Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 534 - 463 Welcome Back

Chapter 534: 463 Welcome Back

Farosa cried a river of tears, but Xu Yang thought she still looked beautiful—his treasure, his love, his Farosa.

She was capricious and free-spirited, with no place to call her own; everything she did was unpredictable, except at that moment when everyone knew what she was about to do. Farosa knelt beside Xu Yang, closed her eyes, and kissed him tenderly.

Regardless, she couldn’t help but love him.

Xu Yang tried to respond to her as much as possible, but he hadn’t fully mastered or adapted to his original body yet, even unable to stand up and hug her despite several attempts.

He couldn’t smell, couldn’t lift his arms, his vision was blurry and fading, so he just closed his eyes, set everything aside for the moment, and immersed himself in the hazy atmosphere.

"Let’s go, let’s go." Mizuiro Yoshioka opened her arms, guiding the other witches outside; if this continued, they’d all start crying too.

Sobs that couldn’t be stopped came from among the witches, tears of happiness. Their lives were all connected to Xu Yang, and more than that, his return meant a guaranteed tomorrow. He could lead the way, distinguish right from wrong, and provide support and help to everyone, making each person feel secure.

With Xu Yang back by their side, the chaos and fear were finally dispelled, allowing them to sleep soundly, for the future held hope.

The room grew quieter and quieter.

In the end, only Farosa, Lila, and the now-awake Little Fool stayed behind with Xu Yang, patiently caring for him.

Xu Yang lay there in silence, weakly. He was gradually realizing that his condition was worse than he’d thought; it was like being sick for a long time, unable to feel most of his limbs, almost like being disabled.

Thinking back to when Helis Sea was first used in battle, he felt there were still too many secrets unrevealed, flaws that needed fixing, and more importantly, he felt trapped again. Before, he was trapped in machinery, and now, he was trapped within a body of flesh and blood.

"Quack..." Little Fool gently shook one of Xu Yang’s hands, which was as unresponsive as wood.

"You can’t feel me, can you?" Farosa stroked Xu Yang’s cheek. "Look at you, you’ve become so weak, what should I do?"

"It’s troublesome," Xu Yang whispered softly. "I used to be omnipotent, as free as lightning, but the next moment, I was stuffed into a cage."

"...He needs care and repair," Lila noticed Xu Yang’s condition. "We must take care of Master until he recovers."

"No more grand adventures for you," Farosa kissed Xu Yang’s face. "That’s fine, you just stay by my side and rest, steer clear of any dangerous places, stay by my side, I want you... you always make me cry, make me unforgettable. But I can’t separate you from my life, alright, from today on you’ll always be with me, always with me..."

Little Fool stared intently at Xu Yang, motionless. Many things were whirling in her mind but just kept going round and round without conclusion.

In a daze, Xu Yang saw everything around him turn into characters, and when he closed his eyes, his will seemed to return to the borderless digital space once again, reality entwined with illusion in his heart.

Farosa took care of Xu Yang with patience, no matter how long it would take; she wanted to watch him get better day by day.

She moved everyone else to the Xisheng Shrine and took Xu Yang alone to a place more secure and suitable for resting, a small house on the beach. Farosa hoped the warm breeze, the hot sand, the secluded environment, and the seaside air would make him feel better.

In the past, it had always been Xu Yang who took great care of Farosa, and now Farosa was willing to accompany him until he recovered, restoring order from the chaos.

This was a rare moment of tranquility in Xu Yang’s life.

Busy tasks were erased from his schedule; all he had to do was relearn how to walk and talk with a human body, and allow his spirit to adapt.

Day after day, he walked on the beach, leaving long trails, walking poorly.

Farosa followed him in silence; they seemed like a couple abandoned by the busy world or as if they were the only two left in the whole world, with nothing but the clear sky, white clouds, beach, and water for company.

Lila was busy with the lengthy and arduous aftermath, but she always returned on time. After six o’clock every evening, they would walk together on the beach, watching how the tide left marks on the sand, and how the sunset dipped into the other end of the horizon.

For Lila, Farosa was the most surprising.

She was more patient, calm, and even willing to compromise and care for others than ever before. Though her compassion was only for Xu Yang, it was still precious and far beyond her previous demeanor.

The rhythm of life suddenly slowed down.

However, after many days of recuperation, Xu Yang still didn’t feel any substantial improvement in his condition; he was still half-awake, half-dreaming.

"I’ll go call the doctor," Farosa said softly.

Cui Junyou brought his entire set of equipment to treat Xu Yang. He had done a lot of homework beforehand and reviewed information about Helis Sea. The system was gradually coming online in other major corporations, and Hacker Graveyard had already demonstrated its terrifying efficacy on the defense end.

"This tiny chip has borne too much," Cui Junyou remarked as he performed the implant surgery on Xu Yang, chatting away. "Thankfully, modern technology prevented it from burning out despite full operation; it’s just that some brain cells evaporated. But no matter, I can fix it. This kid... look at these stunning data logs... His consciousness has become more advanced. An average person’s brain works within an eight-line layout, but he can run full blast across thirty-six data lines simultaneously. No hacker can match his computational power. If he’s to control Helis Sea again after the surgery, his performance will be even more terrifying! I’m afraid we’d have to bring a supercomputer into the match against him..."

