Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 621 - 527: Special Agent

Chapter 621: Chapter 527: Special Agent

The sky was a deep blue, and the warm breeze of the transition between spring and summer came, bringing with it a wisp of cherry blossom fragrance that wafted through the air.

The Ghost Warrior was in no mood to appreciate the natural environment, as he had been pondering frequently of late how much effort it would still take to defeat the Nestor Corporation.

Standing inside the glass corridor on the 20th floor of the Enomoto Bank, the Ghost Warrior leaned forward, gazing down at the splendid street below. Behind him, the office was noisy with human voices, and transaction information scrolled across the big screens. He crossed his arms over his chest as if he was cut off from the mundane world.

The virtual projection lamps cast a vision of koi banners that seemed to dance whimsically with the wind. He placed a hand on the blackout glass and looked past all obstacles, carefully distinguishing among the crowded throng until he finally spotted those "thorns in his side."

Lu Jing, dressed in green clothes, the towering Hosoda Yoshiyuki, Rinne in a white coat and pitch-black tights, Seeking Shadow—the "Cyber Specter Shadow," along with other support personnel.

What are they doing so close to the Enomoto Bank? The Ghost Warrior wondered silently. The thought of what they could accomplish made him inevitably wary.

The final battle was imminent. Whether humans could hold the Northern Archipelago as their fortress depended entirely on the Ghost Warrior’s performance. A single misstep, and the fate of the world would be reversed, allowing the Ancient Witch’s influence to expand unhindered. Once the Nestor Corporation reigned supreme, the destiny of human beings would be at its mercy, a dire predicament for all living beings.

The Ghost Warrior knew all too well that despite relying on the Ancient Witch, the Nestor Corporation had internal checks and balances. There was a one in ten thousand chance that they knew what they were doing and could contain the Ancient Witch’s ambitions.

But that chance was, after all, slim. The Ghost Warrior was unwilling to sit idly by and pin the hopes of humanity’s survival on the capabilities of someone within Nestor Corporation. The Corporate Alliance was created to contain and round up all those with extraordinary abilities and witches, and even as the resurgence of the witches and their liberation from their shackles were now inevitable, he was determined to go against the tide.

Secret agents and spies never ended well.

Yet humanity was so fragile, lonely, and insignificant, living under the threat and mockery of supernatural powers for tens of thousands of years. It had not been easy for the Corporate Alliance to reverse the order of dominance, and the Ghost Warrior did not want to see humanity’s future return to a state of gloom.

To pierce through the veil of the Nestor Corporation and recapture the Ancient Witch, he must first start by trimming its feathers. The Ghost Warrior contemplated. Judging from the previous incidents involving the Golden Branch, the Evil Beast, and Kano Masato, Rinne’s new squad had been actively operating in secrecy, defending Nestor Corporation’s flanks and rear.

He must destroy this team.

The local witches were inevitably subjected to spiritual contamination and cognitive harm from the Witch Goddess, so the Ghost Warrior had no choice but to withdraw most of the Battle Witches to prevent them from being covertly turned by the Witch Goddess, thus reducing his armed forces by half. Fortunately, the remaining human troops were elite enough.

Furthermore, the anti-witch sentiment had a long history. Ever since he had covertly raised the banner of witch-hunting, many with a hatred for witches had joined to lend their support. Not every human could calmly accept the presence of a large number of witches amongst them.

To avoid detection by Lila Nestor, the Ghost Warrior had the company regularly dispatch some sensitive materials to ports such as airports, forcing Lila to focus her attention on these logistical nodes and transport routes. He had done a lot, but it wasn’t enough. The Ghost Warrior looked towards Rinne and her group’s whereabouts. It wasn’t enough by far... To defeat the Nestor Corporation, he needed to muster even more manpower and power.

"Some troublesome guys are now serving the Nestor Corporation," the Ghost Warrior summoned a witch from the Enomoto Bank, "...Sakurako Miyazawa, take a few people and test the reality of their situation."

"Who are they?" A ninja witch emerged from the shadows; she had undergone professional psychic defense training, was exceptionally short at only 1.45 meters tall, was dressed in a laser sweater that gave off an eerie glow in the dark, and wore rimless glasses. She seemed so ordinary and nonthreatening, yet her strength was formidable. She was one of the few witches in the world with three types of magic powers, having worked for Xisheng, Black Fire Innovation, and the Corporate Alliance. Now, she served as reinforcement for the Ghost Warrior.

"Those people hide their tracks, appearance, and identity, with only a very few knowing their connection to the Nestor Corporation," the Ghost Warrior said in a low voice, "Be sure to be careful."

The Ghost Warrior wanted to tell Sakurako Miyazawa that her mission was related to the survival of humanity’s fate, but not everyone was willing to regard the fate of all humans as the highest benefit. Most agents just saw their job as a way to make a living.

Sometimes the Ghost Warrior would mock himself; he was doing a job to defend humanity’s last freedom, yet he had only a salary of 450,000 a year. He numbed himself with visions of protecting humans, but what he thought of most was failure. He hoped he would have a grave, a bunch of flowers, and someone to engrave on his tombstone some hopeful verses... The Ghost Warrior banished these negative thoughts from his mind. He was combative by nature and would not give up so easily at this moment.

