Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 472 - 421 Zero Hub_2

Chapter 472: Chapter 421 Zero Hub_2

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"There’s a flash up ahead, flash." The Ratman Sentinel came back, pointing towards the deep abyss ahead.

"...Cr, Crystal People?" Pan Ruiyi, having not spoken for too long underground, struggled to find her voice as she spoke.

"Yes, yes." The Ratman suspected this tall lass was mimicking Rat speech to make a fool out of them, its whiskers trembling with anger.

"Good, good..." Pan Ruiyi, oblivious to such details, strode forward only to see colorful lights twinkling ahead, where several Crystal People were resting.

Seeing the sudden appearance of an enemy, the Crystal People charged angrily towards Pan Ruiyi, swinging their crystallized arms at her.

She let out a loud shout and lunged forward.

"Weekday Slash!" She channeled her Magic Power, spinning and wielding the Star-Chasing Spear, swiftly sweeping away the three Crystal People before her; they were sent flying, smashing heavily into the rock walls with a dull thud, but the crystalline coating on their bodies remained unaffected.

"Aaahhh—"

"I’ll kill you!" The Crystal People quickly got up, rushing to swarm Pan Ruiyi.

She leaped forward, striking their heads with her spear. Although it didn’t cause fatal injuries, it greatly rattled their actual bodies buried within the crystalline shells, causing them something akin to dizziness.

Seeing the effectiveness of this tactic, Pan Ruiyi launched multiple thrusts, repeatedly targeting the Crystal People’s heads until all of them collapsed from severe concussions, their surrounding crystals still hard as ever.

This place resembled a storage room, piled with a mix of miscellaneous items including esoteric goods drained of their Magic Power; crystal bottles and Holy Grails had lost their sheen. Pan Ruiyi instructed the Synthetic Humans following her to loot the war prizes hidden by the Crystal People, stuffing them into their military carry-alls.

Pan Ruiyi felt herself sweating. What’s going on? she wondered. Should this amount of exertion cause me to sweat?

The Witch Armor was worn over a full-body, tight-fitting suit. Now, the sweat-wicking onesie had also become sticky. The smell bothered her, so she took a seat in a corner of the cavern.

"The maintenance tunnel station is just below." 101 sensed Pan Ruiyi’s discomfort, using the Farsight Orb to scout, "I’ll take you there first, the others will follow shortly."

"Thanks." Pan Ruiyi shook hands with 101, and then was swiftly teleported to the maintenance station.

The maintenance station was in disrepair, neglected and unmanned for years; once the equipment was damaged, there was no one to maintain it, but the uplink network module was still functional. Pan Ruiyi connected to the network interface on the wall.

"Are you okay?" Xu Yang asked.

"Fine." Pan Ruiyi muttered.

She looked around. Darkness engulfed the place, giant transformer boxes loomed like black walls with metal cables linking above, and the walls were plastered with all sorts of warning signs as if her mere presence was a trespass. Abandoned vehicles were piled up in the corners of the station, never anticipating they’d end up entombed deep underground.

And there were flesh masses, swollen and repulsive, like a network of veins and tendrils spread across the underground. Sticky and disgusting, they sprouted from the patchy, fragile parts of the walls.

"It’s okay, as long as..." Halfway through Xu Yang’s words, Pan Ruiyi saw the network module’s indicator light in front of her turn red, signaling some kind of problem.

She unplugged the connection and turned to see the other team members coming down one by one.

"We’re close, right beneath us." 101 kept scouting with the orb, eager for a quick resolution. Leading the group away from the maintenance station, she squeezed through an even narrower crevice with 102 prying open the rock walls with her hands, the earth crumbling under her immense strength to allow Pan Ruiyi, carrying her Iron Wings, to pass through.

"We’re almost there." Zhang Yunxi held her breath, hearing the murmurs of Crystal People just one wall away.

