Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 499 - 443: Doomsday Weapon

Chapter 499: Chapter 443: Doomsday Weapon

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As a vanguard reconnaissance unit, Du Qianqian went to investigate the NCER Nuclear Weapons Base.

Nuclear weapons were the ultimate instruments of corporatism to destroy rebels. Without a qualified missile interception system, should they face a nuclear strike, it would result in heavy losses, reduced manpower, industrial destruction, and the city being torn to shreds.

For Nestor Corporation, it was the same--Anjiu City was a neutral city, not even providing support during wartime. Should a single nuclear missile approach Anjiu City, the entire company’s reputation would be ruined, and the promise to protect its citizens would become nothing but empty talk.

Its implications stretched beyond physical destruction, affecting the hearts of the people as well. If citizens witnessed their family and friends dying in the nuclear inferno, all belief in Nestor Corporation would dissipate into thin air.

So, was this battle truly unavoidable? Du Qianqian pondered in secret.

The closer she got to her objective, the tenser Du Qianqian felt, while the others in the cabin remained unperturbed.

Ten Nestor soldiers and ten "Elite Soldier" Synthetic Humans, all fully armed, carrying plenty of ammo, were delighted to strike alongside a Battle Witch, not yet aware of Du Qianqian’s vacillating heart.

Everyone could have prospered together. Du Qianqian reflected.

It would be better to avoid such corporate wars, to remain peaceful and conduct business, be affluent, trade, make lots of money—it was entirely possible. After all, Nestor Corporation was just another company. Was there really a fundamental difference between it and other corporations to justify a fight to the death that dragged the Northern Archipelago into war?

Soon, Anonymous approached Akasumi City, the largest industrial metropolis of the Northern Archipelago.

This was the lifeline of the New Xisheng Group. The city’s original owner, Iwasaki Heavy Industries, had already joined New Xisheng’s domain, providing them with industrial production capacity.

Today, Iwasaki Heavy Industries employed 650,000 workers and had 1.2 million outsourced and non-staff personnel, most of whom were scattered throughout Akasumi City in front of Du Qianqian, enduring excessive labor pressures and a hazardous working environment.

She looked out the window at the landscape and caught sight of cold, unceasingly roaring factories. The enormous industrial structures were wholly devoid of aesthetic value, with smoke blackening the sky, wastelands where the forest had been, and more and more slums patching the city like stitches on clothes—a sight so dismal that it disgusted anyone who laid eyes on it.

The sky was yellowish-brown, and the whole of Akasumi City was enveloped by acid storms, save for a few luxurious residences within the company’s jurisdiction that received special protection. The coastal area was also meticulously maintained, and Du Qianqian saw an enormous egg-shaped canopy blocking extreme weather, sheltering the beach and Xisheng branded hotels below it.

This place is truly ugly. Du Qianqian thought to herself silently. In comparison, Anjiu City had been transformed into a much more habitable place.

No one would forget that just a year ago, Anjiu City was as unsightly as any other corporate city, with a financial bubble creating a facade of prosperity, pervasive public resentment with nowhere to vent, the oppressive order brought by Century Pure Land, soaring rates of violent crimes, and Aizu City as a habitation for the dregs of society... Now, all that had changed, thanks to everyone’s efforts.

So, if Nestor Corporation emerged victorious, and unified the Northern Archipelago, would this grimy industrial city also be rejuvenated?

It certainly would. Du Qianqian thought. The boss would harmonize all parties, Lila would oversee the reconstruction of order, and resources would be reallocated, re-evaluating the entire society’s values. Moreover, with Lady Farosa’s severe nature, all the old nobility would be slaughtered en masse, satisfying her bloodthirsty whims.

It also meant that the entire Northern Archipelago would undergo massive change; a transformation not simply relegated to fancy words on paper but an epoch-making feat that would be recorded in the annals of history.

...How fascinating, Du Qianqian mused quietly. It was as if all their previous efforts were to assemble a giant stone sphere, and now their task was to push it down the hillside, to shatter everything with a thunderous crash.

From a distance, Du Qianqian piloted Anonymous, observing more details.

Akasumi City’s development was imbalanced, with many areas abandoned, their resources depleted, and their environment degraded beyond habitability, leaving behind skeletal city corpses of steel and concrete.

The city also had an ultimate landfill site so vast that, from afar, it resembled a crater left by a super bomb—with people pretending not to see it as they dumped their garbage and hurried away as if they couldn’t escape fast enough.

The city was crumbling; Akasumi City’s urban planning had diverged dramatically from its original appearance. Without external intervention, such unnaturally expanded metropolises would collapse on their own. The ecology of the Northern Archipelago was so fragile that perhaps only the introduction of foreign deities could offer a solution.

Yulong District was one of the ten newly established districts of Akasumi City, deliberately placed away from the fragmented core of the city and creating a new zone. The NCER Nuclear Weapons Base was located at its flank.

Du Qianqian piloted the Shuttle Machine from a distance, taking photographs and searching for an optimal angle of attack; the missile wells stood on the ground like spears, poised to rain fire upon the company’s enemies.

Such was the establishment of nuclear balance. Du Qianqian gazed down at the missile silos, synonyms of death, and felt chills merely looking at them.

