition, priced at 170 billion funds.

The Orochi was held by the Tenjouin Family and was not for sale to the public.

"We can’t afford it," Pan Ruiyi reasoned, "And we don’t have enough crew and maintenance personnel."

"So, we must expand production and make money," Xu Yang said. "A mothership can project power and take the witches all over the world."

"To do what?"

"To blow up the rotting bastions of corporate hegemony."

"That sounds quite impressive," Pan Ruiyi pondered for a moment. "But that’s no small amount of money we’re talking about. We need to make a lot of money, and as it stands, we can’t. All I see are various expenses and hardly any income, unless we borrow from international banks, but then we’re no different from any other company."

"There’s always a way," Xu Yang said.

Advanced productivity had two directions: high-tech and witches. Xu Yang already had a lot of reserves in terms of witches, and the most outstanding productivity he could currently access was synthetic human industry.

He called Taro Tanaka.

"If you want to expand the synthetic human industry, I have a large piece of land in the suburbs."

"Mr. Xu wants to go into industry? Where’s the money?"

"Around 500 million to a billion," Xu Yang said.

"That’s not a lot," Taro Tanaka worried.

"But it’s our own money. We can build it up brick by brick, create our own new park, and have a faster development speed than before."

"What about the machines and equipment? Shipping is very risky nowadays."

"What about the contract factories within the city? Are they compatible?"

"They are, but, Mr. Xu, as far as I know, the factories that meet the technical standards have all been damaged in the conflicts."

"Give me the names of those factories. I’ll see if I can take over their production lines."

"But what’s the use of that... Mr. Xu, I don’t understand why you would want junk. They’re all broken."

"In my hands, even the worst can be restored, and they could be back in operation within a week."

"Are you serious about this?"

"Yes. Don’t you want to use synthetic humans to change the world? How does your synthetic human technology compare to that of the people from New Taixi State? Which one has a higher technical standard?"

"Of course, my level is higher. They are still primarily using first and second-generation intelligence."

"So, are you willing to bet on synthetic human technology with me? Your technology, my land, factories, and funds, along with many others who will throw themselves into this. To work, share, and receive new opportunities, while exploring the boundaries of human technology together."

On the other end of the communication, Taro Tanaka hesitated. He wasn’t sure if he knew Xu Yang well, but he recognized many similar individuals—those chasing grand ideals and yearning to do something. Such people were more interested in influencing the fate of the world than in satisfying personal desires.

And synthetic humans were a technology that could change the world.

"...I’m willing to give it a try," Taro Tanaka replied. "I’m designing more types of synthetic humans. If they’re commercialized, they will sweep the world. A40 is already the best living advertisement, even though it’s on the run. Are you still sheltering A40?"

"I’ll fire it tomorrow," Xu Yang said.

Of course, it was only a formal severance on the surface, and in secret, he would still have A40 continue to work.

Xu Yang drove Purple Wind to several major factories near the port district of Anjiu City.

Following the list given by Taro Tanaka, he specifically targeted steel mills and parts manufacturing plants, beginning to evaluate their acquisition costs.

Most production lines were destroyed, and earthquakes had caused inconspicuous damages that might seem minor but actually affected the entire machine’s precision controls, rendering them junk. Therefore, their prices were pressed very low. If they were to be completely rebuilt, it would require around three billion funds, a number that made most businesses balk, hence the offers were still changing.

He spent the remaining budget to acquire these nearly-ruined industries, transferring the factory sites to the suburban land covering thousands of acres. This land was vertically aligned with the new development area beneath Aizu City underground; the iron ore excavated from Nestor Industrial Park could be transported directly downwards, reducing logistics costs. The layers in between could also be transformed to serve multiple purposes.

The next day, construction commenced in the new district.

Hundreds of vehicles, over a thousand people, and tens of thousands of tons of goods.