Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 347 - 316 Splitting into Two

Chapter 347: Chapter 316 Splitting into Two

Before Yanagawa Fumihiko could continue speaking, Du Qianqian pressed the end call button because her magic power was nearly depleted.

How meaningless, Yanagawa Fumihiko sighed.

Hearing the busy signal of the call ending, he couldn’t help but start to reassess this swindler Mystic, renowned for their deceit. Their communication was monitored by Xisheng negotiation experts, but no matter how he analyzed it, he couldn’t find any flaws in the other party’s words. Not a single piece of effective information was leaked; they had been watertight.

Real and fake, substance and shadow, truly worthy of ’Swindler’ Mack.

In the office, Du Qianqian’s heart was racing as she reverted to her normal state, sweating all over, with her magic circuit completely drained. Simple mental stimulation was no longer sufficient for recovery. She limply slid to the ground, only to be pulled up by Xu Yang and placed back onto the sofa.

"So, what is this?" Du Qianqian asked weakly, "He mentioned a ritual."

"We made some secret agreements with Xisheng," Xu Yang pondered, "through an intermediary, we promised Honma Noriko the gift of eternal life, which naturally thrilled her to no end, and she sent characters like Mack over."

"Oh?" Du Qianqian was curious about the details, "What else?"

"This matter is too important and too troublesome; it’s better if I handle it myself." Xu Yang sat back in his office chair.

He had to be extremely cautious.

Kanako received immediate rewards and rose in status for providing Lady Honma Noriko with such a means to eternal life, incidentally providing a financing channel for Xu Yang, which allowed him to invest in building Synthetic Human factories. Otherwise, he could only maintain business at break-even, with no means for expansion.

It’s clear that whether they could rise to power in this environment, after the fall of Kyoto Infinity, basically depended on the attitude of Xisheng Investment Group.

"Are we going to help them out?" Du Qianqian was curious.

If one hadn’t investigated their equity structure personally, it’d be hard to imagine that so many big enterprises with household names were all controlled by Xisheng.

"There are different ways," Xu Yang said, "If we gain their trust and get the huge funds they offer, doubtlessly, we could grow into the new leader of the Northern Archipelago. Of course, once the moment is ripe, we’ll turn on them directly, destroy all of Xisheng Investment Group’s foundations here, and maybe even take over the entire Northern Archipelago and become a force of our own."

"That would be amazing," Du Qianqian said, perking up on the sofa, "The Archipelago is separated by the sea on all sides; we could just close our doors."

"We can’t just close our doors and go about our business; we must maintain exchanges," Xu Yang said.

He had only discussed the first path with Du Qianqian. The second path was to find a way to kill Honma Noriko, triggering a split and civil war in Xisheng, which would greatly intensify the chaos in the Northern Archipelago and reignite the war.

At present, Xisheng’s capital is moving from the abstract to the concrete, converting financial control into actual production capacity. Honma Noriko’s children are all preparing for war, building ships and armies, but they maintain superficial restraint under her influence. If they were to declare war on each other for the family’s power, it would be a horrifying spectacle.

What if he could control Honma Noriko? Xu Yang couldn’t help but think of the third path, the riskiest and most difficult, but also the most rewarding.

At her advanced age, her fragile skin wrapped around decaying bones, she had to consume a significant amount of spices to maintain an appearance of health. If Farosa possessed the relevant ability, she could certainly attempt to dominate her.

All the threats and intimidation used by Farosa on the Little Witch could also be applied to this newly converted Magic Witch. However, they must assess the risks since Honma Noriko was the very embodiment of corporate personhood: shrewd, efficient, and cold.

Du Qianqian stretched languidly.

"So, we should be able to rest for a bit, right?" she said.

"Others can take their bonuses and go out and play. They fought a tough battle by the Golden Tree and need a rest," Xu Yang said. "You and I are going to finish off the security work for the company, clear up any hazards. We need to move around, give out money or intimidation. We’ll win some people over, scare some off, ensuring our company can continue maintaining a low profile within the city."

"But I’m already so tired," Du Qianqian planted her toes, her mood lifting, "Why not treat me to a meal? I’ve had a substantial role in the conversation just now."

"Let’s go," Xu Yang put on his coat.

Right then, he received a message from Kanako.

"According to the report from Farosa and our company’s calculations, the ritual location is at Xisheng Shrine, December 22,, at 9 in the morning of the winter solstice. Sigh, mom has already decided, my words carry no weight; that’s it, no changes!"

"Alright," Xu Yang replied.

"Farosa must... personally be present, completely unguarded, without bringing any troops or guards, just by herself, and take charge of the entire ritual. We can accept whatever situation the ritual is in, does that work? Unless she kills my mother."

"Given Lady Honma Noriko’s health, it should be hard to avoid accidents," Xu Yang said.

