Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 419 - 377: Pavilion in the Heart of the Lake

Chapter 419: Chapter 377: Pavilion in the Heart of the Lake

The center of the topic vortex was still Lila.

Lu Sizhou was having breakfast with her, and as the true successor to a giant corporation, this made Lila even more cautious.

"Does this look good on me?" Lila tried on different outfits in Xu Yang’s room, ranging from military uniforms and scout jackets to black corporate attire and casual everyday wear.

"Anything looks good on you." Xu Yang spoke the truth; Lila’s appearance was exquisite and flawless, showing no signs of being artificially made. Her whole body had been carefully tailored by Xu Yang, and she was as beautiful as could be.

"How about this one?" Lila changed into a white long-sleeve jacket and a deep blue shirt underneath, looking very capable. It matched well with her golden hair and azure eyes.

"Yeah." The approval of the Little Fool.

"Then it’s this one."

Lila picked up the Little Fool and placed it outside the door, then locked the door to prevent it from climbing around. She then got onto the couch and actively handled Xu Yang’s morning routine. She believed her primary job was to maintain everything for her master and then Nestor Corporation, with everything else coming last.

It was her master who had given her everything, and every time she thought of this, her heart filled with happiness. She had collected a large number of seeds, but they had nowhere to go, so they had to be destroyed in the incinerator. What if she added a module function to herself? To raise offspring for her master...

Xu Yang lay back and stroked Lila’s hair, unaware of the fanciful ideas frequently crossing her mind, but he felt quite relieved. He then warned her to be careful, as Lu Sizhou was a decisive leader-like figure who was meticulous in her affairs. A moment’s inattention could lead to falling into her trap.

Lila nodded in understanding, as being thorough was one of her strong suits. She always considered all aspects in order to prepare solutions for unexpected occurrences and emergencies.

She got herself ready, stood up, and walked out. Seeing Little Fool standing crossly outside the door, she didn’t care and walked past it.

Little Fool quietly made a note of this in her heart.

Lila boarded a riot-control shuttle, where the chief official of the Nestor Legion, Aledy, was waiting. She was a woman with short brown hair and blue eyes, not very tall, but very solid.

"Mrs. Nestor! The ship is ready!" She saluted Lila, with full respect in her heart, considering it as a rare opportunity to escort Lila on her journey.

"Yes." Lila entered the cabin and sat down on a side seat. Aledy was the most competent among the soldiers she had recruited. Having such a well-trained military person under her avoided many troubles. Like Lila, she also came from Thousand Lakes Electronics, which made Lila favor Aledy even more because of their relationship.

When she arrived at the reserved hotel meeting room, Lila only saw a Heavenly Cardinal Puppet inside. It was made all over from jade, its body reflecting a glass-like luster, like a piece of art.

"I’m waiting for Miss Lu Sizhou." Lila said.

"Please connect." The Mechanoid took out a wooden octagonal box from under the table with a network interface on the front.

She doesn’t even want to appear in person? Lila regretted choosing her outfit so carefully. She sat down in front of the Mechanoid with an icy expression, pulled out her data cable from behind her ear, and plugged it into the octagonal box.

Then her consciousness entered the online space, arriving at a sunny pavilion in the center of a lake with fog all around, and dimly, boats could be seen flying past.

"Hello." Lila extended her hand to Lu Sizhou.

Lu Sizhou was dressed in a green mysterious robe, with dark eyes and hair, sitting upright and expressionless. Her temperament was as cold and quiet as the virtual scene itself.

"I am pleased to meet you, Mrs. Nestor," Lu Sizhou said, "Your corporation’s strategies and armed forces are exceptional. I have included Nestor Corporation in Heavenly Cardinal Manufacturing’s list of potential strategic partners."

"It is our honor."

"Mrs. Nestor wouldn’t give up another profitable security contract, would you?" Lu Sizhou said, "We would like to hire a force of two hundred from Nestor Corporation to cover a diplomatic mission of ten people going to the Silla Region."

"Haiyun is heading to the Silla Region," Lila said, "Is there a connection between the two affairs?"

"Of course, there is," Lu Sizhou replied with a poker face, "Haiyun was originally supposed to facilitate communication with the Silla Region, but our original plans were disrupted by the hijacking incident, with the risks along the way doubling. That’s why we are hiring additional troops from Nestor Corporation for support."

"What are the specifics of the timing and the duration of the mission?"

"We depart in 15 days, from January 16th to February 16th, with the goal of protecting our personnel from personal injury. Please estimate the cost of this security contract for your corporation."

"62 million," Lila said, "Without knowing the specifics of your personnel’s mission, and considering the ongoing war in the Silla Region, these funds will be used to purchase additional equipment and to provide bonuses and disability insurance to the participating personnel."

"You indeed should purchase additional equipment," Lu Sizhou said, "because we are going to negotiate with monsters."

"Monsters?"

With a wave of her hand, a banner screen appeared in the virtual space, showing a front-line battlefield scene.

Amidst the backdrop of ceaseless gunfire, a small number of troops were holding a large residential area, building by building, defending their line and keeping the enemy at bay, with a very determined will to fight. That was until a shadow swept across the sky.

