Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 562 - 480 Evil Beast

Chapter 562: Chapter 480 Evil Beast

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Seeking Shadow carried the Ion Sword "Shadow Kill" on her back and dressed like a female ninja who roamed the night, her body outfitted with simple protective gear, attempting to ensure the safety of the dedicated comic enthusiasts.

Because of Nidelaide’s influence, Seeking Shadow understood why they were so obsessed.

The answer was "continuity."

In their economically challenging middle school days, anime was affordable and readily available escapism, allowing them to shift attention away from the pressures of schoolwork and social relationships.

This habit, fueled by continuity, lasted into adulthood as their financial means grew. Hobbyists not only followed anime to the end, but also tried to complete original manga, light novels, and games, purchased merchandise, engaged in fan creations, and donned cosplay costumes to express their love for the works in various ways.

The companies also fanned the flames to ensure people had concentrated time to consume anime. A hundred years ago, Kyoto Infinity already paid great attention to the development of Sunday public holidays, turning them into gathering days for anime fans, with most districts providing anime exhibitions and parks open on Sundays.

Besides, this is Shangjing.

The local economy was booming, driving the anime industry to greater heights. In such a luxurious metropolis, many local citizens were born with superior opportunities and assets.

When their parents bought houses and lands in Shangjing, they had finished all the hardships for them, and all they needed to do now was enjoy life and taste all the pleasures that life had to offer.

In other words, most of today’s attendees were like Brother Fu, but Seeking Shadow treated all humans as equals.

"There are numerous happy comic enthusiasts," said Seeking Shadow. "45,000 tickets sold, even Nidelaide is queuing at the entrance."

"Is it crowded? Open your camera’s eye access to me," suggested Rinne.

Seeking Shadow granted Rinne access to her data transmission, allowing Rinne to observe through her vision.

It was now Sunday, 9:50 AM, and like sardines waiting to be packed into a can, the crowd was eagerly anticipating.

Whether approaching on foot, by shuttle machine, by cinema bus, or flying in themselves, anime enthusiasts thronged, waiting for the park to open at 10 AM to fully enjoy the anime festival.

"Quite a few threats," Rinne received the shared document from Seeking Shadow.

The Nestor Corporation was intensifying its public safety protection, restricting the rising "Witch Hunting Squad" and "Human Purity Group."

The division of labor was clear: Lila was responsible for using scanning magic power to monitor the most critical air and land ports, as well as commercial ports, checking for foreign entrants and weapons.

The rest dispersed to protect other key areas to prevent crimes.

At the Harada Anime Cinema, in addition to the 4,000 Nestor Corporation security personnel, there were also members of the "Secret Front" comprised of Seeking Shadow, Rinne, and Lu Jing, tasked with protection, dealing with difficult situations that regular soldiers couldn’t handle. Seeking Shadow was in charge.

"All units be alert," Lila personally monitored the state of Harada Anime Cinema. "There’s a dangerous person among the ticket buyers, a senior mercenary codenamed ’Evil Beast,’ real name Ryan Adams, from Britannia."

"Understood," acknowledged Seeking Shadow.

Someone like him, a professional mercenary, who bought a ticket to enter Harada Anime Cinema, was certainly not there to watch an anime premiere and must have had other motives.

His blatantly buying a ticket to enter could well be a provocation from hostile forces, wanting to test Nestor Corporation’s security capability.

"It’s hard to find this ’Evil Beast’ in so many people," observed Rinne. "There are too many."

"He will be stopped at the entrance security check," said Seeking Shadow.

Seeking Shadow shifted her view to the throng of enthusiasts, where the crowd was densely packed.

Influenced by Nidelaide, Seeking Shadow roughly knew what the anime enthusiasts outside Harada Anime Cinema were up to—more than half of them came dressed in cosplay costumes, with countless adorable fatties and beautiful girls.

Seeking Shadow’s enemy identifier would automatically scan for weapon carriers who posed a potential threat, and they carried all kinds of weapons, ranging from specially ordered large fantasy weapons to inexpensive 3D-printed swords. Her vision was filled with a dense array of red dots—if she were to annihilate each one, Seeking Shadow would have to be disassembled and thrown into the recycling bin.

Various factors added to the difficulty of finding "Evil Beast." The man was a master of disguise, and infiltrating the cinema was far too easy for him.

If "Evil Beast" slipped through the security check, they could only rely on the cameras spread throughout the cinema to track his movements—a few mass surveillance devices the Nestor Corporation still used.

Finding a balance between individual privacy and public safety was difficult. Seeking Shadow analyzed silently.

If they expanded the scope of information surveillance, by forcibly implanting programs in everyone’s cell phones and terminals, or even planting monitoring chips in everyone’s heads, naturally, the frequency of unexpected attacks would decrease.

But at that point, it’s feared that developers of the surveillance tools might use them for other things, not limited to preventing dangers.

Such mass surveillance could do too much, easily trample on everyone’s rights, and gut the concept of privacy.

In the era when the Century Pure Land System was still active, no one had the opportunity to criticize or accuse corporate affairs; instantly, they would be targeted and apprehended by ninjas, humans would fall silent, or express subtle dissent.

The Nestor Corporation must not reproduce that suffocating, oppressive society, hence it was crucial to find a balance between the two extremes.

As for how effective this is, the security work of this premiere would be a test.

This was the value of her existence. Seeking Shadow understood. The justice exercised by an individual could fill the gaps in a grand plan, working silently in the background to help people live free of fear.

It was essential to identify the super-mercenary "Evil Beast" amidst these joyous anime fans.