"The Zero Hub, where the Crystal People party is being held, is just below." 101 crouched on the ground, using the orb to observe, "I see a super leader-like ultimate Crystal Person, and there’s... there’s also a huge, extremely... ugly flesh cocoon."

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"I’m afraid Suzukawa Kiyo is hiding inside the cocoon," Pan Ruiyi ordered the Synthetic Humans to put down the explosives, these would blast a big hole in the ground, right through to Zero Hub, "I’ll open a path, you follow behind."

Pan Ruiyi applied the moon-white flames to her Star-Chasing Spear, asking everyone to retreat to a safe distance to avoid the danger of flying stones, then personally pulled the fuse to a spot a few hundred meters away, and then pressed the detonation button.

Boom—Boom—

Despite the helmet, the horrifying loud noise was still audible, the entire underground rock formation trembled violently, collapsing, and Pan Ruiyi quickly felt the world beneath her feet empty out. The power of the explosion was even more terrifying than she had imagined; almost the entire space’s rock formation shattered, and she fell downwards, rapidly dropping into the center of Zero Hub.

"Intruders!" Great Elder Al Arliz was still chanting his prayers when he immediately saw Pan Ruiyi falling into the midst of the arena, surrounded by at least a thousand angry Crystal Colossi, Crystal People, and Crystal Turtle People. The entire space was colorful and dazzling, making it hard for Pan Ruiyi to discern her position.

"Kill her!"

"Uwooh!" The Crystal People rushed forward in a mob, ready to encircle and attack.

Pan Ruiyi went into combat mode; suddenly, all her confusion, nervousness, and anxieties were swept away. To her, the dark and terrifying underground world once again transformed into another kind of place—a ultimate proving ground where she could display her martial prowess and violence.

"Bring on the challenge—" Pan Ruiyi raised her Star-Chasing Spear high, "Come and meet your deaths!"

Prideful and defiant.

"We’ll join too!" Through the cracked rocks above her head, shaking off mud and dust, pushing aside chunks of rock, Zhang Yunxi, 101, 102, and the "Elite Soldier" Synthetic Humans leapt down, ready to completely eradicate the group of Crystal People who were singing loudly, leaving none alive!

Shallow Dream crouched at the top of the fissure, rifle in hand, looking for threats.

The huge flesh cocoon also began to move at an increasingly fast pace as if encountering something extremely frightening.

At the other end of Zero Hub, the ambush troops from Shangjing United Security Company had already noticed the situation. They had been waiting here for half a day—waiting for Nestor Corporation to make the first move, so they could profit from the chaos.

"Look, the mysterious army has arrived," Ninja Master Lukano Masato was also ready to join the battle, observing the situation, "This is your chance to wash away your disgrace, Mr. Samurai."

"I cannot ambush enemies who are already in battle," the Quantum Warrior clenched Shilou Maru.

"So you talk about martial ethics, eh? Then why not act directly instead of waiting here?" Lukano Masato turned to look at the other security personnel behind him.

"...Victory is what our lord desires! Only the mysterious flames they carry can ensure victory, and now the chance for certain victory has come. Charge!" The Quantum Warrior leapt from his hiding place, leading the other security personnel into action.

This guy’s mindset had influenced a whole generation of Combat Synthetic Humans. Lukano Masato watched the Quantum Warrior join the fray, then turned to see Pan Ruiyi embroiled in battle.

He intended to strike against Nestor Corporation to avenge the death of his disciples from the Bloodshadow Group, so he performed a seal with his hands and teleported above Pan Ruiyi’s head.

"I’m here to assist you!" Lukano Masato shouted as if to help, but in reality, he spewed a blast of fierce flames towards Pan Ruiyi.

Shallow Dream, witnessing this scene, was startled and quickly activated Time Stop.

Everything came to a standstill under the constraint of time!

Complete stillness!

Immediately after, she aimed at Lukano Masato and blew the Ninja Master’s head off.