Sakurako Miyazawa left, chewing bubble gum, accompanied by armored soldiers, having survived countless battles. The Nestor Corporation’s secret front didn’t seem formidable in her eyes.

On the other side, Rinne and the other members continued to approach the Enomoto Building.

They were here to find and recruit A999, which had acted recklessly and vanished into the depths of Shangjing. Its signal last appeared in the Shinhu District, close to the Enomoto Building.

A999 had surpassed all Class A Synthetic Humans ever since it was manufactured. It copied the combat experience from predecessors like A40, starting off with extremely high combat capabilities. Taro Tanaka himself believed that he would never create another masterpiece that could surpass A999 in his lifetime, and it was also the last Class A Synthetic Human.

The Quantum Warrior served as the original template for all Class A Synthetic Humans, single-mindedly pursuing the ultimate Martial Arts Path beside anything else; A1 was reserved and solitary, working for Taro Tanaka to raise the funds required to make its kind, remaining incognito and taciturn; A40... those in the know understood; A100 was modest and reliable, executing tasks responsibly and appropriately. A999 inherited these famous predecessors’ temperamental templates, with an even more intricate and complex mindset, equipped with version 3.3 of the mind right from the factory, greatly differing from ordinary synthetic humans.

That was why A999 was wild and unruly, quickly leaving the factory to pursue its own life. Taro Tanaka had no choice but to ask the Disciple Squad to keep A999 close, ensuring that he could take A999 to Greeny City for the exhibition during the July selection for the Gillian Award.

In Shinhu District, Rinne caught her first glimpse of the Enomoto Bank Building, a massive structure of 150 floors, so grandiose that it occupied an entire city block.

Rinne felt like she was being watched. She looked up, catching a fleeting glimpse of a figure, but that building was full of people, too many to carefully observe. The base of the building housed an openly accessible mega bank headquarters with a workforce of thousands. Rows of automata aligned side by side, assisting with various kinds of financial activities; the middle floors were leased to bustling shopping malls, restaurants, hotels, cinemas, boutiques, bars, and entertainment centers; and the upper levels all the way to the top were devoted to office space. Each floor’s exterior was adorned with various signboards, not only serving the staff of Enomoto Bank Headquarters but also providing office space for its subsidiaries.

A true corporate giant. Rinne thought, observing with interest.

If she wanted to overcome her inner demons, she would need to personally end the fate of a major company, and Enomoto Bank was the perfect target.

After reconsolidation, Enomoto Bank’s operations had expanded beyond banking to encompass law, manufacturing, and private security services, with its business scale continuing to grow.

They reconstructed an elite corporate army, cleverly maintaining a smaller size to avoid angering Nestor Corporation. They even continuously offered Nestor Corporation attractive financial loans, hoping to improve the relationship between the two companies.

Nestor Corporation needed time to recover and would no longer resort to violence. So, it was up to Rinne to handle the situation herself.

Hacking into Enomoto Bank was her rite of passage for graduation. Rinne planned to infiltrate this large company’s Helis Sea System by herself, breach its defense structure, and plunder all its data and funds.

If she succeeded, that would mean she had truly become a legendary hacker capable of standing on her own.

By then, even her deepest fears would vanish. Rinne would transcend her limits and take control of her destiny.

Rinne stared at the Enomoto Bank headquarters. Beyond the luxurious expanse above Ground, what mattered more were the network service center and the data rooms underground. There, elite cybersecurity personnel were stationed long-term in the Helis Sea, warding off all forms of attack.

She had to destroy Enomoto Bank by her own hand. Rinne thought to herself quietly.

"A999 is down there!" Seeking Shadow shouted.

Rinne and the others gathered around, looking down from the edge of the highway bridge, unveiling the area known as "The Depths of Shangjing."

Below the bridge lay vast expanses of shantytowns, like thousands of corrugated cardboard boxes pieced together, built around piles of variegated trash, with seepage pits and decrepit building materials scattered all over. Massive drainage ditches were interspersed to prevent people from drowning during heavy rains.

Many families concentrated in this pit, a semi-subterranean waste recycling station right in the city center, just one street away from the opulent Enomoto Building. It connected to deeper black markets, underground tunnels, Rat Paths, as well as the pervasive metro system throughout Shangjing, serving as an entrance to Shangjing’s dark side.

That was where A999 had gone in before it disappeared.

Engines howling, a black waste collection Shuttle Machine flew out from Enomoto Building above their heads, diving near them like a bomber, dumping trash into the pit below the bridge.

The next second, as if performing a Miracle, thousands emerged from the shantytowns, like tens of thousands of Rats or ants devouring food, instantly segregating the pile of trash thoroughly. Not lacking in brawls, they fought to claim the corporation’s discarded waste for themselves. Due to their experience, conflicts usually ended in a moment, with the valuable refuse going to the strongest.

"We’ll go down the stairs and enter the Rat Paths," Seeking Shadow scanned the entry route. "Follow me."