Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 373 - 337 Top-notch Technology

Chapter 373: Chapter 337 Top-notch Technology

On a knife-edge.

Xu Yang gazed at the battlefield. Within a few breaths after the battle started, the A100 and Nemesis Armament’s blades had collided 12 times, ringing out with 12 sharp clangs.

The clash of weapons was intense on the field, but the reactions of the spectators on the sidelines interested him even more.

Most guests were accustomed to a life of luxury, rarely witnessing weapons firsthand, relying instead on virtual reality for simulated experiences—understanding of arms limited to show broadcasts. Now as they watched the blinding dance of the blades and listened to the distinct sound of steel meeting steel, the eyes provided the best visuals and the ears the most intricate sound effects, far surpassing any hardware simulation. Their bodies leaned forward, pulses quickened, faces changed hues from time to time, completely immersed in the combat before them.

He noticed Lila moving to his side. They dared not hold hands in public, so Lila stealthily placed her hand behind her back, allowing Xu Yang to use his body to cover the movement, his fingers hooking Lila’s behind them. Their fingers intertwined and touched repeatedly, like entwined souls.

Bang!

Another clash.

Xu Yang listened to the extreme collision of metal, witnessing bystanders tremble to their core, some unable to withstand their fear and distancing themselves from the blades. It was clear that the enjoyment of being up close couldn’t be replaced by streaming technology or virtual neural signals.

Such an event provides a harmless outlet for people’s bloodlust, Xu Yang thought. He looked at the crowd—nearly 50 people standing on the perimeter, a luxurious lineup. These were members of the upper echelons of the Northern Archipelago’s society, including medical experts, Security Defense Officers, top managers, engineers, IT managers, actuaries, personal financial advisors, professional investors, and more.

"These guests are all eminent figures," Lila said, "We might encounter them at other events in the future."

"They are the elite of industry institutions," Xu Yang observed.

Many people constantly changed their positions, not to find a better view of the fight, but to strike up conversations with potential partners. Their children were also brought to the scene, well-behaved and busy: watching robot combat on one hand while keeping an eye on Xisheng Group members and establishing connections in children’s social circles to build reputation and inherit their parents’ resources on the other.

"Busy elites indeed," Lila could sense their movements, "Really busy all the time."

"They need to pass on their businesses to the next generation," Xu Yang said.

He knew they wanted to protect their turf from outsiders, hence the privileges and cliques, working tirelessly to maintain social contacts, striving to heighten the barriers between classes, ensuring wealth and benefits circulated within a closed loop. This shaped the real social cycle. Incumbents solidified mechanisms of intergenerational wealth transfer, basing distribution of power and resources on lineage rather than ability, sapping the system’s regenerative capacity, leaving the upper echelons incompetent and the lower echelons hopeless.

"They are proud," Lila said, "They believe I’m just a soldier responsible for the security of the venue, as cheap as the security guards at their company doors."

"They have reasons to be proud," Xu Yang said, "They have made their fortunes and passed them down through generations. Only a societal shuffle could affect them."

"They are the ones closest to the core of capital."

"Yes, Kanako and the others are the core of capital," Xu Yang remarked.

Xisheng Investment Group itself was worth trillions, not including their subsidiaries and the companies they controlled both openly and secretly—financial contributions stretched from giant corporations to ordinary companies, enormous and daunting from any perspective.

Lila captured information about them—their leather, luxury perfumes, silk, carbon fiber, microelectronics chips—all very pricey.

But she knew that they wouldn’t fare much better than the average person when faced with execution by gunfire; bullets wouldn’t swerve on hearing their reputations.

Lila sought revenge against the company that had ’amputated’ her limbs and organs; her deep-seated hatred lurked in the depths of her code, ready to unleash its claws when the time came.

The battle field still flashed with the glint of swordplay.

Each clash of swords was a heavy meeting of force and skill. After many probing attempts, A100 found an opportunity, lunged quickly with a strike, then rolled behind Nemesis Armament.

Nemesis Armament deftly blocked A100’s chop with the right-hand sword, then stabbed into A100’s back with the left-hand sword.

Bang!

The move was as deadly as gutting a fish, the sharp metal piercing into the armor, the blade cleaving through A100’s armor and disrupting the electronic link in the spine—fatal to a human just as it was to the spine.

It was incredibly fierce, eliciting exclamations from the crowd; children tried to clap in approval but were quickly silenced by adults who glanced at the families beside them, noticed their children were also restless like their own, and then relaxed a little.

Kojima Kanako was unaffected by the reverent world of fame and fortune around her—she just cheerfully shouted, uncontrollably tugging on Ya Kou Liu Li’s sleeve, pointing and commenting on the robots’ blade clash.

She was the biological daughter of Lady Honma Noriko, and who would dare criticize her behavior? Kanako was like the only bright color in a black-and-white painting, attracting much attention.

