Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 564 - 482: Joining the Company

Chapter 564: Chapter 482: Joining the Company

In Shijin Mansion, Rinne was immersed in joy.

Breaking through was just great... It was so good to be able to hack the "Evil Beast"!

In under 3 minutes, she successfully bypassed 48 layers of encryption algorithms, embedded her own Trojan program into the "Evil Beast"’s brain, restricted his movements, and ultimately led to his being attacked by unit 101.

An unparalleled excitement and joy permeated Rinne’s body.

I won, I won!

Her heart was pounding furiously, and the voltage in her various components increased slightly.

As the current passed through the bundles of her spine, the frequency of Rinne’s body trembling increased dramatically. Her feet kicked away the ice blocks, her body still connected to wires; she couldn’t help but open her eyes and shouted across the room to Xu Yang, "I did it!"

"Defeated the enemy?" Xu Yang was still lying on his hammock, in good weather with clear skies, not too dry, not too chilly.

"Yes!" Rinne drew out her tone, "I won!"

She lay down, submerging her beautiful clavicle in the icy water, enjoying the refreshingly chilling sensation. She took a deep breath, and from the nitrogen cooler up high, streams of ultra-cold mist were sprayed out, causing her internal thermostat to sound an alarm, signaling that she should finish up her work quickly and adjust the room temperature to avoid irreversible damage.

Rinne reduced the operating power of her internal components, and the sound of the motor inside her chest cavity gradually ceased. She sent a stop command to the cooling device, climbed out of the bathtub, and just grabbed her coat before coming out.

"I’ve won—I’ve won." She began speaking with excitement, and then her tone shifted to an unrestrainable desolation, "—If only before, before I could have been as good as I am now, succeeding in hacking during battle."

"Super Remodeled Men all carry corporate-designed firewalls, they are tough for regular hackers to deal with." Xu Yang sympathized. Like Matteo, back in Aizu City, Xu Yang hadn’t even realized at first that the other was a Synthetic Human.

Rinne closed her eyes, feeling the data transmitting within the parts of her body.

"Now, I’m finally not ’just any hacker’ anymore." Rinne’s eyes remained closed, her face wearing a contented expression, breathing evenly, "... It feels so good."

If I had become this powerful earlier, I wouldn’t have been chased down like a stray dog, and all my past would’ve been rewritten.

"It shows you’ve learned well." Xu Yang commented.

Rinne opened her eyes and walked towards Xu Yang, extending her hand firmly gripping his. Xu Yang felt Rinne’s small hand, soft and seemingly boneless.

"You’re much stronger than other hackers." Seizing the opportunity to close the distance, Rinne knelt beside him, scrutinizing him carefully, "... The network monitors from Nestor Corporation are really that formidable? Your skills, experience... they’re all superb."

"Work 5 to 10 years, and you’ll reach the same level. Plus, you have good talent; you just lacked systematic training."

"Yes!" Rinne stood up straight, raising one hand while smiling, "To become the most outstanding Hacker Witch!"

"The Evil Beast’s exceptional strength must have additional support." Xu Yang recalled the destructive power of the Evil Beast, "Without our strong intervention, he really could have laid waste to the entire opening ceremony, unchallengeable by anyone."

"Nestor Corporation is the Witch Corporation." Rinne analyzed, "They’ve actually made many enemies in secret."

"So they need protection from all sides," Xu Yang said with his hands cushioning his head, "Let’s continue our partnership."

"... I’ve looked for other hacker trainers before, for a so-called ’expert’," Rinne nodded softly, "They took me for a fool, only wanting to take my money, or lock me up, trying to use me to satisfy themselves. You’re the only one who truly taught me the skills."

Xu Yang looked towards the smart screen on the office desk.

"Shall we sign a contract? An official work contract," he suggested.

"So you’ll continue to accompany me in the deep dive, to continue mastering the Helis Sea?" Rinne walked briskly towards the office desk.

