Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 527 - 459: New Witch Council

Chapter 527: Chapter 459: New Witch Council

Farosa sat down with her back against the alloy cipher door.

All great deeds emerged from grand ideals; they had made promises to each other long ago, resolute in ending corporatism.

Xu Yang’s mind had been completely uploaded into the Helis Sea, detached from his brain, fighting with utmost courage in a digital space invisible to the naked eye, striving to prevent corporate elites from invading the Nestor network. If he exhausted too much, he would linger in the network space, unable to return to his original body, transforming into a massive amount of code in the database. What then was the purpose of Farosa restoring his emptied shell?

Farosa could not bear the possibility of her lover getting lost in the network space, yet at this point, there was no room to step back.

Xu Yang moved forward undaunted, through fire and water, leaving Farosa alone with her fear in a space she could not reach.

Looking back, their intricate love flowed like molten fire, forging an indestructible bond in flesh and spirit. Now, overwhelming fear cloaked Farosa’s mind, dreading that they might be eternally separated. Only with Xu Yang’s complete victory, returning with honors, could her resentment be resolved.

Farosa covered her face, silent; all joy and pleasure were meaningless at this moment.

Kirino Reisei quietly observed from the side, astonished to find that Farosa’s Rainbow Cloak was fading.

That divine artifact, once gleaming like phoenix feathers, was rapidly losing its luster with Farosa’s sorrow and heartache, its feathers wilting one by one, akin to the wings of a crow.

Such was the fate of a hacker. Kirino Reisei knew well how each of them, headstrong and rebellious, became a blazing fire charging towards their formidable enemies, until they were shattered to pieces.

Due to the effect of Century Pure Land, in the past few decades, most of the hackers from the Northern Archipelago were arrested and executed, their minds transcribed, turned into consciousness discs for collection, while their original bodies became foolish, silent zombies.

Cui Junyou had observed that Xu Yang’s brain structure was different from ordinary people; he was adept at converting neural signals into photoelectric signals. Now, diving deeper into the Helis Sea than anyone else, it was all the more difficult for him to return.

If a legendary hacker entered the battlefield, sweeping through the defense units, capturing Xu Yang was entirely possible. Kirino Reisei truly did not wish to witness the separation of lovers, having already experienced such tragedy. But with the situation as it was, little could be done except to hold her breath and wait, hoping for his triumph over the enemy.

"Your next task is..." Lila transmitted to Farosa.

Fed up, Farosa swiftly turned off the communication channel.

"Are you at Shijin Mansion?" Lila sent a message to Kirino Reisei instead, "Have you seen Farosa?"

"You should come back and see for yourself, he’s in danger." Kirino Reisei walked into the outside corridor; pacing back and forth, she still felt nervous about everything.

"No," Lila replied with unprecedented indifference, chilling Kirino Reisei to the bone, "You must cooperate immediately with our next move, help regroup the New Xisheng Group Witches, and stop the Yokozuna."

"What about Zina?" Kirino Reisei asked.

"She is safe. Do your job well, and after our mission is complete, you will see her," came the response.

Just like the lines she fed to those mercenaries, Kirino Reisei sighed to herself.

She had fooled the outsourced teams working for Kyoto Infinity time and again with hollow promises, forcing them to risk their lives and stir up major incidents for her sake.

It seemed one did indeed need their own status; she too had become just a tiny labor unit within Lila Nestor’s intricate control grid.

Thinking that Farosa was in the same desolate predicament made Kirino Reisei feel even more sorrowful.

Her task was to fulfill the ancient work of a "Witch Council" member alongside other members of the Witch Council.

An hour later, she arrived at the Shangjing Xisheng Shrine.

She had been here many times, more familiar with the place than others, voicing her opinions to Nestor Corporation personnel on how to deal with this colossal structure, on shutting down the dangerous super-layer network and automatic transmission terminals before and after her arrival.

