Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 608 - 517: Deputy Director of Scientific Research

Chapter 608: Chapter 517: Deputy Director of Scientific Research

The mystical side already had the Witch Goddess Farosa as its guardian, so Miyazato Kazama took on the responsibility of developing the technological side.

It goes without saying that advanced technology is indispensable if one wants to defeat the enemy in the future.

As a member of the New Witch Council, it was only natural for Miyazato Kazama to become the head of the Research Department. Around her, amber-colored clones were busy at their tasks, issuing commands through terminals, arranging receptions and security to ensure that all research representatives could safely arrive at Nestor Corporation Headquarters, half of them in person, the other half participating online.

Over three thousand delegates, senior researchers carefully selected from the 12,000 staff of the development departments, had achieved notable results in their respective fields and had made outstanding contributions in basic scientific research, key technology innovation, and the transformation of scientific achievements.

In her style, Miyazato Kazama preferred everyone to enter the virtual meeting space through brain-computer interfaces. Cyberspace was convenient, allowing for ease of changing venues and adjusting perceptions. However, not every participant had undergone brain-computer modification, so she chose the traditional way of meeting and scheduled the ceremony for the establishment of the Research Department in a large conference hall at Nestor Headquarters.

The Research Department should have been established earlier, but Miyazato Kazama was very busy, and she had been preoccupied with various concerns. Only now had she found the time to gather the manpower and point them in the right direction.

Funding issues and authority were the biggest challenges.

Scientific research and development required large amounts of investment, with every project having its bottomless well of trial-and-error costs. Staffing, machinery, and facilities for each lab required money.

Miyazato Kazama had to ensure she could secure the funds to keep all the department’s R&D projects running smoothly.

The company’s financial budget flowed within the intelligent calculations of the Hundred-eyes Demon; according to the logic of artificial intelligence, it was extremely conservative towards bottomless R&D budgets—not every scientific project could be monetized, and many were purely academic or lacked application prospects.

The Hundred-eyes Demon precisely calculated Nestor Corporation’s finances, allocating funds across employee salaries, welfare, infrastructure, security services, military, education and training, investments, commercial operations, management, industrial expansion, culture, and transportation. After money flowed through these sectors, less than 10 billion was left for Miyazato Kazama’s Research Department.

Ten billion might seem like a lot, but Miyazato Kazama currently had 60 research institutes under her. That left less than two billion per institute on average, with even less for each team. The Kyoto Infinity Z1 Research Institute, where Miyazato Kazama had previously worked, had a yearly budget of at least 16 to 30 billion, and she knew full well how much funding technology required to progress.

Thinking of this, Miyazato Kazama felt annoyed.

If not for the dedicated efforts of the Witch Researchers in the AI laboratories, there would be no birth of such an aberrant entity as the Hundred-eyes Demon! And now, the Demon dispersed the funds to departments with higher short-term profits, refusing to invest in scientific projects.

The issue of funds was a reality, and thus Miyazato Kazama had to convene a large meeting to officially announce the establishment of the department and to enhance the presence of the Research Department within Nestor Corporation.

Another goal was to win over the hearts of the people.

Miyazato Kazama had recruited tens of thousands of scientific personnel and several thousand Witch Researchers from Xisheng and Kyoto Infinity. Many of them had heard Miyazato Kazama’s name and knew of her qualifications in military equipment development.

Miyazato Kazama wanted to use this opportunity to raise her prestige and authority further and to define the department’s ideological direction for everyone.

"Alright, come back, my different selves!" After preparing her speech, Miyazato Kazama summoned back those amber-colored swarm clones to her original body.

These clones looked exactly like Miyazato Kazama and could move like normal humans, with physical properties.

As they returned to Miyazato Kazama’s original body, knowledge, experience, and memories accumulated during their separation were cumulatively added to her main body, vastly increasing Miyazato Kazama’s intelligence.

She pressed her forehead, rapidly assimilating these exquisite scientific experiences.

The clones were much more diligent than the original body, working tirelessly night and day to read and study on behalf of the original, going through publications from other technology companies and learning from cutting-edge papers published by various R&D teams, assimilating knowledge in frontier fields.

Her intellect had increased!

It took Miyazato Kazama roughly ten minutes to absorb all the experiences of the clones back into her brain. In an instant, her perspective on things expanded significantly, with the efficiency of three swarm clones working together increasing more than tenfold.

It was now 5 PM, two hours before the meeting would start.

Miyazato Kazama left her private bedroom to groom and dress herself, looking at her reflection in the mirror.

She had messy medium-length hair, an upset demeanor, lazy eyes, wearing a white coat over a blue shirt, with stockings reaching up her thighs, and high heels. Rather than a Witch Researcher, she resembled a neatly dressed beast or a wolf.

Miyazato Kazama made several fierce faces at the mirror, which suited her. She had been known for her ferocity and unruliness for a long time, never content to be bound by any rules.