"Of course. It seems we still have days together ahead of us."

Rinne approached the screen and signed her name on the document Xu Yang had prepared, entering her biometric code through a blood collection method.

After signing the contract, she stood with her back to Xu Yang, silently clenching her fist. She was fearful, afraid of being found by the company, turned into a Witch brain to join the matrix, sacrificing her computational life force, being completely dominated, limbs severed, crevasses filled, at the company’s beck and call, becoming a toy and slave.

But now, at last, she had a chance of survival from that extremely dangerous situation, right here... a new life was beginning.

"Am I ’one of us’ now?" Rinne, calming herself, turned around and sat on Xu Yang’s office chair, the icy water sliding from her lower abdomen to the black seat cushion. She stretched out her smooth, long legs, and if one’s gaze expanded slightly, it would be evident she wore no coverings.

"You really don’t have any sense of distance," Xu Yang sent Rinne on her way, "Get dressed properly and go to the anime convention to buy me some souvenirs."

"I don’t have much money," Rinne spread her hands, "I only have a few thousand on me, how can I compete with those long-prepared otakus."

"In the left drawer, pull out one and use it." Xu Yang pointed towards the desk.

Rinne opened the drawer, her expression shifting.

Inside were at least 10 exquisitely crafted, pitch-black Anonymous Cash Cards, ready for use by whoever found them, convenient and also the easiest to hack.

"... How much is on it?" Rinne’s eyes widened, licking her lips, this was too generous.

"Different denominations, like a lottery." Xu Yang had obtained quite a bit of funds through life-and-death situations, and now all were reminted and deposited into uniformly customized black cards.

Rinne didn’t scan them but instead drew one by luck, checked the number in the upper-right corner, and looked several times at the 816,000 figure.

"Is this the one with the highest denomination?" Rinne toyed with the black card in her hand, sliding it into the biomaterial compartment inside her upper arm, "800,000... that’s no small number, right?" she ventured to ask.

She had no great obsession with money, but it felt different to have money to spend carelessly.

You wouldn’t have to worry about where to buy food to save money, or repeatedly compare the prices and quality of products, let alone risk installing substandard implants.

If she had had this much money before, she could have avoided so much trouble. She repeatedly caressed her right arm, where she hid the Anonymous Cash Card, that had become her most cherished treasury.

"It’s meant for you, Seeking Shadow, and Lu Jing to spend together. They’re still in the hospital. You should visit them after the anime convention," Xu Yang said.

"You seem eager for me to leave." Rinne stuffed her clothes into her backpack, walked to the edge of the rooftop, and then turned around. "Who are you waiting for?"

Xu Yang shook his head.

Seeing that Xu Yang had no intention of answering, Rinne didn’t press further. The man had too many secrets, too numerous for her to bother counting.

She silently planned her route in her mind.

Leaving Anjiu City, it would cost 450 to take a taxi to Shangjing, 150 to take the bullet train, but it was faster and cheaper to take the little black car, though she probably wouldn’t get to drive it, so she decided to take the intercity train.

"You need an assistant, right?" Rinne asked Xu Yang before she left.

"Indeed, I do."

"I’m not ready yet—just wait... I will definitely become your assistant, please... just wait a little longer."

"No matter how long it takes is fine, just don’t wait until you’re dead."

Rinne smiled slightly. This was a guy who could make you feel at ease.

Maybe it was really possible to start life anew.

minutes later, Rinne arrived at the Harada Anime Cinema grand anime exhibition.

She entered as a staff member, wandered around the exhibition stands outside, and following Xu Yang’s request, bought two large bags of souvenirs. Amidst the noisy crowd, she realized the previous attack had left no ripple in the event and did not affect the grand operation of the entire convention. It was her own accomplishment.

A rare peace.

Bloodshed and clamor seemed far removed from her now.

