Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 600 - 510: The Evolution of Life

Chapter 600: Chapter 510: The Evolution of Life

Rinne underwent surgery under anesthesia.

Half-dreaming and half-awake, she sank into her subconscious, a melting pot of surface thoughts, where all good and bad memories floated up and down. Rinne even dreamt that she was walking on the moon, her greatest dream had come true, but it wasn’t the end—she now had new things she wanted to do, and these desires prompted her to awaken.

Shapes sketched out in random colors floated before Rinne’s eyes, she couldn’t focus until she could make out the meaning of a few symbols. A man in a brown coat waved a capacitive display in front of her incessantly.

He shouted loudly, but the sound was like the noise of a train braking before entering a station in Rinne’s ears.

"Start! Use—use metabolism...!" The man’s voice grew louder, and only now did Rinne recognize him as Doctor Cui Junyou. She knew he wanted her to start something.

So, Rinne instinctively opened the control panel of her brain processor, a virtual screen simulated by digital signals floated in front of her, visible only to her.

The red light flashed frequently, and she saw at least a hundred alerts. The self-check software scanned many brand-new hardware implants in her body, currently testing compatibility, then pairing and connecting each one in turn, so that the energy storage units in her body could recognize the implants and power them correctly.

Her brain processor, "Obscure Moon-140," handled the entire process, controlling all the devices in her body, coordinating all the new prosthetics ready to go online. They were located in different parts of her body, hence it was necessary to calculate the efficiency of the circuits and nerve control, synchronize the delays, and ensure that each implant had synchronized timing and execution speed. Only after the clock sequence was confirmed did the brain processor send out a signal, allowing each implant component to receive basic voltage and officially enter the startup program.

Click, click. The boot program completed, the sound of electric arcs igniting inside of Rinne kept ringing, like powering up a brand-new machine. Electricity conducted through biocircuits clustered to her limbs and body, the circuit boards of the implants were powered, and a series of electronic components were finally activated.

Orange and blue lights alternately flashed from the bottom of Rinne’s eyes. She took a deep breath, selected the high-efficiency metabolic filter from the control panel, and started it. Rapid changes occurred in her body; the anesthetic was pumped out quickly. Some turned into exhaust gas she exhaled, some into urine accumulated, giving her the feeling she needed to go to the bathroom. She became more and more conscious until her brain was as clear as usual, meaning that the anesthetic had been completely metabolized by the implants in a matter of seconds.

She stepped down from the surgery chair, completely transformed. Rinne picked up a mirror from the operation table beside her and observed herself. There weren’t more seams from the modifications on her body; instead, many had been stitched up, the opening lines of each body part were no longer visible. The unsightly cuts left by the black clinic had been refilled with biomaterials and would not seem so strange to others.

Rinne held her breath and carefully felt every change in her body from head to toe.

It’s... incredible, she clenched her fists, feeling immensely powerful.

"This junkpile of scrap metal is what you bought, those disgusting goods." Seeing Rinne fully awake, Cui Junyou picked up a plastic basket filled with the cheap implants Rinne had stuffed in before. They were still bloody, entangled with shredded flesh and fat. "I’ve removed them all. They were releasing toxic waste in your body—pure garbage."

Rinne faced the wall and punched it forcefully, feeling smooth and easy. Now, when she threw a punch, there was no longer the sound of loose screws from inside her arm—she had always feared that her arm would fall apart mid-fight.

"...Thank you, Doctor," Rinne took a deep breath.

"I installed two sets of implants for combat assistance and daily life, a total of 25 pieces," Cui Junyou showed her the surgery checklist. "Er, not those ’custom versions’ or ’full brand packages’ but ones I assembled from different brands. I know how to match them better. Using a single brand could lead to unnecessary markups. Look at this list: Ultimate Technology, Poseidon Company, North Star Electronics, Rainbow Human Enhancement... all from top factories, pair them with the basic stuff on you, and it’s way better."

"...The total price of the implants is 5.5 million! The surgery fee is 180,000!" Rinne turned to look at Cui Junyou. "How am I supposed to pay? I don’t have that much money..."

"Xiao Xu’s debt of gratitude can never be repaid. Just use this upgraded body of yours to work for him, that’s how you got the discount code anyway, isn’t it?" Cui Junyou went to clean the surgical instruments.

"So powerful..." Rinne accessed the panel, examining what enhancements had been added to her body. The brain processor calculated the results comparing before and after for her.

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Intelligence and cognitive levels increased by 10%; slow-release compounds improved the efficiency of neural impulses, enhancing mental agility. Brain processor firmware overhauling and upgrading, supporting 12 new technologies.