"Don’t joke around."

"I will discuss it with Farosa."

"This is about the entirety of Xisheng Group, and, to exaggerate a bit, it affects the direction of the whole world! Alas, we need to meet in person. When are you free?"

"I’ll come to you in a few days," Xu Yang replied.

"Yay!" Kanako was very happy.

Xu Yang put away his phone and nodded apologetically to Du Qianqian.

"Let’s go... to see what the business world looks like," he said.

"I know a very good restaurant," Du Qianqian said with a slight smile.

On the other hand, after Mack’s death, his soul still wanted to resist, but it was attracted by a powerful force and had to drift toward the Near East Region, eventually arriving inside the belly of "Dead Earth" Pomorty.

Pomorty’s appearance was that of a black giant mountain, constantly howling; locals thought it was the endless mountain wind, but in reality, it was its breathing, dragging people’s wandering souls into its belly, where they would undergo fusion, remodeling, and reincarnation. Therefore, the belly of Pomorty was also called the Afterlife World.

Mack looked around and only saw the gloomy abyss, with an infinite number of souls, most of them with grim faces, wailing loudly, expressing how unwilling they were.

"This is not where I should be," Mack said to Pomorty. "Let me go back."

In the midst of the gloom, a giant skull appeared, with only the skull able to move, forcibly dragging its own vast, heavy, bony body, like a giant skeleton entwined with chains of various sizes.

"Welcome, ’Swindler’ Mack," Pomorty said. "Your soul bears the cut wounds of a Godslayer Weapon."

The forging of the Godslayer Weapon had integrated Pomorty’s breath of death, making it exceptionally powerful, enough to crush divinity. When Mack thought of his own sudden death and its relation to the giant skeleton before him, his annoyance grew, yet trapped as he was, he could only bow his head and comply.

He and Yan Duo were of the same race, coming from above the stars, falling to the Near East Region, and afterward, they were entrusted by the Ancient Mystics with the mission to guard over death, managing the cycle of life and death for countless lives.

Mack wanted to avoid this place at all costs, and like many wandering souls, he drifted within the darkness.

"Now, tell me, who killed you?" Pomorty asked with interest.

Mack was the first of the Ancient Mystics to be genuinely killed.

"Many people," thought Mack, still frightened by the terrifying siege. The Witch with superb sword skills had wounded him with a Godslayer Weapon, "people of Farosa."

Pomorty grew solemn with respect. Initially, when Farosa had just devoured a large portion of Orcian’s corpse and then made a speech in the Throne of God’s Space, Pomorty had thought little of it, while other Mystics had their own plans, some preparing to attack her, and others contemplating her proposal, all aiming to take the Throne of God.

From her current performance, she indeed had the ability to kill an Ancient Mystic, implying she was fully capable of defending her own interests and not someone who could be bullied or deceived easily.

Strong and noble, she indeed reminded Pomorty of the Empresses that had emerged throughout history.

This Witch, ambitious, was no less formidable than they had been, and moreover, she had grown stronger slowly under the rule of humans over the world.

So...

One was an ascending Witch, who might become the Empress of a new era. The other was a defeated little kitten. Due to its lack of strength, it was ousted from the Taixi Continent, where Mystics roamed.

Pomorty actually felt grateful to Farosa for bringing such an unprecedented subject to him.

It extended its skeleton-like smoky hand and quickly grabbed Mack’s soul.

"What, what are you doing?" It felt more pressure than ever before; death did not discriminate between the strong and the weak, treating all equally regardless of rank or status.

Mack tried to escape backwards, but Pomorty’s deep breaths caught Mack’s soul again.

Pomorty crushed Mack, tearing his soul in half down the middle, leaking a vast essence of Divine Power, transforming into dark brown starlight specks. Their power was pure and mighty, sending ripples through the void of the Afterlife World, with the storm rushing in all directions, scattering innumerable insubstantial souls.

Immediately afterward, Pomorty tore Mack’s soul into two parts, one blank and one dark. It locked Mack’s dark soul in the depths of the Afterlife World as a collection and then fused the blank soul with the soul of an ordinary dead cat from the Afterlife World.

Thus, a new feline Mystic was created with three or four tenths of Mack’s strength.

"Meow, meow," the Soul of the Silver Cat stood up. "Who am I?"

"I tore apart the ’Swindler’ Mack’s phenomenon and essence, creating two independent existences, ’Deceiver’ and ’White Cat.’" Pomorty’s giant skeletal head guided the cat’s soul into the distance, "Thus you were created, a lowliest Demigod, ’White Cat’ Cali. Now go and assist Yan Duo, rescue my brother from the blizzard, and one day, we six brothers must reunite... One day, we will return to the distant Galaxy together."

The White Cat accepted the mission with care and set out for the Great Northern Region.