Rinne wandered through the anime convention, where there were stunningly beautiful girls everywhere, as well as good-looking professional models who had no real understanding of anime and only knew that dressing in specific outfits would make fans throw lots of money at them.

People from different backgrounds and social classes came together over a common pursuit, moving from online to offline to be part of such a rare event...

Inwardly, Rinne felt her dream had become reality. She used to think herself a heretic, but here, amidst the nearly wild anime fans, she seemed rather ordinary. Everyone was in eccentric costumes, and people freely pursued their desires, with many starting to do it right in the booths, unable to wait for privacy, and there were even professional photographers.

There were so many entertaining "plots"—people dressed as famous virtual idols doing it with fans, characters with yellow hair from various animes doing it with the female protagonists, and various half-human, half-animal fluffy creatures...

The corporatist cities of the Northern Archipelago were completely different from the West Coast of New Taixi State. Rinne certainly broadened her horizons on this visit.

In New Taixi State, citizens with status regarded themselves as non-human species, brutally killing and abusing immigrants to the West Coast, which was the only corporatist city in New Taixi State open to the outside world. Every year people went there to chase their dreams; bloodshed, violence, and the pursuit of fame and fortune were all too common.

The situation in the Northern Archipelago was different; with corporations and malls everywhere, everyone was engaged in tough and high-pressure work. Rinne had also visited Jialong Slope, Lundinium, and Xinye City, each with its distinct character.

Perhaps fragmentation is the primary quality of modern society.

Rinne sat on the colorful railing, sipping soda and watching the festivities of the Paradise area. There were over four hundred girls and more than two thousand waiting otaku, eagerly anticipating their turn, never imagining the scenes from the comics would play out in reality.

She still couldn’t get used to the primitive and sinful atmosphere that made her too feel strange deep inside. After buying the souvenirs, Rinne hurried to the nearby medical center to visit Lu Jing and Seeking Shadow.

Because they were still in critical care, Rinne could only stay outside and scan for potential criminals in the cinema while watching the news, waiting.

Throughout the day, she stopped at least five attempted bombings of the anime convention. These plots were nothing compared to the previous "Evil Beast" attack, easily neutralized.

At 9 PM, as the anime exhibition officially closed and cleared out, people entered the cinema to watch the premiere of "Siphon!" Lila lowered the defense level of the area, confirming there were no major threats left.

Only then did Rinne fully relax. In the rest area of the medical center, she looked up at the smart screen. The theme song was about to play, and tens of thousands eagerly awaited it, including millions and billions of live audience members from around the world, all anticipating the first episode of the first season of "Siphon!"

As the elevator arrived, she turned to see Nidelaide coming.

"You?" Rinne glanced at the ongoing premiere and then at Nidelaide. "Aren’t you supposed to be there? I remember you bought a ticket."

"I just found out Seeking Shadow was seriously injured." Nidelaide stressed, "Otherwise, I would have come sooner."

"Huh." Rinne looked away, "Don’t worry, they’re not in life-threatening danger."

As they spoke, the doors to the operating room opened and Lu Jing came out, carrying Seeking Shadow on her back. When she saw Rinne and Nidelaide waiting there, Lu Jing was both shocked and delighted.

"You’re here! Quick, help me," Lu Jing set down Seeking Shadow. "We have to make it to the live premiere."

"Go to the live event? It’s crowded and a hassle," Nidelaide carried Seeking Shadow on his shoulders, "We can watch it right here."

"I want to see what the premiere is really like," Seeking Shadow insisted. "I want to know... who we’ve actually helped."

"Such a good kid, looking so fragile," Rinne wrapped Lu Jing’s arm over her shoulder, "Do you need me to carry you?"

"Eeek..." Lu Jing weakly protested, but as Rinne picked her up, she went limp, "What exactly are you grabbing at!"

And so, Rinne, holding Lu Jing, and Nidelaide, carrying Seeking Shadow, headed together to the premiere venue.