Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 586 - 498: If There Is Sushi

Chapter 586: Chapter 498: If There Is Sushi

Rinne wasn’t even sure if Lu Jing had really promised to give her the Digital Mind.

Now, looking at Lu Jing who possessed the Digital Mind, Rinne felt a little like leaving the team.

If she had the Digital Mind, she would have completed all her courses by now, becoming a manipulator of the Helis Sea, able to serve as Mr. Web Monitor’s assistant, standing tall and proud, indispensable to the Nestor Corporation.

Her power would have been a hundred times stronger.

Instead, she could only continue to spend day and night with Lu Jing within the team.

Rinne walked at the end of the group, Hosoda Yoshiyuki held his hands behind his head, clearing the way with an attitude as if he was ready to kill at any moment, while the rest were protected in the middle.

They planned to set off to capture Ya Kou Liu Li, but the weather was turning bad, the sky over Shangjing was overcast, and a downpour was imminent. Rinne sighed in relief. If she had to act alongside Lu Jing like that, she would rather die. Now, at least there was a buffer window.

The rumbling sound of machinery in operation rose as huge dividing Canopies lifted from the tops of various well-known buildings. Extending metallic slopes on either side, they intended to dump the impending rainstorm into the nearby streets. Nearly a hundred such iron Canopies rose in succession from the tops of high rises, resembling the soaring roofs of ancient Heavenly Guardian Pavilions, thereby protecting the buildings themselves from the sudden downpour.

In an instant the heavy rain arrived. Rinne initially thought they were overreacting, but she soon realized that the torrential downpours of the Northern Archipelago were indeed terrifying. With the sudden fierce rainstorm, the twenty-four intersecting drainage channels spanning Shangjing were all opened. These super channels were originally disguised as broad double sixteen-lane highways, but now the roads opened like fans, revealing the wide and deep tunnels beneath, where rainwater was diverted to the sea. They could accommodate a torrential downpour for seven days and nights, a governance strategy for an immense cityscape.

Rinne and her teammates stood on the sidewalk, watching the road suddenly split in front of them. The surface shook and unfolded downwards, extending deep into the drains. The road became an abyss, all around, red no-entry lights blinked on. If one fell into the channel while it was opening, no insurance company would take responsibility.

"Let’s go into the shop and discuss the plan," Lu Jing, seeing the rainstorm hurtling down, pulled everyone into the nearby conveyor belt sushi restaurant before getting soaked.

Due to the economic downturn, business was not good. Such street-side restaurants welcomed any customer with open arms. Seeing a large group of live clients entering, the entire restaurant’s staff came forward to greet them, bending over with enthusiastic bows and eagerly leading them into a spacious group booth. They all wore white headbands and aprons, while the women wore traditional attire, including white cloth socks, wooden clogs, and pink silk brocades.

Rinne liked the interior décor of the place, which had a simple yet cozy atmosphere, with local features such as wooden floors, soft walls, and square lanterns. The server laid out pale brocade cushions with a design of flying birds for each person.

Dangling above were smart screens. On the central long table, virtual food appeared in three-dimensional projections. Just swipe the cash card, and the real food would shoot out from underneath the platform, one-to-one replacing the original images.

Two geisha Synthetic Humans, their faces painted stark white, entered the booth, bowing respectfully to them before sitting in a small partition at the end of the booth. They drew the curtains and gently plucked the shamisen, adding to the elegant atmosphere.

This location had an excellent view of the street. The floor-to-ceiling windows were square and enormous, allowing a view of how the heavy rain and storm wreaked havoc on the streets. The citizens outside braved the downpour on their way, and some Shuttle Machines zoomed past the curtain of rain, looking hurried and engrossed in their busy mundane lives. In contrast, Rinne sat in the booth, dining with her teammates, suddenly feeling doubly comfortable.

Rinne bought plate after plate of prawn rolls, never seeming to get enough of the fresh maritime flavors. The three-dimensional images were too realistic, as if they were still steaming with aroma.

After the meal, Rinne looked up to see Lu Jing staring at her.

She didn’t know how to respond to Lu Jing and was forced to cross her arms over her chest, closing her eyes to play it cool.

She searched entertainment news in her brain processor, trying to divert her attention. Even with her eyes closed, she could see the virtual images generated by circuit signals, and a semi-transparent interactive panel appeared in her vision, allowing her to browse some simple information.

Seeing this, Lu Jing also turned her gaze away, using her Digital Mind to carry out some operations and calculations, getting used to its effects. To her, the buzzing in her head from the Digital Mind was fascinating; it was indeed a rare piece of technology with astonishing results.

Rinne’s processor was a "Obscure Moon-140" model from the Namisis Group, which was very fast; but Lu Jing’s was a "Zou Wu" model from Heavenly Cardinal Manufacturing, even faster than Rinne’s.

If Rinne knew that Lu Jing now had a thinking and computational ability that surpassed her own, her emotions would probably be even more strained.

On the entertainment news front, Rinne found a screenshot of a chat, currently rising rapidly on the trending list—a conversation leaked by someone unknown.

——

"My tail is quite big, do you want to see?"