"An old engineer is buried at the bottom of the Xisheng Shrine, serving as the Pillar of Humanity supporting the Giant Tower," Kirino Reisei thought to herself. With the current chaos, releasing him prematurely for sabotage would be too risky; he must remain subdued until everything settled.

For the time being, she could only obliquely suggest the Nestor Corporation avoid the containment facilities at the bottom, where an existence lay concealed, one they were not yet prepared to face.

Inside the central hall of the Xisheng Shrine, all seven members of the Witch Council had arrived.

"What about the Yokozuna?" Kirino Reisei inquired upon seeing Pan Ruiyi.

"The Tenjouin Kiriya has temporarily stopped the Yokozuna," she replied, disheveled, "October and I actually failed to stop that ship."

The Yokozuna was constructed by Kyoto Infinity with a budget of 2200 billion. Kirino Reisei mused. It would have been truly embarrassing had it been halted by just a Battle Witch and a Dragon.

"Our duty is to regroup all Witches captured by us and those controlled by the New Xisheng System," 101 presided over the meeting, "All Witches will be managed by the Nestor Corporation Witch Department; you may assist us in assessing the Witch data to determine their ranks."

"I understand," Kirino Reisei recognized most of the local Witches.

As they spoke, hundreds of Witches steadily entered the room.

Some of them had been captured in battle, while most were driven by control chips implanted in their brains, connecting their minds to the Xisheng Shrine’s mind control center. With just a slight command, they would involuntarily enter this place with no chance of resistance.

The machines in the shrine controlled a total of 900 witches, with 450 capable of attending the Council to receive evaluation, including 36 Battle Witches, 90 Production Witches, and 324 Witch Researchers. Even more controlled witches were summoned to return and would arrive in succession.

Seeing the mindless states of these chip-controlled witches filled 101 with displeasure. As they formally joined, the chips would be removed one after another, returning to them their freedom.

Rescuing witches was an important affair for Nestor Corporation.

"...Takahashi Kyoko." 101 scanned the list and immediately identified a powerful Battle Witch, a High-Ranking Witch, and a member of the Riot Control Mobile Unit.

"Present." Takahashi Kyoko stepped out of the line of witches, carrying her heavy sniper rifle SN-99 "Supreme."

The rifle had killed 49 people from Nestor Corporation in the past 24 hours, destroyed 10 military shuttles, and 66 Elite Soldiers, and now stood before the Witch Council with its user.

"Come with us!" 102 took her into an inner room, isolated from the outer waiting room.

In front of the New Witch Council, each witch would be evaluated, a part of Lady Farosa’s plan, but since she couldn’t make it, others took over on her behalf. Although they worked in this traditional manner, they did not claim to be the Witch Council publicly, but remained active under the name of the Witch Division.

Pan Ruiyi longed to go over and acknowledge Kyoko, both being members of the Riot Control Mobile Unit and having deep camaraderie. But now was not the time; she had to suppress her excitement. They had fought day and night, moving at full speed with the Iron Wings, wielding the might of the Battle Witches and eradicating extremely dangerous cyber-psychotics across the Eastern Hemisphere.

"Combat strength 8.2, intelligence 7.0, magic power 7.4, endurance 6.9, mobility 6.3. Overall rating 7.16," Mizuiro Yoshioka entered into the report, "Classified as an A- level Battle Witch."

"You have caused severe damage to the combat units of Nestor Corporation," 101 continued studying the report. "Joining our side and serving with loyalty to make amends for your crimes is your only way out. So, are you willing to join Nestor Corporation?"

Takahashi Kyoko remained silent.

"She’s just a company machine!" Pan Ruiyi couldn’t help but say, "Her personal will erased, she doesn’t have the power to decide her own allegiance."

nodded, operating on a terminal nearby like a judge. She now carried the Shilou Maru on her back, stronger than ever before.