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Seeking Shadow carefully examined the citizens trying to enter. She only needed to recharge to work, whereas humans required a variety of amusements to regulate their emotional levels.

"Oh my!"

"Siphon! is the best!"

"I want to marry Wei Shiyue!"

"Long live Paradise!" The anime fans chattered on, gathering in groups.

Once the entrance time for Harada Anime Cinema arrived, the high-voltage electric light screen dissipated, and they streamed in unceasingly.

"There’s word of a killer mixed among the crowd. Be careful. The 45,000 attendees who have the leisure to join the convention are all potential gold mines, pampered and privileged," Du Qianqian messaged Seeking Shadow, "Don’t let them die or get scared off. We’re partnering with Kyoto Infinity for the premiere, and 15% of the profits will go to Nestor Corporation."

"So, we’re protecting them for the funds?" Seeking Shadow asked.

"What else? It’ll be too late once they get old," Du Qianqian couldn’t be bothered to waste more words with the Synthetic Human and quickly cut off the communication.

Thanks to a significant expansion by Nestor Corporation, ample manpower was now available. A full 4000 company security personnel patrolled inside and outside the park.

Such abundant security forces ensured that any minor disturbances were contained immediately, and within the first 10 minutes of opening, they had already caught 8 lewd molesters.

"No alarms during entrance security checks, but the Evil Beast may have already infiltrated," Seeking Shadow gathered information, "so far, we’ve only found some minor offenders."

"I’m now tapping into the cinema’s network module to control all cameras and am comparing suspicious individuals against the deep anonymous network database," Rinne messaged Seeking Shadow. "As soon as I find a threat, I’ll notify you straight away."

"Understood!" Seeking Shadow acknowledged.

Cameras fixated on each critical entrance and exit of the cinema; the main entrance saw an average of 300 people per minute, and many covered key facial information, dodging the scanners and blending into the crowd to enter the park, marking themselves as potential disruptors in the surveillance system.

Some avoided security checks inadvertently, but others were real assassins, with "Evil Beast" possibly among them.

Possibly, "Evil Beast" was merely a distraction, Seeking Shadow deduced, the real threat targeting the premiere lurking elsewhere.

Seeking Shadow lay perched on the edge of the railing, looking down at the bustling crowd inside and outside the park. She had always operated in the darkness of night and had never before witnessed such prosperity under the daylight.

So many people...

The anime fans earned money for the sole purpose of buying figurines and fanzines; they worked out to fit into cosplay outfits; they spent on upgrading implants and undergoing body modifications to resemble their favorite anime characters more closely.

They lingered at various booths, spending liberally, indulging in their passions, walking with old friends, or meeting new ones through shared interests. The gaming booths were also packed with esports experts battling for prize money.

Food and drink were freely available, greatly enhancing the event’s appeal, with outdoor live streamers taking advantage of the moment for team-building activities and meeting fans offline.

In addition, clean compartments, bedding, cushions, and tents were prepared in the designated Paradise area, where skilled girls awaited, and for a modest sum, otakus could indulge with cute cosplaying girls and female Synthetic Humans, revelling in youthful pleasures.

For any participant, this would be an unforgettable day.

"I’m here!" Lu Jing climbed onto the rooftop of the cinema from behind and walked over to Seeking Shadow.

"The enemy is getting closer," Seeking Shadow shared the information she received with Lu Jing, identifying individuals with suspicious behavior and high degrees of suspicion captured by the cameras.

Time ticked away without any risky incidents, for the time being.

They held on to a glimmer of hope, believing that the attackers had not paid excessive attention to this event, or that their security forces had kept all suspicious individuals outside the venue.

Rinne compared the data of these suspects with the database in the deep anonymous network, exchanging information, refining models, and was alarmed to discover that the most suspicious disruptor had appeared.

"Be careful," Rinne sent an urgent message, "we found him—Evil Beast!"

She presented the relevant report to the cinema’s defense unit, letting Seeking Shadow decide how to proceed further.

The appearance of such senior mercenaries at an anime convention was undoubtedly a ticking time bomb.

"Code-named ’Evil Beast,’ 45 years old, became an independent mercenary after leaving the End-Warriors. Involved in a series of intense battles, battle-hardened... apprehended in Agave Continent, redeemed by a certain organization four months ago, with special exemption from war crimes..." Lu Jing closely observed "Evil Beast’s" file, "...expert in causing large-scale destruction, extremely strong combat capabilities."

Seeking Shadow switched cameras, and Rinne marked the target.

"Evil Beast" was a tall, burly middle-aged man wearing a black faceless mask, dressed in a white open-collar shirt with his hands in his pockets, sporting light brown short hair. He looked like an ordinary middle-aged mercenary, silently moving through the crowd at the convention, blending into Harada Cinema without lingering at any booth.

"The outside security checks missed such a dangerous guy?" Lu Jing was shocked, indeed, well-prepared enemies could easily infiltrate such large-scale events.

"He is no simple matter," Rinne warned them with a serious tone, "... this mercenary has at least a hundred lives on his hands, and if you count secondary disasters, he’s responsible for the deaths of several thousand more."

Once a member of the End-Warriors, a top military group in Taixi Continent with experience in over a hundred battles and implanted with high-end prosthetics, his combat abilities were extraordinary...

"It’s a stroke of luck that such a character was detected before taking any action," Seeking Shadow got up from the rooftop, "We have to find a way to capture or take down this guy. But we can’t alarm the others. We need to keep the situation as contained as possible."