Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 575 - 489: Traveler of the Night_2

Chapter 575: Chapter 489: Traveler of the Night_2

"If only we knew which strangers have been coming and going in the vicinity," Seeking Shadow said seriously, "The local people know nothing about the colonel’s affairs, so if someone wanted to harm the colonel, it’s definitely some outsiders."

"Just ask the innkeeper when you’re free."

"He’s only active within his own shop, and the bad guys definitely wouldn’t stay here," Seeking Shadow deduced, "We must actively seek out the lurking assassin."

"Right," Rinne closed her eyes, jumped onto the bed, and lay down, "So... let’s sleep."

"Sleep!" Seeking Shadow came over and nudged Rinne, "We have work to do."

"Bad guys come out in the middle of the night," Rinne crossed her legs, put her hands behind her head, and "At 1 AM we’ll take a turn around Xijin Town, I guarantee we’ll find something interesting."

Rinne had gone to sleep, but before midnight, around 10 PM, she was woken up by shouting in the street outside the inn.

"I’ve said it before—" a hoarse voice shouted in the streets, "—It doesn’t exist! It doesn’t exist!"

Rinne quickly got up and went to the window of the inn.

She saw a tattooed, bare-chested gang member yelling in the street.

She furrowed her brows, Seeing Shadow had not rested and was already on guard, they exchanged glances and both climbed out the window.

The street was quiet and wide, a rural dirt road, with only a few scattered small businesses around. Not many people were out at night, and the shops had closed early. The newly built houses looked quite refined in the night, with tiles densely arranged like fish scales.

Seeking Shadow activated her optical camouflage and quietly circled around from the side. Nestor Corporation’s security personnel hadn’t patrolled here, allowing the middle-aged man to continue shouting. Rinne squatted down to carefully scan him.

"It’s safe, no particularly dangerous cybernetic body parts." Rinne only scanned multifunctional tool hands, storage units, alcohol fuel stoves, enhanced night vision, and similar implants.

"It’s too late, sir." Seeking Shadow emerged from the shadows and blocked his way.

"Late? It’s not late at all, not one bit." The man was drunk.

His face was covered in rough flesh, he was tall, dressed in an exaggerated red embroidered cloak, and the sound of his wooden clogs clacked as he walked. His hair was done up in a large ginkgo style, looking like a chubby sumo wrestler. Both arms were tattooed with snarling green dragons, hideous enough to be slain on sight by Heavenly Cardinal Manufacturing Members.

"It’s time to rest, uncle." Seeking Shadow scrutinized him and led the man to a bench on the side of the street.

Rinne noticed that this bench was particularly beautiful, slender, sturdy, and exquisite, made of durable, rust-resistant metal, with a canopy above to protect from wind and sun, and somewhat out of place in the old and worn Xijin Town.

She later found out that it was a new model bought with the community members’ money, with the names and amounts of the donors engraved at the bottom.

Corporations would also decorate the streets, but only to enhance the streets’ appeal and thus gain higher profits, while the community residents bought the bench simply for everyone to have a place to sit.

Fairness, unity, progress, these three principles were seeping into every aspect of life. It was unexpected for Rinne. She had been to many corporate cities and had never seen such a scene. There, the masses could only live inebriated and dream-retreat lives, even if they wanted to improve their homes, they had no chance to participate in decision-making, all waiting for the corporation to arrange their lives.

Once he was seated, the uncle sobered up a bit.

"I was yelling and screaming," he mumbled, "that was rude of me."

"What’s your name?" Seeking Shadow asked, "Are you a resident of Xijin Town?"

He thought for a long time before he remembered his own name.

"My name is Inubei," he said, "I live here."

Rinne secretly searched for information about this person, and found it stored in Nestor Corporation’s personnel files.

Inubei was tall and burly, fierce, and used to be an arrogant gang member.

During Nestor Corporation’s expansion into the countryside, Inubei, concerned about his family’s stable life, decided to cooperate actively. He provided some information and paid a hefty fine to reduce his sentence, only serving a month in jail. It’s been exactly a week since his release today.

"You kept saying ’does not exist’, ’does not exist’ on the street! What exactly doesn’t exist?" Seeking Shadow pressed on.

"Trees!" Inubei suddenly sat up and wildly gestured towards the lush forest covering Mingge Mountain, "All these trees! How is it possible? Before I went to prison, this place was barren, just desolate hills and ridges! Everywhere you looked there were dead trees! Weeds! Shrubs... But now? All trees! Such big trees! They didn’t exist before! Didn’t exist!"

The innkeeper, hearing Inubei making a commotion outside, came out with a pistol and Monkey.

"He’s talking nonsense again," the innkeeper said, "I’m very sorry. If the lady doesn’t like it, I can have someone from the community take him away."

"No need," Seeking Shadow waved her hand, "And you? Mr. Innkeeper, what do you think about these trees that suddenly appeared?"

"They’ve always been there," the innkeeper said, looking toward the forest that covered Mingge Mountain and stretched to Xijin Town, "They have been here since ancient times, haven’t they? How else could you explain it? Why would they grow so big, so tall, so vigorous... Did they just spring up overnight? Look at those trees carefully, Inubei."

Inubei faced the direction of the forest, thinking hard for a moment.

"Yes... yes," Inubei muttered, "If they weren’t always there from ancient times... how could they thrive like this? But I remember, I remember the air used to be so dirty, and acid storms would come from time to time, but now they’re gone."

"It’s all the result of Nestor Corporation’s environmental renovation project," Seeking Shadow said.

"Yes, enjoy your life, Inubei," the innkeeper said, "You’ve got a proper job delivering packages now. Your wife just had brain surgery, your daughter went to middle school, and your son entered Stamp Rehab Center. No need to mix with riff-raff anymore. If you’re willing to believe this forest naturally exists, life will be even better."

"I will figure it out," Inubei shook his head, then glanced at the innkeeper’s Monkey, "What about Monkey? What does Monkey think of the forest?"

Monkey first nodded, then shook its head, expressing a very complex meaning.

"I’m going back," the innkeeper took Monkey back to the inn.

"Uncle Inubei," Seeking Shadow pursued further, "when you were wandering the streets, did you see any suspicious people? Very suspicious individuals that don’t belong to Xijin Town."

"Yes, I saw them, really suspicious people, women," Inubei felt around his body, which was no longer in an era of total permissiveness. Accustomed to his protected life, he couldn’t find his machete and submachine gun, "Several women in the forest... hiding in the forest, like ninjas."

"I need to check it out because we think they might pose a threat to the town," Seeking Shadow said sharply, although these ninjas were highly likely targeting the colonel, it was easier to gain acceptance by framing it this way.

Seeking Shadow had indeed greatly enhanced her negotiation abilities from before. Rinne observed from the shadows. Truly, the growth potential of a third-generation Synthetic Human was infinite.

As for the female ninjas... Rinne felt on guard. She and Seeking Shadow would find it hard to deal with a large group of them.

"Go to the forest," Inubei heard this and sobered up completely, "Yes, I need to take a look in the woods... this forest, this forest is unnatural. Everyone in Xijin Town wants to beautify its existence... I don’t believe, I really don’t believe it! This forest, it must have sprouted from the ground overnight! I will prove it!"