"He can’t adapt to his body," Farosa said.

"He’s got cyber-spiritual sickness," Cui Junyou gestured, "or you could call it neurocyber discontrol syndrome, implant dysregulation, and the like. Now he sometimes hallucinates that he is still in digital space, getting all nervous. Luckily, he doesn’t talk nonsense or shoot at random, because he’s usually very restrained. But his mind... his mind thinks it’s still in the fabricated data space."

"But he’s clearly back," said Farosa, puzzled.

"That’s why I said ’fabricated data space.’ It’s a protective mechanism. You don’t understand how long he’s been there, or what terrible things he’s experienced. To survive in that place, to fight there, he had to accept that he was a digital life form, and the transformation was complete; it was powerful, but then the process was interrupted, reversed, returned."

"..." Farosa bit her lip tightly.

"Yes, it’s cruel—although he’s back to real life, to protect his mind, to make his consciousness coherent, he has to create corresponding hallucinations, meaning, his brain, to protect him, pretends he’s still in the digital space, or else it would collapse completely."

"Is that the price he has to pay for coming back?" Farosa sighed, "The body is fine, but the mind is rotten... Such a troublesome price to pay, I can’t interfere."

"Yes," shrugged Cui Junyou, "you haven’t seen how many people at the bottom run into trouble while exploring the edge of technology, day in and day out fitting themselves with pirated systems, unregistered prosthetics, cramming incompatible implants into their bodies. Their symptoms are more severe, and their ends are more tragic. Thankfully, our brother Xu worked for a giant corporation and has only original products in his body, and he’s always careful and thorough. Otherwise, it would be even more difficult now."

"Can he be cured?" Farosa pressed.

"Don’t worry," Cui Junyou replaced the data cables in Xu Yang’s brain with the latest model and patched things up, "...firstly, his spirit and will have strengthened a lot; his data computing capabilities have improved by leaps and bounds; secondly, I’ve repaired his Digital Mind System, replacing those damaged data cables. If you want him to recover faster and better, you had best let him know the pleasures of being human. This way, perhaps his subconscious will revert to the ’human’ state faster, breaking free from the cyber-spiritual sickness."

"I understand," said Farosa, "But you wouldn’t understand."

Cui Junyou shrugged and left after packing up.

At night, Farosa lay beside Xu Yang, using her mental power to explore all that was Xu Yang’s.

From his fragmented soul, Farosa could see his spirit shattered, like broken glass, thousands of pieces reflecting countless struggles, perseverance, steadfastness, and bewilderment. Xu Yang’s consciousness was lost in the cage cast by his own shell, mismatched with his body from the moment he returned.

"It’s time to come back," Farosa called softly.

Xu Yang’s spirit drifted like mist, like dust blown chaotic through the room. Farosa had to delve deep into his spirit, gathering back his hazy will piece by piece.

"I’m right here," Farosa called patiently, wandering in the immense dunes of individual spirit, perhaps realizing for the first time how vast a person’s will could be, "no matter how long, no matter how extended."

She was willing to sink with him into the Helis Sea.

The consciousness of the Witch Goddess was so intense, so deeply entwined, that it pierced through Xu Yang’s spirit web, allowing him to break through everything to return to reality.

Farosa was there, the reason Xu Yang strained with all his might to return, giving every piece of his shattered conscious something to return to. Farosa’s "deep dive" was like an anchor, providing something for Xu Yang’s fractured psyche to hold onto.

—Then, the soul was illuminated, the spirit was thrilled, Xu Yang’s weary and sluggish nerves perked up inch by inch, his perception of the mortal world gradually awakened.

He woke up completely.

The call from the Witch Goddess! Xu Yang’s consciousness broke through the confusion, shattered the illusions, and returned to their rightful places.

And so he opened his eyes, the world was far brighter than before; he could feel his limbs again, control his regular movements, revived from captivity.

Xu Yang held Farosa close, awake, smelling the rose-like scent on her skin, feeling that silky figure.

"You’ve had me worried for too long," Farosa felt Xu Yang’s recovery, stroking his hair, "a long, long time..."

"Becoming a digital life form comes with aftereffects," Xu Yang clutched Farosa tightly, "but now they are overcome."

Xu Yang felt his new strength, stronger than before, implants tuned to perfect condition, Digital Mind System running at full power and stability. In the Helis Sea, he had gained valuable experiences unattainable to ordinary people, his power ascending to a new level.

They clung to each other as if they were inseparable.

"Like before," Farosa’s gaze was hazy.

Unwittingly, it was morning.

"No..." Xu Yang whispered, "I remember what happened before, you’ve always been there with all your heart to accompany me. This is different from the past."

"Because I don’t want you to regret your decision," Farosa closed her eyes in his embrace, her head pressed tight against his chest, "Do you remember what I told you before? If you love me without reservation, I will love you without reservation too."