This was the fear and oppression that emanated from doomsday weapons.

Once they fell, structures would crumble, vehicles would vanish, and humans would be incinerated. Du Qianqian could almost envision the agonizing screams of people as their skin charred and peeled away, and how the fallout would irreversibly ravage their bodies and minds.

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Du Qianqian felt the fiery hell was within reach, the pressure was immense. But if she wanted to change the world, she couldn’t wait for their downfall with self-deception; she had to muster the courage to step over the shadows.

Her heart was beating so fast. Du Qianqian took deep breaths, one after another. Once this battle was over, she would buy Wei Shiyue a ring.

One-third of the NCER Nuclear Weapons Base was hidden underground or within semi-subterranean structures. Du Qianqian observed carefully before exchanging information with the other crew members, summing up their report.

"The target is guarded by over 4000 professional security personnel," Du Qianqian sent an encrypted message through the deep anonymous network, "The main components include a large military airport, three hangars, an artillery base, an arsenal, a maintenance depot and an armored vehicle garage, a large supply warehouse, a command center, and twenty groups of strategic missile silos. The ’Shooting Sun’ class super-heavy strategic bombers are present."

Such a securely defended base, located in the distant Akasumi City, had to be directly destroyed by Nestor Corporation’s strongest combat forces. Du Qianqian pursed her lips.

Just the thought of Shijin Mansion being hit by nuclear strikes was terrifying, with everything they cherished destroyed by the blast, shockwaves, and radioactive dust.

The turning point also lay here. Du Qianqian reviewed the strategic report. A lot of New Xisheng Group’s nuclear capabilities had been redirected by Kurokawa Kana to deal with Honma Noriko’s corporate troops in the Near East Region.

The NCER Base was likely the last weapons depot that New Xisheng had left in the Northern Archipelago.

"Are we going back?" one soldier inquired.

"No... we can’t go back." Du Qianqian said cautiously, not knowing where she got the courage from, yet wanting to linger near this deathly base, "This base has everything to do with the future. We need to land nearby, set up a temporary camp, facilitating the subsequent troops’ invasion."

"Yes, sir!" they followed the order.

Du Qianqian let the Anonymous land quietly in a densely wooded suburb. Here, they set up a communications point and, using her shapeshifting magic power, disguised herself as an ordinary citizen to gather information near Yulong District.

The local security personnel were extremely vigilant; even staring at the base for a few seconds would draw attention. She had to be on guard at all times, careful and cautious.

Like a nail, Du Qianqian was that nail driven into the Nuclear Weapons Base. Her crew members covertly protected the Anonymous, establishing an operations base, securing a retreat path for Du Qianqian.

Hiding in a shop selling antiacid raincoats, she bargained with the owner in a low voice while keeping an eye on the towers and hangars inside the NCER Base in the distance.

She had once dedicated herself to a particularly meaningful cause, leaving her unnamed merits in this corporate war destined for the history books. Du Qianqian recorded the files, thinking that having this experience in life was enough.

Just then, she noticed a giant armed helicopter with the New Xisheng logo approaching quickly. It circled the NCER Nuclear Weapons Base, and after verification, it was allowed to land in the middle of the apron.

Du Qianqian turned her head away; looking any further would be too obvious.

After the helicopter arrived, company soldiers quickly pushed out a trolley from the semi-underground bunker, carrying a struggling Battle Witch. She was wrapped from head to toe in a white plastic bodysuit, which began tearing due to her violent struggles, her muffled screams piercing to the core.

"Pardon me, I am Ueda from Rapid Response Team Four," a powered armor soldier carrying a bomb cannon jumped down from the helicopter. The heavy powered armor stood 2.6 meters tall, making him appear like a miniature giant among the ordinary security personnel.

"Report, I am Great Nagano from NCER First Squad. I’m very sorry, she has been shouting since yesterday," the base security personnel responded carefully, "She has been subjected to some kind of mental stimulation and needs to be contained in a designated facility."

"At a time like this? We need combat power everywhere." the powered armor soldier said sternly, "Treating a Battle Witch like this is damaging company property."

"We are just following the procedure, no use telling me." The security personnel shrugged, "In this state, she can’t possibly fight."

The powered armor soldier single-handedly dragged a cryogenic chamber down from the helicopter, threw the struggling Battle Witch inside, then locked the hatch and started the containment program. Her struggles and screams were all sealed behind the cold metal, eventually falling silent as the calming gas was released.

"The NCER Base is of utmost importance." the powered armor soldier warned, "Be careful of any suspicious individuals."

He looked around; the base was shrouded in gloom, a sulfuric acid storm ravaged nearby Akasumi City, a vision of the apocalypse. The personnel stationed here needed to be rotated regularly to avoid irreversible lung diseases.

"This place is bound to be a primary target." the security personnel looked out towards the strategic bombers on the runway, "...We have all signed contracts to dedicate our lives to the company. No worries there; if the enemy comes, we will fight to the end."

"You said earlier that she has been shouting." the powered armor soldier snapped back to attention, "What exactly was she shouting?"

"’The Witch Goddess is coming’," the security personnel had mixed feelings, "’The Witch Goddess is almost here,’ she shouted. Yes, Sergeant Ueda, that’s what she has been shouting, all morning long."