But that was an extremely envious gaze, wishing to trample Kanako underfoot.

"I heard them," Lila listened to the people’s conversations, "Two people said that she won the ’womb lottery’."

"But Kanako tore that lottery ticket to shreds and ran off to the Underground City," Xu Yang said.

"Then she picked it up and pasted it back together, it’s a non-transferable lottery ticket," Lila added.

Xu Yang gazed at Kanako, uncertain what she was thinking, especially what she valued more, her friends and nature, or her family and wealth. Which weighed more heavily in Kanako’s heart? Xu Yang actually had an answer in mind, but he could only be sure once Kanako made the choice herself.

Onlookers outside had various thoughts, but the Synthetic Human in the arena was still fighting.

Xu Yang could hear ominous electromagnetic humming coming from A100, as if it could no longer continue the fight. The Nemesis Armament remained precise and sturdy; its metal shell had been hit 19 times without a trace of damage, instead causing A100’s blade to start curling.

Too hard.

How could the Nemesis Armament be so hard?

It was like striking a mountain that no human effort could destroy.

A100 moved its feet in vain, trying to avoid the double-bladed assault of the Nemesis Armament. It had a tactical advantage and had struck the Nemesis Armament several times without inflicting damage.

It dodged a slash from the Nemesis Armament with full force, then counterattacked with its blade. A100 moved rapidly, swift as a falcon preying, smooth from start to finish without any hesitation, and pierced Nemesis Armament’s eye socket in a flash. But in an instant, the blade was jolted back by the reaction force, and upon checking again, it still hadn’t made an effective strike on the Nemesis Armament.

With its rigidity and toughness top tier, the Nemesis Armament kept advancing, limiting A100’s range of movement. This wasn’t a metal demon A100 could defeat; it was made from the fusion of Magic Power and technology, a true "Nemesis," capable of crushing all enemies.

"Colleagues say it’s like my child," Ya Kou Liu Li smiled at Kojima Kanako beside her, "I shaped it with Magic Power just like molding clay."

"Then you’re a creator," Kanako laughed.

"Who do you support to win?" Ya Kou Liu Li looked at the battle.

"I hope it’s the A Series robot that wins," Kanako thought of A40. A40 was really reckless and ignorant; Pan Ruiyi kicked it to pieces with one kick.

How many people in the world could withstand a kick from Pan Ruiyi? Her thighs were as hard as concrete columns.

Before their eyes, A100 was steadily pushed back, its defeat becoming more apparent.

In the beginning, it managed to block or deflect the Nemesis Armament’s attacks, but as the fight went on, it struggled to defend itself and was forced to use non-vital parts of its body to absorb the damage.

As the speed decreased, all its movements revealed more flaws, and all operational trajectories were deciphered by the Nemesis Armament. It pursued like a venomous snake, forcing A100 to make defensive errors.

The preloaded programs of A Series robots incorporated sword techniques of martial arts masters from over a hundred years, but this was far from enough; they needed to refine these skills over their combat careers. For A100, it had learned too little.

If only we could mass-produce A40, Xu Yang thought to himself. A40 has the most battle experience of any A Series Synthetic Human. But it’s troublesome.

Because the mind versions are different.

The third-generation AI keeps evolving, and with it, the information architecture and consciousness platform keep changing. A40’s mind version, after repairs, encounters with Huang Feng, heartbreak, and the Colosseum battles, has now reached 3.45, updating its memory files and compiling them, which cannot be directly applied to other initial third-generation AI robots.

Meanwhile, A100’s mind version still maintains factory settings at 3.0, having not evolved, truly inexperienced in world affairs.

The Synthetic Human like the Nemesis Armament carries the extremely mature technology of the second-generation AI, and its established combat logic can be mass-produced and reused, just without self-evolution.

When the battle reached its climax, A100 still didn’t back down a bit, and it wouldn’t stop unless it was completely defeated.

"Is this like a martial arts competition, a performance?" Oohara Risa asked Kamibayashi Kurou beside her.

"It’s more like an ideological conflict," Kamibayashi Kurou shook his head, "Do Synthetic Humans need such advanced intelligence... Taro Tanaka’s third-generation AI, in the end, is not practical."

"Taro Tanaka..." Oohara Risa pondered.

"Have you heard of this Taro Tanaka?" Kamibayashi Kurou was curious, "He’s an oddball; he could have had a brilliant career. I really don’t know what kind of person would turn away from money. We once invited him to meet Lady Honma Noriko, but he absolutely refused to leave his big-eyed robot."

"Sounds a bit rebellious," Oohara Risa said.

Kamibayashi Kurou looked at his prosthetic right hand, the part that Hosoda Yoshiyuki had cut off still revealing a metallic seam; he hadn’t smoothed over this crevice, intending to remember the value of security services.

"Rebellious? Rebellion makes people’s lives harder and more complicated," he muttered, "Why can’t people just obey?"