"Authorization code HT77633," 101 said coldly. "Takahashi Kyoko, by the law of Nestor Corporation, from this moment, you will provide unpaid services to Nestor Corporation and be deployed to the most dangerous battlefields to atone for your crimes."

"Yes." Takahashi Kyoko finally responded, saluting 101 quickly.

Pan Ruiyi observed Takahashi Kyoko closely. After being highly modified, this is what one becomes, oblivious to everything, vacant and numb. If she herself had stayed in Kyushu High Pavilion any longer, she would have become the same.

Thinking of slowly removing the implants was also difficult, unless Lady Farosa could revert Takahashi Kyoko to her state from many years ago. But her psyche and brain implants were so deeply entwined and twisted that it was questionable if she could adapt to the body of a normal witch again.

The next one brought in was a member of the Xisheng Shrine Defense Witches, who had been captured without a fight by Tenjouin Shino. Today, she, too, was a prisoner.

She wore black aramid ceramic composite armor and was without her helmet, revealing long silver-white hair and an uneasy expression; she knew nothing of Nestor Corporation’s witch countermeasures.

"Xisheng Shrine Defense Unit, Ise Hanabi," 101 flipped through the report. "A High-Ranking Witch, her ability is combat precognition, casually predicting the enemy’s next move. She excels in military hand-to-hand combat, marksmanship, artillery, vehicle operation, battlefield repair, first aid, and more, ranked first in the Shrine Defense Unit’s Battle Witch sequence."

"Combat strength 6.6, intelligence 7.1, magic power 6.0, endurance 6.3, mobility 6.0, overall rating 6.4," Mizuiro Yoshioka continued recording. "Classified as a B-level Battle Witch."

"What’s the point of these classifications?" Ise Hanabi inquired.

"Mainly used to determine wages and living conditions," Mizuiro Yoshioka explained. "If you join Nestor Corporation, you will receive substantial extra bonuses and relaxed living conditions. Should you refuse to join, we will detain you temporarily until the fight is over, after which we will issue you a certificate to facilitate your job search elsewhere."

"I will join Nestor Corporation," Ise Hanabi said definitively.

Lila Nestor, a witch president—what could be better than working for one’s kin?

Thus, the process of recruiting witches proceeded in an orderly fashion. There were also many witches who had died in battle; their flesh was gathered, waiting for Farosa to resurrect them all.

Takahashi Kyoko sat in a small room in the shrine, cleaning her gun. As soon as Pan Ruiyi got a chance, she rushed in and locked the door.

"I’m Pan Ruiyi!" She picked up Takahashi Kyoko in a hug, "Do you remember me? Silly Kyoko!"

"Pan Ruiyi of the Riot Control Mobile Unit." Takahashi Kyoko felt dazed, "What are you doing here?"

"Not just me!" Pan Ruiyi pinched Kyoko’s cheek, "Others too, we’re going to gather all the members of the Riot Control Mobile Unit... the six most powerful Battle Witches of the Eastern Hemisphere! I’ll be up front, you cover me from behind with gunfire, and there’s Feng Qing... How many battles have we fought together?"

"That’s right..." Takahashi Kyoko was vaguely awaking from a big dream, "It’s you... Pan Ruiyi... Haven’t seen you for almost a year, where have you been during this time?"

"Yes, it’s me! You silly thing, I’ve been fighting all this while, even took some time off. Now come as my reinforcement, Kyoko!" Pan Ruiyi said impassionedly, hugging her tightly, "Support me from behind like before, just like the Eastern Hemisphere Riot Control Squad being reborn!"

"Affirmative, affirmative!" Takahashi Kyoko’s mind, fragmented by the implants, was fuzzy on anything outside of battle. She only knew Pan Ruiyi was someone important and clung to her, shouting loudly, "Affirmative!"

Pan Ruiyi patted Kyoko’s back, almost crying out of happiness. Her dearest friend had finally come back to her, what could be more exhilarating?