She intended to lead the entire civilization into a golden age.

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Technology is the only thing that can lead us to victory. Therefore, the Nestor Research Department will be established today! It will be the strongest, most dazzling, and most cutting-edge department! It should receive the most attention!

Miyazato Kazama roared in his heart.

Without technology, Nestor Corporation would achieve nothing!

"Kazama?" Ai Katagiri pushed the door open and came in.

She was dressed in a loose white blouse styled like a female high school student, adorned with a red long tie and a black and white checkered skirt; the combination of over-the-knee socks and small leather shoes was just right. Her hair was dyed pink, giving her a charming appearance, but her indifferent expression diminished the cute flair her outfit suggested.

"Xiao Ai!" Miyazato Kazama immediately spun around and hugged Ai Katagiri. After proper medical procedures and drug control, Ai’s condition had improved significantly, although her complexion was still not good.

"You know I can’t handle this." Ai’s head rested beside Miyazato Kazama’s forehead as she coughed lightly, "Let go."

"I just want you to know how much I love you." Miyazato Kazama kissed Ai’s cheek.

"Perlin is outside." Ai said. Miyazato Kazama immediately released Ai and started combing his hair in the mirror.

Miyazato Kazama frowned.

Perlin Valk, from the Taixi Continent, was a high-ranking Science Officer at Xisheng’s research and development department, equivalent to the Deputy Chief of the Xisheng Science Research Department.

After the Xisheng Divine Palace was seized, Perlin was captured and, with the 6,000 resident researchers of the Divine Palace, surrendered to Nestor Corporation. She was subsequently given a high-ranking position, currently serving as the Deputy Chief of Nestor Research, sharing the burden with Miyazato Kazama.

A Witch Researcher, Perlin, at 65, is a Mid-generation High-Ranking Witch. Her Magic Power, known as "Sample Humans," is very useful in biological and medical research.

"Sample Humans" refers to Perlin’s ability to expend magic power to create magic-powered humans, whose age and gender can be predetermined, while other aspects are completely random, generally possessing standard human characteristics. They could pass the most stringent health inspections, fulfilling the physiological conditions expected of their designed age group.

The Sample Humans created by Perlin had no ability to act autonomously, no intelligence, memory, or possessions; they were simply humans created through Perlin’s expenditure of magic power. Hence, experimenting on them carried no ethical burden, and they could survive for up to 24 hours before vanishing without a trace.

Perlin’s Sample Humans were quite stable; apart from their inability to move, they were no different from humans and could be used as standard human templates for reference, effortlessly becoming test subjects for drugs, implants, and biological modifications.

The most critical aspect was that Perlin could accelerate the passage of time for the samples using her magic power!

If one needed to test the effects and cumulative impact of a drug on the human body over several decades or centuries, Perlin could complete it within a day.

All other biological research projects required decades or centuries of tracking the condition of the target or using artificial intelligence for unstable experiments and calculations. However, Perlin could easily track and prove all experimental hypotheses through the "Sample Humans" magic power.

As such, Perlin naturally became a high-ranking Science Officer in the field of biomedicine. She previously worked for Rose Medicine in the Britannia Region, until Xisheng poached her to serve Honma Noriko’s life extension plan. Researchers using the Sample Humans created by Perlin conducted tests to verify various spices and life-extending new drugs to ensure safety before they were administered to Honma Noriko.

After Honma Noriko became a Witch, Perlin fell out of favor, until she was recruited by Nestor Corporation and returned to her position, utilizing her wisdom and research network. With many years of experience, she had far more authority than Miyazato Kazama.

When Miyazato Kazama stepped out, she saw Perlin, a woman dressed in a brown short leather jacket and white leather pants. Her appearance was elegant and mature, with light gold hair, olive-colored eyes, and a tall, well-proportioned figure, eyeing Miyazato Kazama with a look that was slightly scornful and wicked.

"Everyone has already arrived at the venue," Perlin said, her fingers intertwined and gesturing leisurely in an inviting manner. "I think we should do away with those formalities and start the meeting ahead of schedule."

Miyazato Kazama originally thought she was trying to make him look foolish, so he checked the list and found Perlin’s claim to be true; all the representatives had already taken their places ahead of time.

That was inconvenient; Miyazato Kazama himself was not yet prepared.

Perlin gave Miyazato Kazama a meaningful look.

Ai Katagiri, pale and coughing, considered it a matter of pride and thus chose not to speak.

"We will follow the rules." Miyazato Kazama made his decision and looked up at Perlin, "It should start at the appointed time, not a minute sooner."

If Miyazato Kazama were to be swayed by Perlin’s words and insinuations, he would lose his authority. He would only bend for one person; no one else should expect him to change his mind.

Miyazato Kazama strode forward with his head held high, while Perlin watched with a cold gaze beside him.

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