Physical strength and stamina enhanced by 170%; respiratory flow valves increased ventilation efficiency, reinforced joints eliminated exercise wear, key muscles implanted with synthetic materials to increase strength and toughness, improved automatic blood formation, regeneration, and self-healing functions, additional self-maintenance nanomed robots utilized for blood purification and metabolic processes, and a wide area of subdermal implants enhanced tolerance against toxins, extreme climates, and radiation.

Visual and auditory efficiency, along with sensory capabilities, increased by 640%; eyes and ears completely remodeled, with added complex environmental imaging capabilities, improved optical penetration, advanced scanning systems, and full-range sonic analytical abilities.

Rinne withdrew the "Butterfly" monomolecular wire with her hand, the dark green molecular thread nimbly agile, dancing at will in her grasp.

Surpassing the rank of common soldiers, low-level officers, and small-time bosses, Rinne felt that her current state was equivalent to a corporate battle elite, only below those true masters and legendary figures.

"I..." Rinne couldn’t help but show a look of joy, waving the brand-new monomolecular wire. This thin but destructive close-combat implant was like a sharp steel wire, only much more delicate and flexible, easily able to sever limbs and slash throats.

"Your level of modification has reached a quarter of your body," Doctor Cui Junyou warned Rinne, "This is the maximum limit for a Witch to undergo modifications. Any further implants will completely damage your Magic Circuit, causing you to lose your magical power altogether, and leaving you as nothing more than a modified woman. Your current Magic Circuit has also reduced from 70% to 50%, and the probability of contracting cyber psychosis has increased by tenfold."

Rinne activated her magic and indeed felt a significant reduction in available Magic Power. As a Lower-rank Witch, she had little Magic Power to begin with.

She ran to the wall, kicked off and started walking upside down on the ceiling. Such a maneuver used to consume only one-tenth of her magic, but now it took at least one-sixth.

"The magic is less... but the speed is faster." Rinne quickly crossed the room, feeling incredibly comfortable. Her speed, strength, and balance had far surpassed her previous capacities, with the implants inside her body working diligently to enhance her physical form.

"Enhancing and improving the body, many are fascinated with this." Doctor Cui Junyou watched Rinne flitting about chaotically, feeling as though he had created a Synthetic Human. He had seen too many cases, and could understand any reactions from the subjects, "Our technological explosion just happened in the last few decades, while our ancient bodies still look about the same as they did ten to twenty thousand years ago. Hence, the disparities in efficiency and endurance between different organs is vast. Bones, muscles, and the heart start to weaken by middle age, but the brain has barely matured. This is why body enhancement is necessary... using these mechanical modifications to transform oneself is both an art and a science."

"I want to fly." Rinne thought of Hosoda Yoshiyuki, who could fly at will, his body so heavily modified that there was hardly any unaltered flesh left, and he was deranged.

"Rather than stuffing jet devices into your thighs, you should just take a Shuttle Machine," Doctor Cui Junyou teased good-naturedly, "Installing more steel plates is still inferior to wearing explosive-proof armor. Too many people have gone down the wrong path, acquiring one gun and then wanting two, completely ignoring their actual needs."

"Why haven’t you modified yourself?" Rinne stopped and suddenly realized that essentially, he was just an old man, carved with indelible marks of time.

"I’ve lived for more than fifty years," Doctor Cui Junyou sighed, "During the years when my body was most suitable for modifications, the technology for implants was not mature. Now that the technology is mature, I do not dare to let some young buck perform surgery on me. I only trust myself, perhaps in the future, when high-grade Synthetic Humans and artificial intelligences are capable of modifying me. Now? Forget about it, I understand too well how those idiots would recklessly meddle with my body."

"No more surgeries?" Rinne noticed the empty surgery schedule.

"Family matters," Doctor Cui Junyou complained, "I neglected my wife and daughter in the early years, and now that I’ve made money and want to make amends, they’re living large with no conscience or shame, becoming the very type of shameless people I fear most. They spend money like water and curse me everyday, just waiting for me to die so they can sell off this clinic, cash in, and move to Taixi Continent to live. Where is the justice? I just don’t have the heart to keep on operating anymore. Look at how much white hair I’ve grown in the past half year."

"Hang in there, old man, I’m off." Rinne slipped out the back door, "I’m going to live a joyful, free life."

"Go find your Xiao Xu, heartless as you are." Doctor Cui Junyou waved dismissively and spoke contemptuously before he began tidying up the operating room, preparing to head home.

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