"I want to see. Seeing those love-filled posts from your boyfriend fans lately has made me feel even more thrilled~"

"Anyway, I’m hot right now, fans worship me just like they used to worship Suzukawa Kiyo, they will all pay me regardless."

"I want to message you like before, Doi, so happy I’m rolling my eyes~"

"Hearing you say that, I love you even more... from body to soul, the same love, an undivided love..."

"Then we’ll keep sending them till morning~ Remember to call me ’mommy~’"

----

It seemed like a nonsensical yet oddly intriguing dialogue, but when one thought about who the person with a tail could be, everyone inevitably thought of the currently popular Wei Shiyue.

Could the national idol Wei Shiyue have a potential boyfriend? This news couldn’t help but shatter the hearts of fans, plunging them into a state of near-collapse, as they clamored for Wei Shiyue to give an explanation. Yet Wei Shiyue had not made any definitive statements.

As for who had released such an image, putting Wei Shiyue at the center of public opinion, it was impossible for people to know.

Why communicate through messaging, anyway? Rinne pondered. It was too bizarre.

If Wei Shiyue had a boyfriend, they could just do it normally, so why create a psychological illusion through the exchange of voice and text messages? Didn’t it feel too fussy?

The world of idols was truly unfathomable, especially with Wei Shiyue having just started using a virtual image recently, making everything all the more complicated.

Thinking of Wei Shiyue, Rinne did some searching and discovered that Wei Shiyue’s earnings in March alone had already exceeded 33 million. The moneymaking ability of idols could only leave Rinne feeling ashamed. The world was too vast, with people living in all sorts of circumstances; it was best not to interfere with others’ circles.

Looking around the room, Rinne saw Lu Jing, Hosoda Yoshiyuki, Seeking Shadow, Nidelaide, and Chiyuki Sajou, each with different personalities, backgrounds, family circumstances, and abilities. Yet now they were all in the same private room, busily making sushi together, which surprisingly gave Rinne a sense of harmony.

A new team—it was something she was gradually getting used to.

This was her new team, codenamed "Disciples," Nestor Corporation’s secret front line. They were like gloves used for dirty work and were, to some extent, followers of Mr. Web Monitor.

Rinne quietly savored this peaceful and united atmosphere.

Just like the teams of the past.

She had joined many mercenary teams, and in each team, Rinne had her good times. She took on the role of Hacker Witch, accomplishing her missions, helping her comrades steamroll through obstacles, facing dangers together, surviving in perilous zones, and then sharing the bounties and rewards. They passed the time with beer, drugs, and chemical pleasures, living a life of drunken bliss, as if the whole world were an endless Paradise, until the next day’s dawn when the middleman responsible for issuing tasks sent a message, pulling them back to their exhausting lives.

Those days were far behind her; now, there were no dubious middlemen, only the friendly Mr. Web Monitor, who generously shared his knowledge with her. In reality, the knowledge and technology provided by Mr. Web Monitor were priceless treasures, making Rinne feel indebted, as the tasks she currently completed were nothing compared to the technical documents he provided.

And moreover...

Would the "Disciples" team continue on? Or would it be destroyed by a large company, just like the tragedies she had experienced before?

Rinne sighed at the thought of her lively and lovable friends; she was somewhat reluctant to part with them.

"Aren’t we adding a new member? I’ve found a good candidate," Lu Jing said, using Digital Mind. She looked up at the smart screen, which flickered once, turning on by itself, receiving the files sent by Lu Jing, and began to switch content.

She completed each detail in an instant.

If it were Rinne, she would need to enter the operating system to make careful adjustments, but with Digital Mind, Lu Jing could accomplish it with just a thought, effectively becoming a "deity" capable of controlling electronic devices.

This was the technological foundation of a giant corporation. Heavenly Cardinal Manufacturing had performed a procedure that turned Lu Jing into a holder of the coveted Digital Mind, something Rinne could only look up to like an ant. With this thought, Rinne felt especially disheartened. Even though Lu Jing had not yet shown any capability in hacking or decryption, if she applied herself to learn, she could reach a decent level in a short span of time.

In terms of hacking or magic power, Rinne felt she wasn’t in the same league as Lu Jing anymore.

She tried to look as if it didn’t matter to her.

On the screen, there was an image of a rugged Monk Soldier, with a tall stature, wearing a beautiful grid-patterned bamboo mask, clad in a full set of a monk’s woven cloak, interspersed with cryptic symbols, carrying an oversized monk’s staff and a Cross Spear on his back.

"A Monk?" Hosoda Yoshiyuki asked, "I thought they were extinct."

"Yes, the last monk from the Northern Archipelago." Lu Jing nodded, "A lineage of Monk Soldiers who use Cross Spears, rivaling Ninjas. He’s currently residing in an ancient monastery on the outskirts of Akasumi City, which happens to be en route for us. Wouldn’t having such a formidable Monk Soldier join us give us a better chance against Kano Masato?"

"Then let’s find him and get his help," Hosoda Yoshiyuki said firmly, "He’s probably troubled by Kano Masato prowling around nearby too."