"Roar—" A massive roar erupted, followed by a terrible upheaval that shook the ground, and the whole screen suddenly flashed white, instantly breaking down the urban combat situation.

A pale flame cut across the screen, igniting buildings, causing explosions and collapses. The filming source was also affected, forced to stop recording.

The pale white flame, a dragon... Lila silently analyzed.

"...That’s how it is," Lu Sizhou said, "The situation in Silla has always been vague, so I wanted to send a competent diplomatic team to negotiate. My corporate management does not wish to invest additional forces in Silla; this is actually a plan I’m pushing on my own. I hope to get military support from Nestor Corporation, especially since other mercenary legions in the Eastern Hemisphere are occupied with either the civil war in Xisheng or employed by Xia or Black Fire Innovation."

"My company will select the best 200 people to fulfill the security contract," Lila promised, "and not let your expectations down."

"So, a mechanoid in the real world will deliver the contract to you, and we will sign the contract under the witness of the Third Law Firm. May our collaboration be pleasant," she said.

"Pleasant collaboration," Lila nodded lightly.

Lila logged out of the virtual space and returned to reality, unplugging the data line.

The mechanoid took out the contract that had been prepared in advance, handing it to Lila. Lu Sizhou’s signature was already on it. Lila skimmed through the contract, found no loopholes, but voiced her own opinions about some ambiguously worded clauses before handing back the contract, awaiting confirmation from an appropriate neutral legal team.

Lila closed her eyes and sent a message to Xu Yang.

"I really... detest those at the top," she said.

"Unless we physically defeat them and kill them one by one, the world will not change," Xu Yang replied.

"We’re off to Silla next."

"We need to consider carefully who to send," he said.

"Yes," Lila thought to herself, pondering who would be suitable to be taken to Silla to fulfill this special security contract. 101, 102, and Du Qianqian were all good options.

Meanwhile, Lu Sizhou was still in the data space.

"I’m ready," Lu Jing was brought in. She looked haggard and distressed, her condition starkly contrasting with her words, "I can go to Silla at any time."

"The Rebel Army has many Witches too," Lu Sizhou said, "Your anti-magic power will be crucial."

"Yes," Lu Jing nodded, "Mireya’s injuries are about eighty percent healed, and the prosthetic eye she needs has been ordered."

"She needs her eyes to control our target," Lu Sizhou mused. "In other words, the only organs she really needs are a pair of eyes, at most plus a brain, heart, and the spleen and lungs."

"You... You mean to say..."

"What does Mireya need limbs for?" asked Lu Sizhou.

Lu Jing held her breath.

"Anjiu City," Lu Sizhou went on, ignoring Lu Jing’s hesitation, "Anjiu City is quickly becoming the largest source of anomalies in the world. You’ve encountered Cyber Specters. What exactly are they?"

"A thought," Lu Jing admitted, "A rebellious thought."

Lu Sizhou fell into contemplation.

Heavenly Cardinal Manufacturing had also lost a piece of "Cloud Beast" advanced nano armor in Anjiu City, a case without a conclusion that truly kept one interested.

Lu Jing was a girl whose resolve was constantly wavering, she couldn’t be allowed to act so cluelessly, someone had to keep an eye on her.

This trip to Silla had to be an overwhelming victory for Heavenly Cardinal Manufacturing.

On the other side, Xu Yang was studying and learning technical documents from the Formless System’s open source, to understand the related information on the new "Helis Sea" data system. The giant corporations would eventually protect all their databases with the Helis Sea.

This technology was first proposed in October last year, with the very first case referring to the Godbinding Plan incident. The investigation team afterward believed that hacker intrusion played a significant role in Yan Duo’s escape, prompting the giant corporations to develop a completely new cybersecurity measure collaboratively.

Regional walls of transmission will be erected to stop the arbitrary exchanges of web files intercontinentally. The internet will become a series of isolated ponds that will struggle to flow into each other.

"Please check on 102," 101 messaged Xu Yang, "She has been spiritless all this time."

What happened? Xu Yang was puzzled, but upon reaching the Witch Activity Room, he saw 102 sitting at the bar, soulless like her spirit had been drained, emotionless. It was as though her entire soul was locked away.

"102 hasn’t spoken a word for dozens of hours," 101 said in a low, bitter tone. "She’s... she’s like she’s sick, very sick."

Xu Yang sat in front of 102, trying to get her attention, but 102’s mind was empty, clearly suffering from severe emotional trauma.

Little Fool followed and stood on tiptoe next to 102. At a sidelong glance from 102, a faint change crept across her rigid face.

stretched out her hand to Little Fool, who quickly climbed up her arm and hugged 102, patting her kindly, and finally, 102’s expression showed a slight change.

"Ha, fools attract each other," Shallow Dream joked as she approached 102 and sat next to her, "You haven’t eaten in a long time."

"Ah—" 102 let out a long wail, collapsing onto the countertop, her tears falling in torrents, "Once I’ve cried it out... I’ll be fine... Just leave me be."

At this moment, Xu Yang received a message from Farosa.

"Is 102 still upset?" Farosa messaged.

"What exactly did you do to her?"

"Don’t worry, take her to the secret room. I’ve prepared a gift for her, and she’ll definitely be satisfied when she sees it," Farosa said.